wfn.org | Youth propose to enhance mutual sharing in an inclusive communion

[FRANK.IMHOFF@ecunet.org]

LWF COUNCIL MEETING, TURKU, FINLAND, 14-21 JUNE 2000
PRESS RELEASE NO. 5

POHJA, Finland/GENEVA, 16 June 2000 (LWI) - Youth representatives from the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member churches have declared their
readiness to contribute to the realization of the vision of a holistic and
healthy church body.

The young people drawn from churches mainly in Europe and Africa are
therefore encouraging the LWF through its Department for Mission and
Development (DMD) to initiate exchange programs between continents
including people of all levels and ages to specifically address this
great concern.

This was the main concern in a message issued by participants in a pre-
council youth workshop held from 10 to 12 June 2000 in Finland's
southern town of Pohja. The LWF Council is meeting in Turku, Finland,
from 14 to 21 June 2000. "I give you a future with hope" is the theme
chosen by the host-church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
(ELCF) in consultation with the LWF.

The pre-council youth message was presented before the DMD Program
Committee. Participants in the four-day meeting included representatives
from Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway, three youth council members
from the Central African Republic, Denmark and Kenya, three staff from
the LWF Geneva Secretariat and the ELCF. In addition there two
international ecumenical guests from Botswana (Reformed Churches) and
South Africa (Anglican Church).

Focusing on the theme Future Hopes: Searching with Hope, presentations
at the pre-council workshop were made by Rev. Dr. Risto Cantell,
executive director, Council for International Relations in the ELCF,
Rev. Dr. Paeivi Jussila, study secretary for Worship and Congregational
Life in the LWF Department for Theology and Studies (DTS) and Tero
Rantanen of the ELCF.

Regional perspectives were received from central and eastern Africa, as
well as mid-western Europe. These contributions and a survey by Dr. Paul
Otto Brunstad (a young theologian from Norway) on the longing, dreams,
fears and hopes about the future of Norwegian secondary school students
helped participants in the Pohja meeting to deliberate on the type of
challenges that the churches face concerning young people.

Most of the participants acknowledged that the Nordic countries are
extremely secularized and this affects the life of the whole church.
This concern underlines that although ecclesiastical structures still
exist in societies, the meaning of the church has been reduced to its
rites and rituals namely baptism, confirmation, marriage and funeral.

"With this reality, the youth after confirmation have lost their place
in the church. They long to belong but distance themselves from the
church if they do not feel needed. They do not understand the nature of
the church because they do not find their way to the sacramental life.
The way the church communicates the essence of the faith does not
reflect the experience of the youth," the pre-council youth message
stated.

Overall the young people underscored that the church is the body of
Christ. It has different parts and all are essential and interdependent,
but they need to be more visible and actively connected. They pointed
out that in order to realize the holistic nature of the church, young
people must in all practical terms be included and accepted as its full
members since "what unites us is the sacramental community. We need a
walking church that goes out, meets and shares personal faith," they
stated.

^From a regional perspective, Mr. Paul M. Kamau, a Council member and
youth representative from the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church (KELC)
said his church involves the youth in every aspect of mission. It is
therefore not surprising, according to Kamau, that the KELC is
experiencing spiritual growth in view of the fact that young people have
been a major force in such a movement.

They encouraged member churches "to carefully listen to the concerns and
new visions of the youth so that the church can enter into honest
dialogue with and be enriched by the competence and gifts of the young
people."

(The LWF is a global communion of 128 member churches in 70 countries
representing 59 million of the world's 63 million Lutherans. Its highest
decision making body is the Assembly, held every six or seven years.
Between Assemblies, the LWF is governed by a 49-member Council which
meets annually, and its Executive Committee. The LWF secretariat is
located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted, material
presented does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its
various units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation
(LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]

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Lutheran World Information
Assistant Editor, English: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/