wfn.org | LWI News in brief NOV./DEC. edition

[franki@elca.org]

 + Lutherans, Episcopalians in the U. S. to inaugurate full communion

The Episcopal Church, USA (ECUSA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) will inaugurate their new full communion relationship on 6
January 2001, in a service of Holy Eucharist at the National Cathedral in
Washington, D.C. The celebration will be led jointly by the presiding
bishops of both churches-the ELCA's H. George Anderson and ECUSA's Frank T.
Griswold. The basis for the full communion relationship is contained in
"Called to Common Mission" (CCM), a document adopted by both churches. The
ELCA adopted CCM at its churchwide assembly in 1999.The Episcopal Church
adopted CCM at its General Convention this past summer. Full communion is
not a merger but opens the way for the two church bodies to work more
closely in starting new ministries and in supporting congregations. Among
other features, it allows for the exchange of clergy.

 + Sierra Leone's Lutheran church launches credit scheme for amputees

In November, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sierra Leone (ELCSL)
launched a micro-credit loan scheme for amputees, victims of the nearly 10
year-year long conflict in the West African country. The new project is a
follow up of an Amputee Trust and Reintegration Fund established in December
1999. Speaking at a workshop in Freetown aimed at teaching the scheme's
beneficiaries how to effectively manage their own small-scale businesses,
ELCSL President Rev. Tom Barnett urged them to invest prudently and
encouraged them to be "productive in their disability". Most of the
beneficiaries are residents of the Aberdeen Amputees' Camp in the Sierra
Leonean capital, run mainly by the ELCSL and the Council of Churches in
Sierra Leone, with other organizations providing services such as medical
care and food rations. The chopping-off of civilians' limbs was one of the
methods used by rebel forces the majority members of the Revolutionary
United Front (RUF), in their attempts to wrestle the country's control from
the government. The rebels continue to hold much of the Sierra Leone's
interior, including the diamond-rich east. The amputees are young people
including children, men and women whose limbs were chopped off during rebel
invasions. In many instances by the time a victim got medical help further,
amputation was the only alternative. Many among the current Aberdeen
residents are double amputees, with more than one limb missing. A majority
of them originally come from provinces that are still occupied by rebels.
The ELCSL also offers evening worship, regular counseling and a once-a-week
cooked-meal service at the camp.

 + Latvia's Lutheran church leader accuses politicians of betrayal

Archbishop Janis Vanags, the head of Latvia's Evangelical Lutheran Church,
has accused the country's politicians of betraying the "hopes and emotions"
born in 1991, when Latvia achieved independence from the Soviet Union.
However, he denied that he was engaged in a conflict with the country's
president, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, despite staging a protest with other church
leaders in her presence. The 42-year-old archbishop spoke out after joining
Latvia's Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Baptist leaders in a partial boycott
of the main service to mark Independence Day on November 18. The service
took place in Riga's Lutheran cathedral and was attended by the country's
president and prime minister. Although present, church leaders refused to
take an active part in the service, leaving the sermon and prayers to be
delivered by ordinary priests and pastors. Archbishop Vanags said the
protest had been staged to focus attention on disappointed public
expectations and on the failure of the government to take "satisfactory
measures" against a range of problems that had caused concern to churches.
He cited alleged corruption in state and government circles; the issue of
child abuse, which many Latvians believe is not being pursued by the
authorities sufficiently; the planned liberalization of abortion in Latvia;
and a new tax on church-run enterprises, which, according to the Lutheran
bishop, threatened to "devastate" rural parishes.
(From Ecumenical news International - ENI)

 + Norway's Lutherans apologize for sins against Romanies

The Church of Norway has apologized to the nation's Romanies, once known as
gypsies, for its ill treatment of their people in the past. The apology by
the Lutheran church, to which about 85 percent of Norwegians belong, was
made on November 16 at the church's general synod after approval in a
unanimous vote. It was then accepted by national representatives of the
Romany people who attended the synod. The apology states: "The general synod
2000 apologizes and asks the Romanies for forgiveness for the injustices and
infringements [of their rights] committed against their people by the
church. Official representative of the nation's Romanies puts the figure at
20 000 out of a total population of 4.3 million. Romanies in Norway were
persecuted for many decades, particularly early in the 20th century. Laws
were passed in an attempt to make these nomadic people settle in one place,
and several institutions tried, often using harsh methods, to forcibly
assimilate Romanies into Norwegian society and eradicate their cultural
heritage, including their language, music, and religion. Many of the
organizations involved in the suppression of Romany culture were run by the
church or managed by clergy.
(From Ecumenical News International - ENI)

 + Rev. Janusz Jagucki is new bishop of Lutheran church in Poland

The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland at its 10th
Synod last November elected Rev. Janusz Jagucki as the new bishop of the
Lutheran church. Jagucki, 53, will succeed Bishop Jan Szarek when the latter
retires in January 2001. The new bishop will be installed into office on
January 6 next year. A pastor's son, Jagucki studied at the Christian
Theological Academy in Warsaw and was ordained n 1970. He has worked as
vicar and pastor in various Lutheran congregations. Rev. Jagucki is married
with one daughter. His brother, Rev. Walter Jagucki, was installed as the
first bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain in May this year.

 + Paris Lutherans elect woman head

For the first time, Lutherans in Paris have elected a woman to lead their
church. Rev. Marie-France Robert, 54, will succeed Rev. Michel Viot as
"inspecteur ecclÈsiastique" (church inspector) when the latter completes his
term, 1996-2001, next spring. Delegates from the Paris region of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of France elected Rev. Robert at the regional
synod on November 25. As stipulated in the synod's constitution, two-thirds
of the synod delegates are lay persons drawn from the region's 24
congregations which include Lyon, Marseille and Nice. The incumbent church
inspector, Rev. Viot had indicated that he would not seek a second term in
office. Robert spent 11 years in Madagascar as a teacher and lay person
responsible for evangelism. She studied theology in Paris and was ordained
pastor in 1982. Married with two children, Robert is presently in charge of
the St. Peter's congregation north of Paris. She will be installed as church
inspector next spring. The 40,000-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in
France has two districts, MontbÈliard and Paris. Another Lutheran church, in
the eastern part of France (Alsace-Moselle) has 210,000 members.

 + Lutherans, United Methodists in the U. S. prepare for dialogue

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the United Methodist
Church (UMC) are preparing for a new round of talks aimed at a relationship
of full communion. The Rev. Allan C. Bjornberg, bishop of the ELCA Rocky
Mountain Synod, and Bishop Melvin G. Talbert, ecumenical officer for the UMC
Council of Bishops, met in Chicago December 8-9 to lay the foundation for
the dialogue to begin in 2001. The ELCA and UMC have each appointed a chair
and four other members to the dialogue. As co-chairs, Bjornberg and Talbert
discussed the date, location and content of the full group's first meeting
tentatively set for September 2001. In preparation for that meeting members
of the dialogue will be asked to explore the status of scripture or the
status of doctrine in their respective church bodies. Other meeting topics
will include relationships each church has with other Christian
denominations and the history of Lutheran-United Methodist dialogues. U.S.
Lutherans and United Methodists held their first dialogue from 1977 to 1979,
and produced a common statement on the Christian sacrament of Baptism in
1981. A second series of talks, from 1985 to 1987, published a common
statement on episcopacy-the office of bishop-in 1988. Earlier talks involved
the UMC and the five member churches of the former Lutheran Council in the
U.S.A. Three of those Lutheran church bodies merged to form the ELCA in
1988. The other two churches were the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The ELCA has 5.15 million
members in 10,851 congregations organized in 65 synods, across the United
States and Caribbean. The UMC has 8.5 million members in 36,361
congregations in 50 episcopal areas across the United States and Puerto
Rico. It includes another 1.4 million members in about 5,150 congregations
in 18 episcopal areas in Europe, Africa and the Philippines.
(ELCA NEWS SERVICE)

 + Philippines: Joint Declaration, a major stride towards Christian unity

The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification challenges Christians
today to seize the meaningful spirit of dialogue already began and focus on
attaining Christian unity. These remarks were made by Bishop Benjamin
Lasegan of the Lutheran Church in the Philippines, at an ecumenical
celebration in Manila to mark the first anniversary of the signing of the
Joint Declaration. The historic declaration which was signed by
representatives of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the
Roman-Catholic Church on 31 October 1999 in Augsburg, Germany, was an
affirmation that a consensus in basic truths regarding the doctrine of
justification had been reached and that mutual condemnations from the time
of the Reformation do not apply to the teaching on justification. "The
seemingly impossible dream has become a reality," said Lasegan at the joint
ceremony hosted by the Philippines' Jaime Cardinal Sin at the latter's
official residence. The Lutheran bishop described the ecumenical occasion as
"no less than a miracle", adding that it was one big stride towards the
unity of the church of Jesus Christ. More than 80 percent of the
Philippines' 68 million people are Roman-Catholics. The Lutheran church
there has 27,000 members.

(The LWF is a global communion of 131 member churches in 72 countries
representing over 59 million of the world's 63 million Lutherans. Its
highest decision making body is the Assembly, normally held every six years.
Between Assemblies, the LWF is governed by a 49-member Council which meets
annually, and its Executive Committee. The LWF acts on behalf of its member
churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical relations, theology,
humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various
aspects of mission and development work. Its 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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