wfn.org | LCMS President Gerald Kieschnick Visits European Partner Churches

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod
Board for Communication Services

LCMSNews -- No. 9
February 14, 2002

Kieschnick says meetings
give him new appreciation'

Missouri Synod President Gerald Kieschnick says that meetings last month 
with leaders of the Synod's eight partner churches in Europe have given him 
a new appreciation for the complexities of church relations and a greater 
understanding of the challenges those churches face.

"This was a great opportunity to meet these leaders on their turf, which 
gave me a greater understanding of life in their churches and countries," 
Kieschnick said.

Kieschnick and Dr. Samuel H. Nafzger, executive director of the Synod's 
Commission on Theology and Church Relations, spent 17 days on the 
relationship-building trip last month.  A meeting in Germany of the 
International Lutheran Council (ILC) executive committee that involved the 
two provided them the opportunity to take additional time in Europe to 
visit the partner-church leaders.

Kieschnick said that the visits "impressed upon me once again how important 
it is to keep lines of communication open."  He said he supports more 
regularized ways of keeping in touch.

"All of our churches need the nurture and support of one another as we seek 
to remain faithful to Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions while at the 
same time proclaiming the precious Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Savior of 
the world."

Among churches that he said need the Missouri Synod's support are "small 
churches that live in the shadow of state churches."  Kieschnick said that 
when the small "free churches" take exception to state-church ordinations 
of women and homosexuals, for example, "they take a hammering in the 
media.  Their need for our moral support and encouragement is significant."

The LCMS president said he also saw how  a Missouri Synod declaration of 
fellowship with one church can affect another partner church.

He cited as an example the 1998 declaration of fellowship with the 
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria in Russia, which is a member of the 
Lutheran World Federation and is in fellowship with the state church of 
Finland.  As a result of that declaration, The Confessional Lutheran Church 
of Finland, a long-time LCMS partner, voted to suspend fellowship with the 
Missouri Synod.

There was no prior discussion before the Finns suspended fellowship with 
the Missouri Synod, Kieschnick said.  His visit with leaders of the small 
free church in Finland was the first formal discussion with them since it 
suspended fellowship in 1999.

"This meant for me that we need to be even more careful in the future than 
we have been in the past when we begin discussions that could lead to 
church fellowship," Kieschnick said.

In an official joint statement, Kieschnick and Ingrian Bishop Arri Kugappi 
took note of the "importance" of the relationship between the two church 
bodies.

"Because the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria is the only church in 
Russia with whom The Lutheran Church_Missouri Synod is in altar and pulpit 
fellowship, both sides recognize the special importance of this 
relationship for both the ELCI and the LCMS within the realm of inter 
church relationships," the statement says.

The Missouri Synod's European partner churches are in Germany, France and 
Belgium, England, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Denmark.

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