wfn.org | LWF Council Urges Churches to Nominate More Youth to 10th Assembly

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

Youth Committed to Visions that Radically Improve the Relations
between Cultures

LWF Council Meeting, Wittenberg, Germany, 10-17 September 2002

Press Release No. 22

WITTENBERG, Germany/GENEVA, 17 September 2002 (LWI) - The Lutheran
World Federation (LWF) Council sent a clear message to LWF member
churches that they should nominate more young people to be
delegates for the LWF Tenth Assembly next year in Winnipeg,
Canada. The action came on the final day of the Council's
September 10-17 meeting in Lutherstadt Wittenberg.

Rev. Huberto Kirchheim, president of the Evangelical Church of the
Lutheran Confession in Brazil, offered the motion asking LWF
General Secretary, Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko to send a letter to
member churches, explaining that the low number of youth being
nominated as delegates is "unacceptable." The letter is also to
remind the churches of action taken at the LWF Ninth Assembly in
Hong Kong, China in 1997, requesting that 20 percent of the
delegates be youth.

The LWF Tenth Assembly Coordinator, Rev. Arthur Leichnitz, told
the Council earlier the number of youth delegates nominated from
each region of the world is below expectations. Twenty percent of
the 442 assembly delegates should be youth delegates, but only 54
of the expected 88 youth have been nominated, he said.

Prior to the LWF Council meeting, 14 young adults from churches in
the Central African Republic, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, Italy,
Romania, Sweden and Switzerland atended a workshop on "A
Multicultural Europe: In Search of a New Vision," in Lutherstadt
Wittenberg. Representatives of the group reported to the Council
that European churches face educational, theological, political
and relational challenges in creating an inclusive atmosphere.

The youth report to the Council encouraged "all LWF member
churches in concerted efforts towards a new way of living together
- a just and inclusive multicultural society." To that end, the
young people committed themselves "to go back to our communities
and formulate visions that radically improve the relations between
cultures."

The topics of youth representation in the LWF came up during the
report of the Council's Program Committee for Mission and
Development. At the request of the committee, the Council also
took actions dealing with Lutheran churches in Papua New Guinea
and the Republic of China (Taiwan).

The Council asked the LWF General Secretary to initiate a dialogue
between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Papua New Guinea and
Melpa Lutheran church. The two churches are a result of a split.
"We want reconciliation," said Council member Bishop David P. Piso
of the Gutnius Lutheran Church - Papua New Guinea. He said seeking
dialogue is "right in line with our Christian doctrine" of
settling disputes.

In an earlier action, the Council had accepted, with regret the
withdrawal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of
China (Taiwan) from LWF membership. As part of the mission and
development report, the Council directed the LWF General Secretary
and related agencies to pursue dialogue with that church and its
partner churches.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 136 member churches in 75 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, huan
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.]

*	*	*
LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
PO Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
English Editor: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
Tel: (41.22) 791.63.54
Fax: (41.22) 791.66.30
http://www.lutheranworld.org/