wfn.org | LWF Consultation: Diakonia in the Context of Global Challenges

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@ELCA.ORG>]

Diakonia in the Context of Global Challenges of Violence, Poverty
and HIV/AIDS
LWF Consultation on "Prophetic Diakonia - For the Healing of the
World"

GENEVA, 28 October 2002 (LWI)	"Prophetic Diakonia - For the
Healing of the World" is the title of a Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) global consultation on diakonia that will take place from
3-7 November 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The conference will examine the different understandings of
diakonia   church social service - in its national and
international contexts. It will explore diakonia in the various
ways in which it is expressed, both within the mission and
identity of the church, and within the context of modern society.
The meeting will also focus on new possibilities for the
understanding and practice of diakonia in view of the continuous
challenge of responding to the critical issues that threaten human
life and the future of the human family as a whole. Another aim of
the consultation is to contribute to greater understanding of the
scope of international work carried out in the area of
humanitarian response, reconstruction, and development as special
types of diaconal service within the church.

Ahead of the consultation, Mr. Robert Granke, Director of the LWF
Department for World Service (DWS), noted that as a communion of
Lutheran churches worldwide, the LWF views diakonia within an
ever-widening context. He noted that, rather than diakonia being
limited to DWS work, the Lutheran communion is diaconally active,
even in its daily service, at both personal and community level.
Granke indicated that the churches and LWF as a whole play an
important role in the process of healing, reconciliation and
peacemaking. He said, "We should not underestimate the
significance of our work or the potential to have a positive
influence in finding the solution to difficult and long-term
problems within the global community."

The consultation, which will bring together over 80 participants
from Lutheran churches, partner organizations and social service
agencies and institutions worldwide, is being organized by the
LWF/DWS in conjunction with the LWF Departments for Mission and
Development as well as Theology and Studies.

Granke expects the outcome of this consultation to be the
affirmation of diakonia as a component of the identity and mission
of the church, and an articulation of a renewed understanding of
prophetic diakonia, which will, in turn, engender more effective
possibilities for diaconal responses to the critical challenges
faced by the church and society.

The consultation will include different expressions of diakonia as
practiced in national and international settings throughout the
world. Examples include development and humanitarian response,
common diaconal institutions such as hospitals and orphanages, the
work of deacons/deaconesses in churches, organizations and
agencies, social service agencies and programs, and advocacy
initiatives.

Field visits before the consultation will give the participants
the opportunity to visit LWF projects and diaconal institutions in
Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa, and to
confront critical human issues in contemporary society. The focus
will be on three critical areas, namely violence, poverty and
HIV/AIDS, which require a prophetic response currently and in the
future.

The consultation opens on Sunday, 3 November, at 16.00 hrs. The
keynote speech will be delivered by Ms Angela Thoko Didiza, South
African Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs, on Monday, 4
November, at 08:30 hrs. An opening press conference will be held
on Monday, 4 November, at 10.00hrs. A final press conference is
planned for Thursday, 7 November at 17.00 hrs.

For further information on the LWF Diakonia Consultation in
Johannesburg, please contact Dirk-Michael Groetzsch, German Editor
(LWI), Mobile Phone: +41.78.720.8021, E-Mail:
dmg@lutheranworld.org or the LWF Office for Communication
Services, P.O. Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland, Tel:
+41.22.791.6354, Fax: +41.22.791.6630, E-Mail:
info@lutheranworld.org.

(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 76 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 mllion Lutherans worldwide. 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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