wfn.org | (LWF) LWF General Secretary: Working toward a Strong

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

LWF Tenth Assembly, Winnipeg, Canada, 21-31 July 2003

PRESS RELEASE NO. 06

LWF General Secretary: Working toward a Strong Communion Involves Taking
Risks
Assembly Asked to Consider Proposal for Discussion on Name Change

WINNIPEG, Canada, 22 July 2003 * The strength and unity of member churches
of the 
Lutheran World Federation (LWF) lies in their ability to enhance common
efforts and mutual accountability toward deepening the experience of
communion without undermining each other's autonomy. But this sharing in each
other's joys and sufferings in very concrete ways "also means taking risks,"
LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko told participants in the
organization's Tenth Assembly that began in the Canadian city of Winnipeg
July 21.

His report to the Assembly highlighted significant steps taken by the LWF
and its member churches since the 1997 Ninth Assembly and the challenges
posed by ongoing and emerging global concerns.

"We were mindful of the fact that the world is a wounded world," Noko said
of the decision two years ago to have as the "For the Healing of the World,"
as the Assembly theme. Global developments and their implications since then,
including the 11 September 2001 terrorism attack on the United States, the
Iraq war, as well as new and re-awakening civil conflicts in many parts of
the world only confirm the significance and timeliness of the theme, Noko
said. He urged the Assembly participants to bear in mind that the
international environment in which the LWF churches live and witness has been
fundamentally re-shaped by such eents.

Since the 1997 Ninth Assembly, the churches have witnessed a further
intensification of the process of globalization and its positive and negative
impact, Noko noted. On the one hand, its unifying trends including new
mechanisms for globalized justice such as the International Criminal Court
and increasing prominence in international affairs are cause for hope. On the
other, the increasing inequality of wealth and well being visible in the 
tragic conditions of the poor, accentuate marginalization among the world's
populations 

"An estimated 80 percent of people in the world have never heard a dial
tone, let alone sent an e-mail or surfed the Web. [Around] 2.8 billion
people, close to half the population of the planet and almost all of them in
developing countries, live on less than two dollars a day," Noko noted. He
continued: "The devastation resulting from poverty is much more than the
absence of material goods." It also inflicts "spiritual wounds that undermine
one's self-esteem, self-worth and confidence." It attacks the God-given
dignity and equal value of every human being, and "therefore undermines any
notion of community and communion," he told the Assembly participants. 

Churches must respond to the 'for the healing the world's wounds' "because
they must bear the marks of Christ's healing sacrifice." Life in communion,
he noted, is not based on a partial commitment of Christ, but on the total
"emptying of himself for our sake."

Other highlights of the General Secretary Noko's Report to the Ninth
Assembly included the role of the LWF in mission and diaconia, working to
realize the vision of an inclusive communion of women and men, and
approaching complex social and ethical issues including the question of
homosexuality. It also focused on the episcopal ministry in the church,
engagement in global and regional aspects of inter-faith relations,
indigenous issues, conditions of work in the churches and the issue of
HIV/AIDS.
 
Noko noted the importance of the altar and pulpit fellowsip shared by the
LWF member churches, without which the organization could be like a civil
agency and not a communion of churches. The LWF's administrative structures
such as the Assembly, Council, National Committees and Secretariat although
important, are not in themselves "communion." These setups are an integral
part of the communion's life, enabling it to function properly and
meaningfully as an international body and a spiritual fellowship," he
emphasized.

"Communion is communication," the general secretary noted. He reported that
the Secretariat is seeking to respond to the current challenges in this area
by engaging member churches and partner organizations more actively in the
development of communication strategies. The LWF news service, Lutheran World
Information serves to maintain a broad coverage of developments related to
the life of the Lutheran churches globally. The Ecumenical News
International, in which the LWF is a partner, provides media around the world
with important news related to the activities of churches and church-related
organizations. 

The general secretary noted that since the inception of the LWF in 1947, its
member churches have prayed for a fellowship that is inclusive of all
Lutherans in the world, yet over three million Lutherans remain outside the
LWF fellowship. He conveyed his gratitude for the collaboration in diaconal
activities between the LWF and its member churches and the Lutheran
communities outside the LWF, but underlined that the yearning for a fully
inclusive Lutheran communion remains unfulfilled. 

The lack of a united Lutheran witness undermines the integrity of a common
mission and reduces the vitality of ecumenical engagement, Noko said. "Should
not the common affirmation of the Lutheran confessional writings be
sufficient for church fellowship among the Lutheran churches? What are the
real reasons that keep Lutherans apart?" he asked the Assembly participants
who include delegates from the LWF member churches worldwide.

He informed the Assembl about the process of consultation between
representatives of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) and the LWF,
noting that common ground as well as differences are being identified in the
area of theology especially confessional and ecumenical issues. He hoped that
the conversations with the ILC - representing most of the Lutherans still
outside the LWF fellowship - would enhance coordination, communication and
theological discussion.

Noko also made reference to the LWF's commitment to ecumenism globally and
described the ecumenical movement as a "deeply significant healing process in
the present time." The October 1999 signing of the Joint Declaration on the
Doctrine of Justification could not have been achieved without the
instrumentality of the LWF, he said. The vast majority of all bilateral
communion agreements that have been established around the world involve
Lutheran churches, Noko said. But he pointed out that new efforts must be
made to ensure that these processes can take place among churches in the
developing countries.

The general secretary mentioned the ongoing international dialogue
commissions with the Orthodox churches and Roman Catholic Church.
Conversations between the LWF and the Seventh-day Adventists have been
carried out and the report and recommendations from this process are being
studied by the member churches. Also, two international working groups, with
the Anglican Communion and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, have both
submitted their reports. The LWF Council has received these reports, and upon
its request they have been sent to the member churches for study and
response. 

He spoke also of the increasing ecumenical importance of the collaboration
between the Christian world communions (CWCs) such as the LWF, and the World
Council of Churches (WCC). A resolution of the 1998 WCC Eighth Assembly in
Harare calling for closer cooperation between the council and CWCs has been
followed up both by the LWF Council and WCC Central Committee. The WCC
provides a uniqe framework for the deliberation of fundamental ecumenical
issues, Noko said, and urged the LWF and its member churches to play an
active and supportive part in the current discussions on the nature and
purpose of the WCC. He expressed the need to explore further how the WCC and
LWF could build on their existing cooperation, for example through their
jointly-founded emergency agency, Action by Churches Together (ACT)
International.

The self-understanding of the organization's name has been discussed in
previous governing bodies of the LWF, including at the 1997 Ninth Assembly.
In his report today, the general secretary asked the Assembly to consider
initiating a discussion process on changing the organization's current name
to "The Lutheran World Federation * A Communion of Churches," keeping the
present acronym "LWF." The suggestion was endorsed by the Council at its
September 2002 meeting. 

In requesting the LWF's highest decision-making body to consider formalizing
such a discussion, Noko explained that the issue of an alternative name was
based on the shared opinion that the "federal concept no longer expresses
adequately the ecclesial nature of the fellowship that exists between the
member churches." He confirmed that the name being proposed would be
consistent with the existing constitutional description of the Federation.

The Tenth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is taking place
21-31 July 2003 in Winnipeg, Canada, under the theme "For the Healing of the
World." It is being hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
(ELCIC).

There are almost 700 men, women and youth participants in the Tenth Assembly
including 356 delegates from the 133 churches with full membership and three
associate members. The Assembly is the highest decision-making body of the
LWF, and meets normally every six years. Between Assemblies, the LWF is
governed by its Council that meets annually, and by its Executive Committee.

Further information including photos, video and audio news, is osted on the
Assembly Web site www.lwf-assembly.org 

To order photographs, please contact LWF-Photo@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 million
Lutherans worldwide. 

The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest
such as ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology, humanitarian
assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission
and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.