wfn.org | (LWF) Pastoral Visits to Member Churches a Major Highlight

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

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

PRESS RELEASE NO. 32

Pastoral Visits to Member Churches a Major Highlight of LWF President
Krause's Tenure 
Outgoing LWF President Reflects, Looks Ahead

WINNIPEG, Canada, 30 July 2003 - In the final press conference of his
six-year term as president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Bishop
emeritus Dr Christian Krause reflected on the highlights of his years in
office. 

Half-way through the last full day of the Tenth Assembly of the Federation of
churches he has led since the 1997 Ninth Assembly in Hong Kong, China, Krause
met for one final time with an international group of media representatives.
In a reflective mood, the former bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Brunswick, Germany, listed what for him had been the most significant events.
First and foremost had been his pastoral visits to the LWF member churches
worldwide, in particular to the churches of Eastern Europe and Russia, which
were in the early stages of transition from communist rule and moving back
into the fellowship of the global communion. Krause recalled that he was
privileged to reintroduce Reformation Day as a national holiday in Slovenia.

Perhaps the most visible achievement during Krause's tenure was the October
1999 signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification * a
major theological achievement ending 500 years of Roman Catholic and Lutheran
separation. But Krause was quick to point out that for him the essential
meaning of the Joint Declaration has been not theological but "atmospheric."
It has changed "the atmosphere in Luheran and Roman Catholic churches around
the world."  

Indeed, said Krause, the Joint Declaration is important even in families in
countries that are evenly divided between Lutheran and Roman Catholic, such
as Germany. He mentioned his own family, in which his daughter married a
Roman Catholic man who expressed some concern about his affiliation. Krause
assured his future son-in-law that "we are one family." Because of the Joint
Declaration, he said, "The ice has melted."

He cautioned however that the achievement of the Joint Declaration and other
ecumenical issues, such as Eucharistic hospitality, have different dynamics
in other parts of the world.  In the southern hemisphere there are other
priorities, other influences. He gave as an example the growing charismatic
movements that cross denominational lines. 

"Our respective traditions should enrich, not divide us." He said that LWF
provides a network of global solidarity that one can "feel" which helps to
assure that there is a global consciousness for those who suffer.

As for the future of the LWF, Krause expressed the wish that the LWF not
evolve into a "money distribution center" but focus on prayer and
communication. He hopes that the LWF will transcend borders and embrace the
different "models" of Lutheranism that are growing around the world.  He
expressed forcefully the hope that LWF will address the issue of global
poverty in concrete ways.  It is "a time bomb for our children."  Krause also
encouraged increased interreligious dialogue among the Abrahamic faiths
within the existing structures of the World Council of Churches. He commented
on the peculiarly American phenomenon, namely, the rapid proliferation of
non-denominational Christian "mega-churches" and cautioned Lutherans not to
leave the "vacuum" in the churches of Eastern Europe to these groups to fill.
 

Krause concluded with words of thanks to the press for treating him with
fairness and for providing him with a forum to highlight his pastoral visits
around the globe and terefore uplift the LWF as a global communion. 

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 around 820 men, women and youth participants in the Tenth Assembly
including 380 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 posted 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.