wfn.org | Deepening of Relationships, a Significant Outcome of LWF Council Meeting

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

Deepening of Relationships, a Significant Outcome of LWF Council Meeting
Closing Press Conference with LWF President Hanson, General Secretary Noko 

LWF Council Meeting, Geneva, 1 - 7 September 2004

PRESS RELEASE NO. 16-2004

GENEVA, 8 September 2004 (LWI) - One of the most significant results of the 2004 Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Council meeting was "not so much the actions we took but the relationships that we deepened," according to the LWF President, Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson. He was speaking at the Council's closing press conference, which he jointly addressed with the general secretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko. 

The September 1-7 gathering, held near Geneva, was the first full meeting of the Council since its election in July 2003. Hanson said he was impressed with the respect shown toward those members coming from different contexts and the mindfulness of their shared calling to lead the LWF with the respect. Members of the LWF governing body, he noted, grew together, so that in their time apart they would function in their individual contexts but recall the things they hold in common. The theme of this year's meeting was "Growing Together, Growing Apart." 

Hanson noted the priorities the Council had set for the global Lutheran communion "say a great deal about the LWF at this time." The Council named four priorities : strengthening Lutheran identity as a communion of churches in mission; deepening ecumenical commitments and fostering interfaith relations; bearing witness in church and society to God's healing, reconciliation and justice; and enhancing communication, mutual accountability and sharing. 

He pointed out that the LWF like many church bodies and ecumenical organizations faces many financial challenges, but urged that it first define its priorities then make the necessary financial decisions. "We don't want financial challenges to define the Federation. We want the Federation to define its priorities and then make the sort of financial decisions [that would] help us to meet them." 


LWF 'Deeply Committed' to Ongoing Discussion on Women's Ordination 

Responding to a question about the LWF's position on member churches that do not ordain women, Hanson said the communion was "deeply committed" to keeping the issue before the member churches, but needed at the same time to be respectful of the churches that had arrived at the decision not to ordain women. 

"But we must continue engaging with those churches regarding women in leadership generally and ordination specifically," he said. "We are not seeking to be silent on this issue, but we are respectful of the diversity that exists within the communion."

Noko reiterated the ordination of women was not a requirement for membership in the LWF. But once admitted into membership, churches must understand that the discussion of ordination*both of women and men*would continue. "We say 'welcome' to churches that do not ordain women," he said, "but the conversation starts on the first day that they come into the family."


Dutch Protestant Church Membership in LWF Indication of Changing Ecumenical Landscape

One of the Council's action was to extend LWF full membership to three new churches, bringing in an additional 2.6 million members. One of the churches, the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PCN) was formally established in May 2004 from a merger of two relatively big Reformed churches and the smaller Lutheran church. At the press conference, Hanson said the acceptance of the PCN into the LWF was one more indication of the changing landscape in the ecumenical world. There are many and varied signs that the Holy Spirit is working to deepen the unity that we have in Christ, he said, and "this is one of them." "We don't create our Lutheran identity in isolation from other churches but in relationship with them," he remarked. Hanson hoped the LWF would welcome the gifts the people of the Reformed tradition bring to it.

Noko noted that various Lutheran churches were coming to altar and pulpit fellowship through their membership in the LWF, even though there had been no direct dialogue between them. With the Reformed and Lutheran churches in the Netherlands, however, there had been lengthy dialogue on a national level before the merger. "We are seeing a certain methodology happening here, which is very important for how we might operate in the future. I am very supportive of this development," he said.

LWF 11th Assembly in 2010, Jerusalem to Host 2005 Council Meeting 

Other important decisions of this year's Council meeting include, the agreement to hold the LWF 11th Assembly in 2010. In taking this action, the Council considered the need for ecumenical coordination in view of churches' membership in other regional and global Christian organizations, as well as staff work level and budgetary constraints. The venue, theme and exact dates will be decided in due course. According to the LWF Constitution, an Assembly shall "normally" be held every six years.

The Council decided to hold its next meeting from 31 August to 7 September 2005 in Jerusalem, hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan.(ELCJ). The previous Council had accepted the ELCJ's request to host the meeting in Jerusalem in 2000 and in 2001, but the venue was shifted on both occasions due to security reasons. During the plenary discussion on this issue, ELCJ Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan told the Council participants that Israel's interior ministry had assured him that every one requiring a visa to attend the Council meeting would be issued with one.

*       *       *

Around 100 church representatives including the 49-member Council attended this year's meeting at Chavannes-de-Bogis near Geneva. In addition there were 70 participants consisting of invited guests, LWF staff persons, interpreters, stewards and journalists. The Council is the LWF's governing body between Assemblies, normally held every six years. The current Council was elected at the July 2003 Tenth Assembly in Winnipeg, Canada, where it held its first meeting. The Council comprises the President, the Treasurer and ordained as well as lay persons drawn from the LWF member churches. The LWF currently has 138 member churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a membership of nearly 65 million people.

*       *       *

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. It was founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith 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 LWF's information service. 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
P. O. Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
English Editor: Pauline Mumia
Tel.:	+41/22-791 63 54
Fax:	+41/22-791 66 30
E-Mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org