LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
LWI news online: www.lutheranworld.org/News/Welcome.EN.html
- The Apostolicity of the Church: Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission Document
- Third Meeting of the Lutheran-Mennonite International Study Commission
- LWF Publication: Faith and Human Rights - Voices from the Lutheran Communion
- LWF Studiesâ Book on Poverty and the Mission of the Church in Africa
- Finland: Sudanese Anglican Ordained in Ouluâs Lutheran Cathedral
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The Apostolicity of the Church: Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission Document
The Apostolicity of the Church is the title of the current study document of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity. With this document, the Commission completes the 1995-2006 fourth phase of the Lutheran-Catholic dialogue at the global level. The study document of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) is aimed at contributing toward deepening communion between the Roman Catholic Church and Lutheran churches. The document has been sent to the respective churches of the mandating bodies and to the wider public of persons and groups engaged in the ecumenical movement.
In the book's introduction, Commission co-chairpersons Lutheran Bishop Dr BÃla Harmati (Hungary) and Roman Catholic Archbishop Dr Alfons Nossol (Poland) state the commission's hope that the study "will open fresh perspectives in the area of ecumenical ecclesiology and will throw light on pathways along which significant steps may be taken toward the goal of full communion between the Catholic Church and the Lutheran churches of the world."
The study document points to further steps toward the visible unity of the Lutheran and Catholic churches by treating (1) the New Testament witness as foundational for the apostolicity of the church, (2) the apostolic gospel and the elements of the church's apostolicity, (3) the apostolicity of the ordained ministry, and (4) ways in which faith and teaching are maintained in the truth of the apostolic gospel.
The Apostolicity of the Church is published by Lutheran University Press (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA) under the auspices of the LWF and PCPCU. To order copies, please contact Lutheran University Press, P. O. Box 390759 Minneapolis, MN 55439 or publisher@lutheranUpress.org Price is USD 12 plus postage costs.
For further information, please contact the LWF Office for Ecumenical Affairs, sgr@lutheranworld.org (297 words)
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Third Meeting of the Lutheran-Mennonite International Study Commission
The third meeting of the Lutheran - Mennonite International Study Commission took place from 18 to 22 June 2007 at the Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg, France. Co-sponsored by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Mennonite World Conference (MWC), the mandate of the present Commission is to hold conversations that focus on the condemnations of Anabaptists in Lutheran confessional writings and their applicability to MWC member churches today. The Commission intends to present its final report to the LWF and MWC for possible action by the end of 2008. Its final meeting will take place in Strasbourg from 3-6 June 2008.
The communiquà from the 2007 meeting of the Lutheran - Mennonite International Study Commission, including references to papers and texts that were discussed is posted on the LWF Web site at: www.lutheranworld.org/LWF_Documents/LWF-Lutheran_Mennonites_20070622.pdf (143 words)
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LWF Publication: Faith and Human Rights - Voices from the Lutheran Communion
Faith and Human Rights - Voices from the Lutheran Communion, a new publication of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), documents the experiences and concerns of some members of the Lutheran family working for human rights in their different contexts, and how their work relates to their faith principles. Published by Lutheran University Press, (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA) under the auspices of the LWF, the 188-page volume, No. 51/2006 in the LWF Documentation series, is co-edited by Peter N. Prove and Luke Smetters, LWF Office for International Affairs and Human Rights.
In the book's introduction, Prove says the contributions serve as recognition that the authors and many other Lutherans around the world "are fully part of the struggle for human rights, for the human dignity that those legal principles seek to protect and promote, and for the neighbor in need."
The co-editors point out that human rights, and the related instruments and mechanisms are tools for the promotion of justice and protection of the dignity of all human beings, each of whom bears the image of God. They underline the LWFâs recognition of human rights as an important part of a holistic Christian ministry.
The LWF Documentation is available at USD 14 plus postage costs. To order copies contact Lutheran University Press, P. O. Box 390759 Minneapolis, MN 55439 or publisher@lutheranUpress.org
Copies of the German edition Glaube und Menschenrechte: Stimmen aus der lutherischen Gemeinschaft, LWB Dokumentation 51/2006 can be ordered with the publisher Verlag Kreuz GmbH, Liebknechtstr. 33, 70565 Stuttgart, Germany.
For further information, contact info@lutheranworld.org or write to the: LWF Office for Communication Services, 150 route de Ferney, P. O. Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland, Tel. +41/22-791 61 11, Fax +41/22-791 66 30. (294 words)
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LWF Studiesâ Book on Poverty and the Mission of the Church in Africa
"So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth" (Job 5:16) is the title of a Lutheran World Federation publication focusing on Poverty and the Mission and the Church in Africa. Produced in the LWF Studies series, 01/2007, the publication brings together presentations and reflections from a September 2006 LWF Department for Mission and Development (DMD) consultation on poverty and the mission of the church in Africa, and a Department for Theology and Studies (DTS) seminar in Arusha, Tanzania. Participants in the meetings included representatives from the LWF member churches in Africa and Northern partners.
The 180-page publication is co-edited by DTS director, Rev. Dr Karen Bloomquist and Rev. Dr Musa Filibus, LWF/DMD area secretary for Africa. In its preface, Filibus expresses the hope that what is shared in this book will inspire churches publicly to denounce impoverishment and to work toward better alternatives for the suffering masses in Africa and globally.
Copies can be ordered from: The LWF Department for Theology and Studies, 150 Route de Ferney, P. O. Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland. Tel. +41 22 791 6111, Fax +41 22 791 6626, or uli@lutheranworld.org The price is CHF 18, EUR 12 or USD 15 plus postage and packing. (216 words)
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Finland: Sudanese Anglican Ordained in Ouluâs Lutheran Cathedral
Amos Manga, a Sudanese deacon of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church of the Sudan who emigrated to Finland was ordained into priesthood according to the Anglican rite in the Oulu Lutheran cathedral on 10 June. This was the first time that such an ordination was taking place in Finland.
Mangaâs ordination was officiated by Suffragan Bishop David Hamid of the Anglican Diocese in Europe (Church of England) and Bishop Samuel Salmi of the Diocese of Oulu, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF).
Manga serves as an assistant curate in the Anglican Church in Finland, with responsibility for the spiritual needs of Episcopalian Sudanese living in Oulu district. Whenever required, he will also work elsewhere in Finland.
In the past few years the ELCF Oulu diocese has been very active with Lutheran-Anglican relations, with cooperation much needed because of immigration.
Cooperation is based on the 1993 Porvoo Common Statement between Nordic and Baltic Lutheran churches and British and Irish Anglican churches. (167 words)
(ELCF Church Information Center)
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For news in brief to LWI No. 05/2007 please see the PDF version of LWI No. 05 /2007 in English at:
http://www.lutheranworld.org/What_We_Do/OCS/LWI-2007-PDF/LWI-200705-EN-low. pdf
* * * * * * (The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140 member churches in 78 countries all over the world, with a total membership of nearly 66.7 million. 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.)
[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
Tel.: +41/22-791 63 69 Fax: +41/22-791 66 30 Editorâs E-Mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org