wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Tveit praises Lutherans for ecumenical commitment

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>World Council of Churches - News

WE NEED YOUR ECUMENICAL COMMITMENT, TVEIT TELLS LUTHERAN ASSEMBLY

>For immediate release: 21 July 2010

The Lutheran insistence on the fact "that we are one because we  are
sharing the one and same Christ, because we receive the same gift"  is
something the ecumenical movement needs now "more than ever", said  the
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse  Tveit
speaking in Stuttgart on 21 July.

Tveit was greeting participants at the beginning of the 11th Assembly  of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) gathered in Stuttgart, Germany  from
20-27 July. The theme of the Assembly is "Give Us Today Our Daily  Bread".
Over a thousand participants from all over the world, including  418
delegates from 140 churches in 79 countries are attending the event.

Offering thanks for the contribution of the Lutheran churches to  the
fellowship of the WCC "both today and in decades past", Tveit highlighted
some of the many gifts received from the Lutheran communion. "You  are
known for your commitment to peace with justice, to mission, diakonia  and
to ecumenical dialogue and inter-religious cooperation. Let it be  so also
in the future", he said.

The theme of the Assembly "touches the heart of the gospel and therefore
also the heart of our being one in Christ", Tveit said. "When we  pray for
daily bread", he added, "we acknowledge the body of Christ, the  bread of
life, given for our salvation, and we experience the hunger of justice
that calls us into communion for actions of sharing".

The WCC general secretary acknowledged that "there are several reasons
given for why churches are not fully sharing the one bread in the
eucharist". However, Tveit added, "in the light of your theme and  the
affirmation of the one bread, there are even more important theological
and moral reasons why we continue to do anything we can do to come  to the
same table and have a common sharing of the one bread".

Tveit praised the "wise leadership" of the outgoing LWF general  secretary
Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko. "You have not only led the LWF but you have  been a
dear and significant leader in the whole ecumenical movement", Tveit  told
Noko.

Earlier during the session, in his report to the Assembly, Noko  had
highlighted the WCC's "unique and irreplaceable role in bringing
Christians together". He emphasized the "inclusive and participatory"
character of the upcoming WCC Assembly to take place in Korea in  2013.

"The LWF will play its full role both in the planning process and  in the
[WCC] Assembly itself", Noko said. He encouraged the LWF delegates  to
consider "what additional steps we as a communion might take in  this
regard, such as holding an LWF Council meeting in conjunction with  the WCC
Central Committee or within the 'expanded space' of the WCC Assembly".

"I look forward to your participation in the preparations of our  next
Assembly in 2013", Tveit said in his greeting to the Lutheran gathering,
responding to Noko's report.

Full text of the WCC general secretary greetings (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=07c5dd2dc27da67b3fef )

Website of the 11th Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation
(Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=5174246f1d29f0e94174  )

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith,  witness and 
service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship  of churches 
founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant,
Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560  million 
Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the  Roman 
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse  Tveit, from 
the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.

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