wfn.org | LWI 2008-063 Reflection on Quantitative and Qualitative Growth Important for LWF

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Reflection on Quantitative and Qualitative Growth Important for
LWF 
Member Churches Seek Greater Participation 

GREIFSWALD, Germany/GENEVA, 3 October 2008 (LWI) – It is
important to reflect on the growth of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) not only in terms of quantity but also quality,
the head of the LWF German National Committee (GNC/LWF) told
Lutheran leaders at a recent LWF regional meeting.

Addressing participants in the European Church Leadership
Consultation mid-September in Greifswald, Germany, GNC/LWF
executive secretary Oberkirchenrat Norbert Denecke spoke of some
of the LWF landmarks. He said the organization's qualitative
growth became particularly evident with the 1990 Assembly
affirmation of the LWF's self-understanding as a "communion of
churches." He pointed to the ecumenical significance of the
October 1999 signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of
Justification [with the Roman Catholic Church], and the March
2007 Council adoption of the document, Episcopal Ministry within
the Apostolicity of the Church - The Lund Statement by the
Lutheran World Federation – A Communion of Churches.

On the current LWF renewal process, Denecke said the decisive
changes in politics, economics, and within the Lutheran churches
called for changes toward a new LWF. An LWF Renewal Committee
created in 2005 leads the process, aimed at developing ways to
organize the common life and work of the Lutheran communion so
that all churches and related organizations of mission and
diakonia take responsibility for these functions. It will present
its recommendations to the 2010 Eleventh Assembly in Stuttgart,
Germany. 

A survey carried out last year indicated the member churches'
desire for greater participation in the renewal process, and
their wish for a closer link between the LWF's theological and
ecumenical work. The need to maintain the humanitarian and
development activities as important areas of work was also
highlighted, as was better coordination and linkage of
communications activities involving programs and projects with
the Lutheran communion.

Denecke explained that the fall of the Iron Curtain had given
way to new opportunities for church action in many parts of the
world. Cooperation between church and state had also opened up
new avenues of action. This new scope of freedom, as part of the
globalization process, however, entailed new challenges for many
churches as well, both economically and ecologically, he said.

The continually growing and thriving global community of
Lutheran churches requires structures that enable the member
churches to participate adequately, Denecke concluded. 

>East-West Migration

In Greifswald, the European church leaders also discussed the
profile of churches in secular society. Bishop Dr Hans-Juergen
Abromeit of the conference host church, the Evangelical Church of
Pomerania, called for closer attention to East-West migration. 

More and more young, well educated people were leaving the
Baltic states, Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic in search
of jobs in Scandinavia and Western Europe. This poses a
particular challenge to the churches that welcome these people,
and calls for a "close exchange" with the Eastern European
churches, said Abromeit, GNC/LWF deputy chairperson. 

Hamburg Bishop Maria Jepsen, from Germany's North Elbian
Evangelical Lutheran Church and a member of the LWF Council,
looked back positively at the consultation's theme "Called to
Grow, Lead and Nurture," saying the meeting had provided a
"helpful" exchange on how churches can present themselves in a
secular society. 

Church of Sweden Archbishop Anders H. Wejryd, also an LWF
Council member, said the bishops' role should be reflected more
strongly since much was expected of the church leadership. The
meeting had provided a "remarkable openness toward rethinking
one’s own positions," he added. 

Bishop Dr Christoph Klein, Evangelical Church of the Augsburg
Confession in Romania and LWF vice-president for Central Eastern
Europe, stressed that many problems were no longer limited to the
East or West, as the current challenges can be both common and
different.

The LWF area secretary for Europe Rev. Dr Eva-Sibylle
Vogel-Mfato, said she was convinced progress could be made toward
deepening the Lutheran communion through consultations such as
the one in Greifswald. This had been a task, she added, since
Martin Luther’s Reformation. The process of growing together
would still take some time, as many conversations still
demonstrated that people still needed to work toward dismantling
the "Iron Curtain" from within. (692 words)

>*        *          *

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF
currently has 141 member churches in 79 countries all over the
world, with a total membership of over 68.3 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
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