LWF Council Meeting 2004
Geneva, Switzerland, 1-7 September 2004
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The opening eucharistic service at this years LWF Council. Highlights of the meeting include election of LWF general secretary and priority setting for LWF's future work. © LWF/D. Zimmermann |
Christians Challenged to Influence Change in a World at the "Risk of Growing Apart"
Opening Worship at LWF Council Meeting in Geneva
On Tuesday, 31 August, church representatives attending the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Council were reminded of their responsibility to social commitment and action to influence change in a world at the risk of "growing apart," due to the current challenging realities including rampant neo-liberalism.
"The body of Christ is a social reality", Rev. Lagoda said in his sermon. |
"Excessive greed for capital gain on the part of the global world has meant that many people die or live on a mare minimum. We must not let the free market direct the fight against scourge for hunger, and for a well-nourished humankind," Rev. Ekkehard Lagoda, German-speaking congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Geneva (ELCG), told participants attending the Council's opening eucharistic service at Chavannes-de-Bogis near Geneva.
"Growing Together - Growing Apart," is the theme of the September 1-7 meeting attended by around 170 people from all over the world including the 49-member Council, invited guests, stewards, interpreters, journalists and LWF staff persons. In his sermon based mainly on I Corinthians 11: 17-34, Lagoda reflected on social realities that may lead to separation and exclusion and challenged Christians to reexamine their responsibility toward fellow human beings.
Rev. Lusmarina Campos-Garcia, English-speaking congregation, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Geneva. |
Reflecting on the social evils prevalent at the time of Corinth, Lagoda noted that questions on growing apart and growing together do not only apply to individual relations but are also of crucial importance to the LWF member churches. They are equally relevant and provoke discussion with regard to the sharing of the Holy Communion and Eucharist between confessions. He underlined the oneness of the community established in the sharing of the body of Christ and spoke against exclusion based on human judgment.
There are around 100 church representatives including the 49-member Council attending this year's meeting at Chavannes-de-Bogis near Geneva. In addition there are 70 participants consisting of interpreters, invited guests, LWF staff persons and stewards. The Council is the LWF governing body between Assemblies, normally held every six years. The current Council was elected at the July 2003 LWF 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. More...
Click here for the full text of the sermon of Rev. Ekkehard Lagoda in PDF format
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