|
|
|
The Lutheran World Federation
Lutheran World Information |
|
| 25.03.2007 |
|
| Churches Urged to Recognize Diversity in Building Ecumenical Unity |
| |
PRESS RELEASE NO. 11/2007
Lutheran Church Representatives Discuss Preliminary Report on LWF’s Renewal
LUND, Sweden/GENEVA, 25 March 2007(LWI) - “To build ecumenical unity, we need not seek convergence but rather seek to allow divergences to exist and recognize the riches they have to offer,” Canadian National Bishop Raymond L. Schultz said when he presented the Report of the Renewal Committee to church leaders of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) meeting in Lund, Sweden, for the Council meeting and 60th anniversary celebrations from 20 to 27 March.
At the 2005 LWF Council meeting, LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko urged Council members to consider putting “a new LWF” in place by the year 2010 and asked the Council to authorize the Executive Committee to appoint a Renewal Committee to deal with this issue.
Schultz, chairperson of the LWF Renewal Committee and National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, was presenting the preliminary report on behalf of the committee, which held its first meeting in January 2007.
Recommendations from the report focused on an inclusive process to determine the direction of restructuring within the LWF, including the distribution of questionnaires to all LWF members, partners and related agencies with the invitation to, “respond from their perspectives on the process and methodology on the LWF's renewal and outline the possible LWF future.”
Schultz noted that renewal within the context of the LWF is, “not just structural, it is ecclesial.” Vision for the future of the LWF, “is not just a question of what we do, it's a question of why we do it and who we are,” he said.
As had been discussed at varied sessions through the 2007 LWF Council meeting, the role and degree of ecumenism with respect to renewal was noted in the report. “To be Lutheran is to be ecumenical and that is intrinsic to our identity,” said Schultz. The report raises a number of questions for the Council and member churches to consider regarding whether the LWF can remain as a communion of Lutheran churches in the future given the, “ecumenically open interpretation of the Lutheran confession.”
Positive response to the preliminary report was generally voiced by Council members, although concerns regarding overall acceptance of change in general were noted. During the Report of the General Secretary, presented earlier in the day, Noko acknowledged the impact of change, stating “renewal requires accepting a certain degree of vulnerability and [letting] go of what is wanted and retain[ing] what is needed.”
The next meeting of the Renewal Committee is scheduled for 2008. At that meeting, committee members will compile the findings from the survey of LWF members. It is anticipated that recommendations on the LWF's renewal will be in place to be brought forward and deliberated on at the 11th Assembly in 2010. (471 words)
* * *
An estimated 500 people including over 100 church leaders are attending this year’s Council meeting, church leadership consultation and the LWF 60th anniversary celebrations. Also attending are officials from LWF partner organizations, invited guests, stewards, interpreters and translators, LWF staff and co-opted staff, accredited media, and participants in the three-year LWF international training program for young communicators.
During the Council meeting, the LWF Office for Communication Services can be reached at mobile tel no. +46/76-276 1311.
|
If you want to edit this article yourself and adapt it to a given format, follow our editing information
|
|
|
|
|
|
