One of the major tasks of churches in Asia is strengthening communion and collaboration among churches in a region with great diversity of culture, languages and economics.
Communion in Asia
The existence of communion is traditionally well understood in Asian culture. The life of communion corresponds to friendship and fellowship, which form the cornerstone of the Asian churches. The Asian Lutheran churches can easily identify with the specification of the LWF as a communion of churches.
The regional programs strengthen mutual support in expressing Lutheran identity as “Communion of Churches” by sharing given talents, experiences and theological insights. The programs promote cooperation among Lutheran churches in Asia and also with partner churches, mission agencies and ecumenical bodies in the region.
For practical reasons, Asia is divided into three subregions:
- NEALUC (North East Asian Lutheran Communion)
- WeSALUC (West and South Asian Lutheran Communion)
- SEALUC (South East Asian Lutheran Communion)
A 15 member Lutheran Council in Asia (LUCAS) was established in 2007 for a six-year term. It replaces the Advisory Committee for Coordination of Regional Expression in Asia (ACCREA) and the Advisory Committee for Theological Education in Asia (ACTEAS).
As an instrument of the Lutheran Communion in Asia, LUCAS seeks to strengthen Lutheran communion formation in the region and will undertake specific tasks on behalf of Asian member churches. It coordinates regional efforts to meet the expressed needs of member churches in the region, such as holistic mission, diakonia, development, education, research in the areas of ecumenical theology and inter-faith relations.
LWF national committees have also been set up in several countries to make concrete the common life and decisions of the Lutheran churches nationally.
A regional office has been functioning in the region since 2000, based initially in Bangkok, Thailand, and relocated to Singapore in 2006.
