North American Lutherans Discuss Mission at Historic Meeting

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (ELCA) -- Participants in a historic Lutheran World Federation (LWF) North America consultation identified trust and relationships as the fundamental issues facing churches and congregations in their mission efforts. For the first time, representatives of the North American member churches of the LWF met here Nov. 29-Dec. 3 to discuss mission in North America in the context of deepening church relationships.
Thirty-seven participants explored the implications of being the North America expression of the LWF communion of churches and reviewed the issues and challenges needing attention for the sake of mission in North America. The theme of the meeting was "Fully the Church in North America: What Does this Mean?"
Since 1990 the member churches of the LWF have understood that they are a "communion of churches" united in pulpit and altar fellowship, developing deeper commitments to one another.
The LWF regional office in North America, established in 1998, is based in Chicago. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) and the Baltic Lutheran churches in diaspora -- formed in exile while Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were under Communist rule -- are represented by that office.
Additional consultation participants came from Argentina's United Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Basel Christian Church of Malaysia and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cameroon. Representatives of the Anglican Church of Canada, Episcopal Church, USA and Moravian Church in America also attended.
"Isolation is contrary to the nature of the church," said the Rev. Ishmael Noko, LWF general secretary. Noko, a Zimbabwean theologian, resides in Geneva, Switzerland, where the LWF is based. "The existence of a Lutheran church as an end in itself or in isolation by choice is something which is in opposition to her nature and confessional stance," he said.
Noko traced the path from the 16th century Reformation in Germany to the LWF today. "From the Reformation onward, the majority of Lutheran churches were state churches," he said.
"Although the intention of the reformers was to reform the church within one catholic and apostolic church, each individual state church became more and more isolated from the rest. They were co-opted into the political systems, widening their isolation both geographically and spiritually. Except for limited private contacts, there were no official connections among Lutherans for a very long time," said Noko.
"The formation of the Lutheran World Federation should be understood partly as an attempt to step out of a traditional isolationism and, at the same time, an engagement in the worldwide responsibility," said Noko. "The Lutheran churches through the Lutheran World Federation have individually and cooperatively committed themselves to carry on doctrinal dialogues with other church families for the purpose of establishing full church fellowship for the sake of proclaiming in words and deeds the one gospel of Jesus Christ."
"It is also part of the nature of the church and the mission of the church to share in the sufferings and the struggles of humankind," said Noko, noting that the LWF will gather July 21-31, 2003, in Winnipeg for its 10th assembly, guided by the theme "For the Healing of the World." He asked participants to consider ways that the North American context could be used to explore that theme.
"The vision of communion cuts across the grain of how the church has been defined in North America," said the Rev. Karen L. Bloomquist, an ELCA pastor and director of the LWF Department for Theology and Studies. Too often the church is seen far more as a mirror of society than as "salt" within society, she said.
Creating spaces and occasions where people can meet face-to-face across boundaries that usually separate us makes it possible to address those issues which tend to keep people apart, said Bloomquist.
Participants visited local communities, both urban and rural, to learn how mission crosses the boundaries in relationships between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people, the farm crisis and the impact of globalization, ministry amidst poverty and affluence, and Lutheran-Anglican joint mission.
Participants recommended that similar opportunities be created for people to come together across such boundaries as national borders, denominations, gender, ethnicity and age to hear each other's stories and appreciate God's gifts in each other. Such encounters were suggested as appropriate ways for the LWF 10th Assembly in 2003 to address its theme, "For the Healing of the World."
Consultation participants described the gathering as one that enabled deeper exploration of communion issues in mission and expressed hope that such encounters would help the churches' understanding of the North American context for mission.
One issue the consultation identified was the size of the ELCA compared to the other Lutheran churches and the difficulties the ELCIC and Baltic diaspora churches find in sharing their gifts and concerns within the Lutheran communion in North America. In an attempt to address that issue, the ELCA and ELCIC had an equal number of participants in the consultation.
The consultation's findings and recommendations also noted that deepening relationships makes it possible to engage in common witness and service, and to make decisions in planning mission together.

Membership figures:
Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad 15,700
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 5,150,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada 191,000
Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 10,000
Lithuanian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Diaspora 5,000

* The Rev. Kenn Ward is editor of Canada Lutheran, the magazine of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html