CHICAGO (ELCA) -- North American Lutheran Churches will be heavily involved in the 10th Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), in Winnipeg, Canada, July 21-31, 2003. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) will host the assembly.
Prior to and after the assembly, the ELCIC and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will also host visitors and delegates as part of the LWF 2003 Pre/Post Assembly Visitation Program.
ELCIC will be responsible for the pre-assembly visitation program, taking place in Canada July 14-20, 2003, and the ELCA will host the post-assembly visitation program Aug. 1-10, 2003.
Speaking at the ELCA Conference of Bishops, which met here Oct. 3- 8, the regional officer for LWF North America, Kathy J. Magnus, asked the bishops to fully support the LWF Assembly, the visitation program and the ELCIC. The ELCA Conference of Bishops is an advisory body to the church, consisting of the church's 65 synod bishops, presiding bishop and secretary.
"This is a rare opportunity for North American Lutherans to connect with their global brothers and sisters. It will no doubt be decades before the assembly is once again held in North America," said Magnus.
This is the second time that an LWF assembly is being held on North American soil. The first was in 1957 in Minneapolis. Nearly 500 international delegates are expected to attend the 2003 Assembly. The LWF Assembly enables churches to worship, witness, confer and speak together on matters common to the whole church and to express their unity as part of the one, universal, new community in Christ, said Magnus.
The visitation program will run under the assembly theme "For the Healing of the World."
"The program is aimed at giving international guests to Canada and the United States an opportunity to link with a ministry organization and gives Lutherans in North America a chance to learn about LWF through interacting, engaging and sharing experiences of life and ministry," said the Rev. Kevin L. Jacobson, associate director for global education, ELCA Division for Global Mission, in an interview.
For the pre-assembly visitation program in Canada, 11 sites have been chosen and for the post-assembly visitation program in the United States, 36 sites have been identified. "We expect close to 400 people to visit the sites," said Jacobson.
Before the Assembly, pre-assembly regional consultations will take place throughout the five regions of the LWF, namely Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America. Each region will discuss crucial issues related to its situation, future witness and work. The pre-assembly consultation for North America will take place Jan. 23-26, 2003, in Denver.
The international pre-assembly youth consultation is scheduled for July 12-18, 2003, in Canada, and a women's consultation will take place in Montreux, Switzerland Nov. 14-17, 2002. -- -- -- Information about the LWF Assembly in Winnepeg can be found at http://www.lwf-assembly.org on the LWF Web site.
*Diana Mavunduse is a communicator with the World Council of
Churches, Geneva, Switzerland. This fall she is serving as a volunteer
with the ELCA News Service.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
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Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
