Addressing challenges to the churches’ call to serve, share and stand for justice 

LWF’s member churches are united in the calling to proclaim the gospel and serve the neighbor through diaconal acts and advocacy.

The workshop of church social service work (diakonia) practitioners in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) will address some of the contemporary challenges for Lutheran churches in the region. Participants will explore how the churches’ work gives witness to the biblical concepts of justice and human dignity amid growing inequality and diversity.

It is a space for mutual learning, with participants’ own experiences expected to strengthen networking among churches and partner organizations.

The 39 participants represent 14 LWF member churches in LAC. The Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil will host the workshop in collaboration with LWF Communion Office.

Celebrating seven decades of Lutheran witness

75 photos, one from each year, offer glimpses into the rich history and work of the LWF.

Join us for the launch of the book “In Communion – 75 years of The Lutheran World Federation.” Through 75 photographs, one from every year since the LWF was founded in 1947, the book offers glimpses into the rich history of the LWF and its witness for justice, peace, and reconciliation.

The book launch will take place at the Ecumenical Center in Geneva and will be live streamed for those who want to follow online.

• If you intend to attend in person, kindly RSVP Laura Marienfeld 
• Follow the livestream online.

After the launch, the photobook will be available online.

Celebrating the 500th Year of Luther’s New Testament Translation

This is the second of four webinars that LWF is hosting to mark the 2022 Bible Year.

Two biblical scholars will discuss the cultural and theological impact of Martin Luther’s New Testament translation and how the work of Bible translation impacts the community of faith today.

• Rev. Ángela del Consuelo Trejo Haager, theologian and pastor in the Mexican Lutheran Church (ILM) and the coordinator of Augsburg Lutheran Seminary in Mexico where she is also a professor of Bible and gender theology.
• Prof Dr Jerzy Sojka, Chair of Historical Theology, Christian Theological Academy in Warsaw, Poland

Host

• Rev. Szabolcs Nagy, Consultant project “Bible Year 2022”

Strengthening faith actors engagement

We recognize the urgency to strengthen faith actors’ engagement with gender justice and women’s human rights mechanisms and platforms at the local, regional and global levels.

This training will enhance the effectiveness of mechanisms like the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Universal Periodic Reviews (UPR) by connecting these efforts with the annual UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the Generation Equality Action Coalitions and other local and regional gender justice processes.

The training also offers participants an important networking opportunity and a chance to meet with CEDAW commissioners and Geneva-based government representatives.

November meeting

The Executive Committee is one of the governing bodies of the LWF. It oversees the proper functioning of the LWF between Council meetings. The Executive Committee shall normally meet semiannually, with one meeting in conjunction with the Council meeting. 

More information:

• Executive Committee

People of faith preparing for COP27

At the beginning of COP27, LWF, as part of the Interfaith Liaison Committee to the UNFCCC, invites persons interested in climate justice and interfaith dialogue to an informal interfaith gathering in the spirit of Talanoa dialogue.  

This gathering serves as a platform for faith communities attending COP27 to share their initiatives, concerns, and hopes in their work for climate justice under a Talanoa dialogue framework.  

Talanoa dialogues are indigenous peoples from Fiji’s way of solving problems in their communities, and the Fijian Presidency of COP23 introduced the concept to work on the most challenging issues. The methodology of the Talanoa dialogue leads participants to address the following questions:   

• Where are we?  
• Where do we want to go?  
• How do we get there?  

This event will introduce an opening panel that will expose the different topics available for conversation, followed by small-group Talanoa dialogues where participants will be able to exchange perspectives and thoughts. This will be followed by an interfaith spiritual service and a light shared meal for those attending in person.

• Register for in-person attendance in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt
• The plenary will be live-streamed on YouTube
• The interfaith service will be live-streamed on YouTube
• To also participate in small-group discussions, please register on Zoom

Listen to the Voice of Creation

Every year, from 1 September to 4 October, Lutherans join many Christians all over the world to observe the Season of Creation. This year its theme is “Listen to the Voice of Creation”.

An ecumenical closing event, organized by the Season of Creation Ecumenical Youth Committee, takes place online on 4 October.

• Join on YouTube

After a keynote address by the LWF President and the opening speech of General Secretary, the church representatives will discuss common opportunities and challenges ahead.

In view of the ongoing war in Ukraine, much space will be devoted to the role of churches in peacebuilding and reconciliation.

Participants will also discuss preparations for the Thirteenth Assembly in Krakow, which will be held in CEE for the second time in the history of the LWF.

An information session on important processes within the LWF will be as much part of this meeting as a time for church leaders to pray together. 

Translating the Bible: Celebrating the 500th Year of Luther’s Translation

Two biblical scholars will discuss the cultural and theological impact of Martin Luther’s New Testament translation and how the work of Bible translation impacts the community of faith today.

Theologian Rev. Dr Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, Associate Pastor at Tokyo Lutheran Church and visiting professor for the Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg and Theologian Rev. Dr Jean Koulagna, director of the Institut oecuménique de théologie Al Mowafaqa in Rabat, Morocco will be guest speakers in the 2022 Bible Year anniversary series.

Host

• Rev. Szabolcs Nagy, Consultant project “Bible Year 2022”

Church representatives of the region will discuss common opportunities and challenges.

After a keynote address by the LWF General Secretary, the church representatives will discuss common opportunities and challenges ahead. An information session on important processes within the LWF will be as much part of this meeting as a time for church leaders to pray together.

Participants will join the German National Committee of The Lutheran World Federation (GNC/LWF) celebrating its 75th anniversary at Wartburg Castle.