Council members make their way to the new LWF Communion Office in Geneva. Photo: LWF/A. Hillert
LWF leadership visits new Communion Office for inaugural prayer of thanksgiving and blessing
(LWI) - A hub for world Lutheranism. A place of gospel welcome. A space to continue journeying together with ecumenical partners. Staff of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Communion Office in Geneva welcomed President Henrik Stubkjær and Council members to their new premises on 17 June for an inaugural prayer of thanksgiving and blessing for the work of the global communion of churches.
In March, the LWF's head office moved from the Ecumenical Center where it had been located since 1964 into the modern Octagon campus close to Geneva airport. Most of the Ecumenical Center will be rebuilt, while the old chapel and main hall, which enjoy preserved building status, will be incorporated into a new, eco-friendly development.
Staff of the LWF Communion office welcome President Henrik Stubkjær and Council members to the new premises near Geneva airport. Photo: LWF/A. Hillert
In a short greeting to the president and Council members, General Secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt said she was confident that the new premises would be a welcoming space and that cooperation would continue with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and many other Christian partners who were previously located at the Ecumenical Center.
Ecumenical partnerships continue
Speaking on behalf of the WCC, Rev. Dr Kuzipa Nalwamba, Program Director for Unity, Mission and Ecumenical Formation, said that after 60 years of sharing the same space, “our journey together in Christ continues” for the sake of spreading the good news of the gospel. The “deep-rooted mutual recognition” and cooperation between the LWF and WCC continues, she added, so that “we need not do alone, what we can do together.”
Council member and Church of Sweden pastor Rev. Veronica Pålsson leads prayers of thanksgiving and blessing for the new Communion Office. Photo: LWF/A. Hillert
Another longtime partner, Dr Christoph Stückelberger, founder and president of Globethics, also gave greetings to the Council members, while Rev. Veronica Pålsson, a young Church of Sweden pastor and Council member, led prayers of thanksgiving and blessing for the work of the Communion Office.
President Stubkjær described the head office as “a hub for world Lutheranism which, through the decades, has brought people together from across the whole world.” He said the open-plan layout of the new office recalls one of the LWF’s core values of transparency and accountability.
Stubkjær schloss mit dem Gebet, dass President Stubkjær described the head office as “a hub for world Lutheranism which, through the decades, has brought people together from across the whole world.” He said the open-plan layout of the new office recalls one of the LWF’s core values of transparency and accountability.das neue Büro „weiterhin neue Ideen hervorbringen und eine starke Zusammenarbeit fördern“ möge, um „Hoffnung zu teilen und die Mitgliedskirchen zu bestärken“.
Council members visit the new Communion offices. Photo: LWF/A. Hillert
