(left to right) Raquel Kleber and Marcelo Leites discuss possible joint initiatives during the Youth for Eco-Justice Meeting co-organized by the LWF in 2011 in South Africa. © WCC/LWF/W. Noack
May 2012 “green & just” – An Opportunity for Real Time Learning, Says Junge
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is inviting church leaders and congregation members in the Lutheran communion and ecumenical partners to participate in its first virtual conference on ecological justice under the motto “green&just.”
Interested participants from all parts of the world can now sign up for the 12 May 2012 Internet-based conference. During the conference, pastors, youth and women leaders and other church workers can listen in real time to keynote speeches and Bible studies on the connection of poverty eradication and care for creation.
Registered participants can choose from 16 webinars (Internet-based seminars) that offer perspectives on subjects such as the theological understanding of ecological justice, deforestation and afforestation, disaster preparedness, or preparation for the June 2012 Rio +20 United Nations Earth Summit focusing on a green economy and sustainable development.
The launching of the May conference will coincide with LWF Youth desk 2012 campaign of the “LWF together–the Earth needs you” initiative that first ran from May to October 2011. It linked groups of Lutheran youth around the globe in reflections on how their faith influences individual or community-based actions that promote care for God’s creation and environmental protection.
The “LWF Virtual Conference–green&just” will also offer participants from around the world a lounge area where they can meet each other and hold conversations on subjects of mutual interest.
“One of the key objectives of the LWF is to facilitate trans-contextual encounters between our member churches,” says LWF General Secretary Rev. Martin Junge. “With this virtual conference we are entering new ground by using a very small ecological footprint to make real time learning and conversation possible for a larger number of people.”
One of the resolutions from the July 2010 Eleventh Assembly was a call to all LWF member churches to consolidate and enhance their efforts to address the impacts of climate change on development and poverty particularly for vulnerable communities. “And online initiatives such as the virtual conference are needed in order to give greater recognition to issues that have devastating impact mainly on marginalized communities throughout the world,” affirms the general secretary.
Registration for the conference is free of charge. The technical requirements are a computer with Internet connection and standard Internet software. Access is also possible for mobile devices with Internet connection.
LWF member churches who do not have adequate Internet connection can apply for a small grant to facilitate participation. The virtual conference starts at 11.00 GMT and ends at 19.00 GMT on Saturday 12 May 2012. Participants can join at their respective time zones.
(448 words)
