Youth in LWF’s member churches are invited to apply for the 2024 Peace Messengers training program. The deadline for submitting applications is 10 March.
Participants in the 2022 Peace Messengers training, with LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt and other staff at the Ecumenical Center in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo: LWF/S. Gallay
10 March deadline to submit applications for next training in Cambodia
(LWI) – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has invited youth in its member churches to apply for the 2024 global training under the Peace Messengers program. The deadline for submitting applications is 10 March, and those interested must be aged 18-30 years.
In a letter to its member churches, specifying requirements for consideration into the annual program, the LWF encourages especially those who are already part of its Global Young Reformers network or experienced in the youth ministry at regional and global levels.
“It is encouraging to see how this youth-driven initiative is multiplying hope by promoting peace in different global contexts,” said Savanna Sullivan, LWF Program Executive for Youth.
It is encouraging to see how this youth-driven initiative is multiplying hope by promoting peace in different global contexts.
– Savanna Sullivan, LWF Program Executive for Youth
Empowering young people
Held annually since 2017, the training is aimed at empowering young people in LWF’s member churches with the necessary skills and connecting them to networks that strengthen their capacity as peace multipliers within and beyond their communities. It is in line with LWF’s vision of creating more peaceful and just societies. This year’s training will take place, 1-6 May, in Phnom Penh, in collaboration with the Lutheran Church of Cambodia.
The training comprises three components: skills building with theological perspectives, communication and conflict resolution; sharing experiences from participants’ local contexts; and conversations with leaders of other generations about building peace in their communities.
Applicants must be endorsed by their national church office. Each participant is required to initiate a small-scale project locally, with LWF’s support.
More than 70 youth from over 30 LWF member churches have taken part in the peace messenger trainings. In turn, they have locally trained many more young people, increasing the number of people who have gained these skills. By the end of 2023, several small-scale projects implemented by participants in the program in countries from Brazil to Sweden to Cameroon have led to hundreds of youth in LWF’s member churches being trained as Peace Messengers.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9), is the overarching theme of the training program. Sullivan emphasized the responsibility of youth in taking the lead in modeling and sharing what it means to make peace in their churches and wider communities.
“Peace Messengers have returned home with passion and creativity – starting peacebuilding youth camps, ecumenical dialogues, and intergenerational days of service to name just a few. We are looking forward to the next training, and to witnessing the impact of the new peace projects that will be started by the leaders who will gather in Cambodia.”
