Part 1: The Tenth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation Tenth Assembly Study Book 5 6 The Lutheran World Federation A. The Theme: “For the Healing of the World” Why does the Lutheran ality. We must be able to touch, hear, communion of churches taste and experience this reality first hand. In self-giving love, God became in- gather in Assembly? carnate in a human being. Similarly, the communion we share with one another Why should we gather from around the must become incarnate in very human, world to meet together in an Assembly? face-to-face kinds of communication and There are reasons prescribed in the LWF interaction that enrich, test and deepen Constitution, such as electing officers and what it truly means to be a communion. members of the Council and acting on re- Although there are many ways in ports. The business we will be about at which we can communicate today, they the Assembly will be important for deter- all fall short of the importance of gather- mining the future leadership and direc- ing with one another, at the same time, tion of our work as the LWF. But beyond in the same place, as flesh and blood these required constitutional matters are creatures. As we are present with one some deeply theological reasons for why another, we realize who our sisters and we assemble together. brothers in Christ actually are, and our The church (ecclesia)—as the people generalizations are challenged. In living of God, the body of Christ and the and working with one another over sev- temple of the Holy Spirit—is by nature eral days, we realize our significantly dif- an “assembly.” The Assembly of the ferent situations and perceptions, as LWF enables churches to worship, wit- well as what we have in common. ness, confer and speak together on mat- Through God’s grace, we begin to share ters common to the whole church, and our pains and joys, our burdens and to express their unity as part of the one, gifts, and in that process, to gain a universal, new community in Christ. deeper sense of what occurs through The LWF understands itself today as the Holy Communion: being more than a loosely affiliated fed- eration of churches: we are a communion …through the interchange of Christ’s of Lutheran churches united through blessings and our misfortunes, we be- Word and sacrament. This holds us to- come one loaf, one bread, one body, one gether in a more profound way than any drink, and have all things in common… In constitutional requirements. Whenever this way we are changed into one another and wherever we gather in local congre- and are made into a community of love.2 gations to hear the Word and celebrate the sacraments, we are reminded that Here we receive the promise, a fore- we do so as part of the worldwide com- taste of God’s communion with the munion of saints. The Word and sacra- whole of creation in the coming reign of ments bear witness to the triune God’s God. This coming together in Christ, self-communication to us, creating com- through the power of the Holy Spirit, munion with God and with one another.1 has important, ongoing consequences This wider communion must become for our life together as churches for us more than an abstract, faceless re- throughout the world. Tenth Assembly Study Book 7 God’s self-giving which constitutes com- • Address spiritual, social and envi- munion with God in faith, seeks expres- ronmental challenges provoked es- sion in forms of mutual sharing in both its pecially by economic globalization. spiritual and material aspects.3 This triune God also sends us out for the A theme in continuity sake of God’s mission in the world. Attend- with previous ing to what that mission means “for the healing of the world” is a central reason assemblies why member churches of the LWF will be assembling at Winnipeg. Held together by Although “healing” may not appear in the the power of God’s Spirit, we are able to themes of other assemblies, the need for speak honestly about the challenges we healing was implicit in many of them.4 At face, and to discern, debate and decide the First Assembly in 1947, meeting in how these will be addressed through our Lund, Sweden under the theme, “The ongoing work as a communion. Lutheran Church in the World Today,” member churches were determined to How will we bear faithful witness in word and deed “for forgive and move beyond their images of those who had been enemies. They com- the healing of the world”? How will we address the mitted themselves to live and work to- tensions and problems we face within our churches and gether as a federation for healing in the societies? How can this Lutheran communion of churches, world, especially on behalf of those who as part of the wider church, further God’s all-encompass- cried out, “we are bleeding.” In the face of ing mission in and for the sake of the world? competing loyalties, the LWF sought to develop and maintain a clear confessional The LWF Council has specified integrity and to translate this into meet- these purposes specific to the Tenth ing the post-World War II needs, espe- Assembly: cially in Europe. The Second Assembly met in 1952 in • Explore ways to be God’s instru- Hanover, Germany, a city ravaged by war ments for healing, justice and rec- and overshadowed by the East/West onciliation in the midst of broken- split. Meeting under the theme, “The Liv- ness in church and society. ing Word in a Responsible Church,” a responsible engagement with society was • Deepen the understanding and ex- emphasized in order to rectify previous perience of the Lutheran commun- Lutheran quietism on political questions. ion by addressing differences and A department of theology was estab- disparities among us and by shar- lished, along with departments focused ing our gifts. on world service and on mission, under- lining the importance of common work in • Commit to closer and deeper co- these areas. Although still mostly Euro- operation within the ecumenical pean and North American, other parts of movement and to life in commun- the world began to be represented in ion as given in Christ. their own right, along with the first laity to serve on the Executive Committee. • Discern the challenges posed to The only previous Assembly to meet Lutheran churches in today’s in North America was the Third Assem- multicultural and multi-faith con- bly (1957) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. texts. Churches gathered under the theme, 8 The Lutheran World Federation “Christ Frees and Unites,” at a time when many Lutheran churches were ex- periencing repression under Commu- nism and, especially in Africa, were struggling to overcome colonialism. In the United States, churches were grow- ing, and the civil rights movement was beginning. Implicit in these contextual re- alities was the need for healing of the past. Confessional theological work was given significant attention, along with the public witness of Lutheran churches in the world. Various theses were adopted and passed on to member churches. More church representatives from countries of the South were present when the Fourth Assembly met in 1963 in Helsinki, Finland, under the theme “Christ Today.” In view of the new dawn- South, and 25 percent were women. The ing of ecumenism with Vatican II, an LWF bold, historic decision was made to de- Foundation for Interconfessional Re- clare that a status confessionis situation ex- search was established. The major focus isted when, under the South African apart- at this Assembly was the doctrine of jus- heid system, a church excluded from tification, but agreement on its contem- membership on the basis of race. Root porary meaning could not be reached. causes of injustice were given attention, in Faced with controversy over the de- quest of healing in society and “reconciled cision not to go to Brazil in 1970 because diversity,” for the sake of healing divisions of the political situation there, the Fifth in the church. Assembly met instead in Evian, France, Meeting for the first time in a Com- under the theme, “Sent into the World.” munist-ruled country, in Budapest, Hun- Once again, “the world” figured promi- gary under the theme, “In Christ—Hope nently in this theme, along with the con- for the World,” the Seventh Assembly in viction that the church cannot remain 1984 took the subsequent solemn action separate from a world of conflictual poli- of suspending from the LWF two white tics. Although some concern was ex- South African churches. It also sought to pressed that in addressing socio-ethical heal the painful legacy of the relation- issues the theological accent might be- ship between Lutheran churches and come obscured, strong stances were the Jewish people, the legacy of exclud- taken on human rights and other social ing women from being full partners in issues for the sake of the healing of the the church, and continued the concern world into which the church is sent. for healing divisions in the church New commitments were made to include through ecumenical pursuits. more fully churches of the South as well The 1990 Eighth Assembly in Curitiba, as women and youth in decision making. Brazil, shifted to a theme that resembles In 1977 the Sixth Assembly met for the the 2003 theme. Under the Exodus-based first time in the South, in Dar es Salaam, theme, “I Have Heard the Cry of My Tanzania, under the theme, “In Christ—A People,” the Assembly focused on situa- New Community.” By now, 40 percent of tions of political and economic oppres- the delegates were from churches of the sion around the world, and called for ac- Tenth Assembly Study Book 9 tion in solidarity with people and the rest and economic differences; under- of creation in their suffering.