Africa Lutheran Communion

The recently retired President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Walter Cardinal Kasper, said yesterday while addressing the LWF Assembly that he felt “deep emotion and gratitude” looking back on “these years of such rich and enriching cooperation with the Lutheran World Federation.”

He noted that “Lutheran-Catholic relations have been since the beginning of our international dialogue … in my heart and will remain in my heart.”

Referring to his recent book about the ecumenical movement, Harvesting the Fruits,

Kasper said, “I was more than surprised to see such a rich harvest and that we have achieved much more than we could even dream before. There has been no ecumenical winter.”

He said that the 1999 signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification was “a milestone of the ecumenical movement.” and paid tribute to LWF President Bishop Mark S. Hanson and LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko as “good friends” of Lutheran-Roman Catholic relationships.

He however remarked that the ecumenical agenda is still unfinished. “We have every reason to continue and even to intensify and deepen our dialogues,” the Cardinal said. Referring to the Assembly theme, “Give Us Today Our Daily Bread,” he said that the millions of people who lack daily bread are “our common responsibility,” and that Lutherans and Roman Catholics “can no longer afford our differences” when it comes to helping people in need.

“Our dialogues must continue,” he said, “but at the same time we have to reflect on how to engage more in common cultural, social and environmental projects.”

The cardinal retired as President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity on 1 July this year.

The LWF Council during its meeting in Stuttgart, has approved the admission of five new churches into its fold. The new churches which are all from Asia is significant in the life of the communion.

Three of the new churches are from Myanmar : the Lutheran Church of Myanmar, founded in 1995 with 1,620 members; the Myanmar Lutheran Church , founded in 1998, with 2,150 members; and The Mara Evangelical Church, founded in 1984, with 21,573 members.

Also joining the LWF membership were the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in India , founded in 2007, with 15,400 members; and the Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church of Nepal, established in 1943, with 676 members.

The five new churches bring the number of LWF member churches to 145 in 79 countries. LWF member churches now have a combined membership of 70.1 million (70,094,735).

Leaders of organisations in the Ecumenical world have identified with the cause of the LWF Eleventh Assembly. Those who brought greetings include the General Secretary of the World Cpouncil of Churches, Dr. Olav Tveit.

In his address, he emphasised that the Lutheran insistence on the fact "that we are one because we are sharing the one and same Christ, because we receive the same gift" is something the ecumenical movement needs now "more than ever".

Tveit offered thanks for the contribution of the Lutheran churches to the fellowship of the WCC "both today and in decades past" and highlighted some of the many gifts received from the Lutheran communion. "You are known for your commitment to peace with justice, to mission, diakonia and to ecumenical dialogue and inter-religious cooperation. Let it be so also in the future", he said.

The theme of the Assembly "touches the heart of the gospel and therefore also the heart of our being one in Christ", Tveit said. "When we pray for daily bread", he added, "we acknowledge the body of Christ, the bread of life, given for our salvation, and we experience the hunger of justice that calls us into communion for actions of sharing".

The WCC general secretary acknowledged that "there are several reasons given for why churches are not fully sharing the one bread in the eucharist". However, Tveit added, "in the light of your theme and the affirmation of the one bread, there are even more important theological and moral reasons why we continue to do anything we can do to come to the same table and have a common sharing of the one bread

The opening worship of the Eleventh Assembly of the LWF marked the initial meeting of the 2010 world-wide gathering and welcomed the participants as well as the general public to Stuttgart. As part of the greetings and opening remarks, the LWF President made specific reference to the previous Assembly in Winnipeg in 2003 and tried to build a bridge between the two. The Eleventh Assembly meets under the themeof the Fourth Petition of the Lord's Prayer: "Give us today our daily bread".

The bible texts for the worship came from the book of Ruth in the Old Testament and the Gospel story of the feeding of the five thousand (Luke 9:10-17). The liturgy employed rich imagery from the story of Ruth-the main bibliical "sojourner" in the opening worship-as well as from situations in the world's context of social upheaval and migration. He used the loyalty of Ruth to challenge the worshippers to become and be one, while the actions and words of Jesus inspire and empower the faithful to feed the hungry, to work for justice and to strive to ensure the dignity of all.

The worship setting of the Stiftskirche, the uplifting music of the organ, brass ensemble, and choirs, and the voices of the worshippers all combined to give the event a great atmosphere.