For Hope and a Future

This year’s Global Leadership Team Meeting will focus on the new LWF World Service Strategy. Seeing the high number of conflicts, often exacerbated by natural disaster worldwide, discussions will center around how to best serve people in need. 

“Abound in Hope” (Rom. 15:13)

The Lutheran World Federation's annual governance meeting takes place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 13-18 June 2024.

On 12 June the LWF Executive Committee will meet and Pre-Council meetings for youth, women, and men will take place.

The LWF Council meets once a year and is responsible for LWF business between Assemblies. It consists of:

• the President
• the Chairperson of the Finance Committee
• 48 lay or ordained people, from LWF member churches in seven regions.

Members of this Council were appointed at the Thirteen Assembly in 2023.

“Dot not be afraid, I bring you good news!” (Luke 2:10-11)

Hosted by the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil (IELCB), which is celebrating “200 years of Lutheran presence” this year, the Leadership Conference of the Americas (COL) will bring together church leaders, women and youth from LWF member churches in Latin America and the Caribbean and North America.

COL will explore the following themes:

• The relationship of fear and hope in the Bible
• God’s promise and God’s covenant with his people in our times
• The contribution of Lutheran theology
• Our churches as spaces where fear gives way to hope.
• Our churches as heralds of Good News

Youth and women from the regions will meet on 14 April where they will share their views and perspectives on the theme.

Visits to the training institute Faculdades EST and the Gender and Religion Program (Programa de Género y Religión) of its Sustainability Institute (InS) are also part of the agenda.

Leadership and Episcopal Ministry in the LWF Communion

The LWF invites newly elected church leaders - Bishops, Pastor Presidents - in its member churches to its annual Retreat of Newly Elected Leaders (RoNEL). 

Participants explore and reflect together on the understanding of leadership, share insights of how it is practiced across the communion, and deliberate on being leaders in the Lutheran communion. 

The retreat is a space where church leaders can: 

• strengthen relationships among themselves 
• connect and support each other 
• contribute through mutual learning and sharing of experiences 
• enhance understanding of the LWF Communion Office as a resource for the member churches 
• share in daily worship and prayer 

The LWF Department for Theology, Mission and Justice coordinates the program in close collaboration with the Office of the General Secretary and the LWF Center in Wittenberg, Germany. 

Locations:

• 19 to 23 November - GENEVA, Switzerland
• 24 to 27 November - WITTENBERG, Germany

The LWF Council meets once a year and is responsible for LWF business between Assemblies. It consists of: 

• the President 
• the Chairperson of the Finance Committee 
• 48 lay or ordained people, from LWF member churches in seven regions. 

Members of this Council were appointed at the 2017 Twelfth Assembly. 

The Executive Committee is one of the governing bodies of the LWF. It oversees the proper functioning of the LWF between Council meetings. The Executive Committee shall normally meet semiannually, with one meeting in conjunction with the Council meeting.

Preparing for the Thirteenth Assembly in Krakow 

This inaugural Pre-Assembly will provide the time and space for Assembly Delegates who are men to share their experiences of their Regional Pre-assemblies, explore how they resonate with the theme “One Body, One Spirit, One Hope”, and equip themselves for its practical application as they contribute to shaping societies in their contexts. 

The men’s Pre-Assembly will also consider how they can ensure a common understanding of the Gender Justice Policy with active involvement of men in the life of church and society, being cognizant of its impact. 

Emanating from these shared experiences, the men will develop and design a message reflective of the pulse of the discussion for presentation to the Thirteenth Assembly. 

The Men’s Pre-Assembly is a vital new initiative that will further nurture our commitment in engaging the men of our Lutheran Communion, in inspiring new ways.