The second and final meeting by the study group on “Strengthening Participation and Dialogue - Lutheran Engagement in the Public Space” takes place in February.

The seven study group members, each representing a LWF region, were appointed by the LWF Meeting of Officers in 2014. They were tasked with drafting a LWF position paper on Lutheran engagement in the public space, which they will present for approval at the LWF Council in June 2016.

It is proposed the document will:

•Describe and analyse challenges and opportunities, with regard to faith and the public sphere (role of religious communities in society and their relation to the state, relationship between religious communities, response to injustice and conflict locally and globally)

•Offer theological insights: Biblical perspectives and Lutheran insights during the Reformation

•Examine learning processes of Lutherans in complex realities (different contexts, historical and contemporary contexts), in terms of the role of religious communities in society

•Describe the Lutheran vision of plural societies today and tomorrow. What are the principles and what is the point of orientation that shapes our vision for our societies? 

•Study areas of Lutheran engagement locally and globally today: concrete examples from Lutheran churches and LWF programs

First engagement meeting