Americas: Burghardt says ‘churches should be messengers of tangible hope’

LWF general secretary addresses Leadership Conference of the Americas 2025

The Leadership Conference of the Americas (COL) of the LWF brings together some 50 member church leaders from across the Americas for joint consultations, a time of meeting, and a time of celebrating communion in Jesus Christ – this year under the theme of ’Embodying the Word’.

Noting that the current conference takes place in Easter time, Burghardt reflected that it was precisely when they were empowered by the encounter of the resurrected Christ that “the disciples were ready to go out and share the Good News, to make the new creation visible—to embody, in and through their lives, the Word they have witnessed as loving, compassionate, and liberating.”

The COL this year is held in Guadalajara, Mexico on 13-16 May, hosted by the Mexican Lutheran Church (Iglesia Luterana Mexicana, ILM).

Characteristics of an incarnate theology

Reflecting on the theme of the conference, Burghardt outlined the characteristics of “a theology that is truly incarnate.”Church leaders gather under theme of ‘Embodying the Word’

Held under the theme ‘Embodying the Word’, the conference is hosted this year by the Mexican Lutheran Church – a Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member church since 1957 – and brings together leaders of churches and networks from Latin America, the Caribbean and North America.

LWF Regional Secretary for Latin America, the Caribbean and North America Rev. Sonia Skupch says the significance of coming together at this point in time should not be underestimated.

“In the context of so much division, of so many conflicts in the world, of really being in the midst of forces that are destroying and separating people, for people to say ‘we come together. We do that in this diversity which we live. We come together. We respect each other. We care for each other. We pray together. We reflect together. We celebrate.’ – I think it is both a service and a sign of hope in this time,” Skupch reflected.

An incarnate theology is contextual; is both personal and communal; embraces the whole of creation; speaks with a prophetic voice; and is compassionate and rooted in God’s mercy, she said.

“No one can be church alone and we cannot be truly human apart from others,” Burghardt emphasized, observing that an incarnate theology “reminds us that as human beings, we need pathways towards forgiveness and reconciliation, to make new beginnings possible.”

“Incarnate theology, however, becomes credible only when it is authentic, when words are translated into deeds,” she said.

Sharing hope in the current global context

Held annually, the COL serves as a significant space for strengthening communion relations among member churches of the LWF as a body where all the parts are interconnected to each other, and interdependent.

“In today’s world, where national self-interest and protectionism are often promoted as top priorities by populist politicians, the witness of the LWF can serve as an example of how to maintain an open identity,” Burghardt suggested.

”What stands at the center of the LWF Strategy, is ‘Hope’,” she said stressing that “the hope we have in mind is not a simplistic optimism – it is a hope that is eschatological, both in terms of the present and future. It is based on the faith in Jesus Christ who empowers us to be the messengers of the new creation; to be those who create ‘communities of hope’.”

Prophetic voice, inside and outside the church

Burghardt emphasized the importance of a prophetic voice, directed both inside and outside the church.

“God’s Word wants to be embodied in the world. Biblical prophets raised their voices against the tendencies and practices that hinder this embodiment, that distort the world and the relationships as God intended them to be,” she recalled.

Noting the myriad challenges currently facing people and communities around the globe, Burghardt said the task of the churches “is to acknowledge the problems that hinder the embodiment of the Word and run counter to the life in abundance as God wants to see it. Churches are called to talk about the root causes that lead to the developments that stand in the way of making the new creation visible.”

“Churches should be messengers of tangible hope,” she said.

Comfort and confidence in difficult times

Burghardt concluded with a reminder that “when chaos reigns and violence breaks out, our response as people, communities, and churches, matters deeply. We can mirror anger and fear, or we can embody another way which is shaped by peace, compassion, courage and mercy. That second way is the way of hope.”

“We are not living in easy times,” she noted, yet “it is today that we are called to serve the Lord and the neighbor; it is today that we are called to be messengers of hope, both in words and deeds. Hope is not the same as optimism. But true hope that is grounded in Jesus Christ can offer comfort and confidence even in the most trying times.”

“The world is longing for the witness of children of God, for authentic witness and embodiment of peace, justice, reconciliation and mercy. We are called to be part of this embodiment, everyone in their own context. This is what it means to be messengers of hope,” she said.