Representatives from LWF member churches in Latin America and the Caribbean and from North America gathered for a Leadership Conference of the Americas on 13-16 May 2025, held under the theme Embodying the Word. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
Lutheran church leaders compelled to transform realities of pain into hope
(LWI) – Gathered in Guadalajara, Mexico from 13-16 May, the Leadership Conference of the Americas brought together some 50 leaders this year from churches and networks in Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America, under the theme of “Embodying the Word”.
In a message adopted at the conclusion of the conference, participants recognized “the deep commitment to live and manifest God's message in our actions and testimonies,” saying this call “compels us to address the realities that cause pain in our region, to face the pain in which the Church is also immersed and to work together to transform these realities of pain into hope.”
The church leaders acknowledged the advance of authoritarian governments alongside extreme individualism, which they described as eroding “the tissue of the community and affect[ing] society, manifesting itself in the growing violation of human rights.”
“However, we find reason to renew our faith in community engagement,” their message reads, concluding that “The Word of God strengthens us and calls us to continue to embody its message in collective action. In every effort for justice, love and community building, we bear witness to the Kingdom of God, characterized by peace, equity and dignity for all.”
‘Embodying the Word’ a lived experience
In Guadalajara, the 50-or-so leaders of all ages, male and female, lay and ordained, listened to each other’s burdens, challenges and hopes, reflecting together on how Lutherans from across the American regions and beyond can help sustain each other’s witness to the Gospel in today’s world.
Rev. Katherine Gohm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, LWF vice president for North America, brought the perspective of intergenerational justice into the conversation – not least in view of the process mandated by the LWF Thirteenth Assembly – reflecting that against the backdrop of “alternative narratives filled with hate and division and violence… As we come together across generations, as we come together as member churches, we are embodying the witness to the world that we have a different story to share. It's a story of transformation and good news. And when we do that together, it's powerful.”
As we come together across generations, as member churches, we are embodying the witness to the world that we have a different story to share, of transformation and good news.
Rev. Katherine Gohm, LWF vice president for North America
LWF Council member Khadijah Islam of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, explained that the experience of journeying together as Lutherans across the Americas is all but insignificant.
“As the world around us starts to become more chaotic, being able to gather and recollect ourselves as a church and figuring out where our place is in the chaos of the world is calming and more peaceful, and makes me feel more prepared to go out and be a better witness in my own community, and to help others be witnesses in theirs,” she said.
Rodolfo Catunta Uturunco of the Bolivian Evangelical Lutheran Church, one of the coordinators of the LAC Youth Network, said he believes Lutheran churches have a particular role to play at this time, amid economic challenges and rapid political change.
Conversations across generations – here Atahualpa Hernández of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Colombia (right) and Angeles de León of the Mexican Lutheran Church (left). Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
Karla Steilmann of the Evangelical Church of the River Plate (left) distributes Holy Communion to Freddy Choque Rondo of the Bolivian Evangelical Lutheran Church (right) during closing worship of the COL 2025. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
“Lutheran churches across our regions are called to be peacebuilders in the midst of conflict, to be mediators and to find pathways of faith and hope and peace for all of our countries and regions,” he reflected.
Bringing into view the theme of the conference this year, President of the Bolivian Evangelical Lutheran Church Rev. Freddy Choque Rondo emphasized that “the Word is always the most important, preaching the Word, to people who need consolation, who need support, who need those words from God, who gives people the strength to continue living in hope in these difficult times.”
For Rev. Sandra Kurtzious-Vieira, President of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Guyana, who participated in her first COL, one conclusion was clear: “hope is what we desperately need in this world – not only in Guyana, not only in Mexico, not only in the USA – hope is what will take us forward.”
Hosted by the Mexican Lutheran Church, the Leadership Conference of the Americas 2025 brings together leaders of churches and networks from Latin America, the Caribbean and North America for joint consultations, a time of meeting, and a time of celebrating the communion in Jesus Christ.
