Rev. Gloria Rojas, Rev. Patricia Cuyatti and Bishop Eduardo MartÃnez. Photo: Adriana Castañeda
Churches witnessing their faith in society
(LWI) – Representatives of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) churches in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region, meeting in Mexico City, agreed to strengthen their efforts in educating leaders for mission and advocating for vulnerable and marginalized people in their societies.
Sixty-one LAC leaders attended the event, from 7-11 April, which explored the notion of “God's Transformative Action in Areas of Theological Formation,” and focused on practical theology, hermeneutics from a gender perspective, and the role of theology in the ecumenical and inter-religious world.
“We call the LWF member churches in our region to engage and facilitate that more women find access to graduate studies and teaching positions in the centers of theological formation. We celebrate that the Young Lutheran Network in Latin America and the Caribbean has assumed the challenge of strengthening youth work in the Lutheran churches in the region and globally,” the member churches stated in a message from the conference.
“We recognize the effort of churches that have opened doors to work in the HIV ministry; however, we are concerned with the silence before the increase in diagnoses among young and young adult populations,” they noted.
The church leaders highlighted their commitment “to study and put in practice the LWF Gender Justice Policy as a transversal theme in all activities and actions of our churches.”
They also acknowledged progress made in promoting cooperation among member churches through the Sustainability of the Churches and Advocacy on Illegitimate Debt and Ecological Justice programs.
“As a Lutheran communion we approach the 500 centenary of the Lutheran Reformation in the year 2017, and more than a celebration, we want to commemorate it in the understanding that we are freed in Christ and by God's grace to work together for a peaceful, just, and reconciled world,” the LAC leaders stated in their message.
“We are thankful for the reconciliation, reunification and reconstitution work that our sister churches; (the) Peruvian Lutheran Evangelical Church, Evangelic Lutheran Church in Venezuela, Lutheran Church in Chile, and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile are carrying out, and we invite you to ask the blessing of our God on them.”
The annual leadership conference was organized by the LWF Department for Mission and Development (DMD) LAC desk in collaboration with the Mexican Lutheran Church.
“There is a lot of commitment in the LAC member churches. The leadership platform is supporting the different networks where people engage regionally, agree on actions, and develop them locally. Encouragement among participants to live their Lutheran faith in their societies implies a journey that engages in serving the neighbour through diaconal work, practicing inclusion, and humbly supporting, counselling, and walking the journey accompanied as sister churches,” said Rev. Patricia Cuyatti, DMD area secretary for LAC after the conference.
