Members of the LWF Committee for Member Church Projects and LWF staff in São Leopoldo, Brazil. Photo: LWF
LWF Committee underlines learning from good practices as it approves new projects
(LWI) – How can projects by local churches become spaces for sharing and learning across the Lutheran communion? What methodologies should be put in place to transfer experiences and good practices from one church or region to another?
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Committee for Member Church Projects reflected on these questions at its meeting in São Leopoldo, Brazil, where it approved 18 new projects for the 2027-2029 period, and discussed the future direction of such initiatives.
Supported by its member churches and partner organizations, the LWF currently accompanies 61 projects that respond to the local needs of churches and communities in 40 countries around the world. “These are not just activities in a catalogue, but expressions of relationships,” committee members noted. “They build trust and a sense of togetherness, expressing solidarity between the member churches and the wider Lutheran communion.”
The committee chairperson, Bishop emeritus Atahualpa Hernández Miranda, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia, emphasized the potential of learning across churches in the LWF. “I see great creativity and a deep commitment to transforming our realities. Above all, I see a shared mission to express the hope that drives our journey as Lutheran churches in concrete ways,” he said.
The opportunity to reflect on the future of the Member Church Projects program means that “our communion is a living expression that goes far beyond global meetings,” he noted. “It takes on a concrete face in the fellowship and solidarity expressed through the implementation of projects in each country,” he added.
I see a shared mission to express the hope that drives our journey as Lutheran churches in concrete ways
Bishop emeritus Atahualpa Hernández Miranda, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia
Peacebuilding, strengthening livelihoods, and sustainability
The ongoing and approved projects illustrate similar needs and response across all LWF regions. In Myanmar, the Mara Evangelical Lutheran Church will strengthen livelihoods by supporting cultivation of a high-value climate resilient coffee variety and community development in isolated regions that experience recurring drought, landslides, and food shortages.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Gambia seeks to promote peace and social cohesion in a new initiative addressing widespread human rights abuses during the country’s past authoritarian regime. The LWF affiliated church will prioritize grassroots reconciliation, dialogue and healing to facilitate rehabilitation and integration of victims, survivors, enablers and perpetrators of witch hunts, forced labor, arbitrary arrests, torture, and sexual violence.
Inspired by the LWF Thirteenth Assembly theme, “One Body, One Spirit, One Hope,” young people in LWF member churches in Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia have initiated dialogue and peacebuilding activities to address inherited stereotypes and polarization linked to the 1990s Balkans conflicts. They will convene annual international gatherings and produce educational materials including short videos to promote awareness about inclusion and alternative narratives rooted in cooperation.
In Latin America, there are several initiatives that focus on more sustainable churches. The Bolivian Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church of Peru are initiating training and other activities to strengthen governance, and congregational leadership.
From Brazil, participants had an opportunity to hear from the Lutheran Foundation of Diakonia about the “Not So Sweet Home” exhibition, an experience that could be shared with the wider Lutheran communion. The traveling exhibition addresses prevention of domestic violence and femicide, including safe spaces for survivors, small project grants, and awareness raising workshops. It is part of an LWF-supported project of the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil (IECLB).
The committee members reflected on the future direction of projects run by local churches. Photo: LWF
Cibele Kuss, executive director of the Lutheran Foundation of Diakonia, presents the work of the IECLB organization. Photo: LWF
Sharing gifts in the communion
The in-person meeting had a strong focus on shaping the future of projects, noted Rebekka Meissner, LWF Program Executive for Diakonia and Member Churches Projects. “It was encouraging to listen to the insights on church needs in the different regions, the potential for projects to be relevant beyond their own contexts, and the many meaningful ways of continuing to share hope,” she noted.
Meissner summed up the spirit of discussions at the meeting by referring to former LWF President, Tanzanian Bishop Josiah Kibira, and his vision of the LWF, that: “There is no church, so big and so rich, that it wouldn’t depend on the gifts of others; there is no church so small and so poor it wouldn’t be able to enrich others.”
Other committee members at the 23-26 April meeting were: Ms Bettina Westfeld, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony; Rev. Veronica Pålsson, Church of Sweden, Bishop emeritus Dr Tamás Fabiny, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary; Bishop Steven Lawrence, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia; Ms Pauline Dasse, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Oberkirchenrätin Astrid Kleist, General Secretary of the LWF German National Committee. Also joining from the LWF were: Rev. Dr Sivin Kit, Director, Department for Theology, Mission and Justice; Rev. Sonia Skupch, Regional Secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean and North America; and Yann Bovey, Program Support Officer for Diakonia and Development.
