Participants at a joint Pre-Council session of women, men and youth. Photo: LWF/A. Hillert
Meetings for women, men and young people convene ahead of LWF Council in Addis Ababa
(LWI) - How can the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) strengthen support for ordained and lay women facing discrimination within their member churches? How can it empower young people in the regions for more meaningful participation in leadership and decision-making structures? How can it help men to bring vulnerability to the table to become “co-conspirators” in creating a more just and inclusive church?
All these questions were under the spotlight as members of the LWF governing Council gathered in Addis Ababa for meetings to discuss the specific concerns of women, men, and youth delegates. The three Pre-Council meetings took place a day ahead of the opening of the Council, which runs from 12 to 16 June in the Ethiopian capital.
At the youth Pre-Council meeting, participants discussed ways of reinvigorating regional leadership structures to strengthen the voices of young people at local, regional and global levels. There are many encouraging new initiatives taking place, noted Savanna Sullivan, LWF Program Executive for Youth, such as the monthly online leadership training, or the insights which young theologians are sharing through the ‘Global Faith Unfiltered’ series of reflections. “How do we build on these,” she asked, “to strengthen relationships across the regions and to discern where the Holy Spirit is calling us over the next year?”
It is important to find ways of connecting youth in local congregations who are wanting to work with their leaders to create more inclusive churches.
Moses Momoh, LWF Council member from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sierra Leone
Moses Momoh, a young LWF Council member from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sierra Leone, highlighted the importance of investing in communications to share information, resources and best practices. In Tanzania, he noted, “the church has developed strong and vibrant worship, but, in my country, many young people do not know so much about Lutheran liturgy or theology and they would like to learn more.” In many churches, he said, “young people struggle to be accepted and to be given a chance to use their leadership skills. It is important to find ways of connecting youth in local congregations who are wanting to work with their leaders to create more inclusive churches.”
The women’s meeting began with a presentation by Rev. Tagasech Dagnew, national director of women’s ministry for the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, which is hosting the Council for the first time this year. The church recently held celebrations to mark 25 years of women in ordained ministry. Numbers of women in the seminary are growing and female pastors now number over three percent of the clergy currently serving in the 43 synods around the country.
Rev. Tagasech Dagnew, national director of women’s ministry for the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus speaks during a women's pre-council meeting. Photo: LWF/A. Hillert
A youth pre-council meeting is held in the lead-up to the 2025 LWF Council meeting, taking place in Addis Ababa. Photo: LWF/A. Hillert
Bishop Frerick Shoo from Tanzania pictured as a men's pre-council meeting is held in the lead-up to the 2025 LWF Council meeting. Photo: LWF/A. Hillert
Conversations then focused on the many challenges which women around the world continue to face, not only in churches which still do not admit women to ordained ministry, but also in those where women pastors now equal, or even outnumber their male counterparts. Discrimination and harassment range from the difficulties young women face in seeking endorsement from church leaders for a scholarship application, to expectations for a female pastor or church worker to be married in order for her ministry to be respected.
Rev. Dr Marcia Blasi, Program Executive for Gender Justice and Women’s Empowerment underlined the importance of strengthening both theological formation and advocacy for gender justice in church and society. “In many countries, gender justice is a ‘nice program’ that churches have endorsed, but when you attend Sunday worship, you realize that this has not impacted their theology and practice,” she said. Council members urged the LWF to share educational resources that have been developed in the regions – such as a 12-module online training developed by Latin American churches on preventing gender-based violence – and to ensure that gender justice is incorporated into seminary formation and all other spaces of leadership training.
Sharing in mission and servanthood
At the men’s meeting, participants reflected on the important role they can play in inspiring young generations to express their masculinity, not through authoritarian or violent behavior, but by “embracing vulnerability as a sign of strength.” Michael Ram from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Guyana, who helped to facilitate the first men’s meeting ahead of the Krakow Assembly, said “these encounters offer a vital space for men to reflect together on questions of identity and to explore what it means to witness to the priorities of gender justice and intergenerational justice, as outlined in the current LWF strategy.”
In Krakow, he said, “there was an anticipation that men might have presented themselves as powerhouses, as those who wield authority in their churches. But instead, we saw it was important to show our dependency, our vulnerability, sharing in the mission and servanthood, serving alongside women and young people in our churches.” Reflecting on the concluding session of Pre-Council meetings, which featured discussions on inclusive language among all three groups, he said: “We do not work in isolation, but rather we want to share the expectations we have of each other and to understand that our roles are intertwined for the good of the whole community.”
The 2025 LWF Council meeting takes place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 12 to 16 June on the theme “Be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8)
