12 May 2026, Geneva, Switzerland: Ice-breaker exercise underway as lay leaders from across the global communion of the Lutheran World Federation gather for the 9th International Seminar for Lay Persons in Church Leadership Positions, held in Wittenberg and Geneva on 7-15 May 2026. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
From intergenerational dialogue to the church’s prophetic voice
Over the course of the past week, more than 20 lay leaders from churches across all seven regions of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) gathered in Wittenberg and Geneva for the 9th International Seminar for Lay Persons in Church Leadership Positions.
An annual event, the 2026 seminar took place 7-15 May.
Leadership training in two cities of Reformation
Following a first phase undertaken at the LWF Center Wittenberg, Germany, the lay leaders spent time in and around Geneva – another city of the Reformation – for reflection and formation, seeking to model good practices of leadership, strengthen self-awareness in leadership, to grow in leadership and in the understanding of what it means as church – including through lay leadership – to share hope, speaking out prophetically for justice and peace in today’s world.
Director of Studies at the LWF Center Wittenberg Rev. Dr Sámuel Nánási spoke about the importance of grounding Lutheran leaders in the two cities of Reformation.
“Wittenberg, where everything has begun, so to say the story of the Reformation, people come there together to explore the city, the context in which reformation took birth, but also the "heart theological,” Nánási noted.
“At the same time, the LWF Communion Office here in Geneva incorporates, embodies the presence of our churches in the present day, bringing together in one place people coming from different contexts, and the experience of what we are and what we are to do in this world,” he added.
‘Everything starts with our theology’
“Everything starts with our theology,” reflected LWF Program Executive for Transformative Leadership Rev. Katariina Kiilunen as the group arrived in Geneva.
“This includes the notion of the priesthood of all believers,” she said, emphasizing that the LWF call to accompany and strengthen leadership among its member churches it not limited to training and capacity-building for clergy.
Rebekka Meissner, LWF Program Executive for Diakonia and Development and co-facilitator of the seminar in Geneva underscored the vital role of lay leaders in the life and witness of the church.
“It is impossible to imagine healthy and flourishing churches without lay leaders. The gifts of lay leaders, their commitment to serve and their hearts for their communities are a crucial expression of what it means to be church in each context,” Meissner said.
Lay leaders from across the global communion of the Lutheran World Federation visit downtown Geneva and the Reformation Wall. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
LWF Program Executive for Transformative Leadership Rev. Katariina Kiilunen and LWF Program Executive for for Diakonia and Development Rebekka Meissner lead a session at the Château de Bossey. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
13 May 2026, Geneva, Switzerland: LWF staff Rev. Dr Anupama Hial and local pastor Rev. Andy Willis distribute bread and wine during a prayer service with Holy Communion celebrated in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Geneva. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
Intergenerational spaces and transformative leadership
Gathered at the Château de Bossey just outside Geneva, participants engaged in a variety of themes relating to the ministry of the LWF today.
The distinct backgrounds and experiences of people gathered around the table stood out as a core component to the learning process.
“There are different backgrounds that shape us. We have different contexts. We have different age. So that brings an entirety of different perspectives, and being able to learn from each other and grow from that is a gift that's truly wonderful,” reflected Nahema-Bea Tchokonté Deudjeu, a lay leader from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.
András Liska of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary said the intergenerational space offered by the LWF is something he himself missed when he was a young leader, a period during which he said he felt in many ways isolated.
“For me it was important to understand here that it doesn't really matter which part of the world someone is coming from, and it doesn't matter what age we are. For example, some young people here are in their middle twenties, but they have such strong faith that it also strengthens me,” he said.
Cristian Andrés Munoz Roa of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile said “we should not forget that tender part of the gospel, that sensitive part, where brothers and sisters of other realities, even in simple everyday things, also have an impact, also do theology, also do responsible theology. And we have to look at that experience to make a synthesis. In that sense, the important thing here is to know that other experiences can inform me and help me.”
“Ultimately, we are leaders of churches that want to mature and to grow institutionally, to become better churches and to be of better service,” he added.
Ultimately, we are leaders of churches that want to mature and to grow institutionally, to become better churches and to be of better service.
Cristian Andrés Munoz Roa, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile
Engaging in public space ‘a calling of the church’
Visiting the LWF Communion Office on 13 May, the group took stock of the many challenges and pains of the world today – war and violence, poverty, gender injustice and an escalating climate crisis, to name a few – and the church’s role in speaking out for justice, peace and working for reconciliation.
“It is very important for the church to engage in the public space, in order to be relevant to these multifaceted challenges in the world,” said Enobong Etim Ikang of the Lutheran Church of Nigeria. “We are in the world, and we must be solution providers,” he said.
Ingrid Monjencs of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria, continued to describe public engagement as part of “the task to fulfill as churches what is given to us as a call.”
Reflecting on the prophetic role of the church she said: “I think the church is truly prophetic when it doesn't wait to be appreciated all along. It is prophetic when there is resistance, when you feel that it is not so easy to get through with your message.” Still, Monjencs emphasized, “We have to stand up against injustice. We have to stand up for equal rights.”
“We all need to humble ourselves, to understand that at the end of the day we are not always the correct ones, but the church should be there to stand for those who are downtrodden, and to make sure that the voice of those who are downtrodden is heard, that there is equality for those who are oppressed and to be courageous, to be open, to speak out to the authorities,” reflected Anna Godwin Kaduma of the Northeastern Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Africa.
Mark Hustedt of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America concluded: “The message of the gospel, the message of Jesus, Jesus' work, is about inclusion, is about love. To nurture hope in our communities means to learn who we are in community with, learn the things that they are dealing with, the struggles, the aches, the pains, the complexities in our society, to learn with them, to walk with them through these struggles and to work together for collective happiness, for solidarity and to seek peace.”
