Strengthening relations between Lutherans in the USA and Papua New Guinea

Companion synods in the ELCA and ELCPNG reignite their relationships

(LWI) - “Papua New Guinea is always full of surprises, leaving a lasting impression on guests and hosts alike,” said Rev. Dr. Franklin Ishida, Director for Asia and the Pacific at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He accompanied 14 ELCA representatives from the Central States, North Carolina, North/West Lower Michigan and Virginia synods for a consultation with their companion synods in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea (ELCPNG).

“The program was a reigniting of relationships after four years of absence due to the COVID pandemic,” said Yasam Aiwara, president of the ELCPNG Yabim District. “It was a get-together, and I was at a loss for words at getting to meet again.”

Representatives of the synods and districts gathered for an introductory meeting on the campus of Martin Luther Seminary in the city of Lae. One of the insights gained was that participants found that expressing words in other languages can bring new insights. For example, in the pidgin language Tok Pisin, “mutuality” is wok wantaim (“walk together”), “vulnerability” is pelim pen (“feeling pain”) and “empowerment” is strongim wanpela (“you and me, we’ve got power”).

Another part of the program entailed meetings between specific ELCA synods and the respective ELCPNG district, exploring together the themes established at the joint consultation and diving deeper into the life of the church.

Gaining new perspectives on the world and the church

The North Carolina Synod group visited the Yabim District. “Our discussion had exciting topics that focused on strengthening the exchange of pastors, youth outreach, women’s fellowship outreach, institutional visits, and exchanges and scholarship sponsorship,” Aiwara said.

Aiwara noted that the ELCA group was composed of younger synod leaders. “The meeting as a two-church-bodies meeting was an eye-opener and gave me a picture that we need one another to carry out the gospel in our lives and our proclamation,” he said.

“There is one song that you will hear, for certain, if you visit among the Lutherans of Papua New Guinea,” said Michael Church, a pastor from the Virginia synod. “It begins, ‘Long marimari bilong God, i salim Jesus,’ which in the Tok Pisin language means, ‘In the mercy of God, Jesus came.’ I cannot say how often I heard it—sung or repeated in my head—as we traveled with our new friends.”

The Virginia Synod delegation visited the New Guinea Islands District. There, hosts spoke of their ambivalence toward the palm oil industry. “They told us how, on the one hand, plantations provide the most reliable source of jobs and even housing that most people have ever experienced,” Church said. “On the other hand, the work is difficult—12-hour shifts, six days per week—and the pay is meager, even by local standards. Do they help the people survive or trap them in lives of poverty and exploitation?” Accompaniment, in this instance, meant talking about this moral conundrum, he said.

At the end of this visit, pastor Wanda Childs, spoke of what it meant for new life to emerge in the relationship. “The service ended with a joyous planting of a coconut seed to commemorate our visit to this special place in the mountains,” she said. “We are joined not only by doctrinal confessions but also by our shared desire for a better world.”

Aiwara had a similar experience. “Our journey of togetherness to proclaim the gospel has challenged old and young pastors and lay people to be together as a family, community and organization, to live with a difference in this chaotic world,” he said. “There must be a preparedness to meet the challenges of the future.”

Walking with, listening to and learning from one another

Meanwhile, the North/West Lower Michigan Synod visitors traveled 180 miles west of the capital, Port Moresby. When residents asked, “Why did you come?”, the visitors answered that they had been invited. Upon listening further, they realized that the question was, "Why did two people, all the way from America, take the time to come here?”

“We were the first of any member of the ELCA to ever visit,” said pastor David Hueter. “But then, this is what accompaniment is all about … walking with, listening to and learning from one another. It was about the people and our experience together. That was worth it!”

John Pelk of the Papua District emphasized the importance of meetings connecting ELCA visitors with the district’s executive pastors. And, he said, spending time together over their two-day journey to the far west made for “a very good trip. It was good having them after many years since our last meeting.”

Nurturing the global Lutheran communion

“Companion synods nurture a global church, not only the parochial enclave of being together,” said Franklin Ishida. “Companion church relationships enrich and deepen our ministries by exposing us to global challenges and perspectives as we seek to work together to build up the body of Christ and the world.”

The companion-synod program started soon after the ELCA was formed in 1988. Today, it connects synods and their congregations with Lutheran church bodies worldwide. Sixty-five synods have at least one global church companion. Because many synods relate to more than one church, there are more than 120 companion-synod relationships.

Most of the participating churches are members of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). These connections are nurtured by prayers, presence and projects. As Lutherans from across the world pray for, visit, support and encourage one another, they share their gifts and learn new ways to live out their faith.

Source: A reigniting of relationships - Living Lutheran