March 23, 2007

LUND, Sweden/GENEVA – A live transmission of the festive celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Lund Sweden, will be available on the Internet. The celebrations will begin with a festive eucharistic service at 11:00 hrs on Sunday, 25 March in the Lund Cathedral, and continue in the afternoon at the campus of the Lund University, where the LWF was founded in 1947. A live web streaming and later video streaming of the events will be made available.

The director of the LWF Office for Communication Services, Ms Karin Achtelstetter says the live transmission offers many people among the 140 LWF member churches an opportunity to participate in the festive anniversary celebrations. "There are nearly 66.7 million Christians in the worldwide communion of LWF churches. Making it possible for them to follow an important event like the LWF's 60th anniversary celebrations is a way of living out communion," she said.

There are an estimated 500 people attending the LWF events including over 100 church leaders participating in the Church Leadership Consultation and the anniversary celebrations taking place in conjunction with the regular LWF Council meeting.

LWF General Secretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, emphasized the significance of a symbolic ceremony at the Sunday festivities, during which the leadership from the elders who were present 60 years ago in Lund, will be passed on to the youth representatives at the Council events. This will be an important ritual in recognizing the role of the young generation in the leadership of the Lutheran communion, he said.

A multi-media presentation on the LWF Web site – http://www.lutheranworld.org/Welcome.EN.html – includes discussions from the church leadership consultation and Council meeting in Lund. Also available are press releases in English and German, photos, audio and video feature articles, as well as links to the live web streaming http://www.lutheranworld.org/Council/2007/Council-Video-Streaming-EN.html.

On 24 March, former Finnish President and United Nations special envoy for Kosovo, Mr Martti Ahtisaari, will address the participants on the "House of Europe." The Saturday afternoon plenary session will be video streamed on the LWF Web site.

An estimated 500 people including over 100 church leaders are attending this year's Council meeting, church leadership consultation and the LWF 60th anniversary celebrations. Also attending are officials from LWF partner organizations, invited guests, stewards, interpreters and translators, LWF staff and co-opted staff, accredited media, and participants in the three-year LWF international training program for young communicators. The Council is the governing body meeting between Assemblies held every six years. The current Council was appointed at the July 2003 Tenth Assembly in Winnipeg, Canada. It comprises the President, Treasurer and 48 persons elected by the Assembly. Other members include advisors, lay and ordained persons, representing the different LWF regions.

Lutheran World Information