December 21, 2007

GENEVA – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko invites churches to enter the year 2008 with the resolve to reclaim promises made nearly six decades ago to respect the fundamental elements of every person's God-given human dignity.

In his New Year Message issued in December, Noko cites human rights, illegitimate debt and protecting the earth, as some of the major challenges requiring churches' reflection and action. He underscores 2007 as a significant year for the LWF as it celebrated its 60th anniversary, not as a celebration for its own sake, but also as "an occasion for the renewal and strengthening of relationships within the communion of churches and with our partners in Christ's mission."

As next year marks the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "Let this not be an empty celebration," Noko stresses. The Universal Declaration has served as an inspiration and call to action worldwide, "but too little has been achieved in fulfilling the promises it contains," he notes. The LWF general secretary challenges the churches to see the coming year as one in which "we as churches reclaim the promises made in 1948, insist on accountability to them, and work for their universal practical implementation."

Noko highlights illegitimate debt as an obstacle not only to the enjoyment of human rights but also "to the reception of the liberating Good News of Christ in those communities who still groan under its crushing weight."

The general secretary argues the jubilee in which debts are forgiven and captives set free, "is too long overdue for these victims of economic injustice." He urges churches, instead of striving for an exceptional jubilee, to seek new ways of ensuring that "economic relations between states are informed by ethical principles, and no longer result in debt bondage for generations of poor people."

Noko reminds the LWF to respond as a communion to the challenge of climate change, pointing out 2008 will be a critical period in shaping the international framework for achieving the requisite emission reduction targets in order to avoid catastrophic impacts. "We must promote new ways of relating to and living within creation that better reflect in practice our theological understandings of communio," he adds.

The full text of the general secretary's New Year Message is available on the LWF Web site at: http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/LWI/EN/2150.EN.html.

Lutheran World Information