June 26, 2008

ARUSHA, Tanzania – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) can help create a global movement to limit or halt environmental degradation, but it must have many partners and large numbers of people to be effective, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Hanson made the comment at a June 25 news conference following his report to the LWF Council, which is meeting here through June 30. The LWF is a global communion of 140 churches in 78 countries, representing 68.6 million of the world's Lutherans. The ELCA is an LWF member.

Hanson addressed the theme of the council meeting, "Melting Snow on Mount Kilimanjaro: A Witness of a Suffering Creation." In his report he said it was "spiritual blasphemy" to treat God's creation as "an adversarial wilderness, a godforsaken wasteland, a natural resources dump to be used for our own self interest rather than cared for in obedience to God for its own sake." He called on member churches to advocate for changes in policy and practice, and he said that "hope compels us to be disciplined, courageous, faithful stewards of the whole creation."

At the news conference Hanson said he was hopeful that the council will adopt a resolution calling for specific environmental action by LWF members. He was cautious about how the communion could influence environmental concerns.

"I am absolutely convinced that even with 68 million members, the LWF alone cannot turn around global warming and stop the melting snows on Kilimanjaro," he said. I do believe that we can be a force, joining with others to create a movement in the world that has the capacity to bring to an end the environmental crisis that is causing the snows to melt (and) the rivers to dry up."

The LWF president also said the current food crisis is "interrelated" with higher fuel prices and climate change. He said he did not anticipate how quickly a food crisis would develop from these factors. "I think in some sense it caught us off guard, that we thought we were making progress in reducing hunger in the world – and in fact, we were. But suddenly there is a radical upsurge in the reality of hunger which is absolutely tied to the crisis around fuel, which is tied to the crisis around the climate and environment," Hanson said.

Environmental concerns must include more than climate change, Hanson said. He cited consumption of farm and forest land, and overuse of fertilizers and pesticides. Hanson called on LWF members "to act responsibly, courageously and creatively."

"There are things we can do as individual Christians," he said. "There are things we can do as local congregations. There are things we can do as church bodies in our nations. We are not powerless."

LWF members can engage in advocacy for the environment by asking elected officials to mandate emissions controls and global treaties, Hanson said. He criticized the U.S. government for refusing to sign global treaties on the environment, calling such failures "pure arrogance."

On another subject, Hanson was asked about homosexuality and if the LWF is addressing the topic in a way that does not stifle discussion. Referring to an action of the council at its 2007 meeting in Lund, Sweden, he said the council received the report of the LWF Task Force on Marriage, Family and Human Sexuality. The council asked LWF members to discuss the topics, aware that such conversations can have an impact on relationships with others.

"I do not think right now it's helpful for the LWF as a communion to take a stance on issues that are being discussed in the member churches – discussed in the context of Scripture, discussed in the context of our Lutheran confessions and theology, (and) discussed in the contexts of our varied (situations related to) marriage, family and human sexuality," he said.

Hanson added that LWF member churches will continue to discuss human sexuality "for the sake of our witness in the world and our witness to that which is core to our faith, and that is the Good News of Jesus Christ."

The ELCA is involved in similar discussions. At its 2009 Churchwide Assembly the ELCA is expected to consider a proposed social statement on human sexuality and possible proposals concerning standards for professional church leaders.

ELCA News Service