February 4, 2010

LONDON – The Rev. Timothy Dearhamer describes the congregation he serves here "as an example of what the Lutheran Church aspires to be – multicultural and multiracial." Dearhamer, an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) pastor from Oklahoma, said regular worshipers at St. Anne's Lutheran Church include more than 30 nationalities, not unusual for Lutheran congregations in Great Britain.

Dearhamer is completing his first year as senior pastor of St. Anne's, a congregation of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain. He addressed a delegation of ELCA bishops, pastors, lay leaders and theologians who began the first leg of their two-week "2010 Ecumenical Journey" Feb. 3 by visiting Lutherans in London. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop and president of The Lutheran World Federation, is leading the ELCA delegation.

Worship at St. Anne's is in English, Swahili and Amharic. Worshipers are mostly from European and African countries, he said.

Language differences do not impede evangelism, he said. "There's an outreach there," Dearhamer said. For example, the congregation's worship in Swahili attracts people who speak the language but are not necessarily Lutheran, he said. The congregation holds more than 100 worship services annually and just as many concerts, including Bach vespers, jazz vespers and lunchtime concerts.

"It is an immigrant church," Dearhamer told the ELCA delegation. "It is different … and wonderful."

Today there are some 150,000 Lutherans in Great Britain. Most are citizens of the Nordic countries in Europe. Serving their needs is the Lutheran Council of Great Britain, established in 1948. The council includes Lutheran representatives from 11 European countries, including the Lutheran Church in Great Britain. It provides support to churches, plus opportunities for programs, outreach and networking, said the Rev. Tom Bruch, the council's general secretary. Besides English, Lutherans in this country worship in Amharic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Faroese, Polish, Swahili and Oromo, he said.

The council also operates London's International Lutheran Student Center, which provides residences and other services to Lutheran students from other countries studying in Great Britain, said Bruch.

Lutherans first came to Great Britain in the mid 1500s, Bruch said. The first Lutheran pastor, Gerhard Martens, arrived in 1668; the first Lutheran Church built in Great Britain was Trinity Lutheran Church in 1673, Bruch said.

Speaking for the ELCA delegation, Hanson said it was "intentional" that the ELCA leaders began their journey by visiting Lutherans first before visiting other ecumenical partners. He noted the recent consecration of Bishop Jana Jeruma-Grinberga of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain, who met the ELCA delegation. Hanson said that "the Lutheran church's continuing emergence with women in leadership is a strong statement throughout the world."

The ELCA delegation will meet with leaders of the Anglican Communion, the Anglican Consultative Council and the Church of England on Feb. 4. They are expected to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, leader of the Anglican Communion.

ELCA News Service