February 16, 2010

GENEVA – Declaring that "we need some dreams," the Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, who recently began his new role as general secretary of the World Council of Churches, met with a delegation of clergy and lay leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) here Feb. 15. Tveit was one of three general secretaries of world church organizations who met with the ELCA group, providing perspectives on their work and how it interacts with the ELCA's ecumenical vision.

The 12-member official ELCA delegation just concluded a two-week "2010 Ecumenical Journey" led by the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). The group visited Anglican, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic world leaders. The final stop on the journey brought the delegation here to meet with leaders of the international church and church-related organizations.

Tveit, 49, a Norwegian Lutheran theologian, was elected at a meeting of the WCC Central Committee in August. 2009. The WCC is a worldwide fellowship of 349 member churches, including the ELCA.

Tveit said the ELCA delegation was the first significant delegation he had met with since becoming general secretary. "As we begin our work, we need some dreams. And, as I began my cooperation with you, I need some dreams," he said.

He told the ELCA delegation that Jesus' prayer that all believers would be unified, "is not only a word of information, but it is a word of transformation. That is what we do here – you're not only here to be informed, but you're here to make a difference."

Concentrating on the "unique added values of the WCC," Tveit said his Lutheran identity is central to his leadership. "I think the ecumenical movement must be much clearer in that it is a movement that carries the cross. We are called to ‘be one' even when this cross is a very heavy one to carry," he said.

He called for intentional efforts to work with young people. Tveit added that the ELCA is a church that "is able and also very willing" to assume ecumenical leadership.

The ELCA delegation also met with the Rev. Ishmael Noko, LWF general secretary. Noko told the delegation that the LWF is preparing for its Eleventh Assembly, July 20-27, in Stuttgart, Germany. The theme is "Give Us Today Our Daily Bread." The LWF is a global communion of 140 Lutheran churches in 79 countries. It includes nearly 69 million members.

Noko characterized the assembly as a "landmark" and a "turning point" because of expected ecumenical actions to be taken and consideration of the LWF Renewal Report.

One of those anticipated actions is a statement of reconciliation with churches of the Anabaptist family. It expresses "deep regret and sorrow" for violent persecution of Anabaptists and asks for forgiveness for the ways in which Lutheran reformers supported their persecution with theological arguments, according to Lutheran World Information. The ELCA Church Council adopted a similar statement in 2006.

As the ELCA group concluded its meetings Feb. 16, Noko said, "Our prayers, with the pastoral challenges you are facing in the U.S., go with you. Let's not underestimate what we can do if we pray for one another."

Noko is planning to retire Oct. 31 of this year. The Rev. Martin Junge, 48, a Chilean pastor and theologian, will succeed him. Junge was elected by the LWF Council in 2009. The assembly will also elect a new LWF president to succeed Hanson.

The ELCA delegation met with the Rev. Setri Nyomi, general secretary, World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC). Nyomi said Reformed churches have concentrated their work on a variety of justice issues through their history together, including justice for American Indians, South Africans under apartheid and gender justice. He told the ELCA delegation that the churches of WARC are "your other cousins." WARC is 75 million Reformed Christians in 214 churches in 107 countries.

WARC and the churches of the Reformed Ecumenical Council will merge and become unified as the World Communion of Reformed Churches in a June 20 celebration in Grand Rapids, Mich., Nyomi said.

He added that the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 is an occasion that will be commemorated by Reformed churches throughout the world, as well as by Lutherans. "It bears (Martin) Luther's name, but it is our common identity," he said.

In 1997 the ELCA entered into a relationship of full communion with three Reformed churches: the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Reformed Church in America and the United Church of Christ.

The ELCA delegation also attended a session on advocacy with representatives of the LWF, WCC, the Action by Churches Together (ACT) Alliance and the Anglican Communion; and met with ambassadors to Switzerland from Lesotho, Kenya, The Vatican and Zimbabwe, at a Feb. 15 dinner. They met with WCC and LWF staff to discuss interfaith engagement, and concluded the journey Feb. 16 with a visit to the WCC's Ecumenical Institute, Bossey, Switzerland.

ELCA News Service
Photos from the 2010 Ecumenical Journey are at http://photos.ELCA.org/ELCA-News-Service-1, on the ELCA Web site.