GENEVA, Switzerland
26.01.2021.
All churches have the opportunity to complete a questionnaire in preparation for the Thirteenth Assembly in Kraków, Poland
How does your Lutheran faith shape your life and work?
How do your beliefs shape family and community relationships?
What does it mean to be a Lutheran in your particular national and cultural context?
These questions are at the heart of a new survey being sent this week to the churches of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) as the next step in a process of exploring contemporary Lutheran identity. The process began with a global gathering of theologians and other experts in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) in October 2019 and continued through monthly webinars to deepen dialogue and theological reflection.
In a letter sent to 148 churches, LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Martin Junge notes that the study marks “another turning point” in this process, offering broad opportunities for participation. This process, he notes, “draws on the LWF’s self-understanding as a communion of churches that shares gifts and insights in a spirit of mutuality and solidarity as they participate in God’s mission in their context”.
“We believe in the Spirit”
The study, which gathers views on baptism, beliefs and liturgical practices, is an important part of the preparations for the next LWF assembly, scheduled for September 2023 in Kraków, Poland. The Thirteenth Assembly will focus on the theme “One Body, One Spirit, One Hope” and will be hosted by the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland.
Church leaders are encouraged to distribute the user-friendly survey as widely as possible, so that it reaches all members of congregations — both lay and ordained. It is accompanied by a discussion guide to help pastors lead conversations and reflection at the local parish or diocesan level. Responses to the questionnaire are expected by 31 March 2021, while responses to the discussion questions from the guide should be submitted by 30 June.
The information received from the survey will be analysed and discussed at the next Assembly, although the contributions of individuals and churches will remain anonymous. The aim of the process, entitled “We Believe in the Holy Spirit”, is “to listen to how we express our shared Lutheran identity in a harmony of living, contextual identities across our communion”.
“We hope that the survey and discussion questions will inspire local churches to explore the creative diversity of our one faith, one hope and one baptismal calling,” Rev. Dr Chad Rimmer, director of the LWF’s “Identity, Communion and Formation” programme
Dr Chad Rimmer, director of the LWF’s Identity, Communion and Formation programme, said: “the biblical, liturgical, confessional, theological and spiritual foundations of our shared Lutheran tradition appear in various contexts in a beautiful mosaic of languages, cultures and callings across the world.”
“When we engage in dialogue with Lutheran sisters and brothers from a different social, political, economic and ecological context, we broaden our own understanding of what it means to be Lutheran,” Rimmer said. “We hope that the survey and discussion questions will inspire local churches to explore the creative diversity of our one faith, one hope and one baptismal calling, and to take part in God’s work of transformation,” he added.
Resources (in English):
LUTHERAN IDENTITIES STUDY PROCESS
LUTHERAN IDENTITY: DISCUSSION GUIDE AND SURVEY
Source: The Lutheran World Federation
Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert