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2022 World Conference

ILC Prepares for 2022 World Conference

KENYA -The International Lutheran Council (ILC) is preparing for its forthcoming 27th World Conference, which will take place in Kisumu, Kenya from September 13-16, 2022. During that time, leaders of confessional Lutheran church bodies across the globe will gather to worship together, to study Scripture, and to consider their mutual proclamation to the world of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Liturgy and Culture: How Worship Shapes Our Life Together and Why We Do What We Do.”

The Liturgy serves and shapes the missionary task of the Church,” conference material explains. “It is in its very nature mission work in which people are brought out of one culture and integrated into another. The Liturgy teaches within the context of prayer. It shapes faith and life. It serves the common confession and fosters unity.”

“The ‘worship wars’ of recent generations continue,” the workbook explains, “while the Church is also experiencing an escalation in the more lethal ‘cultural wars.’ Churches are denied freedom of speech and access to the public square. Conference speakers will address a variety of topics in which liturgical theology and practice and church life are being challenged by external influences.”

ELMDF Bishop Juhana Pohjola

Serving as keynote speaker for the 2022 World Conference is Bishop Juhana Pohjola of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland (ELMDF). Bishop Pohjola’s address is entitled: “Church and Culture: The Devastating Effects of the Progressive Socio-Political Ideology and Cultural Trends on the Church, with Special Attention to Recent Events in Finland.”

The conference will feature three other presentations on the subject of liturgy and culture given by: Rev. Dr. Alexey Streltsov, Rector of Lutheran Theological Seminary in Novosibirsk, Russia; Rev. Dr. Joseph Tom Omolo, Principal of Neema Lutheran College in Matongo, Kenya; and Rev. Dr. Naomichi Masaki, Professor of Systematic Theology at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana (USA).

During the conference, the ILC will hold elections, hear reports, and conduct other business. Participants will also visit sites affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK), the host church for this year’s conference, where they will learn about the ELCK’s works of mercy and human care as well as theological education, among other activities.

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2022 ILC World Conference set for Kenya

ONLINE – The International Lutheran Council’s (ILC) 27th (11th) World Conference will take place September 13-16, 2022 in Kenya, hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK) and its Archbishop, Joseph Ochola Omolo.

The ILC’s Board of Directors met online on January 28, 2022, during which time they fixed the dates and location for the event.

“It will be a joy to gather again in person in Kenya, and to see old friends and colleagues,” said ILC Chairman Hans Jörg Voigt. “May God grant us a safe and productive conference, as we discuss the important work of confessional Lutheran churches worldwide.”

The conference will gather under the theme “Why We Do What We Do: How Worship Shapes Our Life Today – How Life Today Shapes Our Worship,” considered from biblical, historical, and contemporary perspectives. Additional information on the event will be sent to member churches and guests soon but church leaders are asked to save the date in the meantime. September 12 and 17 should also be set aside as travel days to and from the Conference.

The ILC’s 27th (11th) World Conference had been originally scheduled to take place in 2021 but was postponed as a result of the pandemic.

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ILC to postpone World Conference until 2022

Participants in the ILC’s January 18, 2021 online board meeting.

ONLINE – The Board of Directors for the International Lutheran Council met online on January 18, 2021 for regularly scheduled meetings. During this time, the board decided to postpone the upcoming ILC World Conference—which had been tentatively scheduled for September 2021—until 2022.

The decision comes in response to current challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The board considered the possibility of holding the conference online, but recognized disparities in internet access across the world could limit the ability of some members to participate in the conference fully.

The board continues to discuss what impact the delay may mean for other planned events, including the ILC’s 2022 World Seminaries Conference.

The January meeting also saw the board discuss new membership applications to the ILC, emergency relief programming, and international Lutheran theological education.

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