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Lutheran Mission – Australia holds formal launch, installs president

by Mathew Block | Dec 20, 2024

*Lutheran Mission – Australia held its launch service on November 24, 2024.*

AUSTRALIA – Lutheran Mission – Australia (LM-A) held its formal launch as a church body on the weekend of November 23-24, during which time the church also installed Rev. Matthew Anker as LM-A president.

*LM-A President Matthew Anker speaks after his installation .*

“Tonight is the culmination of the efforts of many people over many years,” President Anker said in an address during the launch dinner on November 23. “God Himself has been preparing people for the necessity of establishing Lutheran Mission – Australia to provide His people with hope for the future and with certainty in His Word.”

Several guests also addressed the gathering on November 23, including President Antonio del Rio Reyes of the Lutheran Church in the Philippines (LCP), who also serves as the Asia region’s representative on the Board of Directors of the International Lutheran Council (ILC). “Today is a day of profound rejoicing and heartfelt gratitude!” said LCP President Reyes. “Our Lord, the God of the harvest and the Master Builder of His Church, has once again displayed His unfailing love and mercy by raising up a faithful assembly under the banner of Lutheran Mission – Australia.”

“Your unwavering commitment to standing firm on the unchanging Word of God amid a world of shifting values and doctrines is truly inspiring,” President Reyes continued. “In an age where many are swayed by cultural trends, your resolve to uphold Christ’s Gospel reflects your love for Him and your faithfulness to His mission.

Also bringing greetings was Rev. Dr. Jonathan Shaw, Director of Church Relations for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). Dr. Shaw encouraged members to stand firm on God’s Word, highlighting the biblical basis for confessional unity. LM-A’s Chairman, Peter Walter, also addressed the gathering, thanking God for those in Australia who have stood for solid confessional Lutheranism down through the years.

*LCP President Antonio del Rio Reyes (left) installs LM-A President Matthew Anker (centre).*

On November 24, LM-A held a service of installation for President Anker at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Hamilton, Victoria. LCP President Reyes presided over the installation of Rev. Anker as LM-A President, presenting him with a pectoral cross as a symbol of his office. Rev. Dr. Adam Hensley served as preacher, and Rev. Matthew Kerr and Rev. Matthew Anker served as liturgists. After his installation, President Anker installed other directors and staff of LM-A.

“Today is about much more than the beginning of a new church body,” President Anker reflected after his installation. “As Christians, we are called to boldly confess God’s Word with eternity in view, knowing that what we believe, teach, and confess does indeed have eternal consequences for us and for those we serve.”

“LM-A has been established so that together you and I can also testify to those now living and those who will come after us, the whole counsel of God in Christ Jesus,” President Anker continued. “And to do so boldly and without compromise so that when the day comes for us to appear before Christ, we can make this confession with intrepid hearts, knowing that we stand on nothing other than His revealed word. And in so doing, bring forgiveness, life and salvation to all those we are called to serve.”

Lutheran Mission-Australia is an observer member of the International Lutheran Council, a global association of confessional Lutheran church bodies and groups which proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the basis of an unconditional commitment to Holy Scripture and to the Lutheran Confessions. LM-A emerged earlier this year out a confessional movement in Australia concerned with the theological direction of the Lutheran Church of Australia/New Zealand (LCANZ), notably on the issue of women’s ordination but also on the question of the authority of Scripture more broadly.

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With files from Lutheran Mission – Australia

Christmas Greetings: Proclaiming Peace on Earth

by Mathew Block | Dec 19, 2024

by Klaus Detlev Schulz

As we move towards the season of Christmas, we are reminded anew how much this fallen world needs a Saviour. This Christmas, people across the globe face hardship and sorrow, war and division, sickness and suffering. And above all this, we face the deeper grief of sin—sin which separates us from God and from one another.

At the first Christmas so many years ago, God stepped forth in the flesh to bear our sins and sorrows. He became a little child for our sake, taking our weakness upon Himself. “And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). Yes, this little child, born of Mary, came to die for us—and through His death and resurrection rescue us from all sin and sorrow.

Over the past year, the International Lutheran Council has been hard at work encouraging confessional Lutherans across the world in their witness to Jesus Christ. And we’ve been grateful to see confessional Lutherans in more places join us in that work: this year, we welcomed several new church bodies and groups into membership in the ILC, including in Australia, Bulgaria, and Turkey. We also welcomed Corpus Christi, a young adults ministry which serves confessional Lutheran churches across Europe.

This year, the ILC also hosted regional conferences for member churches in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. These events bring together ILC member churches to discuss issues of regional importance and to consider new opportunities for cooperation. They are also important in encouraging member churches to stand firm on Scripture in the midst of new challenges. In Africa, for example, the leaders of 22 confessional Lutheran church bodies responded to increasing pressure in that part of the world to approve same-sex marriage. These leaders issued a statement unanimously reaffirming their position that same-sex marriage is contrary to the Word of God.

The ILC has also been busy supporting solid Lutheran education across the globe. Our Lutheran Leadership Development Program (LLDP), for example, continues to equip Lutheran leaders for faithful service in their local church bodies. We also held our triennial World Seminaries Conference this year. The conference brings together leaders from ILC-affiliated seminaries around the world to discuss new challenges and consider how they can better support each other as they train a new generation of church workers.

Through this work—and much, much more—the ILC continues to support confessional Lutheran churches across the globe in giving a faithful witness to Christ. Indeed, this is the very reason for which the International Lutheran Council exists.

Angels greeted the birth of Christ with songs of praise: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favour rests” (Luke 1:14). The proclamation of that Gospel—peace on earth, the good news that Christ was born to save humanity from their sins—remains the great privilege and joy of the Church today, tomorrow, and forever.

May God bless you with a merry Christmas!

Let our gladness have no end, alleluia!
For to earth did Christ descend, alleluia!
On this day God gave us
Christ, His Son, to save us;
Christ, His Son, to save us.

– LSB 381 –

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Rev. Dr. Klaus Detlev Schulz is General Secretary of the International Lutheran Council.

Meeting of the Augustana Working Group in Wittenberg

by Mathew Block | Dec 18, 2024

*The Augustana Working Group held its second meeting at the International Lutheran Center at the Old Latin School in Wittenberg, Germany, in December 2024.*

GERMANY – The second meeting of the Concordia Lutheran-Catholic Augustana Working Group took place in Wittenberg, Germany, from December 8-11, 2024. Under the chairmanship of Bishop Dr. Juhana Pohjola and Auxiliary Bishop Dr. Peter Birkhofer, the participants discussed the statements of the Augsburg Confession on justification and the office of the ministry from a pre-confessional perspective. This new methodological approach will be explored in greater depth at the next meeting in Rome in February 2025.

The Augustana Working Group includes representatives of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) and the Catholic Church. Following the conclusion of the theological discussions between the ILC, an association of Concordia Lutheran churches, and the Catholic Church (2014-2019), both sides suggested the establishment of a working group as a specific ecumenical-theological format. The working group is not an official dialogue commission. Father Dr. Augustinus Sander OSB takes part in the meetings as a permanent guest of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity (DPCU).

The next meeting is scheduled to take place in Rome from February 23-26, 2025.

Participants of the International Lutheran Council (ILC):

Bishop Dr. Juhana Pohjola, Helsinki, Finland, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Missionary Diocese of Finland; Chairman of the International Lutheran Council (ILC)
Prof. Dr. Joel Elowsky, St. Louis, Mo., USA
Prof. em. Dr. Werner Klän, D.Litt., Lübeck, Germany
Assistant Prof. Dr. Jonathan Mumme, Hillsdale, Mich., USA
Prof. Dr. Tom Winger, St. Catharines, Ont., Canada
Prof. Dr. Klaus Detlev Schulz, Ft. Wayne, Ind., USA (ILC General Secretary) – temporary participation, but not a member

Catholic participants:

Auxiliary Bishop Dr. Peter Birkhofer, Freiburg / Breisgau, Germany
Prof. Dr. Markus Lersch, Siegen, Germany
Dr. Tim Lindfeld, Aachen, Germany
Assistant Professor Dr. James Prothro, St. Louis, Mo., USA
Father Dr. Augustinus Sander OSB, Vatican, permanent guest of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity

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For further information, see also this report on the Augustana Working Group’s inaugural March 2024 meeting.

President van Hattem of Belgium called to glory

by Mathew Block | Dec 10, 2024

*ELKB President Gijsbertus van Hattem at the ILC’s 2022 World Conference in Kenya. Image: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod/Erik M. Lunsford.*

BELGIUM – President Gijsbertus van Hattem of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Belgium (Evangelisch-Lutherse Kerk in België – ELKB), former Secretary of the International Lutheran Council (ILC), was called to glory on December 6, 2024. He was 69 years old.

“President van Hattem was a true servant of God, faithfully bringing Word and Sacrament to his congregation in Antwerp for many years,” said Rev. Dr. Klaus Detlev Schulz, General Secretary of the International Lutheran Council. “But he was also a great servant to the worldwide confessional Lutheran church, serving for many years as Secretary of the ILC. May God give his family comfort in the knowledge that Gijsbertus is now in the presence of His loving Saviour, Jesus Christ.”

President van Hattem served as pastor of the ELKB’s Heilige Geest church in Antwerp, Belgium from 1986 until his death. For many years, the Lutheran church in Belgium operated as part of a combined Evangelical Lutheran Church – Synod of France and Belgium (EEL-SFB). During that period, Rev. van Hattem served as Vice President of the EEL-SFB from 2000-2002.

In 2002, the church in Belgium became recognized as an independent legal entity in that country, and Rev. van Hattem became president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Belgium (ELKB). He continued in that role until his death.

President van Hattem was born on March 11, 1955, in Noordwolde, Netherlands, and baptized April 10 of that year. He emigrated to Brazil at the age of nine. He would go on to receive degrees in Civil Engineering from the Universidade de Ponta Grossa in 1978 and in Theology from Seminário Concórdia in Porto Alegre in 1983. His first call as a pastor was in Rio do Sul from 1984-1986, during which time he also served the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil (Igreja Evangélica Luterana do Brasil – IELB) as Statistician from 1985-1986. In 1986, he accepted the call to Belgium.

President van Hattem married Verônica Ana Kuchenbecker in 1984, and the two had six children: Mattias Willem (1989), Tobias Johannes (1990), Jessica Anna (1992), Lucas Alexander (1994), Sofia Christine (1999), and Andreas Clemens (2001).

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Belgium is a small church, with one congregation each in Antwerp and Brussels. But President van Hattem had a lasting influence on confessional Lutheranism worldwide through his work on behalf of the International Lutheran Council.

*ELKB President van Hattem during the ILC’s 2018 World Conference, which the church in Belgium hosted.*

President van Hattem was a fixture in the ILC, having participated in all but one ILC World Conference from 1995 to the present. In 2005, he led the ELKB into membership in the ILC. A few years later during the 2009 World Conference in Korea, he was elected to serve as Secretary of the International Lutheran Council—a position to which he was reelected in 2012, 2015, and 2018. He continued in that position until the 2022 World Conference in Kenya, following which he continued to serve the ILC as Assistant Secretary until his death.

In the leadup to the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017, President van Hattem worked with local authorities to have “Martin Luther Square” (Maarten Lutherplein) inaugurated in Antwerp. The square pays tribute to Antwerp’s Reformation history, and is situated near the location of a former Augustinian monastery which adopted Luther’s ideas early on. The monastery was subsequently razed to the ground by Catholic authorities, and two of the monks, Henrik Voes and Jan van Essen, were burned at the stake in Brussels in 1523—the first Lutheran martyrs of the Reformation. Their story, and the broader history of Lutheranism in Belgium, are recounted in President van Hattem’s 2018 book 450 Years—Lutheran Church in Antwerp: 1566-1585 and Beyond (450 Jaar—Lutherse Kerk in Antwerpen: 1566-1585 en daarna).

*ELKB President van Hattem (left) at the 2017 inauguration of “Martin Luther Square” in Antwerp, with dignitaries Ambassador Lüdeking and Mayor de Wever.*

In early 2024, President van Hattem was diagnosed with a new occurrence of cancer. Despite his health challenges over the following months, he continued to faithfully serve the church in Antwerp and participate in online meetings of the ILC’s Board of Directors. He and his wife Verônica were also able to be present for the ILC’s 2024 assembly in Wittenberg, Germany in October. During that time, the assembly publicly acknowledged President van Hattem for his long service to the International Lutheran Council.

A funeral for President van Hattem will take place at 9:30 a.m. on December 21 at Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraa (Cathedral of Our Lady) in Antwerp, Belgium.

The International Lutheran Council is a global association of confessional Lutheran church bodies and groups which proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the basis of an unconditional commitment to Holy Scripture and to the Lutheran Confessions.

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Former ILC Chairman, Edwin Lehman, passes on to glory

by Mathew Block | Dec 9, 2024

CANADA – Rev. Dr. Edwin Lehman, President Emeritus of Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) and former Chairman of the International Lutheran Council (ILC), was called to glory during the morning of December 5, 2024. He was 92 years old.

Dr. Lehman was first elected as Chairman of the International Lutheran Conference in 1991 and given the task—alongside the ILC’s Vice Chairman, Bishop Jobst Schöne of Germany—of elevating the ILC from a “conference” to a formal “council” of confessional Lutheran church bodies. The constitution of this reorganized International Lutheran Council was adopted at the 1993 ILC World Conference, at which time Dr. Lehman was also elected to a second term as Chairman. Last year, the ILC celebrated thirty years since its reorganization as a council of churches.

During this second term, the ILC’s executive committee founded a newsletter, appointing Dr. Lehman as the editor of ILC News. Following the completion of his service as Chairman in 1995, Dr. Lehman continued to serve the ILC as news editor until 1998.

Dr. Lehman was the first synodical president of Lutheran Church–Canada, elected to lead the newly-autonomous church during its founding convention in 1988. He was reelected as president in 1990 and again in 1993. Dr. Lehman continued as president until his retirement in 1996, when he declined to stand for reelection.

This was a critical period in the development of Lutheran Church–Canada. During President Lehman’s tenure, LCC took its first steps as an autonomous church body; established its national synodical office in Winnipeg; developed missions in Thailand and Ukraine (places where LCC is still active today); entered into fellowship with partner churches in several countries around the world; and initiated conversations that would eventually lead to the establishment of the diaconate in LCC.

Dr. Lehman later reflected on his time as president in the 2022 book Missouri North: The History of Lutheran Church–Canada. “God had been good to us—far better than we deserved,” Dr. Lehman wrote in his contribution to the book. “God had blessed us with a strong sense of unity. He had opened doors of opportunity, bringing the Gospel to lands we would not have entered had we not been autonomous. We were training our pastors and lay leaders, with two excellent seminaries and a college.”

“Not surprisingly, some of our good intentions did not materialize,” Dr. Lehman continued. “But a new day was dawning…. God had used us as His instrument, and there would be much more to come.”

Prior to becoming president of Lutheran Church–Canada, Dr. Lehman served from 1978-1988 as District President of the Alberta-British Columbia District (then still part of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod). His tenure as district president saw the founding of Concordia Lutheran Seminary in Edmonton. He earlier served the district as First Vice-President and as Chairman of the Mission Department.

Dr. Lehman served as a pastor of congregations in Richmond, B.C. (1967-1978); Red Deer, Alberta (1958-1967); and Wadena, Saskatchewan (1956-1958).

Following his time as LCC President, Dr. Lehman continued to serve the Canadian church in many ways, including two periods as Interim President of Concordia Lutheran Seminary in Edmonton as well as service on the governing board of Concordia Lutheran Mission Society.

Lutheran Church–Canada’s current president, Rev. Dr. Timothy Teuscher, expressed the thankfulness of the entire church for the life and ministry of President Emeritus Lehman. “Although small in stature, Ed not only cast a large shadow over Lutheran Church—Canada, but also over worldwide confessional Lutheranism,” he noted. “Upon my election to this office of President of LCC in 2017 and in the years since, I have cherished his many kind words of support and encouragement.”

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With files from The Canadian Lutheran

British Lutherans hold 70th Annual Synod, elect next Chairman

by Mathew Block | Nov 29, 2024

*Participants in the ELCE’s 2024 Annual Synod pose outside Luther-Tyndale Memorial Church in Kentish Town, London.*

UNITED KINGDOM – The Evangelical Lutheran Church of England (ELCE) held its 70^th Annual Synod in London from November 1-2 under the theme “Always Courageous,” based on 2 Corinthians 5:6-7. Delegates and visitors from ELCE congregations and missions in England, Wales, and Scotland met together for fellowship and encouragement; to mark 70 years since the British church became autonomous; and for synodical business, including the election of the church’s next Chairman.

The ELCE is the oldest British Lutheran church body in the United Kingdom, having begun in 1896 and become autonomous 70 years ago in 1954. The ELCE marked this year’s anniversary with a range of photos and film clips which played on loop during breaks at the Synod. An evening event, “Celebration 70,” was also held which consisted of short contributions from congregations of reverie and memory, words and song, describing the ELCE’s history since 1954. It was a warm and nostalgic time recalling family and friends, energy and effort, master plans and God’s plan, compered by ELCE Chairman George Samiec.

*The ELCE’s Pastors’ Choir sing during “Celebration 70.”*

The Pastors’ Choir sang “Thy Strong Word,” with everyone joining in for the final three verses—a symbolic reminder of those who have served the ELCE, and how the ELCE and its theological college, Westfield House, are linked together. [Martin Franzmann, who wrote “Thy Strong Word” (LSB 578) was a Tutor at Westfield House.] The highlight, however, was Rev. Didzis Stilve’s reworking of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” for the occasion, sung by Rev. Stilve and accompanied by Rev. Tapani Simojoki on piano, with the congregation singing the chorus.

At Synod, the ELCE established a Church Endowment Fund with the goal of supporting specific ELCE projects, endowing a Chair of Theology at Westfield House, supporting the ELCE administration, and providing support for the training of church workers.

*ELCE Chairman-Elect Tapani Simojoki and ELCE Chairman George Samiec.*

The ELCE also elected its next Chairman. Rev. George Samiec declined to stand for another term as Chairman, and the church elected Rev. Tapani Simojoki to serve as his successor. The ELCE practises a year’s overlap between outgoing and incoming Chairmen, to help the Chairman-Elect become acquainted with the role and work. Chairman Samiec’s service, then, will end at the conclusion of the ELCE’s 71^st Annual Synod in November 2025, at which time Chairman-Elect Simojoki’s will commence.

Rev. Samiec was first elected Chairman of the ELCE in 2019, after having previously served the church as Vice Chairman since 2010. He also served on the executive of the European Lutheran Conference from 2004-2018, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the International Lutheran Council. Rev. Simojoki has served as pastor of Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Hampshire since 2010. In addition to serving the ELCE on commissions and committees, Rev. Simojoki is editor of the church’s synodical magazine, The British Lutheran, and host of “Sunday Cantata,” a programme on Lutheran Radio UK.

At the closing service, Chairman Samiec reminded participants that Jesus builds His Church, that Jesus provides the means, and that all aspects of ministry and congregational life, when good and healthy, keep the focus on Jesus. We live the 21^st century version of the Great Commission, he said. The harvest is plentiful, the workers are few, but God always gives us courage to go forward with the Gospel in word and deed. “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:6-7).

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of England is a member church of the International Lutheran Council (ILC), a global association of confessional Lutheran church bodies and groups which proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the basis of an unconditional commitment to Holy Scripture and to the Lutheran Confessions.

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Latin American Lutherans gather for regional ILC conference

by Mathew Block | Nov 5, 2024

*Participants in the ILC’s 2024 Latin America Regional Conference.*

BOLIVIA – The International Lutheran Council (ILC) held its 2024 Latin America regional conference from September 24-27 in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The theme of the conference, which was hosted by the Christian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bolivia (Iglesia Cristiana Evangélica Luterana de Bolivia – ICEL), was “The Church Moving in a Secularized World.”

The conference brings together Confessional Lutheran leaders from across Latin America to pray and worship together; to discuss issues of regional importance; to report on events in each of their countries; and to build stronger relationships between their churches. The opportunity to spend time together was made all the more poignant this year because one of the participants, President Isaac Guadalupe Garcia of the Lutheran Synod of Mexico (Sínodo Luterano de México – SLM), recently underwent a harrowing kidnapping experience.

Rev. Dr. Maximiliano Wolfgramm Silva served as guest speaker for the event. Dr. Silva is a professorat the Lutheran University of Brazil (ULBRA), an educational institute of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil (Igreja Evangélica Luterana do Brasil – IELB). Dr. Silva explored the convention theme over several lectures, discussing the meaning of the term secularization, reflecting on the relationship between faith and culture, and remarking on the gift of a life transformed by Jesus in the Spirit, submitted to God and committed to the good of the world.

In addition to ICEL President Limberth Fernandez and several other pastors from Bolivia, in-person participants included: President Arturo Truenow of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina (Iglesia Evangélica Luterana Argentina – IELA) and Prof. Sergio Schelske, director of the IELA’s Concordia Seminary and member of the ILC’s Seminaries Relations Committee); IELB President Geraldo Schuller of Brazil; President Ignacio Chan of the Lutheran Church in Guatemala (Iglesia Luterana en Guatemala – ILG); SLM President Garcia of Mexico; President Alceu Figur of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Paraguay (Iglesia Evangélica Luterana del Paraguay – IELPA); Vice President Alejandrino Lopez Quispe of the Evangelical Lutheran Church – Peru (Iglesia Evangélica Luterana-Perú – IEL-P); President André Müller of the Lutheran Church of Uruguay (Iglesia Luterana del Uruguay – ILU); and President Eduardo Flores of the Lutheran Church of Venezuela (Iglesia Luterana de Venezuela – ILV); and Rev. Dr. Nilo Figur, Director for Latin America of Lutheran Hour Ministries. Three other participants and presenters took part online: the ILC’s General Secretary, Rev. Dr. Klaus Detlev Schulz; the LCMS Regional Director for Latin America, Rev. Dr. Ted Krey; and President Juan Pablo Lanterna of the Confessional Lutheran Church of Chile (Iglesia Luterana Confesional de Chile – ILC-Chile).

In addition to other business, the 2024 conference engaged in theological discussion of church fellowship, with IELPA President Figur leading the conversations. President Figur also serves on the ILC’s Board of Directors as the regional representative for Latin America.

*Meetings of the ILC’s 2024 Latin America Regional Conference.*

The ILC’s General Secretary, Rev. Dr. Klaus Detlev Schulz, addressed the convention via the internet. “We know that we live in a world that is confused and in need of help,” Dr. Schulz noted in his remarks. “You belong to the International Lutheran Council, and as participants you share the message of our faith in Christ: that we are justified by Him and that the Gospel is to be shared with others so that people come to believe and be saved.” He went on to say that it is this “common mission with a common message on who Christ is, what a human being is, and what a good life looks like under God” that binds the various members of the ILC together.

“May the Lord bless you all in your service to the church,” he continued, “and may He strengthen you to remain wise and steadfast in the Word, always taking your church out of a path of errors to a path of light and joy.”

The International Lutheran Council is a worldwide association of confessional Lutheran churches which proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the basis of an unconditional commitment to Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.

*Participants in the ILC’s 2024 Latin America Regional Conference enjoyed an excursion to Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the word.*

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ILC assembly receives two churches into full membership, reveals plans for 2025 World Conference

by Mathew Block | Oct 29, 2024

*Participants in the International Lutheran Council’s 2024 extraordinary assembly in Wittenberg, Germany.*

GERMANY – The International Lutheran Council (ILC) held an extraordinary assembly on October 26, 2024, in Wittenberg, Germany, during which time the ILC introduced the Board of Director’s new secretary, heard reports, received two churches into full membership, and made plans for the ILC’s 2025 World Conference.

General Secretary reports, introduces new BOD secretary

*ILC General Secretary Klaus Detlev Schulz reports during the assembly in Wittenberg.*

The assembly began with a brief report from the ILC’s General Secretary, Rev. Dr. Klaus Detlev Schulz, outlining the work of the ILC over the past year, focusing especially on Regional Conferences and the 2024 World Seminary Conference. Dr. Schulz also acknowledged some of the new observer member churches in the ILC.

*LCU Bishop Charles Bameka, the new Secretary of the ILC’s Board of Directors, takes notes during the 2024 Assembly in Wittenberg.*

Dr. Schulz then introduced to the assembly the new Secretary of the ILC’s Board of Directors: Bishop Charles Bameka of the Lutheran Church of Uganda (LCU). Bishop Bameka has served as the LCU’s national presiding bishop in Uganda for eight years, most recently having been reelected in 2023.

Bishop Bameka succeeds Bishop John Donkoh of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana (ELCG), who was elected Secretary during the ILC’s World Conference in 2022. Bishop Donkoh stepped down from the ILC’s Board of Directors earlier this year as his church body prepares for a change in leadership. The assembly in Wittenberg also acknowledged the long service of President Gijsbertus van Hattem of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Belgium (Evangelisch-Lutherse Kerk in België – ELCG), who served as Secretary from 2009-2022 and has served as Assistant Secretary since then.

Ecumenical Relations

*Rev. Dr. Werner Klän speaks to the ILC assembly in Wittenberg.*

The assembly then heard from Rev. Dr. Werner Klän, who gave a report on the current status of the Concordia-Lutheran – Roman Catholic Augustana Working Group. This is the ecumenical-theological working group which was established following the conclusion of the informal conversations between the ILC and the Roman Catholic Church which took place from 2014-2019. Dr. Klän noted encouraging feedback from ILC member churches on the Final Report which arose from those discussions, and invited additional responses from ILC member churches.

The Augustana Working Group, which is not a formal dialogue commission, held its inaugural meetings in Rome in March 2024. The working topic for the group is: “Catholicity and Apostolicity in the Augsburg Confession, Examined in the Areas of Soteriology (Justification) and Ecclesiology (Ministry, Episcopate, and Ordination): A Joint Lutheran-Catholic Review of the Augsburg Confession in a Pre-Confessional and Ecumenical Perspective.” The meetings are scheduled to take place over four years, with the next meetings to take place in Wittenberg, Germany, from December 9-10, 2024, and in Rome from February 23-26, 2025.

Membership

*CLCSA Bishop David Tswaedi addresses the assembly while ILC Chairman, Bishop Juhana Pohjola of Finland, looks on.*

Other business during the assembly included a unanimous vote to receive two churches into full membership in the ILC: the Evangelical Lutheran Synod Church of South Sudan and Sudan (ELCSS/S) and the Confessional Lutheran Church of South Africa (CLCSA). Archbishop Joseph Ochola Omolo of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK)—who serves also as the Africa regional representative on the Board of Directors—introduced the two churches prior to the vote and recommended their acceptance into membership.

The two churches were represented at the ILC assembly by their bishops: ELCSS/S Bishop Peter Anibati Abia and CLCSA Bishop David Tswaedi. Both church bodies had previously been observer members in the ILC, with the ELCSS/S having been accepted as an observer in 2022 and the CLCSA in 2018.

The assembly also reinstated membership for a few church bodies whose membership had lapsed.

Discussions on Fellowship and Bylaw Amendments

*ELCE Chairman George Samiec speaks during the 2024 ILC assembly in Wittenberg.*

Next on the agenda was a discussion of fellowship, led by Chairman George Samiec of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of England (ELCE). Chairman Samiec is the European regional representative on the ILC’s Board of Directors, and further serves on a subcommittee of the board focused on fellowship, alongside the ILC’s General Secretary, Klaus Detlev Schulz, and ILC Communications Manager, Mathew Block.

Chairman Samiec noted that a suggestion had been made by Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) that the ILC explore the topic of fellowship. The subcommittee adapted and condensed the Canadian proposal, before distributing it to ILC member churches for discussion and feedback.

The 2024 assembly in Wittenberg continued discussion of the subject, with members from across the globe providing additional insight into their churches’ understanding of fellowship.

ELCE Chairman Samiec also led the next part of the assembly’s agenda, which introduced unrelated amendments to the ILC’s bylaws.

2025 World Conference

The final order of business for the assembly in Wittenberg was the announcement of the dates and location of next year’s ILC World Conference. The 2025 World Conference will take place September 17-19, 2025 in Bohol, Philippines. The theme for the conference will be “Unity in Christ: Confession and Cooperation in a Fragmented World.”

President Antonio Reyes of the Lutheran Church in the Philippines (LCP) made the announcement. “The members of my church are very excited to welcome you to our country,” he said. “It affords us the chance to meet with all of you, my brothers.” President Reyes also serves as the Asia regional representative on the ILC’s Board of Directors.

Additional information on the 2025 World Conference will be revealed in the months to come.

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ILC welcomes Lutheran Mission – Australia into membership

by Mathew Block | Oct 17, 2024

AUSTRALIA – The International Lutheran Council (ILC) has accepted Lutheran Mission – Australia (LM-A) into membership as a Recognized Organization. The decision came during a meeting of the ILC’s Board of Directors on September 17.

“It’s a pleasure to welcome Lutheran Mission – Australia into membership in the ILC,” said Rev. Dr. Klaus Detlev Schulz, General Secretary of the International Lutheran Council. “We appreciate their principled stand on the authority of Scripture, and we look forward to a strong relationship going into the future. May God bless their ministry as they seek to make Christ and His Word known throughout Australia.”

Lutheran Mission – Australia is a newly-formed organization in Australia which seeks to “ensure Confessional Lutheranism has a home in Australia for generations to come.” It arose out of a confessional movement within the Lutheran Church of Australia/New Zealand (LCANZ) which was concerned that the church was declining from historic Lutheran teaching and practice—visibly on the issue over women’s ordination but even more fundamentally on the nature of the authority of Scripture.

“We believe connection with Confessional Lutherans around the world is vital for the health of an emerging synodical body,” said LM-A President Elect Matthew Anker. “To this end, LM-A is seeking membership in the ILC to provide ecclesial accountability, to foster faithful theological reflection, and to seek the consolation of the brethren.” President Anker formerly served as the LCANZ’s Assistant to the Bishop for International Mission.

Less than a month after Lutheran Mission – Australia was accepted into membership, the Lutheran Church of Australia/New Zealand voted on October 5 to authorize women’s ordination. As a result, The LCANZ’s status in the ILC was automatically reduced to Observer Member status in keeping with the ILC’s bylaws.

“We join with faithful people the world over in lamenting the recent decision of the Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand (LCANZ) to abandon the clear teaching of the Scriptures and embrace the unbiblical practice of the ordination of women,” LM-A President Anker wrote in response to the vote. “Abandoning God’s Word in such a manner is bound to have a detrimental impact on the faith and life of God’s people…. Our hearts break for the damage this will wreak on people’s faith.”

He continued: “In light of this sad news, Lutheran Mission – Australia is more committed than ever to pursuing the establishment of a thoroughly Confessional Lutheran synod in Australia for the sake of the Gospel and the mission which the Lord has entrusted to His people.”

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Lutheran Church of Australia/New Zealand vote to allow women’s ordination

by Mathew Block | Oct 17, 2024

AUSTRALIA – The Lutheran Church of Australia/New Zealand (LCANZ) has voted to allow women’s ordination, affecting its relationship with confessional Lutherans worldwide.

The decision came during the LCANZ’s Convention of General Synod which met in Adelaide from October 4-7. On October 5, the church voted to accept a proposal altering the LCA’s Theses of Agreement, removing the paragraph which restricted women from serving in pastoral ministry on the basis of the teaching of Scripture. It comes after decades of internal debate and disagreement over the issue. Five previous attempts since 2000 to introduce women’s ordination in the LCA had failed.

As a result of the decision, the LCA’s status in the International Lutheran Council (ILC) has been reduced to Observer Member from its former Associate Member status. Full and Associate membership in the ILC is restricted to churches which maintain the doctrinal positions of the ILC as spelled out in the council’s bylaws; a departure from these positions results in an automatic reduction to Observer Member status.

“We grieve the decision of the LCANZ to depart from the clear teaching of Scripture on ordination and the historic practice of the Church,” said Rev. Dr. Klaus Detlev Schulz, General Secretary of the ILC. “We pray for those who have faithfully resisted this change in doctrine for so many years. And we encourage those who have rejected the historic practice of ordination to return to the teaching of Scripture.”

The decision to allow women’s ordination has also strained the LCANZ’s relationship with Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC). In 1994, the Canadian and Australian churches signed a confessional agreement which allowed for fellowship, the shared recognition of each other’s ministry, and other areas of cooperation. The LCA’s decision to approve women’s ordination has undermined the doctrinal unity which serves as the basis of that agreement.

*LCC President Teuscher addresses the LCANZ’s 2024 Convention of General Synod.*

LCC President Timothy Teuscher was present for the LCANZ’s Convention of General Synod, and addressed the assembly a day after the vote. “While your decision yesterday to implement women’s ordination might bring an end to the constant discussion and debate here among you,” he said, “such is likely to lead to some internal ruptures and a new set of tensions that will not be easily healed.”

“‘Do not two walk together unless they are agreed?’” President Teuscher continued, quoting Amos. “Since LCC and the LCA are no longer in agreement on this matter pertaining to the office of the Holy Ministry, we in Lutheran Church–Canada will have no other option than to recognize that your action yesterday has severed the bond of fellowship between us. At the same time, we will do all in our power to support the faithful remnant here in the Lutheran Church of Australia.

In Lutheran Church–Canada, the formal recognition of dissolution of fellowship must take place during a synodical convention, the next of which is scheduled for 2026.

Many Australian Lutherans have opposed the move by their church body to adopt women’s ordination. That resistance recently led to the formation of the church organization Lutheran Mission – Australia, which was accepted into membership in the ILC in September 2024.

The LCANZ’s resolution authorizing women’s ordination calls on the church to finalize a doctrinal statement on ordination for 2025, to be approved during online meetings of the General Pastors’ Conference and Convention of General Synod.

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