Mathew Block

Mathew Block

WORLD – The International Lutheran Council (ILC) has announced that Mathew Block will serve as the editor of its news service going forward. Mathew Block is currently Communications Manager for Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) and editor of The Canadian Lutheran magazine, positions he will continue to hold in addition to his new duties as ILC editor.

“It’s a great pleasure to begin serving world Lutherans in this capacity,” Block said. “God is doing great things for the advance of the Gospel through the churches of the International Lutheran Council. I’m honoured to support the work they’re doing by helping share their stories with the world at large.”

In addition to his work for LCC, Mathew Block blogs for First Things, and has been published in a number of Christian and secular publications. The invitation to serve as the ILC’s editor came from the Executive Council earlier this year. The decision to accept was officially ratified in a November 16 vote by LCC’s Board of Directors.

“There is a growing interest from various parts of the world—including from some places where we never had ties before—in the International Lutheran Council, its witness and work,” said the ILC’s Vice-Chairman, Rev. Dr. Robert Bugbee, who also serves as LCC’s President. “Our Canadian church counts it a real joy to be able to support the ILC’s communications effort by making Mathew Block available to direct this effort. God bless him with energy and love for an exciting assignment!”

In recent years the ILC has published a print newsletter in both English and Spanish. Under Block’s editorship, the ILC will continue its print edition but will also create an online companion to the publication, providing timely news and commentary on global events from a confessional Lutheran perspective. Through the support of communications personnel from The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, work is already underway on the development of a new website for the ILC, a large focus of which will be the International Lutheran News service.

In the meantime, the ILC has updated its current website to allow for the publication of news and commentary until such time as the new website is ready (http://www.ilcouncil.org/ilc-news/headlines/). Member church bodies of the ILC are encouraged to submit regular news updates (of national and international import) to ILC Editor Mathew Block at communications@ilcouncil.org with the subject line “ILC News.”

The International Lutheran Council is a global association of confessional Lutheran church bodies which proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the basis of an unconditional commitment to the Holy Scriptures as the inspired and infallible Word of God, and to the Lutheran Confessions contained in the Book of Concord as true and faithful expositions of that Word.