News

Posts tagged:

World Seminary Conference

World Seminaries Conference comes to an end

Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod President Matthew Harrison and Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany Bishop Hans-Jörg Voigt pronounce absolution individually to conference goers at the closing service in St. Mary's Church.

Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod President Matthew Harrison and Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany Bishop Hans-Jörg Voigt pronounce absolution to conference goers at the closing service in St. Mary’s Church.

GERMANY – Thursday saw the International Lutheran Council’s 2016 World Seminaries Conference draw to a close.

Rev. Dr. Makito Masaki.

Rev. Dr. Makito Masaki.

The focus of the day was the impact of confessional Lutheranism on worldview, with Rev. Dr. Makito Masaki, President of Kobe Lutheran Theological Seminary in Japan, providing the keynote address. Dr. Masaki’s presentation gave special attention to the catechism as a method of shaping a Christian worldview in both thought and daily action. Rev. Dr. Lawrence Rast (LCMS) provided a response to the paper.

The afternoon featured two shorter presentations. Rev. Prof. Leonerio Faller of Brazil (IELB) spoke on “The Immigrant in the Light of the bible and Lutheran Theology,” while Rev. Dr. Sergei A. Isaev of Russia (ELCI) addressed “The Lutheran Penetration of Russia.”

The latter half of the afternoon was spent discussing future plans for the World Seminaries Conference, and exploring what specific resources the conference might provide to assist seminaries around the world in their work: the development of a common core curriculum, for example, or the facilitation of inter-seminary student exchanges.

ILC Executive Secretary Al Collver and ILC Chairman Bishop Hans-Jörg Voigt install the Seminary Relations Committee.

ILC Executive Secretary Al Collver and ILC Chairman Bishop Hans-Jörg Voigt install the Seminary Relations Committee.

The convention took time to give a special note of thanks to Dr. Andrea Grunhagen of the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church for her work in helping to organize the convention.

A closing service for the conference then took place in St. Mary’s Church, the mother church of the Reformation. The service saw the installation of the current board of the ILC Seminary Relations Committee: Ghana’s Rev. William Adjei Boateng (Africa World Region), Germany’s Rev. Dr. Werner Klän (Europe World Region), Brazil’s Rev. Gerson Linden (Latin America World Region), and Rev. Dr. Timothy Quill (North America World Region). The representative for the Asia World Region will be appointed at a later date and will come from the Lutheran Church of the Philippines. The convention earlier thanked Rev. Dr. Michael Adoga for his work, as he was not continuing on as the Africa World Region representative.

———————

ILC prepares for 2016 World Seminary Conference

The ILC's Seminary Relations Committee plans for the 2016 World Seminary Conference to be held in Wittenberg, Germany.

The ILC’s Seminary Relations Committee plans for the 2016 World Seminary Conference, to be held in Wittenberg, Germany.

GERMANY- The Seminary Relations Committee of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) met October 6 on the campus of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Oberursel, a school of the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (SELK). Committee representatives come from the various ILC world regions and include Professor Dr. Gerson Linden (São Leopoldo, Brazil) as Chairman, Professor Dr. Roland Ziegler (Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA), Professor Dr. Jin-Seop Eom (Yongin, Korea), Professor Dr. Werner Klän (Oberursel, Germany), and Rev. Dr. Albert Collver, ILC Executive Secretary (St. Louis, Missouri, USA). The meeting was scheduled to prepare for the 6th ILC World Seminary Conference, scheduled to take place next year.

The Conference will meet under the theme Shaping Confessional Lutheranism in the 21st Century: The Impact of the Lutheran Reformation on Mission, Worship, and Worldview. It is to be held October 10-14, 2016 at the “Old Latin School” in Wittenberg, which serves as a visitors’ centre for the ILC. Plans are to provide four primary lectures on the conference themes, as well as to receive reports on the state of seminary education in the various ILC world regions. In addition, international guests are expected. Planners are expecting approximately 60 participants. Academic features of the gathering will be rooted in devotions to be held throughout the conference.

———————

Signup for ILC Updates