Responding to challenges, comprehending God's call 

The archbishop offered some striking examples of the vibrancy of LWF’s work that he has witnessed firsthand, including visits to World Service programs in northern Cameroon. He welcomed the work to affirm women in leadership, noting the growing number of churches ordaining women to ministry. “But we must do better,” he said, urging member churches to not waver or retreat in their commitment to women’s leadership. 

Speaking of the importance of prioritizing young people and their leadership at all levels of church life, Musa said the LWF remains committed to ensuring 20 percent of youth participation, but the goal of youth empowerment, leadership and inclusion will only be realized when member churches commit to this in their local contexts. “My hope is that more will take steps in that direction,” he stressed. 

Other challenges that Musa addressed included the urgency of responding to the climate crisis, peacebuilding, the work of strengthening dialogue and practical cooperation with other Christian world communions and the need to counteract misleading theologies through discussions, formation and theological education. 

After thanking all those who have supported him over the past six years, the LWF leader reiterated his call to the churches to remain united and mutually accountable to one another as they look ahead to the 500th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession in 2030. “A divided church risks losing its impact,” he said, while “a united body can offer guidance” and hope. He concluded: “Our unity rests on genuine and respectful conversation,” through which “we deepen our comprehension of God’s call and our role in a fragmented and suffering world.” 

Responding to challenges, comprehending God's call 

The archbishop offered some striking examples of the vibrancy of LWF’s work that he has witnessed firsthand, including visits to World Service programs in northern Cameroon. He welcomed the work to affirm women in leadership, noting the growing number of churches ordaining women to ministry. “But we must do better,” he said, urging member churches to not waver or retreat in their commitment to women’s leadership. 

Speaking of the importance of prioritizing young people and their leadership at all levels of church life, Musa said the LWF remains committed to ensuring 20 percent of youth participation, but the goal of youth empowerment, leadership and inclusion will only be realized when member churches commit to this in their local contexts. “My hope is that more will take steps in that direction,” he stressed. 

Other challenges that Musa addressed included the urgency of responding to the climate crisis, peacebuilding, the work of strengthening dialogue and practical cooperation with other Christian world communions and the need to counteract misleading theologies through discussions, formation and theological education. 

After thanking all those who have supported him over the past six years, the LWF leader reiterated his call to the churches to remain united and mutually accountable to one another as they look ahead to the 500th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession in 2030. “A divided church risks losing its impact,” he said, while “a united body can offer guidance” and hope. He concluded: “Our unity rests on genuine and respectful conversation,” through which “we deepen our comprehension of God’s call and our role in a fragmented and suffering world.” 

Responding to challenges, comprehending God's call 

The archbishop offered some striking examples of the vibrancy of LWF’s work that he has witnessed firsthand, including visits to World Service programs in northern Cameroon. He welcomed the work to affirm women in leadership, noting the growing number of churches ordaining women to ministry. “But we must do better,” he said, urging member churches to not waver or retreat in their commitment to women’s leadership. 

Speaking of the importance of prioritizing young people and their leadership at all levels of church life, Musa said the LWF remains committed to ensuring 20 percent of youth participation, but the goal of youth empowerment, leadership and inclusion will only be realized when member churches commit to this in their local contexts. “My hope is that more will take steps in that direction,” he stressed. 

Other challenges that Musa addressed included the urgency of responding to the climate crisis, peacebuilding, the work of strengthening dialogue and practical cooperation with other Christian world communions and the need to counteract misleading theologies through discussions, formation and theological education. 

After thanking all those who have supported him over the past six years, the LWF leader reiterated his call to the churches to remain united and mutually accountable to one another as they look ahead to the 500th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession in 2030. “A divided church risks losing its impact,” he said, while “a united body can offer guidance” and hope. He concluded: “Our unity rests on genuine and respectful conversation,” through which “we deepen our comprehension of God’s call and our role in a fragmented and suffering world.” 

14 SEP 2023

LWF General Secretary outlines priorities and progress to delegates at Krakow 

“The vitality of a church is not measured by how many members it has, but by its commitment and willingness to serve God and neighbor, by its readiness to walk the talk.” In her address to participants from around the globe attending The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Thirteenth Assembly in Kraków, Poland, General Secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt outlined the progress and priorities of the worldwide communion of churches. 

Speaking on the second day of the 13 to 19 September Assembly, Burghardt looked back at the journey of the LWF from the last Assembly in Windhoek, Namibia in 2017 to the Thirteenth Assembly in Krakow.  

“Communion and unity are gifts from God,” she emphasized, and “our task is to keep and to nurture them, making them ever more visible.” 

The understanding of being churches in communion was made very visible during the COVID-19 pandemic. The LWF member churches came together in prayer, solidarity, and action. Thanks to support from across the member churches, the LWF could fund 181 COVID-19 related projects in 87 member churches through a new Rapid Response Fund (RRF.) The RRF, Burghardt noted, “proved to be an extremely helpful tool in responding fast to the most urgent needs of churches." 

She highlighted how programs such as the LWF’s annual Retreat of Newly Elected Leaders (RONEL) and the Seminar for Lay Leaders, have been important spaces to connect church leaders across the global communion. 

Since the last LWF Assembly, Burghardt noted there was hope that international consensus around the United Nations (UN) 2030 agenda would lead to improved living standards for vulnerable people and communities. 

However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been increased inequality and “strong pushback against human rights, in particular the rights of women,” with the UN reporting a 40 percent rise in gender-based violence worldwide. More recently, conflicts and wars in several countries including Ukraine, Haiti, Sudan and Ethiopia, “have forced millions to flee in search of safety,” with the number of forcibly displaced people topping 100 million for the first time in history. 

The LWF leader pointed to “a growing realization within the secular world of the need to work more closely with faith-based organizations.” In the face of contemporary challenges including the mounting climate crisis, “the erosion of social cohesion and societal polarization,” she said, “the good news is that churches often play a strong role in responding to all these challenges.” The churches, she added “are called to be messengers of hope, not of naïve optimism." 

Fear tends to cast out love toward one’s neighbor and therefore toward God.

Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt, LWF General Secretary 

Burghardt noted that as people feel insecure and in search of “simple (and often simplistic) answers to complex questions,” there has been an alarming rise in the way “fear is fueled in public discourse.” While the Bible tells us that ‘perfect love casts out fear’ [1 John 4:18], she said, “too often it also works the other way around: fear tends to cast out love toward one’s neighbor and therefore toward God.” 

Referring to contexts across LWF regions, the general secretary said, “we may sometimes feel we are faced with an insurmountable task.” In communion, however, “God opens new and exciting ways for us, bringing us together, pooling resources and achieving what might seem impossible: transforming despair into hope.” 

Journey from Windhoek to Krakow 

Burghardt shared highlights of the LWF’s work over the past six years, noting that five churches (from Cuba, India, Guatemala, Ukraine and Georgia) have joined the communion, while two more (from Cambodia and Indonesia) have begun a two-year interim period prior to full membership. Since the founding of the LWF, she reiterated, one of its aims has been “to bring Lutheran churches closer together to strengthen their joint mission.” 

The General Secretary also offered thanks to the many ecumenical guests attending the Assembly, noting that the final day will include a panel discussion on dialogue and joint witness, as well as a Common Word with leaders of the Roman Catholic church. To be Lutheran is to be ecumenical, she reiterated and the aim of Christian unity “is not just doctrinal unity, but also unity in service, witness and prayer.” 

Theological education and formation 

Burghardt highlighted the need to continue strengthening theological education across the communion. She referred to the launch of the LWF’s Theological Education and Formation network in 2018, as well as the ongoing Lutheran identities process and plans to develop a global online curriculum on Lutheran theology. She spoke about the vital work to affirm women’s equal dignity, particularly in ordained ministry, stressing that “as a global communion, we must engage with the root causes of questioning women’s leadership roles in churches and in societies at large.” 

Youth leadership is another priority for the LWF, Burghardt said, noting the vital role that young people in member churches play, especially in peace building and in working for climate justice. Though the LWF introduced a 20 percent youth quota several decades ago, she lamented that “we still struggle in some regions to get sufficient youth as Assembly delegates. We must do better.” 

Human dignity, justice and peace 

The LWF leader also reviewed key progress made in promoting human dignity, justice and peace through advocacy, as well as humanitarian and development work. She pointed to the new Action for Justice unit, created in the Geneva Communion Office in 2020 to better integrate the work of both the member churches and LWF’s World Service. The latter is “one of the largest faith-based humanitarian actors worldwide,” she said, with more than 8,500 staff serving over 3 million refugees and displaced people. 

Burghardt offered thanks to her predecessor, Rev. Dr Martin Junge, who led the LWF for more than a decade, as well as the staff, Council members, partners and related agencies, for their strong commitment to the work of the global communion of churches.

14 SEP 2023

Keynote speaker Tomáš Halík says churches must transcend national, religious, cultural boundaries 

A new reformation for the 21st century must transcend “the current forms and boundaries of Christianity,” resist simplistic answers to contemporary challenges and contribute to uniting into ‘One Body’ all of humanity, together with all of creation.

On the second day of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Thirteenth Assembly in Kraków, Poland, keynote speaker Monsignor Tomáš Halík urged participants from across the global Lutheran communion to be “witnesses to the ongoing resurrection of the Giver of Hope,” by working for a spiritual renewal that goes beyond national, religious, social or cultural boundaries.

A leading Catholic intellectual and author from the Czech Republic, Halík served as advisor to Václav Havel, the first Czech president following the fall of the Berlin wall and the end of the Cold War.  A professor of sociology and head of the Religious Studies Department at Prague’s Charles University, he is also the recipient of numerous awards for his work to promote human rights, religious freedom and interfaith dialogue.

Ecclesia semper reformanda 

In his keynote address to delegates attending the 13 to 19 September Assembly, Halík recalled that the church must be “ever reforming, […] especially in times of great change and crisis in our common world.” Reformation is necessary, he said, “where form hinders content, where it inhibits the dynamism of the living core.”  

Looking back to the Lutheran and Catholic Reformations of the 16th century, he noted that they “renewed and deepened Christianity, but they also divided it.” The 20th century, he said, “saw the beginning of two great parallel reformations – the global expansion of Pentecostal Christianity and the Second Vatican Council,” marking the Catholic church’s transition from “confessional closedness […] to universal ecumenical openness.”

But the ecumenism of the 21st century, he continued, must go much further than the ecumenism of the previous one. Just as St Paul had the courage to lead “Christianity out of the narrow confines of one of the Jewish sects and into the broader ecumene” during “the first reformation,” Halík  said, so Christianity today needs “to transcend existing mental and institutional, confessional, cultural and social boundaries in order to fulfil its universal mission.”

Faith and critical thinking

Reflecting on the “constant struggle between grace and sin, faith and unbelief, waged in every human heart,” he called for an “honest dialogue” between believers and unbelievers living together in pluralistic societies. “Faith and critical thinking need each other,” he insisted, adding that a “mature faith can live with the open questions of the time and resist the temptation of the too-simple answers offered by dangerous contemporary ideologies.”

Turning to questions of religious identity, he noted that “populists, nationalists and religious fundamentalists exploit this fear [of identity loss] for their own power and economic interests.” They exploit it, he said, “in the same way that the fear for the salvation of one’s soul was exploited when indulgences were for sale” in Luther’s days. Comparing Luther to the Catholic mystics of that era, he said, “I am convinced that Luther’s theology of the cross needs to be renewed, rethought and deepened today.”  

Part of the new reformation or “new evangelization,” Halík said, “is also a transformation of the way of mission. We cannot approach others as arrogant possessors of truth.” The goal of mission, he reflected, “is not to recruit new church members, to squeeze them into the existing mental and institutional boundaries of our churches but to go beyond” to create a “mutually enriching dialogue” with those of other beliefs and none.

Reconciliation and spiritual discernment

In central and eastern Europe, Halík said, where countries suffered “the dark night of communist persecution,” churches have an important role to play in the process of reconciliation. “Democracy cannot be established and sustained merely by changing political and economic conditions” he warned, but instead requires “a certain moral and spiritual climate.”  

Halík also warned that churches that become corrupted by political regimes, deprive themselves of a future. “When the church enters into culture wars with its secular environment, it always comes out of them defeated and deformed.”

The alternative to culture wars, he noted, “is not conformity and cheap accommodation, but a culture of spiritual discernment.” A renewed and newly understood Christian spirituality, he concluded, “can make a significant contribution to the spiritual culture of humanity today, even far beyond the churches.”

Responses from America and Tanzania

Responding to Halík's presentation, Kathryn Lohre, head of ecumenical and inter-religious relations and theological discernment for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, said she was encouraged by his emphasis on “Luther’s theology of the cross as the lens for the church’s discernment.” But “are we willing,” she asked, “to touch the wounds” of those suffering from gender-based violence, economic injustice, racism and white supremacy, polarization and ethnonationalism, all exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic?  

Prof. Halík's words, she said, remind us that "the unbearable intimacy we experience at the foot of the cross is also the crossroads of the entire cosmos," the place where “we can hear, if we listen closely, the groans of God’s good creation, of life emanating from death.”

The second response came from Presiding Bishop Dr Fredrick Onael Shoo, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. Speaking as leader of one of the world’s largest Lutheran churches with nearly 8 million members, he said “full churches equally challenge forms of service, like empty churches. We must confess and let go of the irresponsible euphoria and triumphalism accompanying growth,” he said, not claiming credit but rather “asking God for direction and guidance.”  

Shoo urged “sister churches in the West to raise a prophetic voice against the atrocities perpetrated by their nations.” Churches must stand clearly against all forms of injustice, like “production and trade in weapons of mass destruction, activities that contribute to environmental degradation and climate change, trade imbalance and all sorts of inhumane policies and actions,” he said.

14 SEP 2023

LWF General Secretary outlines priorities and progress to delegates at Krakow 

“The vitality of a church is not measured by how many members it has, but by its commitment and willingness to serve God and neighbor, by its readiness to walk the talk.” In her address to participants from around the globe attending The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Thirteenth Assembly in Kraków, Poland, General Secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt outlined the progress and priorities of the worldwide communion of churches. 

Speaking on the second day of the 13 to 19 September Assembly, Burghardt looked back at the journey of the LWF from the last Assembly in Windhoek, Namibia in 2017 to the Thirteenth Assembly in Krakow.  

“Communion and unity are gifts from God,” she emphasized, and “our task is to keep and to nurture them, making them ever more visible.” 

The understanding of being churches in communion was made very visible during the COVID-19 pandemic. The LWF member churches came together in prayer, solidarity, and action. Thanks to support from across the member churches, the LWF could fund 181 COVID-19 related projects in 87 member churches through a new Rapid Response Fund (RRF.) The RRF, Burghardt noted, “proved to be an extremely helpful tool in responding fast to the most urgent needs of churches." 

She highlighted how programs such as the LWF’s annual Retreat of Newly Elected Leaders (RONEL) and the Seminar for Lay Leaders, have been important spaces to connect church leaders across the global communion. 

Since the last LWF Assembly, Burghardt noted there was hope that international consensus around the United Nations (UN) 2030 agenda would lead to improved living standards for vulnerable people and communities. 

However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been increased inequality and “strong pushback against human rights, in particular the rights of women,” with the UN reporting a 40 percent rise in gender-based violence worldwide. More recently, conflicts and wars in several countries including Ukraine, Haiti, Sudan and Ethiopia, “have forced millions to flee in search of safety,” with the number of forcibly displaced people topping 100 million for the first time in history. 

The LWF leader pointed to “a growing realization within the secular world of the need to work more closely with faith-based organizations.” In the face of contemporary challenges including the mounting climate crisis, “the erosion of social cohesion and societal polarization,” she said, “the good news is that churches often play a strong role in responding to all these challenges.” The churches, she added “are called to be messengers of hope, not of naïve optimism." 

Fear tends to cast out love toward one’s neighbor and therefore toward God.

Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt, LWF General Secretary 

Burghardt noted that as people feel insecure and in search of “simple (and often simplistic) answers to complex questions,” there has been an alarming rise in the way “fear is fueled in public discourse.” While the Bible tells us that ‘perfect love casts out fear’ [1 John 4:18], she said, “too often it also works the other way around: fear tends to cast out love toward one’s neighbor and therefore toward God.” 

Referring to contexts across LWF regions, the general secretary said, “we may sometimes feel we are faced with an insurmountable task.” In communion, however, “God opens new and exciting ways for us, bringing us together, pooling resources and achieving what might seem impossible: transforming despair into hope.” 

Journey from Windhoek to Krakow 

Burghardt shared highlights of the LWF’s work over the past six years, noting that five churches (from Cuba, India, Guatemala, Ukraine and Georgia) have joined the communion, while two more (from Cambodia and Indonesia) have begun a two-year interim period prior to full membership. Since the founding of the LWF, she reiterated, one of its aims has been “to bring Lutheran churches closer together to strengthen their joint mission.” 

The General Secretary also offered thanks to the many ecumenical guests attending the Assembly, noting that the final day will include a panel discussion on dialogue and joint witness, as well as a Common Word with leaders of the Roman Catholic church. To be Lutheran is to be ecumenical, she reiterated and the aim of Christian unity “is not just doctrinal unity, but also unity in service, witness and prayer.” 

Theological education and formation 

Burghardt highlighted the need to continue strengthening theological education across the communion. She referred to the launch of the LWF’s Theological Education and Formation network in 2018, as well as the ongoing Lutheran identities process and plans to develop a global online curriculum on Lutheran theology. She spoke about the vital work to affirm women’s equal dignity, particularly in ordained ministry, stressing that “as a global communion, we must engage with the root causes of questioning women’s leadership roles in churches and in societies at large.” 

Youth leadership is another priority for the LWF, Burghardt said, noting the vital role that young people in member churches play, especially in peace building and in working for climate justice. Though the LWF introduced a 20 percent youth quota several decades ago, she lamented that “we still struggle in some regions to get sufficient youth as Assembly delegates. We must do better.” 

Human dignity, justice and peace 

The LWF leader also reviewed key progress made in promoting human dignity, justice and peace through advocacy, as well as humanitarian and development work. She pointed to the new Action for Justice unit, created in the Geneva Communion Office in 2020 to better integrate the work of both the member churches and LWF’s World Service. The latter is “one of the largest faith-based humanitarian actors worldwide,” she said, with more than 8,500 staff serving over 3 million refugees and displaced people. 

Burghardt offered thanks to her predecessor, Rev. Dr Martin Junge, who led the LWF for more than a decade, as well as the staff, Council members, partners and related agencies, for their strong commitment to the work of the global communion of churches.

14 SEP 2023

LWF General Secretary outlines priorities and progress to delegates at Krakow 

“The vitality of a church is not measured by how many members it has, but by its commitment and willingness to serve God and neighbor, by its readiness to walk the talk.” In her address to participants from around the globe attending The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Thirteenth Assembly in Kraków, Poland, General Secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt outlined the progress and priorities of the worldwide communion of churches. 

Speaking on the second day of the 13 to 19 September Assembly, Burghardt looked back at the journey of the LWF from the last Assembly in Windhoek, Namibia in 2017 to the Thirteenth Assembly in Krakow.  

“Communion and unity are gifts from God,” she emphasized, and “our task is to keep and to nurture them, making them ever more visible.” 

The understanding of being churches in communion was made very visible during the COVID-19 pandemic. The LWF member churches came together in prayer, solidarity, and action. Thanks to support from across the member churches, the LWF could fund 181 COVID-19 related projects in 87 member churches through a new Rapid Response Fund (RRF.) The RRF, Burghardt noted, “proved to be an extremely helpful tool in responding fast to the most urgent needs of churches." 

She highlighted how programs such as the LWF’s annual Retreat of Newly Elected Leaders (RONEL) and the Seminar for Lay Leaders, have been important spaces to connect church leaders across the global communion. 

Since the last LWF Assembly, Burghardt noted there was hope that international consensus around the United Nations (UN) 2030 agenda would lead to improved living standards for vulnerable people and communities. 

However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been increased inequality and “strong pushback against human rights, in particular the rights of women,” with the UN reporting a 40 percent rise in gender-based violence worldwide. More recently, conflicts and wars in several countries including Ukraine, Haiti, Sudan and Ethiopia, “have forced millions to flee in search of safety,” with the number of forcibly displaced people topping 100 million for the first time in history. 

The LWF leader pointed to “a growing realization within the secular world of the need to work more closely with faith-based organizations.” In the face of contemporary challenges including the mounting climate crisis, “the erosion of social cohesion and societal polarization,” she said, “the good news is that churches often play a strong role in responding to all these challenges.” The churches, she added “are called to be messengers of hope, not of naïve optimism." 

Fear tends to cast out love toward one’s neighbor and therefore toward God.

Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt, LWF General Secretary 

Burghardt noted that as people feel insecure and in search of “simple (and often simplistic) answers to complex questions,” there has been an alarming rise in the way “fear is fueled in public discourse.” While the Bible tells us that ‘perfect love casts out fear’ [1 John 4:18], she said, “too often it also works the other way around: fear tends to cast out love toward one’s neighbor and therefore toward God.” 

Referring to contexts across LWF regions, the general secretary said, “we may sometimes feel we are faced with an insurmountable task.” In communion, however, “God opens new and exciting ways for us, bringing us together, pooling resources and achieving what might seem impossible: transforming despair into hope.” 

Journey from Windhoek to Krakow 

Burghardt shared highlights of the LWF’s work over the past six years, noting that five churches (from Cuba, India, Guatemala, Ukraine and Georgia) have joined the communion, while two more (from Cambodia and Indonesia) have begun a two-year interim period prior to full membership. Since the founding of the LWF, she reiterated, one of its aims has been “to bring Lutheran churches closer together to strengthen their joint mission.” 

The General Secretary also offered thanks to the many ecumenical guests attending the Assembly, noting that the final day will include a panel discussion on dialogue and joint witness, as well as a Common Word with leaders of the Roman Catholic church. To be Lutheran is to be ecumenical, she reiterated and the aim of Christian unity “is not just doctrinal unity, but also unity in service, witness and prayer.” 

Theological education and formation 

Burghardt highlighted the need to continue strengthening theological education across the communion. She referred to the launch of the LWF’s Theological Education and Formation network in 2018, as well as the ongoing Lutheran identities process and plans to develop a global online curriculum on Lutheran theology. She spoke about the vital work to affirm women’s equal dignity, particularly in ordained ministry, stressing that “as a global communion, we must engage with the root causes of questioning women’s leadership roles in churches and in societies at large.” 

Youth leadership is another priority for the LWF, Burghardt said, noting the vital role that young people in member churches play, especially in peace building and in working for climate justice. Though the LWF introduced a 20 percent youth quota several decades ago, she lamented that “we still struggle in some regions to get sufficient youth as Assembly delegates. We must do better.” 

Human dignity, justice and peace 

The LWF leader also reviewed key progress made in promoting human dignity, justice and peace through advocacy, as well as humanitarian and development work. She pointed to the new Action for Justice unit, created in the Geneva Communion Office in 2020 to better integrate the work of both the member churches and LWF’s World Service. The latter is “one of the largest faith-based humanitarian actors worldwide,” she said, with more than 8,500 staff serving over 3 million refugees and displaced people. 

Burghardt offered thanks to her predecessor, Rev. Dr Martin Junge, who led the LWF for more than a decade, as well as the staff, Council members, partners and related agencies, for their strong commitment to the work of the global communion of churches.

14 SEP 2023

LWF General Secretary outlines priorities and progress to delegates at Krakow 

“The vitality of a church is not measured by how many members it has, but by its commitment and willingness to serve God and neighbor, by its readiness to walk the talk.” In her address to participants from around the globe attending The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Thirteenth Assembly in Kraków, Poland, General Secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt outlined the progress and priorities of the worldwide communion of churches. 

Speaking on the second day of the 13 to 19 September Assembly, Burghardt looked back at the journey of the LWF from the last Assembly in Windhoek, Namibia in 2017 to the Thirteenth Assembly in Krakow.  

“Communion and unity are gifts from God,” she emphasized, and “our task is to keep and to nurture them, making them ever more visible.” 

The understanding of being churches in communion was made very visible during the COVID-19 pandemic. The LWF member churches came together in prayer, solidarity, and action. Thanks to support from across the member churches, the LWF could fund 181 COVID-19 related projects in 87 member churches through a new Rapid Response Fund (RRF.) The RRF, Burghardt noted, “proved to be an extremely helpful tool in responding fast to the most urgent needs of churches." 

She highlighted how programs such as the LWF’s annual Retreat of Newly Elected Leaders (RONEL) and the Seminar for Lay Leaders, have been important spaces to connect church leaders across the global communion. 

Since the last LWF Assembly, Burghardt noted there was hope that international consensus around the United Nations (UN) 2030 agenda would lead to improved living standards for vulnerable people and communities. 

However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been increased inequality and “strong pushback against human rights, in particular the rights of women,” with the UN reporting a 40 percent rise in gender-based violence worldwide. More recently, conflicts and wars in several countries including Ukraine, Haiti, Sudan and Ethiopia, “have forced millions to flee in search of safety,” with the number of forcibly displaced people topping 100 million for the first time in history. 

The LWF leader pointed to “a growing realization within the secular world of the need to work more closely with faith-based organizations.” In the face of contemporary challenges including the mounting climate crisis, “the erosion of social cohesion and societal polarization,” she said, “the good news is that churches often play a strong role in responding to all these challenges.” The churches, she added “are called to be messengers of hope, not of naïve optimism." 

Fear tends to cast out love toward one’s neighbor and therefore toward God.

Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt, LWF General Secretary 

Burghardt noted that as people feel insecure and in search of “simple (and often simplistic) answers to complex questions,” there has been an alarming rise in the way “fear is fueled in public discourse.” While the Bible tells us that ‘perfect love casts out fear’ [1 John 4:18], she said, “too often it also works the other way around: fear tends to cast out love toward one’s neighbor and therefore toward God.” 

Referring to contexts across LWF regions, the general secretary said, “we may sometimes feel we are faced with an insurmountable task.” In communion, however, “God opens new and exciting ways for us, bringing us together, pooling resources and achieving what might seem impossible: transforming despair into hope.” 

Journey from Windhoek to Krakow 

Burghardt shared highlights of the LWF’s work over the past six years, noting that five churches (from Cuba, India, Guatemala, Ukraine and Georgia) have joined the communion, while two more (from Cambodia and Indonesia) have begun a two-year interim period prior to full membership. Since the founding of the LWF, she reiterated, one of its aims has been “to bring Lutheran churches closer together to strengthen their joint mission.” 

The General Secretary also offered thanks to the many ecumenical guests attending the Assembly, noting that the final day will include a panel discussion on dialogue and joint witness, as well as a Common Word with leaders of the Roman Catholic church. To be Lutheran is to be ecumenical, she reiterated and the aim of Christian unity “is not just doctrinal unity, but also unity in service, witness and prayer.” 

Theological education and formation 

Burghardt highlighted the need to continue strengthening theological education across the communion. She referred to the launch of the LWF’s Theological Education and Formation network in 2018, as well as the ongoing Lutheran identities process and plans to develop a global online curriculum on Lutheran theology. She spoke about the vital work to affirm women’s equal dignity, particularly in ordained ministry, stressing that “as a global communion, we must engage with the root causes of questioning women’s leadership roles in churches and in societies at large.” 

Youth leadership is another priority for the LWF, Burghardt said, noting the vital role that young people in member churches play, especially in peace building and in working for climate justice. Though the LWF introduced a 20 percent youth quota several decades ago, she lamented that “we still struggle in some regions to get sufficient youth as Assembly delegates. We must do better.” 

Human dignity, justice and peace 

The LWF leader also reviewed key progress made in promoting human dignity, justice and peace through advocacy, as well as humanitarian and development work. She pointed to the new Action for Justice unit, created in the Geneva Communion Office in 2020 to better integrate the work of both the member churches and LWF’s World Service. The latter is “one of the largest faith-based humanitarian actors worldwide,” she said, with more than 8,500 staff serving over 3 million refugees and displaced people. 

Burghardt offered thanks to her predecessor, Rev. Dr Martin Junge, who led the LWF for more than a decade, as well as the staff, Council members, partners and related agencies, for their strong commitment to the work of the global communion of churches.