LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION

P. O. Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland

Assistant Editor (English)

Tel: 41.22 791 6354

Fax: 41.22 798 8616

E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org

Proposal for a permanent LWF center in Wittenberg

A liaison center for the Reformation-related institutes in the city

WITTENBERG, Germany/GENEVA, 27 October 1999 (lwi) - The Lutheran World Federation(LWF) has been asked to consider opening a permanent center in Wittenberg which would serve as a liaison for the Luther related institutions in the German city.

This request was made by Mr. Hans-Joachim Kiderlen, the President of the Evangelical Church of the Union in the Province of Saxony (KPS) when he addressed participants at the third convention of the Conference of International Black Lutherans (CIBL) meeting in this German city.

He thanked CIBL for choosing Wittenberg, “ a small city” as the venue for their meeting and at the same time underlined the ecumenical nature of the church. “We (the church) act on a worldwide basis,” he said and went on to mention the relationships existing with international church bodies such as the LWF, World Council of Churches (WCC) and World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC).

The Luther-related institutions in Wittenberg include the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Study Center for Adult Education, of which programs comprise the Armenian and Jewish studies institutes among others; the Seminary for the Evangelical Church of the Union for the formation of pastors; the Luther Memorial Foundation (Luther-Halle); the Protestant Academy in Wittenberg; the soon to be established Luther Center Coordination (end of October 1999) and the Center for Global Ethics which will be inaugurated in November by former New York Mayor Andrew Young.

The CIBL members are drawn from their respective Lutheran churches, which are part of the 128 member churches of the LWF.

(The LWF is a global communion of 128 member churches in 70 countries representing 58 million of the world’s 61.5 million Lutherans. It highest decision making body is the Assembly, held every six or seven years. Between Assemblies, the LWF is governed by a 49-member Council which meets annually, and its Executive Committee.)