Last weekend, I was in Chicago, USA, to attend and to speak at a conference of the Global Missions unit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). I had also the opportunity to get to know a bit the members of an emerging movement in the ELCA: The 99 collective. They connect young people who are passionate Christians and care about social justice. Bjorn speaks here a little bit more about the background:
Author Archives: Roger Schmidt, Switzerland
The 99 collective is taking off
Posted in Church, Faith, Justice, North America, Youth participation
LWF together – the logo is out
Here is the logo for our experiment in 2011: LWF together – the earth needs you. Nicole Benz has the created the logo for us.
This program was developed with friends around the world (in an online consultation and a meeting with national youth leaders) – and it is really an experiment. Is it possible to have groups of young people around the world interact with each other – and make a real difference together.
A summary of the idea can be found here with translations in an expanding number of languages. The actual registration is going to start later in the month. Here you’ll hear it first.
Posted in Life
Read the bible with Luther – in Wittenberg
Have you ever thought about going to the birthplace of the Lutheran reformation? The Wittenberg Center of the Lutheran World Federation offers this possibility to young theologians. They are invited to attend a seminar titled “Reading the bible with Luther today “. It will be led by Professor Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr, Jena, Germany, and Professor Faustin Mahali, Makumira,Tanzania.
It is meant for people who have either already some parish experience or focused their studies on Luther. They also need the endorsement of a member church of the Lutheran World Federation.
Please find here more information and here the nomination form. Please act quickly!
Posted in Europe, LWF, Youth participation
Anna-Maria Tetzlaff – Meet the young members of the LWF Executive Committee
Just a few days ago, the newly elected Executive Committee of the LWF concluded its first meeting Geneva. For the first time, Anna-Maria Tetzlaff from Germany, was part of this governing body of the Lutheran World Federation. Here are her first impressions…
Posted in Europe, Youth, Youth participation
Meet the young members of the LWF Executive Committee – Eun Hae Kwon
The Executive Committee of the Lutheran World Federation just concluded their meeting. For the first time, Eun Hae Kwon, a young member of the Lutheran Church in Korea was part of the meeting. She is Vice-President elect for the Asia region:
Posted in Asia/Pacific, Church, Youth, Youth participation
Win a trip to Jamaica – and other opportunities for young Christians
The World Council of Churches organizes an International Ecumenical Peace Convocation in Jamaica in May 2011. Here are some opportunities for young people: Continue reading
Oxfam with hymns – How is Christian help different?
If a person helps another person, does it matter that the helper is a Christian? And does somebody who is a Christian help differently from a Non-Christian?
While these question maybe look quite strange applied to individuals, they make a lot of sense if we discuss them in connection to organizations. There are many situations in which people are in dire need. Catastrophes like in Haiti or Pakistan come to mind. In many places with persistent poverty help is also needed. Luckily, there are also organizations who provide help often beyond the capacities of the governments. They include churches, Christian agencies and secular NGOs. Does the way they help differ? Continue reading
New ideas in India
Currently, I am on my way back from a week together with youth leaders from the Lutheran churches in India. It has been a very fruitful meeting with a lot of learning for me, as well. Muan Chin, the youth secretary of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church invited me to come to a planning meeting. All 12 member churches were involved (most are also members of the Lutheran World Federation). These were intensive days of work.
At first the youth leaders went about reviewing their past achievements. Lutheran youth ministry in India was still in the nineties characterized by focusing on bible studies and activities for the members. But there was very little beyond the gates of the church compound. This changed in the last 10 years. Churches – and their youth ministry are increasingly aware of social issues and involve themselves there. This includes topics like HIV and AIDS and climate change. Furthermore, in at least a few of the member churches, there is a stronger sense of involving young people in leadership.
Planning the future of the youth ministry in India is certainly not only dependent on the history but also on the current trends. They were also highly discussed. These included: Importance of contemporary music for churches, conflicts among religious groups in India, church conflicts. This was a full and meaningful first day that however, described the challenges and not yet the possible answers for the Indian Youth workers.
This changed rapidly on the second day. the participants took time and re-imangined youth ministry on the national level in India. All of them wrote a letter imagining national youth ministry in the year 2017, seven years from now. On this creative basis, small groups were sifting through the ideas and made a long list of possible foci. Since that were clearly too many, the participants decided to make the list shorter. Here is what they came up with: Continue reading
Posted in Asia/Pacific, Church, Youth, Youth Ministry, Youth participation
Asian Lutheran youth on daily bread
Today, the Asia Pre-Assembly Consultation of the Lutheran World Federation started in Bangkok, Thailand. Close to 100 delegates from many Asian countries and churches discuss current issues. The main theme is the same like the LWF assembly in 2010 “Give us today our daily bread”.
Here is the youth response to the keynote address on behalf of the young delegates presented by Kazuhiro SEKINO (Japan Lutheran Church) Continue reading
Posted in Asia/Pacific, Church, Ecumenism, Justice, Life, LWF, Youth, Youth Ministry, Youth participation
Unveiled – A drama review
A blog post by Eva Guldanová, friend from the Slovak republic who currently studies in Chicago, USA.
Review of ”Unveiled”
Drama play by Rohina Malik
Many of us living in the Northern-Western hemisphere often know Muslims and the Muslim world mainly, if not only, from media – from the many sad news about terrorist attacks all over the world, and wars and violence in the countries in the Middle and farther East. Stories that make us shiver, make us feel that this world is very distant from ours and far behind ours as to its development and culture, stories that make us not really want to meet the other … because what good would we derive from such meetings? The image of the Muslim world in the “developed” Christian world is not a plausible one…one that caries a lot of fear. … fear that is not based on experience which we can trust, our own experience, but on distorted image that somebody from media whom we don’t even know imposed on us.
This image has been rapidly deteriorated after September 11, 2001…
Students, staff, and professors of our seminary – the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and members of the Chicagoan Hyde Park community had one enigmatic evening in the middle of November the opportunity to encounter that world differently Continue reading
Posted in Ecumenism, Faith, Justice, Life, North America
