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The final stretch of the journey of LWF together

October 24, 2011 in Enviroment, Faith, Justice, LWF, LWF together - the earth needs you, Spirituality, Youth, Youth Ministry, Youth participation

A journey is nearing its end. Many of the participants are going to end it with prayer and a celebration.

It was a journey that brought together 100 groups of young people from different places in the world. There were many exchanges on biblical texts and how young people see current problems - surrounding the environment and justice.

This journey was not always easy. Some groups lost momentum and stopped meeting. The contact between groups was difficult in most cases; it is just not easy to communicate with people you have never met, in a language which is not your native one and using the Internet.

Next Sunday, Reformation Sunday, many groups are going to talk about LWF together in the worship services of their congregations. And they are all going to pray for the partner groups.

We are also going to use this week in order to discuss about the future of LWF together. Tomorrow, there will be a post on some ideas for next year’s program and your comments on it. Later this week, we are also going to invite applications for coordinators of the program.

So, stay tuned for a week of conversation about LWF together, leading up to the Reformation Day finale.

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Peace starts with us!

May 23, 2011 in Africa, Asia/Pacific, Church, Ecumenism, Enviroment, Europe, Faith, Justice, Latin America/Carribean, Life, LWF, LWF together - the earth needs you, Middle East, North America, Spirituality, Youth participation

Introduction to the WCC IEPC and Peace with the Earth

Greetings from Kingston, Jamaica! We are participating in the World Council of Churches (WCC) International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) along with about 1000 people from around the world and WCC member churches.

The theme of the convocation is “Glory to God and Peace on Earth.” The main objectives for the IEPC are many, but most broadly:

  1. Sharing inspirations and reflections
  2. Network-building, strategy development and other actions.

This is a harvesting event and celebration for the Decade to Overcome Violence. This is not a decision-making body, but rather a group that will crystallize emerging peace issues on the way to the 2013 WCC Assembly in Busan, South Korea.

The four themes of our days together are:

  1. Peace in the Community
  2. Peace with the Earth
  3. Peace in the Marketplace
  4. Peace Among the Peoples.

Today, we will focus on Peace with the Earth.

Part of our life together at the convocation includes bible study. The text for “Peace with the Earth” is Isaiah 11:6-9. Take a look at the text. Share it with your friends. To start your conversation, here are two questions:

What does the ‘knowledge of the Lord’ refer to in this passage?
Is the world painted in this passage possible?

In the daily plenary, the focus was to: Raise awareness on the various threats to creation, present churches’ statements and actions addressing caring for creation, offer theological and spiritual insights from various religious perspectives on peace and creation, and share practical examples on what churches can do on peace with the earth.

As three young people from the LWF, we felt connected to this work, since this same theme, sustainability (with a focus on climate change and food security) was expressed as an emerging issue among the youth at the 2010 Lutheran World Federation (LWF) assembly. Currently, groups of young people from around the LWF communion are reflecting together on bible texts that relate to this theme. Groups are sharing with one another through the worldwide web—a very “green” option!

One of the objectives of LWF Together is to use the outcomes from the bible studies and reflections to work toward sustainability in your own community. Peace with the earth begins with us!

For more information visit www.lwfyouth.org.

In a d’ Lates (Compliments of Peter Powell, Campus Security),

Daniele, Mikka and Sanna

P.S. Come back again soon! During the week, we will take turns reflecting on the remaining three themes.

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Youth refuse to fulfill quotas…

April 7, 2011 in Africa, Church, Evangelism, Faith, HIV/Aids, Justice, LWF, Poverty, Poverty/Affluence, Spirituality, Youth, Youth Ministry, Youth participation

…but want to participate in the life of the global communion. This is one of the many challenging statements that were given today by young leaders participating in the LWF African Leadership Consultation in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Young people also highlighted the continuing plight of unemployment for many young people. They strongly advised the present church leadership to prioritize the issue if they don’ want to risk an estrangement of young people in their churches.

The young leaders also spoke to the way they see leadership. It should be free of any kind of corruption, free of “leadership conflicts, power struggles, external forces, repression of staff members (conflict managements), nepotism, tribalism … etc.”

Please read the full text of the thought-provoking and challenging message here or as pdf. Read the rest of this entry →

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Praying for Egypt

February 3, 2011 in Asia/Pacific, Church, Ecumenism, Spirituality

Our friends from the World Student Christian Federation have invited their members to pray for Egypt and the young people there who are on the streets. Perhaps, we can join. Here is the call by Christine Housel, WSCF General Secretary:

The World Student Christian Federation invites you to join together infasting (skipping lunch or another meal) and prayer tomorrow,Friday, 04 February, 2011, at 12 noon for Egypt.

We will send our prayers to God in our own languages and traditions, and in our own time zones, thereby holding a concerted prayer vigil that will go throughout the day and reflect the diversity of our ecumenical family.

 

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