LWF Communion Office to remain in Geneva

General Secretary asked to present long-term financial sustainability plan

(LWI) - The Council of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) decided today that the LWF Communion Office will remain in Geneva. A task force established to assess the location of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Communion Office delivered its report to the LWF Council, at its meeting in Geneva from 13-18 June.

The Council approved that the Communion Office stays in Geneva and requested the General Secretary to present to the next Council meeting a plan to address the long-term financial sustainability for the Communion Office in its current location.

The LWF has been in a process of discussing sustainability since 2015. At its Council meeting that year the LWF Council endorsed an integrated approach that understood LWF’s sustainability in relation to the communion’s shared journey and witness in a world that longs for justice, peace and reconciliation. “As it is God’s word that calls the church into being, it is God’s call into communion, which constitutes the cornerstone of the LWF’s sustainability.”

The task force to assess the location of the Communion Office was established in 2017. Led by National Bishop Susan Johnson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, it included members from all regions of the LWF.

The 2019 LWF Council meeting takes place in Geneva from 13 to 18 June. The theme of the Council is “Because we know God’s voice” (John 10:4). The LWF Council meets yearly and is the highest authority of the LWF between assemblies. It consists of the President, the Chairperson of the Finance Committee, and 48 members from LWF member churches in seven regions.