NEWS FROM THE BISHOP’S OFFICE

OCTOBER 2024

The Partner Church Consultation of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission in Lower Saxony, Hermannsburg (ELM) was held from 30.8 – 5.9.2024 in Johannesburg with the theme: “Called to be Church. Reconnect. Restore. Renew”.

The representatives of 19 Lutheran churches from 15 different countries met for the 7th PCC at the eMseni Centre in Johannesburg.

The Outcome of the Consultation

We restored the vision of being a participatory church and committed to give space to greater diversity among us. We realized that there are different priorities for the churches in the Global North and the Global South. As context matters, more exchange and discussion are needed about the issues raised to be true to the mission of the One Church. We renewed our willingness to share resources with one another and to welcome any effort to develop the ELM further especially through increased South- and East and West exchanges.

With this 7th PCC in 2024 we have reconnected, restored and renewed our relationships by engaging with each other even though we do not always share the same convictions. But we have acknowledged the rich witness to the gospel shared in the face of different contexts with their respective opportunities and limitations. We are thankful for our longstanding partnership and all the efforts the ELM is investing in our network. Through our encounters, we realized that it is our unity within our diversity which makes us celebrate together. We give thanks to God for his faithfulness during the past 175 years and are celebrating our community through the power of the Gospel. This will be propelling our intercultural encounter to serve not only our own contexts but to be true to the global church of Jesus Christ.