Presiding bishop:

We need the LWF

It calls us beyond self-interest to serve

In 1957, at age 10, I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with 100,000 people in front of the Minnesota capitol in St. Paul. The memory of being in that throng gathered for the Lutheran World Federation Assembly endures. I could not imagine the impact on the church and world of the Lutheran leaders assembled that day.

Now, 46 years later, representatives of 136 LWF member church bodies again gathered in North America. There could not have been a timelier theme for this 10th LWF Assembly in Winnipeg, Manitoba, than "For the Healing of the World."

The ELCA needs to remain active in this communion of Lutheran churches with more than 62 million members. Why? Because it is easy to neglect the gifts we as Lutherans bring to the church catholic.

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