Gettysburg Seminary Sends Three to LWF Assembly in Stuttgart

By Gettysburg Seminary News
Three members of the Gettysburg Seminary faculty and staff will attend the 11th Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), July 20-27, 2010, in Stuttgart, Germany.

The Rev. Dr. Maria Erling, Professor of Modern Church History and Mission, is a voting delegate to the assembly, representing the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a member of the global Lutheran body. Joining her at the assembly will be the Rev. Dr. Robin Steinke, Dean of the Seminary and newly elected member of the LWF Council, a 48-member body directing the Federation’s work between assemblies, which occur every seven years. The Rev. John Spangler, the Seminary’s executive for communication, will serve on the LWF communication staff for the event.

The focus of the LWF assembly is “Give Us Today Our Daily Bread,” which will open topics of food, hunger and justice, as well as environmental and political causes of food shortages. Leading the meeting is LWF is the Rev. Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, and for the last seven years, President of the LWF.

The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF now has 140 member churches in 79 countries all over the world representing more than 70 million Christians. Information about the LWF and its Stuttgart Assembly is available at www.LWF-assembly.org/ .