LWF Youth

Arise and Shine!

The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria held their annual Lutheran Youth Fellowship National Youth Week celebration from 26th to 1st September.

The week was observed under the theme “Arise and Shine” (Isaiah 60:1) in more than 100 local churches in Nigeria.

Activities included worship, tree planting, sports, bible studies, teaching, workshops, fellowship, and more!

Our feeling knowing that youth from Asia, Africa, and Europe will join together at their intergenerational regional leadership meetings starting this month 🎉🎉🎉

Photo from our 2024 LWF Peace Messengers Training Program in Cambodia!

It’s Day 3 at the ELCA Youth Gathering and LWF Youth are spending time:

☺️ learning in the Interactive Center
❤️ serving with local ministries doing Diakonia projects
📣 praying and speaking in plenary sessions
🎶 worshipping at the Mass Gathering

Check out their day 3 photodump!!

“To be Lutheran is to be free.” // Karl Michael, Chile

Yesterday at the ELCA Young Adult Gathering, delegates from the Lutheran World Federation presented a panel on Lutheran Identity.

They talked about why Lutheran community and theology has been meaningful to them, challenges from their contexts, and words of hope that they have for the global church.

Introducing the international delegation to the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering!

Over the course of this week they will speak on panels, lead workshops, and give keynote talks about their experiences in Lutheran World Federation Member Churches.

Check in this week to follow along!

Who is a friend you’re grateful for?

Relationship building is central to our life together as the Lutheran World Federation Communion.

When we gather for worship, training, and work, we are also committed to following God’s call to love our neighbor by building relationships of respect and loving care across the the world.

This week, at the LWF Council, Youth Council members had an opportunity to both participate in governance meetings and to build these important relationships.

We are grateful for all of them!

POV: you’re a youth council member spending the day in LWF Council plenary, committee, and regional collaboration meetings

Rev. Jussi Luoma (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland), the youth council member who presided over opening worship at the LWF Council Meeting, shares the importance of worship at this gathering:

“Worship is what roots us to the foundation of all our work as the LWF Council: the diversity of people and languages, unity in the Holy Spirit and our hope in Christ. It inspires us and reminds us of our shared commitment for this world.”

Youth helped lead opening worship through presiding, praying, reading, and serving communion.

Yesterday the young LWF Council members gathered ahead of the 2024 Council Meeting to:

🤝 build relationships
🗣️ discuss implementation of youth priorities decided at the LWF Assembly
📑 review LWF governance documents
👥 engage in intergenerational dialogue

Follow along all week to learn more about the work of young people in the structural leadership of the Lutheran World Federation!

“Remembrance, recognition, reconciliation, and non-recurrence: these are our Cambodian transitional justice principles”

Rattanak Ly, Peace Program Manager, Women Peace Makers | Cambodia

During this week’s LWF Peace Messengers training, Mr. Ly facilitated a session on Peacebuilding in the Cambodian context, focusing on trauma healing following the Khmer Rouge regime led by Pol Pot and the resulting genocide against millions of Cambodian people.

Peace Messengers then visited the Choeung Ek Genocide Memorial Center themselves to pay their respect, seek deeper understanding of this tragedy and information about the reconciliation process in Cambodia, and to reflect on transforming change needed in their own contexts.

Interfaith understanding is an important part of peacebuilding 🙏

On Day 2 and 3 of the LWF Peace Messengers training, in addition to engaging in their own dialogue and classroom learning, participants learned about peace in the Cambodian context through cultural and historical site visits.

One visit was to Wat Phnom, a Buddhist temple, where participants could learn about and appreciate the traditions of interfaith neighbors.

“Blessed are the peacemakers.” Matthew 5:9

Young people from 19 LWF member churches around the world are gathering for the LWF Peace Messengers Training Program in Phnom Penh, Cambodia this week!

This training helps to build the capacity and confidence of young leaders to take active part in creating more peaceful and just societies.

Day 1 highlights include an opening devotion & greetings from the host church, the Lutheran Church in Cambodia, followed by sharing and learning sessions about theologies of peace and understanding conflict.

Follow along all week to learn more about the Peace Messengers Program!

Americas leadership gathering 🫶

Learn more about the work of the Americas LWF Youth Network at last week’s event and their plans for the future in the region at the link below!

Americas: Women and youth networks present their priorities During the Leadership Conference of the Americas, the regions’ women’s and youth networks presented their work priorities for the coming years.

Today, the first LWF Youth delegation to the ECOSOC Youth Forum begins their work at the United Nations in New York!

What is “ECOSOC”?

Why is this important to us as Lutherans?

Swipe through to learn more!

Yesterday, youth leaders from across Latin America, the Caribbean, and North America met before the Leadership Conference of the Americas (COL) in São Leopoldo, Brazil.

They discussed implementation of the regional and global youth priorities decided at last year’s 13th LWF Assembly.

Follow along for more about their work!

📣 LWF Youth are headed to the United Nations ECOSOC Youth Forum! 📣

The Forum provides a platform for young people to engage in a dialogue with Member States to voice their views, concerns, and brainstorm actions to transform the world into a fairer, greener and more sustainable place guided by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Stay tuned this week to learn more about this event and global advocacy being done by LWF Youth from across the Communion!

In January, over 2000 Indian youth gathered for the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church youth convention.

Three youth who participated in the LWF Assembly helped lead this event, bringing themes and priorities from the LWF Youth Pre-Assembly.

“As a delegate to the Krakow Assembly, it was a very valuable experience for me to meet so many young people from around the world and discuss issues from my own context.” - Sankeertana

You can learn more about their work and the AELC gathering in the full story!

India: Andhra Pradesh youth engage with Assembly themes A young delegate and a steward from the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church in India share how the experience of the Krakow Assembly has shaped their engagement with challenges in their Asian context

During this season of Lent, young Lutherans around the world are leading initiatives to help their churches grow in faith and take action in the world.

Check out this story about No Plastics for Lent, led by ELCA Young Adults in the United States!

Lent: ELCA youth call for environmental advocacy Young Adults at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America offer Lenten reflections and practical suggestions for strengthening environmental protection policies

“Peace Messengers have returned home with passion and creativity – starting peacebuilding youth camps, ecumenical dialogues, and intergenerational days of service to name just a few.”

You can find the link to the 2024 Peace Messengers Training Program Application in this article!

Open call: 2024 Peace Messengers training for youth Youth in LWF’s member churches are invited to apply for the 2024 Peace Messengers training program. The deadline for submitting applications is 10 March.

Apply now to be a 2024 LWF Peace Messenger!

You can find the application and more information about the Peace Messengers program at the link below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScOgb4VToYgUMwP6BtwXI8GH_mvdh8zdgMjuvDqP8X4VYsiVQ/viewform

📣 Remember all applications need an endorsement from their Member Church

At the 13th Assembly, LWF Youth identified young leadership of interfaith work as a top priority.

Now, they are taking action!

Check out these six LWF youth-led projects for World Interfaith Harmony Week.

Youth lead interfaith activities to promote peacebuilding From seminars and peace marches to environmental clean-ups, young Lutherans are joining hands with youth from other faith communities to promote peace through interreligious cooperation.

Last month, these youth led the first Youth Leadership and Intergenerational Justice training session at the LWF Retreat for Newly Elected Leaders.

At this training, newly elected bishops, archbishops, and pastor presidents come together to learn about the Lutheran World Federation and build solidarity across the communion.

Charlotte (Lutheran Church in Central Germany) and Luiz (Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil) shared with them the global LWF Youth priorities and led an intergenerational dialogue about these important topics!

Meet the Lutheran World Federation week 2 delegation!

These young people are in Dubai to learn, act, and advocate for climate justice.

Understanding what happens at UN Climate Summits can be a huge challenge, and LWF Youth can help!

Check out this primer to learn more about international climate advocacy and the LWF position on these issues.

These policies come from:

(1) the call to care for all creation that we have received from God
(2) actions of the LWF Assembly
(3) consultation with church leaders around the world

Check out the QR code in the last slide to learn more!

One important way that LWF Youth participate at is through demonstrations.

Over the last two days, LWF delegates have helped lead demonstrations, or “stunts”, at the COP that have called for (1) gender justice in climate finance and (2) phasing OUT of fossil fuels.

These messages arise from our call from God to care for creation and are also deeply rooted in our LWF values of dignity, human rights, and justice.

What questions do you have about these “stunts”? How does your church make the call for climate justice heard in your community?

Meet members of the online LWF delegation!

In addition to young people present in-person in Dubai, the LWF supports almost 50 young people in following the climate negotiations from their home country.

Online delegates:

✅ Follow COP negotiations and side events
✅ Participate in leadership trainings on ecotheology, communications, practical skills, and climate policy
✅ Gather daily with in-person participants to discuss learnings
✅ Play an important role in shaping the LWF response to climate change that will come from COP 28

Please give them a warm welcome!

Meet the Week 1 LWF delegation!

These are the young adult leaders who are in-person in Dubai for the first week of the global climate summit. They are joined by almost 50 delegates following online as well!

Yesterday the United Nations climate summit, , began in Dubai and LWF Youth delegates participated in an intergenerational interfaith dialogue at the (Anglican) Christ Church Jebel Ali.

Ole, an LWF youth delegate from Church of Norway, shared “For me the talanoa dialogue was a great opening day for COP, especially beause of my ecotheology engagement.“

Ecotheology, ecumenical collaboration, and youth leadership are critical elements of the LWF climate justice work worldwide.

COP 28 starts this week in Dubai and we are excited to kick it off with this interfaith youth panel.

Check it out in-person at the new Faith Pavilion in the COP 28 Blue Zone or online at the link provided!

And follow along here for the next two weeks as we highlight the contributions of Lutheran Youth around the world to climate justice. 🌱

Last week, LWF Peace Messenger, Sara (Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia) joined Lutheran leaders from the the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Colombia, Finnish Lutheran Mission Organization - FELM, and other LWF Member Churches at an intergenerational peacebuilding training In Bogota.

➡️ Swipe to learn more about her experience