The global life in Christ

by Elsa Matthias

Many members of the LCANZ may think of our church’s associate membership of a global Lutheran body, such as the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), as just a ‘fun fact’. For me, it means much more.

For the past four years, I have been the Australian youth representative in the LWF’s Global Young Reformers Network. This group provides opportunities for networking, worshipping, building leadership and taking collaborative action.

I have taken part in yearly online global worship sessions and Asian regional projects, as well as participating in Asian Church Leader Conferences.

I have grown as a leader and in my Lutheran identity from these gatherings. I have also made friendships and connections with my worldwide Lutheran family, which allows me to better support my community’s gospel outreach.

This year’s 13th LWF Assembly was held in Krakow, Poland, with the theme ‘One body, one spirit, one hope’. At each assembly, young people from around the world serve as volunteer stewards for the meeting and help represent the voice of youth.  I was chosen as one of 25 youth stewards and met online with this group each month this year in preparation for our roles at the assembly.

In June I attended the Asian Region Preassembly in Malaysia and connected with youth delegates and stewards from the region. We discussed our joys and struggles as leaders and developed priorities we hope will be acted on by our local and regional churches. These priorities were ‘Intergenerational Understanding’, ‘Youth Engagement’ and ‘Church in Public’.

On 7 September, I travelled to Wisła Malinka, Poland, for the LWF Youth Preassembly. More than 90 youth gathered for four days to worship, pray, network and work together to prepare a message to take to the main assembly. This asked for a greater focus on the topics of ‘Inclusive Churches’, ‘Youth Leadership and Intergenerational Justice’, and ‘Sustainable Churches and Entrepreneurship’.

As a steward at the assembly, I was part of the plenary team. In this role I facilitated the set-up and voting within governance sessions at the 13-19 September event. I was also asked to lead workshops on youth leadership and my role in the Global Young Reformers Network.

It was amazing to be a part of the running of the assembly! I feel so privileged to be among people working towards a better future for the worldwide Lutheran church.

I have learnt many things from my experience. As well as having the chance to share my time and talents, I now understand how a global business meeting is convened. I have met many inspiring people working to support faith in their communities and better know the required focus for strategic planning.

I am excited to see how the LCANZ can work together across our districts, support the training and leadership of young people, create meaningful intergenerational collaboration in governance structures, and build inclusivity as a core nature of our churches, so that our communities feel God’s love from each of us.

My work as a steward may be done, but my work as a member of my local, regional and global church continues. As I work with the Global Young Reformer Network and share stories of hope and joy from around the world, I hope that you, too, can feel a part of the global Lutheran church. The church is people, and we are the church. Now that is a fun fact!