ILC Chairman Hans-Jörg Voigt (left) thanks President Antonio del Rio Reyes and Arlene Reyes for the hospitality of the Lutheran Church of the Philippines during the 2019 World Seminaries Conference.
PHILIPPINES – The International Lutheran Council’s 7th triennial World Seminaries Conference came to an end on October 18, 2019. The conference had been meeting in Baguio City, Philippines since October 15.
The Lutheran Church of the Philippines provided entertainment for the conclusion of the 2019 World Seminaries Conference.
The morning began with worship, as did every day during the conference, following which representatives from each of the ILC’s five world regions were invited to respond to the conference’s presentations. Speakers included Dr. Cynthia Lumley (Evangelical Lutheran Church of England); Rev. Dr. Bruk Ayele Asale (Ethiopia Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus); Rev. Dr. Samuel Liu (Taiwan’s China Evangelical Lutheran Church); Rev. Dr. Sergio Schelske (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina); and Rev. Dr. James Gimbel (Lutheran Church–Canada).
A recurring theme in their talks was gratitude for the various talks discussing Lutheran identity in different cultural contexts. Dr. Asale expressed joy over the mutual commitment to Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions which binds the participants in the conference together, even as they recognize that we must be sensitive to differences in cultural contexts—something Dr. Liu also noted. Dr. Schelske noted that we all have blind spots and that conferences like confessional Lutherans around the world learn from each other, while together focusing on Jesus Christ. Dr. Gimbel reiterated the necessity of recognizing the cruciform nature of Lutheran identity—vertically in relation to God and horizontally in our culturally-conditioned relationships with our neighbour. Dr. Lumley highlighted the value of the work done on identifying a common curriculum for confessional Lutherans around the world.
The Lutheran Church of the Philippines highlighted cultural celebrations as part of closing events of the 2019 World Seminaries Conference.
All of the major papers presented during the conference will be printed in both English and Portuguese in the theological journal of Seminario Concordia, a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil.
In the afternoon, participants had the opportunity to tour Baguio City, ending at the Lutheran Church of the Philippines’ Lutheran Theological Seminary. There delegates were treated to wonderful cultural celebrations by members of St. Stephen Lutheran Church as well as the seminary community. A fellowship dinner featuring local Filipino cuisine was a highlight of the event. Following the meal, the ILC World Seminaries Conference drew to a close with a closing program with expressions of gratitude to the Lutheran Church of the Philippines for hosting the conference.
A total of 23 theological institutions were represented at the conference, with participants coming from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, England, Ethiopia, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Latvia, Norway, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Tanzania, the United States of America, and Venezuela.
The newly installed World Seminaries Committee with ILC Chairman Hans-Jörg Voigt and newly appointed ILC General Secretary Timothy Quill. Pictured (l-r): Rev. Dr. Jun Hyun Kim, Rev. Dr. Roland Ziegler, Dcn. Dr. Cynthia Lumley, ILC Chairman Hans-Jörg Voigt, ILC General Secretary Timothy Quill, and Rev. Dr. Sergio Schelske.
The conference also saw the installation of a new board for the ILC’s Seminaries Relations Committee. The new members include: South Korea’s Rev. Dr. Jun Hyun Kim (Asia World Region); England’s Dcn. Dr. Cynthia Lumley (Europe World Region); Argentina’s Rev. Dr. Sergio Schelske (Latin America World Region); and the United States’ Rev. Dr. Roland Ziegler (North America World Region). The new board was installed by ILC Chairman Hans-Jörg Voigt during Vespers on October 17.
The next ILC World Seminaries Conference will take place in 2022.
Find all news reports from the 2019 World Seminaries Conference here.
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