ELCA NEWS SERVICE

June 26, 2008  

ELCA Presiding Bishop Addresses Climate Change, Other Global Concerns
08-101-JB

     ARUSHA, Tanzania (ELCA) -- The Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) can help create a global movement to limit or halt
environmental degradation, but it must have many partners and
large numbers of people to be effective, said the Rev. Mark S.
Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and
presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA).
     Hanson made the comment at a June 25 news conference
following his report to the LWF Council, which is meeting here
through June 30.  The LWF is a global communion of 140 churches
in 78 countries, representing 68.6 million of the world's
Lutherans. The ELCA is an LWF member.
     Hanson addressed the theme of the council meeting, "Melting
Snow on Mount Kilimanjaro: A Witness of a Suffering Creation."
In his report he said it was "spiritual blasphemy" to treat God's
creation as "an adversarial wilderness, a godforsaken wasteland,
a natural resources dump to be used for our own self interest
rather than cared for in obedience to God for its own sake."  He
called on member churches to advocate for changes in policy and
practice, and he said that "hope compels us to be disciplined,
courageous, faithful stewards of the whole creation."
     At the news conference Hanson said he was hopeful that the
council will adopt a resolution calling for specific
environmental action by LWF members.  He was cautious about how
the communion could influence environmental concerns.
     "I am absolutely convinced that even with 68 million
members, the LWF alone cannot turn around global warming and stop
the melting snows on Kilimanjaro," he said.  I do believe that we
can be a force, joining with others to create a movement in the
world that has the capacity to bring to an end the environmental
crisis that is causing the snows to melt (and) the rivers to dry
up."
     The LWF president also said the current food crisis is
"interrelated" with higher fuel prices and climate change.  He
said he did not anticipate how quickly a food crisis would
develop from these factors.  "I think in some sense it caught us
off guard, that we thought we were making progress in reducing
hunger in the world -- and in fact, we were.  But suddenly there
is a radical upsurge in the reality of hunger which is absolutely
tied to the crisis around fuel, which is tied to the crisis
around the climate and environment," Hanson said.
     Environmental concerns must include more than climate
change, Hanson said. He cited consumption of farm and forest
land, and overuse of fertilizers and pesticides.  Hanson called
on LWF members "to act responsibly, courageously and creatively."
     "There are things we can do as individual Christians," he
said.  "There are things we can do as local congregations.  There
are things we can do as church bodies in our nations.  We are not
powerless."
     LWF members can engage in advocacy for the environment by
asking elected officials to mandate emissions controls and global
treaties, Hanson said.  He criticized the U.S. government for
refusing to sign global treaties on the environment, calling such
failures "pure arrogance."
     On another subject, Hanson was asked about homosexuality and
if the LWF is addressing the topic in a way that does not stifle
discussion.  Referring to an action of the council at its 2007
meeting in Lund, Sweden, he said the council received the report
of the LWF Task Force on Marriage, Family and Human Sexuality.
The council asked LWF members to discuss the topics, aware that
such conversations can have an impact on relationships with
others.
     "I do not think right now it's helpful for the LWF as a
communion to take a stance on issues that are being discussed in
the member churches -- discussed in the context of Scripture,
discussed in the context of our Lutheran confessions and
theology, (and) discussed in the contexts of our varied
(situations related to) marriage, family and human sexuality," he
said.
     Hanson added that LWF member churches will continue to
discuss human sexuality "for the sake of our witness in the world
and our witness to that which is core to our faith, and that is
the Good News of Jesus Christ."
     The ELCA is involved in similar discussions.  At its 2009
Churchwide Assembly the ELCA is expected to consider a proposed
social statement on human sexuality and possible proposals
concerning standards for professional church leaders.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
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