“So much to celebrate” at 2023 Assembly

The LWF Assembly is eight months away and there is growing excitement as preparations progress. Assembly Coordinator Maryssa Camaddo met with Lutheran World Information to share an update on the Assembly.

Gathering for mutual enrichment, joint reflection and worship 

(LWI) - With the Assembly is eight months away, LWI met with the Assembly Coordinator, Ms. Maryssa Camaddo, to gain insight into recent developments and the ongoing preparations. “It is the most representative expression of the LWF Communion” says Ms. Camaddo. “Lutherans from across contexts and cultures will be meeting after six years for mutual enrichment through joint reflection and discernment. This makes it very exciting.”  

The Assembly will take place against the backdrop of challenges from recent global events such as COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine is next door, just across the Poland and Ukraine the border. “Local leadership is working closely with the local Assembly planning committee”, says Ms. Camaddo. “But as the church prepares to host the assembly, it is also providing care for refugees from Ukraine. The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland (ECACP) is very active and engaged in receiving refugees and advocating for peace. This means that their time is shared between the two. For a small church this is a challenge. ECACP is following through with their commitments by working with the LWF Assembly office and the local LWF World Service country program.”

Nominations for assembly delegates are coming in from the LWF member churches, says Camaddo. Ninety five percent of delegates have been nominated and have nearly reached the quotas mandated by the LWF constitution, namely to have forty percent men, forty percent women and twenty percent youth.  

Over 300 young people from across the Communion applied to be stewards. Ms Camaddo says “We are grateful for the interest and enthusiasm,” says Ms. Camaddo. There will be a bit over 25 stewards at the Assembly, and we will have the final list soon, she adds. "It is tough to say no to energetic youth who want to join,” shares the Assembly coordinator. 

The program for the Assembly is prepared by the Assembly planning committee and has been discussed at the Executive Committee which met in Krakow in November.  “Worship, celebration, Bible studies, thematic plenaries, local site visits, including to Auschwitz and worshipping in local congregations, village groups discussions and business deliberations are all a part of the program.   

”There is a lot of excitement around what to focus on in the week of the Assembly.  Join us in prayer and in work as we look forward to September in Krakow this year.” 

LWF/T. Rakoto