Who We Are

Who We Are

LWF North America Member Churches

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is the second largest member church of the Lutheran World Federation.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada hosted the LWF Tenth Assembly in 2003 in Winnipeg.
In North America, LWF membership also includes the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad, and the Lithuanian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Diaspora.

North Americans serving the LWF:

Members of the 49-member LWF Council (responsible for the business of the Federation in the interim between ordinary Assemblies)

Bishop Mark S. Hanson (ELCA)
- LWF President
Bishop Raymond Schultz, National Bishop of the ELCIC
Rev. Emmanuel Grantson (ELCA)
Rev. David Pfrimmer (ELCIC)
Dr. Barbara Rossing (ELCA)
-Chairperson, Program Committee for Theology and Studies
Ms. Abigail Hoffman (ELCA)

Advisors to the LWF Council:

Ms. Linda Brown (ELCA)
- Finance and Administration
Rev. Susan Johnson (ELCIC)
- Theology and Studies
Rev. Rafael Malpica (ELCA)
- DMD Program Committee

Other members of committees or boards:

Dr. Belletech Deressa (ELCA)
- World Service Program Committee
Dr. Randy Lee (ELCA)
- Consultant to Office of Ecumenical Affairs
Dr. Charles Miller (ELCA)
- Consultant to Office for Finance and Administration and member of LWF Endowment Fund board

Staff serving in Geneva:

Dr. Karen Bloomquist (ELCA)
- Director of the Department for Theology and Studies
Sarah Padre (ELCA)
- Department for World Service, Finance

Staff serving elsewhere:

Mr. Dennis Frado (ELCA)
- Lutheran Office for World Community (United Nations New York)
Kathy Magnus (ELCA)
- Regional Officer for North America, Chicago
Luke Smetters (ELCA)
- Serving a 10 month internship

Current North American Appointments

Three Young adults from North America have been chosen to participate in a Youth Round Table in Vienna, Austria this June. Young adults from around the world will come together to set priorities and direction for the LWF ministries with youth/young adults. Youth are defined by the LWF as those persons between the ages of 18-30. Participants include: Abigail Z. Hoffman, Chicago; Daranne Mills, Calgary; and Tim Wray, Saskatoon.

Young adults Meghan Johnson (ELCA), Daranne Mills (ELCIC), and Lisa Smith (ELCA) have been selected to participate in a three-year leadership training program with the LWF Office for Communication Services and the Department for Mission and Development. The program �Towards a Communicating Communion � A Youth Vision� was convened for a first meeting in Lyon, France in late April, 2005. The three North American appointees will work on projects with their churches and the LWF over the next three years.

Professor Daine Jacobson, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN is one of the seven theologians in an LWF study Program "The Authority of the Bible in the Life of the Church". A report will be published late in 2006.