A joint Lutheran-Reformed working group, appointed by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (Warc), met in Geneva, Switzerland, from November 2 to 4 1999.

In 1989 the international Lutheran-Reformed dialogue presented its report, Toward Church Fellowship. The present working group is established to follow up on the positive results presented in that report, also paying attention to subsequent ecumenical developments. The group will accompany and promote the process of reception of these results in Lutheran and Reformed member churches, furthering the growing communion between them.

The mandate given to the working group is formulated as follows:

"The general secretary of the LWF and the Warc executive committee have decided to establish a joint Lutheran-Reformed working group, which will meet annually over the three years 1999-2001.

At the joint meeting between Warc staff and the LWF cabinet on September 8 1999, it was agreed to formulate a mandate for the working group.

The working group is requested to submit a report at the conclusion of its work with recommendations to the LWF and Warc regarding the relationship between the two world communions.

It is expected that the report will

review the present state of Lutheran-Reformed relations on the regional and international levels,
assess in particular the implications of regional developments for the global relationship,
examine ways in which the governing bodies of the two communions might fruitfully cooperate,
identify other possible forms of practical cooperation,
consider whether it would be helpful to begin a new, full round of international Lutheran-Reformed dialogue."

The working group has the following participants:
On the Lutheran side: Bishop Guy Edmiston (co-chair), Rev. Fui-Yung Chong, Prof. Dr. Luis Henrique Dreher, Superintendent Dieter Lorenz (members), Prof. Dr. André Birmelé (consultant), and Rev. Sven Oppegaard (co-secretary).
On the Reformed side: Prof. Dr. Jane Dempsey Douglass (co-chair), Dr. Karel Phil Erari, Dr. Hermann Schaefer (members), Dr. Lukas Vischer (consultant), Dr Milan Opocensky (staff), Rev. Páraic Réamonn (co-secretary).

During this first meeting all the participants presented reports and assessments pertaining to Lutheran-Reformed relations from the perspective of their regions and their particular vantage points. A certain number of key issues were identified, on which the working group will concentrate in its subsequent meetings: a fuller survey of the development of Lutheran-Reformed relations worldwide; deepening programmatic collaboration between the LWF and Warc; the question of the binding character of ecumenical commitments; and, in the light of regional agreements spanning more than a quarter of a century, a fuller description of the communion that we now seek at the international level.

The next meeting is scheduled to take place in Campinas, Brazil, from November 17 to 23 2000.

Sven Oppegaard, co-secretary (LWF)
Páraic Réamonn, co-secretary (Warc)