Federation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein
The Federation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (In German: Bund Evangelisch-Lutherischer Kirchen in der Schweiz und im Fürstentum Liechtenstein; and in French: Fédération des Eglises évangéliques luthériennes en Suisse et dans la principauté du Liechtenstein) is an organization of five Lutheran churches in Basel and Northwestern Switzerland, Bern, Geneva, Zurich, and Vaduz (Liechtenstein). It was founded in 1967 and represented 6500 baptized members in 1999,[1] decreasing to 3,794 baptized members by the end of 2019.[2] It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation since 1979.[3]
Some Lutheran churches in Switzerland, like the Swiss Reformed Churches, have supported same-sex couples. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Geneva offers church services for same-sex civil partnerships.[4]
Organization
The mission of the federation is to promote the unity of the member congregations.
Decisions are made through a convention that takes place every two years. Members of the convention include three representatives from each of the five churches, among these are the pastors of each congregation.
The federation convention votes for a president, a vice president, a secretary, and a treasurer for two year terms.
References
- The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Erwin Fahlbusch (ed.). Lutheran Churches. Eerdmans Publishing. 1999, p. 352. Link to reference:
- LWF Statistics - Switzerland The Lutheran World Federation
- "Link to the Lutheran World Federation Webpage for the Federation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein". Archived from the original on 2009-07-15. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
- "Homosexuelle Paare : Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Genf". www.luther-genf.ch. Retrieved 2016-07-05.