Meeting 8-9 April, in Lima, Peru, under the theme “Let us encourage one another through faith,” 21 participants from nine churches shared experiences from their contexts and affirmed how belonging to the wider LWF communion strengthens their witness. They included heads of churches, and leaders of women and youth networks in the LWF Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region.
Participants heard how rising inequality, environmental degradation, growing fundamentalism, and violence—particularly against women—are shaping the realities in which churches across South America live and serve. Alongside these pressures, many churches face limited resources, and a shortage of pastors.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Venezuela President (IELV) Rev. Gerardo Hands joined the conference online. He shared IELV’s efforts to provide congregation members and others in the community with otherwise inaccessible basics including food and medical care amid rising political tensions and human rights challenges.
