Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference

 

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

Invitations for the 2029 CELC Convention Are Welcomed

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In the coming months, the CELC Planning Committee will be giving thought to the location of the 2029 international convention of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC). Member churches of the CELC are encouraged to submit an invitation to be the host.

The Planning Committee is pleased to have received one invitation already—from the Lutheran Mission of Salvation in India. The Committee is hoping to receive more invitations since it usually likes to have multiple options to present to the CELC for consideration.  

If your church would like to be considered as a possible host for the 2029 convention, please inform the CELC president by September 2025. The Planning Committee intends to bring the matter to the 2026 convention.

It is a special honor to host the convention. The churches that have hosted in the past are:

  • 1993, 2017 – Germany
  • 1996 – Puerto Rico
  • 1999, 2011 – ELS/WELS
  • 2002 – Sweden
  • 2005 – Japan
  • 2008 – Ukraine
  • 2014 – Peru
  • 2023 – South Korea
  • 2026 – Zambia (God willing)

At one time, the Planning Committee proposed Israel as a possible location for 2029. Due to the ongoing war involving Israel and its neighbors, that possibility has now been dismissed. 

The Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference

The Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference is a worldwide fellowship of Lutheran church bodies, committed to the teachings of the Lutheran Church found in the Book of Concord of 1580. Established in 1993 with thirteen churches, the CELC has grown by God’s grace to include thirty-four church bodies today.

Every three years, representatives from CELC churches gather for fellowship and theological study at an international convention. Regional meetings are held in alternate years. These gatherings provide spiritual encouragement for confessional Lutherans who often find themselves quite isolated. Visitors are always welcome at these gatherings

Joint work of the CELC includes the writing of The Eternal Word: A Lutheran Confession for the Twenty-First Century, which testifies to the unity of doctrine enjoyed by CELC churches. The CELC also has a commission to help coordinate and improve theological training in CELC churches.

Speaking about the heart and core of the CELC, former President Gaylin Schmeling wrote:  “The CELC stands ready to give answer to the confident hope of salvation in Christ that is within us. It is a refuge for those seeking confessional homes and a beacon shining the light of the Gospel in a sin-darkened world. Here the central truth of the Reformation, justification by faith alone, continues to be proclaimed. We are declared righteous by nothing we do or accomplish, but alone on the basis of Christ’s redemptive work which is counted as ours through faith in the Savior. He accomplished salvation for all on the cross and announced it to all by His resurrection, declaring the whole world righteous in Christ. This treasure is brought to us personally through the means of grace and is received by faith alone in the Savior which is worked through those very means of grace.”

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