wfn.org | Standing Committee for the LWF Department for World Service

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LWF COUNCIL MEETING, TURKU, FINLAND, 14-21 JUNE 2000
PRESS RELEASE NO. 16

TURKU, Finland/GENEVA, 21 June 2000 (LWI) - A Standing Committee has
been established for the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for
World Service (DWS) with the aim to help the department carry out its
mandate effectively.

The ten members of the new committee represent the seven geographical
regions of the LWF namely Africa, Asia, Central-Eastern Europe, Central-
Western Europe, Northern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and
North America.

This decision was among actions taken by the LWF Council at its meeting
in Turku, Finland after hearing recommendations of the DWS Program
Committee. The new committee will, among other responsibilities approve
new country programs, monitor fundraising by the DWS as well as
personnel resources, and develop and review guidelines for country
programs and evaluation implementation. Like a parallel committee of the
Department for Mission and Development, the Project Committee, the DWS
standing committee will provide an annual report to the Council through
its program committee.

The members of the DWS committee are drawn from persons with relevant
expertise from agencies and/or specialized development arms of member
churches. The chairperson of the DWS Standing Committee, who is
appointed by the Council from within its members, represents the Asian
region, Rev. Dr. Prasanna Kumari from the Arcot Lutheran Church in
India. She is one of the five vice-presidents of the LWF.

Other committee members include the representative from Africa -- Bishop
Ambrose Moyo, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe and the Lutheran
Development Service; Rev. Lazlo Lehel, Hungarian Interchurchaid --
Central-Eastern Europe; Rev. Cornelia Fuellkrug-Weitzel, Bread for the
World, and Mr. Konrad von Bonin, Evangelical Development Service, both
from Germany -- Central-Western Europe; Mr. Tapio Saraneva, FinnChurch
Aid, and Ms. Elsebeth Krogg, DanChurchAid -- Northern Europe; Rev.
Silvio Schneider, Diakonia Foundation and Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Brazil -- Latin America and the Caribbean; and Dr. Belletech Deressa,
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Mr. Erling Nielsen, Canadian
Lutheran World Relief -- North America.

The establishment of the new standing committee initially came as a
recommendation from the DWS Annual Forum, of which the purpose is to
bring together for information sharing, analysis and even criticism,
agencies that support the work of the department in all ways.

The Council at its meeting from 14 to 21 June also recommended that the
DWS host a Global Consultation on diaconia in 2002 with the aim to
explore diverse and contextualized expressions of the Church as a
servant, witness through service, church going beyond its boundaries,
trinitarian concept of mission, and proclamation and service among other
concerns.

The Council heard from the chairperson of the DWS Program Committee,
Bishop Samson Mushemba that such a global consultation would also be a
forum to analyze present and future perspectives, problems and
challenges to diaconia for a new century.

The DWS serves as the international relief, rehabilitation and
development agency of the LWF. It presently operates service programs in
22 countries with 72 international staff and 5,400 local staff work. Its
work includes environment, human rights, land mines, refugees, training,
evaluation, development education and migration and resettlement. DWS
responds to emergencies in collaboration with Action by Churches (ACT),
a worldwide network of churches and agencies.

(The LWF is a global communion of 128 member churches in 70 countries
representing 59 million of the world's 63 million Lutherans. Its highest
decision making body is the Assembly, held every six or seven years.
Between Assemblies, the LWF is governed by a 49-member Council which
meets annually, and its Executive Committee. The LWF secretariat is
located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted, material
presented does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its
various units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation
(LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]

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Lutheran World Information
Assistant Editor, English: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/