wfn.org | LWF Consultation Will Help Churches Define Their Role

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

LWF Consultation Will Help Churches Define Their Role, South
African Minister Says
Diakonia: Call on Church Representatives to Assess Their Task in
Society

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa/GENEVA, 5 November 2002 (LWI) - The
South African Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs, Ms Angela
Thoko Didiza, said a Lutheran World Federation (LWF) global
consultation taking place in Johannesburg will help South African
churches, especially the Lutheran church, to define their role in
the current political context.

In her November 4 speech to participants in the LWF Global
Consultation on "Prophetic Diakonia - For the Healing of the
World," Didiza, focussed on the relationship between the church
and state, and asked church representatives to clearly assess
their role in society.

The minister herself was a very active member of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Southern Africa until her marriage and had
worked for Diakonia, a Durban-based ecumenical agency for many
years.

Didiza urged church representatives, in their analyses, to draw
from past experiences, referring specifically to South Africa,
where the role of the church was extremely important during the
liberation struggle. "Churches provided a sense of solidarity and
hope, both spiritually and materially, in a time of political and
social oppression and violence." The minister expressed the hope
that these local experiences would help to shape discussions at
the conference.

The minister pointed out that the church's interaction with
government should not end with South Africa's transition into a
democratic government. The churches are also called to participate
in the shaping of a new South Africa as a humane and caring
society. She cited critical challenges such as increasing poverty,
HIV/AIDS, unemployment, food insecurity and intolerance, in
addition to a growing sense of frustration and diminishing hope in
society, and stressed the significance of the church's advocacy.
"The church should act as the conscience of society and take a
stand against injustices," Didiza said.

In South Africa, the government is regularly consulting with
national religious leaders with the aim of bringing the "moral
wisdom of the churches into government decisions and to prick the
conscience of political decision makers." Although this
cooperation is working well at the moment, it could easily bring
churches into conflict with respect to their political
independence, Didiza cautioned. She hopes for a "dynamic
collaboration between government and churches" whereby churches
should insist that they are not only implementers of government
policy but are also involved in policy making, including pressing
for change, if necessary.

"For us as a church, there is a wealth of experience that we can
use in today's situation to reverse the trends of poverty and
bring back a caring society that takes interest when others are in
pain. The LWF Consultation on diakonia should share this
collective experience and find solutions and strategies as
activists in the church to make sure that we can build a better
caring world," Didiza concluded.

In a press conference after her address, she affirmed the
importance of the LWF consultation for South Africa. "The churches
at this particular time can contribute towards helping us through
the process of transition, both in terms of moral regeneration and
also in engaging in development issues."

The LWF Global Consultation on Diakonia brings together about 80
participants from Lutheran churches, partner organizations and
social service agencies and institutions worldwide. It is being
organized by the LWF Department for World Service (DWS) in
conjunction with the LWF Departments for Mission and Development
(DMD) as well as Theology and Studies (DTS).

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 136 member churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 mllion Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human
rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and
development work. Its 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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