wfn.org | LWF News in Brief

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

The Lutheran Church of Nigeria Has New President

Rev. Effiong Etim Ekanem was installed into office in the
80,000-member Lutheran Church of Nigeria January 5. Elected at the
annual LCN Council meeting held in Obot Idim, Ibesikpo at the end
of November, he is successor to Rev. Samuel Joshua Udofia. Until
now, President Ekanem, 54, a communication arts graduate ordained
in 1980, was superintendent of the church in the district of
Calabar. He also served as former vice principal of Jonathan Ekong
Memorial Lutheran Seminary, Uyo. The church became an LWF member
in 1973.

*	*	*

Pomeranian Church Leadership Concerned About Threat of War Against
Iraq

The Evangelical Church of Pomerania has expressed concern about
the threat of war against Iraq. At its December meeting, it shared
the concern of Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) Council
Chairperson Manfred Kock, who previously had told the EKD Synod
that a war against Iraq--particularly without a UN mandate--would
be a setback for the whole of the Middle East. The church
leadership called on congregations to constantly pray for peace.
The Pomeranian church joined the LWF in 1956 and has around
129,000 members.

*	*	*

Evangelical Church in the Republic of Croatia: Rev. Andreas Luksa,
Deceased

Rev. Andreas Luksa of the Evangelical Church in the Republic of
Croatia (ECRC) passed away suddenly December 8. He was deputy
bishop at the church's Zagreb administrative point. In a letter of
condolence, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, LWF general secretary, expressed
sympathy to the Luksa family and Croatian church. "Your church has
suffered a great loss," Noko said. He recalled with much gratitude
the untiring work of Rev. Luksa and his contribution to the
process of understanding within the Croatian church.

Rev. Seija Uimonen, church senior, is responsible for the Kutina
administrative point. An LWF member since 1951, the ECRC has 4,500
members.

*	*	*

Chile: First Luther Monument in Spanish-speaking Latin America

For the first time in the history of Spanish-speaking Latin
America, a square has been renamed, and a monument erected in
honor of Martin Luther. On Reformation Day, 31 October 2002, a
square in Santiago de Chile in the suburb of Huechuraba was
renamed "Plaza de la Reforma," and a bronze bust of the Reformer
was unveiled by Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile President
Rev. Gloria Rojas and Lutheran Church in Chile Bishop Kurt Gysel,
accompanied by guests. Many representatives of Protestant
churches, the Greek-Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches,
parliament and other government representatives, the German
embassy and Goethe Institute, attended the ceremony.

Chairperson of the Catholic Bishop's Conference, Archbishop
Cardinal Errazuriz, conveyed "good wishes for this day and for the
life of the church." The mayor of the "Luther City" of Wittenberg,
Germany, Eckhard Naumann, sent a greeting in Spanish. The dates of
the Reformer's life and the Reformation principles are chiseled
into the monument's marble base: "Through Christ alone, through
grace and faith alone, through Holy Scripture alone."  A young
artist, Serena Piacentini, who was born and grew up in Germany,
designed the monument.

(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 million 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 LWF's information
service.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.]

*	*	*
LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
PO Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
English Editor: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
Tel: (41.22) 791.63.54
Fax: (41.22) 791.66.30
http://www.lutheranworld.org/