wfn.org | African Churches Criticize the Use of Force to Resolve Conflicts

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

Namibian Bishop Kameeta: "If We Just Listen and Talk, We are
Betraying the World"

NAIROBI, Kenya/GENEVA, 3 April 2003 (LWI) - The Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) member churches in Africa have sharply criticized
the use of force to resolve conflicts.

"As a people called to proclaim justice and peace, we regret and
denounce the use of force as a solution to conflicts,"
representatives of the LWF member churches declared at the end of
the March 23-26 Africa Pre-Assembly Consultation (PAC), a forum to
prepare the region's church representatives for the forthcoming
LWF Tenth Assembly.

In a letter to participants in the April 6-9 PAC for the Latin
American and Caribbean region, the 110 delegates from the 29 LWF
member churches in Africa urged solidarity in prayer "together
with all in our Lutheran communion, now affected by war as we cry
and work for peace and healing." They noted that they "gathered in
the shadow of the unfortunate war in Iraq" to prepare for the
Assembly under the theme "For the Healing of the World."

During discussions they had "realized, confessed, and repented
that we ourselves are very much a part of the broken-ness and
alienation which we suffer," the African Assembly delegates wrote.

At the consultation closing worship service, Bishop Dr Zephaniah
Kameeta, Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia
(ELCRN), called upon African churches to assume responsibility for
the continent's problems, and cautioned against always attributing
blame to the former colonial powers. "We need a 'New Partnership
for Change in Africa,'" Kameeta emphasized, referring to the "New
Partnership for Africa's Development" (NEPAD) initiative, begun in
2001 by African heads of governments, advocating an open and
stable economic policy framework that supports the continent's
participation in the global economy.

In his sermon, the ELCRN bishop called on the Lutheran churches,
as disciples of Jesus Christ, to commit themselves to responding
to all people who are in need including those in prison, the
exploited and marginalized, or persons living with HIV/AIDS. "If
we just listen and talk, we are betraying the world," said
Kameeta, whose church has 300,000 members.

The African PAC in Nairobi, Kenya, was held in conjunction with
the All Africa Lutheran Leadership Conference, a forum for heads
of churches. It was the fourth of five such consultations focusing
on the theme and content of the Assembly from the different
regional perspectives. The last in the regional series will be the
Latin American and Caribbean meeting in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Asian LWF churches met in Medan Indonesia, March 2-6, while
European church representatives met February 23-26 in Vienna,
Austria. The first regional PAC took place January 23-26 in North
America, in Denver, USA. An international gathering of women from
all the regions was held 14-17 November 2002 in Montreux,
Switzerland. A global youth conference will take place July 12-18
in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

(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.]

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