wfn.org | LWI News in Brief No. 3

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

Wife of Former LWF General Secretary Andre Appel Dies

Marjorie Appel, wife of Rev. Dr Andre Appel, former general
secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) passed away in
the night of March 20, aged 81 years. Andre Appel served as LWF
general secretary 1965-1974, after which he was elected president
of his home church, the Church of the Augsburg Confession of
Alsace and Lorraine (ECAAL), France. The ECAAL has 210,000
members, and joined the LWF in 1947.

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Government Awards Recognition Medal to LWF Cambodia Program

The Cambodian government has formally recognized the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF) as a key development partner in the
country. On March 15, Cambodia's Prime Minister, Hun Sen presented
the LWF/DWS country program representative Mr David Mueller, with
a medal of recognition for the organization's relief,
rehabilitation and development work in Cambodia over the years,
and in Kompong Chhnang province in particular. The award was made
on the occasion of the opening of a Buddhist pagoda in Tbeng Kpos
commune, Kompong Chhnang province, northwest of the capital Phnom
Penh, a community that the LWF/DWS program assisted in the repair
of their school in 2001 and continues to support in association
with the inhabitants.

The LWF was one of the first international NGOs to enter Kampuchea
in 1979 following the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime. Due to the
political isolation of the Vietnam-supported establishment, the
DWS like other NGOs, initially assumed the role of providing
support to central government structures. Today, the program
focuses on integrated rural development through empowerment
projects (IRDEPs), aimed at facilitating a process to improve the
living standards of the grassroots communities - farmers,
women-headed households, landless families, returnees, internally
displaced persons and people with disabilities. The program is
also involved in demining and resettlement work, rural water
supply, and a vocational training center that helps develop
self-reliance of the school and improve the quality of training to
local apprentices. Activities on HIV/AIDS awareness raising,
disaster preparedness, human rights and environmental education,
are undertaken within the IRDEPs' framework.

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New Leadership in LWF Churches in India, Democratic Republic of
Congo

India's South Andra Lutheran Church has a new president, the Rev.
D. D. Nirmal Kumar. He succeeds the Rev. Jagannati Vijayarathnam.
The church has 45,500 members, and has been an LWF member church
since 1952.

Rev. Gideon Devanesan was elected as the new bishop of the Arcot
Lutheran Church (ALC) in India on February 28. He was expected to
be installed on April 10, taking over from Rev. Dr John Franklin
who is retiring. The ALC has 35,000 members, and joined the LWF in
1961.
(From Asia Lutheran News)

The February 2003 synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Congo (EELC) meeting in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo,
elected Bishop Daniel Kabamba Mukala wa Kasonku as head of the
church for a period of six years. He succeeds Bishop Ngoy
Kasukuti. The EELC has 136,000 members, and joined the LWF in
1986.

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Bible Translations in over 2,000 Languages Worldwide

In 2002, the Bible was available in 2,303 translations worldwide.
Compared with the previous year, this was 16 more languages with
complete or partial Bible translations, according to information
from the German Bible Society in Stuttgart. Among the new
translations is an edition for Argentina's Wichi Indians. Complete
Bible editions now exist in 405 languages, according to the
report, representing an increase of 13 from the 2001 figures. The
New Testament is available in another 1,034 languages. In
addition, portions of the Bible have been printed in a further 864
translations. It is estimated that there are some 6,500 different
languages worldwide.

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Lutheran Churches Protest against War in Iraq

--Against the background of the war in Iraq, officials of the
United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (VELKD), meeting in
Hanover, Germany, March 27-28, expressed their gratitude for the
many prayers for peace. The churches have offered many people a
place where it is possible to express concerns and fears and to
experience a sense of hope. The prayers also expressed global
sympathy with the suffering of the victims. The VELKD church
leaders clearly welcomed and supported the commitment of
congregations and requested them not to be weary in their prayers
for peace and justice. A unification of Evangelical Lutheran
churches into one church body, the VELKD comprises eight churches
with a combined membership of over 10.6 million people.

--In Wuerzburg, Germany, the regional synod of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Bavaria said that the "war against Iraq
shatters us just as much as the 11 September 2001 terrorist
attacks in the USA. But Saddam Hussein's regime with its contempt
for humanity still does not justify this war of aggression either
ethically or under international law." Like many other Christian
churches - also in the USA - the Bavarian church denounced the
notion of a "war willed by God." The use of religion for political
ends was unacceptable whether it be for terrorist attacks or for
so-called preventive wars. The way to peace with justice could
only be through a political solution within the United Nations'
framework, the Bavarian church synod stated on April 5.

--The synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thuringia has
called for an immediate end to the fighting in Iraq. "We see
suffering and death, we see people fearing for their lives and the
impotent rage of the humiliated. In the name of God, the creator
of all humanity, we are called to make our voices heard. In our
responsibility as Christians, we object to reference to God being
used as a religious justification for the war," synod members
stated on April 4. They called for prayers for peace "because our
prayer does not go unheard. It is the seed from which the future
grows. It encourages and accompanies all who are making efforts
for peace."

--The bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, Dr
Margot Kaessmann, has criticized the use of religious language by
US President George W. Bush. She said Bush was misusing his
prayers to justify war. She also

--The bishops of the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church have
warned about possible disastrous consequences of the war in Iraq.
For Hamburg's Bishop Maria Jepsen, the war "cannot be justified in
any way at all." The idea that the conflict could lead to a
reduction in tension was "erroneous and dangerously outrageous."
Bishop Baerbel Wartenberg-Potter of Luebeck, expressed concern
that hatred and terrorism would spread as a result of the events
so far. If the institutions that represent international law are
not safeguarded, then there is a danger to return to barbarism.
The bishop of Schleswig, Dr Hans Christian Knuth, appealed for
special attention to the war victims among the Iraqi population as
well as for the soldiers involved and their families on both sides
of the front.

In a declaration on March 20, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Italy (ELKI), expressed deep regret about the start of the war in
Iraq. The ELKI described the US-led military strike as a "war of
aggression" which contravened international law and could not be
reconciled with Christian conscience. The church hoped "that the
forces waging war would not abandon their responsibility for
reconstruction after this indescribable warfare but ensure that
their impressive pronouncements were put into practice." The ELKI
referred to the joint responsibility of many Western countries,
who had originally supplied Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with
the means to enhance his regime until it became a threat to
others. The ELKI has 7,000 members, and joined the LWF in 1949.

In view of the conflict between the USA and Iraq, Argentina's
Evangelical Church of the River Plate (IERP) has declared its
solidarity with all those who seek peace. The IERP regretted that
despite the warnings from the governments of many nations,
regional and international organizations, and despite numerous
mass demonstrations worldwide, the USA had stuck to its plan to
resolve the problem in Iraq by military force. The Argentine
church stated its "resolute rejection" of all forms of violence
and oppression. The IERP has 47,000 members and joined the LWF in
1991.

(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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