wfn.org | German Theologian Joachim Track to Head Search Committee for

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

German Theologian Joachim Track to Head Search Committee for LWF General
Secretary
LWF Council elects members of LWF Standing Committees
 
GENEVA, 22 August 2003 (LWI) - German theologian Rev. Dr Joachim Track will
head a seven-member Search Committee for the position of general secretary of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). The committee was elected during the
first meeting of the new LWF Council, July 31 July-August 2, in Winnipeg,
Canada. The committee secretary is Rev. Dr Bonnie L. Jensen, USA. Other
committee members include Bishop Joseph Paul Bvumbwe, Malawi; Rev. Ane
Hjerrild, Denmark; Bishop Dr Christoph Klein, Romania; Bishop Julius D. Paul,
Malaysia; and Rev. Victoria Cortez Rodriguez, Nicaragua. The term of the
current LWF General Secretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko will end on 31 December
2004. According to the Bylaws to the LWF Constitution, the general secretary
shall be eligible for reelection. 
 
The search for the position of general secretary shall begin a year before
the expiry of the incumbent's term. Noko, a Zimbabwean theologian assumed the
highest position in the LWF Geneva Secretariat in November 1994. 
 
The LWF Council also elected members of the following committees:
 
Standing Committee for Constitution: Mr Helge Aarseth, Norway (chair); Ms
Shu-Chen Chen, Taiwan; Ms Milita Poskiene, Lithuania; and Bishop Raymond
Schultz, Canada.
 
Standing Committee for Membership: Rev. Claudia Schreiber, Germany (chair);
Rev. Iteffa Gobena, Ethiopia; Ms Virginia Ivaqez de Neyeloff, Venezuela; and
Mr Kazuhiro Sekino, Japan. 
 
LWF Standing Committee for World Service: Bishop Julius D. Paul, Malaysia
(chair); Dr. Belletech Deressa, USA; Ms Carin Gardbring, Sweden; Ms Elsebeth
Krogh, Denmark; Bishop Dr Ambrose Moyo, Zimbabwe; Mr Peter Schirmer,
Australia; Rev. Silvio Schneider, Brazil; Mr Leo Silidmaa, Finland; Dr Konrad
von Bonin, Germany. A tenth member representing the German agency Bread for
the World will be appointed later. 
 
Assembly Review Committee: Rev. Dr Thomas Nyiwe, Cameroon (chair); Ms Diadem
Depayso, Philippines; Mr Thomas Jensch, Germany; Ms Riikka Myllys, Finland;
Rev. Alexander Priloutski, Russia; Bishop Raymond Schultz, Canada; and Ms
Sonia Andrea Skupch, Argentina. 
 
Danish theologian Dr Niels Henrik Gregersen was elected chairperson of the
Board of Trustees of the Lutheran Foundation for Inter-Confessional Research,
Strasbourg. Other board members from the LWF Council include Bishop Dr Jzlius
Filo, Slovak Republic, and Dr. Mariette Razivelo, Madagascar.
 
The Council also elected Swedish Bishop Anders Wejryd as chairperson of the
eight-member LWF Project Committee which approves projects within the
Department for Mission and Development. The other seven members of the
committee will be appointed by the LWF Executive Committee at its meeting
early in 2004.
 
(For further information on the LWF Council, Executive Committee and Program
Committees, please see LWF Council 2003, Press Release No. 1 of 2 August
2003.) 
 
(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 and interfaith 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' 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 a article
contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with
acknowledgment.]
 
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