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

LWI News in Brief

+ First Women's Ordination in Lutheran Church of Taiwan 
+ Leadership Change among LWF Member Churches
+ Special National Recognition for Lutheran Work in Korea
+ Indian Churches Launch Dalit Liberation Program
+ Norwegian Award for LWF Vice-President Bishop Munib Younan

First Women's Ordination in Lutheran Church of Taiwan 

The Lutheran Church of Taiwan (LCT), Republic of China, ordained its
first women pastors in October 2004. "We now have a start," said Rev.
Selma S. Chen, a member of the Council of the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) who was among those ordained on October 12. Others include pastors
Lyu Yi-In and Lin Pei- Yu .One of two LWF member churches in Taiwan, the
LCT has  a membership of 1,614. It joined the LWF in 1984. (84 words) 
(Asia Lutheran News)

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Leadership Change among LWF Member Churches

Several member churches of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) have new
leaders:
In Taiwan, Republic of China, Rev. Timothy Fan is the new president of
the Lutheran Church of Taiwan (LCT), succeeding Rev. Patrick Kao
Yin-Mao. The LCT has been an LWF member church since 1984.

Indonesia's Protestant Christian Batak Church (HKPB) has a new bishop,
Rev. Dr Bonar Napitupulu, who takes over from Rev. Dr Jubil Hutauruk.
With 3 million members, the HKPB is the largest of the 12 LWF member
churches in Indonesia. It joined the LWF in 1952.

Rev. Toru Mikajima is the new president of the Kinki Evangelical
Lutheran Church (KELC) in Japan, succeeding Rev. Kiyoshi Hirai. The LWF
has three member churches in Japan, one with associate membership. The
KELC has 2,580 members, and joined the LWF in 1976.

The Malagasy Lutheran Church (FLM) has a new president, Rev. Dr Endor
Modeste Rakoto. He takes over from Rev. Dr Benjamin Rabenorolahy. The
third largest Lutheran church in Africa, the FLM has 2.5 million members
and joined the Lutheran World Federation in 1950. (183 words) 

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Special National Recognition for Lutheran Work in Korea

A committee of Korean Protestant churches in Seoul, has selected two
ministries affiliated with the Lutheran Church in Korea and one Lutheran
pastor for special recognition in connection with plans to celebrate the
centennial anniversary of the "Great Revival Movement" which began in
1907. The Korea Bethel Series, a Bible study program, and the Korea
Lutheran Hour mass communications ministry are cited in the category of
most significant church programs. Rev. Dr Won-Sang Ji (1927-1998), who
served as the first president of the Lutheran Church in Korea is being
honored posthumously as one of the most influential Korean church
leaders. (108 words)  (Asia Lutheran News)

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Indian Churches Launch Dalit Liberation Program

The United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India (UELCI) has launched
the "UELCI Dalit Liberation Movement," a program that affirms the
churches' commitment to the liberation of Dalits' from all forms of
oppressive structures and forces.

Speaking at the November 11 launching ceremony in Tamil Nadu, UELCI
Executive Secretary, Rev. Dr Chandran Paul Martin commended the Lutheran
churches for their leading role in the introduction of theological
reflection on Dalit theology in the country, especially the inclusion of
related studies at the Gurukul Theological College in Chennai. A
significant part of the ceremony was the symbolic lighting of five
traditional lamps representing the major areas of work - advocacy,
education, economic development, political action and networking. The
cutting of a rope "tied to the Dalits" depicted the liberation of
individuals belonging to India's lowest caste. The UELCI president,
Bishop Lawrence G. Rao urged member churches to exercise full ownership
of the new program through active participation in the respective work
areas. 

Leaders of the eleven UELCI member churches, representing over 1.7
million Lutherans attended the ceremony. Other participants included the
organization's former executive secretaries, Dr Kunchala Rajaratnam and
Rev. Dr Prasanna Kumari, vice-president of the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) Asian region, 1997-2003. 

The LWF supports the new Dalit program through its Department for
Mission and Development (DMD). Ms Margret Stasius, project coordination
and administration, and Mr Jacob K. Schep, project implementation and
monitoring in DMD, represented the LWF secretariat. (244 words)  (UELCI
News)

*    *	   *

Norwegian Award for LWF Vice-President Bishop Munib Younan 

Palestinian Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan received the 2004 Bethany Award
from the Bethany Foundation in Oslo, Norway for his leadership in
working for peace, justice and reconciliation through dialogue between
Christians, Jews and Muslims in the Middle East. The head of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (ELCJ) was equally recognized for
his continuous witness of Arab Palestinian Christianity in the Holy
Land. 

The foundation, begun by the Methodist Church in 1897 also honored
Younan for his service with the Augusta Victoria Hospital, an
institution run by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for
World Service program in Jerusalem. Younan has served as ELCJ bishop
since 1998. He is LWF Vice-President for the Asian region, and a member
of the LWF Executive Committee.

Accepting the award in October, Younan thanked the Bethany Foundation
on behalf of Palestinian Christians, and paid tribute to his friends and
colleagues in Norway for their partnership and support. "This makes our
Palestinian church a church of martyria, serving suffering people with
the love of God, even as it is suffering itself," he said. The ELCJ has
3,000 members in congregations in Israel, Jordan and Palestine. It
joined the LWF in 1974. (ELCJ News)

The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 138
member churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a membership of
nearly 65 million Lutherans. The LWF acts on behalf of its member
churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith
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 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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