wfn.org | LWF Executive Committee Recommends Termination of Kenyan

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

LWF Executive Committee Recommends Termination of Kenyan Bishop's Tenure
as Council Adviser
Critical Stance on Bishop's Consecration of Pastor in Sweden

GENEVA, 22 February 2005 (LWI) * The Executive Committee of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF) has recommended the termination of the tenure of
Kenyan Bishop Walter E. Obare Omwanza as Council adviser after he
consecrated a Swedish pastor as bishop of the Mission Province in
Sweden.

At its February 19-21 meeting near Geneva, the Executive Committee
recommended to the Council "on the basis of the appropriate provisions in
the LWF Constitution to terminate the service of Bishop Obare as adviser
to the Council." Obare heads the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya
(ELCK), one of two LWF member churches in Kenya.

The 13-member committee confirmed it had received the news that Obare
consecrated Rev. Arne Olsson as bishop of the Mission Province in Sweden
on Saturday, 5 February 2005 in the auditorium of a high school in
Gothenburg, Sweden. Olsson is a pastor of Karlstad Diocese, Church of
Sweden.

"The consecration took place outside all regulations in the Church of
Sweden. This action by Bishop Obare, together with those who assisted him,
must be considered as inappropriate interference in the life of a sister
church, with negative consequences for the unity of the LWF as a communion
of churches as a whole," the committee stated in its recommendation to the
Council.

The Executive Committee said the ELCK bishop's action was inconsistent
with his role as "adviser to the Council, entrusted with the responsibility to uphold and further the unity of the Lutheran communion." The Council
is expected to make a decision on the committee's recommendation at this
year's meeting, August 31 - September 6 in Jerusalem.

LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko told Lutheran World Information
(LWI), "Bishop Obare will be invited to attend the Council meeting, which
will make the final decision. He may avail himself to address the Council
if he so wishes."

Obare, a member of the Program Committee for Theology and Studies, is
among 22 representatives from LWF member churches worldwide appointed to
serve as advisers to the current Council. Advisers provide professional
competence and expertise to the seven Program Committees of the Council.
They are full members, with vote in their respective committees. They have
voice but no vote in Council plenary sessions.

The Council is LWF's governing body, meeting annually. It consists of the
President, who is elected by the Assembly, the Treasurer, who can be
elected from among the membership or from outside, and 48 people elected
by the Assembly.
(428 words)

(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 66 million Christians. 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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