LWI News in Brief 02-2007
+ Sierra Leonean Bishop Welcomes Use of Krio Language to Fight Violence against Women + 'Grace, Care and Justice' - LWF Handbook for HIV and AIDS Work + Margarita Martinez, Bishop of ELCA Caribbean Synod, Dies + Palestinian Lutheran Church Mourns Its First Bishop
Sierra Leonean Bishop Welcomes Use of Krio Language to Fight Violence against Women
At the launch of the Krio language version of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) document "Churches Say 'No' to Violence against Women, " Sierra Leonean Lutheran Bishop Tom Barnett said he particularly welcomed the use of this significant historical language to fight a societal evil.
"Krio language was born out of the evil and inhuman slave trade in this sub-region more than 200 years ago. It is only logical that it should be used to fight another evil-violence against women," said Barnett, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sierra Leone, at the launch of the document in Freetown, Sierra Leone on 21 February. The event coincided with a Lutheran Communion in Western Africa (LUCWA) sub-regional women's consultation.
Titled "CHCCH SE "NC" TO BAD TRITM*NT AGENS UMAN," the Krio language version brings to 27 the number of translations made of the LWF document, originally produced by the desk for Women in Church Society (WICAS) in the Department for Mission and Development. Published in 2001, the working document proposes ways in which women, men and faith communities could work together to fight violence against women in church and society. It is an LWF contribution to the ecumenical "Decade to Overcome Violence: Churches Seeking Reconciliation and Peace (2001-2010)" and the UN "International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World."
The WICAS/LUCWA regional coordinator Rev. Marie J. Barnett, commended the LWF desk for enhancing inclusiveness within the Lutheran communion by reaching out to those who could not read the LWF official language versions - English, German, French or Spanish.
Ms Priscilla Singh, LWF/WICAS executive secretary emphasized the church leadersâ role in publicly condemning violence against women. (293 words)
To order copies of "Churches Say 'No' to Violence against Women" please contact Ms Priscilla Singh at: prs@lutheranworld.org or The LWF Department for Mission and Development, 150 route de Ferney, P. O. Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland, Tel. +41/22-791 61 11, Fax +41/22-791 64 01.
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'Grace, Care and Justice' - LWF Handbook for HIV and AIDS Work
"Grace, Care and Justice" is the title of a Lutheran World Federation (LWF) handbook for HIV and AIDS work, published in March 2007.
The 114-page resource was developed with input from a variety of persons including church leaders, doctors, nurses, social workers, counselors, and others who have been actively involved in AIDS work in the LWF member churches. It is intended to help people especially all those who work in and on behalf of the churches to become more active and effective in accompanying persons who are living with and affected by HIV and AIDS.
Through six chapters, the handbook brings together the theological and pastoral perspectives that shape how a Lutheran communion should approach people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS. The subjects include Medical Facts and Prevention; Gender, Sexuality and Truth Telling; Responding to Questions of Faith; Ministry of Care and Counseling; Home-Based Care; and, Advocacy.
The LWF Department for Mission and Development will encourage and assist the member churches to organize a reception and discussion process, preferably through pastors meetings in synods, dioceses or church units. A planned second part of the handbook to specifically address the prevention challenges for churches and best practices in care and counseling will be shared in the reception phase.
In the handbook's foreword, LWF General S ecretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko expresses his hope that the handbook will be a "helpful resource, not only for Lutheran churches and their related programs, but also for those from other Christian traditions." He notes that "many of the perspectives and recommendations are shared with those of other faiths and with secular organizations."
Noko emphasizes the LWF's deep commitment to working collaboratively with ecumenical, interfaith, governmental, and civil society partners. (298 words)
To order copies of "Grace, Care and Justice" please contact the LWF Department for Mission and Development at: sni@lutheranworld.org or The LWF Department for Mission and Development, 150 route de Ferney, P. O. Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland, Tel. +41/22-791 61 11, Fax +41/22-791 64 01.
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Margarita Martinez, Bishop of ELCA Caribbean Synod, Dies
Bishop Margarita Martinez of the Caribbean Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died on 11 March of cancer in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. She was 59.
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) said of Martinez: "[She] challenged us to confront the barriers we erect to divide us from one another and to cross those barriers for the sake of reconciliation. In her leadership of the Caribbean Synod she gave us a vision of a more inclusive and multicultural church. In ecumenical relationships she modeled the gifts of women in ministry and leadership. She was a strong mentor and spiritual friend to countless young people and newly ordained pastors."
Born in New York, Martinez earned a bachelor's and master's degree in business administration from Universidad Mundial, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, in 1979 and 1982 respectively, and a master of divinity degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia in 1989.
After her ordination in 1989, Martinez served as pastor at Iglesia Evangelica Luterana Bethel, Dorado, Puerto Rico, and Iglesia Evangelica Luterana San Marcos, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. She served as secretary of the ELCA Caribbean Synod from 1991 to 1993.
Martinez was a voting member at the 1995 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis, and she was elected an ELCA delegate to the 1997 LWF Ninth Assembly in Hong Kong, China. From 1997 to 1999, Martinez served as associate director for global events, ELCA Global Mission. The ELCA Caribbean Synod elected Martinez to a six-year term as bishop in 2001. At the time of her election she was a mission developer at Cristo El Senor Lutheran Mission, Cayey, Puerto Rico.
Martinez appointed the Rev. Francisco L. Sosa as acting bishop of the synod in August 2006, when information about her declining health was disclosed. Sosa preceded Martinez as the synodâs bishop.
Bishop Margarita Martinez is survived by one adult child, a brother and mother.
The ELCA Caribbean Synod has 6,140 baptized members in 34 congregations in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. (349 words) (ELCA News Service)
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Palestinian Lutheran Church Mourns Its First Bishop
Bishop emeritus Daoud Haddad, the first bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) died on 19 March. According to a statement from the ELCJHL, Haddad died after suffering a brain hemorrhage.
Born in Lebanon in 1914, Haddad studied theology in Switzerland and Germany, and was ordained as a pastor in Jerusalem in 1940. He was consecrated as the first bishop of the then Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (ELCJ) in 1979, and served until 1986, when the late Bishop Naim Nasser succeeded him.
According to the ELCJHL statement, Haddad's life was marked by trying and tumultuous moments. Two days after Propst Johannes Doering and Director Hermann Schneller ordained him at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem, the two Germans were deported, as the war in Europe had begun. When the 1948 Palestinian/Israeli conflict broke out, he was in Nazareth, and had t o escort 15 boys from the Schneller School to Lebanon, because they feared the school would be dangerous for them. Upon his return to Jerusalem, he focused on the overwhelming needs of Palestinian refugees.
Gradually the ELCJHL grew in the West Bank of Jordan, in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, and a congregation was started in Ramallah in 1954 to serve the many refugees who had fled from Jaffa, Ramleh and Lod. In 1959, King Abdullah of Jordan officially recognized the ELCJ, following which, a sixth congregation was initiated in Amman, in 1977. Upon his election and subsequent consecration as bishop, Haddad focused on the growing spirituality and development of the church as well as ecumenical and interfaith relations.
Delivering the sermon at Haddad's funeral on 25 March, ELCJHL Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan said, "God did not create people just to live and die, but to carry a message of love and hope. Bishop Haddad was a living witness of that."
Bishop emeritus Daoud Haddad is survived by his wife, Aida, five children and grandchildren.
The 3,000-member ELCJHL joined the LWF in 1974. (344 words) (ELCJHL News)
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(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140 member churches in 78 countries all over the world, with a total membership of nearly 66.7 million. 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 the LWFâs 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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