wfn.org | LWI 2008-034 LWF Council Meets in Arusha, Tanzania

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LWF Council Meets in Arusha, Tanzania

Theme: "Melting Snow on Mount Kilimanjaro - A Witness of a
Suffering Creation" 

GENEVA, 19 June 2008 (LWI) - Representatives from member
churches of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) gather in Arusha,
Tanzania for the 25 - 30 June meeting of the LWF Council, hosted
by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT). The
meeting's theme is "Melting Snow on Mount Kilimanjaro: A Witness
of a Suffering Creation." 

The Council will begin with an opening worship service at the
ELCT's Arusha Town Lutheran Church on 25 June, at which Bishop
Thomas O. Laiser of the Arusha Diocese will preach. 

The agenda of the six-day meeting includes plenary presentations
of the LWF President's Address by Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding
bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Report of
the Treasurer Mr Peter Stoll, and of the General Secretary Rev.
Dr Ishmael Noko, followed by discussions in plenary and at the
Program Committee sessions. The LWF Strategic Plan will also be
presented.

The LWF Renewal Committee, chaired by Canadian Bishop Raymond
Schultz will report on its work, as will the 11th Assembly
Planning Committee, chaired by Ms Angelene Swart, president of
the Moravian Church in South Africa.

This year's meeting includes a "Plenary on Africa" at which
former Tanzanian Prime Minister Fredrick Tluway Sumaye will
deliver the keynote address. 

The Council participants will join worshippers in ELCT's Arusha
congregations for Sunday morning services on 29 June. The program
provides further possibilities to see the church's diaconal work
around the Arusha region. Pre-Council exposure visits also
include the work of LWF member churches and Department for World
Service in neighboring Kenya and Rwanda. A Pre-Council youth
workshop will be held 19 - 23 June in Arusha. 

Africa's second largest LWF member church and the world's fourth
largest Lutheran church, the 4.6 million-member ELCT joined the
LWF in 1964. It has 20 dioceses, and is headed by Presiding
Bishop Alex G. Malasusa.

The Council is the LWF's governing body between Assemblies,
meeting once every 12 to 18 months. 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 persons elected
by the Assembly. 

The Assembly, the LWF's highest governing body meets every six
years. The 11th Assembly will be held 20 - 27 July 2010 in
Stuttgart, Germany, hosted by the Evangelical Church in
Wuerttemberg. (402 words)

>*       *       *

(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 over 68.3 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.)

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