wfn.org | LWF Council Press Release No. 06-2008

["Colette Muanda" <cmu@lutheranworld.org>]

*Apologies for any double mailing, for technical reasons.

>LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
>LWI News online:
>http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/Welcome.EN.html 

Festive Opening of LWF Council in Arusha, Tanzania
Tanzanian Bishop Laiser: “We must be the light and salt of the
earth”

ARUSHA, Tanzania/GENEVA, 27 June 2008 (LWI) - A festive worship
service marked the opening of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF)
Council meeting on 25 June in Arusha, Tanzania. In his sermon,
Tanzanian Bishop Thomas O. Laiser called upon the Lutheran
communion to be the salt and light of the earth. Laiser, from the
Arusha diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania
(ELCT) said it was the urgent obligation of all human beings to
take responsibility for the environment.  

Around 170 participants are attending the 25-30 June Council
meeting hosted by the ELCT in Arusha. Its theme is “Melting
Snow on Mount Kilimanjaro-A Witness of a Suffering Creation.”

During the opening worship service a large painting of the
Kilimanjaro on the altar crucifix of the Arusha Town Lutheran
Church illustrated the meeting’s theme. Bishop Laiser remarked,
“It has been noted and observed in recent years with concern
that snow on this highest mountain in Africa is melting away at a
speed never seen before, as a result of the destruction of the
environment.”   

Deforestation and the disappearance of wildlife, climate change
and global warming are all visible consequences of the
destruction of the environment, resulting also in the melting of
the snows of the Kilimanjaro, Laiser explained. 

In his sermon on Mt 5: 13-15, Laiser highlighted the
significance for the wellbeing and conduct of all human beings of
the central themes of the Scripture text: “Commonly these
little attributes [of] light and salt are items that we cannot do
without.” These words of Scripture also remind “each one of
us of the importance and necessity of becoming salt and light to
the whole world,” for the protection of nature. 

Referring to the Council theme, the Arusha bishop noted all
humanity shared a common responsibility to preserve creation.
“That is why Jesus told his disciples to become the light
and the salt to the world, to show the path when it is dark, and
to make the world of their time safe from any type of destruction
which may come their way.” 

Laiser, said he comes from the East African Maasai ethnic group
which, since time immemorial, has lived in harmony with nature,
and insisted that every Christian man and woman was a herald of
the gospel, called to commit themselves to the preservation of
creation: “It is an undeniable fact that if men and women young
and old, join hands together to witness for Christ we will become
a strong Gospel force for the whole of creation.”

In his sermon, Laiser recalled that in 2004 the ELCT took a
position on the question of human sexuality (The Bukoba Statement
at: www.elct.or.tz/home.html). For the ELCT, homosexuality is an
issue that is “not even discussable, and therefore it is not
acceptable.” This does not mean that there are no homosexual
men or women in Africa or in Tanzania, the bishop said. He stated
the church's opposition to attempts to officialize homosexuality
in the church under the guise of human rights.

Addressing the current situation in African countries, Bishop
Laiser, pointed to the plight of victims of the tragic incidents
and human rights violations in Darfur, Somalia and Zimbabwe who
“are eagerly waiting for the prophetic voice of the Lutheran
world family.” In these places of suffering “the presence of
our light and our salt must be felt,” he said.

Greeting worshippers,  LWF President Bishop Mark S. Hanson
reminded those attending the opening service of  the adoption of
the document “Proposed Guidelines and Processes for Respectful
Dialogue on Marriage, Family and Human Sexuality” by the LWF
Council in 2007 at its meeting in Lund, Sweden. Questions related
to human sexuality should not be a source of division within the
global Lutheran family, Hanson emphasized.  He cited the issue of
polygamy with which the Lutheran church in Africa was confronted.
 He said his visits to Lutheran churches in Kenya and Tanzania
prior to the Council had given him the opportunity to witness
first-hand the challenges these churches were facing in this
regard. “God gives gifts of unity in Christ, but also gives
diversity,” said the LWF president. “Let us be in unity
through the gospel, the good news we have received. It is my
prayer that the Lutherans will realize that their unity is based
on the gospel.”  

Hanson expressed his gratitude for the ELCA’s invitation to
host the meeting in Arusha and for the warm hospitality shown to
participants. “The ‘karibu’ [‘welcome’ in Kiswahili] is
felt deeply by us.” Thanks to the fellowship with the ELCT, the
LWF has learned a lot, Hanson said, “for you and so many
churches in the South are teaching us Lutherans what it means to
be an evangelizing church proclaiming the good news of Jesus
Christ. You are reminding us that being Lutheran is not only
being evangelical but being visional. Its vision is holistic.”

Music for the opening service was provided by four choirs from
the Arusha diocese, performing works related to the theme of this
year’s Council meeting. (856 words)

>* * * 

There are around 170 participants in this year’s Council
meeting including church leaders, officials from LWF partner
organizations, invited guests, stewards, interpreters and
translators, LWF staff and co-opted staff and accredited media. 

The Council is the LWF’s governing body meeting between
Assemblies held every six years. The current Council was
appointed at the July 2003 Tenth Assembly in Winnipeg, Canada. It
comprises the President, Treasurer and 48 persons elected by the
Assembly. Other members include advisors, lay and ordained
persons, representing the different LWF regions. 

>LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
>Tel.: +41/22-791 63 69 
>Fax: +41/22-791 66 30
>Editor’s E-Mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org 

>Media contact in Arusha: +255 782 321 852