wfn.org | LWF Council Press Release No. 04-2008

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

*Apologies for any double mailing, for technical reasons.

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Lutheran Communion Urged to Remain Focused on Root Causes of
Food Insecurity 

LWF Council: General Secretary Report to Council Seeks Greater
Church Involvement in Climate Change Issues

ARUSHA, Tanzania/GENEVA, 26 June 2008 (LWI) - In a wide-ranging
report to the Council of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF)
meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr
Ishmael Noko, emphasized the critical role of the LWF in
remaining focused on the underlying causes of food insecurity and
their impact especially on the poor. 

“Food security or ‘food sovereignty’ may be emerging as
one of the major challenges of the 21st century,” said Noko in
his report to the Council on 26 June. Referring to the theme of
the July 2010 LWF 11th Assembly in Stuttgart, Germany, under the
theme “Give Us Today Our Daily Bread,” he noted that while
international media attention may have shifted from the current
global food crisis by then, the underlying causes and their
tragic effects will remain.

The question of food security, Noko stressed, was not an
isolated issue, but was as a result of a complex combination of
several factors including climate change; increasing water
scarcity; population growth and increasing wealth especially in
the fast-developing economies; lack of investment in domestic
agricultural production; and unfair trade policies, among others.

“It will be of critical importance to the future relevance of
the LWF as a diaconal and humanitarian instrument of the Lutheran
family that we remain focused on those causes and ways in which
the LWF can make a meaningful contribution to addressing and
resolving them,” he noted.

He noted the LWF has just produced a cookbook titled “Food for
Life: Recipes and Stories on the Right to Food.” It is a
compilation of recipes, table blessings and feature stories from
the LWF Department for World Service (DWS) field offices,
portraying the daily struggles for food and life among some of
the most vulnerable communities with which the LWF works.

>Mutual Responsibility

Noko described the theme for this year’s meeting “Melting
Snow on Mount Kilimanjaro-A Witness of a Suffering Creation,”
as an invitation to the participants and the LWF churches to
listen to the lamentation of God’s creation painfully
communicated to God’s people by Africa’s highest mountain.
“It is weeping for a healthy Africa, and for a healthy
environment” in a continent, like many other parts of the
world, experiencing increasing desertification, more frequent
extreme weather conditions, drying up of rivers and the
disappearance of animal species, he said.

“Care for God’s creation is part of the stewardship of the
human family and is therefore central to the mission of the
church,” he noted. He cited the efforts of the LWF and its
member churches to address the effects of climate change through
DWS’ humanitarian relief and development activities in the most
affected parts of the world including Mauritania, Ethiopia and
Tanzania.

The context in which the Council meets is also important, noted
the general secretary of the gathering hosted by the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT). Africa’s Great Lakes
region, to which Tanzania belongs, amply demonstrates the
continent’s conflicting realities of wealth and poverty.
Despite the many well-intentioned international and local
initiatives, as well as ecumenical interventions to reduce
poverty in Africa, the continent’s people remain generally
poor, said Noko. He proposed working toward a solution that would
require mutual action from the international community and
Africans and their governments on the question: “What should we
‘Not’ do that prohibits Africans from taking ownership of
their resources and apply them for the benefit of their
people?” 

An honest answer, said Noko, would “reveal that corruption by
both Africans and non-Africans is a major contributor to the
problems that this continent faces.” For the LWF, this was not
an academic question, rather a communion question, because it
impacts on the diaconal capacity of the church to be church, he
stressed. “If we agree that these are issues that concern our
communion, then let us talk about them as openly as we can.” He
mentioned in this context the LWF Task Force on Poverty in Africa
initiated by member churches in the region alongside the LWF
program on Illegitimate Debt by the churches in Latin America. 

>Human Trafficking

Other topics highlighted in the report include human trafficking
and its “push factors” of poverty and insecurity, and the
“pull factors” of demand, profit and false promise or
unrealistic expectations. The churches’ acknowledgment that
this complex, social problem exists in their countries should be
the first step toward a solution that would include mechanisms of
collaboration. Noko requested the Council to reflect on the issue
“so that we can commit ourselves to do something about it upon
return to our respective home churches.”

His report pointed also to the LWF’s response to the AIDS
pandemic, and concern about the number of countries that apply
visa restrictions on the basis of HIV status. He also drew the
Council’s attention to the political and economic crisis in
Zimbabwe; the complex humanitarian issue in Myanmar; and the
Middle East situation.

He emphasized the need to strengthen churches’ capacity as the
LWF continually seeks to live out its diaconal calling, and
mentioned the Global Consultation on Diakonia to be held in
Ethiopia in October 2008. Also highlighted is a study program of
the Department for Theology and Studies, “Theology in the Life
of the Church” (TLC) focusing on questions about the relevance
of traditional Lutheran theological categories. The latest
publication in the TLC series is titled “Identity, Survival
Witness: Reconfiguring Theological Agendas.”

>Unity

The general secretary also addressed the issue of unity within
the Lutheran family, pointing out that divisions between major
branches of the Lutheran family could lead to even greater
fragmentation rather than greater unity especially if played out
in the life of individual churches. He however emphasized the
commitment by the LWF and International Lutheran Communion (ILC)
to seeking to improve communication and understanding.

On ecumenical dialogues and contacts, Noko highlighted among
others, the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Joint
Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) with the
suggested theme “Happiness” - signifying how the message of
justification is received by human beings and the rest of
creation. 

>Staff and Financial Matters

On financial and staff issues, the general secretary underlined
growing concern for the LWF’s tax exemption status in a number
of countries where DWS works. “A tax-free status is not any
more guaranteed automatically by governments and negotiations are
taking much efforts and time,” he said. 

Although the number of executive staff had remained relatively
stable in Geneva, there had been a substantial reduction in the
number of administrative staff, with implications for workload
management. While there was improvement in the balance between
staff from the global North and South, and in gender, the
increasing average age of staff in Geneva and the field remained
crucial. “We will have to reflect on the ways in which the
presence of youth in the LWF secretariat can be restored and
sustained, as an important means of formation for leadership in
the Lutheran communion and in the wider ecumenical movement,”
stressed the general secretary. 

Noko, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe,
also informed the Council of his intention to conclude his
service as LWF General Secretary on 31 October 2010. He affirmed
his commitment to continue “to work as faithfully and
diligently” as he could to ensure a smooth transition. 

During its current session, the Council has approved the search
process and timetable for the next general secretary. Noko was
elected LWF General Secretary in 1994, and re-elected for a
second seven-year term mandate in 2004. (1,265 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.

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>Editor’s E-Mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org 

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