wfn.org | LWI 2009-052 African Lutheran Church Leaders Explore Climate Change Impact on Food Security

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African Lutheran Church Leaders Explore Climate Change Impact on
Food Security 
Nairobi Meeting Will Deliberate Theological Perspectives on
"Daily Bread"

NAIROBI, Kenya/ Geneva, 2 October 2009 (LWI) – Climate change,
food security and poverty in Africa will be the focus topics of a
consultation of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) taking place
in Nairobi, Kenya, from 6-10 October.

Over 50 participants from LWF member churches in Africa, field
programs of the Department for World Service (DWS) and related
partners will focus on the three topics under the theme "Vision,
Realities and the Witness of the Church amid Crises of Climate
Change, Food and Poverty." 

The Africa area desk at the LWF Department for Mission and
Development (DMD) is organizing the event, hosted by the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK) and Kenya Evangelical
Lutheran Church (KELC).

The consultation comes at a significant moment in view of
preparations for the July 2010 Eleventh Assembly in Stuttgart,
Germany, said Rev. Dr Musa P. Filibus, DMD area secretary for
Africa. "It relates closely to the Assembly theme, 'Give Us Today
Our Daily Bread.' To speak about the impact of climate change,
food security and poverty is to articulate concern about the cry
of the poor for daily bread and justice," he explained.

The gathering will enable church leaders, theologians,
development workers and partners to share experiences and deepen
theological understanding of the critical issues related to
climate change and food security, and the link with systemic
poverty, said Filibus. Perspectives will also be shared on trade,
gender justice and the role of women as agents of transformation,
he explained. 

At its 2008 meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, the LWF Council urged
the member churches to deepen their theological and ethical
understanding on the human contribution to climate change and the
global food crisis. The governing body emphasized the urgency and
unprecedented magnitude of these challenges and their threat to
humanity and the rest of creation. The Council called on the
churches to move beyond lamentation to urgent and effective
action.

Following up on the Council's action, the July 2009 meeting of
the LWF Africa Region Task Force on Poverty in Johannesburg,
South Africa, explored further the contextual threat of climate
change including increasing floods and droughts, resulting in
internal displacement of people and conflict over land. The
committee underlined that climate change was resulting in
unpredictable seasons, failure of harvests and a water crisis. It
proposed the Nairobi follow-up consultation.

A September 2009 DWS regional consultation on food security
continued this focus, calling for greater sensitivity to the
vulnerability of people seeking their rights amid the crisis.

The Mbabane, Swaziland, meeting attended by representatives and
partners of DWS country and associate programs in Southern
Africa, stated that equity in land tenure systems was key to
achieving national food security. Participants underlined the
need to promote community-based solutions, and called on churches
to deepen their moral and ethical understanding of food
security.

Still, more research and better networking are needed to
influence governments to act on behalf of the poor and vulnerable
hit hard by the lack of food security in the region, noted the
DWS consultation.

It urged better use of climate change resources, a scaling up of
disaster relief and the promotion of drought-resistant crops
among other approaches. (544 words)

(By Nairobi-based LWI correspondent, Fredrick Nzwili)

>*        *          *

(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 79 countries all over the
world, with a total membership of 68.5 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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