wfn.org | LWI News in Brief - August 2000

[FRANK.IMHOFF@ecunet.org]

New president for Australian church. The Lutheran Church of Australia
(LCA) at its synod last July elected Rev. Michael Semmler as the
fourth President of the church. He replaces Dr Lance Steicke who has
been President since 1987. Semmler, aged 54, has served the Lutheran
church as a parish pastor in Victoria, Western Australia and the
South Australian/Northern Territory (SA/NT) District as well as in
Canada. He is currently President of the LCA's SA/NT district. The
president-elect says he is committed to a strong synod of the Church.
"I see myself as a 'servant leader'," he states. "I will seek to give
clear leadership in mission, with a unified approach in which
overseas, indigenous ministry, and local home ventures will each have
appropriate emphases." Married with four adult children, Semmler
lives in Adelaide. He is keenly interested in education and has been
actively involved in schools and education within the Lutheran
Church. Pastor Semmler will be formally installed as President in
Adelaide in October.

Lutheran bishop hails joint efforts to fight corruption in Malawi.
The Lutheran Bishop of Malawi, Joseph P. Bvumbwe has emphasized the
need for a network of organizations to jointly fight corruption in
the country. Speaking at a workshop organized in Blantyre with the
aim to form an anti-corruption coalition for private and public
institutions in Malawi, the Lutheran church leader said: "No one
organization can successfully fight corruption. It is only when our
efforts are pulled in one direction that the problem of corruption
can be put at bay." The two-day workshop, August 24-25, was jointly
funded by the World Bank, Danish International Development Agency
(Danida) and the British Department for International Development
(DFID), with participants from civil society and institutions that
fight corruption. Malawi is among countries chosen by the World Bank
for a pilot program to fight corruption. Speaking at the workshop,
the Presidential Affairs Minister Ken Lipenga, described the
inclusion of Malawi in the program as a reflection of the donor
community's recognition of the nation's fight against corruption.

German church confesses it used forced laborers during war. The
Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Germany's main Protestant body,
and the main Protestant social-service organization are to contribute
DEM 10 million (USD 4.7million) to a compensation fund launched in
July for forced laborers brought to Germany during the Nazi era.
According to Ecumenical News International (ENI), EKD and
Diakonisches Werk, in a statement announcing their decision, admitted
that forced laborers had been used in church parishes and in diaconal
institutions, such as church-run hospitals. The fund was set up by
the German government and businesses after 18 months of negotiations
and threats of American lawsuits by victims. About 1.5 million
surviving victims will receive between DEM 5,000 and 15,000 each from
the fund. Dependants will not be compensated. The Roman Catholic
Church in Germany has declined to contribute to the fund, and has
stated that there is no evidence that forced laborers were used in
Catholic institutions. The EKD brings together 25 Lutheran, Reformed
and United regional churches including the Evangelical Church of the
Union (EKU).

Lutheran bishop to head Zimbabwe's ecumenical organization. The head
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ), Bishop Ambrose
Moyo, was elected last July president of the Zimbabwe Council of
Churches (ZCC), the country's main ecumenical organization. The
bishop's election came at a crucial point in the history of the
southern African nation. Among other issues of national concern are
President Robert Mugabe's policies, which include a decision to
remove white farmers from their properties without paying them
compensation. The Lutheran bishop was himself forced to leave
Zimbabwe during the June election period for security reasons. His
crime then, he said, was that he was "publicly condemning" political
violence in the run up to the parliamentary elections.

Cameroon church has new leader. The Rev. Dr. Thomas Nyiwe is the new
president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cameroon (ELCC).
Nyiwe, who assumed his new position on July 1, is the successor of
Rev. Philemon Barya who passed away early this year. Prior to his
election at an extra-ordinary general synod last June, the
Cameroonian theologian was dean at the Lutheran Institute of Theology
in Meiganga, in the northeastern part of the country.

Bishops of new LWF member churches in Asia. Following are names of
the leaders of three new Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member
churches in Asia. The Rev. E. J. Solin is bishop of the Pakpak Dairi
Christian Protestant Church (Gereja Kristen Protestan Pakpak Dairi)
in Indonesia. Bishop J. H. Manurung is the head of the United
Protestant Church (Gereja Protestan Persekutuan) also in Indonesia.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Myanmar (Lutheran Bethlehem
Church) is headed by a president, the Rev. Jenson Rajan Andrews. All
three churches with a total of 38,569 baptized members were formally
welcomed into full membership of the LWF last June at the
Federation's Council meeting in Turku, Finland. The LWF presently has
131 member churches in 72 countries representing over 59 million of
the world's 63 million Lutherans.

Celebration of LWF Sunday 2000. "Christian Witness in a World of
Religious and Cultural Plurality" is the theme under which LWF member
churches will celebrate LWF Sunday this year. The liturgy for the
occasion has been prepared by the Asia region. Each year, a church in
one of the seven regions is asked to prepare LWF Sunday for all LWF
member churches worldwide. The concept of an "LWF Sunday" was adopted
by the Federation's Council at its meeting in Windhoek, Namibia in
1995. It was hoped that all LWF member churches could celebrate such
a Sunday every year, preferably on or around Reformation Sunday. The
themes adopted for the celebration follow the Assembly Issues in the
1997 Assembly Study Book. The third issue discussed in the book is
"Christian Witness in a World of Religious and Cultural Plurality".
In a letter addressed to the LWF member churches and national
committees, the LWF General Secretary Dr. Ishmael Noko points to the
religious and cultural diversity of the Asian region. "The voices of
the Asian continent remind us, therefore, that the existence of
religious and cultural plurality is to be accepted not reluctantly
but willingly."

CORRECTION: (See printed LWI No.7/2000, p. 10 first paragraph, should
read "...The Lutheran Bishops' Conference made a recommendation to
the congregations that they give one percent of their annual budgets
toward mission and development work. ..."

(The LWF is a global communion of 131member churches in 72 countries
representing over 59 million of the world's 63 million Lutherans. Its
highest decision making body is the Assembly, held every six or seven
years. Between Assemblies, the LWF is governed by a 49-member Council
which meets annually, and its Executive Committee. The LWF
secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF). 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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Lutheran World Information
Assistant Editor, English: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/