wfn.org | Zimbabwean Lutheran Church Installs New Bishop Dube

["Frank Imhoff" <franki@elca.org>]

LWF General Secretary Applauds Exemplary Change of Leadership

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe/GENEVA, 21 December 2001 (LWI) - December 16 was a
special day for Lutherans in Zimbabwe when they gathered in the
country's second city Bulawayo, to witness the installation of their
new bishop, Rev. Litsietsi Maqethula Dube.

Dube, 58, succeeds Bishop Dr. Ambrose Moyo who has led the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ) since 1996. Friends,
invited delegates and other Lutherans came from as far as the United
States of America, Sweden and Switzerland.

Addressing the congregation and Dube in particular, Moyo who is also
the President of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) told his
successor: "Remember that the crown that will be placed upon you
today is not a worldly crown. Your appointment was not made in this
world but in heaven. From today onwards you will not only be the
leader of this church but also a public leader." With these words of
encouragement, the installation service began, presided over by Moyo
with the assistance of other bishops.

Dube becomes the fourth black bishop to head the ELCZ since its
establishment in 1903 by Swedish missionaries. After the occasion
Moyo again addressed the congregation with emphasis to the new
bishop: "I have handed over the holy throne to you Bishop Dube. For
the past five years I have been leading the church and now I leave it
to you. You are now the shepherd and these people are now the sheep.
Make sure that you become the good shepherd so that no sheep goes
astray. Do the work of God without fear, without favor."

To the ELCZ Moyo said: "Today you have a new leader. Do not look at
him with the eyes of the world but with heavenly eyes for he was not
chosen by you but by God. He needs your guidance, love and
understanding as he embarks on this long difficult journey for the
work that has been bestowed upon him is not an easy task."

Bishop Aynos Moyo, currently lecturing at the United Theological
College in Harare was then installed as Dube's deputy. Speaker after
speaker paid tribute to Moyo for his exemplary leadership and
dedication to the church.

As the new ELCZ leader Dube was reminded that being a bishop is the
highest rank a church can give to any of its pastors. It is a
position that calls for strength as it entails heavy
responsibilities. 

Welcoming the new bishop, the General Secretary of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF), Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko said the installation marked
a very important event in the life of the church. He applauded the
smooth way of changing leaders as a good example not only to the
church but also to the world at large.

Dube began his theological training at Umpumulo Theological College
in KwaZulu, South Africa in 1969, and obtained later a Bachelor of
Arts Degree in Theology from the University of South Africa. Ordained
in 1974, he was appointed as ELCZ Matabeleland Dean, serving in the
Manama Mission-based congregation where he also worked as a teacher.
He was elected Moyo's deputy in 1996 but continued teaching at Manama
until his resignation this year.

Dube was elected as ELCZ bishop on 1 September 2001 for a five-year
term. He is married to Shanangirai Gumbo and they have six children
and four grand children.

It is expected that Moyo, 58, will leave the ZCC presidency which he
assumed in 1999 as the holder of this position should be the head of
one of the council's member churches. The ZCC is the country's
leading ecumenical body, bringing together 20 Protestant churches.

The 100,000-member ELCZ joined the LWF in 1963.

(By Sinqobile Ndlovu, a journalist with the Harare-based Ecumenical
Documentation and Information Center for Southern Africa)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 133
member churches in 73 countries representing over 60.5 million of the
64.3 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on behalf of its
member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical
relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights,
communication, and the various aspects of mission and development
work. Its 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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