wfn.org | Four New Members Increase LWF Churches to 136 in 75 Countries

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

LWF Council Welcomes Costa Rican, Indonesian, Rwandan and Zambian
Churches

LWF Council Meeting, Wittenberg, Germany, 10-17 September 2002

Press Release No. 16

WITTENBERG, Germany/GENEVA, 17 September 2002 (LWI) * The Council
of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has welcomed four new
churches into the LWF membership, raising the number of churches
in the worldwide communion of Lutheran churches from *132 to 136.

*The Council also accepted, but with regret, the withdrawal of the
Lutheran Church of the Republic of China (Taiwan). In February
2002, the 1,200-member church informed the LWF of the decision to
drop its membership, saying it disagreed with LWF's affirmation of
the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, signed by
the LWF and Roman Catholic Church on 31 October 1999.

At its 10-17 September 2002 meeting in Wittenberg, Germany, the
Council received the report of the Standing Committee for
Membership and accorded full membership to the 7,600-member
Lutheran Church of Rwanda (LCR), Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Zambia (ELC - Zambia), with 3,394 members, Gereja Angowuloa Masehi
Indonesia Nias (Gereja AMIN) * Christian Communion of Indonesia
Church in Nias (AMIN) - with 17,424 members and Iglesia Luterana
Costarricense (ILCO) * Lutheran Costarican Church with 1,137
members. The additional 28,000 increase the LWF membership to
61,732,832

The LCR has 40 congregations served by 15 pastors, 40 evangelists
and other church workers. It has four child care centers. The LCR
was begun by Rwandan Lutheran members mainly returning from
Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Tanzania,
after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Since then, the church has
expanded through new members within the country, and is well
established in five regions with plans for expansion. Its
activities and programs include mission and evangelization,
training of church workers, peace and reconciliation programs. The
LCR is a member of the Lutheran Communion in Central and East
Africa and of the Protestant Council of Churches in Rwanda.

The ELC - Zambia has its beginnings in Malawi and Zambia. It
started in 1983, and was formally registered with the government
in 1986. The church was in close contact with the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Tanzania, and its former and present presidents
have undergone training there. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Southern Africa, which has ordained ELC * Zambia pastors has been
instrumental in developing the church's constitution. The Zambian
church is a member of the Lutheran Communion of Churches in
Southern Africa, and of the Christian Council of Zambia.

The Christian Communion of Indonesia Church in Nias (Gereja AMIN)
has been in existence since 1865 when the missionaries brought the
gospel to the Nias region, whose inhabitants were mainly peasant
farmers. Although the church was formally established in 1946, it
was not until 1972 that a structural organization including
ministerial programs, vision and mission took shape. The church's
current activities include community building and awareness
raising about its ministry, human resources development for the
church's ordained and lay workers, including men, women and youth,
and working at improving the church's financial situation, so that
it can be a self-supporting church. Gereja AMIN is a member of the
LWF National Committee in Indonesia which now includes 11 churchs,
Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) and the Wuppertal,
Germany-based United Evangelical Mission.

The ILCO has been in contact with the LWF since the church was
founded in 1988. At its inception by former Lutherans and
Christians from other traditions, the intention was to promote
popular pastoral care with an integral ministry of word, sacrament
and service. This emphasis is upheld to date and there is
increasing participation of urban communities, Indians, peasants
and Nicaraguan immigrants.

The ILCO programs include focus on strengthening the Lutheran
communities and support toward the rural and urban communities,
offering training to equip the locals with skills to prepare for
and respond to and manage emergencies. Also important, is
accompanying the social-economic process of reconstruction. The
church has close relations with LWF member churches in Sweden,
Bavaria (Germany) the United States and Brazil. ILCO belongs to
the Communion of Lutheran Churches in Central America, Latin
America Council of Churches and Ecumenical Council of Churches of
Costa Rica.

The Council also accepted, but with regret, the withdrawal of LWF
membership by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of
China (Taiwan). In February 2002, the 1,200-member church informed
the LWF of the decision to drop its membership, saying it
disagreed with LWF's affirmation of the Joint Declaration on the
Doctrine of Justification, signed by the LWF and Roman Catholic
Church on 31 October 1999.

There are about 240 participants in the September 10-17 Council
meeting, including 103 representatives from LWF member churches,
and an additional 140 including LWF staff, interpreters, stewards,
press and invited guests.

Staff of the LWF Office for Communication Services at the Council
meeting can be contacted at German mobile telephone No., +49-(0)
170-8345 177.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 136 member churches in 75 countres representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 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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