wfn.org | LWF Mourns Former Associate General Secretary Dr Anza Lema

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

LWF Mourns Former Associate General Secretary Dr Anza Lema
"A Lay Leader of Remarkable Personal Qualities"
 
GENEVA, 29 October 2004 (LWI) * In the death of Dr Anza Amen A. Lema, former Associate General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the churches in Africa have lost a lay leader of "remarkable personal qualities," the LWF stated in a message to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT).

In a condolence letter to the ELCT following Lema's death, October 20, LWF General Secretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko said the former associate general secretary would be remembered by the Lutheran family and ecumenical community "as a person of compassion, always seeking to find solutions that would strengthen human bonds."

The general secretary praised Lema's involvement in the educational and academic world, pointing out that his outstanding contribution culminated in the formation of a Lutheran university in Tanzania. He will be missed, Noko said. "We are grateful to God for Anza's selfless life that touched many churches world-wide," he added.

Born on 28 October 1929 in Moshi, Lema died in Tanzania, a few days prior to his 75th birthday. 

He undertook his teacher's training education at Marangu Teacher's Training College, 1946-1950, and taught at several local schools. From 1956 to 1959 he pursued undergraduate studies in history and education at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, USA, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. After post-graduate studies from 1959 to 1960 he earned a Master of Arts in history and political science from the University of Wisconsin, in Madison. In March 1970, he was awarded a Doctor of Law degree by the Bethany College, Kansas, USA. 

In 1962 Lema was appointed headmaster of Ilboru Secondary School, becoming the institution's first Tanzanian headmaster. Under his leadership, Ilboru became one of the most successful secondary schools in the country, especially in its efforts to implement a national policy of education for self-reliance. In 1970, he joined the Institute of Education at the University of Dar es Salaam, where he worked for three years.

 From 1973 to 1980, Lema worked as Secretary for Christian Education in the then LWF Department for Studies. From 1980 until 1992, he was LWF Associate General Secretary, and was also responsible for personnel matters at the Geneva secretariat. 

Lema returned home in 1994 to head the Dar es Salaam-based Christian Social
Service Commission (CSSC), a joint educational venture of the Christian
Council of Tanzania and the Tanzania Episcopal Conference, committed to
improving secondary schools' facilities in the country. After four years with
the CSSC, Lema worked for the ELCT's Tumaini University as a planning officer
and program coordinator until his death. 

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 138 member
churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a membership of nearly 65
million Lutherans. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of
common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith 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 LWF's information service. 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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