wfn.org | LWI News in Brief

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

LWI News in Brief

+ Joint Declaration Should Not Remain a 'Dead Letter'
+ Ecumenical Celebration of JDDJ Fifth Anniversary in Germany 
+ Lutherans, Roman Catholics in Great Britain Mark Fifth Year of Joint	
Declaration 
+ LWF Publication: The Doctrine of Justification, Its Reception and   
Meaning Today
+ Former Jerusalem Bishop Musa Nasar Dies 
+ New LWF Representative Jan Schutte to Head Eritrea Program 
+ Petros Wontamo to Head LWF/DWS Angola Program 

Joint Declaration Should Not Remain a 'Dead Letter'

The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ)*a significant
document for Lutherans and Catholics signed in 1999 in Augsburg,
Germany*"should not remain a paper and a 'dead' letter." Walter Cardinal
Kasper, President of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian
Unity (PCPCU) made these remarks when he addressed the Conference of Bishops
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in early October. The
document "must become known, lived out and become a reality in the body of
the church," said Kasper who was visiting the ELCA in recognition of the
fifth anniversary of the signing of the JDDJ. The PCPCU President noted this
year also marked the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, convened
by Pope John XXIII. "Vatican II" signified a fundamental shift toward the
modern Catholic Church and emphasized ecumenism. While in the Chicago area,
Kasper preached during a "Solemn Vespers" service that included the
Conference of Bishops, sy
 n!
od vice-presidents, seminary presidents and the public at St. Luke's Lutheran
Church, Park Ridge, Illinois. The Conference of Bishops is an advisory body
of the church, consisting of the ELCA's 65 synod bishops, presiding bishop
and secretary. (ELCA NEWS) 

*    *	   *

Ecumenical Celebrations of JDDJ Fifth Anniversary in Germany 

During an ecumenical service, October 31, at St Anne's Church in Augsburg,
Germany, Regensburg Bishop Dr Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, Chairperson of the
Ecumenical Commission of the German Bishops' Conference, and Bavarian Bishop
Dr Johannes Friedrich, Catholica Commissioner, United Evangelical Lutheran
Church of Germany, paid tribute to the signing and importance of the Joint
Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) five years ago. Friedrich
said "the opportunity of ecumenical progress that accompanies the signing of
the Joint Declaration should not be allowed to lapse." Mueller spoke of the
JDDJ as a major step forward toward church unity. Representatives of the
Lutheran World Federation and Roman Catholic church signed the JDDJ on 31
October 1999 in St Anne's Church in Augsburg.

In Berlin, Bishop Dr Wolfgang Huber, chairperson of the Council of the
Evangelical Church in Germany, pointed out that those who only evaluated the
JDDJ through "the practical progress it has brought about, might be
disappointed." Although the very real obstacles to mutual recognition have
not been overcome, the high degree of transparency achieved is laudable. (184
words)

*    *	   *

Lutherans, Roman Catholics in Great Britain Mark Fifth Year of Joint
Declaration

To mark the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Joint Declaration on the
Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ), the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England
and Wales (CBCEW) and the Lutheran Council of Great Britain (LCGB) prepared
intercessory prayers for use in Lutheran and Roman Catholic parishes on
October 31 celebrated as All Saints Sunday or Reformation Sunday. The prayers
were made available on the Web sites of both organizations. Father Andrew
Faley, CBCEW Assistant General Secretary, was the preacher at vespers at St
Anne's Lutheran Church in London. Established in 1948, the LCGB represents
and co-ordinates the common work of eleven different Lutheran churches that
have congregations or chaplaincies in Great Britain, serving some 120,000
persons from a wide range of national and language backgrounds. The LCGB,
whose membership includes the Lutheran Church in Great Britain, is a
recognized Council of the Lutheran World Federation. (157 words)

*    *	   *

LWF Publication: The Doctrine of Justification, Its Reception and Meaning
Today

What does justification mean? How does it change people and their interests,
church and society? At a 2002 symposium sponsored by the LWF Department for
Theology and Studies, Lutheran and Roman Catholic theologians from around the
world came together with Anglican, Orthodox and Reformed theologians, in a
new spirit of collaborative inquiry. Select presentations at this symposium
are published in "The Doctrine of Justification: Its Reception and Meaning
Today," LWF Studies 02/2003. The 242-page publication provides assessments
regarding the reception of the JDDJ in different contexts and the relevance
of the consensus reached, as well as implications for the future. Copies can
be ordered from: The Lutheran World Federation, Department for Theology and
Studies, 150 Route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland.
Tel. +41/22 791-6111, Fax +41/22-791 6630, E-mail Liesch@lutheranworld.org .
Cost, CHF 15, EUR 10 or USD 13. 

*    *	   *

Former Jerusalem Bishop Musa Nasar Dies

Rev. Dr Naim Musa Nassar, former bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Jordan (ELCJ) died on October 26, aged 72 years. The second indigenous Arab
bishop of the ELCJ, Nassar led the church from 1986 to 1998. In tribute to
his predecessor, current ELCJ Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan praised Nassar's long
service to the Evangelical Lutheran church, and particularly noted his
contribution to the establishment of several charitable organizations. In a
letter of condolence to the ELCJ, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, General Secretary of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), remembered with gratitude Nassar's life
of witness and ministry with the ELCJ, and his genuine support to the life
and work of the LWF as a communion. Nassar was buried on October 29 in
Bethlehem. The ELCJ joined the LWF in 1974, and has over 3,000 members in
congregations in Jerusalem, Israel and Palestine. (151 words)

*    *	   *

New LWF Representative to Head Eritrea Program 

Mr Johannes Jozef (Jan) Schutte is the new Representative of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF) Department for World Service (DWS) program in Eritrea.
Effective October 2004, Schutte, 53, succeeded Norwegian Arthur Hoyen who had
led the DWS Eritrea program activities from August 2001 until June 2004 when
he returned to his home country. 

A Dutch national with several years' experience in financial management,
Schutte has served in the LWF/DWS humanitarian and development field for 26
years in Africa. After his accountancy and business administration training
in the Netherlands, Schutte worked with a local private firm before
employment with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an advisor for
cooperatives in Ivory Coast between 1975 and 1977. He joined the LWF/DWS
Mauritania program as finance and administration officer, 1978 to 1985. For
the next 17 years, Schutte was financial coordinator of the LWF/DWS Ethiopia
country program, and also acted as the program's resident representative for
one-and-a-half years. Between April 2002 and September 2004, he was finance
manager of the LWF/DWS Zambia program. 

Through its rural community development activities, the DWS Eritrea program
works with local communities to establish and improve soil, water and
forestry conservation projects as well as sanitation facilities, and create
small credit schemes for income generation. Focus on social infrastructure
includes schools' construction to facilitate children's access to education
particularly girls. 

Schutte and his wife Awa Sarr have four children. (230 words)

*    *	   *

Petros Wontamo to Head LWF/DWS Angola Program 

Ethiopian economist Mr Petros Wontamo is the new Representative of the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Angola and director of the Department for
World Service (DWS) program there. Wontamo, 58, takes over from Swedish
national Carl von Seth who has led the country program since 2000.

Wontamo brings a wealth of experience having worked with ecumenical and
church-affiliated non-governmental organizations in development and complex
emergency situations for more than 12 years. 

He received his early education locally, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in
economics from the then Haile Selassie University in Addis Ababa, 1966-1971.
After post-graduate studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign,
United States of America, 1972-74, Wontamo graduated with a Master of Arts in
manpower utilization and development. He served as a development coordinator
with the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, 1974-1975, before joining
the public service where he worked with the Ministries of Agriculture and
Foreign Trade between 1975 and 1983. From 1983 until 1991, he served first as
a planning commissioner and then administration officer for two regions.

In 1993 Wontamo joined Nordic church agency, Norwegian Church Aid (NCA),
where he served in various leadership capacities until 2002. These included
responsibility for the NCA's participation in the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees cross border operation for Somali refugees from
Kenya; and coordination of the NCA Somalia program which included relief and
rehabilitation activities in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern region of the
Democratic Republic of Congo. He also served as country director for NCA
activities covering the Great Lakes and East Africa regions. In January 2002,
Wontamo resigned from the NCA to take up the position of LWF Representative
in South Africa and director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern
Africa Development Service (ELCSA-DS). His main tasks at ELCSA-DS included
facilitation of the program's transition into a nationally managed
organization, a process that was completed in January 2004.

The Wontamos have three children. (316 words)

*    *	   *

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