wfn.org | LWF Sends Fact-finding Team to Indonesia

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

LWF Sends Fact-finding Team to Indonesia
Australian Group Leader Commends Lutheran Generosity

GENEVA, 18 January 2005 (LWI) * The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has
sent an assessment team to Indonesia to determine ways of assisting LWF
member churches there and respond in concrete ways to the devastating
impact of the tsunami disaster that struck on 26 December 2004.

The seven-person LWF Pastoral Team appointed by LWF General Secretary Rev.
Dr Ishmael Noko, will also provide pastoral care and support to the
affected churches in visible expression of the solidarity of the global
Lutheran communion.

The team led by Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) Secretary and Mission
Director, Rev. Wayne Zweck, gathered in Sumatra's northern city of Medan
on January 16 prior to the two-week mission.

Indonesia is the worst affected among South East Asian and East African
countries that were struck by the massive tidal waves (tsunamis) triggered
by a strong undersea earthquake of which the epicenter was near the north
western coastline of Sumatra. Indonesian authorities say the country's
death toll from the catastrophe has risen to 110,229, representing more
than two thirds of the over 158,000 total deaths reported so far.

According to its terms of reference, the assessment team will among other
tasks look into the needs of children, large numbers of whom have been
orphaned, and women, both of whom even in normal times are among the most
vulnerable. It will also explore the potential role of the LWF Departments
for World Service (DWS) and for Mission and Development (DMD) both in the
short and long term. In addition to determining the churches' capacity to
effectively respond to the crisis, the team will verify how best their
programs and people's needs can be met through Action by Churches Together
(ACT) International, the Geneva-based global network of churches and their
partners responding to emergencies worldwide. A report of the group's
finding with recommendations will be delivered to the LWF general
secretary by 3 February 2005.

"Although immediate relief is the priority, it is also critical that we
continue to support our neighbors as they begin to recover from this
tragedy," Zweck says. "Too often in the past after the initial emergency
phase has passed and the TV crews have gone the funding has dried up
leaving communities to struggle to fully recover. That is why we are so
pleased that Lutheran members have opened their hearts so generously."

Others on the team include LWF Council members Rev. Dr Jubil R. Hutauruk
(Indonesia) and Ms Diadem Depayso (Philippines); Mr Peter Schirmer,
executive secretary of the LCA overseas aid and resettlement agency,
Australian Lutheran World Service; and LWF staff persons Rev. Ginda
Harahap, DMD Area Secretary for Asia; Mr David Mueller, LWF/DWS representative in Cambodia; and Mr Neville Pradhan, DWS program officer for emergencies, refugees and internally displaced persons.

The LWF has 12 member churches in Indonesia including three located in the
worst affected areas of Aceh, Sumatra Utara and Nias where some entire
congregations have been completely wiped out.

In India, the LWF/DWS program and United Evangelical Lutheran Church in
India are collaborating in their response to the needs of affected people
in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. In Sri Lanka, the Lanka Lutheran Church
is part of the ACT response, coordinated by the National Council of
Churches. Although the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thailand and its
congregations are not directly affected by the disaster, the church is
providing resources for others who are implementing assistance programs.

LWF member churches from the Asian region, as well as from other continents, are visiting the affected countries. (596 words)

(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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