wfn.org | Africa Church Leadership Conference Celebrates 50th

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

Africa Church Leadership Conference Celebrates 50th Anniversary in
Windhoek
Namibian Bishop Kameeta: A Dream Come True

WINDHOEK, Namibia/GENEVA, 8 November 2005 (LWI) - "From Isolation to
Communion: For the Healing of Africa," is the theme of a Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) Africa Church Leadership Conference that begins
November 9, in the Namibian capital, Windhoek.

The culmination of the conference, to be attended by more than 80
representatives of African Lutheran churches as well as partner churches
and organizations, will be the 50th anniversary celebrations of the All
Africa Lutheran Conference (AALC), November 13. The first joint
conference of African Lutheran churches took place in Marangu, Tanzania
in 1955. 

Bishop Dr Zephania Kameeta of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the
Republic of Namibia (ELCRN), considers the AALC 50th anniversary
celebrations as a dream come true. The Marangu conference 50 years ago
was aimed at leading African Lutheran churches out of isolation,
particularly those in Namibia. As the last colony in Southern Africa,
Namibia had suffered the longest under isolation, said Kameeta, who is
also chairperson of the LWF National Committee in Namibia, and LWF
Vice-President for the Africa region.

The three Lutheran churches in Namibia - the ELCRN with 300,000
members; Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN) with over
640,000 members; and the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Namibia (ELCIN- GELC) with 6,500 members jointly with the LWF are
hosting the Africa Church Leadership Conference. Around half of
Namibia's population is affiliated to one of the Lutheran
churches.

Kameeta hopes that the conference would give direction as to how
African churches can maintain sustainable development in the mission of
proclaiming the gospel and work closer together. He encourages Lutheran
churches on the continent to look into ways of addressing the difficult
situation in their respective countries courageously and unambiguously.
He urges the churches to leave their back seats and speak loud and clear
as the early prophets did to end Africa's spiral of violence, civil
conflict and HIV/AIDS, among other concerns. 

Opportunity to Review Inner Lutheran Understanding

LWF General Secretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, explained prior to the
meeting that this conference gave the Lutheran churches in Africa an
opportunity to review progress that had been made in terms of inner
Lutheran self understanding and ecumenical priorities over several
decades. The Lutheran churches in Africa have a high profile in the area
of diakonia and mission, he noted. 

The LWF Department for Mission and Development Area Secretary for
Africa, Rev. Dr Musa P. Filibus, sees the gathering in Namibia as a
unique opportunity for the Lutheran churches in Africa to reflect on
their growth from isolation by cultural, geographical, ethnic and
political barriers to being in communion. 

If as it is said, the "center of gravity," meaning the growth of the
church is shifting to the Southern hemisphere, then the churches in the
South must deal with the challenge of also providing leadership to the
global ecclesia. Such leadership must be relevant and applicable to
local contexts. Growth must permit all aspects of what it means to be a
church. This requires an ongoing understanding of the priesthood of all
believers, where all are players in Christ's mission, Filibus says.

The conference will also focus on how the African churches can ensure
the sustainability of their domestic budgets and acceptable working
conditions and salaries. Representatives from the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of Finland, church workers' unions in Finland, and the Finnish
Evangelical Mission will share their experiences on this subject and
assist the conference in formulating a clear plan of action on improving
the rights and working conditions of church workers.

The Africa region consists of 36 Lutheran churches, 30 of which belong
to the LWF. These churches have a total membership of 14.08 million in
22 countries in Central, Eastern, Southern and Western Africa.

The more recently-formed three sub-regional expressions - Lutheran
Communion in Central and Eastern Africa (LUCCEA); Lutheran Communion in
Southern Africa (LUCSA); and Lutheran Communion in Western Africa
(LUCWA) aim at bringing the member churches closer together, and promote
mutual understanding, trust, and inter-dependence. (675 words)

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(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140
member churches in 78 countries all over the world, with a total
membership of nearly 66 million. 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
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*	*	*

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