wfn.org | African Lutheran Communion Considers the Past and Future at

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

African Lutheran Communion Considers the Past and Future at Historic
Gathering 
Bishop Kameeta Welcomes All Africa Lutheran Conference to Namibia 

WINDHOEK, Namibia/GENEVA, 10 November 2005 (LWI) - "For the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF), this gathering is a highly emotional experience
that cannot be described with words, only tears of joy." This was the
reply of LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko when asked what the
50th anniversary celebrations of the All Africa Lutheran Conference
meant to the LWF. He was speaking at a November 9 press conference in
the Namibian capital, Windhoek, where the celebrations are taking place.

"We have all been actively engaged in the struggle for Namibia's
independence for many, many years, and now we thought it was appropriate
to celebrate our 50 years of African Lutheran communion here, in the
youngest country of Africa, which only became independent 15 years
ago."

The conference, which brings together more than 80 representatives of
African Lutheran churches, as well as partner churches and organizations
in Windhoek, November 9-14, is being held under the theme "From
Isolation to Communion: For the Healing of Africa." 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) reminded the press of the Namibian
delegation 50 years ago: "We went to Marangu as colonized people. Today,
we welcome you in an independent country."

An African Church in Mission

Rev. Asfaha Mehari, president of the Evangelical Church of Eritrea,
also looked back 50 years to when delegates from Eritrea had
participated in the historical meeting. "It is therefore important for
my church to be part and parcel of the Lutheran family gathered here in
Windhoek and to reflect on the past and the future," Mehari said. He
expressed hope that the meeting of African Lutheran churches would "give
more strength to the unity of our various sub-regions of Africa": the
Lutheran Communion in Central and Eastern Africa (LUCCEA), the Lutheran
Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA), and the Lutheran Communion in
Western Africa (LUCWA). 

LWF Department for Mission and Development area secretary for Africa,
Rev. Dr Musa P. Filibus, thanked the Namibian government, and the three
Namibian host churches, in relation to visa applications, not a single
one of which had been refused. From the conference, he said he expected
lively discussion on major issues such as HIV/AIDS, poverty and
violence. For this reason, the conference is organized so as to minimize
academic lectures and leave enough time for participants "to reflect on
the life of the church itself, raise questions on how to proceed from
Windhoek, and what it means to be an African church in mission," he
continued. 

The three Lutheran churches in Namibia and the LWF are jointly hosting
the conference. The churches are the 300,000-member ELCRN, over
640,000-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN), and
6,500-member German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia
(ELCIN-GELC). 

There are 36 Lutheran churches in Africa, of which 30 are LWF members.
Their total membership is 14.08 million in 22 countries of Central,
Eastern, Southern and Western Africa. (519 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
freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]

*	*	*

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