African Lutheran Churches Urged to Intensify Efforts in Holistic Mission

LWF Africa Pre-Assembly: Cameroonian Bishop Nyiwe Delivers Sermon at Opening Worship

ABUJA, Nigeria/GENEVA, 25 March 2010 (LWI) – Cameroonian church leader Bishop Dr Thomas Nyiwe has urged The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member churches in Africa to intensify their engagement in holistic mission despite the myriad challenges they face, as this calling remains an integral part of the mission to proclaim the gospel.

The church’s calling to “show special compassion and love to people in need, to give hope and serve the poor is as relevant today as it was when Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 with two fish and five loaves of bread,” said Nyiwe, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cameroon (EELC). He was delivering the sermon at the opening worship service of the LWF Africa Pre-Assembly and Church Leadership Consultation being held 24-28 March in Abuja, Nigeria.

An estimated 90 participants are at the pre-assembly, including some 70 delegates from the 31 LWF members in Africa. Representatives of the churches’ mission partners, local ecumenical guests and LWF staff are also taking part in the gathering jointly hosted by the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN) and the Lutheran Church of Nigeria (LCN).

LWF pre-assemblies prepare delegates for participation in the LWF Eleventh Assembly, to be held in July 2010 in Stuttgart, Germany, under the theme “Give Us Today Our Daily Bread.”

In his sermon based on Mark 6: 30-44, Nyiwe compared the challenge of limited resources versus great need faced by most African churches today to the situation confronting the disciples when Jesus asked them “‘You give them something to eat.’” The EELC bishop noted that although “human possibilities are always limited, always, asking questions about what to do, where to start, what strategies to use, Jesus transforms such possibilities into something new and different.” He emphasized the need to respond to such need as the disciples did—with confidence—which allows for new perspectives and ways of dealing with the responsibility to care for the needy.

Nyiwe challenged the churches to share even the little they had with those in need. “As caretakers of the people around you, you don’t need to have all the wealth in the world in order to share,” he said.

Turning to the pre-assembly’s theme, “Give Us Today Our Daily Bread – The Church in Africa Today,” Nyiwe noted that the question of bread “is part of the vocabulary in which the world gives expression to this human hope. Hope means learning to wait, and the Lutheran church in Africa is a symbol and inspirer of hope,” he said.

The Cameroonian bishop pointed out that “since their foundation, the Lutheran churches in Africa have given a great deal of attention to the challenge of holistic mission by nurturing the faithful, doing acts of mercy, seeking justice for all human beings and as stewards to the gift of creation.” But throughout the years, “Lutheran churches in Africa have [also] lacked the confidence in what they have to offer, uncertain and intimidated whether they have what people need for Christian health and healing and well being,” he said.

He emphasized that today’s mission agenda had not changed from what Jesus confronted with his disciples. “This [agenda] must continue in Jesus’ way as he takes into account the complex realities of our times, with needy people including the poor, the sick, foreigners, and women and children,” added Nyiwe.

The pre-assembly continues today with the keynote address delivered by LWF vice president for the African region, Bishop Dr Zephania Kameeta of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia. (606 words)

Journey | Africa Pre-Assembly Consultation

25.03.2010

African Lutheran Churches Urged to Intensify Efforts in Holistic Mission

LWF Africa Pre-Assembly: Cameroonian Bishop Nyiwe Delivers Sermon at Opening Worship

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