A joyful moment during the Africa Pre-Assembly in Nairobi, Kenia, in May 2023. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria to host Africa Lutheran Church Leadership Consultation
(LWI) – The 2024 Africa Lutheran Church Leadership Consultation (ALCLC) will bring together about 90 participants in Abuja, Nigeria, from 18 to 22 September. The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN) is hosting the consultation which marks the first leadership meeting of the regions after the Thirteenth Assembly of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Poland exactly one year ago.
Participants include LWF Council members and advisors, heads of member churches, women leaders, youth leaders, members of the Theological Education & Formation (TEF) network, members of the Africa Lutheran Communication and Information Network (ALCINET), and members of the Climate Justice Forum in Africa.
“The ALCLC will foster accompaniment of and relationships between LWF member churches through offering a space for church leaders at all levels to come together for dialogue, learning, empowering and sharing experiences,” said Rev. Dr. Samuel Dawai, LWF Regional Secretary for Africa. That pertains to the communion relations both within and among the three subregions: the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA), the Lutheran Communion in Central and East Africa (LUCCEA), and the Lutheran Communion in Central and Western Africa (LUCWA).
“This year’s theme, We, who are many, are one body (1 Cor. 10:17), invites us to reflect on what it means to be united as one body while being many,” said Rev. Dr. Yonas Dibisa, President of The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) and LWF Vice-President for Africa. “It is my hope that through reflections and meditation over this significant theme, we, as Lutherans, will find a space for deepening our understanding of unity in our various contexts, even as we face new challenges and opportunities in a constantly changing world.”
Dibisa said he trusted that the ALCLC would “invigorate and empower” participants to be “ready to continue our ministry with renewed passion.”
Referring to the conference theme, Rev. Dr. Musa Panti Filibus, Archbishop of the LCCN and former LWF president said: “Our unity is not merely symbolic but a living expression of our communion with Christ and with one another.”
“The theme We, who are many, are one body is a powerful reminder that our gathering embodies our ongoing journey together,” the archbishop said. “It reflects the LWF’s aspiration for unity in diversity,” called to “witness Christ and serve the world together.”
