Ethiopian ‘mother church’ hosts Council opening worship

LWF Vice-President for Africa Yonas Yigezu preaches on the call to Christians to “be my witnesses to the ends of the earth”

(LWI) - The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Vice-President for Africa, Rev. Dr Yonas Yigezu welcomed Council members to Addis Ababa on 12 June, as he preached at a joyful opening worship service in the ‘mother church’ of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY). Referring to the theme of the 2025 Council meeting, ‘You will be my witnesses’ [Acts 1:8], he echoed the call to all Christians “to proclaim and embody the gospel of grace, mercy and truth.”
The five-day gathering of Lutheran leaders from around the globe marks the first time that the EECMY - currently the largest LWF member church – has hosted a meeting of its governing Council. From its foundation in 1959 with under 20,000 members, the church has grown to over 12 million today, training pastors and sending missionaries to other parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Choirs and musicians, drawn from the local congregation and from other churches around the country, led the singing which animated the Holy Communion service. Choir members clapped and swayed accompanied by the rhythm of an accordion and the beat of a painted wooden drum. The service was led by Rev. Dr Ayalew Tesema, a professor from the EECMY seminary, with Rev. Dr Jeanette Ada Epse Mina, an LWF Executive Committee member from Cameroon presiding at the Eucharist.

In his sermon, Vice-President Yigezu, who has led the church in his country since 2017, reflected on Jesus’ call to the first disciples to ‘”be my witnesses,” not only in their own towns and cities, but “to the ends of the earth.” This is a global call, he said “that transcends every human boundary of race, nation, class, language and even denomination.” It is a call, he continued “to live as those who have heard the good news, seen the power of grace, and [....] boldly proclaim that Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.”

The Ethiopian church leader focused on the importance of “holistic ministry, [....] a gospel that is both proclaimed and practised.” Preaching and service, through acts of justice, compassion and diaconia, he insisted, “are not two separate ministries, but one mission, expressed in word and deed.” He urged Council members and local worshippers: Let the gospel continue to be preached with clarity and courage!”

In a word of thanks to the host church, LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt said it is good for Council members, coming from all corners of the earth, to be meeting in Ethiopia during this season of Pentecost. “When the LWF was founded in 1947,” she noted, “only a small percentage of members came from the global south. Today it is over fifty percent, thanks to your witness,” she said.

The chairperson of the local congregation, Abu Taye, welcomed Council members and recalled the foundation of the community at the start of the 20th century, thanks to the persevering work of Swedish missionary Father Karl Cederqvist who bought land, dug a well and built the first church on that site in 1912. The congregation become a part of the LWF in 1957, two years before the Mekane Yesus church was officially established, and continues to play an important role in the life of church today.