Bishop emeritus Dr Zephania Kameeta, ELCRN, at the symposium. Photo: LWF/H. Martinussen
Hundreds Attend Public Symposium on LWF Assembly
(LWI) – “Grace always needs a context in which it can affect change,” said Namibian Bishop Burgert Brand at a public symposium hosted jointly by the country’s Lutheran churches and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Windhoek.
Over 300 people including ambassadors, clergy and guests from the Lutheran and other churches in Windhoek attended the 16 March event under the theme “Liberated by God’s Grace.” The United Church Council – Namibia Evangelical Lutheran Churches (UCC-NELC) and the LWF organized the symposium in the context of the invitation by Lutheran churches in Namibia to host the global Assembly of the LWF in May 2017 in Windhoek.
The Twelfth Assembly will also celebrate 500 years of the Reformation and will welcome 700 people from across the globe from the LWF’s 144 member churches representing over 72 million Lutherans. The symposium participants included members of the Assembly Planning Committee, holding their second meeting, 14 – 18 March, to prepare for the assembly.
On behalf of the UCC-NELC, Brand, head of the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia offered his gratitude to the LWF and its member churches for supporting the Lutheran churches in Namibia as they reached out to marginalized communities during the recent drought.
The LWF was founded in the aftermath of World War II, whereby one in six Lutherans in Europe was a refugee. “The LWF arose from the hot ashes of destruction,” said Bishop emeritus Dr Zephania Kameeta, Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN), speaking at the symposium. “By God’s grace this fellowship walks in the footsteps of where it was born: to take care of those in need,” said Kameeta, who is a member of the LWF Council.
Kameeta praised the solidarity of the Lutheran communion worldwide, saying, “the prayer of men and women and Sunday school children from all over the world—that solidarity saved our lives.” He said, “We thank God that this Assembly is coming to Namibia.”
The former ELCRN bishop reminded the symposium of the travel restrictions before independence in 1990. “It was total isolation,” he said. “But now the whole world is coming to Namibia. Is that not a reason to be joyful?” Kameeta asked. “[And] to say ‘you are welcome,’” he added.
LWF General Secretary Rev. Martin Junge, addressing guests at the symposium said, “We came to the people of Namibia with our commitment to stand in solidarity with people longing for justice and dignity. That is why we stood with you as you were struggling for independence. And that is why we supported you in the process of nation building once independence was achieved.”
He noted that by coming to Namibia, the LWF was passing on the solidarity it had received in the past. “In 1947 when we started our work, one of the first care boxes for refugees came from Namibia,” Junge said. “Being in communion means sometimes taking and sometimes giving,” he emphasized. “This care box has been multiplied in millions and is being sent around the world today,” he added.
Junge reminded the audience that solidarity is not something to be paid back, rather it is something to be passed on.
The Assembly, LWF’s highest-decision making body, will take place 10-16 May 2017, and include a day of worship and commemoration for the global Reformation anniversary.
Photo Essay: Assembly Planning Committee Meeting in Windhoek
In May 2017, the Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Namibia will host the 12th LWF Assembly. Of the 2.3 million Namibians, half are members of the Lutheran church.
The Assembly Planning Committee, comprising members from across the global communion, met in Windhoek from 15–18 March, 2015. They also had the pleasure of joining Sunday worship services with local congregations in order to experience the expression of the global communion in Namibia.
Here are impressions from Emmanuel Church in one of the Windhoek suburbs.
20 March 2015
Photos: LWF/H. Martinussen
Getting ready for church. Emmanuel Church lies on a hilltop, half an hour outside Windhoek. It is one of 11 parishes in the capital city and one of the largest. Parishioners arrive early to get a seat in the church hall.
Around 1200 congregants attend worship this Sunday in March. The church hall is filled to the brim. Some people resort to a shady spot outside, from which they can listen to the service.
People of all generations are present for Sunday worship in Emmanuel Church.
Emmanuel Youth Choir is one of many congregational choirs that participate in the Sunday service. Emmanuel Church has around 16 choirs which take turns contributing to worship life.
Rev. Stephen Larson, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, offers greetings from the Lutheran communion around the world as he delivers the sermon. Rev. Dr. Martin Nelumbu from Namibia translates.
After the sermon, Mikka McCracken, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, offers a greeting from the LWF and shares the plans she and other members of the Assembly Planning Committee are engaged in for the 12th Assembly to be held in Namibia.
In a building next to the church, children gather for Sunday school. The church is looking to expand to accommodate the up to 600 children who attend.
In a building next to the church, children gather for Sunday school. The church is looking to expand to accommodate the up to 600 children who attend.
Selmar Shiurte (left) leads Sunday school in Emmanuel Church. She shares her joy of teaching children, as well as plans to expand the Sunday school. Here she is on her way to the church hall with the children’s Sunday collection. Next to her is Anna-Liisa Kuumbwa, who assists.
Rev. Teofilus Nelumbu is pastor at Emmanuel church and has been serving the parish for over two decades. Pastor Nelumbu helped build the church.
