President Stubkjær praises LWF’s largest member churches for putting holistic mission principles into practice
(LWI) - “Fast-growing churches that are putting into practice the principle of holistic mission.” That was how the new president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Danish Bishop Henrik Stubkjær, described the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) and The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) at the conclusion of a week-long visit to those two countries.
On his first trip to LWF member churches since his election at the Krakow Assembly last September, President Stubkjær visited Arusha and Moshi in northern Tanzania from 16 to 18 April, before travelling to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, from 19 to 21 April. Between them, the churches in the two East African nations number almost 20 million people, making them the largest members of the LWF.
In Tanzania, the LWF leader was able to see first-hand the work of the Tumaini University Makumira , launching a new five-year plan for the institution which has been training pastors and lay ministers for the church in Tanzania and beyond for the past seventy years. Accompanied by ELCT’s presiding bishop Alex Malasusa, and by EECMY President and LWF Vice-President for Africa, Rev. Dr Yonas Dibisa, the delegation met with university students and staff. They also enjoyed a performance at the new Cultural Centre, which works to preserve local cultures and traditions through music, song, dance and other forms of artistic expression.
It is important for all of us to see the way that preaching the gospel goes hand in hand with social engagement.
LWF President Bishop Henrik Stubkjær
The following day, President Stubkjær toured the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, part of a network of 24 hospitals and 148 health facilities which provide services for thousands of people, particularly in rural and isolated areas. Noting that the ELCT provides up to 15 percent of all healthcare services in the country, the LWF leader said: “It is important for all of us to see the way that preaching the gospel goes hand in hand with social engagement – not just for the church but for all people in Tanzania.”
In Ethiopia, Bishop Stubkjær and his delegation visited both the church and the LWF World Service program, which has been providing humanitarian aid and development support in the country for over half a century. Established as a response to famine in the early 1970s, the program currently focuses on support and resilience building among people suffering from conflicts in the north and west of the country. During the visit to Addis Ababa, the LWF delegation heard from several EECMY synod presidents about members of their congregations who have been killed in recent months.
