Lutheran Leaders to Visit Churches in West Africa

Led by Rev Mark S. Hanson, Lutheran World Federation (LWF) president and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and LWF general secretary Rev Ishmael Noko, a high-level delegation of the LWF is now on an 8-day tour to West Africa. They will visit Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, where they will meet with local LWF representatives, ecumenical partners and political leaders.

The significance of the tour is to strengthen the identity of Lutheran communion in West Africa and to address the current challenges in the region. At the first stop in Nigeria, the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria and Lutheran Church of Nigeria will host a festive worship service attended by representatives of other denominations and leaders of the LWF member churches in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The delegation will also meet with local government officials, and HIV/AIDS problem in the country will be addressed.

For Liberia and Sierra Leona, as these countries have been ravaged by civil war in the 1990s, the LWF will continue to actively engage in peace building and development efforts. Throughout their visit, the president and general secretary will reaffirm the solidarity of the global Lutheran communion with the people of Liberia and Sierra Leone who have suffered war, and assure continued support.

In Liberia the LWF delegation will be hosted by the Lutheran Church in Liberia and will meet with staff of the LWF Department for World Service (DWS) program. In Sierra Leone the delegation will also meet with officials of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sierra Leone, representatives of the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone, and officials of the HIV/AIDS National Secretariat.

The visit is expected to be an opportunity for the LWF leaders to reflect on the 50th anniversary celebrations of the All-Africa Lutheran Consultation planned for later this year.

The LWF is a global communion of Lutheran churches. The LWF has 138 member churches in 77 countries throughout the world, representing nearly 65 million Lutherans.