Lutheran Churches of Namibia to unite

THE Lutheran churches of Namibia have come closer to becoming one unified church by establishing a unified church council.

The decision was taken at a meeting between the three Lutheran church groups on November 28. The newly formed United Church Council of the Namibia Evangelical Lutheran Churches (UCC-NELC) consist of the three Lutheran Churches of Namibia.These are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN), which has 652 000 members, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN), which has 350 000 members, and the German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN-GELC), which has 5 200 members.ELCIN will have six delegates in the new council, ELCRN will have five and ELCIN-GELC will have four.The positions of chairperson, executive secretary and treasurer will be filled on a rotating basis and will always be staffed from one of the three churches.The three churches had been divided along ethnic lines throughout the country’s history.When asked how he felt about the change, Bishop Schivute of ELCIN said that “of course it will influence our spiritual life”.He said that the project was still “at the first stage” and that each of the churches would still retain its own constitution.But he added that a united council would promote joint ventures: “Now we are together so we can discuss donor issues together for example.”He also said that more co-operation would be forthcoming on things such as education and joint representation, adding that joint Sunday services were also planned.Bishop Erich Hertel, the head of ELCIN-GELC, said that a unified church would give the GELC a bigger platform from which to operate, as it is currently one of the smallest Lutheran churches in the world.He also said that it would help in “representing the Lutheran Church with one voice”.The UCC-NELC replaces the Lutheran World Federation-Namibian National Committee (LWF-NCC), which was founded 14 years ago to foster greater Lutheran unity in Namibia.This means that it will be structurally and financially independent from the Lutheran World Body and the financial support of the LWF will be replaced by local fundraising.The new partners will meet in April to discuss how the bilateral partnerships of the past can be turned into joint partnerships.At a Celebration Sunday taking place on April 22 at the Inner-City Lutheran Congregation, the Reverend Angela Veii, so far acting as coordinator for Lutheran unity, will bid farewell and all members of the UCC-NELC will be inaugurated.In a press release, Reverend Veii said that “on a spiritual level we are united already.Now we have to make this unity visible step by step”.The newly formed United Church Council of the Namibia Evangelical Lutheran Churches (UCC-NELC) consist of the three Lutheran Churches of Namibia.These are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN), which has 652 000 members, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN), which has 350 000 members, and the German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN-GELC), which has 5 200 members.ELCIN will have six delegates in the new council, ELCRN will have five and ELCIN-GELC will have four.The positions of chairperson, executive secretary and treasurer will be filled on a rotating basis and will always be staffed from one of the three churches.The three churches had been divided along ethnic lines throughout the country’s history.When asked how he felt about the change, Bishop Schivute of ELCIN said that “of course it will influence our spiritual life”.He said that the project was still “at the first stage” and that each of the churches would still retain its own constitution.But he added that a united council would promote joint ventures: “Now we are together so we can discuss donor issues together for example.”He also said that more co-operation would be forthcoming on things such as education and joint representation, adding that joint Sunday services were also planned.Bishop Erich Hertel, the head of ELCIN-GELC, said that a unified church would give the GELC a bigger platform from which to operate, as it is currently one of the smallest Lutheran churches in the world.He also said that it would help in “representing the Lutheran Church with one voice”.The UCC-NELC replaces the Lutheran World Federation-Namibian National Committee (LWF-NCC), which was founded 14 years ago to foster greater Lutheran unity in Namibia.This means that it will be structurally and financially independent from the Lutheran World Body and the financial support of the LWF will be replaced by local fundraising.The new partners will meet in April to discuss how the bilateral partnerships of the past can be turned into joint partnerships.At a Celebration Sunday taking place on April 22 at the Inner-City Lutheran Congregation, the Reverend Angela Veii, so far acting as coordinator for Lutheran unity, will bid farewell and all members of the UCC-NELC will be inaugurated.In a press release, Reverend Veii said that “on a spiritual level we are united already.Now we have to make this unity visible step by step”.