Presiding Bishop's Message on the Crisis in Kenya

February 7, 2008

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
(Psalm 27:1)

I write to invite you and your congregation to join brothers and sisters throughout the world in prayer for peace and reconciliation in Kenya. Pray for the church in Kenya, its leaders, for those who have lost loved ones to the violence, for those who are displaced, and for our mission personnel who continue to serve in Kenya. ELCA missionaries include two Young Adults in Global Mission, a husband and wife team providing leadership to the Nairobi International Lutheran Congregation, and an Africa-wide health consultant and his family. Mission personnel continue to work in-country, even as Global Mission staff monitors the situation to ensure their safety.

Since the end of December, what we have heard from our companion churches and mission personnel confirms what has been widely reported in the media: that serious ethnic conflict and violence in Kenya continues in the wake of that country's disputed presidential election. Hundreds of thousands of Kenyan children, women, and men have been forced to flee their homes. This unrest has its roots in ethnic divisions that were reinforced by colonial rule and have shaped post-colonial life in Kenya. It also is rooted in the wide gap between "haves" and "have-nots" in that country. The emerging pattern of violence threatens the future of one of the most stable countries in Africa and could have enormous implications on other countries in the region.

This church is working with the churches in Kenya and global Lutheran and ecumenical partners to meet urgent human need. The Lutheran World Federation has two member churches in Kenya. The ELCA has a companion church relationship with the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church (KELC). The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod is in altar and pulpit fellowship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK). From the very first days of the crisis, both churches have provided emergency food and supplies to families in the slums of Nairobi and in other parts of Kenya affected by the violence. The ELCA responded immediately, sending a $10,000 grant to our companion church and a $15,000 grant to Church World Service, which helped coordinate the work of Action by Churches Together in the initial days of the crisis. (ACT is a world-wide coalition of Protestant and Orthodox churches engaged in disaster response.) The ELCA also coordinated its response with Lutheran World Relief, a ministry of both the ELCA and the LCMS.

Please visit www.elca.org/disaster for updates and for ways individuals and congregations can give.

Our Global Mission staff continues to be in close communication with the KELC's Bishop Zachariah Kahutu, both by phone and e-mail. Gaylord Thomas, director of the ELCA's Africa desk, traveled to Kenya to provide encouragement and support to our companion church and also to ELCA mission personnel serving in Kenya.

Regionally, the All Africa Conference of Churches and Inter-faith Action for Peace in Africa are working with churches and faith groups in Kenya as they seek to build peace and achieve democratic accountability, transparency, and national unity in the midst of this crisis. Support includes visits, such as the recent trip of global church leaders organized by World Council of Churches.

May God, our refuge, give strength and wisdom to those seeking peace and justice as they seek to break the spiral of violence and bring peace and reconciliation in Kenya.

In God's grace,

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

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