Bishop Mark and Ione Hanson travel to Liberia

A high-level delegation of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) led by LWF President Bishop Mark S. Hanson and LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko, is visiting Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, February 10-17, to meet with LWF member representatives there, their ecumenical partners, and political leaders. Also joining the delegation is Ione Hanson, Gladys Mathemba Noko (wife of Dr. Noko), and Rev. Musa Fillibus, LWF Area Secretary for Africa.

The visit, aimed at strengthening expression of the identity of the Lutheran communion in West Africa, is an opportunity for the LWF president and general secretary to bear witness to the experiences and challenges of the region’s member churches.
 

The delegation will be in Liberia from February 13-16, hosted by the Lutheran Church in Liberia (LCL) and will meet with staff of the LWF Department for World Service, based at the Lutheran Compound in Monrovia. The visit will include stops at LWS projects (including a camp for internally displaced Liberians, managed by LWF) and LCL churches and institutions. The delegation is scheduled to meet with interim government chairman Charles Gyude Bryant and UNMIL head Jacque Paul Klein.

Highlighting the visit will be Hanson’s and Noko’s presence at the official re-opening of Phebe Hospital, a church-supported medical center which was extensively damaged and looted at the end of the Liberian civil war in 2003. The dedication program on Monday, February 14th, marks the return of operations to Phebe’s main hospital building.

Before arriving in Liberia, the delegation will be in Nigeria as part of a seminar of the Lutheran Communion in Western Africa, focusing on HIV/AIDS. Following the visit to Liberia, the delegation will travel to Sierra Leone to meet with officials of the Lutheran church there and the Inter-Relgiious Council of Sierra Leone.

The visit to West Africa will also serve as an opportunity for the LWF leaders to reflect on the 50th anniversary celebrations of the All Africa Lutheran Consultation planned for the latter half of this year.

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The follow are three news stories that report on ELCA Bishop Hanson's recent visit to Liberia and other parts of West Africa:


Visiting American Prelate Decries IDPs Plight
The Inquirer (Monrovia)
February 17, 2005

The Resident Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Americas, Rev. Mark S. Hanson has expressed dissatisfaction over the deplorable condition of the thousands of internally displaced people in the various IDP camps around the country.

Bishop Hanson on Tuesday, February 15, called on the UNHCR, the Government of Liberia, and NGOs to resettle the IDPs before the October general and presidential elections are held.
The American prelate also criticized the international community for doing little in helping with the resettlement of the IDPs. He described the US$5.00 given to the IDPs as their transportation to their homes as "very little".

For his part, the Secretary General of the Lutheran World Federation, Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko said, the stay of the IDPs in their various camps is an indictment of the international community and the leaders of Africa. He also challenged the donor countries to make good their pledges to the Liberian people so as to improve the living condition of the war-affected people.

"I don't believe that Liberians have no hope" Rev. Noko asserted. The Lutheran General Secretary also spoke of the lack of unemployment among Liberians, which he observed has the criminalization of people especially the youth. He warned that if nothing is done, these youth are bound to return to the bush to fight.

Dr. Noko is therefore calling on the international body and the Liberian Government to address the unemployment issue.

Meanwhile, the Resident Bishop of the Lutheran Church of Liberia, Rev.Sumoward Harris thanked the three-man delegation of the LWF for their three-day visit to Liberia.

The Liberian prelate recounted the active role played by Dr. Noko in the Liberian peace process during and after the administration of former president Charles Taylor.

While in the country, the Lutheran delegation visited the National Election Commission, the leadership of UNMIL, IDP Camps and the dedication of the Phebe Hospital.
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AU, Others to be Indicted -- Says Dr. Noko
The Analyst (Monrovia)
February 16, 2005

The General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko says the African Union and others members of the international community must take the lead in resettling internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homeland to ensure a successful holding of general and presidential elections in Liberia, or face indictment.

He said if the AU and others fail to do anything about the plight of the IDPs and elections are held on schedule, the internationals community would be held responsible for any eventualities.

"It will be tragic to hold elections in October if the IDPs are not resettled to their homeland and be allowed to vote," he said.

The LWF prelate made the assertion during a press conference yesterday. He lamented the plight of the IDPs saying the amount of US$5 given them as allowance was degrading and called on relevant agencies to do more.

Dr. Noko, who described his delegation's visit to IDP centers as "an eye and ear opener", and noted that the conditions there in the various centers were appalling.
He said that had seen the resilience of Liberians determined to make change in rebuilding their shattered lives.

Dr. Noko has however called on the United Nations and the International community to do everything possible to avoid Liberia returning to another chaos and war.

For his part, the presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States, Rev. Mark S. Hanson, said he would prevail on his country to increase its support to
Liberia.

Rev. Hanson at a 3-man Lutheran Church delegation said he would also encourage friendly countries and institutions to rally around the National Elections Commission (NEC) for the smooth conduct of the elections in Liberia.

"I was deeply impressed when I met the leadership of NEC and I hope the UN will facilitate its leadership so that things will be alright," Bishop Hanson asserted.

Dr. Noko observed that the lack of safe drinking water, proper sanitation and good shelter poses an imminent health problem to the IDPs.

He however, frowned on Liberian politicians and presidential aspirants for doing nothing to address the plight of IDPs.

He also wondered why international donors countries were dragging their feet to make good promises made to the NTGL.

He then disclosed that the delegation held discussion with UNMIL chief Jacques Klein on the matter.

Meanwhile, Dr. Noko said general assessment of the country was the high unemployment rate.
He said such was a threat to national security and a source of "criminalization. The people are going to go back to the bush due to poverty and unemployment."
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LWF President Appeals for Global Resources to be Shared During Africa Visit
Friday, February 18 , 2005, 16:14 (GMT)
From Christianity Today website: http://www.christiantoday.com

A high-level delegation 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 has just closed its 8-day tour to West Africa yesterday. Throughout the trip, the delegation highlighted the need to help the poorer countries in social and religious aspects.

Rev Hanson spoke with the theme "Growing Together, Growing Apart" at Lutheran Communion in Western Africa (LUCWA), explaining how religious and socioeconomic factors which cause Christians and the world to grow either together or apart.

When Christians see each other as companions, working for the sake of the gospel, this is when the world grows together. The advancement of technology enables easier global communication, which also contributes in uniting the world. However, Rev Hanson sees economic globalisation as one example of growing apart.

By looking within the LWF - relationships between the church catholic, interfaith and interreligious relationships, and global relationships - it is possible to see whether Christians are growing together or apart, Rev Hanson said.

Rev Hanson suggested that imbalances continue to exist between the rich and poor, the weak and strong of the world. The church, he stressed, should give "prophetic judgment" in face of injustice.

The Church should be a good example to the world by sharing resources globally in the LWF worldwide. He complimented churches in the Southern Hemisphere, "The maturing of the Lutheran World Federation and its true nature as a communion in which member churches share their gifts with one another, as reflected in the rapidly growing Lutheran churches in Africa, Asia and Central and South America, are becoming teachers for the Northern Hemisphere churches."

Rev. Ishmael Noko, LWF general secretary, recalled the 1955 All Africa Lutheran Consultation (AALC) in Marangu, Tanzania, when Lutheran churches in Africa held their first joint conference. He celebrated that many problems have been overcome in these 50 years, including colonialism, poor communication, geographical boundaries, underdevelopment and lack of human resources in the churches.

However, on Christian-Muslim and Christian-Jewish relationships, Noko explained that a lot still needed to be done toward improvement in Africa. He hoped the new frontiers in missionary work would discover ways to enhance understanding among people of different faiths.

The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN) Archbishop Nemuel A. Babba; Lutheran Church of Nigeria (LCN) Bishop Effiong E. Ekanem; LUCWA President Robert Goyek Daga, also head of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren of Cameroon; and several other clergy from Nigeria and within the LUCWA sub-region also attended the meeting.
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