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2022 World Conference: ILC Welcomes New Members

by | Sep 13, 2022

ILC Chairman Hans-Jörg Voigt and General Secretary Timothy Quill welcome the newest members of the ILC. Left to right: Chairman Voigt, LELB Archbishop Jānis Vanags of Latvia, ICEL President Limberth Fernandez Coronado of Bolivia, IELPA Pastor Patricio Mora Reyes of Panama, and General Secretary Quill.

KENYA – On the afternoon of September 13, 2022, the International Lutheran Council unanimously voted to accept two church bodies as full members and one as an associate member. The ILC also formally welcomed ten church bodies which have been accepted as observer members since the last world conference.

The Christian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bolivia (Iglesia Cristiana Evangélica Luterana de Bolivia – ICEL) was welcomed as a full member. The ICEL’s history dates back to 1978 when Norwegian missions to the country began. The church was officially founded in 1997. The ICEL was previously accepted into the ILC as an associate member at the 2001 World Conference in South Africa. It announced at its 2022 national assembly its decision to seek full membership in the ILC. The ICEL is led by President Limberth Fernandez Coronado.

Also accepted as a full member was the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (Latvijas Evaņģēliski luteriskā Baznīca – LELB). Lutheranism in Latvia traces its history back five hundred years to when the capital of Riga adopted Lutheranism in 1522. The Latvian church faced severe persecution during the 20th century under the Communist regime but has enjoyed religious freedom again since 1988. The LELB voted in 2021 to seek full membership in the ILC. The ILC’s Board of Directors accepted the LELB as an Observer Member in early 2022, with plans to bring its request for full membership to the 2022 World Conference in Kenya (votes on full membership and associate membership in the ILC must take place during a World Conference). The LELB is led by Archbishop Jānis Vanags.

During its afternoon session, the ILC also voted to accept the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Panama (Iglesia Evangélica Luterana de Panamá – IELPA) as a new associate member. The IELPA arose out of mission work of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod to Panama which began in 1941. It has previously attended other ILC events in the past as a guest. The church in Panama is led by Pastor Patricio Mora Reyes.

Observer Members Welcomed

Some of the leaders of new observer member churches accepted into the ILC since the last world conference.

During the afternoon, delegates also offered a formal welcome to churches that have become observers in the International Lutheran Council since the last world conference. Observer membership in the ILC can be granted by the Board of Directors without needing to wait until a world conference. In total, the board has accepted ten new observer members—all from Africa—since the last World Conference in 2018.

These new observer members include:

  • BURUNDI: Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church in Burundi (HELCB)
  • BURUNDI: Lutheran Church in Africa – Burundi Synod (ELA-SBU)
  • EAST CONGO: Evangelical Lutheran Church in East Congo (CELCE)
  • EASTERN KENYA: Evangelical Lutheran Conference and Ministerium of Kenya (ELCMK)
  • CÔTE D’IVOIRE: Lutheran Church in Africa – Côte d’Ivoire (ELA-SCI)
  • MALAWI: Confessional Lutheran Church – Malawi Synod (CLCMS)
  • RWANDA: Independent Evangelical Lutheran Congregation in Rwanda (IELCR)
  • SUDAN/SOUTH SUDAN: Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Sudan and Sudan (ELCSS/S)

The remaining two observer members welcomed since 2018—in the category of “recognized organizations”—are the Lake Tanganyika Diocese (ELCT-LTD) and the South East of Lake Victoria Diocese (ELCT-SELVD) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT):

Reports and Regional Meetings

Regional meetings at the ILC’s 2022 World Conference.

The afternoon session also saw reports given by ILC Chairman Hans-Jörg Voigt and ILC General Secretary Timothy Quill. Following other business, the conference broke into regional meetings to consider nominations for world region representatives on the ILC’s Board of Directors, as well as to discuss other regional issues.

The conference further heard a regional report from the ILC’s outgoing Africa World Region representative, Bishop Dieter Reinstorf of the Free Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Africa (FELSISA). Among other comments, Bishop Reinstorf noted that, over the past few years, the African World Region has grown to be the largest region in the ILC.

The day ended with a service of vespers. ILC Chairman Quill served as liturgist while Bishop Reinstorf preached a sermon on the presentation of Jesus in the Temple from Luke 2.

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Bolivian Lutherans reelect president

by | Jul 25, 2022

Participants in the Christian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bolivia’s 2022 national assembly.

BOLVIA – The Christian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bolivia (Iglesia Cristiana Evangélica Luterana – ICEL) held its 12th national assembly March 26-27, 2022, during which time the church elected Rev. Limberth Fernandez Coronado to another four-year term as president. Hugo Hinojosa was elected vice president.

The assembly, which drew 44 delegates from across the country, also saw discussion centered on bolstering the doctrinal commitments in the church’s statutes. To that end, the church adopted a new statement on the office of the ministry, expressing the necessity of a full subscription to the Book of Concord. This change was followed with the ordination of eight pastors during the assembly’s closing service, presided over by Vice President Airton Schroeder of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brazil (Igreja Evangélica Luterana do Brasil – IELB). The ICEL and the IELB entered into fellowship in 2002.

The ICEL has submitted additional changes to its congregations for study, as it contemplates becoming a full member of the International Lutheran Council (ILC).

The Bolivian church receives copies of Luther’s Small Catechism in Quechua, presented by representatives of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

The Bolivian church’s assembly also celebrated the release of a new translation of Luther’s Small Catechism into Quechua. Approximately 40 percent of the ICEL’s members speak Quechua, so the launch of the new translation—the printing of which was sponsored by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation—was an emotional event. Reflecting the catechism’s importance, the assembly saw several sessions on it led by President Fernandez in both Spanish and Quechua.

The Christian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bolivia is an associate member of the International Lutheran Council, a global association of confessional Lutheran church bodies.

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COVID-19 and ILC Churches in Bolivia and Paraguay

by | Oct 13, 2020

The Evangelical Christian Lutheran Church of Bolivia distributes food to those in need.

WORLD – Member churches of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) continue to provide spiritual and physical care to members in the midst of unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this post, we highlight the response of ILC member churches in Bolivia and Paraguay.

Bolivia

The nation of Bolivia has reported 138,695 cases of COVID-19 to date, with more than 8,300 deaths. There are currently 28,846 active cases of the coronavirus in the country. Early in March 2020, the government moved to close borders and enact quarantine measures throughout the country. Church services were restricted in Bolivia early on.

The Evangelical Christian Lutheran Church of Bolivia (Iglesia Cristiana Evangélica Luterana de Bolivia – ICEL) is working to support its members during the crisis, even as the virus affects some of its own members. ICEL President Limberth Fernandez himself fell ill with COVID-19 but has since recovered. Sadly, a staff worker of the church’s radio station in Sucre has passed away from the disease. President Fernandez further reports that “we have had many cases of members and their families affected by the virus, as well as other deaths” in the past few months.

ICEL President Limberth Fernandez provides a daily devotion via the church’s Facebook page.

In response to to the pandemic, the ICEL moved quickly to provide online devotional resources for members. The church’s pastors, vicars, and missionaries, have provided daily devotional videos via the church’s Facebook page, in both the Spanish and Quecha languages. The church has also led a national study of Luther’s Small Catechism which has been well-received.

Congregations themselves have stayed connected through the use of online platforms like Zoom.

Still, President Fernandez notes, online outreach is an imperfect solution, as many members of the ICEL do not have easy access to the internet. “It is impossible for us to reach a large number of our members who are from the countryside,” he says, “places where they do not have access to the internet or that unfortunately are not trained in the use of these technologies.”

The church has provided support for Bolivians in practical ways too, including through the distribution of basic necessities. The church continues to look for additional ways to support people.

A growing challenge for the ICEL is the financial stress that the pandemic has placed on the church. “We have received almost nothing in offerings during this time,” says President Fernandez. The church is working hard to find alternate sources of income to ensure the salaries of pastors can be maintained.

Paraguay

Paraguay has reported 50,344 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, with nearly 1,100 deaths. Just under 16,500 cases remain active in the country. In early March, the government suspended school classes and other group events, with quarantine measures being introduced shortly thereafter.

IELP President Eugenio Wentzel leads online devotions.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Paraguay (Iglesia Evangélica Luterana del Paraguay – IELP) continues to serve people with practical and spiritual support in the midst of the current situation. “Our country was one of the first in the region to impost quarantine, which prevented massive infections,” notes IELP President Eugenio Wentzel. But the downside has been an increase in unemployment. For this reason, the IELP has focused on distributing basic necessities to people, including food baskets as well as health and hygiene items.

Like other churches, the IELP has relied on the internet to reach members during the pandemic. “From the beginning,” President Wentzel says, churches “have been working virtually with different platforms to carry the message of the Gospel, with biblical studies, services, and devotionals.”

Different regions of the country have different restrictions, meaning some congregations have been allowed to hold face-to-face services in groups of up to fifty; some areas have allowed gatherings of twenty; others have had to rely on virtual gatherings only.

As a result of the restrictions, the church body also held its annual National Convention assembly virtually this year.

A challenge for the church remains calling and installing pastors during the current crisis. “Our church depends on sister churches to provide candidate pastors for vacant parishes,” notes President Wentzel. The closure of borders makes it difficult to call or transfer pastors. In one specific case, he says, one pastor who has accepted a call has waited months for circumstances to allow him to move to his new parish.

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For more news and information from the International Lutheran Council about the COVID-19 pandemic, click here.

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