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ILC sponsors capacity building conference in Tanzania

Participants listen to a speaker during the ELCT-LTD’s capacity building conference in Sumbawanga, Tanzania.

TANZANIA – The International Lutheran Council (ILC) sponsored a capacity building conference for pastors, evangelists, and teachers of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania’s Lake Tanganyika Diocese (ELCT-LTD) in Sumbawanga from March 7-10, 2023.

The conference arose out of an official request from the diocese and Bishop Ambele Mwaipopo.

“It was a joy to visit Bishop Mwaipopo and his diocese in Tanzania,” said ILC General Secretary Timothy Quill. “Events like these play a significant role in ensuring strong Lutheran formation for pastors and church workers, and we were pleased to be able to respond to the ELCT-LTD’s request for assistance in this area.”

The conference brought together nearly 90 people, including more than 40 pastors and nine evangelists, as well as theologians, members of the diocese’s executive council, and staff from the diocesan headquarters. Guest lecturers for the event included ILC General Secretary Quill; Rev. Dr. Detlev Schulz (Concordia Theological Seminary – Fort Wayne, Indiana); and Rev. Peter Brock (First Vice President of the Indiana District of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod).

Participants at a capacity building conference in Tanzania’s Lake Tanganyika Diocese. ILC General Secretary Timothy Quill sits in front (second from left) with ELCT-LTD Bishop Ambele Mwaipopo (centre).

The Lake Tanganyika Diocese has a great focus on mission. Last year, it opened 18 new preaching points, eleven of which have since grown into parishes or congregations. Additional preaching points continue to be opened every year.

To assist with this growth, the diocese is in the process of opening a new school, which will initially train evangelists and eventually grow to offer pastoral training. Indeed, the diocese sees pastoral training as its greatest need. The school will also educate lay people in vocations and trades, including as teachers and deaconesses.

The Lake Tanganyika Diocese holds membership in the International Lutheran Council as a recognized organization. The ILC has previously supported theological conferences in the ELCT-LTD’s sister diocese, the South East of Lake Victoria Diocese.

The International Lutheran Council is a global association of Lutheran church bodies, dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the basis of a shared-commitment to the authority of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.

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ILC welcomes second Tanzanian diocese into membership

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WORLD – The Board of Directors of the International Lutheran Council held online meetings September 21, 2020, during which time the board voted to accept the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania – Lake Tanganyika Diocese (ELCT-LTD) into membership.

“As we evangelize, we have come to realize that the ILC is the faith-based organization with which to cooperate, for it can help strengthen us to witness of the Good News of Jesus Christ boldly,” said ELCT-LTD Bishop Ambele Mwaipopo, noting the ILC’s strong confessional Lutheran theology. “The ILC can play a role of nurturer so that the ELCT-LTD keeps in the right direction.”

The ELCT-LTD, which is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT), counts more than 10,000 members, 35 pastors, and 22 congregations. It grew out of mission in the ELCT in two Tanzanian administrative regions, namely Rukwa and Katavi, and was formally constituted in 2014. The ELCT-LTD was registered as a legally autonomous diocese in 2015.

ELCT-LTD Bishop Ambele Mwaipopo.

“It’s a joy to welcome the Lake Tanganyika Diocese into membership,” said ILC Chairman Hans-Jörg Voigt. “We look forward to encouraging and learning from one another in the years to come, and to building a deep and abiding spiritual relationship. May God continue to bless the ELCT-LTD as it carries out its vital ministry in Tanzania.”

Rev. Dr. Timothy Quill, General Secretary for the ILC, also expressed joy over the Tanzanian diocese’s acceptance into membership. “We thank God for this new partnership between the International Lutheran Council and the ELCT-LTD,” he said. “I look forward to getting to know Bishop Mwaipopo and his diocese better as time goes forward.”

The ELCT-LTD has been accepted as a Recognized Organization member, a category which allows organizations other than independent church bodies (for example, councils, districts, dioceses, organized movements, and individual congregations) the opportunity to partner with the ILC. It joins the ELCT’s South East of Lake Victoria Diocese, which was also accepted as a Recognized Organization member of the ILC in early 2019.

Additional information on membership in the ILC, and how to apply, is available here.

Other Business

Members of the International Lutheran Council’s Board of Directors and staff hold meetings online.

The September meeting also saw the ILC’s board discuss additional membership applications, and make plans for the 2021 ILC World Conference, tentatively scheduled for September 21-24, 2021 in Kenya. Because of current uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, final decisions on the feasibility of an in-person conference will be made in early 2021.

The board also heard regional reports, as well as reports on ILC programming, like the Lutheran Leadership Development Program, which is currently paused during the coronavirus crisis. Reports on supported projects in Nigeria and in Wittenberg, Germany were also received.

During the meeting, the Board approved the appointment of Rev. Dr. Joseph Tom Omolo to fill a vacancy on the ILC’s Seminary Relations Committee. Dr. Omolo is Principal of the School of Theology at Neema Lutheran College, the seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya. He joins Dr. Jun-Hyun Kim (Lutheran Church of Korea); Dcn. Dr. Cynthia Lumley (Evangelical Lutheran Church of England); Rev. Dr. Sergio Schelske (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina); and Rev. Dr. Roland Ziegler (Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod).

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The International Lutheran Council is a worldwide association of confessional Lutheran church bodies and groups which proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the basis of an unconditional commitment to the Holy Scriptures as the inspired and infallible Word of God and to the Lutheran Confessions contained in the Book of Concord as the true and faithful exposition of the Word of God. The ILC exists for the purpose of encouraging, strengthening, and promoting confessional Lutheran theology and practice centering in Jesus Christ, both among its members and throughout the world.

You can support the work of the ILC through online giving. You can also donate by mail:

International Lutheran Council
P.O. Box 18775
St. Louis, MO 63118

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