Namibia’s three Lutheran Churches have again come closer towards one unified Church by constituting their own United Church Council. At the close of a meeting on 28th November 2006 in Windhoek the joy of the various stakeholders was quite noticeable and participants talked of an “historic hour”.
In a common statement the bishops of the three Lutheran Churches in Namibia agreed that “Lutherans in Namibia are now on a joint journey. Indeed, what took more than ten years of negotiations has now been put into shape. We are now looking for ways of joint activities and of strengthening a unified Lutheran voice in matters of common concern. The ultimate aim is to become one Lutheran Church in Namibia.”
The newly formed United Church Council of the Namibia Evangelical Lutheran Churches (UCC-NELC) comprises the three Churches ELCIN, ELCRN and ELCIN (GELC) that had been divided for decades throughout a national history of colonialism and apartheid. Fourteen years ago the Lutheran World Federation-Namibian National Committee (LWF-NCC) was founded to foster greater Lutheran unity in Namibia. With the establishment of the United Church Council this committee will now dissolve itself to make way for a body that is structurally and financially independent from the Lutheran World Federation. The UCC will be managed by the leadership of the three Namibian Lutheran Churches. The financial support of the LWF will be replaced by local fund raising. One way to raise funds will be through the offerings of three Unity Sundays a year in all 181 Lutheran congregations.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN) has 652,000 members, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN) has 350,000, members and ELCIN (GELC)’s has 5,200 German-speaking members.  According to the constitution UCC-NELC will consist of 15 members of which ELCIN has 6 delegates, ELCRN 5 delegates and ELCIN (GELC) has 4 delegates. The chairperson, executive secretary and treasurer will be filled on a rotating basis and shall always be from each one of the three Lutheran Churches.
The new church structure will also affect the various partnership relations of the three Lutheran Churches. Discussions with ecumenical partners on how the bilateral partnerships of the past can be changed into a joint partnership of all Lutherans in Namibia will be discussed at an all partners’ meeting in April.
A Celebration Sunday will take place on 22nd April 2007 at the Inner-City Lutheran Congregation in Windhoek. At this event Rev. Angela Veii, so far acting as coordinator for Lutheran unity, will be bid farewell and all members of the UCC-NELC will be officially inaugurated. Angela Veii, looking back at the last ten years as coordinator, remarked that “on a spiritual level we are united already. Now we have to make this unity visible step by step.”
Picture: Members of the Namibian National Committee of the Lutheran World Federation after their final meeting (l.t.r.): Bishop Erich Hertel, Carl Scholz, Rev. Angela Veii, Rev. Harald Klöpper, Dean Walter Namaseb , Auguste Eises, Rev. Veiiko Munyika, Erna Ruiters, Bishop Thomas Shivute, Thea Seefeldt, Simeon Amupala, Rolf Penzhorn and Bishop Zephania Kameeta.