Anglican Bishop prays for peace during elections

From Namibia-

As eligible Namibians go to the polls on 27 November 2019 to elect a state president and National Assembly members for the next five years, the Anglican Bishop of Namibia, Right Reverend Luke Lungile Pato, has called for peaceful elections.

From its independence in 1990, Namibia has held orderly and fair elections.
In a statement, Pato enjoined Namibians to uphold that peaceful tradition, which he said was essential for socio-economic development.

“Namibia’s democratic architecture has a pluralistic political system characterized by regular, free, and fair elections. Namibia is also known for its political stability and commitment towards the deepening of democracy, which are strongly anchored in its constitution. We, therefore, encourage all eligible citizens to peacefully vote for the leaders of their choice. This would cement the nation-building project in Namibia,” the Bishop Pato said.

More here-

https://neweralive.na/posts/anglican-bishop-prays-for-peace-during-elections

Responding to the Drought in Namibia

From Relief Web-

Episcopal Relief & Development is supporting the Anglican Diocese of Namibia in response to the ongoing drought devastating the country. The organization is in contact with the diocese’s development arm, the Namibia Anglican Community Development Organization (NACDO) as it prepares to respond to the needs of impacted communities.

Over the past four years, Namibia has been dealing with a drought affecting crops and drinking water for both people and livestock. Many people have no access to clean water and travel long distances to find water sources. According to the local government, the lack of rain has caused food shortages, leaving one in five Namibians without access to enough food. At least 60,000 domestic animals have died in the past six months.

Working with the diocese and its development agency, Episcopal Relief & Development is helping marginalized communities in the northern part of Namibia. Based on a community assessment, NACDO has identified 1,060 vulnerable families in the Ohangwena and Omusati regions. They will receive critical food supplies and other support. Two communities, Eembindi and Enghandja, will also receive a four to five km pipeline connecting them to a safe accessible water source. In addition, Episcopal Relief & Development and NACDO will provide support for community and home gardens, poultry farming training and the rehabilitation of wells and dams for water sources in six villages.

More here-

 https://reliefweb.int/report/namibia/responding-drought-namibia

CCN holds mass prayer for rain

From Namibia-

A large number of people turned up at the University of Namibia’s Hifikepunye Campus on Sunday afternoon to pray for rain and other social challenges affecting the country.

The mass prayer was organised by the Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN).

Although an invitation was extended to other churches, only congregants from the Anglican Diocese of Namibia, the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Namibia (ELCIN) turned up.

The prayer was necessitated by the lack of sufficient rainfall since the start of the rainy season, with farmers concerned Namibia could be headed for the worst drought in decades.

Contrary to the norm, many northern communal farmers have entered the third month of the year without even bothering to plough their crop fields.

More here-

https://neweralive.na/posts/ccn-holds-mass-prayer-for-rain

The Church and the Gay

From Namibia-

Namibian Christendom is for the first time confronted by a topic that, until now, as far as the Namibian church establishment is concerned, has always been a straightforward matter: the Namibian Constitution does not guarantee marriage for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons. 

Previously the men and women of the cloth in Namibia were not worried about such a then ‘trivial topic’. It was an issue relegated to South African churches where LGBT marriages are allowed, but the local church must now figure out whether or not to conduct such marriages for their members.

It took a threat of a legal battle by members of the Dutch Reformed Church to wake up the Namibian Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church, and a motion submission by the Anglican Diocese of Saldanha Bay in South Africa to wake up the Anglican Diocese of Namibia. 

Now the Council of Churches in Namibia says it is planning to have an awareness workshop on LGBT issues in the near future. 

More here-

https://neweralive.na/posts/the-church-and-the-gay

Troubled times for Anglican Diocese

From Namibia-

Ongwediva-Although Father Lukas Kaluwapa Katenda’s departure from the Anglican Diocese of Namibia is the first one publicised, New Era has learned that other church members had left before him.

Such case in point is the resignation of Father William Festus Shifidi who was in charge of St Andrew’s Anglican congregation in Otjiwarongo. He resigned from the church on June 22 last year.

Answering New Era’s question as to why he left the spiritual service of his congregation, he cited problems and difficulties in the church and the congregation which compelled him to leave.

More here-

https://www.newera.com.na/2017/01/26/troubled-times-for-anglican-diocese/

Namibian churches battle with LGBT issues

From Namibia-

Namibian Christendom is for the first time confronted by a topic that, until now, as far as the Namibian church establishment is concerned, has always been a straightforward matter: the Namibian Constitution does not guarantee marriage for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons. Previously the men and women of the cloth in Namibia were not worried about such a then ‘trivial topic’.

It was an issue relegated to South African churches where LGBT marriages are allowed, but the churches must now figure out whether or not to conduct such marriages for their members.

It took a threat of a legal battle by members of the Dutch Reformed Church to wake up the Namibian Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church, and a motion submission by the Anglican Diocese of Saldanha Bay in South Africa to wake up the Anglican Diocese of Namibia. Now the Council of Churches in Namibia says it is planning to have an awareness workshop on LGBT issues in the near future.

More here-

https://www.newera.com.na/2016/09/23/namibian-churches-battle-lgbt-issues/

Churches Have Lost the Way

From Namibia-

The old Evangelical, Catholic and Anglican churches have not only been losing ardent followers in Namibia, where they have dominated for more than a century, but they are also failing to take the lead on moral guidance as they did almost unchallenged for decades. They have only themselves to blame.

Consider the latest reports emanating from Okaku, a village west of Ondangwa, where a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (Elcin) is accused of locking a cemetery in order to block the funeral of a 115-year-old man, because he belonged to the Roman Catholic faith.

Pastor Nehemia Sheefeni argued that he forbade the burial in a grave that had already been dug for Benediktus Shikwamanga, because his family failed to wait for the reverend to give explicit approval since non-Lutherans must follow a more long-winded procedure.

Pastor Sheefeni put two padlocks on the gate just to make sure the deceased would not be laid to rest in what he insists is a Lutheran cemetery.

More here-

http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?sub_category_id=9&category_id=3&page_type=story_detail&id=30710

Anglican Church reacts to ban on National Anthem

From Namibia-

Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Namibia, Nathaniel Ndaxuma Nakwatumbah has denied reports that the church has banned the singing of the national anthem during religious services.

Nakwatumbah clarified the church‘s position in a media statement availed to Nampa last Thursday. The statement was a response to the dissatisfaction expressed by President Hifikepunye Pohamba in July that the church did not accord people attending the tombstone unveiling of Lukas Haleinge Nepela the opportunity to sing the national anthem. Pohamba expressed his concern about the matter at the opening of the second phase of the Northern Railway Line Extension Project at Oshikango in the Ohangwena Region on July 05.

The Head of State officiated at the tombstone unveiling, which took place on June 30 this year, because Nepela, a member of the Anglican Church, had participated in the liberation struggle. The Head of State last month noted that he has seen soldiers in uniform attending church services in England, where the roots of the Anglican Church in Namibia lie, and as such he demanded to know why the Namibian national anthem cannot be sung in the Anglican Church here. At the time, local media reports had it that the retired Anglican Bishop Shihala Hamupembe, who was also present at the tombstone unveiling, said the church is not against singing the national anthem in the church or raising the national flag, but is against political songs and political flags. Nakwatumbah in Thursday’s statement explained that the national anthem was not sung because of an omission in the drafting of the tombstone unveiling programme, which was a result of a misunderstanding between those who were in charge of organising the event.

More here-

http://www.newera.com.na/articles/47395/Anglican-Church-reacts-to-ban-on-National-Anthem

Bishop Challenges Church on HIV/AIDS

The Bishop of the Anglican Diocese in Namibia, Right Reverend Nathaniel Nakwatumbah, has urged his church to double its efforts in the fight against the HIV and AIDS pandemic even in the face of financial problems.

Nakwatumbah was addressing the Diocesan Synod 2009 last Friday comprising all clergy (priests and deacons) of the Anglican Church in Namibia together with lay representatives from across the country. The Synod is held every three years.

In the address, known as the ‘Bishop’s Charge’ Nakwatumbah touched on the challenges facing the Namibia Diocese, which includes the HIV and AIDS pandemic in the country, the difficulties facing the Clergy of the Anglican Diocese in Namibia and financial problems of the church.

He said the church should double its efforts towards its vision of a future generation without AIDS.

He said the Diocese HIV/AIDS programme was going through a difficult time because of lack of funds. The church was receiving funds through Siyafundisa and Siyakha, which have come to an end, resulting in one of the HIV/AIDS officers leaving the programme. The remaining donor to the programme is the Episcopal Relief Fund (ERF).

More here-

http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=4573