Newsletter May 2023

Dear friends,

Early in May I was able to visit our companions in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi (ELCM) and to see the work of the church supporting communities affected by Cyclone Freddy.

Tropical Cyclone Freddy was the longest-lasting and most powerful cyclone ever recorded. Hardest-hit was southern Malawi where incessant rains caused catastrophic flash floods. The death toll is over 1200 with several hundred still missing.

Rev. Innocent Nangwale, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi Dean of Blantyre, said, “Everyone was afraid during the torrential rains, wondering what would happen that day and the next.”

There was also widespread loss of crops and livestock as well as damage to thousands of homes.  Hundreds of people sheltered in government-provided “camps” (schools, halls or large tents). 

Around Phalombe and Zomba we visited several cyclone-affected communities being assisted by the Evangelical Lutheran Development Services (ELDS) led by director Dickens Mtonga and his project officers.   We saw how crops ready for harvest along the river had been swept away.  Fortunately, the project’s sweet potato seed-bank plot was still intact and is being used to plant new crops in the place of the lost corn crop.  Also, mustard greens were planted as a fast growing vegetable to fill the food gap.   The community sang songs welcoming the visitors and a short drama was performed promoting the work of the Self Help Groups (SHG’s) in improving livelihoods, food security and resilience in the community.   

Local community leaders and SHG members thanked the ELCM, ELDS and the ELCA for their accompaniment and asked for continuing support.  (ELCA Service and Justice has approved funding support for Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) applications from the ELCM, ELDS and ACT Alliance)

Thank you for your prayers, support and participation in God’s Mission locally and globally.

Yours faithfully,

Rev. Dr. Philip Knutson     ELCA Regional Representative – Southern Africa

May 8, 2023

My blog page address is: https://southernafricanconnections.wordpress.com/

Please visit my fundraising page. (Note: This fundraising page is set up for individuals’ gifts only.) 

If you are donating on behalf of a congregation or organization, please visit ELCA.org/MissionaryGiving for online giving.

Newsletter April 2023

Dear friends,

Last month I reported on the impact of Cyclone Freddy on several southern African countries and that the ELCA Lutheran Disaster Response is providing support for relief efforts through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi and ACT Alliance.  ELCM Bishop Joseph Bvumbwe responded saying: “We are always very grateful for the support and the kind of generousity with which the ELCA accompanies us, especially in times of disasters like the  one we have just gone through. Thank you for your support and prayers.”

Recently I participated in the annual Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA) Christian Education Coordinators Consultation held in Johannesburg.  The theme for the consultation was “Justice for Life” based on Micah 6:8.

A central objective of the consultation was to reflect on the theme of justice through the “Reformation lens,” of justification by grace through faith, and how this shapes the way we hear, read, teach, worship and live out the Gospel in our respective churches and communities in the LUCSA region. Participants reflected on the concept of “intersectional justice” which looks at the ways in which systems of inequality based on gender, ethnicity, racism, poverty, disability and class “intersect” reinforcing discrimination and injustice. The African concept of “ubuntu,” which means “a person is a person through other persons,” was also seen as central to achieving justice.  There were devotions, Bible studies, presentations and discussions on Justice and Reconciliation, Child Rights in Church and Society, Economic and Climate Justice, Culture, Ethnicity and Gender Justice and Worship and Justice.  Participants shared updates from their respective churches in the Southern Africa region and worked on plans and strategies for the coming year. 

Thank you for your prayers, support and participation in God’s Mission locally and globally.

Yours faithfully,

Rev. Dr. Philip Knutson

ELCA Regional Representative – Southern Africa

April 21, 2023

My blog page address is: https://southernafricanconnections.wordpress.com/

Please visit my fundraising page. (Note: This fundraising page is set up for individuals’ gifts only.) 

If you are donating on behalf of a congregation or organization, please visit ELCA.org/MissionaryGiving for online giving.

Newsletter March 2023

Dear friends,

Earlier this month parts of the southern African countries of Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi were severely affected by Cyclone Freddie, which has been classified as one of the longest lasting and most powerful storms to hit the region. News outlets are reporting a death toll surpassing 500 with many tens of thousands left homeless or displaced due to heavy rains, flooding and mudslides.

Malawi has declared a National Disaster with a two-week period of mourning.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi presiding bishop Joseph Bvumbwe wrote: “On our part and for now we can only ask for your prayers to sustain us and help us gain the strength needed to stand back on our feet and start working on lending the much needed services to the affected Communities. … As you can see from this briefing, the situation is so overwhelming and requires prayerful descernment and wisdom to help us provide hope to the hopeless.”

ELCA Lutheran Disaster Response is providing support for relief efforts through the ACT Alliance rapid response fund.

At the end of February I participated in the annual Youth Peer Educators’ planning workshop organized by the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA).  The young adults gave reports from their respective churches and took turns presenting on topics such as: HIV&AIDS in the era of COVID-19, Mental Health, gender justice, substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, entrepreneurship,  climate change, and the challenges and opportunities of using social media.  I gave a presentation on disaster preparedness and response strategies.  The workshop included an Ash Wednesday worship service with Holy Communion. 

The ELCA supports the HIV&AIDS program of the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa which includes 15 member churches across ten countries in the region. 

Thank you for your prayers, support and participation in God’s Mission locally and globally.

Yours faithfully,

Rev. Dr. Philip Knutson

ELCA Regional Representative – Southern Africa

March 20, 2023

My blog page address is: https://southernafricanconnections.wordpress.com/

Please visit my fundraising page. (Note: This fundraising page is set up for individuals’ gifts only.) 

If you are donating on behalf of a congregation or organization, please visit ELCA.org/MissionaryGiving for online giving.

Newsletter February 2023

Dear friends,

Warm greetings from Johannesburg, South Africa.

Earlier this month, pastors and lay delegates of the Evangelical  Lutheran Church in Mozambique (IELM) gathered in the capital city Maputo for the church’s general assembly.

Some of the delegates from the northern part of the country travelled for two days over 2000km on public transportation to attend the meeting.

The theme chosen for the assembly was based on Nehemiah 2: 17-18 which focuses on  Nehemiah’s call to the returning exiles to work together to rebuild the temple and the broken walls of Jerusalem.

Delegates received reports and reflected on the challenges facing the church in Mozambique including financial sustainability, the effects of COVID-19, climate change, the ongoing insurgency in the north and a struggling economy. 

Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe Bishop K. Sibanda, Rev. L. Kasper (Executive Director of the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA), the General Secretary of the Christian Council of Mozambique (CCM) and I (representing the ELCA) were asked to assist with the process of the election of the bishop, general secretary, assembly president and church council.

Rev. S. Matsimbe (Dean of the Southern District) was elected to succeed Bishop Sinalo whose term had ended.  The consecration of the bishop-elect and installation of the new officers is set to take place later in May. 

The ELCA and other partners continue to seek ways to accompany the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mozambique through mission outreach and support for diakonia and disaster response projects. 

Thank you for your prayers, support and participation in God’s Mission locally and globally.

Yours faithfully,

Rev. Dr. Philip Knutson

ELCA Regional Representative – Southern Africa

February 20, 2023

My blog page address is: https://southernafricanconnections.wordpress.com/

Please visit my fundraising page. (Note: This fundraising page is set up for individuals’ gifts only.) 

If you are donating on behalf of a congregation or organization, please visit ELCA.org/MissionaryGiving for online giving.

Newsletter January 2023

Dear friends,

Warm greetings from Johannesburg, South Africa.

After the long Christmas and New Year’s Summer break (in the southern hemisphere), schools, businesses and churches are back in full swing.  We continue to accompany companion churches across the continent in the areas of mission and ministry, diakonia, disaster response and international leadership development.

Gender Justice is a strategic priority for the ELCA Continental Africa Desk and ‘Thursdays in Black’ is one of the campaigns in this regard.

‘Thursdays in Black’ grew out of the World Council of Churches’ Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women (1988–1998), in which the stories of gender injustice, abuse and violence were lifted up, as well as stories of women’s resilience, agency and personal efforts to resist such violations.

The Watchword for the Year, “You are God, [who sees me.]” from Genesis 16:13, is the basis for the foreword in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa 2023 Almanac (lectionary and daily texts) by Presiding Bishop N.M. Myaka.  Bishop Myaka writes, “The story of Hagar shows us that God does not only see but also reflects on and acts against injustice. …This watchword challenges us…to consider supporting a ‘Hagar campaign’ and to further explore one of the LWF’s 500^th anniversary slogans, ‘Human beings are not for sale!’ … [T]ake heart in knowing that God sees you!”

The Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA), with 15 member churches in 10 countries, has also embraced the Thursdays in Black Campaign and is planning various activities for the coming year as part of its Gender Justice program.

Thank you for your prayers, support and participation in God’s Mission locally and globally.

Yours faithfully,

Rev. Dr. Philip Knutson

ELCA Regional Representative – Southern Africa

January 24, 2023

My blog page address is: https://southernafricanconnections.wordpress.com/

Please visit my fundraising page. (Note: This fundraising page is set up for individuals’ gifts only.) 

If you are donating on behalf of a congregation or organization, please visit ELCA.org/MissionaryGiving for online giving.

Newsletter December 2022

Dear friends,

Some 135 delegates (lay and clergy) from the seven ELCSA Dioceses gathered for the 25^th General Assembly at the Lutheran Center in Bonaero Park, Johannesburg under the theme “Reimagining ELCSA, Serving with Integrity.” 

In the opening worship service Presiding Bishop NM Myaka noted that, “We have messed up as individuals and as a church…but God is ready to embrace us and forgive unconditionally.”

In the keynote address Rev. Dr. Molefe Tsele asked if the church was just a mirror of society, “captured by fundraising gimmicks” or “always reforming” living out an alternative and counter cultural vision of the world based on the Gospel.

The assembly received and vigorously discussed reports from the ELCSA Churchwide office, the seven dioceses as well as from leagues and organizations. The news that the old seminary at Umphumulo was being renovated for diploma students while Bachelors of Theology students would continue to study at the University of KwaZulu Natal (Pietermaritzburg) was well received. 

Coinciding with the international 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence the ELCSA General Assembly participated in the launch of the Hagar Campaign on December 7 with a year-long calendar of events to educate church members and communities and to advocate for gender transformative policies and practices.

Deputy presiding bishop N. Sikhwari (the first woman to be consecrated as a bishop in ELCSA and in the Lutheran church in Africa) reflected on Ezra’s call to the returning exiles to rebuild the temple and challenged ELCSA members to reimagine ELCSA, to let God stir up their spirits, to look forward with hope and to rebuild the church with God’s help.

The Assembly was delighted to receive recorded video greetings from ELCA Companion Synods relating to ELCSA Dioceses.

Thank you for your prayers, support and participation in God’s Mission locally and globally.

May you have a blessed Christmas and New Year!

Yours faithfully,

Rev. Dr. Philip Knutson

ELCA Regional Representative – Southern Africa

December 9, 2022

My blog page address is: https://southernafricanconnections.wordpress.com/

Please visit my fundraising page. (Note: This fundraising page is set up for individuals’ gifts only.) 

If you are donating on behalf of a congregation or organization, please visit ELCA.org/MissionaryGiving for online giving.

Newsletter November 2022

Dear friends,

Warm greetings.

This past weekend over 1000 people gathered in Karonga on the northern tip of Lake Malawi to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the founding of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi (ELCM) by local lay leaders in 1982. One of the lay leaders became the first bishop of the church, now the presiding bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Bvumbwe. With strong leadership, evangelism and diakonal outreach in rural and urban communities the church has quickly grown to over 200,000 members. 

The church assembly voted in August 2018 to divide the church into three dioceses.  The Karonga Diocese is now the first of the three.  On November 26, 2022 Rev. Alick Msuku was installed as the first diocesan bishop with Rev. Peter Vinkumbo as assistant to the bishop.  Presiding Bishop Bvumbwe was assisted by Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe Bishop K. Sibanda, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa Bishop N. Myaka, and Bishop S. /Keib of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia. 

Lake Malawi runs along most of the eastern border of the country and is 350 miles long, 47 miles wide and 2,300 feet at its deepest point making it the third largest lake in Africa and the ninth largest in the world.  Referring to Lake Malawi in his sermon, Presiding Bishop Bvumbwe reflected on Jesus’ instructions to the disciples in Mark 4:35, “Let us go across to the other side” as well as Jesus’ calming of the storm as words of encouragement to the leadership and members of the new Karonga diocese.

I was privileged to be able to attend the celebration and bishop’s installation and to bring greetings on behalf of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin which is the ELCA Companion synod relating to the ELCM.

The two-day event was filled with singing and dancing, with many choirs writing and recording original songs and choreography especially for the occasion.  The celebration ended with the presentation of gifts by parishes to the new diocesan bishop, the assistant to the bishop and their spouses.

The ELCM plans to establish the second diocese in Blantyre in the southern part of the country in 2023.

Thank you for your prayers, support and participation in God’s Mission locally and globally.

Yours faithfully,

Rev. Dr. Philip Knutson

ELCA Regional Representative – Southern Africa

November 30, 2022

My blog page address is: https://southernafricanconnections.wordpress.com/

Please visit my fundraising page. (Note: This fundraising page is set up for individuals’ gifts only.) 

If you are donating on behalf of a congregation or organization, please visit ELCA.org/MissionaryGiving for online giving.

Newsletter October 2022

Dear friends,

Warm greetings.

The Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA) Infohut program aims at creating a generation free of HIV & AIDS through an innovative approach to learning and living that is faith-based and uses modern technology (computers), critical thinking and responsible action promoting justice and sustainable livelihoods.

In Zimbabwe there are currently thirteen Infohut sites including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ) Infohut Project at Burure Primary and Secondary Schools in north-central Zimbabwe.

To make entrepreneurial training practical the Burure Infohut project purchased 26 goats as part of their livelihoods education program.  The students who received goats are getting guidance from the local parish pastor and school teachers who mentor the students and check on their progress. The goat project is proving to the youth and the community that goats can be a viable source of income to assist in meeting basic family needs. The young participants are still committed to their schoolwork and excited to share what they are learning with their peers. The school administrators are in the process of identifying the next group of students who will receive goats, offspring of the original 26.

The LUCSA Infohut program is fully supported by the ELCA and is operating across the region in a variety of sites hosted by member churches in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Namibia and Zambia and continues to grow, attracting both young and older participants. Since its inception in 2007, over 45,000 youth and adults have participated in the Infohut program.

Thank you for your prayers, support and participation in God’s Mission locally and globally.

Yours faithfully,

Rev. Dr. Philip Knutson

ELCA Regional Representative – Southern Africa

October 21, 2022

My blog page address is: https://southernafricanconnections.wordpress.com/

Please visit my fundraising page. (Note: This fundraising page is set up for individuals’ gifts only.) 

If you are donating on behalf of a congregation or organization, please visit ELCA.org/MissionaryGiving for online giving.

Newsletter August / September 2022

Dear friends,

Warm greetings.

During July and August 2022 I was on Home Assignment visiting a number of sponsoring congregations and companion synods in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Upstate New York, New Jersey and Chicago.

At the end of August I participated in the ELCA’s Service and Justice “Becoming Conference” held in Chicago. The conference was hosted by the ELCA Service & Justice home area and brought together Service and Justice staff, ELCA international personnel and families, international guests and ELCA networks that intersect with the work of Service and Justice.  The program included time for worship, plenary speakers, small group discussions, project visits and fellowship.  The Continental Africa Desk facilitated discussions on developing strategies for Gender Justice and Theological Education.

The Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA), which is the sub-regional expression of the Lutheran World Federation with 15 member churches in ten Southern African countries, gathered recently for its 11^th Assembly and to celebrate its 30^th anniversary in Johannesburg, South Africa  under the theme “This is my Body.”  The Assembly received reports, reflected on the past 30 years of LUCSA’s existence, adopted a new strategic plan and elected Bishop Kenneth Sibanda of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe as its president for the next three years and Ms. Ann Mokhine (NELCSA) as deputy president. 

At the conference I was able to present Bishop Tomas Ndawanapo from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Angola with a hard-copy of his doctor of ministry thesis from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN.  The ELCA International Leadership Program contributed scholarship support for Bishop Tomas’ study program.

(Photo: From left to right: Rev. B. Kassahun: ELCA Continental Africa Desk Director, IELA Bishop Tomas Ndawanapo, Rev. Dr. Elitha Moyo: ELCA Regional Representative for Gender Justice – Africa,  Rev. Dr. Philip Knutson)

Thank you for your prayers, support and participation in God’s Mission locally and globally.

Yours faithfully,

Rev. Dr. Philip Knutson

ELCA Regional Representative – Southern Africa

September 22, 2022

My blog page address is: https://southernafricanconnections.wordpress.com/

Please visit my fundraising page. (Note: This fundraising page is set up for individuals’ gifts only.) 

If you are donating on behalf of a congregation or organization, please visit ELCA.org/MissionaryGiving for online giving.

Newsletter July 2022

Dear friends,

Warm greetings.

What does a missionary look like? What makes you a missionary?  It’s not your country of origin, or a plane ticket to a far destination … but your baptism!  It is by God’s grace, that whoever and wherever we are, we are called, gathered, equipped and sent to participate in God’s Mission of transformation, reconciliation and empowerment. 

In the ELCA we have adopted the “accompaniment” model for mission, understood as:  “Walking together in solidarity, that practices interdependence and mutuality. In this walk, gifts, resources and experiences are shared with mutual advice and admonition to deepen and expand our work within God’s mission.”

An important insight here is that the church does not have a mission or missions, but God’s mission has a church.  It is also important to lift up the five accompaniment values of Mutuality, Inclusivity, Vulnerability, Sustainability and Empowerment.

During the months of July and August I have been visiting sponsoring congregations in the US as part of Home Assignment. These biennial visits were cancelled in 2020 due to COVID.  It is a privilege being able to travel again and to share together in worship, conversation and fellowship. 

We have been talking about the impact of the pandemic, climate change, conflict, food insecurity, racism and poverty in our communities, and around the world.  And we are reflecting on mission accompaniment, what we as individuals, congregations, companion churches and communities can learn and do to participate faithfully in God’s mission, locally and globally.  

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Rev. Dr. Philip Knutson

ELCA Regional Representative – Southern Africa / Minneapolis July 25, 2022

My blog page address is: https://southernafricanconnections.wordpress.com/

Please visit my fundraising page. (Note: This fundraising page is set up for individuals’ gifts only.) 

If you are donating on behalf of a congregation or organization, please visit ELCA.org/MissionaryGiving for online giving.