September 2007 Letter to Sponsoring Congregations

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I noted with great interest the recent ELCA Assembly adoption of proposals for a full communion relationship between the ELCA and the Moravian Church in America and the five-year initiative to promote study of the Bible called “Book of Faith: Lutherans Read the Bible.”

A Moravian, George Schmidt, arrived in South Africa in 1737 as the first missionary to work among the indigenous people.  The first Lutheran missionaries to South Africa came from the Berlin Missionary Society in 1834. (The American Lutheran Mission began in South Africa in 1927.)

Today eighteen Lutheran churches in 11 different countries and the Moravian Church in Southern Africa are members of the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA) which is the regional expression of the Lutheran World Federation in Southern Africa.

In addition to my responsibilities as ELCA Global Mission Regional Program Assistant in Southern Africa I continue to work with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA) and the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA) on several Christian education initiatives.

For the past few years I have worked with a team of translators to edit and produce the annual ELCSA Almanac in seven of the eleven official languages in the Republic of South Africa.  The ELCSA Almanac is based on the Moravian Losungen or Daily Watchwords which is produced in Herrnhut, Germany. This tradition was started by Count Ludwig von Zinzindorf in 1724 when he gave Moravian refugees on his estate two Bible verses each evening.  The ELCSA Almanac contains the pericopes for each Sunday as well as daily readings from the Old and New Testaments. This little book is an indispensable devotional and worship resource for individuals, families and pastors in Lutheran and Moravian congregations throughout Southern Africa.

A three-book Sunday School Teachers’ Resource Living Together in Christ has just been published by the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA).  I have also been privileged to be part of this team effort with eight curriculum writers from various LUCSA member churches in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa.   The books provide a Biblical framework for Sunday School ministry and emphasize that the purpose of Christian education is to help equip members of all ages to participate together in God’s mission. 

It is encouraging and challenging to see how Lutherans, Moravians, and others, in North America and Southern Africa are working with similar issues, concerns and initiatives as we seek to be faithful and relevant participants in God’s Mission.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support for our family, the work of the ELCA  Global Mission and our companion churches in Southern Africa. 

May God bless you as you read, study and proclaim the Good News in Jesus Christ and participate with others in God’s Mission locally and globally.

Yours faithfully,

Philip Knutson

ELCA Global Mission,  Regional Program Assistant – Southern Africa

Cape Town

September 4, 2007