LUCSA Diakonia Programme
This is a joint programme between LUCSA and the Nordic Churches, hence the name LUNODIA: LUCSA-NORDIC-DIAKONIA.
In 2006 LUCSA member churches met with the LWF member churches in the Nordic Countries to
deliberate on the Diaconal Identity of the Church in a Changing Society” with specific focus on
Diakonia as a theological imperative. Since then LUCSA has been engaged in programmes to address the challenges that affect the region.
The programme is aiming at accompanying the Lutheran Congregations in their ministry both in the south and the north. While the Lutheran World Federation through Department of Mission and Development as well as the Lutheran World Service has been addressing major challenges such as poverty, disasters, refugees/conflict and development in general, the involvement of the Church from the pews has been minimal.
We do, however, recognize that many congregations and parishes have embarked on the ministry of accompaniment through services rendered to the people of God. The aim of this programme is not to replace nor to takeover those good works but to accompany them to improve and add more value to them.
The programme will therefore embark on capacity building projects collaboration and together with the Churches in the south and the north to prepare and equip them for a holistic ministry which Jesus Himself was the forbearer.
Right from the beginning, when Jesus started his ministry, he went to the Synagogue on a Sabbath day to read the word of God as it was his custom to do so. He read from the Prophet Isaiah 61:1 – 3 as it now appears in Luke 4:18 – 19. The words read thus: “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion”. Clearly Jesus indicates to the Church that the ministry of the Church is two-pronged:
- To preach the gospel (good news) and
- To do well to fellow human beings i.e., to care about the well being of our neighbours.
Jesus repeated this when he answered the Pharisees when they wanted to test him; (Matthew 22:34 – 40). “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind. This is the first and greatest commandment, and the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself.
Perhaps James puts it in a very interesting and challenging way as he says: “What good is it brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If any one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? (James 2: 14 – 17) Jesus further illustrated the importance of this by the parable of the “Good Samaritan” Luke 10:30 – 37. The priest and the Levite passed a dying man on the road, why? Perhaps they had very important religious duties to perform or that the dying man was a Samaritan and as the Samaritans were despised the two religious men did not see it fit to help him.
The Church in Southern Africa has enormous challenge of poverty, Hunger, HIV and AIDS, Natural calamities, political mismanagement, unemployment, crime and many other issues that affect the lives of our congregants. As James puts it, prayer alone is not enough to comfort God’s people.
The Programme’s objectives are:
- To strive towards full integration of the practice of Diakonia into the self understanding and life of the Church
- Conduct a Baseline Study among member Churches of LUCSA and the Nordic countries to determine who has been doing what.
- Identify pilot projects in collaboration with Member Churches in both the south and the north.
- Identify and train deacons/nesses and project coordinators among the member Churches
- Train church workers, i.e. pastors, deans, deacons, lay preachers to be equipped to do Diakonia Ministry.
- To collaborate with Theological Training Institutions to develop a curriculum which will include Diakonia Ministry?
In the endeavor to ensure that Diakonia continues to be the backbone of the church, Diakonia Co-ordinators from all member churches met in Johannesburg for a 3day workshop in November 2008, under the theme “Prophetic Diakonia – Improved quality of life of those who live at margin of the existence”.
The objective of the workshop was to enhance awareness about Diakonia as an integral part of the church as well as to afford the co-ordinators the opportunity to share their experiences and plan for the future.
