WCC Congratulates LWF General Secretary Election

Geneva: October 27, 2009, (PCTV Newsdesk)

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia has congratulated Rev. Martin Junge on his election as general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Expressing "joy and encouragement" at the election of the Chilean theologian to the LWF's chief executive post, Kobia called him a "champion of lively partnerships in the quest for Christian unity and the building of human community".

Elected on 26 October as the eighth LWF general secretary by the organization's Council, Junge, a 48-year old pastor from Chile, became the first representative from the Latin America and Caribbean region to hold that position. He will succeed Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, who is planning to leave office at the end of October 2010.