Two of Luther Seminary’s international alums, the Rev. Dr. Musa Panti Filibus, ’98, and the Rev. Dr. Elieshi Mungure, ’07, have taken prominent positions at the Lutheran World Federation. Filibus, who previously served as LWF Area Secretary for Africa, has been appointed director of the LWF Department for Mission and Development (DMD) for a term of four years. Mungure will replace Filibus as the LWF Area Secretary for Africa. She began her work in Geneva on April 1.
The Rev. Dr. Elieshi Mungure, ’07
LWF Area Secretary for Africa
Elieshi Mungure is a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. She holds a Ph.D. from Luther Seminary. Prior to accepting the call to LWF, Mungure served as professor of theology and dean of students at Makumira University College in Tanzania.
Mungure was attracted to her new position because of her “faith in being called to serve in God’s global church and the community. I feel blessed when I can offer my service for others.”
Mungure seeks to foster a holistic missional approach, empowering communities to live and practice a theology of peace and reconciliation. She hopes that this approach will spread throughout the continent of Africa, bringing a focus on human livelihood and integrity of all creation, saying, “My prayer is to live in a world where God’s shalom prevails.”
She credits Luther Seminary with preparing her for this new position, specifically the opportunity she had to interact with the global community, as well as the comprehensive education and voices represented at Luther. She says, “Through interaction with the global community, Luther Seminary saw
my gifts and nurtured them into who I am now.”
The Rev. Dr. Musa Filibus, ’98
Director of LWF Department for Mission and Development
Musa Panti Filibus is a pastor in the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria. He holds a Ph.D. in pastoral theology from Luther Seminary. As director of the LWF Department for Mission and Development, Dr. Filibus will “urge member churches to take more prayerfully their call to witness Christ (and) work together to transform tragic situations that destroy human dignity and creation.”
According to the LWF Asia Lutheran Communion website, “Dr. Filibus hopes to encourage the LWF Asian member churches—particularly located in a region that is unmatched in terms of its multi-religious nature—to search for new ways of engaging their neighbors of different faiths for the
care of creation. … Equally, he (hopes to) encourage member churches to reaffirm the crucial role of prophetic diakonia in their overall ministries and, in collaboration with the wider Christian family, give hope to many in (LWF’s) different contexts.”