LWR President is New Chair of Worldwide Church Aid Alliance

Baltimore, March 7, 2003 — LWR President Kathryn Wolford has been elected moderator of the international emergency alliance, Action by Churches Together (ACT). Wolford will chair the group's governing bodies and provide overall leadership for the alliance for a two-year term.

A world-wide network of some 200 churches and related aid agencies, ACT was formed in the mid-1990s to coordinate the members' emergency aid and relief activities. The alliance exists under the auspices, and draws its members from, the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches.

"In an increasingly complex humanitarian environment, this is both an exciting and a challenging time for ACT," Wolford said of her election at the group's annual meeting last week. "With war looming in the Middle East, we are standing firmly behind the international humanitarian principles and codes of conduct that protect the independence and the impartiality essential for aid work - especially where armed conflict causes suffering."

"As we face this challenge, members of ACT are showing a strong sense of joint ownership. And it remains as important as ever to ensure the quality of programs because that is what translates into lives protected, livelihoods restored and communities rebuilt," she said.

The ACT annual meeting, held in Geneva, Switzerland, also elected a new vice moderator, Bishop Bernard Natahoturi of the Anglican Church of Rwanda.

"To work with ACT at a time like this is also a reflection of Lutheran World Relief's commitment to effective cooperation among churches and their related agencies," said Wolford.