CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Robert E. Wandersee, a missionary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was killed in a robbery-related attack Aug. 7 on a highway outside Jos, Nigeria. Wandersee was struck by bullets when the car in which he and two Nigerian passengers were traveling came under attack. The perpetrators have not been apprehended.
The passengers, Isuwa Haniel and Falaka Ya'u, co-workers from the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN), were hospitalized with gun shot wounds and cuts from broken glass.
Wandersee, 46, served in Jos beginning in 1992. He was secretary of the Joint Christian Ministry for West Africa, a ministry of ecumenical mission agencies and churches working among the Fulani people in seven countries.
The Rev. Daniel W. Olson of the ELCA's Division for Global Mission said, "Bob Wandersee brought creativity, sincerity, and humor to his life and work in West Africa. He was greatly loved and appreciated by African colleagues for his humble spirit and dedication to proclaiming the gospel among Fulani people through the Joint Christian Ministry in West Africa network."
Wandersee provided pastoral leadership to Hillcrest School and the Jos community in central Nigeria, according to Olson. He was the author of several booklets for Christian training and taught a course on Christian-Muslim dialogue at the Theological College of Northern Nigeria.
Before going to Nigeria Wandersee served for six years in Madagascar. In the United States he worked in camping and retreat ministries at Camp Koinonia, Highland Lake, N.Y. He also worked as a teacher and a farmer. He was born in Detroit Lakes, Minn., and grew up in Audubon, Minn.
Wandersee was ordained in 1980. He was a graduate of Northwestern Seminary, St. Paul (now Luther Seminary) and North Dakota State University, Fargo, N.D. Wandersee studied Christian-Muslim dialogue at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut and Luther Seminary.
Olson, until recently the ELCA's area director for West and Southern Africa, said Wandersee was "energetically preparing for the biennial assembly of the Joint Christian Ministry in West Africa in November which will bring together more than 100 people engaged in ministry among the nomadic and semi-nomadic Fulani people from Senegal to the Central African Republic." Wandersee is survived by his wife, Claire Sobon, and children, Nisha and Karisa.
Funeral services will be held at Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Aug. 24 at 11:00 a.m. Central Lutheran is one of the ELCA congregations that helped sponsor the Wandersee's missionary service.
For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director 1-773-380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
