Pastor Federico Schaefer, New President in Argentine Church Church in Critical but Opportune Position

October 28, 2002

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentine pastor Federico Schaefer, 59, was elected president of the Evangelical Church of the River Plate (IERP) on October13. He succeeds Pastor Juan Pedro Schaad, who after four years in office did not seek re-election.

Lutheran World Information (LWI) interviewed Bishop Schaefer after his election during the IERP synod meeting. He said the political and economic crisis confronting Argentina demands that the church find new focus. "Our church is in a very critical situation, but one of great opportunity as well," because it can offer the society alternatives from its specific Protestant perspective. More than 90 percent of Argentina's population is Roman Catholic.

"It can speak up for greater justice, and say that life is not just about acquiring more and more power, or more and more income," said Schaefer. The church has a responsibility to fight against corruption, and speak out for a life in which powerless people are not constantly exploited by others.

Pastor Schaefer was born in 1943 in Buenos Aires and studied theology locally and in Brazil. He also spent a year of study in Berlin. He wrote his thesis on Martin Luther, as reformer, and collaborated later, in Argentina, on a translation of Luther's works into Spanish.

For the past two years he has been pastor of a congregation in a southern district of Buenos Aires. From 1981 to 1999, he was the IERP general secretary. Schaefer is married and has two children.

By Lutheran World Information correspondent Alexandra Jaenicke, currently providing public relations support to the IERP in Buenos Aires.
Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units.
The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 136 member churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7 million of the 65.4 mllion Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.