One Communion, Many Churches: Norway and Britain Share Ministry and Mission

Bishop Catherine Ngina Musau Kithome Carries KELC's Voice to the LWF Retreat of Newly Elected Leaders

Geneva, Switzerland — 21 September 2026

Bishop Catherine Ngina Musau Kithome of the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church (KELC) is in Geneva this week, taking her place among newly elected bishops and church presidents from across the worldwide communion of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).

The leaders have gathered for the LWF Retreat of Newly Elected Leaders, known as RoNEL — an annual gathering, held since 2015, that gives those newly called to senior church leadership space for peer support, theological reflection, and deeper engagement with the LWF as a global communion.

At the heart of the retreat, each leader speaks on behalf of their own church. They bring the priorities their churches have set, the goals laid out in their strategic plans, and the real challenges their churches are facing today — from the pressures of ministry and mission to the practical questions of leading God's people in a changing world. In sharing these openly, the leaders learn from one another and are strengthened for the work ahead.

For KELC, Bishop Catherine's participation is a moment of both pride and connection. It places the concerns and hopes of the church in Kenya within a global conversation, and it affirms that our church is part of a wider family that carries one another's burdens and shares one another's joys.

This year's retreat is being held across two sites central to the Lutheran story — Geneva, home of the LWF, and Wittenberg, the birthplace of the Reformation — from 20 to 29 September 2026.

As the days unfold, we invite the KELC community to hold Bishop Catherine and all the gathered leaders in prayer, that this time of renewal would strengthen them to serve their churches faithfully.

Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert