Rwandan Archbishop

Call for The Anglican Mission to fast and pray for
the election of new Rwandan Archbishop
The Anglican Mission Prayer Leadership Team

On September 17, 2010, there will be the election of the next Archbishop of Rwanda. Our bishops function as missionary bishops of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda and they serve under the authority of the Archbishop and the House of Bishops of Rwanda. Therefore, let us as a body humbly join together with our brothers and sisters in Rwanda to seek the face of God for the man who is to be the next Archbishop.

Throughout Holy Scripture and church history the people of God have come together to pray as one, in times of great decisions, in times of change, and in times of challenge to the people of God. We find ourselves in such a time as this. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is threatened on many levels in the world and tragically even in the church. We now call Anglican Mission in the Americas, as a body of followers of Jesus Christ, to a focused time of devoted prayer and fasting during the weeks before, as well as on the day of this election.

We ask that the prayers for this election be offered up each Sunday during the Prayers of the People or wherever the individual church decides is the best for them. We also ask that individuals and groups be encouraged to add this to their regular prayer times and that fasting be encouraged. The following is a prayer point suggestion that may be used during individual prayer times. There also is a prayer that may be added to the Prayers of the People on Sundays. We ask that the Holy Spirit would guide each church in responding to this call.

Prayer Points:

1. Praise and Thanksgiving: for all that the Lord has done in the past through Archbishop Kolini and Freda and for what the Lord will do through the new Archbishop and his wife.

2. Confession of Sin: for personal sin and for the times when the church has fallen short of the will of God; things done and things left undone.

3. The Wonder of God: for His calling Anglican Mission into existence and His faithfulness in leading and directing us this past 10 and more years.

4. Faith: for our trusting the Lord to direct our future together.

5. Petition: for the man of God’s choosing to be raised up, elected, and anointed by God for the office of Archbishop of Rwanda.

6. Thanksgiving: that the Lord hears the cries of His people and moves on their behalf for his purposes.

Suggested prayer to be used every Sunday until the election of the new Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Rwanda:
Sovereign God, by the power of your Holy Spirit, we ask that you guide and direct those who will choose the next Archbishop of Rwanda; an archbishop who will continue to have your heart, listen to your voice and guide us in the fulfillment of your kingdom purposes.

African Conference Statement

Preamble

The second All Africa Bishops Conference, organised by the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA), met in Entebbe, Uganda, from 23rd to 29th August 2010. Participants included 398 bishops representing the following Provinces: Burundi, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indian Ocean, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Southern Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, West Africa and the Diocese of Egypt. Also in attendance were some invited partners and guests.

The Anglican Provinces of Africa would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to Our Lord God for His mercy and guidance during this conference; our host Archbishop Henry Orombi and the members of the Church of the Province Uganda for their kind hospitality and warm welcome; to the President of Uganda His Excellency Yoweri Museveni and the Right Honourable Professor Apollo Nsibambi Prime Minister of Uganda, and the Government and people of Uganda; the leadership of CAPA especially the Chairman the Most Rev Ian Ernest supported by the Secretariat.

The first conference, with the theme ‘Africa Has Come of Age’, was held in Lagos, Nigeria in October 2004. The theme for our second conference in Uganda was ‘Securing our Future: Unlocking our Potential’ (Hebrews 12:1-2). Its aim was to mobilise bishops to overcome obstacles to their ministry and mission and provide them with the information, skills and tools to accomplish their ministry.

Our meeting was honoured with the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the head of the Anglican Communion, The Most Rev. and Rt. Hon. Dr. Rowan Williams; the Chairman of the Global South, the Most Reverend Dr John Chew (Primate of South East Asia) and the Most Rev Bob Duncan, Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America.

Our conference was rooted in the context of daily Eucharistic service, and challenging Bible reflections on the Beatitudes and on the formation and development of New Testament churches.

Presentations on the theme included:

1. Nurturing Family Life and Building Healthy Populations.
2. Nurturing Harmonious and Dignified Communities.
3. Securing Our Economic Future.
4. Empowering the Vulnerable.
5. Making Leadership work to secure our Future and unlock our Potential.

Commitments

1. The Anglican Churches in Africa have continued to witness growth so that the centre of gravity of Christianity today appears to be shifting to the continent. Nonetheless, the church’s relevance and impact on global mission and to social, economic and political transformation of the continent remains a challenge.
2. The Anglican Churches in Africa will maintain its stand on the protection of Anglican orthodoxy and authority of Scripture as a rule of developing a Christ-centred life to uplift human lives and dignity.
3. The Anglican Churches in Africa recognises its historic contributions to the growth of Christianity right from its inception and propagation of the gospel throughout the continent and, in particular, the role of the African Church fathers and martyrs. We also recall its immense contributions during the missionary era to the provision of social facilities such as education, healthcare and the production of the African elite. Based on this, the Church mobilises its resources and takes its responsibility in shaping the Christian minds of the church worldwide in the third millennium.
4. We affirm the Biblical standard of the family as having marriage between a man and a woman as its foundation. One of the purposes of marriage is procreation of children some of whom grow to become the leaders of tomorrow.
5. Whereas we accept the rationale for an Anglican Covenant, we realise the need for further improvement of the Covenant in order to be an effective tool for unity and mutual accountability.
6. There is a more urgent need today for bishops to listen to their flock if they are to make this the African century of the Christian Church in terms of energy, growth and vision. To this end, lay participation in the ministry of the church is to be vigorously enhanced.
7. While we will always be prepared to listen to voices from other parts of the global Communion, it is pertinent that the rest of the world listens to the unique voice of the Churches in Africa. In this context, the Anglican Churches in Africa commit itself to a renewed engagement in global mission, recognising that in the 21st Century mission goes from ‘everywhere to anywhere.’
8. The African continent continues to grapple with the problem of religious intolerance which, in many cases, negatively affects the rights, the ministry and the welfare of the church. While the conference calls upon Christians in Africa and elsewhere to be tolerant of other faiths, we must stand for the defence of the human and constitutional rights of Christians and churches in various countries. We will not compromise the commitment of the church to global mission.
9. After a long period of African underdevelopment and misconceptions of African identity, it has become increasingly pertinent for Africans to take their destiny into their own hands. By setting and achieving their own strategic goals, based on the Biblical model of Christ’s mission, African Christians can define their own identity, recover their self-esteem and reach their potential under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
10. We must be actively involved in working with partners at all levels to ensure equal access to medical care, food security and promoting good health practices to prevent the major causes of death on the continent, with particular attention to primary health care for African families, especially mothers, children and elderly.
11. We call for and actively work to bring about an end to all forms of abuse and forms of slavery. We demand the protection of our people, particularly our women and children, from human trafficking, sexual immorality, abuse and violence, and structural, cultural and domestic violence.
12. The successful hosting of the World Cup by South Africa, and other achievements in the continent, demonstrated how Africa’s potential can be unleashed. This should inspire and motivate the Church as well as political leaders to proactively promote and contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
13. The Anglican Churches in Africa must join the global movement that refuses to stay silent about the current socio-economic and political state of affairs. We should stop agonising over the deplorable state of African underdevelopment and start organising towards a proactive, pragmatic engagement with good governance and infra-structural development.
14. The prevalence of poverty and underdevelopment on the continent is due mainly to mismanagement of resources and lack of effective leadership across the continent. For Africa to take its proper place among the continents of the world, our political leaders are urged to have a hard look at the style of leadership that has so far engendered corruption, poverty, insecurity and underdevelopment, and endeavour to exhibit the charismatic, visionary, and patriotic style of leadership. We encourage the leaders who are already making efforts in this direction.
15. We will build on our previous commitment to respond to HIV and AIDS realities by reducing stigma, shame, denial, discrimination, inaction and ‘mis-action’, and by promoting moral practices such as abstinence and marital faithfulness as well as access and availability of treatment, voluntary testing and empowerment of communities, in addition to other public health measures.
16. The children and the youth are the embodiment of the future and the church seeks to unlock the inherent potential in this generation. Therefore, the Church in Africa commits itself to providing biblical upbringing of children and youth and give a special attention to their needs and rights.
17. Africa is also suffering the devastating impacts of climate change: rivers and lakes are shrinking, animals are dying in large numbers, crops are failing, major flooding and an increase in killer diseases. With its reach and influence the Anglican Church in Africa, in collaboration with its partners, will use its resources and energy to mitigate this major threat to our people. It will promote existing successful environmental conservation initiatives including tree planting and bio gas schemes, particularly through establishing ‘knowledge centres’ at the community level.
18. The Church has a crucial role to play to develop a theology for the total transformation of African communities. The existing inherited model of theological formation and education has been identified to be inadequate in addressing the emerging socio-cultural realities of the African Church. To this end, the church will develop theological curricula that will empower her leaders to be more relevant to the practical and spiritual needs of contemporary society.
19. The Anglican Church in Africa, guided by the Holy Spirit, will continue to work for unity among ourselves by growing actively in prayer and home fellowships in order to be able to reach out to the unreached and to work for unity with our ecumenical partners. In that manner, we can bear a visible presence of hope and healing among communities.
20. The Anglican Church in Africa is committed to a transforming servant- compassionate leadership that is determined to work tirelessly and diligently to reduce suffering on our continent by challenging all abusive structures and relationships.
21. The Anglican Church in Africa is grateful for the assistance it has received from its partners worldwide. We encourage the Church at all levels to make efforts to explore the various investment opportunities available so as to be financially self-sustaining in order that it can carry out its holistic mission successfully.
22. We express deep concern that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan could be undermined by unfulfilled commitments. We therefore call upon the international communities, particularly Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union and the United Nations to put more pressure on the National Congress Party and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement to hold a free, fair and peaceful referendum on the 9th of January and to respect the decision of the people of Southern Sudan as stipulated in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. We also call upon the various rebel factions in Darfur and the Government of Sudan to return to the negotiating table to agree a peaceful solution to the conflict.
23. The Anglican Church in Africa is deeply concerned about the last bomb attack in Kampala, Uganda, that killed many innocent people. We take this opportunity to present our condolences and sympathy to the Government and the people of Uganda and especially to the families of the victims. We condemn in strong terms such criminal acts and will passionately pray against future acts of violence.
24. The Anglican Church in Africa expresses deep concern over the continued sexual violence against women and children by armed groups operating in the Eastern Congo. We call upon UN forces to do more in protecting civilians and assist the Government in stabilising the region.
25. We are concerned about the problem of insecurity, lack of democracy and freedom in Madagascar and appeal to the international community to support the ongoing peace process undertaken by the Malagasy actors.
26. Recognising the loss of life and great pains in Kenya associated with the post-election violence after the 2007 elections, we commend the recent peaceful referendum and the promulgation of the new constitution.

Appreciation

We give thanks to God for the ministry of our retired or retiring fathers Most Rev Bernard Malango – Province Central Africa, Most Rev Peter Akinola - Province of Nigeria, Most Rev Njonkulu Ndugane – Province of Southern Africa, Most Rev Bernard Mtetemela – Province of Tanzania, Most Rev Remi Rabenirina – Province of Indian Ocean, Most Rev Fidele Dirokpa Balufuga – Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Most Rev Robert Okine – West Africa, Most Rev Benjamin Nzimbi – Province of Kenya and Most Rev Emmanuel Musaba Kolini – Province of Rwanda. We pray for their continued good health and ministry.
We also honour the memory of the late Most Rev Joseph Marona – Province of Sudan.
We also want to express our profound appreciation of the Chairman of CAPA the Most Reverend Ian Ernest, CAPA’s Secretariat and the Organising Committee, and all delegates, facilitators, rapporteurs and other guests.

“Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

(Matthew 5:1-12, NIV)


The document is then signed “On behalf of the CAPA Primates”

by

(The Most Rev.) Ian Ernest , CAPA Chairman, and (The Most Rev.) Emmanuel Kolini, CAPA Vice-Chairman

African Bishops

Love your culture, say African bishops

By Stephen Otage
Monday, August 30 2010

Kampala

The second All African Bishops conference ended yesterday with the primates calling on Africans to stick to their culture and reject Western ways tearing the church a part.

While addressing a press conference yesterday, the clergy men, led by Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi, said Western cultures like homosexuality should be shunned. He said they will not change their stand on homosexuality, saying the practice is against the scriptures.

Archbishop Orombi warned people going to polls today and in the general elections next year, to resist being bribed with material things. “In choosing your leaders you should know the importance of your ballot.” “Every leader should know that there is accountability. It is not about just going to get allowances.”

The archbishop said he was disappointed by the behaviour of some leaders who are not working for the people but their own interests and called on every Ugandan to pray for peace. The conference which was organised by the council of Anglican Provinces of Africa, started on August 23. About 400 bishops from all over Africa attended.

Strength in what remains

STRENGTH IN WHAT REMAINS

By Tracy Kidder

Random House. 277 pp.

In the summer of 2005, a villager walked into a district hospital in Rwanda complaining of abdominal pain. The cause was not difficult to diagnose: an acutely enlarged spleen resulting from untreated malaria. But the American doctors were unable to identify a series of angry rings, scored deep into the skin, that covered the patient's distended belly.

A medical student from Burundi recognized them at once: They were burns. Someone, possibly even a parent, had heated a metal pipe over a fire and pressed its red-hot tip into the very part of the body that hurt the most. "Distracting pain with pain," the young doctor called it -- a common practice among the people of Rwanda and Burundi, who know a good deal about agony and affliction.

That young medical student is the subject of Tracy Kidder's extraordinarily stirring new book, "Strength in What Remains"; and the gruesome business of numbing pain with pain is nothing less than a metaphor for the genocide that swept through Burundi and Rwanda in 1994, killing or displacing millions who had already suffered all the miseries of the damned.

The story of Deogratias, a 22-year-old who boarded a plane in Bujumbura at the peak of the violence and emerged, many stops later -- alone, disoriented and ill-prepared -- on the streets of New York City, is as harrowing an account of human suffering as you will ever read. But it is also a miracle of human courage. In it, a man rises against all odds to achieve his highest aspirations and help countless others along the way.

His road to success is hardly easy. The youth whom we first meet on Harlem's Malcolm X Boulevard in 1994 speaks no English. He is tormented by memories of brutality that beggar the imagination. He fears his family is dead. He would rather sleep under a bush in Central Park than in a drug-infested, abandoned tenement. When Deo finally finds work, it is for little more than a dollar an hour, carting groceries to the rich from the well-stocked storerooms of a tony Manhattan market. Perhaps because of his strikingly open face, perhaps because of his winning smile, he is taken in and helped -- first by a former nun with a persistent nature, then by a married couple committed to assisting students in need.

Kidder, most famously the author of "The Soul of a New Machine" and, more recently, "Mountains Beyond Mountains" and "My Detachment," is a veteran of the dramatic narrative, and the real story he spins out here -- raveling it little by little, alongside the rags-to-riches one -- is a man's terrible memory of war. As Kidder describes Deo's flight through the ravaged countryside, we get fleeting glimpses into the inferno: a dead family sprawled on the floor of a hut, a mother's mouth stuffed with a dismembered penis, a baby sucking at a cadaver's breast, a militiaman tossing a child into the campfire. "It was impossible to plan," Kidder writes, "because he never knew where the dangers lay until he got close to them. The signs were obvious by now. Rising smoke meant burning houses up ahead, and wheeling birds a place full of corpses. Swarms of flies meant killings nearby. Sometimes he saw a dog trotting past with a severed head or an arm in its mouth."

It's certainly not the first time we've heard heartbreaking accounts of the civil wars in Africa. But there is a touching intimacy about Deogratias's tale, and it forces us to look hard at the baffling history of the region. There have been so many wrong assertions about the area's ethnicities. According to Kidder, there is little discernible difference between the Hutus and Tutsis. They speak the same language, practice the same religions, share the same tastes in food. More to the point: They intermarry, making it difficult to tell them apart.

Contrary to popular belief, the Hutu and Tutsi thought of themselves as two before the colonizers arrived. But they understood the separation as being within a single people: The Tutsis were lords, the Hutus their subjects. The Europeans cemented the rift and called it aracial difference. The Tutsis, they insisted, had Caucasian ancestors, the Hutus did not.

But the colonizers were gone when the large-scale killing began. It started just after independence, as the Hutus and Tutsis fought one another for control. By the mid 1960s, hundreds of thousands were fleeing Rwanda in a panic. The violence spread to Burundi, where massacres broke out in 1972, and then again in 1988. An uneasy peace resumed, until 1994, when a cabal of Tutsi soldiers assassinated the Hutu president of Burundi. Almost immediately, Hutus began killing Tutsis. Deo, a Tutsi, was working as an intern in a rural hospital at the time. Thinking he would escape the frenzy, he slipped over the border to Rwanda, but there the killing was even worse. By the time it was over, 800,000 people were dead and more than 2 million were homeless. In a region already ravaged by poverty and hunger, the victims were distracting pain with pain.

Kidder by no means tells a seamless story. He lurches recklessly between Africa and New York and from past to present, fragmenting the natural suspense. He quotes Deo too frequently in the early stages of language-learning, rendering him childish, even dim, when he is far from either. Kidder tells us too little and then too much, glossing over material he knows better than we do and then over-explaining things we know perfectly well. He inserts himself into the narrative and indulges in inane asides. But for all these flaws, the sheer power of Deo's story shines through. We cannot help but be in awe of this gentle cicerone who survives war's ghastly labyrinth to emerge a better man.

"Everyone has bad dreams," Kidder writes as he nears the close of this inspirational story. Indeed, Deo is still besieged by bad dreams, unable to free himself from specters that never seem far from mind: A farmer picks up a machete, a spear points toward a child's eye. Unlike the rest of us who have learned how to dismiss nightmares, he awakes knowing those terrible images are real.

Marie Arana is a writer at large for The Washington Post.

Muslim take over ?

The new primate of Nigeria Archbishop Nicholas Okoh has warned that Muslims are mass-producing children to take over Africa and are set on domination of the continent.

He said this when he preached at Nick Wynne-Jones' church in Beckenham in July, the day before he attended the launch of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans at Central Hall, representing his primate, Dr Peter Akinola. The Archbishop of Abuja then relinquished his role as one of the most important Archbishops after Cantuar, leading the Anglican province in Nigeria with its 17 million practising adherents. Last week, Archbishop Okoh was elected as his successor. Wynne-Jones' secretary spent many hours transcribing on my behalf the long sermon he preached that day, as a result of which I was able to write my story in today's paper which is being widely followed and getting thousands of hits online. There are some phrases she couldn't quite make out, hence the occasional '?', but I thought readers here would like to see the full transcript so have reproduced it below. No MP3 is available, sadly, as spool tapes were used.

Archbishop Okoh preached on Jude 3: “Contend for the faith”.

You can now download the final edited version here. (Ruth Gledhill)

LUMO

Visit of Dr Jo Lusi and showing of film LUMO.

7.30 pm on Wednesday 11th March at Ebenezer Baptist Church Columbus Ravine, Scarborough. The Mayor and her Consort have accepted an invitation to attend. 

Dr. Jo Lusi, director of  Doctors on Call for  Service  (DOCS), is a highly  respected Congolese  orthopedic surgeon who,  along with his wife  Lyn, runs the HEAL  Africa  hospital in Goma,  Democratic Republic of the  Congo (DRC).DOCS and  HEAL Africa are charitable  organizations who  work together to bring  physical, social and spiritual  healing to the vulnerable by  rebuilding the health and  medical facilities in the  conflict-ravaged and poverty stricken DRC. Dr. Lusi has lived through  some very difficult  circumstances, including  struggles as a refugee,  the tribally inspired  massacre on  the Rwanda  and Burundi border,  civil war in DRC and the  devastating Mt. Nyiragongo  volcano eruption in January  2002, which destroyed the  HEAL Africa hospital. The hospital has since been  rebuilt, and CFHI’s IMED  program helped to equip  the  new, state-of the-art  operating rooms and wards  by sending two containers  of modern equipment.  One of the main functions of  the hospital is to provide  reconstructive surgery to  women who suffer from  fistulas caused by numerous  brutal rapes during the civil  war. HEAL Africa provides  the medical care these  women need to begin the  process of healing, so  they can focus on a brighter  future for themselves and  their children.  In 2006, IMED sent supplies  to equip five HEAL Africa  out-clinics in rural eastern  DRC.  Dr. Lusi asked for operating  room equipment and  surgical supplies as well as  examination tables,  wheelchairs,crutches, desks,  and other items.  With these supplies Dr.  Lusi and DOCS volunteers  will be able to provide  quality medical care  to communities who have  been seriously affected  by conflict and poverty  and have received no aid. Lumo is a feature-length documentary about a young Congolese woman on an uncertain path to recovery at a unique hospital for rape survivors.

The agonies of war torn Africa are deeply etched in the bodies of women. In eastern Congo, vying militias, armies and bandits use rape as a weapon of terror.

Recently engaged to a young man from her village, 20 year-old Lumo Sinai couldn’t wait to have children and start a family. But when she crossed paths with marauding soldiers who brutally attacked her, she was left with a fistula— a condition that has rendered her incontinent and threatens her ability to give birth in the future. Rejected by her fiancé and cast aside by her family, Lumo found her way to the one place that may save her: a hospital for rape survivors set on the border with Rwanda.

Buoyed by the love of the hospital staff, and a formidable team of wise women known to all as “the Mamas,” Lumo and her friends keep the hope of one day resuming their former lives, thanks to an operation that can restore them fully to health. A feisty young woman with a red comb perpetually jutting from her hair, Lumo faces the challenge of recovery with remarkable courage and sass. As she and her friends recover from surgery, they pass the days by gossiping and sharing their dreams of one day finding love.

But when it looks like her operation may have failed, Lumo’s faith is thrown entirely into question.

On this uncertain road to recovery, Lumo shows that the solidarity of women can bind the most irreparable of wounds.

Hotel Rwanda(2004)

Recorded from TV on 2nd February and watched today.

See tomorrow's blog for timing.

Film Plot

Tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi peoples lead to a civil war, in a country where corruption and bribes are routine. Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle), the manager of Sabena Hôtel des Mille Collines, is Hutu but his wife, Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo), is Tutsi. His marriage is a source of friction with Hutu extremists, most prominently George Rutaganda, a friendly supplier to the hotel who also is the local leader of Interahamwe, a brutal anti-Tutsi militia.

As the political situation in the country deteriorates, Paul and his family observe neighbors being dragged from their homes and openly beaten in the streets. Paul curries favor with people of influence, bribing them with money and alcohol, seeking to maintain sufficient influence to keep his family safe. When civil war erupts and a Rwandan Army officer threatens Paul and his neighbors, Paul barely negotiates their safety, and brings everyone to the hotel. More refugees come to the hotel from the overburdened United Nations camp, the Red Cross, and orphanages. Paul must divert the Hutu soldiers, care for the refugees, be a source of strength to his family, and maintain the appearance of a functioning high-class hotel, as the situation becomes more and more violent, with mobs in the streets just outside the gates.

The UN Peacekeeping forces, led by Colonel Oliver (Nick Nolte), are unable to take assertive action against the Interhamwe since they are forbidden to intervene in the genocide. The foreign nationals are evacuated, but the Rwandans are left behind. When the UN forces attempt to evacuate a group of refugees, including Paul's family, they are ambushed and must turn back. In a last-ditch effort to save the refugees, Paul speaks to the Rwandan Army General, Augustin Bizimungu (Fana Mokoena) and when the bribes no longer work, he blackmails him with threats of being tried as a war criminal. The family and the hotel refugees finally leave the besieged hotel in a UN convoy, and they travel through retreating masses of refugees and militia to reach safety behind Tutsi rebel lines.

More from Kenya

Dr Sentamu warns of humanitarian crisis in Kenya
by Rachel Harden (Church Times 15th February)

THE Archbishop of York has appealed for funds for humanitarian relief in Kenya.
Dr Sentamu, addressing the General Synod on Wednesday after his visit to Kenya last week, said that there had been progress in talks between the two main parties, at odds since the disputed December election. But after more than 1000 people had been killed, and 300,000 forced from their homes by the fighting, humanitarian relief was a top priority.

As part of the response, Dr Sentamu told Synod that he and the Archbishop of Canterbury were setting up a special fund, together with the Church Mission Society.

“In the many camps, I saw people with broken limbs and other physical injuries, and many who had been terribly traumatised. One woman had lost her mind, because she saw her husband hacked to death in front of her children.”

The Church was seen by President Kibaki and the Opposition leader, Raila Odinga, as vital in humanitarian relief, peace-building, and reconciliation, he said.

The cathedral in Kisumu was the centre of relief operations. Tribute had been paid to the Bishop of Masero and his counterparts in other Churches. Bishops were in the forefront of the relief effort in Eldoret, in collaboration with other Christian leaders, Tearfund, Christian Aid, Catholic Relief Services, World Vision, World Relief, Churches Together in Kenya, and the Kenya Red Cross.

Church leaders are working alongside the Kofi Annan peace talks in Kenya, acting as mediators, said a spokesman for the Christian relief agency Tearfund this week.

Peter Gitau, regional adviser in Nairobi, said that Tearfund was helping church leaders work with both sides. “We have visited affected areas together with the political leaders. We have been calling for peace, facilitating meetings for church leaders from the affected communities — Luos, Kikuyus, Kalenjins and the Luhyas.”

The church political mediation team has currently held two meetings with President Kibaki, and two with Mr Odinga, whose supporters are contesting the December presidential elections.
President Kibaki attended a service of national prayers last week organised by the Inter-Religious Forum, which is made up of Christians, Muslims, and Hindus.

The Forum, chaired by the Archbishop of Kenya, the Most Revd Benjamin Nzimbi, held the day of national prayers to give what it has described as a faith-based lead to the crisis.

“We called it to talk about hope. By praying together it brings blessing for our nation. We have hope for a better Kenya,” said Archbishop Nzimbi, reports Ecumenical News International.

The World Aids Campaign warned this month of the effects of the crisis on those living with HIV and AIDS, and praised the work of church groups.

Church-based groups, their partners, and other organisations have mobilised support to provide anti-retroviral drugs across the camps, a campaign spokeswoman told ENI.

She added that there had also been an increase in the number of reported rapes and sexual assaults, making people more vulnerable to infection.

“This is totally unacceptable, but we must realise conditions in the camps are not conducive to the protection of women and girls,” said Paul Mbole, the Norwegian Church Aid co-ordinator for Kenya and Uganda, who also chairs the Action by Churches Together (ACT) Kenya Forum.
African Enterprise, a Christian charity based in Essex, said this week it was working closely with the Red Cross to help displaced people in a camp near Nairobi. The charity said that it was supplying food, clothing and counselling services alongside the medical help provided by the Red Cross.

Many of those arriving at the camp have machete or panga cuts, it reported.


The President of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki (left), and the opposition leader, Raila Odinga (right), attend prayers led by the Anglican Archbishop of Kenya, the Most Revd Benjamin Nzimbi, in Nairobi last Friday.

The two leaders had that day signed a power-sharing agreement. The former UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, brokered the deal for a coalition government after a two-month political crisis, in which 1500 people died, thousands fled their homes, and the economy was severely undermined. (Church Times 7th March)


KENYAN church leaders have acknowledged that clergy took partisan positions during the country’s electoral process in late December 2007 They were thus not able to play a full part in mediation after the inter-ethnic post-election violence and lawlessness.

Canon Peter Karanja, general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), told a four-day meeting of the council last week that it must continue to rebuild confidence.
It is not the first time that Canon Karanja, a former Provost of All Saints’ Cathedral, Nairobi, has made a public apology. At a meeting with an international ecumenical delegation from the World Council of Churches in February, he spoke of the embarrassment felt by church leaders. Speaking in July, he said that if clergy had adopted biblical values, church leaders would not have acted “as nothing more than youth wingers for the politicians they supported”.

The Kenyan Daily Nation reported that clergy had “admitted to blessing warriors to engage in violence and inviting politicians to disseminate hate messages that incited people against members of various communities”.

The Churches will come up with a five-year reconciliation plan. The former President, Daniel Arap Moi, has described religion as “still the best mech­anism [for] addressing hatred and violence”. (Church Times today)

Kenya: the church

THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF KENYA

OUR VISION
A strengthened Anglican Church built on the foundation of the apostolic faith in Jesus Christ with the ability to equip all God’s people to face the challenges of the new millennium.

OUR MISSION
To bring all people into a living relationship with God through Jesus Christ; through preaching, teaching, healing and social transformation and enabling them to grow in faith and live life in its fullness.


The current Archbishop

The Most Rev. Benjamin M. Nzimbi
P.O. Box 40502, Nairobi
Tel Office +254-2-714755
Fax. +254-2-718442
E-mail: archoffice@ackenya.org archoffice@swiftkenya.com


The ACK Diocese of Bungoma was created on January 1st, 1996 by the sub-division of Nambale Diocese.
Bungoma is in the Western Province of Kenya, covering two administrative districts namely Bungoma and Mt. Elgon. It hosts 50 parishes and ministers to 149, 400 Anglicans.
The Current Bishop

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Eliud W. Wabukala, (B.D., MRel. DD)
(Consecrated & Enthroned Oct. 13, 1996)
P.O. Box 2392, Bungoma
Tel Office +254-055-30481
House +254-055-30635
E-mail: ackbungoma@swiftkenya.com

The Diocese has;• 5 Archdeaconries • 50 Parishes • 750 congregations • 68 Priests • 33 Church workers • 149,400 Anglicans

The history of the Anglican church of Kenya dates back to 1844 when the first missionary from the Church Missionary (CMS), Dr. Johann Ludwing Krapf arrived in Mombasa.

The diocese of Eastern Equatorial Africa was formed in 1884 and it included Uganda, Kenya and Tanganyika with James Hannington as the first Bishop. One year after, ex-slaves Ishmael Semler and William Jones became the first Africans to be ordained to the Anglican Ministry. In October the same year, Bishop Hannington was brutally murdered on his way to Uganda.

The first visit from the Ruanda Revival team took place in 1937 and meetings were held in Nairobi, Weithaga and Kabete among other places.

The first African Bishops of the Anglican Church in Kenya, Festo Olang’ and Obadiah Kariuki were consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury in Uganda in 1955.

The first African Archbishop of the church The Most Rev. Festo Olang’ was elected in 1970.

In 1975 the conference of Anglican archbishops (Worldwide) was held at Trinity College, prior to the World council of churches 5th assembly in Nairobi.

In 1994 the church of the province of Kenya CPK celebrated the 150th Anniversary since the arrival of Dr. Johann Ludwig, who was the first CMS missionary in Mombasa. The Archbishop of Canterbury the most Rev. George Carey joined them in the celebrations.

In 1998, the name of the church was changed from the Church of the Province of Kenya to the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK).

Today the church has grown tremendously from a few members scattered around the coastal region to over 5 million across the country.

In a period spanning 158 years, the church has established 29 dioceses, several institutions and theological colleges which are all interlinked through a computer network founded by Trinity Church, Wall Street, New York.

The Anglican Church is a member of the 70 million strong Anglican Communion.

Recent News

ACK will not attend Lambeth Conference

The Anglican church of Kenya Standing Comiittee of the Provincial synod meeting in Nairobi has affirmed its support for the Global Anglican Future Conference GAFCON, reiterated her stand that she is not breaking away from the Anglican communion but will not attend the Lambeth conference which starts this week.

GAFCON- A voice of the people

Anglican Church of Kenya Archbishop Dr. Benjamin Nzimbi was the chairman of GAFCON statement committee.

Archbishop Nzimbi said that the committee was especially interested in hearing what were the fears and concerns about GAFCON, “We are looking for the weaknesses so that we deal with them at the very beginning…then we give people a chance to evaluate.”

What emerged during the conference was that there was passion for the gospel, determination to stay true to the Bible, sadness about the current state of the Anglican communion, a sense of betrayal and abandonment by the existing communion leadership, and determination to build on the experience of GAFCON as a movement.

There is a genuine desire to reach out to other Anglicans around the communion who shared our common faith so that we grow in our witness world of God’s transforming power,” said Dr. Nzimbi.

Post- election violence in Kenya

Thursday 27th December 2007 marked an important day in the Kenyan calendar as the citizens went to the polls to elect civic, parliament and presidential leaders. On Sunday 30th December 2007, following the announcement of the results of the Presidential elections the country was plunged into an unprecedented violence and lawlessness characterised by ethnic hatred, murder, arson, looting and all kinds of threats and intimidation.

ACK response to post- election violence in Kenya

After the post- election violence that affected various parts of the country, humanitarian aid is needed to help the internally displaced resettle and reconstruct their lives.

Thousands of families at the camps are lacking basic needs and requirements. The Anglican Church of Kenya has teamed up with other churches, local and international organizations to meet the immediate needs.

Archbishop of York visits Kenya

The Church of England Bishop Dr.John Sentamu has urged the political divides of Kenya to put the interests of the people first.

The Archbishop of York who is also a member of the House of Commons in the UK, was speaking after conducting a Sunday service at the All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi on Sunday 10th February 2008. Present was Anglican Church of Kenya Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi, ODM leader Raila Odinga and his wife Ida. Dr. Sentamu urged the Kenyans to steadfastly hold on to the country’s democracy and peace.To complete the purpose of the trip, Bishop Sentamu visited the internally displaced at their camp in Eldoret.

Kenya: the country

The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa.

It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the northeast, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and Sudan to the northwest, with the Indian Ocean running along the southeast border. The country is named after Mount Kenya, a very significant landmark and the second highest mountain in Africa, and both were originally usually pronounced [ˈkiːnjə] in English although the native pronunciation and the one intended by the original transcription Kenia was [ˈkenia]. During the presidency of Jomo Kenyatta in the 1960s, the current pronunciation [ˈkɛnjə] became widespread in English too because his name was pronounced according to the original native pronunciation. Before 1920, the area now known as Kenya was known as the British East Africa Protectorate and so there was no need to mention mount when referring to the mountain.

Recent Political History

Founding president and liberation struggle icon Jomo KENYATTA led Kenya from independence in 1963 until his death in 1978, when President Daniel Toroitich arap MOI took power in a constitutional succession. The country was a de facto one-party state from 1969 until 1982 when the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) made itself the sole legal party in Kenya. MOI acceded to internal and external pressure for political liberalization in late 1991. The ethnically fractured opposition failed to dislodge KANU from power in elections in 1992 and 1997, which were marred by violence and fraud, but were viewed as having generally reflected the will of the Kenyan people. President MOI stepped down in December 2002 following fair and peaceful elections. Mwai KIBAKI, running as the candidate of the multiethnic, united opposition group, the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), defeated KANU candidate Uhuru KENYATTA and assumed the presidency following a campaign centered on an anticorruption platform. KIBAKI's NARC coalition splintered in 2005 over the constitutional review process. Government defectors joined with KANU to form a new opposition coalition, the Orange Democratic Movement, which defeated the government's draft constitution in a popular referendum in November 2005. KIBAKI's reelection in December 2007 brought charges of vote rigging from ODM candidate Raila ODINGA and unleashed two months of violence in which as many as 1,500 people died. UN-sponsored talks in late February produced a powersharing accord bringing ODINGA into the government in the restored position of prime minister.

African Adventure

Today our assistant parish priest requested our prayer support for a short term mission visit to Kenya due to commence after the weekend.


CMS SHORT-TERM MISSION TEAMS

Are you willing to face the uncertainty of stepping into another culture and to learn from the lives of Christians there? Are you willing to be inspired, challenged and changed and to grow in your faith? In order to connect more deeply with our brothers and sisters in the multi-cultural Body of Christ we need to step into another’s shoes and step out of our own, to risk being vulnerable, and to see things from another’s perspective.

By joining a CMS short-term mission team you will a have an opportunity to connect with Christians who are seeking to make a difference in often challenging situations around the world. We seek to nurture pilgrims, not tourists, through team experiences which enable people to get behind the headlines of another country’s news and find out more about what is going on at a grass roots level. Each visit allows participants to be immersed within a different culture for a brief but intensive period with the opportunity to reflect upon and learn from the experience.

Who can join a team?
Christians who have a spirit of adventure; who are fascinated by other countries and cultures; who are keen to get more than a tourist’s view of a country; who are interested in seeing how being a follower of Jesus works out in other places; and who are interested to learn from the experience of Christians throughout the world.

Who will I go with?
You will be part of a group of up to 12 people. All teams have a leader with experience of working in a mission context within another culture.

What will I do?
Each visit provides an opportunity to share in the lives, worship and witness of Christians in another culture, seeing and learning about mission at a grassroots level. The activities with which a group engage will vary depending on the type of visit, the age group and the duration.
Visits are usually 2 weeks in length and teams may have a diverse age group of people. The focus of these visits is interacting with local people, learning and reflecting. The teams are not task or work groups. You will have the opportunity to visit a variety of projects, meeting people and learning about what is happening in mission at a grassroots level. A couple of days are usually allocated for relaxation, and an opportunity to see sights of historical and cultural interest. Time is made for teams to meet together daily, where possible, for prayer and reflection.

All our teams are hosted by local people and the local church and our longer term aim is to develop and sustain these relationships. Our mission is to encourage the church in its mission and to allow you to discover more of what it means to be a part of a global family.

What preparation is provided?
Our briefing programme helps you to explore cross-cultural situations sensitively and effectively, allowing you to engage more deeply with the issues of cross-cultural mission.
A briefing day is held for each team a few weeks prior to the visit taking place. This is an opportunity to meet your team members and leader, to explore cross-cultural issues, and to be briefed with regard to all aspects of the visit.

What happens after the visit?
It is important that you have an opportunity to reflect upon and apply what you have learnt from your cross-cultural visit. All participants therefore attend debriefing days. A debriefing day is held a few weeks after returning from the visit. You will have opportunities to reflect further
on your cross-cultural experience so that you can apply what you have learnt to other mission situations, and we seek to encourage and equip you to share your experience and learning with your home church and elsewhere. There is also an opportunity to reflect on how your experience
connects with your own lifestyle, and to consider your ongoing involvement in mission, both locally and globally.

How much will I have to raise?
Approx £1400. Costs are based on location and length of visit, and include the briefing and debriefing days and accompanying resources, visa, health information and your cross-cultural team visit (flight, in-country travel, accommodation and meals). Your travel costs to briefing/debriefing days, travel insurance, medical/vaccination costs and spending money are not included. Travel in these regions is at participants’ own risk and participants are required to obtain their own travel insurance. CMS can provide fundraising ideas and advice.

How do I join a team?
Complete and return an application form along with a deposit for £100. Please make cheques payable to the Church Mission Society. Further payments are made in instalments, allowing you time to raise funds. CMS will then contact your referees and send you a medical form to complete.
Participants aged 65+ will be required to visit their doctor and have an additional health form completed.

CMS SHORT TERM MISSION TEAMS 2007/2008

Kenya contains a rich variety of cultures and a landscape which ranges from tropical vegetation on the coast, to mountains in the Rift Valley and arid semi desert in the north. More than half of the population survive on less than $2 a day.

The shores of Lake Victoria were first settled 3,000 years ago but Kenya’s first the major cities grew up on the coast, thriving on Arab merchant trade. During the 19th century the Masai rose to prominence inland, but were devastated by a plague which wiped out their cattle herds, their
source of wealth and power. At the end of the 19th century the British took control of Kenya until after an often violent struggle, Jomo Kenyatta led the Kenya people to independence in 1963.

CMS missionaries were central to the early growth of the Anglican church in this part of Kenya. Today it seeks to work with local church leaders in training people to minister to their own communities. The Bungoma Diocese in western Kenya bordering Uganda has been in existence since 1997. Under the leadership of The Rt Revd Dr Eliud Wabukala, the church has continued to grow steadily from 18 parishes with 88 churches in 1997, to 49 parishes with over 250 churches in 2007. The Diocese is staffed by just 55 clergy many of whom are part time and paid up to £40
per month at most. 700 lay readers and evangelists assist in the nurture and growth of the church which includes anything up to 300,000 people.

Literacy levels are low with only a handful of clergy with degree level theological education. However there is great openness to learn and grow, despite the lack of educational opportunity.
The Wycliffe Centre for Mission, Theology and Development at Siritanyi near Bungoma town is an ongoing vision, overseen by Bishop Wabukala. Over the last 2 years The Revd Phil White has been developing a relationship with the Bishop, firstly undertaking a 3 month sabbatical
in 2006 involving a programme of day training sessions around the diocese. He subsequently spent 3 weeks in the summer of 2007 teaching at the Wycliffe Centre itself, helping to initiate the ‘Harvest School of Ministry’, which is the project that this group has been invited to lead.
This visit will provide an opportunity for you to experience rural Kenya, to live with a local community and to explore what being a Christian means in their context. You will engage with their challenges, be inspired by their work and encourage each other on your faith journey.
There will be almost two weeks spent providing training to both lay people and clergy from the Bungoma Diocese. This training will range widely from biblical exegesis, to pastoral skills, to preaching and addressing other needs expressed by the local church. However the teaching
schedule is flexible and if you have a particular gift to offer, then you would be welcome to contribute this to the overall programme. Seminars will be delivered both in the Wycliffe Centre and around the Diocese. Accommodation will be basic. Meals will be taken at the guesthouse, or a packed lunch will be provided.

After spending time in Bungoma, the team will have time to rest and reflect while embarking on a safari in the Masai Mara for 2 nights. The safari will include comfortable accommodation and tour guides at all times.

Dates: between 25th August – 12th September
Cost: £1400 approx
Initial enquiries to:
The Revd Phil White, St James Vicarage, 24 Seamer Road, Scarborough YO12 4DT.
01723 361469. E-mail: phil_07@btinternet.com. Website: www.stjamesscarborough.co.uk
Applications to:
Jade Staiano, Crossing Culture Advisor, CMS, Watlington Road, Oxford OX4 6BZ.
Switchboard: 0845 620 1799/01865 787400. Direct Line 01865 787493. E-mail: jade.staiano@cms-uk.org Website: www.cms-uk.org

Kenya – Encounter Bungoma
In co-operation with York Diocese - Network for Ministry Development
“…the scholarship programme is absolutely vital for the
ongoing work of the church… I believe it is one of the
most effective ways in which the church in Britain can
invest in the church in Africa.”
Revd Dr Beverly Haddad
University of Kwa Zulu Natal

Mugabe vote

Life in Zimbabwe deteriorates ‘beyond description’
by Pat Ashworth

THE SITUATION in Zimbabwe is “beyond description”, the Bishop of Harare, Dr Sebastian Bakare, reported from the city on Tuesday.

But he confirmed that, as the number of casualties was increasing daily, people could only be happy that the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), had pulled out of the run-off election, which is scheduled to take place today.

The Bishop was also encouraged by the position the South African government was beginning to take. “They have been shielding Mugabe for a long time. But now it’s come to this, there’s hope that South Africa will do what it can to influence the situation.”

The former Archbishop of Cape Town, Dr Desmond Tutu, told the BBC’s Newsnight programme on Monday that he, too, was “feeling a little better” about the reactions of African leaders. They must send a concerted message that they would not recognise President Mugabe or his administration, he said. “That would be a very powerful and cogent thing to have done.”

Anglican eyewitnesses in Harare report the political situation as having deteriorated out of all knowledge. One writes: “Members of the opposition are no longer just at risk of beating, but at risk of their lives.” She goes on to describe the nightmare that is everyday life for the poorest in particular.

“At night, the Zanu-PF youth either call people to Pungwes [all night sessions of re-education], or they march about the township shouting. Any youths they find are told to join them, on pain of a beating. On one night, it was estimated that 800 youths were involved. Some obviously stay with them because they are fed.

“The food is taken from the people. If your home is selected for a donation, you must either give them $10 billion, or 10kg of maize meal, or you are beaten. In the better-off townships, this is going on, but on a smaller scale. They seem to target the poorest of the poor. Presumably, as food gets shorter and shorter, they must move into the low-density suburbs.”

Bishop Bakare said that food was becoming an even more serious issue, as people driven from the rural areas sought refuge in the cities. “We’re trying to do what we can to identify those people and give them the little we can from some organisations that are willing to give us some food. Otherwise, that is a very serious problem we are facing now,” he said.

“A lot of them have wounds — we have no medicine, and wounds have not been attended to. They must wait for natural healing — you can imagine what that means. I think God will provide, but at the moment they are experiencing a lot of suffering.”

He continued: “We have to be optimistic. We don’t know what is going to happen on Friday, though we know people are going to be forced to go to the polling stations. Mugabe might be elected by 99.9 per cent, but that is immaterial: he hasn’t got a majority in parliament.”

The Aegis Trust, an independent organisation dedicated to eliminating genocide, was among many this week calling on the international community and Zimbabwe’s immediate neighbours to demand that it immediately lift restrictions on direct food aid to the population, regardless of political affiliation.

The organisation’s chief executive, David Smith, warned on Monday: “The MDC may not be able to contain the frustration felt by Zimbabwe’s cheated electorate. In the absence of avenues for democratic choice, there is a significant possibility that armed opposition to the Mugabe regime will emerge. If it does, the regime may respond as it did in Matabeleland in the early ’80s, tipping the country into full-blown politicide — politically motivated mass murder. This time, however, the bloodbath could be nationwide.”

A joint letter from the World Council of Churches and the World Student Christian Federation has called on the UN, the Southern African Development Community, and the African Union to intervene over the food crisis. Zimbabweans face “the imminent threat of starvation in some areas”, the letter says. It also requests the three bodies pay “urgent attention to the humanitarian needs of the people of Zimbabwe, their freedom to exercise religion, the destabilisation of the political situation and the need to end human rights abuses”.

The Barnabas Fund was able to report this week that its feeding programme was unaffected by the ban on food aid imposed on 5 June. “We are not functioning as an official aid agency within the country, but rather through the courageous and discreet work of individual Christians and churches, so our feeding programme can continue unhindered,” a statement said. The Fund has provided 60 tonnes of food since February to 2000 of the neediest Christian families in the country.

The Council of Zimbabwean Christian Leaders in the UK is to hold a prayer rally tomorrow at the Geoffrey Chaucer Technology College in London. Participants include Zimbabwean Christian leaders and the Revd Joel Edwards, director of the Evangelical Alliance.

Throughout the crisis, Anglicans in Harare continue to battle for the right to worship in their own church buildings. Dr Bakare returned on Tuesday from taking the funeral of the wife of a senior priest in his diocese. He had been turned away by riot police from the church at Mbare; so he held the funeral service in a private house instead. With the coffin in procession, he was refused access to the diocesan cemetery by the deposed former Bishop, Nolbert Kunonga.

He described the day as “very challenging. Kunonga was not prepared to allow us to bury this lady. It was very embarrassing. I can’t say more. I told him, this is our cemetery. You cannot allow us not to bury our dead. It was terrible. This priest has served the diocese for more than 40 years, and that was what we had to experience in bidding farewell to his wife.”

But Kunonga’s power was running out, Dr Bakare said. “He has been using the police to frighten people, but the police are fed up: they don’t care for him now. All he can do now is exert psychological pressure. He’s on his way out.

“Our people are not giving up, and our congregations are growing bigger and bigger. We feel we have the upper hand spiritually, and, whatever Kunonga is doing, he hasn’t got the people behind him.”

Dr Bakare said that, while he is coming to the Lambeth Conference, “My heart will be in Zimbabwe. But this is God’s Church, and God will take care of these people. My presence doesn’t make a big difference. I’m coming to Lambeth in order to be inspired to carry on with this mission we find ourselves in in Zimbabwe.”