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| Mennonites in Bandundu Province engage Mennonite Church USA Delegation |
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By Marathana Prothro
KIKWIT, CongoMennonites in the Bandundu region of the Congo are no strangers to a lack of infrastructure and economic opportunity. But just as they struggle to find adequate transportation and make ends meet, they’re equally adept at celebrating and sharing the healing and hope Jesus brings them.
Laurent Kamizelo, General Secretary for Communauté Mennonite au Congo (CMCO), one of three Mennonite denominations in the Congo, led four members of a Mennonite Church USA delegation to the Congo through Kikwit, Mukedi and Gungu educating the delegation on what life is really like for Mennonites in the province and encouraging relationship-building between Congolese and American Mennonites.
The progress toward relationship-building happened as the group visited nine congregations in six villages and cities. Through open and direct mutual exchange, the Congolese and Americans were able to begin understanding each other and recognizing not only each other’s needs, but each other’s strengths as well.
“We were initially struggling with the differences between the two groups,” Kamizelo said, referring to American and Congolese Mennonites. “But once we were able to enter into exchange and be honest with each other and learn about our strengths and needs, we were able to make progress.”
“By experiencing each other’s lives as they really are and you seeing us in our current situation, we’ve begun the process of building this relationship,” said Joseph Malu-a-Gimena, a pastor and secondary school principal in Mukedi. “We’re getting to know you better by eating meals with you and worshiping with you.”
The four U.S. delegates – Vicki Smucker of South Bend, Ind., Stanley Green of Goshen, Ind., Steve Penner of Reedley, Calif., and Marathana Prothro of Newton, Kan. – began their journey in Kikwit, a city of about 500,000 people, Feb. 5.
From Kikwit, the group drove six hours to the former Mukedi mission station. Situated atop the savannah with cool breezes, tall green grasses and palm trees, Mukedi is a strong symbol of early relationships between North American and Congolese Mennonites. It’s home to multiple vibrant CMCO congregations and has a hospital, health center, schools and old missionary homes.
Mukedi is cut off from the rest of Congo and CMCO. There are no paved roads. There’s no electricity (except that produced by a generator) or cell phone coverage (which is available in many other areas) near or in the area. Those who want to use the Internet must travel to either Kikwit or Tshikapa, both of which entail several-days’ walk. However, the isolation Mennonites in Mukedi feel is not only a result of the lack of transportation and communication infrastructure. Decades ago, North American Mennonites handed control of the Mennonite churches in Congo over to Congolese church leaders, which may have, over time, influenced how Congolese Mennonites view the history of their relationship with Americans.
At Mukedi, the Mennonite Church USA delegation heard comments and questions related to how the leadership transition affected Congolese Mennonites and explained that, while they were unsure where this new relationship would lead, both groups were there to discern how the relationship should be formed and maintained.
“A friend is also there in the suffering and bad times. In our time of suffering, we felt left out in the cold,” said one pastor. “How are we going to go from here and build this relationship?”
“There are two ways to look at what happened,” Green responded. “One is that it was a mistake. The second is to say it provided a way for the Congolese and Americans to move down the road to come together as equals and that maybe it was a part of God’s plan for preparing us for this new kind of relationship.”
While traveling from Mukedi to Gungu Feb. 8, the delegation visited CMCO congregations in Kinzanga, Dongo Selengi and Lozo where it was greeted with waving palm branches and traditional music. After arriving four hours late in Gungu due to poor travel conditions and lengthy visits in the smaller villages, the group was greeted by more than 20 leaders from the Central Bandundu District for CMCO in the Gungu area.
In Gungu, the group visited two congregations and had an exchange Feb. 9 with many district and lay leaders from the area. Evangelism, healthcare, education and development were cited as the most important topics for the Central Bandundu District.
“The gift of evangelization and prayer is what we have. We have birthed many new churches, but because of a lack of transportation and communication, we haven’t done as well as we could,” said pastor Eddy Ngumba.
Evangelists in the area often spend days walking from place to place to share their message and help equip others in the district to be more effective in their evangelism efforts. Some use bicycles, which helps but doesn’t necessarily make the journey easy as Gungu sits on a steep hill with poor sandy and clay-like roads.
While the evangelists travel and other men seek work, many women in Gungu are left to maintain their homes and support the life of the church. According to church leaders, women comprise up to 90 percent of the Congolese Mennonite churches. In Gungu, Bena Kangaji, a pastor’s wife and English teacher, asked the women in the delegation how women in the United States contribute to the work of the church.
“I rejoice to see women in the delegation,” Kangaji said. “What are women in the U.S. doing in terms of development to help support the work of the church? How are women contributing to the church’s future?”
According to Kamizelo, CMCO is working to encourage more women and congregations to see the potential for women in leadership roles within the church.
“It’s important for them to see two men and two women who are not married as being sent from the American Mennonite church,” Kamizelo said. “It shows that in America you don’t just talk about equality, you take it seriously. It’s what we’re working for, but it will continue to take time.”
Time is one thing that both the Congolese and American church leaders agree will be needed to continue the process of building a relationship. Penner said it’s a process that will need to have significant input from both sides for each group to give and receive the most possible benefits from the relationship.
“We need to evaluate together the strengths and needs of each other,” Penner said. “The Congolese have good insights to give us about our weaknesses and needs as they see them, just as we are able to do the same for them, but it has to be a process that we go through together as equals.”
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| In Mukedi, the site of the former Mukedi Mission Station, congregations are working to help improve educational opportunities for children in their community. Currently, about half of the children in Mukedi, including those pictured, are unable to go to school. |
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| Mennonite Men presents $50,000 grant to Unity Pentecostal Church of God-Miami |
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By Gordon Houser
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Jim Gingerich (center), coordinator of Mennonite Men, and Dave Bergen (right), executive secretary of formation for Mennonite Church Canada, present a check for $50,000 to Ducois Forestal, pastor of Unity Pentecostal Church of God-Miami, a Haitian congregation and a member of Southeast Mennonite Conference. The grant comes from JoinHands, Mennonite Men’s church-building program, which has given about $1.3 million in grants since 1985 to 46 new congregations for building projects.
Photo by Chuck Goertz |
NEWTON, Kan.At a worship service Jan. 7 in Miami, Jim Gingerich, coordinator of Mennonite Men, and Dave Bergen, executive secretary of formation for Mennonite Church Canada, presented a check for $50,000 to Ducois Forestal, pastor of Unity Pentecostal Church of God-Miami, a Haitian congregation and a member of Southeast Mennonite Conference.
This was the 46th congregation to receive a grant from JoinHands, Mennonite Men’s church-building program, which has given almost $1.3 million in grants since 1985. JoinHands enlists members who commit themselves to contribute $100 or more twice each year to support new congregations. Members may be individuals or groups such as Sunday school classes or men’s fellowships. While it comes under Mennonite Men, JoinHands is a lay movement, run mostly by volunteers from various regions.
Unity Pentecostal Church of God began as a group of seven, then grew quickly. In 1995, the congregation of 90 members bought a building in Miami. By 2000, the congregation had grown to 200 members and made plans to reconstruct that building at a cost of $200,000. A year or so later it applied for a grant from JoinHands, and by the next year it was put on the waiting list to receive the funds.
Its turn came, as the funds became available, and in January pastor Forestal received the check on behalf of the church. The reconstruction of the building, now complete, cost about $250,000, and the attendance is now between 300 and 350.
Gingerich says worshiping with Unity Pentecostal was inspiring, and he experienced “the warmth and gratitude of the people” there.
The next congregation due to receive a grant from JoinHands is Church of God Prince of Peace in Miami, also a Haitian congregation in Southeast Mennonite Conference.
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| IWF inspires women to drink fully of Christ’s living water |
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By Laurie Oswald Robinson
International Women’s Fund (IWF) support is helping Mónica Parada to drink deeply of Christ’s living water through theological studies. As a result, she is inspired to help other women to fully discover who they are in Christ.
Mónica, an ordained pastor with her husband at Iglesia Anabaustia Puerta del Rebaño in Concepción, Chile, tells women there is no shortage of this living water – only a shortage of understanding that they can drink fully.
“Women in many cultures live half in the light and half in the dark,” says Mónica, a renewal recipient of IWF, sponsored by Mennonite Women USA to help provide church leadership training for Anabaptist women worldwide. “They have great potential but can’t see it. I ask them, ‘What does the river of living water from God say to you about who you are?’ I want to help other women know who they are in Christ.”
Mónica, who is completing her theological studies, is applying those studies to help women answer this identity question in many settings: Bible studies, retreats for single women and a support group for sexually abused women. She and her husband also hold retreats to help youth gain skills for building healthy families. She serves as a pastoral counselor in their congregation and offers her gifts at other local congregations.
“My studies give me different perspectives and new and creative ideas for helping women to face their challenges and to better understand their worth as Christian women,” Mónica says.
“Because of the problems in Chilean society, women often live with lots of fear and poor self-esteem. Some women fear being hurt or left by abusive husbands, while others deal with the violence of our society. For example, one woman’s child was kidnapped, and now she fears something horrible is always ready to happen.
“I build them up in God so they can cope with the realities of their lives and develop their gifts to address the realities in Christ-centered ways.”
Mónica is only one example of how North American women produce a ripple effect of spiritual development throughout many communities. Linda Shelly, Director for Latin America for Mennonite Mission Network, Mennonite Church USA’s mission agency, says IWF is an important way of helping women around the globe to develop their potential. Linda, in conjunction with Latin American leaders, recommends scholarship recipients to MW USA.
MW USA has increased its giving this year by $1,000, for a total of $7,000. Linda hopes and prays IWF continues to expand to support expanding numbers preparing to minister.
“IWF scholarships are particularly effective because they are given by women to women,” Linda says. “That relationship gives special meaning for recipients. It’s a more personal and warm connection.
“It’s exciting to see so many Latin American women preparing themselves for making theological contributions to the wider church. Women have always been a big part of the church in Latin America. But that contribution hasn’t always been at the deeper theological levels.”
A large percentage of IWF goes to Latin American women but recipients are from other countries, as well. In 2007, IWF is sponsoring three new applicants, as well as seven renewal applicants. The new recipients are Millicent Mboya, $500, Tanzania; Emelia Adzo Amexo, $600, Ghana; and Aleira Yesenia Avila, Colombia, $500.
Renewal applicants include Mónica, $500; Sandra Campos, Costa Rica, $600; Patricia Rosero, Colombia, $500; Albania Molina, Honduras, $500; Rosario Rosales, Honduras, $600; and Viviana Machuca, Colombia, $600. Students selected by the African Women Theologians committee will again receive $1,500 from the fund. Photos available.
Sidebar: Central American women explore women’s roles
In summer 2006 for the first time, 73 Central American women gathered for a biblical theological reflection. This event, held prior to a broader regional Mennonite meeting in Costa Rica, provided a first-time forum to explore women’s roles in the church. Canadian Women in Mission was a primary funder of this event.
Conference goals identified the social/cultural/religious context of women in Central America, reflected about biblical misinterpretations of women’s roles in the life of the church and agreed on actions to be taken in specific contexts and regions.
Sandra Campos is a five-year recipient of Mennonite Women USA’s International Women’s Fund scholarships and one of the main promoters and organizers of the event. She says, “Truly, we attained most of our objectives; more than we expected.”
A next step for Latin American Women Theologians begins this winter with intentional Bible teaching about using women’s gifts in the church. – Rhoda Keener
Sidebar: Linking with African sisters
The African Women Theologians (AWT) Sister-Link is at the end of its second year. This Sister-Link, organized through Mennonite Women USA, connects theologians in North America and Africa as pen pals, shares scholarship dollars and provides guidance as this new organization is structured. Counsel for this international Sister-Link is provided by Mennonite World Conference.
Scholarship dollars are provided by Les Amies, a group of North American women connected for this purpose. This group is supplemented by MW USA’s International Women’s Fund. Four women have received scholarship assistance in the past two years: Tatiana Ndjoko and Leya Mulobo of Congo and Lucy Apiyo and Rebecca Osiro of Kenya.
Next steps for the AWT committee are to develop criteria for choosing the next round of scholarship recipients. Rebecca Osiro asks for prayer as she provides leadership for this group. Also pray for the AWT committee as it works with communication difficulties including oft-unreliable Internet access across two language groupings, French and English. – Rhoda Keener |
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