Brass For Africa
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News update -- 14 September 2004 bulletin
Congo Conference Boosts Clergy and Spouses
MALCOLM & ELIZABETH RICHARDS write from the centre of Congo during July
''We are sitting in an outdoor construction of bamboo and leaves in the middle of Africa a stones throw from the Congo River. Pastors and their wives from all over the Diocese of Kindu, have travelled on foot to get to the two week conference—some up to 400 km. This is the first time all the clergy and their wives have together since the creation of the diocese in 1997.
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If it rains we have to run for cover and that will be the end of the teaching for the day. Humidity has dropped considerably since it rained yesterday and it is quite pleasant in the low 30's. In general, pastors and their wives are sitting together. Many of the wives arrived feeling ill, especially those who have walked a long way. In the first days of the conference Bishop Masimango had a nurse come to see all the sick. One lady cut her foot badly on the way to the conference and it has become badly infected and swollen. One pastor’s wife has had an operation since she has arrived. Who would have thought that a major cost of the seminar would be medical costs for ailments they already had!
There is no electricity on this side of the river. The seminar is being held at the Peter Dawson Pastoral Centre, a large block of land near the town of Kindu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There is accommodation for approximately 25 people in mud huts with roofs made of leaves. Cooking for the seminar is done on outdoor fires using the traditional 3 stones and firewood. Teams of people, mainly women from nearby parishes, take turns in cooking. The food is served in huge cooking pots and brought from the kitchen in wheelbarrows."
The clergy themselves come from town and bush. Some have mobile phones and TV/video. Others have never seen either. Some have university education, others didn't finish secondary or even primary school.
Almost everyone has a problem with their eyes and desperately need glasses for reading. Some have other medical conditions affecting their eyes that glasses won't fix. Malcolm once was an Optometrist, so we spent about 5 hours this week working out a rough reading prescription for each of the 170 people at the seminar.
At the beginning of each teaching session we sing with drums and dancing. In the seminar we are encouraging people to think and to make connections between their work as pastors and their own family lives. The education system in the Congo is based on theory and rote learning. Students are not encouraged to use their initiative.
Our teaching has gone down well and we have remembered the language enough to be able to teach in Swahili. Malcolm is helping the pastors to plan their parish programs in different ministry areas such as bridge building with non-Christians, how to share the good news of Christ and how to teach new Christians the foundations of their faith and to help Christians grow to maturity. The idea of building bridges with non- Christians is controversial. Many comment that if clergy were seen talking to non-Christians then people would start to gossip.
Bishop Masimango is speaking on Pastoral issues. Today he taught on time management in parish work. How does a pastor who is a subsistence farmer with no salary feed his family and still find time for ministry? Yesterday he made all the clergy and wives stand up couple by couple and introduce themselves. This was a hit as many of the wives had never met each other.
Elizabeth's teaching aimed to address the needs of people as their lives return to normal after years of war. Topics covered include stress, anger, caring for children, love languages and counselling skills. There are no Swahili words for much of this teaching.
'Stress' has now become a new word in the church's vocabulary. They said how helpful it is to know about stress and to be able to recognize it in themselves and their parishioners. Some pastors stood up and asked their families for forgiveness for neglecting them
There will be an ordination on Saturday and Malcolm will preach in Swahili. Eleven deacons, many already in charge of parishes, will be ordained as priests. This is the first ordination possible for four years because of the war.'
We would like to thank so many people who supported us while we were in Congo through prayers and by donations for the conference. We were kept healthy and safe throughout the whole trip."
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On their return, Malcolm reported that there was much rejoicing for Masimango and his family as they were reunited, with his wife end children moving permanently from Goma to Kindu. Masimango continues in his significant role as Senator in the Government and would value your prayers for him as he seeks to serve his diocese and his country. Malcolm said that Bishop Masimango's biggest expenditure for the huge and impoverished Kindu diocese was for medical expenses for his clergy and their families who have been hugely traumatized by displacement and war The 60 Pastors and their families who attended the conference have had EVERYTHING they owned stolen and Brass for Africa was able to supply each pastor with a machete (pictured above) to enable them to cultivate their subsistence crops. He was able to videotape the horrific stories of four pastors which will need to be edited with subtitles or voice-over to enable the Australian church to fully comprehend what some of their fellow Christians have to endure and live with from day to day. The Pastoral Centre needs c complete refurbishment as all the wooden parts, doors, windows etc have been burnt or destroyed by rebels. They are also digging a well for a fresh water supply for the centre. But it needs lots of help.