By Bishop Jerold Jan 2011

The integration of the Parables Ministry churches, under the direction of Bp. Telesphore Ntashimikiro, continues slowly and patiently. Fr. Severin Ndayizeye has been commissioned to start new churches for the EOC. While I was in Burundi I worked with the latest of these planted churches, St. Luke’s Church in Buringa. This church will be pastored by Deacon Tharcisse Habonimana, who will be ordained Priest shortly. Tharcisse and his wife Imelda run St. Luke’s Medical Clinic in the refuge village of Buringa. They have hired four male nurses who man the clinic 24/7 while they work their own secular jobs in the Burundi Department of Education (at just over $300/mo each). I toured the clinic, worshiped with the church, and spent a day with a major part of the congregation in teaching.

On Sunday afternoon I attended a 5-church choir concert at Mount Zion Church in Bujumbura and was invited to speak to the several hundred gathered there. This was a very charismatic crowd and Bishop Telesphore continues to move them toward a more liturgical and sacramental expression of their faith along with their exuberance and zeal.

On my last day in Burundi I was taken to Hope Center Orphanage where 42 children are being nurtured and educated. Three houses are complete, each with a house mother and 16 children. Fr. Leonard and his Wife Jolie, director of the orphanage. Fr. Leonard Dushime, his wife Jolie, and children occupy the fourth house with several orphans and direct the entire program. In addition Fr. Leonard pastors the largest of our churches in Burundi and shares from his heart the vision of the EOC. The week I left, 10 goats were scheduled to arrive as a result of donations through one of our members in Canada. These milking goats will provide the milk for the orphanage.

Bp. Telesphore has requested Bp. Denis to join him for a weekend of work in planning and advising and this is taking place at the end of January. I am very impressed with Bp. Telesphore, who seems to exhibit confidence, patience and vision. He is very pastoral and loving, and his stated goals are to have his churches firmly planted in EOC theology and practice in 5 to 10 years. Bp. Denis continues to be a very fatherly figure in the lives of the men and women involved in the African work and has great vision for the future development of the EOC and humanitarian efforts. It is challenging to see how close together Africans hold the spiritual and the physical. One is reminded of the passage in the Epistle of James that declares “true religion is to visit the fatherless and the widows in their trouble.”

A SHORT TERM PLAN OF ACTION
After discussion with the African bishops and Fr. Severin, an idea was floated which seems to have much merit. I am proposing that we hold the next synod in Bujumbura, Burundi from December 30/11 to January 6/12. All the Bishops, Priests and Deacons from Africa would be present, together with North American and European bishops and head pastors for liturgical training and theological catechesis. This would have a unifying effect on the entire EOC and would be very helpful in assisting our African brothers in their desire to be fully integrated into the EOC. If the wives were to come along as well the impact would be so much greater for holistic integration and communion.

OUR CONTINUING SUPPORT
We are blessed to be called to this work. Nothing we have done has been sacrificial in comparison to the devotion and dedication of the saints in Africa, who care for and share with all who have needs, even when they have hardly anything. One cannot enter Bp. Denis and Dativa’s house without finding people there who need and receive fellowship or food. Bp. Telesphore and his wife have their own children and several orphans living with them. Bp. Telesphore and his wife have good jobs, and the sharing of their resources with the people around them is a challenge to me. Deacon Tharcisse and his wife share of their livelihood to run a medical clinic. Fr. Leonard and Jolie offer themselves to a multitude of children in the orphanage. Fr. Simeon and his wife of Mount Zion Church keep six extra children in their house that has no electricity or water. Fr. Simeon’s brother-in-law, a medical doctor, visits the clinic four times a week to treat the sick, at no charge. Almost every person I met has a story of sacrifice and offering. As we approach this Lenten season, let us reduce our consumption and turn our excess (ashes) into alms and offerings (beauty) for our African family. This is a good work – blessed be the name of the Lord!

The second weekend we were in East Africa we spent in Burundi. We left on a Friday morning by bus and many hours later we were in Bujumbura, Burundi and met by Bp. Telesphore. There was some concern and uncertainty as to whether we would even be able to go over there, since the presidential elections soon to take place had heightened the security there. But, having checked with Bp. Telesphore the day before, we were given the green light. Bp. Denis of Kigali, Rwanda was still not completely convinced, so he brought a couple of men with us to serve as our bodyguards! We were able to get around a few places while we were there, but never unaccompanied, and not far from home base.

It was difficult to tell exactly what the status is of the main EOC church, St. Andrew’s, and the other churches that have been part of Parable Ministries. As best I could tell, their progress into fully-functioning EOC churches is slowly moving forward. The church there is in very capable hands as they have many very good men, such as Bp Telesphore, Fr Severin, and others. At the Sunday service, which took place in a fellowship chapel owned by the Catholic Church, I gave the homily and ordained 4 new deacons. These are all good and faithful men – Paul Niyonizigiye, Tharcisse Habonimana, Eduord Ntimpirangeza, and Nathanael Ndayisaba. There were many people at the service who were family or friends of the deacons being ordained, which was good exposure for the church. Bp Telesphore, of course, is fully capable of ordaining his own deacons, but they consider it an honor for us to do such things when we are there. Continue reading →

On Jan 19 Audrey and I embarked on a month of ministry and mission to the countries of Rwanda and Burundi. For 2 weeks of that time, we were joined by our bishop from Sweden, Thomas Andersson.

Unlike the Americas and Europe, our experience of Africa is that there is little separation of spiritual and humanitarian work – the two fit like hand and glove. In large part, the need of these countries is so great that any help is eagerly sought. Each country is still affected by the aftermath of the genocide between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes.

Our major contacts in these countries are Denis Mugabo, now consecrated EOC Bishop in Rwanda, and Telesphore Ntashimikiro, EOC Bishop in Burundi. Each of these men is heavily involved in the humanitarian relief and spiritual nurturing of their people.

Bp Telesphore is an astute man with many contacts and friends (including the President of Burundi). He works part-time for the American Embassy in the capital city of Bujumbura, and his wife Eliane works at a bank.

They have 5 children and care for 5 additional orphans. For 16 years he has worked at both building church communities and enabling micro-economic development among the people. To-date he has helped 72 people with loans to develop businesses which earn $60-$100/month (60 of whom have repaid the loans and now have an ongoing small enterprise). Recently, I was given funds in memory of my deceased father, which I presented to Bp Telesphore. He immediately purchased 8 pregnant goats, and now each goat resides with a needy a family. Since my father’s name was Henry, I suggested the goats be named Henry VIII, VII etc.! Continue reading →

On May 27th, I, my wife Kathy, and one of the young ladies in our church, Sharon Dougherty, made the long flight to Kigali, Rwanda.

As planned, the next morning at 6:30 we were gathered up by Celestine Rukeratabaro, the young man who mostly looked after our needs while we were in Rwanda, and we were taxied to the bus stop for a long trip to Bujambura, Burundi with Fr Denis and his wife Dativa. As is often the case, the bus was packed and hot. But we had a good laugh at one point during the trip when we realized the music being piped through the speakers was American Country and Western. Seeing Africans, known for their amazing ability to keep difficult off-beats on a drum while singing and dancing, singing and clapping instead to Kenny Roger’s song “The Gambler,” was both hilarious and refreshing.

When we arrived that afternoon in Burundi we were received by Bp Telesphore, who is the overseer of a group of churches throughout Burundi. He and a number of his fellow leaders have been working toward union with the EOC for some time. My job for this trip was to do liturgical teaching and do the final training to prepare them to begin using the EOC liturgy, as well as to determine whether they were ready to be received in some capacity into the EOC. Continue reading →

The initiating factor for the trip taken by Audrey and myself over the New Year was the invitation by Parables Ministry in Burundi to come and present information about the EOC to the pastors and deacons of their churches who were meeting over the first weekend in Jan. There are 49 Parables churches across Burundi and number almost 7,000 people.

Fr Denis Mugabo and I left Kigali, Rwanda by bus for Bujumbura, Burundi on New Year’s Day. The ride took 5 hours, and the scenery both in Rwanda and Burundi is wonderful. Upon arrival we were met by Bp Telesphore Ntashimikiro and several of his priests. The capital city of Bujumbura is on a large lake, and we spent the evening walking the beach and enjoying the Burundi New Year’s Day celebrations.
Continue reading →

From Jul 27 to Aug 13 Fr Ruben Guenter, Fr Joshua Beecham and myself were in Kigali, Rwanda to visit Denis Mugabo, the school conducted by the Mugabo family, and those who were desirous to form an Evangelical Orthodox Church.