In Rwanda, warring groups come together as Methodists
4/28/1998 News media contact: Linda Bloom · (646) 369-3759 · New York
STAMFORD, Conn. (UMNS) - In a country where ethnic conflict led to genocide, a fledgling United Methodist church is becoming a model for reconciliation.
United Methodist congregations in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, have brought together Hutu and Tutsi worshippers, according to retired Bishop Forrest Stith, who is based in Nairobi, Kenya.
"This is amazing grace," he said.
Recognizing the growing ministry in Rwanda, the Sudan, Uganda and Kenya - particularly with refugees - directors of the Board of Global Ministries approved a $500,000 grant to the East Africa Annual Conference during the April 20-23 semi-annual meeting here.
Covering three years, the grant will assist in the stability and development of United Methodist districts in those countries and provide for pastor salaries, office equipment, telecommunications and leadership development.
The church's work with Rwandan refugees began in 1994, in refugee camps in the former Zaire. According to Stith, about 15,000 refugees became United Methodists while living in the camps. That number is estimated to have doubled now that refugees have returned to their native land, he said.
The congregations are mostly Hutu and are primarily in the area of Gisenyi, on the border of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But the interethnic church in Kigali shows promise. "While this latter church is more fragile, its work is one of the few symbolic realities of hope and reconciliation in the country," Stith reported.
Through the leadership of the Rev. Kaberuka Jupa, the Rwanda district superintendent, an elementary school called the Methodist College of Gisenyi has been established. Stith said he obtained $20,000 in donations from the United States to convert a building into a suitable site.
The school has 225 students. "The teachers, who are refugees themselves, are volunteers and have no income," Stith added.
He wants to provide salaries for those teachers, along with more desks and a space for an orphanage for 40 children.
In Mutura, a less stable area outside Gisenyi, church members have restarted a smaller school and hope to open a clinic and build a church.
The greatest need for the nine congregations in Kigali and the surrounding area is church buildings, according to Stith. "Presently, they are worshipping in vacant lots, with makeshift tents for the roof."
In both Gisenyi and Kigali, the United Methodist Committee on Relief is helping provide blankets, seeds, plastic sheeting for shelter, medicine, water and food. Stith said United Methodist support is needed for this effort, as well as books and school materials.
Donations for the work in Rwanda can be earmarked for Advance Special No. 000204, Rwanda General, and sent to the Board of Global Ministries, Advance Office, 475 Riverside Drive, Room 1400, New York, NY 10115.
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