we're back in nairobi, in the a.c.k. guest house for our last night in kenya.
yesterday we spent the day with a parish priest, revd. simon, from st john's, kigomo. the idea was that we just be with one of the priests during their normal working day, and also to see the context and meet the local people, as we would be preaching in their church the next day.
revd simon is a very competent man, something of a trouble shooter, a strategist, an entreprenuer, a fundraiser, and a powerful leader. he has 3 churches in his parish, 2 of which we visited. during the course of the day, we met his executive of the parish council - and a good bunch they were too.
revd simon has turned the finances of the parish around, from being well behind in parish share by 300k kenyan shillings (ksh), to now paying their parish share of about 750k ksh in 10 months instead of 12 months. they also have a parish budget of about 530k ksh, which they meet each year for their own expenses. they have plans for erecting a new church, they're refurbishing the vicarage, and they employ staff.
i asked them the difficult question of 'what happens in 25 yrs time when western culture has gained a greater foothold, when the current leadership is no longer around, and when their single-purpose worship building has become a burden to maintain for the then congregation, as has been our expereience in england?'
they had thought of that. they actively engage with western culture, teach their young people about it, and have different ways of engaging their youth throughout the different phases of their development. the leaders also give a positive lead and provide a solid measure of control that provides firm boundaries. this kind of leadership seems to work well in kenyan culture, as its quite dominant from the top down, but also provide plenty of opportunity for others to use their gifts in all manner of ways, and indeed, expects people to be involved and develop any good ideas they have.
we went for lunch at a local cafe that was owned by one of revd simon's parishioners. then he took us for a walk down the high street of one of his churches, and introduced us to more of his parishioners who were traders in all manner of things.
we were always followed by a band of small kids who were amazed by us. revd simon said that this was the first time some of them had ever seen a 'mzungu' (white person) in their whole lives. they loved it when we took their photos and showed them on the camera.
at the end of the day, we went back to st andrew's for dinner. after dinner there were farewell speeches and singing for us. i simply can't describe the sensation of being amongst such genuinely warm and hospitable people whose grace flows from them in waves of blessing that brought tears to my eyes.
Tags:
No comments:
Post a Comment