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African United Methodists share ideas on healing ministries

Jul. 22, 2005

NOTE: A photograph is available at http://umns.umc.org.

By Andra Stevens*

KITWE, Zambia (UMNS) - United Methodist leaders from throughout Africa
ended 10 days of sharing, training and planning at the Mindolo
Ecumenical Center in Kitwe, Zambia with the exuberant sound of African
drums and song.

In a moving sending-forth service on the eve of the 25th anniversary of
his consecration as bishop, retired Bishop Felton Edwin May urged
congregants to set aside their own "addictions to power games, prestige
and separation by conference ... and reach out to others, love them and
treat them as God treats them, and bring wholeness and healing to their
lives."

The July 8-19 conference, "Shaping the Future with Hope, Healing and
Deliverance," brought together clergy and lay leaders from 19 of the 20
United Methodist annual conferences on the continent.

Sponsored by the Special Program on Substance Abuse and Related Violence
- known in the church as SPSARV - of the United Methodist Board of
Global Ministries, the gathering offered an opportunity for networking
among the annual conferences.

Those with active ministries in the areas of alcohol and drug abuse,
HIV/AIDS, counseling, drug-related violence and trauma healing shared
their experiences and the resources they've developed. Delegates said
they were going home with a renewed sense of hope and with ideas and
tools that would help them nurture even more effective substance abuse
ministries in their annual conferences.

"This conference has been very beneficial because all the issues we
discussed here are part of the situation we are living," said the Rev.
Benoit Mahamudi Ngereza, district superintendent in Kindu in the East
Congo Conference.

Ngereza's annual conference represents in microcosm the spectrum of
suffering for which poverty and conflict are root causes in Africa. The
United Methodist Church is 25,000 members strong in the area, with 52
churches in Kindu town and the rural zones.

Kindu was at the center of a war between Rwandan forces and Congolese
youth, who formed militia groups called the Mai Mai in response to the
occupation of their country by outsiders. Between 1997 and 2005 - with
only one year of peace - villages were razed, women raped and children
left parentless and destitute. United Methodist mission centers and
churches were destroyed.

Now the war is over. The youth who, emboldened by drugs, destroyed so
much are back as part of the church family, singing in choirs and
attending youth groups. The people are trying to rebuild their lives and
relationships.

"I'm working with women who have experienced rape, and these women have
been infected with numerous sexually transmitted diseases," said the
Rev. Mwayuma Ayenda, the women's ministry coordinator in the annual
conference. "If a woman admits she has been raped, her family will
reject her, and if she is married, her husband will throw her out into
the street. This conference has given some ideas of how to help these
women, especially concerning HIV/AIDS."

Linda Bales, an executive with the United Methodist Board of Church and
Society, noted that the annual conferences are doing a lot of work to
address issues of drugs and HIV/AIDS, poverty and violence, often with
few resources.

The challenges confronting annual conferences in the Democratic Republic
of Congo are similar to those confronting churches in Angola, Burundi,
Liberia and Sierra Leone. Church and Society is one of the agencies that
collaborates with and supports the work of SPSARV, and Bales said
stories like those from East Congo are persuasive ammunition for its
advocacy efforts.

"I had a number of conversations with some young women about the
possibility of doing some joint training around HIV/AIDS, sexuality and
domestic violence," she added. "But the greater benefit to being part of
this conference are the stories I'm taking back that will open people's
eyes even more to the issues here in Africa."

Before leaving the conference, delegates laid out the action plans
they'd developed to take home to their leadership and churches. Many
chose to focus on awareness, education and counseling, with a particular
emphasis on youth and young adults. Others plan to tackle HIV/AIDS
prevention and interventions to support people living with AIDS.

"The church is critical, and these action plans that are coming out with
peer counseling and other programs will indeed be instrumental in
providing accessibility, especially to those who cannot afford to pay,"
said the Rev. Cynthia Abrams, a Church and Society executive.

A key outcome of the conference is the formation of a United Methodist
African Task Force on Substance Abuse and Related Violence. The Rev.
Vienna Mutezo from the Zimbabwe Area was elected chairperson of the task
force. She will be supported by a team that includes Monga Joseph Ilunga
of South West Katanga as vice chairperson, Beatrice Fofanah of Sierra
Leone as treasurer and João Manuel da Graça of West Angola as
secretary.

The task force is the administrative arm of the substance abuse
prevention work that has been launched in Africa. Its mandate is to
equip, support and document the ongoing work of the annual conferences.

*Stevens is director of information and public affairs at United
Methodist-related Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

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