Episcopalian Chuck Hagel nominated for Secretary of Defense; Anglican university in Congo attacked; Anglican-Lutheran report on service and mission now available; Have Stick – will travel. A SAMS “mission” biography
Episcopalian Chuck Hagel nominated for Secretary of Defense
Former Senator Chuck Hagel, an active Episcopalian, has been nominated by President Obama to be Secretary of Defense. The Palestine Israel Network yesterday posted the piece, “Shedding Light on Palestine/Israel/US Politics” which discussed Hagel:
Former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel has been under fire … the last couple of weeks as the Obama Administration has floated his name as a potential nominee for Secretary of Defense. However, there have been many voices, including many Jews and four former National Security Advisors, who have come to his side.
What has not been noted is that Hagel is an active Episcopalian, and attends an Episcopal church in Washington, D.C. On 12 September 2006 the Episcopal News Service ran a story on Hagel lifting up his “extraordinary leadership on the difficult issues surrounding recent developments in the Middle East.” The ENS story quoted Hagel as saying that the “core of all challenges in the Middle East remains the underlying Arab-Israeli conflict.”
The ENS story went on to say Hagel warned “America is increasingly not seen as the well-spring of consensus that for decades helped create alliances and coalitions grounded in common objectives and common interests. … America’s approach to the Middle East must be consistent and sustained, and must understand the history, interests and perspectives of our regional friends and allies.”
Hagel noted our “special and historic” relationship with Israel but said that relationship “cannot be at the expense of our Arab and Muslim relationships. … Achieving a lasting resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict is as much in Israel’s interest as any other country in the world.”
Anglican university in Congo attacked
One of the member schools in Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion (CUAC) in Africa has been affected by the fighting in Congo. Despite being 250 miles north from the fighting in Goma, the Université Anglicane du Congo experienced its first attack since its opening two years ago. The Revd Canon Daniel Sabiti Tibafa, the university vice chancellor, has sent the following report:
“Yes, the morning night of 22 December 2013 at around 2:00 am, armed people broke the door of our house threatening to kill all of us if we did not have any money on us. They forced the door with heavy stones…and the guns to destroy the lock of the door. In the house we managed to get $200 and they forced me to take them into my office where we got another $250. They beat me on the back and on my right hand. The right hand pain is still being dealt with by our lovely nurse Miss Kiiza Kahwa.
“Everybody at the university was mobilized to help us in the house, but could not come near us because of the bullets they fired mercilessly on both of us and them. We were nine people, i.e., my wife Damalie, our boys Emmanuel and Kefa, and the girls, Nyangoma, Winnie, Esther, Mave and Adah. All of us would have lost our lives was it not the mercy of God on us! Praise be to Him! They entered our bedroom throwing bitter words on us to give money or else to die. Traces of 7 bullets were found in our house and other 4 fired outside to keep away the members of the community, students and members of staff. One hour after, the police being called by Revd Martin, the Academic secretary, came to realize what was there.
“In spite of this incident, the university is still doing its work. As you know already, we organized five faculties in our university: Theology, Administration and Economic Sciences, Psychology and Education Sciences, Polytechnic (Civil Engineering) and Sciences (Mines and Geology). This academic year we will have about 70 students, of whom 11 from the theological faculty are graduating after their third year at university in the undergraduate level.
“We also are happy to say that we have now produced two more doctors in theology, having finished in May and July 2012 in the Protestant University of Congo, Kinshasa. These are Revd Dr Yossa Way in Missiology and Revd Dr Kahwa Njojo in New Testament Theology. Ven. Sadiki Kangamina Christopher is also doing his PhD in Old Testament Theology at the Shalom University of Bunia. Revd Kamana Niyonzima is also doing his graduate studies at the same university in Missiology as well. We thank God for that.”
CUAC’s General Secretary, the Revd Canon James Callaway, was present two years ago at the laying of the university’s foundation stone by Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams. Upon hearing of the attack, Canon Callaway noted: “The Anglican University has been a force for knitting community back together after the years of conflict in Congo, bringing together former victims and men who were drawn into the militias. As such it has been a vital force for peace, which now more than ever needs our support to continue.”
Professor Sabiti reported that the attack spared the recently-installed Internet classroom, equipped last November under a grant from Trinity Church Wall Street, USA. Especially with a meagre library, this facility makes it possible for the university to keep up-to-date in information and in research, especially through the newly-initiated research Department, Centre de Recherche Interfacultaire de l’UAC, and the new Research Review called LUMEN: Revue Interfacultaire. Construction of a block of four lecture rooms under the sponsorship of the UK Congo Church Association continues, with roofing completed and installation of flooring underway.
The war has not reached Bunia at present. Professor Sabiti said, “The only problem is the presence of the hors la loi entering people’s houses at night, killing and robbing goods and money. They are really creating insecurity in this town. There also the militiamen between Bunia and Boga in the Lendu Region who keep on looting people on the way in a sporadic way. We are really very sad about what is happening in and in the surrounding of Goma City in the North-Kivu Province. Please pray for our country and especially in this eastern part of the country. We need peace and freedom to work and to enjoy the wealth that our dear Father gave us here in our country, unfortunately smuggled by the outside.”
On 14-15 December 2012 the second Administrative Council of the University met in Bunia, chaired by His Grace the Most Revd Henri Isingoma, Archbishop of the Province de L’Église Anglicane Du Congo and President of the university. Professor Sabiti concluded, “Without any doubt, the university is still functioning. Activities resume on 7th of January 2013, God willing. Please pray for us as usual, because the Evil One never stops to haunt us with his bitter arrows of affliction.”
Anglican-Lutheran report on service and mission now available
At its meeting in Auckland, the Anglican Consultative Council commended the new report of the Anglican-Lutheran International Commission (ALIC III) to the whole Communion, for study and action.
To Love and Serve the Lord focusses on diakonia (the ministry of service and mission, common to all Christians). Jointly produced by The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Anglican Communion for the third phase of their bilateral dialogue the publication offers a diverse array of stories about church ministries that are transforming relations between churches in both communions.
The ALIC III co-chairs Lutheran Bishop Dr Thomas Nyiwe (Cameroon) and Anglican Archbishop Fred Hiltz (Canada) point out that the concluding report of the 2006-2011 dialogue period was intended to highlight what both partners had learned from their growing experience and therefore focus on ‘why growth in relations between Anglican and Lutheran churches is possible.’
In the publication’s preface, Abp Hiltz and Bp Nyiwe say the report presents a new phase in the maturity of relations between Anglican and Lutheran churches. ‘While important differences remain, of course, this third phase of our Anglican-Lutheran International Commission did not need to put these differences at the centre of its work,’ they say.
The Anglican Communion and the LWF commend the report to their respective churches for study, encouraging them to pursue common development of ministries that build up Anglican and Lutheran relationships at all levels of church life and mission.
For this purpose, the report identifies a number of recommendations for concrete diaconal action at local, regional or global level. These include ways in which the churches could do more together at all levels for disaster relief, in advocating on issues relating to climate change, illegitimate debt, HIV and AIDS and other pressing social concerns.
The report reviews developments between Anglican and Lutheran churches in various regions of the world and commends the growth in communion that they represent. It recommends that regions benefit from each other’s experience and find ways appropriate for their own contexts to recognize each other’s ordained ministries.
The modern dialogue between Anglicans and Lutherans on the worldwide level has been in progress since 1972, with joint reports on the different phases.
To obtain a copy of To Love and Serve the Lord report, please go to the online shop at http://shop.anglicancommunion.org/
Have Stick – will travel. A “mission” biography
Bishop David Evans, formerly Bishop of Peru and General Secretary of the South American Missionary Society, and of the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion has just published his biography – Have Stick Will Travel. The first half of the book describes the journeys in his early life from his birth in Tanganyika. The second half covers his journeys from 1968-1988 in South America. It is available from TW Printing and Copying Ltd, info@twprinting.co.uk, 01926 883757 for £7.95 for 145 pages including postage.