The Presiding Bishop announces the annual Good Friday Offering; Zambian priest calls on Christians in Africa to fight corruption; Asia-America Theological Exchange Forum held in Philippines; Michael Oh becomes new Lausanne chief executive
The Presiding Bishop announces the annual Good Friday Offering
“In spite of the challenges, the strength and vitality of the witness of indigenous Christians throughout the Middle East is inspiring,” Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori writes in the annual Good Friday letter to all congregations asking them to consider assistance for Jerusalem and the Middle East.
“The Good Friday Offering provides essential funding to strengthen the visibility of the Christian presence throughout the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East,” the Presiding Bishop writes. “That funding is critical to the ongoing ministry of both institutions, as well as others in the region.”
Funds collected from the Good Friday Offering are gathered and distributed to the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East which includes the Dioceses of Jerusalem and Cyprus and the Gulf, all members of the Anglican Communion.
Information on the Good Friday Offering at www.episcopalchurch.org/goodfridayoffering
Zambian priest calls on Christians in Africa to fight corruption
A Zambian priest has challenged Christians across Africa to stand up and fight corrupt practices that are “soiling the fabric” of many countries on the continent.
The Revd John Kafwanka, currently Director of Mission at the Anglican Communion Office, was speaking following the recent arrest of Ugandan anti-corruption activist and retired Assistant Bishop of Kampala Diocese the Rt Revd Zac Niringiye.
Niringiye and eight other campaigners were arrested on Monday by the police at Uganda’s Makerere University for distributing pamphlets calling for an end to high-level corruption. The group was later released on bond.
The police who arrested Bp Nirigiye claimed the pamphlets contained “false and subversive language”. The documents in fact highlighted the millions of shillings lost from the country’s coffers because of corrupt officials.
Mr Kafwanka said that speaking out against such wrongdoing was something all Christians everwhere should consider their responsibility: “We need more Christians to stand for what Bishop Zac stands for, to speak against wrongdoing, which always impact the poor most of all. Where corruption is found, God’s people should stand up and speak up from a position of integrity.”
Mr Kafwanka and Bp Niringiye once worked together at the Anglican mission agency CMS (Church Mission Society). Mr Kafwanka recalled the retired bishop’s character and personality: “He has always had a high belief that leaders both in church and in government should have integrity. He loves to see proper leadership in the continent of Africa.”
Mr Kafwanka also acknowledged that the Bp Niringiye had a “forthright nature” saying “He is quite critical of issues that may affect proper leadership such as corruption.”
The retired bishop has been a long and strong critic of corrupt practices within the country and has been at the forefront of advocating for transparency and accountability. He returns to answer the charges on 14 February, the others on 11 Feb.
The arrests cause consternation particularly among civil society organisations and have caused some commentators in Uganda to question the government’s attitude towards church leaders.
Mr Kafwanka said: “The corruption activities that the bishop has been advocating against are the same issues that every progressive leader should be fighting against.”
The executive director of the Ugandan National NGO Forum Richard Ssewakiryanga told a press conference: “The Police high-handedness in arresting the Bishop and other volunteers was not necessary because they were not inciting violence but only fighting corruption.”
While many people may not clearly see the cost of corruption in this relatively thriving economy, the 2005 World Bank survey revealed that Uganda loses about US$200 million a year through corruption but the Global Integrity Report of 2006 pegged the figure at about twice as much.
In the light of the corruption allegations that have rocked the country in the recent years, the World Bank Group last year began reviewing its development assistance to Uganda while also strengthening its own measures to ensure that its funds are used for their intended purposes.
Bp Niringiye once proclaimed: “Corruption in Uganda is a leadership problem. It requires political solutions. The President should not fear to disappoint some of his friends by throwing them out when they are embellished with corruption.”
Asia-America Theological Exchange Forum held in Philippines
The Asia-America Theological Exchange Forum was held Feb. 3-6 at Trinity University of Asia in Quezon City, Philippines, with some 80 delegates from seminaries and churches discussing the future of theological education and Asian contextualization of theology in the 21st century.
The theme of the forum was “One Table, One Host, Many Guests: An Exploration on Theologies Across Asia-America.” Ten theologians from the Philippines, India, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand presented theological papers and led open forums with seminarians, university students, faculty members and clergy of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines and Iglesia Filipina Independiente.
During the ‘60s and ‘70s there was a flurry of theological activities in Asia as Asian Christians reckoned that, as some observers have said, theology was made in Germany, corrected in England, corrupted in America and crammed in Asia. They wanted to break the flowerpot of Western theology and plant the naked seed of the Gospel in the Asian soil.
Today, there is a serious exploration on how this thinking has developed and how a renewed theological dialogue can happen more across the Pacific than across the Atlantic. Contextualization is more than indigenization, it is pressing beyond national and geographical boundaries to make Christianity relevant as a living and breathing religion in the 21st century.
The forum was a joint initiative of the Episcopal Church’s Partnership Office for Asia and the Pacific, led by Canon Peter Ng, and my office of Asiamerica Ministries, in partnership with the principal of Ming Hua Theological College in Hong Kong, Gareth Jones. It also was co-sponsored by the Fund for Theological Education in South East Asia, which was represented at the forum by Limuel Equina, director of the Association of Theological Schools in Southeast Asia (ATESEA).
The forum began with a cultural welcome reception from Iglesia Filipina Independiente as overseas guests were treated with a cultural show and the traditional “putungan” (crowning) of the guests. A religious tradition from the island of Marinduque, the guests were serenaded and given crowns and scepters like kings and queens. The IFI has acculturated many indigenous practices into liturgical settings, according to the Most Rev. Ephraim Fajutagana, the IFI’s Obispo Maximo.
The forum coincided with the week-long celebration of the 50th Foundation Anniversary of Trinity University of Asia, one of the premier universities in the Philippines and a product of Episcopal missionary activity at the turn of the 20th century. TUA shares the same location as the national cathedral of the Episcopal Church, St. Andrew’s Theological Seminary and the original St. Luke’s Medical Center. The Cathedral Heights compound is the product of Bishop Charles Henry Brent’s view of looking at mission as a holistic service to the spirit, mind and body.
A Thanksgiving Eucharist was held at TUA Chapel concelebrated by the Most Rev. Edward Malecdan of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, the Obispo Maximo Fajutagana and Bishop Robert Fitzpatrick of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii.
In welcoming the theologians, Josefina Sumaya, president of Trinity University, issued a challenge to theologians: “Teach us to love God and neighbor in a language that we all can understand.”
Sam McDonald, director of mission for the U.S.-based Episcopal Church, echoed Sumaya and a former speaker of the U.S. Congress who said: “Politics is local, so theology is also local.”
Michael Oh becomes new Lausanne chief executive
Seminary president Dr Michael Oh has been appointed as the next chief executive of the Lausanne Movement.
The 41-year-old succeeds the Reverend Doug Birdsall, who starts his new role as president of the American Bible Society in March.
Dr Oh is founder and president of Christ Bible Seminary in Nagoya, Japan, where he is passionate about raising up a new generation of Christians committed to the spread of Christianity in the country.
The Korean-American has been involved in the Lausanne Movement since 2004 and has been a member of the Lausanne Board since 2007.
He will take up his new post as Lausanne chief executive on 1 March before being formally installed at the Lausanne Global Leadership Forum in South Asia in June.
His appointment was welcomed by Ram Gidoomal, chair of the Lausanne Movement Board of Directors.
“Michael is a cross-cultural bridge-builder, from East to West and across generations. He knows the overall Movement well and understands the complexity of this leadership calling,” he said.
“He will be able to build on the firm foundation that Doug Birdsall and the global leadership of Lausanne have established, to the glory of God.”