Transformation

Bisoke Balikenga preached about transformation at St John's Seven Kings today basing his sermon on Romans 12. 1 - 3. He said that “any approach to transformation that seeks to bring about real change must go beyond merely grasping information at the cognitive level to full knowledge that impacts our deepest inner orientations and trust structures, false-self patterns, and any obstacles that prevent us from fully surrendering to God.”

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The Holmes Brothers - Thank You Jesus.

Youth programme within the Province of the Anglican Church of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo Brazzaville

Bisoke Balikenga spoke to a group at St John's Seven Kings tonight about the youth programme within the Province of the Anglican Church of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo Brazzaville. Their vision is to help young people spiritually and physically, so that they may truly know God and live for Jesus in a pro-active, life-changing way.

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Henoc Mwamba - Tonetoli Yo.

Baptism, Agape and chain reactions

Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3. 13 – end) started a chain reaction. It led directly to his ministry which was to bring good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, set free the oppressed, and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his people. To do this he recruited disciples; a core group of 12 and a larger group of 72 or more.

These were themselves baptised and, after Jesus’ ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, they followed Jesus’ commission to go to all peoples everywhere and make them disciples: baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. When Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost he said, “Each one of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive God's gift, the Holy Spirit.” Many believed his message and were baptized, and about three thousand people were added to the group that day.

The chain reaction that was started by the baptism of Jesus still continues and at St John's Seven Kings we have been a part of keeping that chain reaction going. Here is one story which demonstrates that to have been the case. Thirty years ago Judy Acheson was a Sunday School teacher here at St John's. While here, she felt called to serve God in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She went to the Congo in 1980 with the Church Mission Society (CMS) to be a nursery nurse, but, as the children she cared for grew, she carried on caring for them, eventually training and handing over responsibility to local leaders. “When I was first simply doing Sunday school work, I trained someone to take over … I always felt that we were there in a country to share the experience we had and enable people to carry it on."

The recent history of violence in the DRC is legendary. There is a legacy of  30 years of a both brutal and incompetent dictatorship, followed by one of the worst civil wars in post colonial Africa. Almost every participating force has been guilty of massacres and rapes. And the north-east region, where Judy was originally, was described by Human RightsWatch as "the bloodiest corner of Congo".

Judy could have left the country during the civil war but chose to stay and develop pioneering youth work. She says, “it was always my philosophy to empower the young people to do the work.” Bisoke Balikenga was one of her original youth team members. “You could see his leadership potential. People would listen to him and do what he asked. When we had visitors he looked after them.” Seeing his potential, CMS gave him and his wife a scholarship to study at Daystar University in Nairobi, then he took over the diocesan youth work Judy had begun, so she could start youth work nationally. Now that she has retired, he has taken over the national youth work as well.

The Youth Department Judy set for the Diocese of Bunia, called Jeunesse Chrétienne Agape (which means Agape Christian Youth), visited young men who joined the tribal militias during the civil war to persuade them to leave the militias, runs rehabilitation centres for young women raped and traumatised during the civil war, and, now the war is over, runs seminars to reconcile those who fought against each other during the war.

When the Archbishop of Canterbury visited in 2011, a group of about 50 former militia members spoke about how the Church, in the form of Agape, never forgot them. One by one, they gave their testimony. "We were taught to repay bad for bad," one said, "but the people from the church came to visit me." One after another they spoke about how, thanks to Agape's seminars and conferences on peace, they retuned to God and their families, rediscovering the love of Jesus. Many of them were then at college or university, slowly putting their trauma behind them.

Throughout these years Agape was been training young people to think for themselves, to have, give and express their own opinions, and make their own decisions. God began to show Judy, Bisoke and others that he is going to bring mighty changes within the country and has chosen to use children and young people as a means of doing so. This led them to write a manual for young people, Young people, with God let us rebuild our beautiful country! With Government support this book, and others they have written, are being used by thousands of teenagers and young adults in schools and in youth groups with the result that they are learning to make their own decisions and become aware of their role and their responsibility towards their own country.

Judy and Bisoke are examples of people who have put Jesus’ words into practice and by doing so having a massive impact on their country. Their story is particularly inspiring because they are clearly ordinary people just like us. If they can do it, so can we. Their story is doubly inspiring because it is about a chain reaction happening among young people who have been baptised and become leaders like Jesus; those who come not to be served but to serve, and to give their lives for others.

As an illustration of the continuing need for the work that Bisoke and his colleagues do, here are some stories from his recent prayer letters:  

While the majority of the DRC is peaceful, fighting continues in the East of the country. Bisoke has asked for prayer for people in Gety who have become refugees in Komanda , Nyankunde, Marabo and Bunia because of the insecurity caused by the war between the rebel and the government soldiers. These people have lost everything when they had to run from their homes without food, blankets or clothes in order to save their lives. Now the young people in these places have started providing assistance with clothes, food, and blankets.

Bisoke also wrote about the Venerable Move Karabutege, the first Archdeacon of Gety, and his wife. They stayed in Gety when everyone else ran away but his wife became ill and they couldn't leave because the road was not secure for them to travel. Eventually, their son got them out and brought them to Bunia but after two days the wife of the Archdeacon passed away.

Bisoke is committed to travelling to all dioceses to build capacity in the church for transformation. 'We twice visited the diocese of North Kivu to discover what we could do for the youth there and understand their needs,' Bisoke said. He says he found that many of the youth leaders badly needed training in peace and reconciliation as well as encouragement in their work in such a tough area.

In December Bisoke helped lead a four-day seminar for dozens of youth leaders in North Kivu. 'We truly saw the hand of God upon us,' said Bisoke, adding that a dozen leaders rededicated their lives to Jesus. 'Some of these youth leaders had been affected by the war and by insecurities around North Kivu, which had blocked the development of North Kivu Diocese. However we are building upon the faith of our youth with these much-needed seminars.'

A Prayer for the Democratic Republic of Congo: O God, loving parent of all, comfort your children displaced, wounded or orphaned by conflict in Congo; and give the people of that country courage to seek enduring peace with justice and freedom, that their children might grow up without fear; for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. (Adapted by Canon Ian Tarrant from a prayer in the 1998 Congo Swahili Prayer Book, written after the 1996-97 war).

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Mavis Staples - Sow Good Seeds.

Servant leadership

This was my sermon for St Edward's Day at St Edward's Church of England School and Sixth Form College on Tuesday:

Thirty years ago Judy Acheson was a Sunday School teacher at St John’s Seven Kings, the church where I work now. While at St John’s, she felt called to serve God in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She went to the Congo in 1980 with the Church Mission Society (CMS) to be a nursery nurse, but, as the children she cared for grew, she carried on caring for them, eventually training and handing over responsibility to local leaders. “When I was first simply doing Sunday school work, I trained someone to take over … I always felt that we were there in a country to share the experience we had and enable people to carry it on."

The recent history of violence in the DRC is legendary. There is a legacy of 30 years of a both brutal and incompetent dictatorship, followed by one of the worst civil wars in post colonial Africa. Almost every participating force has been guilty of massacres and rapes. And the north-east region, where Judy was originally, was described by Human Rights Watch as "the bloodiest corner of Congo".

Judy could have left the country during the civil war but chose to stay and develop pioneering youth work. She says, “it was always my philosophy to empower the young people to do the work.” Bisoke Balikenga was one of her original youth team members. “You could see his leadership potential. People would listen to him and do what he asked. When we had visitors he looked after them.” Seeing his potential, CMS gave him and his wife a scholarship to study at Daystar University in Nairobi, then he took over the diocesan youth work Judy had begun, so she could start youth work nationally. Now that she is about to retire, he has taken over the national youth work as well.

The youth department they set up, called Agape Mahagi, visited young men who joined the tribal militias during the civil war to persuade them to leave the militias, runs rehabilitation centres for young women raped and traumatised during the civil war, and, now the war is over, runs seminars to reconcile those who fought against each other during the war. When the Archbishop of Canterbury visited in July of this year, a group of about 50 former militia members spoke about how the Church, in the form of Agape, never forgot them. One by one, they gave their testimony. "We were taught to repay bad for bad," one said, "but the people from the church came to visit me." One after another they spoke about how, thanks to Agape's seminars and con­ferences on peace, they retuned to God and their families, rediscover­ing the love of Jesus. Many of them were now at college or university, slowly putting their trauma behind them.

Throughout these years Agape was been training young people to think for themselves, to have, give and express their own opinions, and make their own decisions. God began to show Judy, Bisoke and others that he is going to bring mighty changes within the country and has chosen to use children and young people as a means of doing so. This led them to write a manual for young people, Young people, with God, let us rebuild our beautiful country. With Government support this book is being used by thousands of teenagers and young adults in schools and in youth groups with the result that they are learning to make their own decisions and become aware of their role and their responsibility towards their own country.

In our Gospel reading we heard Jesus say to his disciples, ‘You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’

St Edward the Confessor is an example of that kind of leader. When Pope Benedict spoke about St Edward at Westminster Abbey last year, he described him as 'a model of Christian witness, of fidelity, of humility and obedience, grounded in the example of our Saviour'. There was something in the life of Edward, as King of England, that was regarded as out of the ordinary. He was a man who exercised gentleness and prudence in high office, whose reign between 1042 and 1066 was one of almost unbroken peace. He had a great devotion to the Church, including having Westminster Abbey built. He was humble, and opted for a certain simplicity of life, manifested by his manner of dress we're told, and who was generous, having a special love and care for the poor and afflicted.

One story told about him comes from his particular devotion to the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint John the Evangelist. He had made a promise never to refuse alms asked in the name of the latter. One day when he had no money with him, a poor man reached out his hand in the name of St John the Evangelist and the king gave him a valuable ring. Some time later, Saint John appeared to two pilgrims returning from the Holy Land. He gave them a ring and said: “Take it to the king. He gave it to me one day when I asked for alms in the habit of a pilgrim. Tell him that in six months I will visit him and take him with me, to follow the unblemished Lamb.” The King received it from them after hearing their relation of this incident, and broke into tears. According to the story this was six months before Edward died on January 5, 1066.

Edward is a past example of a leader who put Jesus’ words into practice. Judy and Bisoke give us contemporary examples of leaders doing just the same and by doing so having a massive impact on their country. Their story is particularly inspiring because they are clearly ordinary people just like us. If they can do it, so can we. Their story is doubly inspiring because it is about encouraging, equipping and enabling young people to become the kind of leaders about which Jesus spoke; those who come not to be served but to serve, and to give their lives for others.


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Interestingly, after the Service, one of the teachers at the School told me that, as a child, she had been in Judy's Sunday School class at St John's Seven Kings. Judy will be speaking at St John's on 27th November at 10.00am.

The latest news we have comes from both Bisoke and Judy. Bisoke wrote to say, "We greet all of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are well in Congo but we are approaching the election in our country please pray for it, we will start voting from 28th of November. Also pray for Judy Acheson because for the moment she is in the Diocese of Boga where she has started her work, and we are going to visit all the Archdeaconry to say goodbye before the 16th of October when she will say goodbye to many people here in Bunia.”

“We are doing well but have a lot to do, please continue to pray for our work because we have a lot of needs for our work to be done. We were in Goma for a workshop and Judy Acheson was with us. While there she said goodbye to our staff. In June we had a ladies workshop in Butembo which helped those who lead the ladies in the parishes and dioceses to manage their groups well. Also in June the Archbishop of Canterbury visited our country and he went up to Boga. The British Ambassador was also here in Bunia to welcome the Archbishop. The Archbishop had his first meeting with the youth which encouraged our young people. Praise the Lord.”

“I would like to inform you that I will be ordained full priest on 9 October. It is amazing because most of us who will be ordained on this date are from the Youth Ministry. It also makes us proud to know that most of us including the Bishop of Boga diocese are the fruits of the work of CMS mission partner Judy Acheson. Praise the Lord! Keep praying for that day and for us who are so eager for this to happen. Pray also for the upcoming general elections in Congo. We need Jehovah Shalom to dwell amongst us during this period.”

He then wrote saying, "Thanks alot for your prayers because my ordination went so well , and many people came to celebrate it with us. It is the first ordination where we had many of the people who become Pastors are from the Youth Ministry Agape. Praise the Lord. Judy was so happy to see her people become Priest and among us one of us is a lady, and that lady is the first lady to be ordained in the Diocese of Boga, and the lady is from the Youth Ministry. Praise the Lord.

Tomorrow Judy with some people is visiting the Parish of Mafifi , Komanda , Sota , Tekele , and Nyankunde . We will come in Bunia on thursday and friday we will go to Kasenyi. The purpose of her visit is to say bye to the people who she worked together for 31 years in Congo."

Judy has also written to say she has now finished her work at Mahagi and has moved to Bunia. She reported that the handover at Mahagi went really well. There is much to be thankful for at Mahagi, including guttering for rainwater harvesting and a new generator. “But the best thing has been our morning bible studies which God has used to talk to each person. We have seen such changes, a growth in faith, love for each other and understanding of what it means to be the Body of Christ. Please pray that these studies continue.” Please join with Judy in this prayer.

Judy also writes, “Only just over two weeks before I leave so much to be done and visits made.  But praise God everything is going smoothly.  We are looking forward to the Thanksgiving/farewell service on 16th October.  Please pray for Bisoke and Bishop Willy as they arrange this and that it will bring much glory to the Lord.”


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Neal Morse - The Land Of Beginning Again.

Good News: Help & Healing

Here are my remarks from the recent Annual Parochial Chuch Meeting at St John's Seven Kings, which are based on Acts 9. 36‐end.

News about the church in Joppa spread through the whole town because:

o Tabitha was known for doing good, helping the poor, the clothes she made for others (help);
o Tabitha was raised to life (healing).

Help & healing brought new life and was good news.

News about St John’s has also spread in the past year through: word of mouth; community networks; press coverage; and activities/services. New people coming to St John’s have responded to, for example: a funeral sermon; our public stance opposing the BNP; our commitment to improving the community. They have found: counselling; friendship; involvement; prayer; and support here at St Johns. So again, help & healing have brought new life and are good news.

We have in 2009:

o seen new people joining & contributing to the church over the course of the year;
o made changes that are addressing our financial shortfall ;
o developed new partnerships with local churches through the Deanery clustering arrangements;
o contributed to local campaigns to improve community facilities (e.g. the new Seven Kings
library); and
o grown through study, worship and service in our ongoing programme of activities and services.
Some highlights from 2009 included, among others:

o MU 100th Anniversary;
o Geoff Eze’s priesting;
o Palm Sunday procession, Praise in the Park & Caribbean Evening with St Paul’s Goodmayes;
o Showstoppers Holiday Club;
o Patronal Festival events & services;
o Social & fundraising events;
o Confirmations; and
o Visit from Bisoke Balikenga & well attended services over Christmas.

This year we need to work more closely with community groups using our building (user group; newsletter) and continue our active involvement in the local community as a Christian presence and witness (church activities, events & services, community campaigns, community garden).

We are seeking as many different ways of making contact with as many local people as possible in order that in different ways and though different means we can share the love of Jesus.

News about the church spread through the whole town and many people believed in the
Lord. (Acts 9. 42) Help & healing brought new life and was good news.

You can support the way forward by:

o “Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be brave, be strong. Do all your work in love.” (1 Corinthians 16 v 13‐14) – our text for 2010;
o Contributing as you are able (Stewardship);
o Recognise that we can’t and shouldn’t try to do it just by ourselves (Partnership);
o Spread the good news (Mission); and
o Pray for and encourage those whose contribution is different from your own (Fellowship).

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The Housemartins - I'll Be Your Shelter.

Inspirational stories

This weekend at St Johns Seven Kings we have been hosting Bisoke Balikenga, Provincial Youth and Children's Work Co-ordinator for the Anglican Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is Bisoke's second visit to St John's, as he came once before as part of a youth team brought by our CMS Mission Partner, Judy Acheson. His story since that time, as told in a 2007 article from CMS, is an inspirational one of making an impact in the community by helping young people to thrive in spite of the difficulties brought on by years of war in the DRC:

"Back in 1989 youth ministry in the Diocese of Boga was launched in Bunia. CMS mission partner Judy Acheson was serving as Co–ordinator at the time and was instrumental in the starting of the youth ministry, which was called ‘Agape’. It became a model that was replicated in other dioceses in the DRC.

In 1999, Bisoke Balikenga and his wife Furaha received CMS scholarships to study at Daystar University in Nairobi while the youth ministry in Boga Diocese remained in the hands of other capable leaders such as Jijika Kambonesa. By this time Judy was the Provincial Co–ordinator of Agape. So, although Balikenga and Furaha were away for four–and–a–half years, the youth ministry grew rapidly and it touched many young people’s lives.

Fresh from training, the couple brought in new expertise that helped to sustain the work and to create strategies for further growth, and made all the difference. Balikenga’s qualifications are in Business Administration and Management, and Peace and Reconciliation. Furaha majored in Accounting and also took Community Development.

“First of all, my mind has been opened and I have no fear of making any change in this world, especially in our church. I know how to manage the youth and how to meet their expectations and those of adults. I also know how to reconcile people and how to build peace among people,” says Balikenga.

For Furaha, the many needs of women in her community were among the issues at the forefront of her plans following her training. “In Ituri, only five per cent of women have been to primary school, and only one per cent of them have gone to secondary school. My vision is to help the women to learn how to read and write, and to encourage those who want to study, so they’re not seen as just housewives, cooks or mothers. They have to contribute to the development of our society in other ways too,” Furaha says.

Her activities involve encouraging women to gain literacy skills and to start small businesses. She also teaches women how to manage and plan for their homes as well as teach their children God’s word.

The youth ministry has experienced tremendous growth in the various areas of its operation. The evangelism programme reaches out to young people with the Gospel. During holidays there is a programme for the youth that helps to keep them active and to behave responsibly.
There’s also a team, which runs Peace and Reconciliation seminars to help to bring about healing from ethnic clashes and civil strife.

In the Development Section the youth are taught life skills and to start projects and co–operatives in their villages. There’s an agricultural centre, which provides seeds and seedlings. A trainer gives instructions on how to grow them. The centre is also used to give the numerous people raped in the war a new lease on life. They are given seeds to plant, taught God’s word and how to interpret the Bible as well as to read and write.

The youth ministry also runs the “Girl Hope Centre” in Bunia, where 176 women and girls come four times a week to learn various skills including knitting, sewing, reading and writing. It is a trauma–healing centre, which caters for people who suffered greatly in the war: some lost all their property; some were raped; and others received no education.

In the Community Health Section, the youth receive training on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention. Blood testing is provided so people can know their serostatus. They are taught nutrition and how to take care of their bodies.

Balikenga and Furaha started Hope for Orphan Children in Ituri (HOCI) in 2005 to respond to the problem of parentless children in the Ituri Province, where the town of Bunia is located.
Money was raised to purchase the buildings that now house the ministry. The centre is called “Bunia Children Hope Centre”.

The project aims to help children who are victims of civil war, ethnic killings and HIV/AIDS.
Over 100 children who come to the centre do not have any extended family. They rely on the centre to meet their physical, social and spiritual needs. They do not stay at the centre. Local people have taken them into their homes, providing them with overnight shelter and an evening meal. The centre provides porridge at midday.

Many host families are very poor and unable to feed an extra child. At one point, a local farmers’ association agreed to provide each host family with 10 kg of rice and 5 kg of beans for each orphan once a month, but that service ended in June 2006.

Approximately 200 other children take part in some of the weekend programming, particularly the spiritual–growth and HIV/AIDS training. Funds are limited so most of the HOCI staff do not receive pay. The teachers and counsellors are given a small amount of money to buy soap and sugar each month. They agreed to start work on a voluntary basis on the understanding that the centre would start paying them when funds became available. In the face of such challenges, children and adults alike have learned to look to God for their every need."

Although some of the programmes run by the Agape Youth Department in the Diocese of Boga have changed since that article was written in 2007, as a result of changes to funding, St Johns Seven Kings has continued to fund a post in the Agape Youth Department throughout. Bisoke meanwhile has been appointed as Judy Acheson's successor at Provincial Youth and Children's Work Co-ordinator and has become a CMS Mission Partner through the Timothy Fund, which supports local mission partners who are talented servant leaders only lacking in financial support.

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Steeleye Span - Gaudete.

Taking youth work forward in the DRC

In her latest prayer letter from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Judy Acheson writes:

"I feel so at peace about handing over the [Provincial Youth] department to Bisoke and Jean-Bosco, knowing that the team will take the department on so much further and thankful that I will no longer have this responsibility. But please pray I finish this stage well as there is still much to do.

Bisoke visited Lubumbashi in April. We are so grateful to CMS for financing that because it was a brilliant time of team-building; as a result the staff are determined that the work will go forward as they pull together, each one using his own particular gifts. They discussed all the knotty questions concerning money – ways of bringing in funding in order to become more and more self-reliant – and an agreement was drawn up with the staff to contribute from their salary each month for when any of the team have problems over health, death, marriage, etc.

It was a time when we really praised the Lord for bringing this team together who are all so deeply committed to serving him amongst children and young people.

Bisoke also developed excellent relationships with the diocesan staff here and began to understand the culture here in the South. He visited churches in three different
archdeaconries and made a great impact on the youth."

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Eric Bibb - Don't Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down.

DRC news

Judy Acheson

The work of the Provincial Youth Department for the Anglican Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to develop. Here is news taken from Judy Acheson's latest prayer letter.

Their second book ‘Young people, with God let us rebuild our beautiful country’ has been accepted by the Catholic bishops in DRC to be used in 2010 as their principal outreach to young people in preparation for the General Elections in 2011. The Baptist Church, based in Kinshasa, decided at their General Assembly to use the book amongst their young people and is looking for funding so that they can provide training for them. The book is being translated into English, so prayer is needed for funding to print and then to distribute around Africa.

A third book, ‘Young people, with God let us overcome poverty in RDC’ is being prepared. They are really encouraged by the way this manual is progressing and hope that the first draft will be finished by the end of this month. It is a real challenge to young people to understand the
causes of poverty and then to become involved in its eradication, through changing their own attitudes and way of living, standing up against injustice within the country and becoming actively involved in being agents for change and development.

They have been planning for Provincial Staff and Diocesan Youth Coordinators to meet in Kinshasa in July for the handover to the new team, for meetings with the Archbishop, and to talk about the way forward. This is vital for a smooth handover and for the building up of relationships. On 19 July, the Provincial Youth Team of the Anglican Church of Congo will meet in Kinshasa for a thanksgiving service and for the official handover between Judy Acheson, Bisoke and Jean-Bosco, the new Provincial Youth Workers. Please pray for the logistical arrangements and that this service will bring glory and honour to our Lord, who has so faithfully kept Judy safe in Congo since 1980.

Judy will move to Mahagi for two years to work on the vision for that Centre, build up the library and income generating projects.

Bisoke Balikenga

We look forward to hosting Bisoke Balikenga in the parish in December and to hearing his news on the progress of the new Provincial Youth Department team which he will be heading up.

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Lor Mbongo - Nkosi Na Yuda.