New Around the Mission
Group Shares Meals, Worship with Rwandan Sister Church
July 31, 2011
Eating together changes everything. At least, that’s what members of Church of the Apostles in Hope Mills, North Carolina, said after eating dinner in the homes of members of their sister church, Nyanza Parish in Nyanza, Rwanda.
“It’s a necessity to go and to be with them and eat with them and to fellowship—it changes your relationship in dynamic ways,” says Apostles’ Director of Family Ministries Joel Christian, who joined the Rev. Dan Alger and four others from the church on a 10-day journey to South Rwanda last month.
The second visit to Nyanza Parish since beginning the relationship four years ago allowed Joel and the group to once again connect with their Rwandan brothers and sisters face to face. Thanks to an interpreter, they shared freely about their lives and faith over Rwandan dishes like boiled beans, bananas, sweet potatoes or cassava.
“It’s a very hospitable culture,” Joel says. “As we sat in the homes of families, they asked a lot of questions about our ministries and what we’re doing and how God is working in our lives.”
In addition to the evenings of fellowship, Apostles visited Nyanza Parish’s five sub-parishes, approximately 30 miles apart, and attended a special service at each. Other highlights included spending time with the Rev. Odilo, Diocesan Secretary and Archdeacon of the Nyanza Parish, and Archbishop Onesphore Rwaje, as well as visiting an HIV AIDS coop in Nyanza. The group also enjoyed an intimate glimpse of Compassion International’s programs at work both in Nyanza and nearby Butare.
“Our church sponsors quite a few children in our sister church through Compassion,” Joel says. “We got to see them in their church and hometown and be with these kids as representatives of their sponsor parents. It was incredible to receive gifts to bring home to sponsor parents, pray with the kids and hear their stories.”
On Sunday, all the sub-parishes gathered for a joint service. Each brought their choir and more than 500 people packed into the concrete church building. Twelve songs, a sermon and a lengthy process of confession and repentance completed the worship time, which Joel says was “never boring.” Moreover, worship affirmed the shared identity of the two churches—far apart yet close in spirit.
“When we started this journey four years ago, we had barriers of language—the pastor didn’t speak any English,” Joel says. “It was a process. But there are unbelievable benefits from sharing in community and really seeing the faces of your sister church and holding their hands and worshipping together, outside your comfort zone and normal context. You realize who you are as a church here.”
Learn more at The Church of the Apostles online.
Posted By: Cynthia P. Brust
Categories: Rwanda
