A glance at the church in Kenya
by Ray Smith
Kenya is a beautiful country with
great charm for the tourist. Underneath
the surface it is a deeply troubled nation facing economic decline.
So one leading Kenyan Christian said in a sermon that the country was
like being in the last days of Jerusalem before the Babylonian exile - God
was still on his throne but his people had turned from his ways and disaster was
staring them in the face. Kenya
has been struck by three scourges. Firstly
corruption is so bad (third worst in the world) that the World Bank has
withdrawn aid, so unemployment is rising. Secondly Aids is having a devastating effect destroying
the most economically active generation and leaving lots of orphans. Finally for
the past three years there has been a severe drought - many cattle men have lost up to 75% of their herds.
As a result of all these factors people are drifting into the cities and
finding no work, turn to crime and violence
It is within these parameters that
the Christian church operates 80% of Kenyans are Christian
There is a very wide range of denominations. The Archbishop of Kenya,
David Gitari fearlessly leads the united front of Christian and other faiths who
are seeking to change the constitution to bring about freedom from bad
government and corruption. Also
the Anglican church is seeking to have an impact on society through its efforts
of caring for the street children, by teaching good husbandry in farming and
horticulture and being involved in higher education.
Also attempts are being made to improve life within the vast slums ( one
for instance Kiremba - is thought to have a population in
excess of I million) The church is very much seen to be at the cutting edge of
society’s problems
There are at least four areas where
the Anglican Church of Kenya (to give it its full title) may have explored
territory that is of interest to the Church in Wales. The first concerns the burdens being
placed upon the shoulders of an Archbishop.
They have recognised that it is not right to expect an Archbishop to be
concerned with both pastoring a conventional sized diocese as well as carrying
the responsibilities for the whole province.
In his position of Archbishop,
they have recognised too, that he has a vital role in the life of the nation.
The Kenyan solution is to create a special mini diocese for the
Archbishop so that he has very limited diocesan responsibilities and is
therefore freed for a wider role in the life of the Church and nation.
Ought we in Wales be giving some consideration as to how the workload
for the Archbishop of our province can be eased?
Whilst dioceses may not have as many
parishes as in this country, each parochial unit may well have many centres of
worship. Most parishes have
only one priest but there are many evangelists, lay readers and laity taking the
services. Their main acts of worship are as a consequence Morning and Evening
Prayer, with only infrequent celebrations of Holy Communion.
Many parishes are running Theological Education by Extension (TEE)
courses to train up the laity for worship leadership etc. The Archbishop is
encouraging the development of the theological training for the clergy
Like some Provinces, the Kenyan
Church has used the opportunity given by the Communion’s authorisation to
develop a liturgy that is locally rooted. So one tribe’s curse on another
tribe has been transformed into a blessing “All our problems”
Response “We send to the Cross of Christ” etc There is frequent
reference to ancestors and a wide range of canticles that are rooted in their
spiritual experience. If we
had followed the Kenyan’s pattern of revision, there, most probably, would
have been a greater degree of welshness and Celtic spirituality in our
liturgies. Incidentally, when
they sing, they do not need a music group, OHP or amplification, etc., one sets off and everybody follows.
If it is in
Swahili then arms legs and the body get involved in the adoration.
The church has been greatly
influenced over past years by the East African Revival and all acknowledge a
great debt to it. However
with the passage of’ time there has become by many older Christians, an
ossification of attitudes, so for instance some will only sing from the hymn
book that was used a lot at that time Golden Bells — and miss out on all the lovely songs of these past years.
There has been much talk of revival coming to Wales.
We must avoid at all costs becoming rigid once the first flush of revival
has passed.