Bishops from Anglican Dioceses around the world with links to the Diocese of Blackburn in Lancashire (Church of England) are meeting in Kenya from January 28 to February 3 for a gathering supported by Christian Aid.
The Rt Revd Philip North, Bishop of Blackburn, is meeting with the Rt Revd Joseph Aba, Bishop of Liwolo Diocese (Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan), the Rt Revd Dintoe Letloenyane, Bishop of the Diocese of the Free State (formerly Bloemfontein, Anglican Church of Southern Africa) and the Rt Revd Leo Paul of Multan Diocese (the Church of Pakistan (United)). Blackburn Diocese is also linked with Braunschweig Diocese in Germany, but the Diocese is currently in a vacancy period between Bishops.
Organisers say, ‘the gathering will be groundbreaking because, while it seeks to further strengthen relationships between Blackburn Diocese and its link dioceses, it will also have the additional purpose of fostering stronger long-term collaboration between the partner dioceses as well.’
The bishops are meeting in Nairobi, travelling from profoundly different contexts, including one Diocese (Liwolo) where the people are living in exile due to the ongoing conflict in their home country and another (Multan) where Christians often experience persecution.
The bishops will pray and seek to build strong personal relationships over the time they will be together and will also take part in a variety of activities.
The core of the visit will be two days (Friday and Saturday) coordinated by the international charity Christian Aid. On Friday morning (30th January), the bishops will have a roundtable with staff from the Christian Aid Africa head office in Nairobi.
They will attend a lunch at the All Africa Conference of Churches’ head office, alongside church leaders from Nairobi and representatives from partner organisations. This will be a chance to share in more detail what it’s like to minister in each of the different dioceses. Later that day, the group will attend a service during which a new worship song, commissioned by Christian Aid and written by Kenyan artists, will be performed for the first time.
On Saturday (31st January), the Bishops will travel to Ongata Rongai (around 10 miles south of Nairobi) to meet staff from one of Christian Aid’s charity partners, Beacon of Hope.
Nairobi has many semi-permanent informal settlements of densely packed housing. Electricity and running water are for the few, food prices are high and many people earn less than a dollar a day, meaning putting food on the table is a daily struggle.
Beacon of Hope is working on urban farming projects, teaching families to grow their own produce, even in small spaces, to eat and sell for income. Initiatives such as this is funded by Christian Aid, thanks to the generosity of its supporters.
During their visit, the bishops will visit a resettlement camp to pray with displaced people and to discuss the work being done to combat poverty and malnutrition.
Following their two days with Christian Aid, the bishops will attend morning service at Thika Cathedral on Sunday and will have a further day together on Monday to discuss the long-term future of the links between the Dioceses.
Commenting on his forthcoming trip, Bishop Philip said, ‘I’m delighted to be able to travel to Nairobi to spend time together with my counterparts from Liwolo, the Free State and Multan. We all come from very different contexts - some marked by displacement and persecution - but we are one in Christ. In the coming days, we will pray, listen and learn from one another and we are grateful for the support of Christian Aid and its partners on this special visit.’
‘I want to hear how the Church is serving in fragile places and to ask how we in Lancashire can stand with them. I hope that this time will deepen friendship, spark practical collaboration and strengthen our family of link dioceses so that together we advocate for justice and proclaim the hope of Jesus. When one part of the Body of Christ hurts, we all hurt; when we walk together in Christ, we are stronger and more resilient.’
See an article about the trip to Nairobi on the Diocese of Blackburn website.