wfn.org | Consultation examines ministry of the deacon in Africa

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Feb. 23, 2000 News media contact: Linda Green·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-31-71B{093}

By Andra Stevens*

MUTARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS) - High winds, heavy rains and power outages from a
tropical storm did not prevent United Methodist leaders from arriving at
Africa University Feb. 22 for a three-day consultation exploring the
ministry of the deacon in the African context.

Bishops and members of African annual conferences are meeting with staff
from the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, based in
Nashville, Tenn., for a conference on "Superintendents and the Order of the
Deacon in the United Methodist Church in Africa." 

Tropical storm Eline, which was churning off the coast of Mozambique on Feb.
22, has added another hardship to the area led by Bishop Joao Somane
Machado. He could not attend the consultation because United Methodist
churches in his area are struggling to cope with flood damage and the
displacement of hundreds of people in the southern part of the country
following more than two weeks of heavy rain. Large parts of the country are
under water and the rain continues.

The ordained ministry officials are meeting with the African church leaders
as a follow-up to 1996 General Conference actions making the deacon a
permanent order in the United Methodist Church. Before the change in the
denomination's order of ministry, deacons were precursors to ordination as
elders in the church. Facilitating the discussions are the Rev. Jimmy Carr,
a director in the board's section on deacons and diaconal ministries, and
the Rev. Art Gafke, a director in the section on elders and local pastors. 

The consultation is an opportunity for the leaders of the United Methodist
Church in Africa to discuss the challenges facing those called to ministry
as deacons and superintendents, and to plan for the implementation of the
change in their areas. Together, the bishops and other delegates want to
strengthen diaconal and ordained ministry in African United Methodism.

Bishops Done Peter Dabale of the Nigeria Area, Ntanda Ntambo of the North
Katanga Area in the Democratic of the Congo, and Kainda Katembo of the
Southern Congo Area (Zambia) are attending the consultation. Bishop William
Dew Jr. of Phoenix is representing the United Methodist Board of Higher
Education and Ministry. Other African bishops were scheduled to attend, but
illness and work demands prompted cancellations. District superintendents
and other senior conference officials are representing those areas.

"The permanent deacon has not really been well understood in a lot of places
in the church," said the Rev. Dixine Cox, who is representing Bishop Arthur
Kulah and the Liberia Area. "This order was established in 1996, but we are
still struggling to understand more about it, to see how it works and to
determine the right thing for us in the African context."

Dabale noted Nigeria is a relatively young area in the United Methodist
Church and that it is just becoming comfortable with the denomination's
systems and structures. "We know about the deacon, we ordain them for two
years and then after two years, ordain as an elder," he said. "That is what
we are practicing, but the permanent deacon is yet to be implemented, and I
need to know more about it before I put it into practice."

Through the consultation, the bishops and church leaders hope to be able to
shape an understanding of what the order of deacon could be for Africa.

"We are very conscious that the deacons in Africa could be very different
from what is in place in other parts of the world, and as a general board we
don't want to say the order should be this or that," Carr said. "But we also
understand that there are a lot of needs in Africa and that the ministry of
the deacon could really assist the churches as they try to deal with
poverty, disenfranchised population and the need for advocacy."

The consultation also is providing an opportunity for discussion of the role
of superintendents in the United Methodist Church in Africa. Delegates from
Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria and
Zimbabwe are bringing issues of resources and effectiveness to the table.
Gafke, who is director of supervision and support systems in the board's
division of ordained ministry, is leading the discussions on the ministry of
superintendents. 

"The conditions in which superintendents, pastors and church members
function are severe, particularly in areas torn by warfare," Gafke said. The
distances people travel, the workload, the complexity of relationships, the
number of ethnic and language groups, and the frictions and competitions
that exist are all part of the context for this ministry, he noted.

Participants in the consultation want to reach an understanding on the next
steps in the process. They plan to take ideas on which there is a consensus
back to their areas and conferences for discussion and possible
implementation. These may include a pilot project in Liberia on the order of
the deacon and an international team to work with African annual conferences
to strengthen the superintendents' function in the church.
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*Stevens is the director of the Office of Information at Africa University.

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United Methodist News Service
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