Tag Archives: jesus

One year on: Rooted in Jesus in the Diocese of Toamasina, Madagascar

Exactly one year ago a Rooted in Jesus team visited the Diocese of Toamasina – the fourth of the six dioceses in the country to invite us. The conference was hosted by Bishop Jean Paul Solo and his wife Neny Daniella, and attended by 117 clergy and lay leaders.

Madagascar is the second largest island country in the world, stretching a thousand miles from tip to toe, and home to a scattered population of some 32 million people. Approximately one million of these are Anglicans, most of whom live in remote rural areas situated many miles from the diocesan centres. This means that whilst bringing leaders together for a residential training conference is possible (though not easy!), supporting them once they are back home is very challenging indeed.

Given the huge size of the diocese, Bishop Solo appointed two coordinators to oversee the Rooted in Jesus programme. Revd Jimmy Fridels supports the group leaders in the southern part of the diocese, and Revd Marlin Fety supports those in the north. Both are parish priests, and both of them have made huge efforts not only to establish Rooted in Jesus in their own churches but also to visit other parishes in order to provide encouragement and support to the newly appointed group leaders. The first year of any new programme is always the most challenging, and both of them have asked us to continue to pray for them as they do this.

Toamasina south

Revd Jimmy Fridels Rarndrianasolo reports that some of the new group leaders worship at the cathedral in Toamasina, a bustling city which hosts the country’s main port. They have made a strong start, and those attending have completed the first book. Jimmy reports that they are eager to learn and are able to recite the memory verses; some new members have been baptised.

Jimmy has also visited the parishes of Mahanoro, Abela Martiora and Brickaville to support the group leaders there. In June he was able to give certificates to those who had completed book 1, and in his most recent report he tells us that a new church is to be built at Antseranambe, in the parish of Brickaville, where there are 50 Rooted in Jesus group members.

A Rooted in Jesus group in Abela Martiora parish (L)
Revd Jimmy with the group leader (R)

Toamasina north

Since the conference last October, Revd Marlin Fety has been doing his best to support the group leaders in those parishes he can reach on foot from his parish of Mananara – sometimes travelling by motorbike taxi, sometimes taking two days to walk there, often using small ferry boats. There are very few paved roads in Madagascar, and none in the area where Marlin ministers.

He writes: “Saturday evening I arrived at Mananara. My departure on foot, I left the village at 6:30 am. I made long way. Penetrated at the long forest, went up and down the hill or mountain, across the water, narrow Stony road. I was extremely tired when I came to Mananara.”

Revd Marlin travels on foot and by ferry

Despite the difficulties, Marlin is dedicated to the task he has been given. So far he has been able to provide training in five of the eight northern parishes, working with the local clergy to introduce Rooted in Jesus to the church members and help the pastors and catechists to establish their groups. He was particularly encouraged by his visit to Ambohitsara, in Antenina parish, where 151 people signed up to join groups. His most recent visit, just last week, was to Maroantsetra.

Marlin tells us that, as in the south, many of the groups are now moving on to Book 2 – he has been given ten copies for the leaders, and is awaiting more.

Revd Marlin & Revd Theophile provide training in Ampiranambo (L)
Revd Marlin & Revd Benjamin provide training in Ambohitsara (R)

Prayer requests

For Bishop Jean Paul Solo and his family as they celebrate 25 years of ministry in Toamasina this October
For the three archdeacons Ven Zakariasy Anole in the centre, Ven Tsiaviry Tarsicius in the south, and Ven Berahisy Regis in the north as they minister in their own parishes and support the pastors and catechists in each archdeaconry
For the two coordinators Revd Jimmy and Revd Marlin, for health and strength as they travel, and for the resources they need in order to do so
For the teachers and students in Rooted in Jesus that they may remain diligent and prosper
For the the construction of a new church by Rooted in Jesus at Antseranambe in the parish of Brickaville, on 9th October, and for parish priest Dean Rev Rolland.

Remarkable growth in the Diocese of Gogrial, South Sudan

In January 2024 we sent a Rooted in Jesus team to the Diocese of Gogrial, one of the largest Dioceses in the Northern Bhar el Ghazel Internal Province and located near the border with Sudan. Spread over a huge area, it has 12 Archdeaconries, 24 Deaneries, 72 parishes and 150 sub parishes. 117 group leaders were commissioned to lead groups in their communities.

A Rooted in Jesus group meeting, Diocese of Gogrial

One year later, we have received a highly encouraging report from Revd Albino Akeen Akoon, the Diocesan Coordinator, who says that “All the group leaders and the diocesan administration met together last month to share their experiences and evaluate the programme. The groups that were formed have been going from strength to strength, though facing many difficulties. The Rooted in Jesus programme has not only provided Gospel outreach, it is now contributing to peace building in our communities, as we are visiting some far places that were inaccessible before.”

He continues: “The following are some of the achievements of RinJ in the Episcopal Diocese of Gogrial:

Group members in the Archdeaconry of Gogrial receiving their certificates and Book 2

“All the group leaders that were selected from archdeaconries and parishes are still leading their groups successfully.
Both women and men are involved equally. This means the program has been embraced by everybody in our community.
The programme has reached Christian and non-Christians directly and indirectly.
New groups have been formed and the programme has been extended to local churches outside town.
Books 1&2 have been completed and certificates have been awarded to some of the participants.
RinJ has led to the conversion of many souls; the boy in the picture was a dangerous boy in the community but is now a Christian.

Sharing testimonies, and meeting for evaluation and planning

The Episcopal Diocese of Gogrial has managed to open 7 churches this year through the help of the Rooted in Jesus training programme
The Episcopal Diocese of Gogrial has revived some of the dead churches as a result of the Rooted in Jesus training programme
Rooted in Jesus has improved the church activities in the churches in the sense that we have attached all the students undergoing this training program to many churches
This training program has helped some of the participants who were not good at reading
Now with the help of this training program, the Episcopal Diocese of Gogrial is going to create some archdeaconries because of some dead churches being revived and opened.
Rooted in Jesus has boosted and promoted the work of mission and evangelism in the Diocese.
The Diocese celebrated official opening of 4 churches in December. It was a very colourful celebration shared by the Diocesan bishop.
The help of RinJ led to open air preaching in Pan-Chum village last year”

Enjoying open air preaching; and a RinJ group meeting

South Sudan is a very challenging place in which to live and work – and yet God is clearly blessing his people there as they strive to follow Jesus. They plan now to provide additional training; they need Books 3 and 4, they need Bibles, and above all they need the peace, security and climate stability which sometimes seems such a distant hope. We continue to pray for them.

Rooted in Jesus is published and supported by the Mathetes Trust. The training provided in 2024 was made possible by a grant from the Relay Trust.

Posted 12th February 2025.

Rooted in Jesus Northern Uganda

The Diocese of Northern Uganda held its first Rooted in Jesus conference from 30^th January to 2^nd February. The conference was opened by Bishop Godfrey Loum, and hosted by Preb Simon Cawdell. Simon, who is himself an experienced Rooted in Jesus leader, is now serving with CMS as the Diocesan Holistic Discipleship Officer.

The conference was held at Gulu Primary School, a church day and boarding school located within the diocesan compound in Gulu, and was attended by 245 participants, including a group from the neighbouring Diocese of Nebbi and a representative from the Diocese of Kitgum. Teaching was provided by three visitors from the UK working alongside Simon, three members of staff from Archbishop Janani Luwum Theological College (of which Sarah Cawdell is the Principal), and the Head of the Vocational Training Institute.

Revd Geoffrey Opiyo was appointed as Diocesan Rooted in Jesus Coordinator, working with Revd Zachariah Otto who is the Head of Mission. He will be supported by a team of 9 archdeaconry coordinators who in turn will work with a local coordinator in each parish. The conference closed with a commissioning service and a rousing address by Bishop Godfrey.

Members of the translation team (Revd Caroline Aber, Revd Zachariah Otto, Revd Geoffrey Opiyo)

History

Northern Uganda has an uncomfortable history. From the late 1980s the whole region was subjected to a period of violent armed conflict as the so-called Lord’s Resistance Army engaged in guerilla warfare against the national government, committing atrocities against local people, raiding schools and villages and abducting children to serve as child soldiers. After more than 20 years of suffering during which nearly 1.7 million people were forced into refugee camps, peace was finally restored to the region – where the process of rebuilding shattered lives is inevitably still ongoing.

The gospel is not new to this part of what is now Uganda. It was first shared by CMS with the Acholi people who are the majority here in 1903, leading to the creation of a strong Anglican presence in the region. The Diocese of Northern Uganda was created in 1961, and in 2021 Bishop Godfrey Loum became its 8^th bishop, quoting 2 Timothy 2.2 and committing himself to ‘preach the Word, to be prepared in season and out of season, to correct, rebuke, and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction.’ This was the charge which he now repeated to those training as leaders of the new Rooted in Jesus discipleship groups, welcoming the programme as part of the diocesan vision and reminding them of the great commission with which Jesus left his closest followers: to ‘make disciples of all peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’

The conference

None of the pain which people still carry within them was visible on the surface as 250 people gathered joyfully in the open, grassy centre of Gulu Primary School under eight marquees elegantly decorated with white and purple cloth. A large red-flowered terebinth tree provided a living demonstration of how a tree with deep roots can produce leaves, buds, flowers and fruit. The Theological College had closed for the week so that all the students could attend the training; Simon had already introduced them to Rooted in Jesus, and 14 had volunteered to lead participants in small groups through Module 1 Lesson 1 of the programme.

Over the next few mornings the team offered plenary sessions on the nature of discipleship, on the resources provided to us by the Holy Spirit, and on the realistic expectations of ministry as explained by Jesus in the Parable of the Sower. As ever, the teaching was interspersed with small group discussion, practical illustration and times of prayer, and followed by small group practice sessions in which participants began to experience the Rooted in Jesus programme for themselves.

In the afternoons participants were divided into 9 groups for workshops led by the visiting team and the college staff on how to get going as a group leader, on pastoral care and on the life of prayer. Classrooms were used for some of these, with others carrying their chairs to shady locations in the ample school grounds. Each day finished with a time of Bible reflection and ministry.

In between all that, generous and tasty meals were provided by a team working from the open air school kitchens, and people took advantage of the opportunity to get to know one another in the first gathering they had had since the restrictions of the Covid pandemic had come to an end. It is difficult, it turns out, to stop the Acholi people from dancing, and spare moments were soon occupied – in the relentless 35 degree heat of the dry season – by vigorous and joyful expressions of dance and song. On the third day an Alur speaking participant named Joy shared that she had received the words and melody of a Rooted in Jesus song as she had been praying that morning. She taught it to the entire conference, and it was sung at the closing ceremony (listen to it here!).

Language was interesting, with the majority of participants speaking Acholi but a sizeable minority speaking Alur. A third group will use Rooted in Jesus in Lugbara. All of these are Nilotic languages, and sound quite different from the Bantu languages of the south. The Acholi translations were done by a team from this diocese; those into Alur and Lugbara had already been completed by a team from the Diocese of Aru in DR Congo. The books were printed locally to a high standard.

Books were printed in Alur, Acholi and Lugbara

Reflection

This was the largest single conference we have ever run, made possible only thanks to the committed and active participation of the college, school and diocesan staff. The conference itself had been preceded by a diocesan-wide roadshow, with every archdeaconry being visited, prepared and invited to send a participant from each parish. Mattresses had been hired, food bought, registration was carefully recorded, and certificates awarded to those who committed themselves to starting a group (which in the event was all of them). The blended visiting and local teaching team enjoyed working together, the college students rose magnificently to the task of translating the sessions into Acholi and Alur, and everyone went home with a smile on their face. For the UK team – Alison Morgan, Roger Fenton and Hazel Aucken – it was a great privilege to be part of the ministry of this dynamic and ambitious diocese for a few days, and wonderful to be given the opportunity to visit Murchison Falls National Park on the way home. We remain hugely grateful to the team of people who committed themselves to praying for the conference, and are glad to hear that, just one week later, groups have already started and plans for follow-up are being put in place.