A letter from Meg Knight in Rwanda
Spring 2014
Greetings from the Heart of Africa
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”—Matt. 5:9
Dear Friends,
What does it mean to be a peace-maker? How is that different from a peace-keeper? Is this just a matter of semantics, or is there an important distinction to be made?
That verse from the Sermon on the Mount has been much on my mind and heart in the last few weeks. At the end of February I was privileged to attend an International Conference on Reconciliation and Sustainable Peace at which approximately 140 theologians, church leaders, students, government authorities, translators, and engaged Christians gathered on the shores of beautiful Lake Kivu to ponder how the life and writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer offer insight and challenge to Christians today.
Bonhoeffer was the German Lutheran pastor, ethicist, and theologian (perhaps best known today for his classic work The Cost of Discipleship) who was imprisoned for his courageous stand against the Nazi regime and executed just two weeks before the end of the war in Europe for his participation in a plot to assassinate Hitler.
Assembled from Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Tanzania, and Uganda, participants were challenged intellectually and spiritually. Old friendships were rekindled, and new acquaintances became friends as stories were shared, opinions were voiced, fears and hopes and doubts were acknowledged, and faith was proclaimed.
The subject and timing of the conference was carefully chosen by the Rwandan and German organizers to coincide with the upcoming observance of the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide. Although separated by 50 years and thousands of miles, the genocide against the Jews and the genocide against the Tutsi share similarities, and the reemergence of the church from the horror and destruction of both cataclysms is ongoing.
Scripture, especially the Beatitudes, formed the core of Bonhoeffer's conviction that it is the responsibility of Christians to give voice to the powerless, the threatened, the marginalized, and the despised. As one speaker pointed out, “for Bonhoeffer the Sermon on the Mount is not utopian—it is very practical.” Challenged by the conference to read the Bible and the newspaper side-by-side, I have taken up the 5th chapter of Matthew as the focus of my personal Lenten “work.”
So, what do Bonhoeffer and the Beatitudes have to do with teaching English to the staff of the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda?
Nothing and everything.
The fact that my English teaching is going on in a church environment is an astonishingly liberating reality for me. I'm not here to preach or teach the gospel, but neither are many of my students (although a surprising number of them are pastors). But we share a common faith and a common conviction that our faith needs to be lived out in the world, in our day-to-day lives. And so the practicality of our faith becomes the reality of our studies.
During Lent we are beginning every class with the prayer (erroneously attributed to St. Francis) “Instrument of Your Peace.” We use it in all my classes to learn vocabulary and as fuel for oral discussion. My advanced class has been looking at a variety of English translations of Matthew 5 to tease out subtleties of language, while at the same time we share with each other our understanding of God's calling on our lives.
I am humbled and blessed to be part of this. It would not be possible without your faithful prayers, your steadfast encouragement, and your overwhelmingly generous financial support. Words cannot express the depth of my gratitude.
Prayer Requests:
1. Last week I was happy to take greetings from the PC(USA) and the churches of Albany Presbytery to the annual General Synod meeting of the Presbyterian Church in Rwanda (EPR). At that meeting—the equivalent of our General Assembly—the church decided to implement a long-discussed restructuring plan (from 17 regions to 7 presbyteries) that will mean major changes in the assignments (and locations) of many church leaders, decentralization of much of the denomination's work, and changes to the responsibilities of the national church staff based here in Kigali. Please pray for a smooth transition and that God would continue to lead and bless the work of the EPR throughout this country.
2. Kwibuka20. April 7 will mark the 20th anniversary of the beginning of one of the darkest times in human history—a 100-day period during which a million people died (that's 10,000 people a day in a country smaller than the state of Vermont) and Rwandan society ceased to exist. Kwibuka means remember in Kinyarwanda, and Rwandans are asking the world to join with them as they remember those who were lost, support those who survived, and work together to restore their nation and ensure that history will not repeat itself. Please pray that through the coming year God would bring comfort to those who still suffer grievously and that he would raise up peacemakers to lead this beautiful country into the next 20 years.
Shalom,
Meg (Margaret, Marg)
The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 128
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