Quarter System

The diocese changed its financial system to the quarter system.  I have no idea where the name comes from; quarter of what?

Each parish is assigned an amount to raise to support the diocese.  Likewise, the archdeaconry has assigned each parish within the archdeaconry an additional amount to raise to support the archdeaconry.  After these amounts are paid, all remaining offerings (for the balance of the year) can remain with the local parish for development.  Sounds like an assessment to me (assessment of each parishes’ financial strength), but this term is not used here.

Previously, a small part of the offering remained with the parish and the majority (I have not seen the exact numbers but I was led to believe it was over 90%) was sent to the diocese via the archdeaconry.

SSEST

The South Sudan Evangelical School of Theology holds its classes in Mugujai, Uganda (on the border) to facilitate refugees in Uganda, and those who have returned to South Sudan.  It is operated by the Free Charismatic Church of Africa but is ecumenical in its focus.  The founders knew there are other seminaries available in Uganda but believed that there needs to be one that teaches in the native language of the students, Kakwa.  Specifically Bari which is the Kakwa of South Sudan (Kakwa with a significant Arabic influence).  I was asked to speak at the graduation ceremony.  After translating for me, the archbishop asked if the school principal had told me about the topic they had just been teaching.  I said no, the real principal (pointing to heaven) did.  He proceeded to tell the graduates that it was Holy Spirit moving because it continued the topic and related it to the students.

South Sudan Evangelical School of Theology 2024 graduates.

South Sudan Evangelical School of Theology teachers (L to R) Bishop Moses, Bishop Banga, Presiding Bishop Tom, Archbishop Hakim

Translation

The South Sudan Evangelical School of Theology holds its classes in Mugujai, Uganda which is on the border with South Sudan.  That allows them to serve those who remained in South Sudan, those who have returned, and the refugees in Uganda.  I was asked to come for the graduation service and to preach the message.

Part of my preparation is to type up the readings.  Since the school teaches in Kakwa, I typed the English and the Kakwa translations of the readings.  I review what I type in Kakwa, comparing it to my source, word by word because my computer does not spell check in Kakwa.  I also asked a Kakwa speaker to read it over to make sure it made sense.  I must be careful which Kakwa speaker I ask, because many of them do not have the ability to read.  This is frequently an issue in the prison ministry.

The Kakwa bible, now back in print, was out of print for over a year.  The publishers wanted to correct many of the mistakes before printing more, but they did not find someone to do the work.  My reviewer found one of the errors in Acts 7:1 where the word ‘to’ was translated ‘ka’.  He told me it should be ‘ku’.

One of the bishops teaching at the school does a lot of translation work for the ministries of Truth is Light.  I look forward to his review, and what I will learn about Kakwa in the process.

Schedule

The current reverend at St. John’s is teaching the parish leadership how to plan.  Instead of following their tribal custom of just responding to whatever happens as it happens, they should plan.  He has instituted a quarterly schedule, very much like the monthly church schedules I knew in the US.  The acting Church Teacher has been going around getting people to sign up.  I offered to type up what he had so far and provide a clean copy so he can finish the work.

In the process of reviewing what I typed up, he realized that he needed to distinguish between those signing up for both services and those volunteering for just the English service or just the Kakwa service.  Together we made the changes.  We are already several weeks into the new schedule and it is just now being completed; however, some are beginning to see its value and the reason it needs to be completed before the quarter begins.

John Lee

My friend, John Lee, just passed away.  He had some health issues, but I had hoped he would have some form of quality life with us for a few more years.

I met John Lee through Kairos Monroe.  We served on several prison ministry weekend teams together.  We were both part of the continuing ministry at Monroe too. 

During the Kairos weekend that he led, he shared a story.  I think it was a favorite of his because I heard him tell it to the participants (prisoners and those of us on the team) twice.  I also heard him tell it twice to me in personal meetings.  I will try to retell it in his memory.

He began by explaining he grew up as a missionary kid in Southeast Asia, Thailand if I remember correctly.  People would raise their crops on the family farms out in the countryside.  Then they had to bundle up what they had and make the trek to town or the city.  He described the city as being a long way away, 100 km.  It set the image; however, a person cannot walk 100 km in a day, let alone go, sell produce, and return.  There was a railroad next to the dirt road the farmer was using to reach the city.  A train pulled up next to him and the conductor asked him if he wanted a ride.  The farmer said he did not have the fare.  The conductor told him the seats were comfortable, the train was pleasantly cool, a respite from the hot sunshine he was walking in, and he could have cold water to drink.

Again, the farmer said he did not have the fare.  The conductor said he would let him ride in exchange for the load he was carrying.  He thought about it and was about to pass when the conductor mentioned the comfortable seats and the cold water again.  He thought some more and then gave the load to the conductor. 

As the train started to move, he settled into a seat.  It was a soft fabric and well padded.  The conductor personally brought a tall glass of ice water to him and told him lunch would be served shortly.  As he got comfortable, he saw the conductor throw the load he had given off the train, but it did not bother him.  He was going to sell it anyway and now he was on the train.

So give your burden to Jesus and get on the train.

John told this to remind us to trust Jesus, and let Jesus share our load.  However, today I think there may be a spiritual element too.  John Lee gave up his earthly load and got on the train to heaven.

John, you are missed.

Bible Study

I was encouraged to hear several members of the prison ministry team talking about our bible study.  We study the passage we plan to share in the prison that week so that those who will be presenting can practice working with the notes and how they want to present.  One team member was saying, and others were agreeing that our bible study is easy to follow.  Others they have encountered were more difficult.  They did not say what made the others more difficult.  We did talk about how this one was developed (so they can share it, and the process, with others).  We also talked about why our study in the Gospel of Mark starts each study with a summary of recently discussed verses, to build the complete story, and appreciate the continuity of the Gospel.

Theme

A couple members of the prison ministry team have been asked to preach and read the lessons for next Sunday.  After the prison ministry team meeting they were talking about it with the team because they did not see the relationship between the readings. 

Here it is common to try to relate all the readings in the sermon.

We directed them to two solutions.  One, pray, asking God what God want them to bring out of the readings.  Two, since they are working with the readings from the lectionary, look at the collect of the day.  Its purpose is to collect or bring together the themes present in the readings.

God is using the prison ministry team for more than prison ministry.

Easter

It seems like we just had a large baptism group for Christmas; however, there are 51 more.  Forty-eight were baptized at the Kakwa service on Easter day, all infants.  The other three are adults.  They will be baptized in a separate service closer to the day when the bishop visits for confirmation.  They are also part of the confirmation class.

The baptism portion of the Easter service took two hours.  The rest of the service was an hour and a half, just like the English service earlier in the day.  (Each of the pastors to serve St. John Birijaku in the last four years has insisted on offering baptism exclusively in Kakwa.)

Both services have 300+ attendees.  It just does not seem like a big enough population to have more than 30 infants for baptism at Christmas and 48 more by Easter; however, large families are the norm here.  (The youth service between the English and Kakwa services can have as many as 500 attend.)

Cave of David

Cave of David is one of the Pentecostal churches in Koboko.  It is the home parish of one of the prison team members.  He took me by the church a week ago, introduced me to the senior pastor and his wife, and suggested I should visit for a service.  I looked at the sign and thought through my commitments.  They have a Wednesday service; I could adjust my computers skills schedule and visit.

The service really is 2 – 2 ½ hours as advertised.  The first hour was led by the senior pastor alternating between spiritual songs and praying in the spirit.  The next hour was given to the preacher of the day, who had just returned from a crusade in Juba.  At the end of the service I was introduced and my role in prison ministry was mentioned.

Sermon

I was asked to give the sermon for last Sunday.  I was asked a couple of months ago.  I used the time to pray about it and the Lord led me to do something unusual for me.  I began by singing a song I heard in the Holy Land and again at St. Andrew’s Seattle after our visit to the Holy Land.  I asked a few people if the song, ‘God is speaking to his people’ is known here.  They had not heard of it; however, I may have asked the question incorrectly.  I was looking for the Kakwa translation.  At both the English and the Kakwa service, I heard some of the ladies join in when I started singing.  They dropped out when I switched to Kakwa.

It made a point; the prophets gave us a message.  If we look at that message, we can find predictions of the events of Holy Week.  God was telling me to link things together.