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Anglican

Anglicans form the family of Christians closely related to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Whilst tracing their inheritance back to Christ and the earliest Christians and to the ancient Roman Catholic church, the sixteenth century Reformation was a crucial moment for Anglicanism.

Bishop

‘Bishop’ comes from the Greek word for ‘overseer’. So a bishop is a senior Christian minister authorised to have oversight for God’s people. As well as duties given to deacons and priests, bishops confirm and ordain.

Diocese

‘Diocese’ refers to the geographical territory in which a bishop exercises oversight. The Church in Wales is divided into six dioceses each with its own cathedral in which is housed the cathedra (the bishop’s ‘chair’ or ‘throne’).

Eucharist

‘Eucharist’ comes from the Greek word for ‘thanksgiving’. At the Eucharist the Church remembers Jesus’ last supper where he gave bread and wine to be his body and blood, a sign of his saving love. See also Holy Communion.

Home Pobl Dewi: December 2024 Mud, Mosquitos and Mission

Mud, Mosquitos and Mission

John Holdsworth witnesses church growth in Africa

I’m in Chad, one of the ten poorest countries in the world. It has oil but poor infrastructure, climate change and conflict mean the Chadians see little benefit. This is the rainy season. There are floods everywhere, making the (mainly) dirt roads impassable and leaving stagnant water in which millions of mosquitos breed. It’s 30 degrees according to my app, and 98% humidity. Not here on holiday then.

I’m here for the Synod of the (relatively new) Anglican Diocese of North Africa, a mixture of Conference and School. Enthusiasm for the Church in Chad is remarkable and it’s growing fast. Here they recognise three stages in church growth. The first is the plant, and at the conference there are 27 men and women who are prospective planters, lay and ordained. Each of them will plant a church as part of their course. The Diocese aims for 40 plants before the end of next year. The next stage is the Mission Centre, but only when there are 100 on the Electoral Roll and an average Sunday attendance of at least 60 adults over a six-month period can the congregation have Church status, with ordained leadership and places on the Synod. How many churches would there be in St Davids on that basis?

Stewardship is central to the presentations and the training. Only self-supporting churches will survive. Tithing is the most common form of fund raising – and that from people with little money to live on.

The Synod Eucharist is conducted at St Peter’s Church in ‘Ndjamena. This is a building in someone’s garden, which looks a bit like an unfinished double garage. Here some 70 people gather as the Bishop celebrates, and a guest bishop Yassir Eric, a former Muslim, preaches an excellent sermon describing how he converted to Christianity.

Mission often starts with social action. A church in Klessoum, just outside the city, was started by providing a water pump. In other places the Diocese has big plans for educational facilities. In the capital, land has been acquired for a substantial cathedral campus, incorporating a school.

Our accommodation at a Catholic Retreat Centre was considered fairly luxurious by local standards but most westerners would have baulked at having to kill and clear out the infestation of beetles/baby cockroaches before unpacking. Three people went down with Malaria during our stay. Electricity and water supply were intermittent. But it was a great experience.