faith

One Year On: Rooted in Jesus, Toamasina, Madagascar

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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 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. Given the huge size of the diocese, two coordinators were appointed to oversee the Rooted in Jesus programme: Revd Jimmy Fridels in the south, and Revd Marlin Fety in the north. There is much to give thanks for.

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 Book 1.  Elsewhere, Jimmy reports that a new church is to be built at Antseranambe, where there are 50 Rooted in Jesus group members!

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!  Despite the difficulties, Marlin is dedicated to the task. Particularly encouraging was a visit to Antenina parish where 151 people signed up to join groups! As in the south, many of the groups are now moving on to Book 2.

We have published a full report on the conference on our blog

David Archer commissioned as Director of Rooted in Jesus

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We are pleased to be able to report that yesterday Revd Dr David Archer was formally commissioned by the Bishop of Oxford Steven Croft in his new role as Director of Rooted in Jesus. The service also provided an opportunity for us to thank my wife Alison for her 25 years of ministry in Africa as she hands over the leadership of Rooted in Jesus to David. Alison was delighted to be presented with a wonderfully appropriate gift by David, on behalf of the Trustees.

Bishop Steven gave a moving and encouraging address from Colossians 2.6-7, focussing on our shared calling to be rooted and grounded in Christ. The service also enabled him to commend Rooted in Jesus to the congregation of St Mary’s, Purley-on-Thames, who had turned out in strength; to thank them for their support for this new opportunity, and to pray for David’s colleague Aidan Jones, the Associate Minister at St Mary’s. Aidan will be taking more responsibility within St Mary’s as David moves to half-time in his role as Rector.

What will Alison be doing now, people asked? Well, many things! Next Saturday she is leading a workshop at the OWL (Outdoor Worship Leicestershire) Conference at Launde Abbey. The subject of the workshop is ‘Connecting with God through Birds’. If you live nearby and would like to go, you can find out more here!

Otherwise we are getting into gear for the start of the autumn term. David is planning some new Rooted in Jesus conferences, supported by Eva who has made a great start as the new Administrator for Rooted in Jesus. Our EQUIP programme is running with a new series of meetings both by Zoom and in person, and Sue is supporting Roger in making that happen.

Rooted in Jesus Conferences: Ministry in Madagascar

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A Rooted in Jesus team has just returned from Madagascar, where we had been invited to introduce Rooted in Jesus to the dioceses of Antsiranana and Toamasina. Both conferences went very well, and we were delighted with the hospitality which we received.
We’ve posted a full report on our blog https://rootedinjesus.blog/2024/10/07/new-rooted-in-jesus-conferences-in-madagascar/, and if you’d like a taste of the wonderful worship please head over to our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/rootedinjesusforafrica/ or click the image below.
We are hugely grateful to Bishop Jaomandiny and Bishop Solo for arranging and hosting the conferences, and to them, their families and the church members who offered us hospitality during our visit. We are also grateful to those who translated for UK team members Alison and John, to our fellow facilitators Jean Flobert and Keziah Rateloson, to those who provided prayer support each day during the conferences, to the Relay Trust who helped with the funding, and finally to Revd Donné and Neny Vero of the Diocese of Toliara who printed the books.

Latest news from Rooted in Jesus

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We have just received a very encouraging Rooted in Jesus report from the Diocese of Maiwut in South Sudan. Maiwut is an exceptionally poorly resourced diocese, located on the border with Ethiopia, and the ministry is led by Bishop Peter Gatbel. We first sent a Rooted in Jesus team there in January 2023, with a return visit in January 2024. Those trained have done exceptionally well in starting and leading their groups, and most groups are now on Book 3 of the programme. Translation of the Rooted in Jesus Junior programme has begun, so we look forward to helping them introduce that in due course.
We have posted the report sent by Revd John Jamuth, the diocesan coordinator, on our blog, and you can find it here, along with photos from a men’s group, a women’s group and a youth group (above).

Other recent news is as follows:

Diocese of Northern Uganda – the first conference was held here in January.
Simon Cawdell reports: “ “The Rooted in Jesus course is growing across the diocese, and some groups are now moving on to book two which is very encouraging. We are also receiving requests for training from those that missed out this time around which is  an encouragement. The new co-ordinator, Rev Opiyo Geoffrey is presently touring the diocese to support groups and ascertain progress. We are reconvening the translation group to start on book three so that we are well prepared for the next stage in discipleship development. It was great to hear from an archdeacon on one of the visits I did that the course was transforming the life of his parish and more people are coming to church as a result. We have brought together the translation team to start work on Book 3 which is very encouraging.”
Diocese of Tonj, South Sudan – RinJ was also introduced to this area of the diocese in January.
Peter Aleu reports: “Rooted in Jesus in Tonj East Romic Area Diocese is very good and we managed to opened 11 centers. Each center has 12 participants × 11 centers. These 132 people are expecting to complete Book 1 at the end of this month.
Diocese of Bukavu, missionary area of Lake Tanganyika –  RinJ was introduced to this missionary diocese in 2021, with a follow-up conference in December 2023.
Coordinator Ven Minduli Mulanda reports: “”The ministry continues in our archdeaconries and deaneries, where the coordinators transmit the reports to us after their visits to different parish groups. Coordinator Ezekiel continues to make his rounds in Uvira. Some groups are in Book 2, others in Book 3, few are in Book 4.” The group leaders are particularly grateful for a recent gift of Bibles from a UK church – it’s hard to lead a group without one!
We continue to be grateful for your prayer and support.
Posted 29 July 2024

Rooted in Jesus in the Diocese of Northern Uganda

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The Diocese of Northern Uganda has just held its first Rooted in Jesus conference! The conference was opened by Bishop Godfrey Loum, and hosted by Preb Simon Cawdell, an experienced Rooted in Jesus leader now serving with CMS as the Diocesan Holistic Discipleship Officer. The conference was held at Gulu Primary School, and was attended by 245 participants, including a group from the neighbouring Diocese of Nebbi and a representative from the Diocese of Kitgum.
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. 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.
We remain hugely grateful to those who committed themselves to praying for the conference at home, and are glad to hear that, just one week later, groups have already started and plans for follow-up are being put in place.
To read the full report visit the Rooted in Jesus blog.