Congo churches close distance between them
Congo is home to some 200,000 Mennonites and three Mennonite conferences, but only recently have they begun to cooperate. In February, Damien Pelende Tshinyama, president of the MB conference in Congo, hosted Benjamin Mubenga wa Kabanga of Communauté Evangélique Mennonite(CEM), and Adolphe Komuesa Kalunga of Communauté Mennonite au Congo (CMCo) in Kikwit. Earlier visits, all facilitated by Mennonite Church Canada, Mennonite Mission Network, and Africa Inter-Mennonite
Mission, took the three leaders to visit the offices and churches of the CEM conference in Mbuji Mayi, and to Tshikapa, where the CMCo is centred.
“These visits have been very useful,” said Komuesa. The three leaders recognized the need to be more aware of each others’ churches and contexts in order to develop stronger relationships. The conferences are separated by geography, and the decade-long civil conflict in the country hampered communication between the churches.
—Mennonite Weekly Review
