Africa Matters

 As my time here at Duke comes to an end – I leave for South Bend, Indiana on December 3, I have been doing a lot of remembering and saying a lot of farewells. The last twelve years at Duke and in North Carolina have been filled with many gifts as well as opportunities for learning, leadership and growth. I am particularly reminded and humbled by the gift of so many rich and deep friendships, reflected in some of the  sentiments below:  

“Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our spirits have trouble remembering how to fly.”

Farewell card from the Duke Center For Reconciliation Board

“Holy friends challenge the sins we have come to love, affirm the gifts we are afraid to claim and help us dream dreams we otherwise would not dream.”

Greg Jones, Dean Emeritus, Duke Divinity School. Read his essay on friendship in Fatith and Leadership.  

 ”Through unlikely friendships God stretches, expands, and even confuses the sense of who “my people” are, so as to create a ‘new we’ in the world.”

Emmanuel Katongole in farewell sermon at Duke on Nov 13, 2012. Read the sermon, ”A New We. On Being Some Kind of Catholic.

You might also want to check out my essay Mission and the Ephesian Moment of World Christianity in the recent issue of Mission Studies in which I note, “The era of World Christianity creates an opportunity for Christians scattered around the world to live into a new Ephesian Moment – new friendshisps and a new sense of communion and ways of  belonging that cut across and interrupt the neat geopolitical divisions of our current modes of community.”

With gratitude for your friendship and wishes for a very Happy Thanksgiving.

On June 30, 2012, I celebrated, together with my five classmates, the 25^th anniversary of our ordination to the priesthood. It was a truly amazing celebration held at Gaba near Kampala, with close to 2000 people attending. Check out Album

 In a four day retreat before the anniversary, Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala, who directed the retreat, reminded us of the unique gift of priestly ministry – the invitation to friendship with God: “I do no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my father.” (Jn 15:15).

From a personal point of view, I have in the last twenty five years experienced this gift (of God’s friendship) in an extraordinary way, and tried, in less than perfect ways to be sure, to respond to it.

Read my reflection on the journey of the last 25 years:  Fr katongole Anniversary Journey

You have not heard or read from me in a while, the reason being I have been on sabbatical! Now as I come to the end of my sabbatical and my tenure here at Notre Dame as fellow at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies http://kroc.nd.edu/facultystaff/2011visiting-fellows I look back with gratitude, for what has been a true gift of rest, renewal and of ‘lift your eyes and see’ (Is 40: 26).  I have a lot to be grateful for – some highlights:

• Spending extended time in Uganda, at Bethany House & Malube, with family, and   celebrating mom’s 86^th birthday over Christmas!

• Ten days of travel in Ghana, experiencing the social & religious ferment currently underway in this first African country to gain independence (1957) whose history includes the ancient kingdom of Kumasi as well as the painful memory of Elmina and other slave trading castles along its cost.  Breakfast with retired Archbishop Peter Sarpong of Kumasi, a truly amazing elder and inspiring pioneer in the movement of African inculturation theology, was a special honor and highlight.

Twelve days of travel in China –  with my  friends Jeff and Angie Goh (from our Leuven days ) and Angie’s brother Dennis and his wife, Margaret. A friend had half jokingly told me that all roads these days lead to China. I was able to see and experience why. China’s economic transformation, relentless energy and obvious determination to live into the  destiny of its name – China – or “middle kingdom” (translation: center of the world) is both astounding and scary as well! 

• Two weeks in Israel/Palestine in January: a pilgrimage of sorts: staying at Tantur Institute, near Jerusalem, from there visiting different holy sites including the Galilee. The highlight was spending a night at Bethany (al-Eizariya) – now in the West Bank – visiting the tomb of Lazarus, mass in the church of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, and getting inspiration for a set of reflections: Stories from Bethany: On the Faces of the Church in Africa.

• At the Kroc Institute, I have the opportunity to meet and interact with peace scholars and practitioners from around the world and of different traditions: Catholic, Protestant, Moslem, Jewish, secular, and to work on a research project: “Pursuing Reconciliation in Africa.” Born of Lament is emerging as the title of this book project on Hope in Africa. My time here also included some invited lectures mostly notably, the Inaugural Bishop Gerber Distinguished Lecture at Newman University (Kansas): http://www.gerberinstitute.org/events/emmanuel-katongole-to-give-bishop-gerber-distinguished-lecture/

• Sabbatical has also been a time of discernment about the future. Early this year, Notre Dame extended an invitation to me to join their faculty. After much discernment and prayer, I have said yes – and as of Jan 2013, I will move to Notre Dame as professor of theology and peace studies. I will be based at the Kroc Institute, but with a joint appointment in theology, where I will be the point person for Catholicism in the Global South. At the Kroc, I will also serve as a fellow for the Contending Modernities Project: http://kroc.nd.edu/research/religion-conflict-peacebuilding/contending-modernities.

• It has not been an easy decision to leave Duke, my home for the last 11 years, and particularly the Center for Reconciliation (CFR), which I co-founded (with my colleague and friend Chris Rice eight years ago. The CFR has been truly a gift and anchor for my life, scholarship and leadership at Duke. However, with Chris as director , a new leadership structure in place, and most importantly CFR’s vibrant programs at Duke and around the world, CFR is in a very good place, and set for the future. But I also see my joining the Kroc Institute at Notre Dame as an opportunity to try out, expand and deepen the vision and work of reconciliation that CFR is committed to.

•  I now ask for your prayers. First, as I head back to Uganda today to celebrate together with my classmates, the 25^th anniversary of our ordination on June 30, 2012. Secondly, as I return to Duke in August for my last semester of teaching at Duke and as I make the transition to start teaching at Notre Dame in January 2013.

• And finally, a gift: when Chris came to visit me at Notre Dame last December, he shared with me Mary Oliver’s poem: When I am Among the Trees, which has been a source of inspiration and constant reminder to me during the sabbatical, to “walk slowly and bow often.” I share the gift with you, with the wish that that you too, in your busy lives and amidst the many demands on your time, you will strive to “walk slowly and bow often”.

http://www.panhala.net/Archive/When_I_Am_Among_the_Trees.html

With much love and prayers

Emmanuel

A quote from Greg Boyle’s Tattoos on the Heart –  very highly recommended – was a refreshing gift this morning. As always Greg Boyle captures the heart of the Christian calling with such vivid simplicity. Quoting the American poet Jack Gilbert, he writes: “the pregnant heart is driven to hopes that are the wrong size for this world.” (p. 172)

The quote reminded me (again) of the recent Great Lakes Leadership Institute, and the incredible stories o f hope (“exhibits of new creation” we called them) from leaders like Archbishop Odama (left): ‘my tribe is humanity’; Angelina Atyam: ‘every child is my child’; David Kasali: ‘baptism baptizes everything’…….

All these leaders, indeed, all the leaders I know and admire: Nelson Mandela, Thomas Sankara, Paride Taban, Maggy Barankitse ……they all have this in common: they are “pregnant with hopes that are the wrong size for this world.”  This is what makes them restless, even ‘odd’ – never able to fit in with the accepted conventions of what is ‘normal – but always searching for a more, reaching out something better, for a future not yet realized.

Moreover, they are not only (themselves) pregnant with the sort of out of size hope that Boyle writes about, they inspire the same pregnant hope and serve as its midwives in others, including those that society tends to write off.

For the good news is that “anyone in Christ, there is a new creation (2cor 5: 17) – translation: “every baptized is pregnant with hopes that are the wrong size for this world.”

What a powerful reminder with which to begin the Lenten journey! Throughout the season, I will name and claim this good news, while pondering the best ways to nurture and bring to term my own small pregnancy!

The Great Lakes Leadership Institute 2011

I am so grateful to each of you for your prayers for the recent Great Lakes Leadership Institute (and to the partnerships that made the Institute possible:  MCC, World Vision International, ALARM and the CFR). The Institute was a truly amazing five days (Jan 16-22, 2011) – with so much to be grateful for.

Among others:

the venue: National Seminary Ggaba, a catholic Seminary, my alma mater, on the outskirts of Kampala. With its beautiful and expansive lawns, serene setting overlooking lake Victoria, the neat chapel and clean dormitories, Ggaba is one of the best kept secrets….

…the community:  over 130 participants from 10 African countries, the U.S. and Canada… representing the most ecumenical  cross section of Christian leaders  in the region…

…five days of learning, interaction and discussion around a holistic vision of reconciliation, with morning  plenary sessions and afternoon seminars on such diverse topics as : political advocacy, social entrepreneurship, the healing of memories, building up and leading hopeful institutions…

…guided by a workbook  developed around a theological, contextual and practical methodology…

…the many incredible stories/signs and ‘exhibits” of leadership into new creation…

…shared worship and meals…

…a day of pilgrimage to St. Jude’s farm, Busense and learning from Josephine Kizza…

…a lot of fun and community building….

…and so many other gifts. Indeed, to echo the words of the Institute theme song: “To God in Gladness sing, how great thou name…”

As I head out to Uganda this evening, I request your prayers for a number of significant events:

Godfrey (my nephew) and Lucy’s wedding this Saturday!

Christmas with my 85 year-old mom and family time!

Last year's GLI gathering, precursor to this year's Institute!

Most importantly, for the first ever Leadership Institute of the Center for Reconciliation’s Great Lakes Leadership Institute. To be held at the National Seminary Gaba, Uganda, from Jan 16-22, 2011, the historical event promises a number of significant highlights:

• Close to 150 participants: Christian leaders from 10 African countries in the East African region and beyond

• Representing a cross section of Christian denominations and non-denominations (“the most ecumenically diverse gathering I have ever been to in Africa” according to one key leader): Catholic, Anglican, Pentecostal, Methodist, Quaker, Free Church, Baptist….

• Five days of fellowship, interaction and learning around the theme of “Christian Leadership for Reconciliation: ‘A new Creation….the old is gone, the new is here’”

• Plenary sessions and seminars  led by some of the most outstanding Christian leaders in the region: leaders like Catholic Archbishop John Baptist Odama (of Gulu, chairperson of the Uganda Catholic Bishops Conference; Anglican Bishop Zac Niringiye (Kampala Diocese), Maggy Barankitse of maison Shalom, Angelina Atyam, of Concerned Parents Association, Jane Wathome of Beacon of Hope Africa, Celestin Musekura of Alarm; Bishop Paride Taban of Kuron Peace Village & many others…

• A day pilgrimage to St. Josephine Kizza’s (a widow) St. Jude’s Organic Farm

• And so many other gifts

Please keep the success of the Leadership Institute in your prayers – and for my own leadership of this historical event.

Advent prayers and wishes for a blessed Christmas.

See below the review of Mirror to the Church, by my friend Mark Gornik.

Mirror to the Church: Resurrecting Faith after Genocide in Rwanda

By Emmanuel M. Katongole, Associate Professor of Theology and World Christianity, with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove D’06
Zondervan, 2009, 176 pages, paperback, $15.99

Reviewed by Mark R. Gornik

In 1994, in the nation of Rwanda, some 800,000 people were killed. Under the labels of Hutu and Tutsi, “Hutu neighbors were told to kill their Tutsi neighbors.” Almost all were given over to death by machete. What makes this story of genocide even more troubling, if that were possible, is that confessed Christians were killing fellow Christians. Indeed, “in a number of instances throughout Rwanda, churches became slaughterhouses.”

The failure of Christianity in Rwanda shines a mirror on all of Christianity. How are we to live in this world as Christ’s ambassadors? How can Christian identity recover its unique identity? How do we face the contradictions present in our practice of faith?

These challenges are critically engaged with prayer, tears, and hope in Emmanuel Katongole’s Mirror to the Church: Resurrecting Faith after Genocide in Rwanda, written with the assistance of Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. Katongole speaks from a unique intersection: He is a Ugandan whose parents were from Rwanda, a Catholic priest, a professor at Duke Divinity School, and a pilgrim in life and faith.

One of the key problems in Rwanda, as Katongole identifies it, is the conflation of Christian commitment with other forms of identity. As a mirror, Rwanda can press us to ask, How deeply are our national stories inscribed unknowingly into everyday life and faith? How can the story of Rwanda help us see our captivity to the powers of the age? What story should form us? Such questions are of course deeply connected to our remembering our histories rightly.

“A book about the Rwandan genocide must be a book about bodies,” Katongole offers at the outset. Bodies were physically broken in Rwanda, and the body politic represents a real factor in how events unfolded. It is not enough therefore, Katongole notes, to ask how Christians can make a “difference.” The challenge becomes, how do we “reposition our bodies?” That is, how do we worship God and embrace new possibilities for discipleship where we are in the world?

Following this emphasis on the body, Katongole speaks of “interruptions”—persons who in bodily form understand that keeping the gospel can also mean refusing to accept the assumptions so many take as given. An example he provides is the saint and martyr Sister Félicité Niyitegeka, who sheltered others with her body, and prayed for her killer in the moments before her death. Sister Félicité’s life and body offered a prophetic interruption, the claiming of her identity in Christ before other identities, at the cost of her life.

Discipleship, indeed mission and what Katongole calls the “prophetic posture,” will be discovered only by immersion in the “deep brokenness of our world.” At the point of crying, “How long, O God?”,  the church can be resurrected into a living hope.

With his commitment to the gospel of reconciliation, category-changing ways of describing discipleship, and passion for new creation sprouting from the ground up, Emmanuel Katongole is a theologian for our time. Mirror to the Church confirms the power of his voice, life, and insight as a singular one for the church today.

After reading Mirror to the Church, I had a vision of a particular use for this book. It is not just for college or seminary courses, although it is very much that. Nor is it just for all persons interested in reconciliation and the work of the church in Africa, although it uniquely fulfills that role. It is a book we should be giving to new Christians and believers in formation, those to whom we want to introduce and deepen what it means to have an identity shaped by the gospel. Read this book with tears of lament, but also as a call to be witnesses to the gospel.

Mark R. Gornik is the director of City Seminary of New York and the author of To Live in Peace: Biblical Faith and the Changing Inner City (Eerdmans, 2002).

A lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving! Here are some glimpses from my end in the last month and half:

….(October- November): my brother Joe spending four weeks with me here – for him a time of rest and renewal (following his 25th priestly anniversary in July); and for he and I time to catch up, remember, and renew friendship (Emerald Isle, NC)

but also a time to dream….. (planning meeting for Joe’s Bethany Miracle Village)

… the honor of being selected as one of five recipients of Duke University’s Thomas Langford Lectureship Award (‘designed to provide Duke’s faculty with an opportunity to hear about the ongoing scholarly activities of their recently promoted colleagues’). At the Nov 9th lecture entitled: Pursuing Reconciliation in Africa: Stories from Bethany, I share about my research at the intersection of World Christianity and Reconciliation studies respectively.

Nov 19-22: spending a weekend down in Northport, Fl visiting Chester and Roberta Blais – friends since 1993 (Elkhart, Indian) and celebrating their 55thwedding anniversary! A simple but beautiful mass with the renewal of vows, followed by a hearty breakfast brunch with some of their close friends, is a good way to celebrate the gifts of Roberta and Chester’s friendship and intimacy.

-Nov 27: A 50th birthday anniversary this weekend (27 Nov)!

A quote from Gregory Boyle,’s Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion (highly recommended) frames it all very well for me: Quoting William Blake, Fr. Boyle notes: “We are put on earth for a little space that we might learn to bear the beams of love.” (xiii)

I am indeed grateful for all the beams of love these last 50 years! I am so grateful for each and all of you who are helping me to learn to bear the beams – thus, helping to return me to my true self.

Friends,

I’m grateful to announce the upcoming release of my newest book, The Sacrifice of Africa. It will be due out from Eerdmans at the end of November, and is available for preorder.

Here is the publisher’s description:

“Christianity is rapidly expanding in Africa — but so also are the vexing realities of war, civil unrest, corruption and violence. What are the connections between these two faces of Africa? Can Christianity become the much-needed social force for a new future in Africa? How would such a future come about, and what would it look like?

These questions lie at the heart of The Sacrifice of Africa by Emmanuel Katongole. A Catholic priest from Uganda, born in 1960, who lived through the reign of Idi Amin and who has seen firsthand the problems that ravage his home country and its neighbors, Katonogole argues that recurring civil war, violence, corruption and instability are wired within the imaginative landscape of modern Africa, are set within the founding narratives of Africa’s inception into the modern world through colonialism and its successor institution, nation-state politics.

In the face of these entrenched political imaginations, the most critical social challenge is one of “daring to invent” the future through new foundational narratives that reflect and nurture a fresh, different vision for African politics and social life. This is the primary political difference that Christianity can make in Africa.

The stories of three African Christian leaders and their work — Bishop Paride Taban and the Holy Trinity Peace Village in Southern Sudan; Angelina Atyam in Uganda and the Concerned Parents Association in Uganda; and Maggie Barankitse and Maison Shalom in Burundi — cap off Katongole’s inspiring vision of hope for Africa.”

I have particularly enjoyed reading Jake Meador’s chapter-by-chapter engagement with the book. Jake is doing amazing work at Notes from a Small Place – a collection of notes on faith, place, and community. So far, he has reviewed the book in three installments:

Introduction

Chapter 1 (a)

Chapter 1 (b)

Besides featuring interesting writing, Jake’s blog addresses crucial themes of place and identity and their relationship. Be sure to keep reading as he posts his way through Sacrifice for Africa, and beyond!

Thank you for all who have supported me through the process of preparing this book! I look forward to the conversations it will generate.