Queensferry Parish Church

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Chogoria 2011 Visit Report

Introduction

Twelve representatives from Queensferry Parish Church visited Chogoria, 8th – 18th July 2011 with a view to strengthening the partnership between our two congregations. The twelve were: Rev David Cameron, Jane Anderson, Annette Carrie, Guy and Janet Douglas, Craig and Lesley MacKenzie, Eric and Noel Proven, Moira Stephen, and Tom and Gwenneth Williamson.

This is not intended to be an exhaustive account of the whole visit, nor does it attempt to document the chronological sequence of events according to the programme as it evolved. Its purpose is to set out major events, some background to them, including details of the Chogoria Central Church, its linkages to the hospital and schools, and some of the people involved. Finally, there is a section on potential follow-up suggestions. The primary audience for this report is the QPC Chogoria Partnership Group.


Chogoria Parish

Parish Minister: Rev Sammy
Assistant Minister: Julius
Parish Chairman: John Keneth Ireri
Parish Session Clerk: Duncan Micheni

Missionaries first came here in 1828. Well known missionary names in the area are Ernest Carr, and several members of the Irvine family: Rev Dr Clive, Margaret, Dr Geoffrey and Dorothy.

Chogoria Parish is one of 5 parishes in Chogoria Presbytery, being part of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA).

Rev Sammy’s background: He worked for 9 years as an agriculturalist in coffee production before going in to the Ministry. His first role was as an Evangelist in Chogoria Hospital for 12 months before studying theology at college. He then served as a Minister for 6 years in another parish before coming to Chogoria in January 2011. He and his wife Dorothy have four sons.

The Four Congregations

Within the Parish, there are four Congregations:

  • Chogoria Central - ~200 members
  • Thigaa – ~100 members
  • Mugaani - ~60 members
  • KK (Kairumi/Kithitum)

Chogoria Central Church

Chairman: Douglas Gitonga
Treasurer: Loyford Njagi

Preaching

The Parish Minister cannot be in all four churches every Sunday. In addition to the Assistant Minister, the preaching team therefore includes:

Evangelists, e.g. Kenyua Anderson, who preach, visit schools and lead membership classes (Catechism), mainly for over 18s. Evangelists can’t officiate at sacraments or funerals, unless the person was not a full member of the church. Elders and others may be involved in the Evangelism Team. The Evangelism Team works with the Evangelists to go around shops and homes praying and ‘taking’ the Word.

TEE

Theological Education by Extension (TEE) is a tool that is used within the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) to provide theological training for the lay membership. We sampled a group led by Millicent Kithinji which included trainees from all four congregations. Groups of eight or more are viable. The material consists of a series of booklets designed by the PC of Ireland in the 1980s (I think). Each booklet is designed to provide a ten-week teaching module. Here are some titles in the series:

  • Introduction to the Old Testament
  • Introduction to the New Testament
  • Mark’s Gospel
  • Jeremiah
  • Church History
  • Biblical Theology
  • PCEA
  • Preaching

Groups meet each Friday for prayer, discussion and a weekly test, marked by a fellow member of the group. A formal exam is then held at the end of each ten-week module. If the candidate is successful, a Diploma is awarded after two years. This can then lead to a Higher Diploma and thence provide entry to degree level study.

The enthusiasm and diligence amongst the group was palpable.

Leadership Structures

The Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer are elected each year for each congregation, e.g. Nimrod Mutegi (wife Alison) was Chairman in 2010, DouglasGitonga, pictured left, (wife Grace) in 2011. The church has around 200 members. Each Sunday over 250 people attend. There are eleven districts served by 11 Elders. Each district has about 10 homes and each Elder is supported by a Deacon. The Deacons are elected annually and coordinate district prayers and offerings. On Sundays the total offering from each district is announced.

Standing Groups

Leadership of specific areas is devolved to the following groups or committees: Woman’s Guild, Men’s Fellowship, Youth, Sunday School, BBs, GBs, Evangelism Team, Health, Christian Education.

Minister’s Stipend

Ministers are paid from a central fund at Presbytery level. Each Parish makes payments to Presbytery. If the Parish fails to make these payments, the Minister does not receive pay. The stipend scale is related to the number of degrees held by the Minister.


Harambee

On our first Sunday (10th July), the normal service (10.30am till 1.30pm), led by Rev Sammy, was followed by a fundraising event in aid of the new church which is currently under construction. The ‘Harambee’ included a mix of cash donations and cash from auctioning produce of various kinds, including: chickens, a calf, bananas, sugar cane, arrowroot, to name but a few of the items.

In addition to members of the Chogoria Central congregation, members of the other three congregations in the parish were also present. Special guests included Joseph Nyagi of the Orange Democratic Party, the Minister for Cooperative Development in the current Kenya coalition government. He enthusiastically joined in with the bidding and then addressed the gathering. Joseph’s wife is originally from Airdrie!

On the day, a total of Ksh 1,016,165 (£7,600) was raised. QPC’s contribution to this was Ksh 273,500 (£2065-25). Later additions increased the total. Before this particular Harambee, the projected cost of completing the new church, including landscaping, was around Ksh 6 million (£45,000).

The Cross

Following the visit of Rev Sean Swindells and the Scouts in 2008, the design and construction of a huge cross was commissioned. The eight foot oak cross was made from re-cycled church pews by Dalmeny Joinery and transported like a giant set of skis as hold baggage along with the Chogoria 12. It was presented to the Chogoria congregation and dedicated in the new church building following the normal Sunday morning service on 17th July.


Hospital

The Central Church is physically close to and has strong links with the Hospital. Some offerings are dedicated to the hospital.

The hospital board reports to the PCEA. It is a “mission” hospital.

Administrative Lead: Franklin Njagi
Chief Medical Officer: “Dr George” (in photo below)
Chaplain: Onesimus Kanyard
Matron: Catherine

There are 12 doctors, 2 consultants and 4 MOs. Only four doctors are funded by the government.

The hospital has 312 beds and 460 staff.

The hospital priorities include HIV clinics and teaching in hygiene and anti-malarial practices. Treatment in most disciplines is offered, but ITU and Renal analysis require referral to Nairobi. A high proportion of patients are casualties from road accidents, especially involving motorcycles.

Patients prefer to come to mission hospitals for treatment, rather than state hospitals because they have a better reputation for care and standard of equipment. Not all patients are able to pay for treatment; often debts are written off.

The hospital would value:

  • Experienced doctors coming for say 3 month secondments
  • Donations of equipment and bed linen
  • A partnership with a hospital in Scotland

The Church of Scotland has provided some funding for equipment in the past.


Schools

The Chogoria Central Church is also physically close to and has strong links with several schools:

Chogoria Complex Primary School

Head Teacher: David Mbae

Teachers known to us: Veronica, Janice

“IT Man”: Gregory

Echline Primary and Currie High Schools are already linked with the school.

A separate report by Eric Proven documents a meeting between David Mbae, Eric and Guy on behalf of the John Carrie Memorial Committee which relates to funding teacher training and equipment and facilities for this school.

Chogoria Girls Boarding Primary School

Head Teacher: Jane Mwirebua

Chogoria Boys High School (boarding)


Chogoria Girls High School (boarding)



Thigaa Church

Chairman: Wilfred Njabani

Session Clerk: Ian Mbae

Other office bearers present: Dennis Mutegi (retired coffee factory manager); Helen Gitonga (retired teacher); Dorothy Kanyua (Head Teacher of Kimuchia School). Helen chairs the Guild at Presbytery level. Dorothy chairs the Church Guild.

The church is about 3-4 miles from the Chogoria Central Church. It was established in 1986 and currently has a membership of 80. On a Sunday typical attendance is 80 adults plus 50-70 children.

There are 12 Districts and 12 Elders.

Each district also has a Deacon.

The congregation:

  • Has a Guild, BBs, GBs. The Guild has taken on the task of supporting old people in the community.
  • Leads a water project for the community, housed in a local authority building.
  • Supports a small coffee factory.
  • Farms a fish pond (fed from the Chogoria Girls High School fish farm)
  • A Social Hall is in the process of being built.
  • Has strong links with a primary and secondary school, see below.

Thigaa Primary School

Two minutes walk from the church is Thigaa Primary School of ~100 pupils.

Thigaa Secondary School

This is a co-educational boarding high school with ~430 pupils. The head Teacher is Gainson Gitonga.

The Thigaa team believe David Mbae is in discussion with Clare Soper in Edinburgh about arranging linkages between the schools and Scottish schools. They would also appreciate a linkage between Thigaa Church and a Scottish school.

Mugaani Church

See separate report by Eric Proven.

Partnership Principle and Follow-up

The Chogoria Central Church has a Partnership Group that is made up of the chairs of each of the Standing Groups. In a meeting with this group and following discussions with others individually, the following principle and potential follow-up actions emerged:

Principle

It is important to have a one-to-one linkage between churches, e.g. QPC is linked to Chogoria Central Church and should not attempt to include any or all of the other three congregations in Rev Sammy’s parish.

Potential Follow-up

Hospital and School Related

  1. It would be good to find a Hospital that was interested in a link with the Chogoria Hospital.
  2. Queensferry Primary School is thought already to have a link with Chuka (Kiamuriuki) School.
  3. Ikuu School in Chuka doesn’t have a partner school in Scotland.
  4. Chogoria Complex Primary School may benefit from being put in contact with “Computers for Africa”
  5. The cost of sponsoring one student through High School is Ksh 50k/year for 4 years.
  6. It would be good to share photos and stories with Echline Primary School.

Church Related

  1. QPC could explore the possibility of finding other Church of Scotland congregations that might be interested in forming partnerships with the other three Chogoria congregations, e.g. Sean Swindells two/three congregations in Newbattle and Dalmeny.
  2. Establish a communications policy, including:
    1. Put leaders of respective standing groups in touch with one another to share what they are doing, e.g. John Kairo chairs Christian Education; Ashford leads the Mens Fellowship; Lucy chairs the Guild.
    2. Share preaching themes.
    3. Have a Partnership Day when we pray for one another, and topics for prayer.
    4. Exchange newsletters, especially by email.
  3. Share Holiday Club (MegaQuest materials).
  4. Send DVDs for children to keep them occupied.
  5. Follow up on ideas created by the QPC Partnership Group at their meeting in August 2010.
  6. Have fittings made to allow easy emplacement of the Cross in the new church.