Returning from Kigeme
August 20, 2011
By Rev Ed Hird
In our last two days in Rwanda, we travelled with Pastor Paul, Dean of Kigeme Cathedral, to visit Bishop Nathan in Butare. He shared about the way that the Holy Spirit touched lives at the recent Christ Awakening/Butare Convention where Rev William Beasley of Chicago and others spoke. Staying again at the Kigeme Cathedral guesthouse, we visited Bishop Louis, Pastor Samuel, and Rev Ron Browning and team with the All Saints AMiA Church in Pensacola, Florida. We also visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial site before we flew home from the Kigali International Airport.
Bishop Nathan of the diocese of Butare was very gracious in his welcome to us, even showing us his cows.
Pastor Paul also attended the Butare Diocesan Convention that so deeply touched so many lives. Click to view Bishop Nathan’s account of the Christ Awakening.
It was such a blessing to have my wife Janice with me on the Rwanda trip.
Rwandan hospitality is a great blessing.
We met with three of the Rwandan Anglican bishops during our visit.
Passing the Cathedral on our way to the bus station heading to Kigali.
God is moving powerfully in the Kigali Cathedral, as they recover from many challenges in the past.
It was great to meet with the Rev. Ron Browning and team from All Saints AMiA Church in Pensacola, Florida. They are in a sister/sister relationship with an Anglican congregation in a very poor part of Kigali where 250 children and others worship in a building that doesn’t have a roof. Rev. Browning is hoping to raise the $10,000 needed to put a roof on that burgeoning work. Click to view the Greeting to Canada from Rev. Ron Browning.
Janice meeting with one of the Anglican Mother’s Union workers.
Visiting the Kigali National Genocide memorial site where over 260,000 victims were buried.
A memorial to the children who were killed in the genocide 17 years ago.
The mass graves from the Rwandan 1994 Genocide
A photo at the Kigali Diocesan office of Archbishop Rowan Williams meeting with the African Primates.
A closer look at the African Primates, including Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini. Click to view the Greeting to Canada from the Kigali Anglican Bishop Louis.
The UN is very visible in Africa.
Stopping but not getting out at the Entebbe Uganda International Airport.
The bright Ugandan colours.
Technically Janice and I have been to Uganda 
The Ethiopian Airlines was a great place to be for the exhausting 22-hour flight back to Canada. We met on the airplane the only American Carl Wilkens who stayed in Rwanda during the 100-day Genocide. He just wrote a book about it, “I’m Not Leaving” which he signed for me on the airplane.
While on the Ethiopian Airlines plane, we were able to read in their inflight magazine about the Royal Honeymoon of Will and Kate which took place in Africa on the Seychelles Islands. There were unlimited movies on the Ethiopian Airlines to help you deal with the stress of flying so long and far. We both watched again the moving Christian-based movie “Soul Surfer” which tells the story about how Bethany Hamilton lost her arm through a shark attack, but did not let that stop her from becoming a championship surfer. The film reminded me that our Christian faith makes a practical difference when tragedy happens. Click to watch a short video clip of the movie.
We loved Rwanda and miss it. But it was good to be back home in Deep Cove on the North Shore of Vancouver.
Rev Ed Hird, Rector,
St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver
Anglican Mission in the Americas (Canada)
http://stsimonschurch.ca
Andy Piercy
Andy was on staff as worship leader at Holy Trinity Brompton in London from 1993 to 2006. During that time he accompanied Bishop Sandy Millar and Rev. Nicky Gumbel to Alpha conferences around the world and across the USA.
As well as writing and recording many of the songs used on Alpha and at HTB he has also produced CDs for Delirious, Matt Redman and Graham Kendrick. Previously he was the lead singer with a professional rock band, ‘After The Fire’, who had a number 5 hit single in the USA in 1983. Before that Andy spent 3 years as one half of a musical duo working as full-time evangelists around the UK.
He is now living in Charleston, SC and working as a Worship Development consultant with the Anglican Mission in the Americas. He is married to Judy and they have three daughters, Ellen, Holly and Laura.
“Andy has an amazing heart to equip and train both musicians and worship leaders. Whether it’s bringing encouragement, input to develop individual gifts or teaching to resource teams Andy is amazing. He has enormous experience and is a person I hugely admire and respect. I’d always listen very closely to anything Andy had to say!” – Tim Hughes, worship leader
The Rt. Rev. Chuck Murphy
The Rt. Rev. Charles Hurt (Chuck) Murphy, III is a Missionary Bishop of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda and a bishop of, and chairman of, the Anglican Mission in the Americas. He served as Rector of All Saints Church, Pawleys Island, SC for over 20 years, and was the one who convened and later chaired the First Promise Movement that led to the formation of AMiA. Bishop Murphy graduated from the University of Alabama, then studied under Dr. J.I. Packer of Trinity College in England before completing his theological training at the University of the South. He served several Episcopal congregations before being called to All Saints in 1982. Murphy has led Vestry Workshops, Leadership Training Conferences, and has taught on many subjects throughout the U.S. Murphy is the son, brother and brother-in-law of Episcopal priests. He and his wife Margaret have been married for over 40 years and they have three grown daughters.
The Ven. H Miller
H Miller currently serves as the Executive Director for the Anglican Mission in the Americas. Born in Phoenix, Arizona to a Canadian mother and a father from the United States, he studied architecture at the University of Southern California before going into vocational ministry. After attending seminary, he and his wife Shelly spent two years involved in leadership training with Youth With A Mission. During his service as Executive Pastor of a large church in Phoenix he was ordained a priest with the Anglican Mission. He served as rector of All Saints Anglican Church in Morehead City, North Carolina for five years before joining the Mission staff in 2008 as Director of Leadership Development. He and Shelly have two children, Murielle and Harrison and they live in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.
The Rt. Rev. Silas Ng
The Rt. Rev. Silas Tak Yin Ng is the Rector of Richmond Emmanuel Church, BC, and was consecrated as a missionary bishop in September 2009 Richmond Emmanuel was founded in 1996 and is now a thriving congregation of over 400. Silas also serves as the Network Leader and principal missionary of the Asian Initiative (AI), a targeted ministry designed to respond to immigration from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Korea and the Philippines to North America. Under Silas’ leadership, AI has become a visible and mission-oriented community, providing a significant witness of the love of Christ to Asians while planting congregations within Asian communities in North America. In addition to the strong presence of Richmond Emmanuel Church in the Vancouver area, AI is planting a daughter church of Richmond in Toronto – Toronto Emmanuel Church. Silas holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the Music Department at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and received his Masters in Divinity from Nashotah House Episcopal Seminary in 1987. He is currently participating in a Doctor of Ministry program at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California and expects to complete the degree in May 2011. He and his wife Michelle have two sons, Ignatius and Athanasius.
The Reverend Canon Dr. Allen Hughes
The Reverend Canon Dr. Allen Hughes is a canon missioner in the Anglican Mission in America. Allen earned a bachelor of arts from the University of South Carolina Honors College, masters of divinity from the University of the South Sewanee, and doctorate of ministry from Asbury Seminary.
He started a college ministry at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, planted a church in the Woodlands, Texas, and worked with Bishop T.J. Johnston to plant a church in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. He currently works for Chairman Chuck Murphy in the Anglican Mission and lives in Mt. Pleasant with his wife Louise and their three sons.
edhird
