Ethiopian church fosters peace and reconciliation in Gambella

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia/GENEVA, 7 July 2016 (LWI) - Ongoing efforts by the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) to diffuse tension and reconcile communities in the southwestern region of Gambella are paying off.

The work of the EECMY Peace Office in the church’s East and West Gambella Bethel Synods is helping to foster peace and reconciliation.

Conference to promote reconciliation

The peace initiatives in Gambella started after cross-border cattle raiders abducted and killed more than 200 people in February this year. Although cattle raiding has been commonly practiced among ethnic groups in this region, the scale of the attack was unprecedented. Most of the dead and internally displaced were EECMY members.

Initiatives by the Peace Office and the church’s Mission and Theology Department included a peace and reconciliation conference, church and community leaders’ training workshop and worship, held 26 -29 May 2016. Nearly 120 pastors and evangelists from the two synods and 7,500 Anywa and Nuer members took part in the events.

“The EECMY gave priority to the peace and reconciliation workshop because the majority of the population in the region is member of the church. Equipping and empowering leaders of these two synods on peaceful coexistence is believed to greatly impact the members and different communities of Gambella,” said EECMY President Rev. Dr Wakseyoum Idossa.

The training covered topics such as the character of a true leader, meaning of peace for Christians, Christian ways of solving conflicts, importance of discipleship, values of tolerance, and love for one’s neighbor.

Words of forgiveness

After the workshop the trainees pronounced words of forgiveness to each other, took Holy Communion together and washed the feet of one Anywa and Nuer man, woman, youth and child as a sign of love and respect. The symbolic act was repeated in the presence of the Gambella region president, Mr Gatluak Tut Koat and other government officials. Koat thanked the church for its work and promised support to promote sustainable peace in the area.

The East and West Gambella Bethel Synods have a total of 213, 480 members, representing more than half of the region’s population of 409,000 people.

When visiting the region during the EECMY conference, Idossa also met 80 boys and girls, aged from below one year to 11 years, who had been rescued following a raid on Gambella by the Murle clan of neighboring South Sudan in April. “Seventeen of the children lost both parents, some lost one parent. Those who later joined the shelter seemed physically weak,” he said after the visit.

The EECMY donated USD 10,000 to support the children and other displaced people in Gambella.

The EECMY gave priority to the peace and reconciliation workshop because the majority of the population in the region are members of the church. Equipping and empowering leaders of these two Synods on peaceful coexistence is believed to greatly impact the members and different communities of Gambella.

7.9 million members

The EECMY Peace Office was established 1993. Its objective is to build a peaceful society where all people have equal access to national resources and promote unity based on equality. It collaborates with various government offices, local and other partner churches, faith-based institutions and civil society organizations in carrying out its work.

The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus has nearly 7.9 million members in 8,324 congregations throughout the country. It is the largest member church of The Lutheran World Federation, which it joined in 1963.

(By Tsion Alemayehu, EECMY public relations officer)