HANIKA ANNUAL REPORT 2021

Dear Fellow Partners;

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ!

I

 have the honor and pleasure to transmit you the report summarizing the main activities accomplished by our parishes in 2021. This report provides in part a portrait of the efforts, achievements and love that the Parish Leaders bring to our Archdeaconry. The report includes two main parts: the general presentation of Hanika Archdeaconry and the activities carried out by each of its parishes in 2021.

At the beginning of this report, I would like to point out that the year 2021 as its previous one has not been favorable for the churches as it has not been for other sectors of activity. In Rwanda, since March 15, 2020, almost all activities that were planned have been suspended and all churches have been closed. However, we are delighted that during the year 2021 the situation has gradually improved. At the time of writing this report, 19 out of 37 churches in our archdeaconry have been opened. Compared to the situation of the previous year when only 4 churches were open, the present situation is promising.

The closure of churches has had a negative impact on the lives of Christians and on pastors and their families. Like the other strata of social life, the pastoral ministry has also been seriously affected. Social distancing helped slow the spread of Covid-19, but also it increased our loneliness and anxiety during this time. Indeed, in Rwandan context, congregants have a great affinity with coming praying and worshiping God together. If then things changed to the point the pastor could not even lay his hands on the believers, this had a great impact.

Despite all these challenges, our pastors continued to play their primordial role of keeping and feeding the flock. God has really been and is still always there with our pastors and their families and with our parishioners. Every parish of Hanika Archdeaconry responded at some level to the Covid-19 by maintaining worship life and connections. Pastors tried keeping being in touch with parishioners via phone, local radio, TV, through messages, etc. This showed me that we can maintain physical distance while being socially and spiritually closer.

 As Archdeacon, my role has always been to coordinate: support all parishes to develop an action plan for their preparedness and response. One of the common answers provided by all the closed parishes of my archdeaconry is the prayer organized by each family on Sunday. This has been very beneficial for the Church. It was one of the ways of resolving conflicts and thus of maintaining family unity. It allowed members of the whole family to be more aware of their role in the life of the Church.

Our pastors encouraged the congregants. They tried to remind them that God is still in the business of protecting his own and to stay strong until the Lord’s delivering power is fully exerted over the Covid-19 outbreak. They encouraged people to find space inside their homes and to worship God intimately and individually, even as gathering together has become impossible.

Besides spiritual encouragement, people also need the assurance that when they are in need, they will get the help. Therefore, pastors tried to help meet the physical needs of our congregants too. This was about urging Christians to help each other and to reflect God's concern for all people, especially the most vulnerable, advising those who have lost jobs to integrate other businesses such as agriculture, livestock, small trade, and others. These activities keep pastors working, trying to sustain a sense of community and build hope among people. Despite the effects of Covid-19 pandemic, our parishes have also made efforts to accomplish some activities that were on the normal agenda for 2021, especially those related to the rehabilitation of church buildings and pastors' homes, hygiene; etc.

This report attempts to tell about the work done in our Archdeaconry during this hard time; but it is also always possible to communicate with the parish leaders for more information or to ask questions if need is. To end, I am thankful to God for his protection and to everyone who contributed, directly or indirectly to the realization of the activities related to in this report. I especially thank the Diocesan Central Office which financially supported the construction of new church buildings in Nyamagana, Hanika, Mukoni, Sholi, Rubona; etc.

May all those who have participated in one way or another in carrying out the activities described in this report find here our sincere thanks!

Kind regards! 

Arch. Joseph

Please kindly find our report in Pdf Annual report hanika 2021 submitted on 31 12 2021Annual report hanika 2021 submitted on 31 12 2021 (5.36 MB)

 

Last edited: 29/01/2022

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