Confusion and Communion: Christian Mission and Ethnic Identities in Postgenocide Rwanda

Abstract

This paper explores socio-political and ethnic identities in postgenocide Rwandaand what they contribute to an understanding of mission. As part of the country's reconstruction eforts, the Rwandan government continues to aggressively promote a homogenizing postethnic approach to national unity that oficially eliminates references to groups such as the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. Using the work of Emmanuel Katongole and Miroslav Volf as reference points, Ipropose that the missionalpursuit of reconciliation is undermined by such postethnic philosophies and policies. God's mission seeks not to eliminate identities per se, but to eliminate the enmity between them, thus calling people to accept and welcome the "other as other '' in the name of Christ. Therefore, in the current climate in Rwanda, and despite impressive indicators of social and economic progress, the call of mission may increasingly require a subversive posture.On March 23, 1994, my family moved to Jinja, Uganda as part of a church-planting mission team. Fifteen days later, on April 7, genocide erupted in neighboring Rwanda. Over the next several months, reports of the brutalities began to surface. Travel advisories were issued, stories circulated, and we were advised against eating local fish since the waterways of East Africa were contaminated by the corpses being flushed out of Rwanda, some of which even washed up on the Ugandan shores of Lake Victoria. It became increasingly clear that the events of that spring were forever changing the landscape of the world of Christian missions we had just entered.As has often been noted, at the time of the genocide, Rwanda was the most Christianized country on the African continent and had often been featured as a model of successful evangelization and missionary development. With nearly 90% of the population professing Christian faith, diverse church presence was pervasive and active in the years before the genocide (Kubai 2007; Spijker 1997; Van Butselaar 1981)' John Barton is currentl) the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Rochester College in Rochester Hills, Michigan. He and his famil! lived and worked in Jinja, Uganda, East Africa, from 1994 to 2002 as part of a church-planting mission team. While in Uganda, John completed a PhD in philosophy at Makerere Universit) in Kampala. Recent publications include articles in Philosophia .@icana, Missio Dei, and Turkish Review.

The Catholic school and social justice in Africa: a Zambian case study

“…Though much of this may already be implicit, it cannot be presumed in a context where there is much social upheaval. 12 What follows will present a detailed historical account of a particular location of the Catholic enterprise -Zambiain order to understand more deeply the nature of this larger concern where, as part of the faith-based endeavour on the continent, we are dealing with approximately 12,000 Catholic infant schools, 10,000 secondary schools and 33,000 primary schools as well as a swiftly increasing number of universities. 13 By focusing upon the situation of Zambia, the discussion will explore the historical roots of why the poorer section of society tends to be systematically excluded from the Catholic school when this seems to contradict the Catholic school's religious mission.…”