The Bishop of Rwanda

Bishop John Rucyahana spoke to our Bible study class this morning and then preached at morning worship.

Bishop John is bishop of the Shyira diocese of the Anglican church in Rwanda. He was instrumental in the spread of the Anglican Mission in the Americas beginning with his agreement to oversee one of the first AMiA churches in Little Rock, a decision that, as he puts it, "stirred up some dust."

I highly recommend his book, The Bishop of Rwanda: Finding Forgiveness Amidst a Pile of Bones. In it he tells the painful story of the Rwandan genocide in 1994 when over 1.1 million people were brutally murdered. He explains how external forces propagandized the Tutsi and Hutu ethnic groups into tribal differences that led to the massacre, and what steps are being taken to heal and restore Rwanda, which the bishop reports is the now the safest country in Africa.

One of Bishop Rucyahana's responsibilities is the Sonrise Orphans Ministry. There are between 400,000 and 600,000 orphans in Rwanda, many as result of the genocide. Two-thirds of the 900 or so students at Sonrise are orphans. The school provides them a home, hope for the future, and healing.

Someone asked the bishop a profound question during Q&A in Bible study: Is there any resentment towards Americans who come to Rwanda with material blessings but with seemingly (because of the recent crises in the Episcopal/Anglican communions) spiritual poverty? The bishop responded that given Rwanda's history of rejection in the world community, visits and touches mean more than even money to many Rwandans. I admit that I was only marginally aware of the genocide when it was happening, as I think most of the world can testify. That realization makes it all the more painful to contemplate recent developments in Darfur, and Burma, and now potentially in Kenya.

Bishop Rucyahana was gracious in signing my copy of his book. His signature makes this powerful volume all the more special to me.