Can you help a Congolese pastor celebrate Christmas?

Christmas can be a tough time for our pastors and our staff. Traditionally it is marked with new clothes (at least for the children) and a celebratory meal for the wider family. But even this can be a stretch for many.

Times are particularly tough since the capture of Goma in January by the M23 rebels. The banks remain closed. Many businesses have left. And recently the Congolese franc has fallen from 2,850 for $1 to 2,200, but food prices have remained the same.

For the 6th year in a row, we would love to give each pastor in the diocese and each member of staff something to celebrate with for Christmas – a chicken and a sack of rice. Over the years we have been able to do this through the generosity of friends, family and churches. Above photo shows Christmas 2020.

With the growth in the diocese we now have roughly 70 pastors and 70 staff and to give $40 each we have a vision to raise $6,000 (£4,500) before December. We also aim to give something extra to our 32 theology students as well as the 60 widows we support.

Can you give a Christmas gift to a pastor in Goma this year?

An even better land option!

After losing out on the plot of land between the diocesan offices and the cathedral but being able to buy a larger plot to relocate our flagship schools, we have just been offered first refusal on a different, and even better plot right next to the diocesan offices. It will more than double the size of the existing site.

We have some funds remaining, but it looks like we will need a bank loan to complete the purchase. If you have been meaning to give to the mission and ministry of the Diocese of Goma for a while, and haven’t quite got round to it, or are just excited by the possibility of a larger central campus where we can locate all our diocesan functions, once and for all please do get in touch.

This will be the final piece in the land puzzle for the diocese, which will allow us to stop renting other office space, have a larger and more visible HQ, and then focus on various construction and infrastructure projects to ensure the diocese is on a solid long-term footing.

In other news

A longer overview of the diocese (9 minutes) I recently recorded for a supporting church. Covering the current situation on the ground, church-planting and evangelism.

Recent Channel 4 short documentary from the rebel-held Rubaya coltan mine, not far from Goma, powering our smartphones.

The story of Floribert Bwana Chui, a 26-year-old from Goma, killed for standing against corruption and recently beatified in Rome.

How can you pray?

That we can give each of our pastors and diocesan staff a sack of rice and a chicken to celebrate at Christmas

For the land sale – that it will happen this time round.

For an end to fighting and a return of hope to eastern Congo

Thank you, as always to those who read, write, pray and give
Martin, Anthea, Silas, Zachary and Imogen