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By:
HARRISON MAINA | |||||||||||||
| Posted:
Aug,05-2016 14:31:00
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BOSTON---For the second Sunday in a row, about 59 congregants of the Kenyan All Saints Community church in Quincy were locked out of their troubled church following a No Trespass order issued by the pastor last week, leaving them to conduct their prayers outside the gate in the scorching summer sun, and under the watch of several officers from the Quincy Police Department closely monitoring the situation from inside four cruisers parked nearby.
Feeling betrayed by the pastor whom they have worked with to build the church for over a decade, the disappointed group of Kenyans took a unanimous vote of no confidence on Rev. Thanji, and demanded his immediate resignation from the church so they can put it "back on track". The determined group of Kenyan men and women also vowed to continue with their peaceful protest every Sunday until Rev. Thanji agrees to address their grievances. To complicate matters further, the protesting group was incensed that Rev. Thanji had the audacity to organize and invite about 17 Kenyan gospel musicians from the area to the All Saints Church for a Kigocho (Gospel music praise and worship) event this Sunday instead of focusing to resolve the still ongoing dispute. Speaking to Ajabu Africa News outside the church Sunday, several members of the group sharply criticized the Kenyan gospel artistes and other church members who have accepted or plan to attend the Sunday Kigocho event invitation, calling them "hypocritical opportunists". "It is very sad that Rev. Thanji is expending time and financial resources to organize a Kigocho at our church at this time yet there are bigger problems that he cannot expend the same to resolve. Here we have 59 members and about 65 children who built this church and are being locked out, yet he is trying to show the world that business is as usual at the All Saints Quincy," lamented David Karumwa, a member of the group.
"It's hard to understand why some of our brothers and sisters in the Kenyan community in Boston would accept such an invitation by Rev. Thanji knowing that they know is going on here . Instead of coming to a Kigocho, they should decline the invitation until our pastor has resolved the issue. These Kenyans should strive to be part of the solution instead of moving blindly to be used to increase the problem," said John Bret Giathi, another group member. The group reiterated that that the church was built through funds donated by members with the help of many Kenyans in the community, therefore it was in the best interests of the wider Kenyan community in the area to help resolve the crisis instead of displaying partisanship that is only serving to deepen the divisions among Kenyan community members in the process. "It would have been more humane for these Kenyans to come join us to protest for justice to prevail. They should come to hold the Kigocho outside the church until the walls of the church shake so that the mental and spiritual barriers preventing the pastor to talk to members come down," said Margaret Njoroge, a mother of two from Brockton. "It is very embarrassing that a spiritual leader is seen as unable to solve a problem that requires forgiving on each side for divine intervention to take hold, yet this is what they teach us to practice. This is a classical case of preaching water while you are drinking wine," added another female member who preferred to remain anonymous. Among those listed in a flyer promoting the highly divisive Kigocho includes Apostles Bernard Gatui and wife, Essay Ndirangu, James Gitau and wife, Irene Gitau, the CEE dancers (children of Irene and James Gitau), Rev. Alice Maina, Anne Kihato, Florence Mukuhi, Esther Mwangi, Bernard Mutua, Shiko Grace Katanga, Carol Gitau, P. Jey Kongo, and Rev. Joseph Gatungu, a new pastor based t the All Saints Church. "These people are clearly being used by the pastor to try and clean up his image, but they are now causing more division and hatred in the Kenyan community in the name of Kigocho. They should rethink their stand and stay away from this Kigocho all together until the problems in our church are resolved. And if they come, they will find us outside the church waiting and having our own Kigocho," said George Kamau, another leading group member. Several of the 17 gospel musicians and their families slated to perform at the Sunday Kigocho come from the St. Stephens Church in Lowell, led by Rev. Samuel Kimohu, who was recently banned by Bishop John Herzog from interfering in any way in the All Saints Quincy church dispute. Speaking to Ajabu Africa News last month, Bishop Herzog clarified that he had strongly advised the pastor or any member of his church to stay clear of the All Saints Community church in Quincy even when invited for any ceremony during this time of dispute until the matters are resolved amicably and peace returns again.
"We are flabbergasted at how Rev. Kimohu can let gospel musicians from his church attend this Praise and Worship at our church on Sunday given that his own Bishop had warned against it. This is a reckless show of defiance to the Bishop Herzog's authority. This is the same defiance we see among some Kenyan pastors in the Diaspora who do not want to submit to any higher authority, yet they expect the Kenyans under them to submit to their authority," complained several members of the All Saints church protesting group. Empathizing with the protesting group, one Kenyan young man aligned to the pastors group said that it is very unfortunate and embarrassing for their church to be going though the bitter dispute they are experiencing. He said that even when he attends Sunday service at the church while his friends and children are locked out, it makes him feel bad and confused. "I don't think even Jesus Christ would do this. Jesus would not lock out people including young children from the church," said Charles Makwaka, a.k.a Charlie. Makwaka decried the lack of dialogue from both sides of the dispute that have kept the crisis going on for months with no end in sight, especially after the court removed itself by dismissing the case against Rev. Thanji citing First Amendment of the US Constitution and Misnomer of Parties for the group that filed the suit. He added that the problem would have been easier to resolve if Kenyans in the community had a well organized civic group that would bring the two sides together for the sake of protecting the reputation of the Kenyan community in the region. The young Kenyan said that the dispute at the Quincy church needs to be a wakeup call for the right thinking Kenyans in Boston to come together and organize them into a non- partisan civic organization since the lack of it will only continue to increase divisions that have been brought about by religious differences everywhere. "We need to take a leap of faith. We need to join and strengthen any existing organization so that we can have a uniform platform to resolve our differences without embarrassing the entire community the way it has happened here. I will be the first to join," he stressed with a tone of seriousness. Reached for comments, several of the gospel artistes slated to perform said they accepted the invitations to perform without the knowledge of the ongoing strife at the church, but knowing what they know now, they would not attend. "I was completely in the darkness about the problems at the church. My work schedule has been so tight such that I have not followed recent news in our community, so am very shocked to hear that there are members who were chased out of the church and are now worshipping from the gate. I do not advocate for any church member to be kicked out like that so I will cancel my appearance until those differences are resolved," said Rev. Alice Maina, a Kenyan gospel musician based in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. "I heard about the problems in the church from the news but I have not followed the recent developments. So when a woman called us to invite us for the Kigocho, we checked our diary and since it was blank, we accepted the invitation under the impression that the problems were over. I am very shocked to hear that the dispute is still ongoing and so I and my family cannot attend it," said James Gitau, a.k.a Gitau drummer who sings gospel music together with his wife.
The couple also has three daughters under the name CEE dancers who were also slated to perform but their father has now said they will not longer honor the invitation. Also expressing shock and dismay was Bernard Mutua, a renowned Kenyan Gospel music bass guitarist based in Lowell. Mutual told Ajabu Africa that he was invited and told that Sheykanna Glory would be holding a Kigocho on Sunday in Boston and that they were inviting him to feature in the performer's line up as well. Mutua, who added that he had not even given consent for his image to be put in the event promotional flyer, said that he would not be able to attend the event to avoid being seen as supporting other Kenyans to be kicked out of church. "I did not know that there are problems in that church. I just accepted the invitation like that since I had nothing else to do that day. Now I just cannot go there. I wish they had told me about the background information," said the disappointed guitarist. Other musicians reached for comment have not yet responded to phone and text and WhatsApp messages. "With this new Kigocho drama, now everybody in the Kenyan community can see the kind of hypocrisy and outright misrepresentations we have been dealing with at our church.This is how things have been done for a long time leading to all the current problems," said Peter Njoroge Karanja, a founding member from nearby Randolph. The protesting group of men, women and children vowed to be on spot again this Sunday to press for their rights as long time All Saints Community church, the first Kenyan community church to be established in the city of Quincy in the early 2000's.
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Source:
AJABU AFRICAN NEWS
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