LOWELL, Mass., Worshippers from different races and backgrounds helped raise over $$4,000 towards a church building project for the Grace international Church, a predominantly Kenyan community church based in Lowell. During the event last Sunday (June 23) Bishop Samuel Muya of the Talents revival churches from Kenya asked worshippers to "get serious" while attending church.

He asked Kenyans to serve God with their "giving to build churches" instead of living in great comfort yet the churches were struggling with poor infrastructure and low resources.

"David, who was a man after God's own heart said it was wrong for him to live in great comfort while the house of the Lord was in bad shape. He therefore gathered all his wealth and decided to build a build a great altar and temple for God," said Bishop Muya

Muya also asked Kenyans to switch from merely attending church as a social routine to attending church with a goal of changing their spiritual lives.

"Back home, some people come to my church because they hear that I usually go to the USA to preach. Others attend some church based on a pastor's haircut or his suit. In the USA, many attend church just so that they may get someone to help them in case a catastrophe strikes" said the bishop.

He added that people's seriousness in matters of the church is reflected in the level of their "giving in church"

During the event, Rev, Peter Kiama of the St. John's Anglican Church in Worcester served as the master of ceremonies, where he asked guests to show their love by giving more towards the church project.

Both Bishop Muya and Rev. Kiama thanked the pastor of the church, Rev. Jeremiah Githere for the vision to build the church and hoped that it will continue to grow over time.

The event was also graced by visiting Kenyan gospel artiste, Vicky Kitonga who entertained guests with smooth flowing praise and worship songs.

On his part Rev. Githere thanked  all the Grace international church members,other Kenyans and their friends  who responded to the fund raising call terming it as a "big blessing" to the church fraternity.

He said that his church has always kept it's "doors open" to any person out there looking for a church to call home.

The Grace International church is located on 229 Stedman St,Lowell Ma.

NEW YORK –  The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) approved redefining marriage in the church constitution Tuesday to include a "commitment between two people," becoming the largest Protestant group to formally recognize gay marriage as Christian and allow same-sex weddings in every congregation.
 

The new definition was endorsed last year by the church General Assembly, or top legislative body, but required approval from a majority of the denomination's 171 regional districts, or presbyteries. The critical 86th "yes" vote came Tuesday night from the Presbytery of the Palisades in New Jersey.

After all regional bodies vote and top Presbyterian leaders officially accept the results, the change will take effect June 21. The denomination has nearly 1.8 million members and about 10,000 congregations.

"So many families headed by LGBTQ couples have been waiting for decades to enter this space created for their families within their church communities," said the Rev. Robin White, a leader of More Light Presbyterians, which advocates for gay acceptance within the church.

So far, 41 presbyteries have rejected the redefinition, which includes a provision that no clergy would be compelled to preside at a gay marriage or host such a ceremony on church property. The vote in one presbytery was tied, according to a tally by the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, a pro-gay group that works to keep Presbyterians united despite theological differences.

Last year, the church had allowed ministers to preside at gay weddings if local church leaders approved in states where the unions were legally recognized. The new wording for the church Book of Order, which authorizes same-sex marriages churchwide, will read, "Marriage involves a unique commitment between two people, traditionally a man and a woman, to love and support each other for the rest of their lives."

Church leaders released statements Tuesday urging "mutual forbearance" amid disagreements over the amendment. "We hope that such 'up/down' voting does not mark the end, but the continuation of our desire to live in community," the two top General Assembly officials said.

Between 2011, when the Presbyterian church authorized gay ordination, and 2013, the latest year for which figures are available, 428 of the denomination's churches left for more conservative denominations or dissolved, though some theological conservatives have remained as they decide how to move forward.

Carmen Fowler LaBerge, president of the conservative Presbyterian Lay Committee, said the new definition was "an express repudiation of the Bible" and approved "what God does not bless." Her group has urged Presbyterians to protest by redirecting donations away from the national church until the original marriage definition is restored.

Paul Detterman, national director of The Fellowship Community, a network of theologically conservative Presbyterian churches that have stayed with the denomination, said his organization will "remain faithfully engaged in conversation" with those of different views in the church. He said the Fellowship's opposition to the amendment is "in no way intended to be anti-gay," but aims "with humility" to uphold the traditional Bible view of marriage.

Although several Protestant denominations have taken significant steps toward recognizing same-sex relationships, only one other major Christian group has endorsed gay marriage as Christian churchwide.

In 2005, the 1.1 million-member United Church of Christ became the first major Protestant denomination to back same-sex marriage, urging its individual congregations to develop wedding policies "that do not discriminate against couples based on gender."

The Episcopal Church, which blazed a trail in 2003 by electing the first openly gay Anglican bishop, Gene Robinson, does not have a formal position on gay marriage, but allows bishops to decide whether their priests can officiate at the ceremonies. Episcopalians will take up gay marriage at a national meeting in June.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which eliminated barriers to gay ordination in 2009, takes a similar approach, allowing some discretion by clergy and congregations to officiate at same-sex ceremonies without formally recognizing same-sex marriage as a denomination.

The United Methodist Church, the second-largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., bars "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" from ordination and prohibits gay weddings. Many Methodist clergy have been performing gay marriages as a protest of church policy.

The Rev. Brian Ellison, executive director of Covenant Network of Presbyterians, said he recognized "there will be significant disagreement among thoughtful faithful people" about the new marriage definition. "We're very committed to helping the church continue working through this issue," he said.

The practice of homosexuality is unbiblical and a threat to the family unit in Kenya, the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) has said.

NEWTON, Mass.,--Real Faith in God and individual actions of church members is more important than the size of the church, as opposed to trends in modern society that has tended to evaluate churches according to membership.

This was said by Dr. David Turner, the TBN Televangelist and founder of David Turner Ministries who led two revival conferences in the African community in Boston last weekend, a one day event at the CCF Church in Nashua, NH and two days at the Victory Family church in Watertown, MA.

During the closing day of the Victory Family church event last Sunday, Dr. Turner said that he was compelled by the spirit of God to extend outreach into the African community churches in Boston after meeting Pastor Samuel Kassozi, pastor of the Victory Family church during a revival conference in Dallas three years ago.

He said that Boston needs a major revival of God since it has been saddled with many issues on the spiritual realm, especially belief and worship witchcraft as evidenced by widely known witchcraft rituals and celebrations coming from the city of Salem, near Boston.

The pastor said that the real and impacting revival needed in the area will only come when leaders of small churches that are coming up in various parts of the Northeast put their differences aside to unite and collaborate on the spread of the gospel instead of struggling to dominate small bands of worshippers in order to control of their "territories".

"This area has suffered for many years from witchcraft activities. Real Revival is possible if pastors put their differences aside and bring their people together occasionally to conduct massive revival conferences.You cannot continue to refuse your members to join others for revival events in an effort to control your own territory and still hope to make a mark," he told about worshippers.

He urged the leaders of the Victory Family church to continue their outreach and seek to bring churches and worshippers from different cultures together to cultivate the desired unity.

"I see this church playing a leading role to bring the people of God together for a greater flow of the Spirit of God in this region."

Turner also urged worshippers to have faith in God and have actions that speak of their belief in God instead of attending church as a social ritual, yet continue to suffer from many problems associated with spiritual wickedness when they leave church.

Thanking Pastor Turner for his continued effort to reach out to the African community churches, pastor Kasozi said that it was an honor that his church does not take lightly.

He said that since the Victory Family church started several years ago, it has continued to attract worshippers from many cultural backgrounds who come to worship together several times a week.

He also thanked those who attended the two day revival and urged them to spread the good News to others who may not be attending churches out there so that they can be positively affected.

Several hundred worshippers from various states including Connectict, New Hampshire and Massachusetts attended the conference that started on Saturday, continued on Sunday morning and ended on Sunday evening.

Dozens of believers present came forward for special healing prayers from Dr. Turner.

Among other pastors present at the revival included pastor Patrick Mulindwa, the Associate pastor at Victory Family church and pastor David Ndungu, pastor of the predominantly Kenyan CCF Church in Nashua, New Hampshire where Dr. Turner preached on Friday evening.

Dr. Turner, who's Phoenix Arizona based Christian ministry reaches millions worldwide through the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), promised to continue his annual outreach to African Diaspora churches in the New England region.

The Victory Family Church is located at 161 North Street, Newton, MA.

NEW YORK (AP) — The number of Americans who don't affiliate with a particular religion has grown to 56 million in recent years, making the faith group researchers call "nones" the second-largest in total numbers behind evangelicals, according to a Pew Research Center study released Tuesday.

Christianity is still the dominant faith by far in the U.S.; 7 in 10 Americans identify with the tradition. However, the ranks of Christians have declined as the segment of people with no religion has grown, the survey says.

Between 2007 and 2014, when Pew conducted two major surveys of U.S. religious life, Americans who described themselves as atheist, agnostic or of no particular faith grew from 16 percent to nearly 23 percent. At the same time, Christians dropped from about 78 percent to just under 71 percent of the population. Protestants now comprise 46.5 percent of what was once a predominantly Protestant country.

Researchers have long debated whether people with no religion should be defined as secular since the category includes those who believe in God or consider themselves "spiritual." But the new Pew study found increasing signs of secularism.

Last year, 31 percent of "nones" said they were atheist or agnostic, compared to 25 percent in 2007, and the percentage who said religion was important to them dropped.

Greg Smith, Pew's associate research director, said the findings "point to substantive changes" among the religiously unaffiliated, not just a shift in how people describe themselves. Secular groups have become increasingly organized to counter bias against them and keep religion out of public life through lawsuits and lobbying lawmakers.

The growth of "nones" has political significance as well. People with no religion tend to vote Democratic, just as white evangelicals tend to vote Republican. The Pew study found a slight drop-about 1 percent-in the evangelical share of the population, which now comprises a quarter of Americans. But the overall number of evangelicals rose to about 62 million people.

Pew researchers said Christian losses were driven by decreases among mainline, or liberal, Protestants and Roman Catholics.

Mainline Protestants declined by about 5 million to 36 million between 2007 and 2014. Pew found 13 percent of U.S. adults are former Catholics. The study put the number of Catholic adults at 51 million, or just over one-fifth of the U.S. population, a drop of about 3 percent over seven years. In 2007, Catholics made up about one-quarter of Americans.

However, Pew researchers acknowledge those conclusions differ from those of some other major studies that found only slight declines or even a slight uptick in the numbers of Catholics in the last couple of years. Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, which tracks American Catholicism, puts the U.S. adult Catholic population at 61 million.

Regarding other religions, Pew found an increase in membership of non-Christian faiths, driven mainly by growing numbers of Muslims and Hindus. Despite the increase, their numbers remain small. Muslims and Hindus each comprise less than 1 percent of the U.S. population. The number of Jews rose slightly over the period, from 1.7 percent to 1.9 percent of Americans.

Overall, religious groups have become more ethnically diverse along with the broader population. Latinos now comprise one-third of U.S. Roman Catholics, although fewer U.S. Latinos identify as Catholic overall. One-quarter of evangelicals and 14 percent of mainline Protestants are racial minorities. Membership in historically black churches has remained relatively stable over the period.

The survey of 35,000 people, titled "America's Changing Religious Landscape," was conducted in English and Spanish from June 4 through Sept. 30 of last year and has a margin of error of plus or minus 0.6 percentage points.

BOSTON---Two years since he started outreach at the Victory Family International church in Newtonville, a predominantly African Diaspora community church, pastor David Turner, a TBN Televangelist and founder of David Turner Ministries will be leading a prayer and worship session tonight at the CCF church Nashua starting 7pm.

The meeting tonight will be Dr. Turner's first visit to a predominantly Kenyan Diaspora community church in USA, which comes at the invitation of pastor David Ndungu, leader of the Nashua New Hampshire based Community Christian Fellowship (CCF) church.

"We are very excited to have Pastor David Turner visiting our church. It's a great honor and we believe we will be very blessed from this visit," said pastor Ndungu during a recent interview with Ajabu Africa.

"We are inviting all Kenyans and people from all other nationalities out there to come in tonight and be part of this special prayer meeting where many issues will be prayed for and healing received through the power of Faith," he added.

The event will start promptly at 7pm at the new church location at 264 Main Dunstable Road, Nashua, NH 03060.

After the New Hampshire visit, Dr. Turner will return to the Victory Family International Church in Newtonville near Boston for a two day revival conference, a church where he first appeared in 2013 for his initial visit to an African Diaspora community church.

According to organizers at the Victory Family church, led by Pastor Samuel Kasozzi, the revival meetings will kick off tomorrow, Saturday at 6.30pm and continue on Sunday morning at 10.30am at the church located at 161 North Street, Newton, MA 02460.

"We expect great miracles to happen tomorrow and on Sunday. We welcome everyone who wishes to worship with us," said Dorothy Sebbaka, one of the revival event organizing committee members.

During his visit last year at the Victory Family church, several hundred worshippers from different cultural backgrounds come out to attend,with many testifying rigjht from at the sancuary to having had their problems solved after prayers from pastor Turner.

However, organizers were thankful that Dr. Turner had decided to minister at the Kenyan church in Nashua tonight in an effort to minister to those who may not be able to make it to the revival conference tomorrow.

To reach event organizers at the CCF Nashua Church, call:

Pastor David Mbugua: 978-930-0790
Karanja : 978-771-7913
Address: 264 Main Dunhstable Road, Nashua, NH 03060

To reach event organizers at the victory Family Church, call:
Pastor David Kasozzi: 617-538-2554
Dorothy Sebbaka: 857-204-6067
Address: 161 North Street, Newton, MA 02460
 

BOSTON—World renown TBN Televangelist, Dr. David Turner will continue his special healing service today at the Victory family Church in Watertown, near Boston from 5-9pm.

During a morning service earlier today titled "Living a Life of Signs and Wonders", Dr. Turner told worshippers gathered from far and near that his earliest healing miracles occurred in India during a revival meeting where 10 deaf and dumb believers got instantly healed.

He said that the problem with most people today is that they prophesy to be Christians, yet they do not believe that God can heal and deliver them from a variety of maladies afflicting them in life.

He urged anyone who has a nagging issue that has refused to go away to turn out for the evening prayers and will be healed by Faith.

The Victory Family church is located at 161 North Street, Watertown, MA.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS STORY. CHECK BACK LATER FOR DETAILS.

According to All Christian Newson Monday,a pastor was preaching on the Sunday before Mother's Day in a New Orleans church when he suddenly died in front of his congregation. The death of Rev. Kenneth Green, pastor of Greater Saint Mary Baptist Church, came as a shock to those in the worship service.

It is interesting because Rev. Green was preaching about being ready to meet God when he died. Joan Martin, who was in the service said the pastor had just said, "If the Lord called me now, I'm ready to go."

Green was just 56 years old when he stopped in the middle of his sermon and fell over. No one could revive him. His last sermon was entitled, "Down But Not Out: How to Press Forward."

Martin said the pastor took a swallow of water, wiped his face, looked up with his eyes rolled back in his head like there was no life in his eyes, and he just tumbled over.

Green was given medical attention by paramedics after 911 was called.

However, their attempts to save him were unsuccessful. Most people believe he was already dead when he medical team arrived.

Martin gave some background information about her pastor since she was a member of the church. She shared that the pastor had served at Greater Saint Mary Baptist Church for eight years. She said that he had a heart and a passion for working with the poor members of his church and community. He was also a man of prayer as was evidenced by his final sermon, which came from the book of Psalms.

WDSUreported that an autopsy will be done to determine the cause of Green's death. He leaves behind a wife, three children, and a congregation that thought of him as a loving husband and a man of prayer.

BOSTON, Mass.,__The long awaited revival convention by Joseph Kalema Ministries, in partnership with a New York based Archbishop and many Boston area pastors kicked off at the Boston Woburn Hilton Hotel on Thursday night and will continue throughout the entire Memorial Day weekend.

The Revival convention brings together delegates from other states and other renowned US Preachers like Dr. Archbishop Joseph A. Alexander, founder of the New Covenant Christian Worldwide Ministries based in Bronx, NY, and Dr. Larry Hrovat of Faith of The Nations Ministries of Denver,Colorado.

Africa based clergymen also jetted in for the convention.They include Pastor Nicholas Wafula, a reknowned East African Revivalist who co-founded the Deliverance church of Uganda in the late 60s even as he faced serious danger from former Ugandan Dictator, Id Amin Dada, as well as and Pastor Laban  Jjumba of Deliverance Church Uganda.

Determined to soldier on despite serious danger, pastor Wafula was forced to lead the church underground for 10 years in order to escape brutal persecution by former Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin.

Themed "Acquire the Fire, Lift Jesus Higher", the highly anticipated convention kicked off with a praise and worship session led by the Chelsea based International Gospel Church live band and choir.

Rev. John Baker Katende of the Global Evangelical church, who is also the chairman of the convention organizing committee officially, opened the 4 day meeting.

He was followed by Bishop Joseph Kalema of the Joseph Kalema Ministries Inc., who introduced the various guests from around the world-who will be delivering the word throughout the weekend.

"Thank you all for coming. We are lacking the baptism of the Holy Ghost Fire. We want people to be baptized not just by the Holy Spirit, but also by fire," said Bishop Kalema, drawing from the convention theme: "Acquire the Fire, Lift Jesus Higher".

Leading in the opening night's sermon, Dr.Hrovat challenged worshippers to get ready for a big change spiritually after attending the convention.

"By the end of this convention, you will not be at the same place again spiritually."

Others promising fireworks included PastorNicholasWafula and Pastor LabanJjumba, both who flew in from Uganda.

"At end of the weekend, you will learn how to recover all that the locusts have eaten from you for the last many years," said pastor Jjumba.

The free entry convention today and tomorrow from 6.30pm at the hotel located at 2 Forbes Drive, Woburn, MA 01801.

LOWELL, Mass.,--Tough marriage issues in the Kenyan Diaspora community will be addressed on Saturday June 6 at the Grace International Church in Lowell let by Rev. John & Pastor Grace Ndung’u, a marriage counseling couple visiting from Kenya.

The event will start at 10am- 1pm, followed by a Revival Fellowship later in the evening and a closing Sunday service the next day.

According to Rev. Jeremiah Githere, pastor of the Grace International church that is hosting the event, the seminar is free of charge and everyone is invited to gain insight into difficult marriage issues and how to handle them, regardless of their background affiliations.

To Contact Rev. Jeremiah for more info call: 978-606-7302

WORCESTER, Mass., The slowly but surely growing Annual trip to the Holy land by Hosanna Gospel Center of Worcester in partnership with SG Travel International is back on the limelight with a trip planned for November 21-29 this year, at a reduced price of $2,550 per person down from $3,500 four years ago.

A defiant Pastor James Maina Ng’ang’a took to the pulpit on Friday night to curse his critics.

The Government will tighten regulations on registration of religious organisations and their leaders to tame rogue pastors.

Deputy President William Ruto said the Government recently passed a law on registration of bishops, pastors and other clergy in a move to protect faithful from cons.

Speaking during a revival conference for Full Gospel Churches of Kenya, Mt Kenya South Region at Embu Stadium yesterday, Ruto regretted that the church had been invaded by unscrupulous business people who defraud gullible followers.

He said the rogue pastors, who he did not name, purport to sell holy water and seeds of prosperity to the worshipers only to end up fleecing them.

"When Jesus found people engaged in buying and selling in the temple, he whipped them. We will not allow con businesses to continue in churches. Those purporting to sell seeds to Kenyans should instead be registered with the Ministry of Agriculture," he said.

Ruto made the remarks at a time Kenyans are concerned about bishops and pastors who preach prosperity gospel to their followers while amassing wealth from them.

The Deputy President said the Jubilee government acknowledges and recognises the church as a valuable partner in efforts to develop the country through its role in provision of education, health and unifying Kenyans.

Ruto who was hosted by the Full Gospel Embu Bishop Samuel Muriithi and was accompanied by Senators Kithure Kindiki (Tharaka-Nithi), Lenny Kivuti (Embu), Embu Governor Martin Wambora and Runyenjes MP Cecily Mbarire, among others.

REVERE, Mass.,--The annual "Reach the Beach" christian outreach at the Revere Beach near Boston got a taste of Africa when the Yesu Yuaja Band from International Gospel Church in Chelsea entertained revelers with hit after hit of east African community Swahili gospel music.

The week-long event that brings together different churches and gospel performers from around the area for music and drama performances started this Monday, and continues daily from 3pm to 9pm.

A grand finale slated for this Saturday near the Reinstein Band Stand, right on the Revere Beach Boulevard .

Several top ranking gospel musicians are scheduled to perform, among them the popular Bobby Bishop, a Christian rap performer from Lynn, Tom Conlon, a soft Rock musician, Courteny Reed, a Folk music performer, the Middle River Gospel band that specializes on Country and Western music as well as the Jo Petty Band, a Christian hard rock music band.

However, last night, beach goers enjoyed African Christian music by the Yuaja band led by Rev. Jared Mlongecha from 7pm to 9pm. Enticed by the strong African beats and drums,several local visitors joined in the dancing.

Pastor Joel Senny from Tanzania led in a brief word of God while Rev. Jared Mlongecha thanked the Reach the Beach organizers for inviting his church to perform and share in spreading the word of God for the second year in a row.

"This is great. This is what we are looking for when we started the Reach the Beach program. The city of Revere has over 47 different languages by people from all over the world. Jesus commanded that we go out and spread the good News of salvation to all people of the world in as many languages as we can, so this is a good thing to see it happening right here on the beach," said Joe De Santis, Director of the Reach the Beach program.

Joe De Santis, director of the Reach the Beach program that brings different churches for a week-long evangelism at the Revere Beach. AJABU AFRICA MEDIA PIC/H.MAINA

De Santis said that the annual program was started by the First Congregational Church located at 230 Beach Street in Revere 8 years ago as a way of reach out to the "lost in the world" frequenting the popular beach over the summer.

"We engage many people in evangelism, outreach, music, drama, art, children's activities, face painting, stories, games, puppets and general sharing of the Gospel at America's oldest public beach. This is like a church without walls," he told Ajabu Africa News.

He added that he was happy that attendance to the free entry event has been getting larger year after year. He invited anyone looking to have a nice time at the beach to pass by the big stand from 3pm to 9pm and enjoy some of the activities available, including free evangelism materials from over 32 different languages.

He also urged church groups or gospel artistes who would like to be included as performers during next year's program to contact with organizers at:781-284-4158.

For more information,visit:https://reachthebeachrevere.org

METHUEN, Mass.,--A Kenyan community preacher and family counselor, Rev. Dorcas Karanja recently launched a gospel CD titled Kigocho (Praise) during an elaborate ceremony held at the Riverside Assemblies of God church in Methuen, MA.

 The event took place on Sunday August 9, with over 150 Kenyans and friends present, among them several clergymen and women.

The event was graced by epic Kenyan gospel artistes, Moses Githuka and Vickie Kitonga, diaspora based musicisns, Sarah Mbogo, Essy wa Ndirangu and Naomi Karanja, while Minister Mary Makumbi from the Ugandan community introduced Rev. Karanja's works to the community.

In addition to spreading the word of God through gospel music, Rev. Karanja operates the Victory Foundation, a nonprofit organization that runs a feeding program for HIV/AIDS orphaned children in Kenya.

The pastor also helps troubleshoot troubled marriages within the Kenyan community in Boston as well as help deal with other difficult life issues.

Rev. Karanja can be reached on: 978-258-9027

Kenya--Pastor James Ng'ang'a got temporary reprieve yesterday when a Limuru court declined to compel him to submit DNA samples.

But the Neno Evangelism Ministries pastor, who was charged last week with causing death through dangerous driving, also suffered a setback when one of his lawyers withdrew from the case citing lack of co-operation from his client.

The prosecution had requested to take Ng'ang'a's blood samples to the Government chemist for comparison with the blood that was collected at the scene of the accident.

While delivering the ruling, Limuru Senior Resident Magistrate Timothy ole Tanchu said sections 122 (a) and (b) of the penal code which the prosecution relied on were silent on whether the court should give orders to the prosecution to draw blood samples to be used as evidence in a court case.

He said the prosecution should have sought the direction of the court before the accused took plea. Once the suspects are formally charged, he explained, the court becomes an independent arbitrator between the two parties and can no longer assist the prosecution to get evidence.

After the the ruling, the prosecution led by Assistant Director of Prosecutions Catherine Wahome requested certified copies of the proceedings so that they can appeal the decision at the High Court.

 South African school teacher Benedict Daswa, who was bludgeoned to death for resisting witchcraft, was beatified on Sunday, becoming the first person from the southern African region to undergo the key step toward sainthood.

He was proclaimed "blessed" in an apostolic letter read on behalf of Pope Francis by Italian Cardinal Angelo Amato to some 30,000 people during mass in Tshitanini village, not far from Daswa's house in South Africa's northern Limpopo province.

"We grant that the venerable servant of God, Tshimangadzo Samuel Benedict Daswa, layman and family man...a zealous catechist, all-round educator who gave heroic witness to the gospel, even to the shedding of blood, from now on will be called 'Blessed'," said Amato.

The crowd applauded wildly and some blew traditional animal horns.

Daswa was beaten to death 25 years ago by fellow villagers after he refused to pay a sorcerer who promised to end destructive storms hammering the region.

First stoned by his assailants, Daswa ran to safety in a hut before being found by the mob and beaten to death with a stick.

- Prayed till death -

His murderers then poured boiling water in his ears and nostrils-- all of which happened on February 2, 1990, the day the apartheid regime announced it would release Nelson Mandela.

"While his executioners were killing him, Benedict was on his knees praying. He prayed until the last minute of his life," according to father Andre Bohas, one of the initiators of the beatification process.

He "is a model for all the people in Africa."

Virtually unknown when he died, Daswa's fame grew throughout South Africa's Catholic community, with villagers starting to commemorate the anniversary of his death. Following the beatification, his feast day will be celebrated annually on February 1.
 

Around eight percent of South Africa's population is Catholic.

Pope Francis, who announced in January that Daswa would be beatified, paid tribute to the teacher in his regular Sunday address to the faithful in St Peter's square.

"In his life he always showed great consistency, courageously defending Christian views and rejecting worldly and pagan customs," the Argentinian pontiff said in Italian.

South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa also attended the beatification ceremony, which came after an overnight vigil staged by thousands of followers.

- 'Ultimate price of martyrdom' -

"May this day be the day when we say ritual killings must come to an end, witch hunts must come to an end," said Ramaphosa.

Daswa's eight children -- including one born a few months after his death -- sat in the front at the ceremony, alongside their 91-year-old grandmother Ipa.

"Proud is an under statement to describe what I feel," said Mutshiro Michael, 33, one of Daswa's sons, adding he had forgiven his father's murderers.

Traditional performers from the local Venda people dressed in colourful striped outfits sang and danced ahead of the mass.

From Saturday night, priests, nuns and Catholics from across the country were draped in blankets and packed a dusty road leading to a shrine dedicated to Daswa, singing hymns.

"It is a unique moment, I feel overwhelmed," said Tsholanang Koketso, 23, who travelled from the Limpopo provincial capital Polokwane to attend the mass.

"We always hear about saints in other countries but now we (will) have one in South Africa. It's very nice."

Father John Finn, who buried Daswa, described him as "a man of incredible generosity."

"He was always bringing people to hospitals, taking care of children and elders. He had a great value for education."

The beatification comes less than three months ahead of Pope Francis's first visit to Africa in a push to connect with the burgeoning Catholic population across the continent.

The pontiff will be travelling to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic in late November.

In Uganda, Francis will commemorate the canonisation by pope Paul VI in 1964 of the first African saints -- 22 young people killed in 1878 on the orders of the local ruler because they refused to renounce their Christian faith.

Popular Nairobi based gospel musician and wife of controversial Kenyan pastor, Victor Kanyari of the Salvation Healing Ministry entertained Kenyans in Boston Tuesday for the second time at the Well of Worship church in Dracut, near Lowell.

The singer, who was visibly pregnant and made pleasant jokes about the upcoming baby, has been in Boston since the beginning of the month when she served as the main guest at the Annual Queens Night celebration in the region.

 She said that she was happy to be in the US for a tour courtesy of the Queens Night organization that will see her visit other states in the coming weeks including Kansas and Dallas, Texas.

"I am very happy to be in Boston and meet my fans as we praise God together. I am also looking forward to meeting more fans in Kansas and Dallas next week," Bayo told Ajabu Africa News after the performance in Dracut.

According to multiple reports, the singer has been pulling big crowds in her previous 3 shows in Lowell who were eager to meet her.

ROME (RNS) People who cover up clerical sexual abuse should be considered guilty, and God will judge priests who are unrepentant about committing such crimes, Pope Francis told journalists at the end of his U.S. tour.

Speaking aboard the papal plane from Philadelphia to Rome, where the pontiff arrived on Monday (Sept. 28) morning, Francis said clerical abuse is "nearly a sacrilege" and the Catholic Church must take a tough line.

"For this reason the Church is strong on this and one must not cover these things up. Those who covered this up are guilty. Even some bishops who covered this up, it is a terrible thing," the pope said, quoted by Vatican Radio.

Francis criticized those who attempted to comfort victims by saying, "Don't worry that was nothing," and said abusers who were unrepentant would be judged by God.

"If a person has done wrong, is conscious of what he has done and does not say sorry, I ask God to take him into account," the pope said. "I forgive him, but he does not receive that forgiveness, he is closed to forgiveness."

The pontiff urged people to forgive others, although he said he understood that some victims of clerical sexual abuse and their relatives would not be able to do so. Referring to a victim whose mother lost her faith on learning her daughter had been sexually abused by a cleric, the pope said he understood such a reaction.

"Because what was abused, destroyed, was her own flesh, the flesh of her daughter. I understand her. I don't judge someone who can’t forgive. I pray and I ask God," the pope said.

Francis met with five people on Sunday who had been sexually abused as children, saying he was "deeply sorry" that their experiences were not heard or believed when they spoke out about the abuse.

"Clergy and bishops will be held accountable when they abuse or fail to protect children,"the pontiff told the abuse survivors,ahead of a meeting with bishops in which he said "God weeps" over clerical abuse.

On the flight back to Rome, the pope was asked is he supported individuals, including government officials, who refuse to abide by some laws, such as issuing marriage licenses to gays.

"Conscientious objection must enter into every juridical structure because it is a right," Francis said, as reported by Reuters.

Earlier this month a county clerk in Kentucky, Kim Davis, went to jail because she refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples following a Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage.

But it was unclear whether the pope had that case in mind.

"I can't have in mind all cases that can exist about conscientious objection but, yes, I can say that conscientious objection is a right that is a part of every human right," he said, speaking in Italian.

"And if someone does not allow others to be a conscientious objector, he denies a right," he added.

Francis said conscientious objection had to be respected in legal structures. "Otherwise we would end up in a situation where we select what is a right, saying: 'This right has merit, this one does not.'''

(Reuters contributed to this report.)

TEWKSBURY, Mass.,__The Kenyan community in Boston is set to have a new church when the International Restoration Reformed Church (IRRC) is officially dedicated this Sunday during special prayers at the new venue located at 170 Main Street, Suite 212 in Tewksbury, near Lowell.

With a theme of "Let God arise and His enemies be scattered", the dedication service will start at 10.30am to 12.30pm.

"We are welcoming all Kenyans and friends from the region to join us for this special dedication service," said Pastor Elizabeth Wanyoike, who together with Pastor Jane Mwihia will lead the new church.

For more information, Call: 9787-809-5560

LOWELL, Mass.,__Most Kenyan community churches in Boston, like other churches everywhere, have abdicated their primary role of spreading the true gospel of Jesus Christ and instead have been turned around into "help those who help you" social clubs emphasizing too much on financially motivated manipulations.

The charge was made by pastor Elizabeth Wanyoike last Sunday during the dedication ceremony of the newly launchedInternational Restoration Reformed Church (IRRC) in Tewksbury, near Lowell.

She said that many Kenyans attending Kenyan community churches today have no clue of where they are headed yet they are being lead down the drain by church leaders many of whom are only concerned with parishioner contributions to cater for their weekly paychecks and social problems among members.

"There is a lot of ungodliness in the church today.The church of Jesus Christ has been turned around to "help those who help you"'. It is the spirit of Jezebel and somebody must wake up to breaks the yokes of this spirit," she said during the sermon top about a dozen Kenyans present.

"It is time to destroy the ungodliness in our church just like Elijah destroyed the idols that citizens were worshipping during King Ahab's rule," she added while quoting from the book of1^st Kings Chapter 16 &17.

Pastor Elizabeth Wanyoike and husband, David Wanyoike together with other worshipers who turned out for the new church dedication service.AJABU MEDIA PIC/H.MAINA

Wanyoike said that there is a spirit of fear, oppression and intimidation going around the body of Christ today in the Kenyan community similar to what took place during King Ahab's reign.

"You can be in the church but the people in authority are taking you nowhere. People are covered in the spirit of oppression and intimidation."

She called on Kenyans of faith to take a proactive effort to change things so that the church "can operate on what God wants us to do."

"Things have to change and the church return to order. We don't have to gather for the sake of gathering. Even Obadiah was so afraid to tell the King that Prophet Elijah had arrived with a message to the people but Elijah forced him to bring up King Ahab to listen to the message and destroy the alters of worshiping idols instead of the read God," she added.

During the fiery message, the clergy woman encouraged Kenyans who are sick and tired of the manipulation going on in the church not to just sit around doing nothing about the situation. She urged them not to bow down to the intimidation but continue to live their lives worshipping the true God and doing the right thing of helping those who can’t help themselves regardless of their financial situation.

"Whether we like it or not, you have to know where you are going. You need to live a life with a don't care attitude on those who try to intimidate you as long as you know that God is on your side."

Wanyoike said that the new church, that she launched together with pastor Jane Mwihia was dedicated to prayer and deliverance for anyone who feels that they want someone who can pray with them in truth and honesty, even as small as it is.

"Let God be glorified.Jesus is not coming for a multitude; he is coming for an individual. He is coming back to redeem his church. Our church will be a place of prayer and deliverance," she said.

Co-pastor of the new IRRC church, pastor Jane Mwihia (front).AJABU MEDIA PIC/H.MAINA

She thanked those who came in to support them for the dedication service.

Speaking during the same event, Pastor Jane Mwihia said that Kenyans in the region need to feel free to make up their minds on whom to worship with and how to worship.

She said that the church is open to anyone who feels they are facing difficult situations that they find hard to share with other people out there without fear of betrayal.

"We have a powerful team of women here who are ready to pray with you. It is very good to know that there are people shading with you in prayer and nothing moves things more than real and honest prayers," she said.

Other speakers who encouraged the new pastors to continue with their mission included David Wayoike, pastor Wanyoike's husband, Faith Njeri a gospel minister from Baltimore Maryland as well as Kate Stanley Karuku, a Kenyan entrepreneur in Lowell.

They all thanked pastors Wanyoike and Mwihia for their courage and dedication to start the new church and urged them to keep up with the stated and unique mission they were pursuing.

According to pastor Wanyoike, she recently became a fully ordained minister after completing theological training and becoming licensed to perform all pastoral duties in all the states of USA.

She said that times have changed and most people are living a life of enjoying themselves with wealth and other desires while the devil is not resting seeking who to devour as was witnessed with the recent terrorist attacks in Paris--thus the need for a wakeup call top Christians to change their ways of worship while they still had a chance.

The new church is located at170 Main Street, near the Honda Dealership on Rt. 38in Tewksbury, MA.

To contact the pastors, call:
Pastor Elizabeth Wanyoike: (978)809-5560
Pastor Jane Mwihia: (978) 674-9632

Faith Njeri from Baltimore, Maryland lead believers in special prayers during the dedication service at the IRRC church in Tewksbury. AJABU MEDIA PIC/H.MAINA

BOSTON--Merry Christmas wishes from Ajabu Media, publisher of Ajabu Africa News to all our readers, fans, prayer warrior intercessors as well as all our supporters. My God shower you with never ending love as we reflect of why the Christ was born to save us from our sinful nature as mere human beings operating under the sun and the moon. God bless you mightily.

BOSTON--Renowned Kenyan evangelist, Bishop Wilfred Lai will be back in Boston for a 2 day conference at the newly renamed Jesus Celebration Center Lowell (JCC Lowell), formerly known as International Eagle Christian Ministries.

The conference, dubbed "2 days of Impartation", will take place on Friday February 19 to Saturday February 20, 2015 at the church located at 489 Middlesex Street, Lowell.

"We are inviting all and sundry to attend and hear from Bishop Lai. Your life will not be the same again," said pastor Antony Wanjohi, pastor of JCC Lowell and host of the upcoming event.

BOSTON--A judge at the Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham near Boston declined to immediately dismiss a lawsuit by a large group of members of the All Saints Anglican church, an independent Kenyan community church in Quincy, who have accused their founding pastor, Rev. Fredrick Thanji for various "corrupt practices" that threaten the future of the congregation.

Members are fearful that the pastor is seeking to strip the church ownership and control from the congregation upon his upcoming retirement, only to hand it over to family and close friends.

This, they alleged, is putting into jeopardy church property worth hundreds of thousands of dollars painfully acquired over a decade, as well as funds held in various bank accounts.

Church members alleged that the soon to retire pastor used "back door tactics" to edit a church constitution put together by various select church committees over a period of two years that gave the church council power to decide important matters related to governance.

The motion to dismiss was lodged by attorney Stephen J. Mc Laughlin on behalf of defendant, before Judge Beverly J. Cannone, who after more than an hour of listening to oral arguments from both sides, ordered them to convene a last minute meeting this Saturday, March 19 at 10am in a last minute effort to seek a peaceful compromise.

Failure to come up with an agreement, the judge ordered, would require the parties back to court on March 28 where she will make a ruling on the way forwards.

According to attorney Corrina Hale, for the suing group, tensions have been building at the Kenyan church for a long time since a new draft constitution was presented to the pastor for review, only to be met with total silence. However, the tensions picked up steam in September last year when a big group of parishioners disputed Rev. Thanji's attempts to install a new pastor of his choice, who was sourced from Kenya to as a successor.

A litigious group of Kenyans from the All Saints Community church in Quincy MA, leave the Norfolk Superior court in Dedham, near Boston after a hearing against their pastor, Rev. Fredrick Thanji. AJABU PHOTO/H. MAINA

Instead of adopting the said constitution as presented to him for review and eventual adoption, the pastor is said to have presented for ratification a competing constitution that gave him, as the rector of the church, all the power in order to maintain control from a distance when he finally retires in a few months--for selfish goals.

To make the plan happen, the pastor was accused of seeking to hand over the running of the church to his handpicked clergyman with instructions to work with a small clique of family and supportive friends, against the wishes of the majority.

Efforts to have the pastor address their concerns, the members alleged have been met with total silence, delaying tactics and demonizing of the members agitating for accountability within the wider Kenyan community in Boston.

"I represent a large majority of the church members who have never seen the constitution that the defendant claims was in existence in 2002. In-fact, one founding members of the church is here today and has testified through an affidavit that there was no constitution when they founded the church in 2002," attorney Hale submitted to the judge.

She said that the founding members had formulated by-laws that were presented to the Secretary of state for registration and that they have no idea who drafted a constitution for the same purpose.

However, since there were not problems at the time, and that the church was small, no one raised an issue about it until 2008 when membership increased and there was a need to revisit the constitution in order to put measure to resolve disputes.

Attorney Corrina Hale from the Todd & Weld LLP Lawgroup representing the Kenyans suing their pastor in Boston. Ajabu Photo/H.Maina

She added that with the pastor's blessings, several church groups met over a period of 2 years from 2007 to 2009 when they came up with a draft constitution that vested most of the power for running the church affairs and dispute resolution into the church council. We gave the pastor for review and he did not say anything.

Then all of a sudden in 2012, the attorney said, the pastor presented to the church a completely different constitution in which he had replaced the role of the church council and put the power to the Rector of the church, who happened to be the pastor who operates through a group of a few royalists.

Members feared that the pastor was using back door tactics to maintain control of the church through his choice of handpicked leaders, which put the finance and property of the church at an increased risk of misappropriation.

In an effort to resolve the succession stalemate, members insisted that the pastor produce the newly developed but yet to be adopted constitution which contained new dispute resolution procedures.

Unfortunately, Hale charged, the pastor ignored the demands of the people and refused to address the issues until matter went out of hand and tempers flared in September 2015.

"The congregation did not get any feedback. Every time they demanded and answer, they were told that the pastor is working on it. This went on for weeks and weeks and weeks. It put a lot of things in disarray and tensions started rising.Tax forms for itemized deductions were not issued to members, membership certificates were delayed and have never to members," she said.

The attorney further said that as the situation deteriorated, some members have been locked out of the church and the pastor held a secret meeting on January 6 where he sought to appoint new people perceived to be friendly to him to the church board and replace those perceived to be "against" him.

Supporters of Rev. Thanji leave the courtroom.

"The pastor is creating a very clear division in the church. At the end of each church service, an announcement is made that those supporting the pastor to remain behind for a meeting and others should leave immediately. He has made it very clear that those filed the lawsuit to have a valid constitution are no longer welcome in the church."

She said that on February 8, in an effort to resolve the dispute amicably, members of the church proposed to the pastor that the two competing constitutions be presented to the entire church congregation with an aim of holding a democratic vote to choose which one would prevail.

Members are also wary of the pastor's recent efforts to turn the independent congregational church to become an official affiliate to the Anglican Diocese of Thika in Kenya where he plans to bring disputes that cannot be resolved in USA to the Anglican bishop for resolution.

Unfortunately, "the pastor does not respond at all to the issues, even when they try to contact him by emails. This has forced the members to seek the court intervention since the church property is also at stake", said attorney Hale.

Arguing in defense of Rev. Thanji, attorney Stephen J. McLaughlin said the allegations against Rev. Thanji were baseless and lacked merit. He urged the judge to dismiss the lawsuit mainly because the court lacks "subject matter jurisdiction" on the case.

"The law is clear that Massachusetts courts should not engage in internal matters of the governance of hierarchical churches as per the 1^st amendment of the US constitution, except if there is a legitimate property dispute--and Rev. Thanji has not done anything to suggest that," he said.

He further said that the pastor should not be blamed for the problems at the church because in September 2015, when the dispute boiled over, he cooperated,but the "issue has become overblown that they now can't move forward."

"I am distressed that those suing Rev. Thanji have stopped attending church, and when they do, they are putting their donations in a separate bin for an escrow account they opened. They are putting a gun, a financial gun, to the head of Rev. Thanji, knowing very well that the church has a lot of expenses to pay," he decried.

Pastor Dorcas, a longtime assistant to Rev. Thanji (middle), together with other suing Kenyans leave the courtroom.

He said that fears by the majority of the church members that the pastor would transfer the church property or finances to himself or his family or the Diocese of Thika are not legitimate.

"There will be no conveyance of the title to the diocese."

He also said that the pastor has no access to the checking account of the church and is not a signatory to any account.

Mc Laughlin further charged that the church bylaws and the 2012 constitution spells out how to resolve disputes, clearly saying that they won't use the judicial system, but the dissenters have failed to abide by it.

"Disputes are first to be brought to the church council. If the church council cannot resolve, then a third party mediator, such as an attorney is to be utilized. If this fails, then the dispute is to be brought to a higher level in the church hierarchy, like a Bishop of the church. They just don't want to follow this procedure," Mc Laughlin told the court.

He stressed that despite objections from the suing members, the All Saints Community church is affiliated to the Anglican diocese of Kenya.

"The Bishop came last year and appointed one of the pastors here."

He said that as a corporation, the church has its governance structure that should be followed where if a shareholder has a grievance, they bring it to the board for resolution, which in the case of the church, would be the church council.

"I actually don't even know who the members of the church are, those who bring tithes.The fact that the current church council is not challenging Rev. Thanji tells you that they don't have a problem with him. Five previous council members resigned recently to stay clear of the problems," the attorney claimed.

However, attorney Hale sharply disagreed with Mc Laughlin's argument, suggesting that that the superior court had absolute jurisdiction to intervene in the All Saints Community church dispute since the church was not a hierarchical church.

She said that in-fact, the All Saints church was a totally independent congregation of worshipers under no real specific church affiliation such as the Catholic,Presbyterian or Anglican Church.

Citing two case points in the books, attorney Hale urged the court to intervene.

"The superior court in Massachusetts has clear jurisdiction to intervene in matters involving independent congregational churches."

She added that the effort by the pastor to affiliate with the Diocese of Thika was not approved by members.

"The pastor is attempting to affiliate with the Diocese in Kenya so that he can manipulate the Anglican church of Kenya. This is not the will of the members. There is nowhere else to go for dispute resolution outside the doors of the church," she charged. 

She said that affiliating to the Anglican Church in Kenya would require members to start making required monthly financial contributions to the diocese, and open the chances of the diocese taking over the property of the church.

"When he came here last year, he was just a visiting bishop who performed similar services to other similar Kenyan churches in the area. The bishop has no authority whatsoever to intervene in the matters of this church. It is a calculation to push this matter further."

She denied that the suing members have stopped attending church, indicating that their tithes and offerings were going into an escrow account pending the dispute resolution.

Attorney Hale said that the members of the church were willing to talk but the pastor literally has been blocking the efforts.

"The idea that Rev. Thanji was cooperative is not true. There were weeks and weeks with no discussion."

After listening to submissions from both sides that lasted over one hour, judge Cannone ordered the two warring sides to hold a last ditch effort as soon as possible to seek a middle ground.

"We have two highly skilled and very capable attorneys here. There is no reason you can bring these two sides together to try and work out their differences as soon as possible. Find a schedule that fits everyone. If a compromise is not reached, I order both of these parties to come back here on March 28."

Quick consultations by both sides agreed to have a meeting this coming Saturday to be held at the church premises located at 33 Grafton Street in Quincy at 10am.

A Pastor's supporter steps out of the courtroom

Both sides will be represented by 5 members with both attorneys present.

"I hope the meeting on Sunday will result into a compromise that will satisfy the majority of the All Saints Community church members. It has been a big problem there and we hope that all will be worked out amicably or we go back to court," attorney Hale told Ajabu Africa News soon after the hearing.

According to church members who spoke to Ajabu Africa News on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak said that problems at the church started around 2011 soon after they finished paying up the mortgage for the main church.

"We started in 2002 as a church of about 20 members. Then over the years, we increased to more than 100 members. It took us many years of putting together funds through tithes, offerings and Harambees(fundraisers) by members of the public to pay off the church mortgage of about $425,000.Then we embarked on a $350,000 project to build a separate building as a children's learning center, where we even already paid off over $150,000 of the new mortgage.That is when the pastor started using madtharau(arrogant and very difficult and arrogant to deal with). He would ignore our complaints for problems, and even when we put together a new constitution to deal with the issues raised, the pastor ignored that constitution also.Then he attempted to install his own handpicked pastor, Rev. Eliud Mwangi from Kenya as his own handpicked successor without the couch council input," said the source.

"We knew there had been no constitution when the church started in 2002 as Peter Njoroge who was there at the inception can testify. In all these years, we have been operating on the trust that the pastor is a man of God with the hope that nothing can go wrong and a constitution can come soon. You know how Kenyans are God fearing people and they did not want to raise questions in case they are branded as trouble makers by the pastor," added the source.

The confidential source said that unfortunately, things started happening and they would get dismissed to a point where too much grievances piled up over the year and have now reached a climax, forcing members into litigation as a last resort.

"All we want is to have a well-functioning church, safeguard and protect the church interests for the sake of their current and future generations."

"It's unfortunate that these things keep happening in our Kenyan churches.There is too much division in our community and the divisions seem to be starting in our churches. That is why I came here to listen to what is going on hoping it will get resolved," said David Mundia, a Kenyan community leader from the Catholic church in North Quincy.
 

About 20 members of the suing group packed the court for the hearing on Tuesday.

"This is a classic example of the problems bedeviling many other Kenyan churches in USA. Majority of them are independent congregational churches where members have no avenues for dispute resolution beyond the pastor. Even when they loosely affiliate with other churches back home, it's very easy for the pastor to outdo the members by manipulating the church authorities in Kenya," said one member after the hearing.

"It's the responsibility of Kenyans in these churches to stand up and demand good governance structures and stop fearing those pastors who don't like transparency. It's the right, responsible and honorable thing to do for our children's legacy in this country. If necessary, Kenyans should seek court intervention like we have done for some of the pastors to take their grievances seriously," added the concerned Kenyan.

Reliable sources within the church indicate that before leadership crisis erupted, the All Saints Community church boasted over 100 adult members in addition to dozens of their children. However, a mass walkout in September 2015 whittled the surviving membership down to less than 40, 90 % of whom are against the pastor's moves and have resorted to litigation.

Many disgruntled members left to join other nearby churches including the newly launched Church of Good Shepherd, a Kenyan community Anglican Church based in Brockton, the renowned Jubilee Christian church, a multi-cultural, International church based in Mattapan as well as the Liberty church.

Rev. Thanji declined to comment on the developing saga when contacted by Ajabu African News.

QUINCY, Mass.,---An atmosphere of hope and reconciliation reigned at the All Saints Church in Quincy Sunday after embattled pastor, Rev. Fredrick Thanji and dissenting parishioners agreed to have a mutually revised church constitution, following more than six hours of judge ordered negotiations a day earlier.

The newly found truce seemed to energize both sides, with previously warring parishioners and the pastor openly mingling with each other, exchanging hugs and hoped to put the snafu back into the annals of history, and the church back on track.

Rev. Fredrick Thanji of All Saints Community church in Quincy  with his attorney, Stephen J. Mclaunghlin (right) and attorney Corrina Hale representing a group that sued the pastor soon after reaching an agreement that ended an ongoing dispute at the Kenyan community church.PIC BY COURTESY.

During the negotiations on Saturday, 10 negotiators, five representing the group that sued the pastor, and five from the groups supporting him together with their respective attorneys met for over six hours behind closed doors at the church in an attempt to work out a compromise after a Norfolk Superior court judge ordered them to negotiate one more time or the court would intervene to decide in the next one week.

Speaking to Ajabu Africa news after church service on Sunday, the soon to retire pastor declined to give details of the newly reached agreement but said he was happy with the new development.

"We reached an agreement and we will meet again in two weeks with our attorneys to finalize the details. I am very happy with the developments so far," Rev. Thanji told Ajabu African News soon after the Sunday service.

He said he was looking forward to working with members from both sides of the issue to rebuild the trust that was broken when the dispute came up and attract members who had fled the church to other neighboring churches come back to continue "worshiping together and doing the Lord's work".

However, according to reliable and confidential sources present at the meeting, by the end of the meeting that started at 10am till 3pm, both sides reached a truce and agreed to have the church constitution revisited by attorneys representing them to hash out controversial clauses causing heartburn to some members.

Following the breakthrough, another meeting was scheduled in the next two weeks where all parishioners will get a chance to review the newly reworked constitution with a view to getting a mutually agreed endorsement that would put the troubled church back on track.

"This is great. We reached a breakthrough. Both sides agreed to have the constitution reviewed by both lawyers so that everybody feels their views are taken into consideration. We will have another meeting in two weeks so that we can all get to take a look into the new constitution.The problems are almost over," said the source on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the press on behalf of the negotiators.

Members congratulated the pastor, leaders of the suing group and both attorneys for the hard fought for truce.

Some of the All Saints church members who negotiated a deal that brought a truce. PIC BY COURTESY

"They did a great job. Our church is intact. We have come from far and we cannot let the church go just like that. That is why we came up with a solution," said Judy Kiboro with the new outcome.

Members also urged their friends who left the church to return and continue worshiping together.

"The healing has started at All Saints Community church and we are all moving forward. We are telling those members who left that they are welcome back," said Esther Ruminjo.

The heated dispute had been simmering at the Kenyan community church for several years with majority of members complaining that their grievances were not being addressed, and that a newly worked out constitution put in place to address the grievances went ignored by the pastor for a long time.

They accused the pastor and his supporters of having edited out some of the clauses from the new constitution that stripped the power to govern the church from the church council and shifted it to the church pastor and close family.

Members also feared the pastor effort to install a "handpicked" successor as a new pastor as well as affiliate the church with the Anglican Diocese of Thika back in Kenya may put the church property and funds in danger of loss. However, the church pastor vehemently denied the allegation through his attorney who termed it an "unreasonable fear", while the attoney representing the suing group maintained that they needed clear cut safeguards in the disputed church constitution as the controlling document for good governance.

As the dispute flared more in September last year, a good number of members fled the church, leaving a small number of members supporting the pastor bickering with a larger group that demanded change while maintaining that the pastor was "refusing to talk and address their issues".

Having reached the end of the road in their efforts to resolve the issue within the church, the dissenting group moved to court as a last resort and sued the pastor, with the pastor's attorney responding by asking the court to dismiss the case. During the hearing, Judge Bevery J. Cannone at the Norfolk Superior court in Dedham declined to dismiss the suit--but ordered both sides to hold an immediate last chance meeting to find a lasting solution or the court will be forced to intervene. (Recap Here:Kenyan pastor in Boston sued by parishioners for alleged corrupt practices, judge orders urgent final talks).

"We have been trying to make the changes not for our own material gain, but for the welfare of our children and future generations. We have all expended a great deal of financial and time resources at building this church over many years and therefore we are all happy that we can get along together to continue with the work in an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding. This new development is great news. I am very happy," said Joseph Kamotho.

Both groups predicted a better church attendance next Sunday since tempers have cooled down significantly.

The pastor was represented by attorney Stephen J. Mclaunghlin attorney Corrina Hale represented the group demanding change.

Ajabu African News will keep you posted on the progress of the volatile but rapidly improving situation.

The All Saints Community church is located at 33 Grafton St, Quincy, MA with Sunday Services starting at 10.30am.

The All Saints Community church main building. AJABU PHOTO/H.MAINA

The newly build Children's Learning Centerat the The All Saints Community church. AJABU PHOTO/H. MAINA

A service at Deliverance Church in Rongo, western Kenya, turned chaotic when pastors exchanged blows over leadership, prompting worshipers to run for safety.

The pastors hurled stones and chairs at each other, injuring several members, in the incident on Sunday.

Church members took to their heels leaving their cars, motorcycles and bicycles behind.

Police arrived 30 minutes later and ended the fight. But a group backing Pastor Tom Nyerere said he was the bonafide spiritual leader who deserved an opportunity to conduct the service.

Members of the group hurled insults at those in a group supporting a rival church leader only identified as Bishop Oselo.

The two leaders exchanged words, leaving worshipers shocked, and then left in a huff.

A handful of church members stayed behind in the hope that the service would resume.

Rongo police boss Jonathan Kisaka said officers were deployed to keep guard as criminals could take advantage of the situation to commit crimes.

NEWTONVILLE, MA__Dr. David Turner, a world renowned televangelist on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and founder of David Turner Ministries International is coming back to Boston next week for a two day revival conference at the Victory Family International Church (VFIC) in Newtonville.

The conference will take place on Friday, May 13 from 6pm to 10 pm and continue on Sunday May 15 during the Sunday service. Dr. Turner, highly regarded as a faith healer, and a millionaire businessman will close the 2016 conference with a final revival meeting later Sunday evening from 5pm to 10pm.

"We are very much excited to have Dr. Turner come back to our church to minister to us once again. Since he started coming here, many people have been impacted positively, with many healed of their various difficult situations of life. We are inviting everyone out there who has an issue that they need to be prayed for to come out during any of the three services next week," said Pastor Samuel Kasozi, pastor of the Victory Family International church.

At the invitation of Pastor Kasozi, Dr. Turner became the first top US Televangelists to visit and minister at an African Diaspora Community church.

The clergyman's visit came in 2013, and has not skipped a year without returning to the Victory Family Church, a multi-cultural International church that has a following from members of the Ugandans, Kenyan, American and other communities from the area.

During the conferences held last year, hundreds of worshipers from different cities, as well as others from neighboring states attended, with many boldly stepping forward for "special healing prayers".

TBN Televangelist, David Turner leads in prayer last year at  Victory Family Church International in Newtonville, near Boston. The pastor will be back at the same venue next week for a two day revival Conference. AJABU PIC-H/MAINA

A big numbers of the believers prayed for then gave moving testimonies of "Instant healing" that followed the acts of faith.

"We feel blessed to have Pastor Turner coming back again to worship with us. It's a big honor and we hope other people will spare some time to come and experience the anointing themselves," said Ronald Magembe, a church official at the VFIC and one of the main revival organizers.

In addition to his annual visits to the VFIC, Dr. Turner last year also held a revival conference at the CCF Nacshuia church,a predominantly Kenyan Diaspora community church in USA at the invitation of Pastor David Ndung'u.

With a church based in Phoenix Arizona, Turner also runs the weekly Gospel is the Power TV program on TBN from 5am to 5.30am, Pacific Time (8am-8.30am EST).

The Victory Family church is located at 161 North Street, Newtonvile, MA 02460.Organizers however cautioned worshipers planning to attend any of the sessions to input NEWTONVILLE in their GPS systems (NOT of Newton) to avoid getting lost in the neighboring town with an almost similar name.

For more information, call: 
Pastor Samuel Kasozi: 617-538-2554
Annette Kamy: 781-308-1958

Father Vincent Machozi, Catholic priest and humanitarian, who wasmurderedlast month by soldiers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after he posted an online article denouncing the involvement of the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in the massacres of innocent civilians, was remembered Tuesday afternoon in a service at Marsh Chapel.

Friends, colleagues, and admirers of Machozi (STH'15) gathered to recount stories and celebrate his work in Boston and the DRC. To honor Machozi's multicultural efforts, parts of the service were conducted in English, French, and Swahili.

The School of Theology hopes to endow ascholarshipin his name, to be offered to one or more students from Africa attending the School of Theology, with preference for those committed to study and service focused on justice and peace, as well as a lecture to address the grassroots transformation of society.

A native of eastern Congo and a School of Theology student from 2006 to 2012, Machozi worked closely with the BU Pardee School of Global Studies African Studies Centeron outreach efforts in the war-torn country. He was a priest with the religious orderAugustinians of the Assumption(Assumptionists), and founder of the websiteBeni Lubero,whose purpose is to report on atrocities committed by all sides in the ongoing turmoil in the DRC. In 2012, Machozi put aside work on his PhD thesis, exploring the role of the Catholic Church in transforming the conflict in his country, in favor of human rights work, and despite previous death threats, returned to the Congo. He was awarded an STM (Master of Sacred Theology) degree in 2015.

John Hart, an STH professor of Christian ethics and one of Machozi's thesis advisors, told those assembled to honor Machozi that the priest's commitment to social justice and human rights drove him to return to his homeland. "He told me about current events in Congo," said Hart. "He explained how a very valuable mineral, coltan, worth more than diamonds, could replace poverty with prosperity if it were shared by all Congolese people. But coltan lands were seized from their owners, who were murdered, mutilated, or enslaved in coltan mines--all to serve the greed of warlords and generals. Vincent lamented such poverty and suffering; it pierced his spirit profoundly."

Dana Robert, Truman Collins Professor of World Christianity and History of Mission, and another of Machozi's advisors, quoted from a note he wrote to her in 2007. "The project of my religious community is to initiate Congolese people in the mission of social transformation and peace building at the particular time of turmoil in the D.R. Congo," Machozi wrote. "As a pastor in a rural parish in eastern Congo, I witness the need of having skills to address social, cultural, economic, and political issues when ministering to people displaced because of the ethnic conflict."

Elizabeth J.A. Siwo-Okundi (STH'05,'16) of Kenya speaking about her friend and offered words of comfort, and thanks, to his mother, Mama Machozi.Pic by Courtesy/ Boston University

On March 20, just days after Machozi posted an article implicating Joseph Kabila, DRC president, in the country's violence, uniformed soldiers of the Armed Forces of the DRC stormed a social center in the North Kivu region, where Nande tribal chiefs were meeting to discuss peace efforts. The soldiers demanded to be taken to Machozi, and when they found him in a courtyard working on his laptop, they opened fire.

TheInternational Rescue Committeeestimates that since 2008, conflict-related causes have killed more than 5.4 million people in the DRC, most from starvation and disease, and the United Nations has described the region's strife, largely from a scramble for mineral resources, as the deadliest conflict since World War II.

Ayda Zugay (CAS'10), who met Machozi at the African Studies Center and worked with him on his website, which deliberately posts disturbing images of people who have been brutally murdered, said she was skeptical about the priest's mission initially.

"After all, I thought, how is it possible that nearly two million people--yes, two million, in France, Belgium, Canada, South Africa, Germany, Switzerland, Kenya, DRC, UK, the United States--could be viewing all of these images of violence and read these stories, yet still stand paralyzed and are not doing more?" she said. "The only reason I agreed to help him with his work initially was because I saw the pain it caused him and the urgency with which he appealed to me. For that reason, it didn't matter whether it was true, but I realized very quickly that it was. As I uploaded the pictures and read the accounts on his phone, it became clear that Machozi had an army of journalists on his side who had hope because Machozi inspired them by his faith in God and in people, by his courage to stand up for what's right, and by his undying activism."

Fellow student and friend Shandirai Mawokomatanda (STH'16) recalled that he and Machozi would talk at great length about peace and reconciliation on the African continent. "I admired him for his courage and faith," said Mawokomatanda. "I remember the conversation we had when he told me that he would be returning to the Congo even though he knew that there were threats against his life. He felt ever so strongly that he had to return. Because of this, I found in Vincent a truer witness of the Christian faith. Indeed, he lived into the Christian vocation 'to deny oneself, take up one's cross, and follow Jesus.'"

According to Machozi's colleague Timothy Longman, a College of Arts & Sciences associate professor of political science and African Studies Center director, there had been at least seven earlier attempts on the priest's life, and the political situation in the DRC is complicated, with government forces and various rebel groups fighting one another and terrorizing civilians with widespread slaughter and rape. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has called eastern Congo"the rape capital of the world,"noting that in some areas of the region, as many as three quarters of the women have been raped.

Speaking at the memorial service, Longman said that for Machozi, human rights was the most important ministry. "The loss of Father Machozi leaves a deep wound," he said. "But his life and work inspired others who will step up to continue his ministry of fighting oppression and saving lives. His Beni Lubero website continues its work of documenting atrocities, including posting photos of Machozi's own desecrated body.

"Father Machozi's life may be over, but his spirit and his ministry live on."

Father Malumba Matsongani, a fellow Assumptionist and a student of Machozi's, told the mourners that Machozi was murdered in his own village two weeks before his 51st birthday. "His merciless killers foolishly think that he is dead, with his soul and idea or project for justice and peace," Matsongani said. "But the truth is, you can't kill an idea with a bullet."

All are invited to share their memories of Father Vincent Machozihere.

Watch a video of Father Vincent Machozi's funeral in the Democratic Republic of Congohere.

Watch a video of Father Vincent Machozi's memorial service at Marsh Chapelhere.

(CNSNews.com) -- "In your nation, God is being eroded, eclipsed, liquidated," Cardinal Robert Sarah, who was appointed as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments by Pope Francis in 2014, told hundrends of prominent Catholic clergy and lay people attending the 12th annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast Tuesday in Washington.

In what he called "portentous times" for the Catholic Church and for the world, Cardinal Sarah condemned same-sex marriage, transgender bathroom laws, and attacks on the family as "demonic".

"All manner of immorality is not only accepted and tolerated today in advanced societies, it is even promoted as a social good," the African cardinal said. "The result is hostility to Christians and increasingly, religious persecution."

"This is not an ideological war between competing ideas," Sarah told the D.C. gathering. "This is about defending ourselves, children and future generations from the demonic idolatry that says children do not need mothers and fathers. It denies human nature and wants to cut off an entire generation from God."

"The entire world looks to you, waiting and praying to see what America resolves on the present unprecedented challenges the world faces today. Such is your influence and responsibility, said the archbishop emeritus of Conakry, Guinea.

"I encourage you to truly make use of the freedom willed by your founding fathers lest you lose it," he warned his American audience.

Quoting St. John Paul II that "the future of the world and the Church pass through the family," Sarah pointed out that "this is why the Holy Father openly and vigorously defends Church teaching on contraception, abortion, homosexuality, reproductive technologies, the education of children, and much more."

"The generous and responsible love of spouses made visible through the self-giving of parents who welcome children as a gift of God makes love visible in our generation. It makes present the perfect charity of eternity. 'If you see charity, you see the Trinity,' wrote St. Augustine," the cardinal noted.

However, a broken family can also be the source of deep psychological wounds, he said.

"The rupture of the foundational relationship of someone's life through separation, divorce or distorted imposters of the family such as co-habitation or same-sex unions is a deep wound that closes the heart to self-giving love into death, and even leads to cynicism and despair. These situations cause damage to the little children through inflicting upon them deep existential doubt about love....

"This is why the devil is so intent on destroying the family. If the family is destroyed, we lose our God-given anthropological foundations, and so find it more difficult to welcome the saving good news of Jesus Christ: self-giving, fruitful love."

"Sadly, the advent of artificial reproductive technologies, surrogacy, so-called homosexual marriage, and other evils of gender idolatry will inflict even more wounds in the midst of the generation we live with," said Sarah, who is also the author ofGod or Nothing.

"Advanced societies including, I regret, this nation, have done and continue to do anything possible to legalize such situations...This is why it is so important to fight to protect the family, the first cell of the life of the Church in every society."

The cardinal warned that "hidden" forms of religious persecution are just as damaging to believers as physical attacks.

"Even in this yet young 21stcentury of barely 16 years, one million people have been martyred around the world because of their belief in Jesus Christ. Yet the violence against Christians is not just physical, it is also political, ideological and cultural.

"This form of religious persecution is equally damaging, yet more hidden. It does not destroy physically, but spiritually... This is the will of the Evil One: to close Heaven out of envy.

"Do we not see signs of this insidious war in this great nation of the United States?" Sarah asked.

"In the name of tolerance, the Church's teaching on marriage, sexuality and [the] human person are being dismantled. The legalization of same-sex marriage, your beginning to accept contraception within healthcare programs and even bathroom bills that allow men to use the women's restroom and locker rooms.

"Should not a biological man use the men's restroom? How simpler can that concept be?" the cardinal asked to applause and laughter from the audience.

"How low we are sinking for a nation built on a set of moral claims about God, the human person, the meaning of life and the purpose of society, even by America's first settlers and founders...

"George Washington wrote that the establishment of civil and religious liberty was the motive that induced him into the field of battle. Today we find ourselves before the battle of sickness... I call this sickness the liquidation, the eclipse of God."

The Church's challenge today is to "fight with courage and hope...and not be afraid to raise her voice to denounce the hypocrites, manipulators and the false prophets" who would lead the faithful astray.

"The battle to preserve the roots of mankind is perhaps the greatest challenge the world has faced since its origins," Sarah said.

"Be prophetic, be faithful, pray" for the soul of America and to "help stem the tide of evil that is spreading throughout the world," the cardinal exhorted. "For in the end, it is God or nothing."

MILLIS, Mass.__Doing part of what real Christians are called to do- mourn with those who mourn- the nearly one year old Kenyan community Gateway Presbyterian church in Beverly, near Boston held memorial prayers on mother's day for Betty Karanja, one of the church members who lost a mother one and a half months ago.

Betty's mother, the Late Alice Nyokabi Muigai passed away peacefully in her sleep on March 28 in her home at Ruiru Dam, Kiambu Kenya. She was 85 years old.

According to Betty, when her mother passed away, she and her family who also live in Boston had to travel immediately for burial which took place on Monday April 4. As a result, there was no time for fitting memorial prayers as per the Kenyan culture.

"But when I came back to Boston, my pastor, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Mbagara called me and told me that the church has decided to hold a memorial for my mother. That was so touching to me especially because our pastor was my mother's minister for many years while he was serving in Kenya," she told more than dozens of assembled guests at her apartment in Millis, a few miles south of Boston.

"Betty is the secretary at our Gateway Pilgrims church in Beverly.She is very dedicated to serving the church and so we decided to come offer our support to her through prayers and fellowship on this mother's day after she lost her beloved mother in back in Kenya," said Rev. Dr. Mbagara while addressing the mourners.

The pastor said that like her daughter, Betty's mother was also very dedicated to serving the church during her better days before she suffered debilitating health problems.

"I knew her mother very well when I was her pastor at the PCEA Elijah Wathika church formerly known as PCEA Kahunira in Kenya. She was a very strict disciplinarian.So if you find Betty tough when dealing with some issues, don't wonder where that came from," said the clergyman to the amusement of those present.

According to Betty, the eldest daughter in a large family, her late mother and late father had 10 children in total, two of whom are now deceased.

She added that despite having such a large family, her late mother was a believer in education and worked extremely hard in her farming and livestock rearing to educate all her children many of whom went through the University.

"Our mother served as a great role model to all of us. She was very humble, hardworking and invested heavily in her children. She also loved the Lord very much. We will miss her dearly," she said.

She added that her mother started having medical challenges in 2008 when she was diagnose dementia. Since then, Betty said, her mother has been in and out of the hospital, forcing g the family to hire a caretaker to look after her when at home, while at the same time assisting her take prescribed medication.

During the memorial on Sunday that was coordinated by Mrs. Catherine Ngige, other speakers and guests, among them several white Americans, expressed condolences to Kenyan mother of 3 for the loss of her elderly mother.

"We are here to mourn with Betty for the loss of her mother and we know she is in Heaven.We wish Betty well," said Albert Anderson an American man who is also a member of the Gateway Presbyterian church.

Anderson, a who is Betty's workmate,caused a light moment at the event when it emerged that he woke up early at 5am to cook popular Kenyan delicacy meal of Ngima (Kikuyu), or Ugali in Swahili, which is a kind of puffed up cornmeal cake for guests.

"Yes. It's true I woke up early to cook all this Ngima you are eating," he admitted.

Born in 1931 in Gatanga village near Thika town, the late Nyokabi Muigai developed interest in education when very young and started writing on a slate. The then relocated to relocate to Ainabkoi village in the Rif Valley province with her parents to look for greener pastures.

She later got married in a traditional African marriage ceremony in 1950 to the late husband, Suleiman Muigai Gaithuru.

The family then moved back to Kiambu in the year 1955 where they lived until her husband passed away in 2008.

Betty Karanja of Millis, MA (with hat), during the burial of her mother in Kenya, Monday April 4, 2016. Pic by Courtesy/ Family File.

"My mother was an incredible human being. She was very generous, focused, very articulate and no nonsense woman. She was fearless and she was the glue that held our family together. We will miss her very much," Betty told Ajabu Africa News during an interview.

A mother of mother of 3 boys, Betty became windowed in July 2002 after her husband died of cardiac arrest while visiting Boston. He was laid to rest in the nearby city of North Attleboro.

Betty thanked the church pastor, members of the gateway PCEA church and friends who came to mourn with her.

"It is incredible that all these people took their time off especially during a mother's day like this to come support me. I have no words to express how grateful I feel. My Lord blesses them all."

The new Gateway PCEA church is located within the Pilgrim Prebyterian Church located at 300 cabot street, Beverly, MA , 01995.

To contact Betty Karanja with well wishes, call: (781)-248-9158.

(AJABU AFRICA NEWS, Updated Sunday May 8, 2016, 2.30pm) BOSTON---A female pro-reform parishioner was reportedly shoved against the wall by a male supporter of the pastor at the All Saints Community church in Quincy last Sunday when a by warring camps shattered and the pastor, Rev. Fredrick Thanji, alleged to be operating under a revoked license.

According to reliable sources, tensions have been simmering for several weeks when the pastor reneged on his promise to cooperate and find a solution to the crisis dogging the church. He is alleged to have refused to sign on to a new constitution developed by attorneys from both sides of the dispute following recent court ordered talks to find a compromise by Monday, May 2nd. Recap Here: (Breakthrough at troubled Kenyan church in Boston after judge ordered talks produce compromise on new constitution)

"He said he does not agree with the new constitution developed by both attorneys as it sets a very early retirement age at 65 years as per the Anglican church constitution for a pastor among other minor issues. He said that only the court can take him out of the church. We don't understand this as the pastor had already announced to the entire church that he would retire and had even found a new pastor to succeed him, although we did not agree with his choice as a church," said one of the pro-reform group members on a telephone interview with Ajabu Africa News.

However, at the heart of the dispute is church property estimated at about $1.4 million, that include a fully paid up for main church building an a newly built and half paind for Children's learning center.

Many parishioners fear the pastor is resisting a new constitution that vests most of the church governing power to a democratically elected church council with a view of retaining most of the decision making power on the pastor in conjunction with a few of his own preferefed close associates and family.

If this is done, the pro-reform group contends, it will be very easy for the pastor and his associates to make a decision down the road that will see the said church property sold off or used for other purposes other than what they have been working for all the years they belived they are together as a church, while donating a lot of their time and financial resources to accumulate the property.

However, the pastor vehemently denies the contention, maintaining that the church property is totally in safe hands.

As tempers then flared last Sunday, chaos erupted when one of the pro-reform group leaders attempted to address the church to give an update on the crisis soon after service was over.

Following the violent incident, the female parishioner is said to have filed a police report and sought medical assistance to treat her injuries.

And as the volatile situation rapidly deteriorated with more parishioners coming close to physical blows, the warring parties rushed back to the Norfolk Superior court Monday afternoon for an urgent crisis status hearing, only to be hit with more shocking revelations that the church pastor, Rev. Fredrick, has been conducting the church without a license from the Anglican Diocese of New England to whom he claims affiliation.Recap Here: (Kenyan pastor in Boston sued by parishioners for alleged corrupt practices, judge orders urgent final talks)

According to documents tabled by attorney Corina Hale on behalf of the pro-reform group before Judge Jeffrey Locke, who took over the case from the judge, Beverly J. Cannone who was transferred to a new jurisdiction, the Anglican Diocese of New England revoked Rev. Thanji's license to work as a pastor within the Anglican Communion worldwide in June 2011 when he (the pastor), wrote a letter of withdrawal from the Anglican Communion.

"We received your letter and honor your request to withdraw yourself and your congregation from membership in the Anglican Diocese in New England. We regret that this decision was made without any dialogue with Bishop Murdoch. He is most interested in understanding the true reason behind this decision and would request a meeting with you to discuss these matters in detail early next fall," read an email written to Rev. Thanji by the Venerable Donald P. Roberts, the Archdeacon at the Anglican Diocese of New England tabled in the court and obtained by Ajabu Africa News.

"Please be advised that your license to serve as a priest in the Anglican Diocese in New England has been revoked as of the date on your letter. This action also removes you as a priest serving in the Anglican Church in North America. Your connection with the Anglican Communion worldwide is also officially removed by your request," added Don Roberts, who is no longer with the Diocese.

A copy of the Email from the Anglican diocese of New England in Amesbury, MA confirming the revocation of Rev. Fredrick Thanji's license and membership from the Anglican church sent back in June 2011 and obtained by Ajabu Media.

The Diocese communiqu'e added that Bishop Murdock would notify the Anglican archbishop and other colleagues in Kenya about Rev. Thanji's status as well as that of his congregation.

The Diocese regretted the development saying, "This is a sad day for the Bishop, the diocese, and those among us who love you as brothers and sisters in Christ. However, canonically, you have the right to exercise this right and therefore we are resigned to it",the letter grimly concludes.

Rev. Thanji is officially a Canon in the Anglican Church, although it is not yer clear when the title was bestowed.

According to Anglican Church titles, a "Canon"is an honorary title conferred upon a member of the clergy (and some lay persons) for faithful and valuable service to the church.

During the ensuing melee last Sunday, a female parishioner, Regina Mwangi was shoved against the wall by Richard Richu, a staunch supporter of the pastor during a heated disagreement over why Richu was trying to drown out the voice of one of the pro-reform leaders (George Kamau) by turning up the music volume on the sound system when Kamau was trying to update church members through the microphone.

Speaking to Ajabu Africa New, Mwangi said that she was manning the sound controls at the back of the church together with Richu when she saw another parishioner at the front of the church give him (Richu) a signal to raise the volume, just when George Kamau took the microphone to speak soon after the church service was over. 

Richu then suddenly turned the music to full blast in an effort to drown out Kamau's voice, disregarding the fact that there were very young babies in the church less than one month old.

"We had Shiro Wa GP's Ariginyanyi song playing after the service was over. Then I saw George Kamau take the microphone to address the church. Someone down there beckoned to Richu to turn the volume up and down the microphone. I asked Richu why he was preventing George from talking by turning up the music to full blast yet there were small babies in the church less than one month old at the moment," she said.

"It was then that I decided to turn the music down, only for Richu to violently dig his shoulder into my side with such force that he shoved me against the wall in full view of about 10 members sitting nearby. It was very scary. I am still hurting and I still can't believe it," added the mother of 2.

Mwangi added that she felt very unsafe and intimidated by the incident.

"You go to church to get consoled for your troubles. You never expect to be met with such violence in church. If this kind of thing can happen to me in the church, what about out there in the world? I feel very scared."

Rev. Fredrick Thanji, founder and now retiring pastor of the All Saints Community church in Quincy, MA emerges from the Norfolk Superior Court in Needham during a previous hearing on the current crisis Ajabu Photo/H.Maina

The shocking drama occurred less than a month since the two sides announced a breakthrough in talks ordered by Judge Cannone in an effort to resolve the ugly crisis to the satisfaction of all stakeholders.

But in court submissions on Tuesday, attorney Stephen J. Mclaunghlin appearing for Rev. Thanji said that talks had broken down and there was no indication that a compromise can be found.

Mclaunghlin repeated his earlier plea to the court to dismiss the case on the basis that the courts in Massachusetts can not intervene in internal matters of the governance of hierarchical churches as per the1st amendment of the US constitution, except if there is a legitimate property dispute.

He claimed that the All Saints Community church is affiliated to the Anglican Church of Kenya which should be left to find a way to resolve the dispute.

It was at this point that attorney Hale vehemently countered the assertion, and reveled that Rev. Thanji had already written an official letter to withdraw himself and his entire congregation from any affiliation with the Anglican Church, both in America and in Kenya.

To support her argument, Hale stunned Kenyan present in the court when she tabled the email response from the Diocese of New England written in June 2011 acknowledging and accepting the pastor's request.

"As it is right now, All Saints Community church is an independent congregational church. Therefore the court has all legal mandates to intervene in this dispute as provided for in the constitution for all stand alone congregational churches," she humbly submitted.

The new revelations left members of the church speechless and lost for words, with many wondering what all that meant to ceremonies conducted by the pastor since 2011.

"How can this be? We have been faithfully working with the pastor all this time and now to hear that he is license to conduct pastoral duties was revoked is truly shocking. What will happen to all those marriages, baptism and other ceremonies that he has conducted since then? We need answers to these things. It's very disheartening," said a member who requested to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Reached for comment and clarification, Rev. Thanji declined, saying it would be inappropriate as the matter was in front of the court.

Efforts to reach Richard Richu, who is said to be the pastor's confidant and right hand man, were not successful as many voice and text messages left have not yet been replied.

However, an official at the Anglican Diocese of New England told Ajabu Africa News that Bishop Murdoch, who is in charge of all Kenyan community Anglican churches in New England was aware of the said license revocation and the crisis currently brewing at the All Saints church.

"Unfortunately, only the Bishop can give you specific comments about the issue, but he is away for a conference throughout this weekend," the official told Ajabu Africa News during a telephone interview.

Indicating that there was a great interest by the court to intervene in the case and resolve the crisis, judge Locke declined to dismiss the case. He set a full hearing to take place on Tuesday May 24, 2016.

It's not yet clear how the church services will be conducted between now and the hearing date.

Unfortunately, other Kenyan churches in Boston have experiences similar troubles.

Close to 10 churches in Boston have collapsed over the last 12 years when many members decided to stay away fearing a breakout of violence, while others have seen their membership dwindle from hundreds to only a handful.

However, this is the time that members of a Kenyan community church in Boston have garnered enough courage decided to seek legal redress in an effort to save the church from total collapse due to financial and administrative wrangles.

Stay tuned. Ajabu Media will update you on all new developments as they reach us.

(Updated Fri, May 27, 6.40pm) BOSTON--Licenses for Rev. Fredrick Thanji of the All Saints Community church in Quincy and Rev. Paul Mwaniki of the St.James Anglican community church in Attleboro to operate as priests under the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA), were revoked in 2011, and therefore have been operating their churches as rogue Anglican churches away from the main stream Anglican church of Kenya (ACK).

The Right Reverend Bishop William Murdock, leader of the Anglican Diocese of New England and assistant to Archbishop Eliud Wabukala of the Anglican church of Kenya. Photo by Courtesy/Crea.la

The revelation was made today by the Right Reverend Bishop William Murdock,the leader of the Anglican Diocese of New England and suffragan to Archbishop Eliud Wabukala of the Anglican church of Kenya,while testifying before Judge Jeffery Locke of the Norfolk Superior court in Dedham in a case filed to resolve a serious dispute at the All Saints Community church.

Bishop Murdock said that the issue of license revocation was clearly communicated to both pastors as well as the ACK church in Kenya, but does not know how they have continued to represent themselves as bona fide members of the Anglican church of Kenya, as they serve their congregations in Boston.

He said that due to the license revocation, Rev.Thanji and Rev. Mwaniki were effectively not recognized as priests under the ACK-- since the ACK recognized the Anglican church of North America as the only legitimate mechanism to operate any Kenyan community church in USA and Canada professing to the ACK doctrine.

Responding to intense cross examination by attorney Stephen MacLaughlin for Rev. Thanji, Bishop Murdock admitted that although the two pastors and their congregations were no longer recognized as part of the Anglican church of North America or the Anglican church of Kenya, there was nothing to prevent them from running their churches as they wished, call themselves any title they wished, but that does not mean that they are part of the mainstream Anglican communion.

"This is America. Anybody can call themselves whatever they want and do anything they wish as long as they follow the law. But this does not mean that they are recognized as part of the Anglican church of North America, Anglican church of Kenya or the Anglican Church Communion worldwide all the way to the Canterbury," the bishop told a hushed court.

He added that it was not within his power to decide or comment on any side agreements and partnerships that the Rev. Thanji claim to have with the Diocese of Thika under Bishop Julius Wanyoike, but that those partnerships were not recognized by the main Anglican Church of Kenya.

Murdock added that a communication from Archbishop Wabukala issued two days ago to the college of bishops representing all the Anglican Church of Kenya affiliated churches clearly said that any Kenyan community church in USA and Canada that wishes to be part of the Anglican church of Kenya must go through the Anglican church of North America.

Rev. Paul Mwaniki, pastor of the St. James Anglican Community church in Attleboro, MA arrives at the Norfolk Superior Court. AJABU PHOTO/H.MAINA

The bishop did not disclose why Mwaniki's license was revoked, but in a separate email submitted to the court and obtained by Ajabu Media, he said that Thanji's license was revoked after he wrote a letter to the diocese of New England to withdraw his membership.

Rev. Mwaniki was present at the hearing today when Bishop Murdock was testifying.

Murdock said that there are only two Kenyan community churches in the Boston region, the St. Paul's Community church in Lawrence under Rev. Peter Gachathi and the Faith Anglican church in Lowell under Rev. Justus Munyasya, have comformed to the authority of the ACNA, and thus recognized as members in good standing with the Anglican Church of Kenya and the Anlgican church communion worldwide.

During his opening remarks before the hearing kicked off at 10am, Judge Locke reminded both parties of the limited role the court has in resolving disputes in hierarchical religious organizations that operate under a certain, documented operating principles related to governance and management.

He added that due to the principle of the Separation of Church and State guaranteed under the 1st Ammendment of the U.S. Constitution, the court would have "very limited ability" to resolve the dispute at the All Saints church, and therefore needed to determine what kind of operating structures the church had.

"If indeed there are operating principles related to the running of the church, then the court cannot step in to resolve any disputes, or even to say where there is any fairness in those structures. What we must determine is whether this church has, or ever had a controlling document, whether its bylaws, constitution or anything else," the judge said.

Following the remarks, the court proceeded to hear testimonies for the next 4 hours related to a disputed church constitution as the controlling document, with only a one hour lunch break recess allowed.

During the lengthy hearing, Bishop Murdock and George Kamau and Anthony Karanja testified for the plaintiffs, while George Gichimu, the church secretary, testified for the Rev. Thanji.

George Gichimu, the All Saints church secretary makes it to the courthouse to testify on behalf of Rev. Thanji. AJABU PHOTO/H.MAINA

At the end of the submissions, the judge summoned both attorneys, Corina Hale for the plaintiff and Stephen MacLauhlin for the defendants, and retreated into his chambers with them for private discussions that lasted more than one hour.

Upon resumption, the both attorneys told their parties that the judge had decided to give the two sides a last minute opportunity to come up with a workable consensus on how to go about the church constitution.

A different judge, who initially took the case before she was transferred, had also given the two sides a similar ultimatum to hammer out an agreement on the church constitution issue. After several weeks of meetings where both attorneys drafted a constitution acceptable to all sides, the parties reported that they had come to a consensus and had agreement on the structure of the new constitution.However, due to the limited time left before the court closed for the day, the judge adjourned the hearing to give the two sides to hammer out an agreement, and resume tomorrow morning with a consensus, failure to which the hearing would continue and the judge would make his own decision.

However, days before the deadline given, Rev. Thanji rejected the newly created constitution and indicated he would not be open to further negotiations, sending the dispute issue back to the court, and into the hands of the new Judge.

The hearing continues tomorrow morning, Friday May 27 at 9.30am.

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(Originally Posted SAT May 28, 2016, Updated SUN, May 29, 2016, 5.12pm) BOSTON--The ongoing All Saints community church dispute hearings at the Norfolk Superior Court took a sudden dramatic turn at the close of the day Friday night when the presiding Judge, Jeffery Locke threw the defense team into a tailspin after raising serious concerns over the lack of witnesses who have ever seen anything voted and approved for during the running of church affairs.

The Kenyan community church based in Quincy, near Boston has been thrust into turmoil when a slowly simmering dispute over a church Constitution boiled over in October 2015, when the church pastor announced plans to retire as the spiritual leader, took 3 months leave to the motherland where he interviewed and groomed a successor, only to meet resistance upon returning to Boston with the news.

Rev. Canon Fredrick Thanji together with his defense attorney, Stephen MacLaughlin during a recess at the Norfolk Superior Court in a case where the pastor was accused of high handedness and tampering with a disputed Church Constitution.

Fearing the pastor was going behind their back to install a successor of his choice with a goal to maintain a tight fisted control of the church and it's property that they have worked very hard to acquire over the years, a large majority of the congregation rejected the proposed successor, charging that the pastor did not follow provisions in a newly revised Constitution that is yet to be voted for, approved and adopted by the congregation.

The opposing group alleged that that the pastor edited out and amended several sections in the disputed Constitution, so as to keep the church under his sole control through a compromised church council and board of directors made up of his close family members and close associates. Led by attorney Corina Hale, the group suing the pastor told the court that suspicions existed that that the pastor and a "compromised" Church Council wanted them out of the church so they can keep the church property acquired on their backs to himself.

Directing his remarks to Stephen MacLaughling, Rev. Thanji's defense attorney who had just finished cross examining a witness right at end of the court day, Judge Locke expressed extreme disappointment for the apparent lack of any witness who would provide any evidence of voting in the church.

"Since this hearing started on Tuesday morning till today evening, I have seen many witnesses who are eloquent, very persuasive, sincere and frankly speaking very good people. What I have not seen is any one person who can testify to having been present when anything was voted for and approved, whether during Annual General Meeting, Special General Meeting, or for bylaws, Constitution or anything else. Could it be possible, is it possible, that you find me such a witness before we return here on Tuesday morning?" the judge pleaded with grave concern before he rose and ordered the court adjourned.

Caught by surprise, attorney MacLaughlin quickly said that it was possible, as he simultaneously turned to Reverend Thanji and supporters seated in the benches in search of a volunteer witness.

The judge earlier on was dismayed that members of the church had never been given an opportunity to vote with "Aye" for those in favor or "Nay" for those opposing.

However, by the time attorney MacLaunghlin turned back to the judge to affirm the name of a potential witness, the judge was already on his way out, with the security guards ordering everyone out of the courtroom, leaving the defense team in disarray during a moment of utter confusion as they tried to brainstorm names of other possible witnesses.

John Bret Giathi, left, and George Kamau, 3rd right, two plaintiff witnesses listen in as attorney Corina Hale addresses a group of members of the Kenyan All Saints Community church in Quincy who have sued their pastor, Rev. Fredrick Thanji. AJABU PIC/H.MAINA

The dramatic development came soon after Richard Richu, a defense witness who joined the church in 2001, then appointed to the church council by the pastor in 2002 to the present, while still hired as a paid "peoples'  warden", told the court that a final draft of the disputed church constitution was finalized in 2009, then brought by the pastor, Rev. Thanji, to attorney Pascalina Gathua, a Kenyan attorney based in Lowell for notarization sometimes in 2012.

Under intense cross examination by attorney Hale for the suing group, Richu admitted that he did not know why the final draft of the constitution neither bore a date of notarization, nor the signature of the person who brought it to attorney Gathua for notarization.

Richu collaborated several plaintiff witnesses' testimony that the first time he saw constitution was in 2006, when Rev. Thanji brought it to the church and asked for it to be reviewed so as to incorporate the needs of the then rapidly expanding church membership.

"A constitution review committee was appointed by the pastor and met several times a month for about two years. Then a second review group was appointed to do further reviews until a final draft was ready in 2009.Then it was taken to the attorney to be notarized," said Richu.

"When is the next time you saw the constitution after it was notarized?" Hale pressed Richu.

"It was brought back in 2012".

At this point, Judge Locke interjected loudly; "It took three years, why"?

"Yes your honor," Richu said.

"The pastor told us that the first attorney he had brought the Constitution for notarization took too long to get back to him, only for the pastor to find out that the attorney had moved out of state."

Richard Richu, the All Saints Community Church Peoples' Warden, and defense witness. AJABU PIC/H.MAINA

Richu said that to avoid further delays, Rev. Thanji decided to bring the draft constitution to attorney Pascalina in Lowell to amend and notarize.

"How do you know that?", The judge again sharply interjected.

"Because we gave it to him, he brought it there, and then he brought it back to us," the Peoples' Warden responded while dramatizing with both hands the acts of handing a document to someone and receiving it back.

Under more intense questioning, Richu admitted the same contention other plaintiff witnesses testified to that the alleged final Constitution was never voted for by the review committee or at any of the Annual General Meetings (AGM) since 2012, or even the Special General Meeting (SGM) called at the church in October 31, 2015.

According to Richu, The SGM was called for when the Constitutional crisis deepened,causing a temporally boycott of the church services by the opposing group, which being the majority, brought a crippling financial impact to the church as they stopped contributing their tithes and offerings.

"When it was brought in the church in 2012, we were just told in the church that the Constitution is now ready and anybody who wanted a copy to read can request for one," Richu responded to the dismay of the judge.

Richu vigorously defended the pastor against accusations that he appointed his own cronies to the church council and management board in order to have them vote for his selfish agendas, charging that most members did not want the committment to serve as they claimed to be busy with their work schedules, families and school.

"That is why i have been forced to be the Peoples' Warden and Church council member for all these years contoniously."

Several plaintiff witnesses, including Peter Karanja, a founding member, George Kamau and John Bret Giathi told the court that the alleged 2002 Constitution only surfaced after rumors started circulating among members that the church indeed had a constitution that they had never seen, after one church council member privy to the matter leaked the document.

To quell the growing dissent and grumbling from church members who had been requesting to see the rumored constitution without much success, Rev. Thanji suddently brought a document that he said is the Church Constitution and appointed a team to review and modernize it to cater for the increasing membership.

Witnesses said that the problems got worse around 2009 after the congregation had just finished clearing the mortgage for the church, and boiled over in October 2015 when the pastor made an offensive statement towards the end of a church service.

"The pastor said he was the pastor, Chairman, the CEO and Bishop of the church in response to questions that people were asking regarding rumors of a new pastor he had located in Kenya to succeed him," said George Kamau, a long time member of the church council.

"He said he would die for the church and that anyone with a question should ask him directly," added the father of three while testifying on Thursday evening.

However, during an earlier testimony on Tuesday, Karanja, one of the founding members, told the court that the All Saints Church never had a constitution or by laws when they started it in 2001.

He also had already submitted a sworn affidavit with the injuction motion filed to bring up the case.

Karanja testified that at the,the church only had about 5 members and that their main concern was to find and recruit others to join them.

Plantiff witnesses, Leonard Kimani, left, and Peter Karanja, right, emerge from the courtroom together with other opposing group members after the hearing on Friday. AJABU PIC/H.MAINA

"We were very few, maybe about 5 people. No one was even thinking about a constitution as we all trusted the pastor to lead us the right way. Our goal was to just find more members to join us. We did not think about a constitution until we saw one in 2006.We even never had articles of association," Karanja told the court.

The court heard that the pastor also arbitrarily appointed close family members and die hard supporters to serve in the board of directors of the All Saints Community church Inc., registered as a nonprofit corporation under the Secretary of State for Massachusetts.

According to filings in the Secretaty of State website, the officials of the church were last updated in 2012.

It was also alleged that the Rev. Thanji maintained a tight control of the church council, appointing those he wanted to serve in it, and often frustrating those who expressed a different opinion from his wishes, thus forcing them to quit, only to replace them with die hard supporters.

According to Richu, a smaller building constructed behind the main church as a Children's Learning Center after the church mortage was paid up, was named Canon Thanji building only after it was officially opened, but officially referred to as the Children's learning center on the purchase documents.

"The church council decided to name it The Canon Thanji Building to honor the work that the pastor has done for the church for such a long time, over 45 years. He was also the founder of this church," he added.

However, while indicating that there would be nothing wrong with christening the building after Rev. Thanji to honor his long service in the ministry and as the founder of the All Saints church, members interviewed by Ajabu Africa News maintained that it would have been nice if they were consulted before such a decision was made.

The suing group also said that since the constitution dispute boiled over in the fall of 2015, many of them had been prevented from renewing their membership.

Most who had submitted their renewal forms and a $10 membership renewal fee had checks returned, with the excuse that they had missed the membership renewal deadline date.

George Gichimu, the current church Secretary makes a dramatic entrance to the court while blocking his face from the Press before emerging in lighter moods (below) at the end of the hearing.

However, the Richu denied that members were prevented from renew their membership for any other reason other than the close of the registration period.

"We decided to close the membership period for 2016 so that we can first of all deal with all these problems that came up. Everybody was given notice to renew their membership but they did not," he told the court.

During earlier testimony, the opposing group denied boycotting the church, maintaining that they continued to put their tithes and offerings into a special escrow account, waiting to give it all to the church when the dispute was resolved.

Before Richu took the hot seat, two defense witnesses, John Bret Giathi and Leonard Kimani, told the court that there was a pervasive culture in the church where things were arbitrarily decided on by the pastor and a small clique of supporters without bothering to bring it to a vote either in a committee, a subcommittee, or even the to general congregation.

Giathi, who joined the church in 2004 and volunteered to serve in the church council and chairman of the development committee for many years, got emotional when he recounted the effort and dedication that the committee put in to ensure that the church purchased a main sanctuary building through organizing multiple fundraisers, as well as personal contributions.

He said that as a result of the selfless dedication, the church was able to pay up the entire mortgage in 3 years instead of the 10 years issued for.

A father of two boys, Giathi added that once the mortgage was paid up in 2009, the pastor suggested they build a smaller building behind main church since the church had seen a rapid increase of young children as membership kept rising.

He said that the Development Committee took over the mantle of building the children center with zeal, although they had started experiencing problems with the pastor after the mortgage was completed.
 
"Once we completed the mortgage, the pastor became a different person and he would become very difficult to deal with," Giathi said under direct questioning from attorney Hale.

He added that at some point during the construction, the pastor fired David Maina, a very good, capable and royal church member who had been overseeing the said construction for no fee,only to bring in another paid overseer without consulting the committee nor notifying Maina in advance.Soon after, "The projected budget of constructing the building started increasing rapidly," he revealed.

Simon Kamoni, a young pastor's die-hard supporter, Church Council member and appointed church elder. AJABU PIC/H.MAINA

Giathi said that the pastor also arbitrarily created the position of a Church Chancellor to serve as a legal advisor, and brought in Caroline Muiruri--a Kenyan law graduate in the region, to fill the post. He added that the new Chancellor was not an existing church member before the appointment--but was a niece to Richard Richu,the Peoples' Warden.

"We were doing all this work so that our children can get a nice place to be for Sunday service and not even for our own personal benefit. I feel very bad for all the things that have happened and caused all this tension in the church. My kids now keep asking me why there is no more fun in the church these days. Now all the work we did is going to waste because of one person. Just one person who is not willing to listen to anyone else and is looking out for his own gain, and won't even allow us to vote on anything," Giathi's voice cracked as he fought back tears with the judge staring at him intensely.

"You mean you have never voted in the church?" the judge asked Giathi.

"Yes your honor," Giathi replied.

"You have never heard calls for Ayes for those who agree and Nays for those opposing?"

"No. Never, in fact, I am hearing that from you right now sir," said Giathi leaving the judge in total consternation.

Questioned on how the pastor reacted when a person disagreed with him during church council meetings, Giathi said the pastor would become hostile to that person from that point onwards.

"He does not take it kindly. He would become very hostile. He will ignore you and sometimes not even say hi to you when you meet in the church."

Taking over the witness stand after Giathi, Leonard Kimani, the second and last defense witness of the day said that he was forced to resign from the church council around December 2015 when he felt that he could not be an effective representative of the congregation due to the intimidating and hostile culture promoted in the church council.

He got emotional when asked why he chose to resign, accidentally knocking down the witness stand microphone as he tried to pull himself together and temporarily pausing the testimony as the court orderly set the microphone back up. Kimani apologized profusely to the judge, causing a light moment.

"I was in the council to be their voice, but I was not effective, because of the culture in the council itself. The pastor was driving the culture," Kimani said, his voice breaking as he fought back tears.

The father of one narrated the serious disagreement within a subcommittee appointed to lead search efforts to obtain a new successor to Rev. Thanji who had announced his retirement during a church service.

He said that when the pastor announced his upcoming retirement, a "Pastor Search Committee" started inquiring around the Kenyan community in New England for a suitable and qualified pastor to take over, as there were many clergymen of Kenyan decent in the region.

Unfortunately, Kimani continued, Rev. Thanji frustrated and thwarted the effort when he took a 3 month trip to Kenya and, together with Canon Mwaniki of the St. James Attleboro church, interviewed and selected a certain pastor Eliud Mwangi from the Thika Diocese to fill the position.

He said that upon his return to Boston, the pastor told the committee that he had already found a suitable pastor to replace him.

Kimani added that Rev. Thanji did not give the committee an opportunity to vote for the new pastor he had allegedly found, and became extremely hostile when they suggested to him that even if that pastor were to come to serve the church, he would work under the current assistant pastor, Rev. Dorcas Albrecht who is of Kenyan decent.

Responding to tough cross examination from attorney Macklaughlin, Kimani rejected the contention that that one of the main qualifications for a suitable pastor to succeed Rev. Thanji was the ability to speak the ethnic Kikuyu language as suggested by the pastor.

He maintained that for him,a major qualification is a pastor who can effectively communicate and interact with his young American born child who can hardly speak the ethnic Kikuyu language.

He added that Rev. Thanji did not take it kindly the Pastor's search Committee suggestion that the new pastor he was planning to bring from Kenya serve under the current Kenyan assistant pastor for a while until the church is able to compare them and figure out who would be the main pastor.

Pressed on why the search committee had not yet put forward any name for a candidate to fill the slot, Kimani said that the committee was still in the search process when the pastor interrupted and the constitutional crisis deepened.

Before the court adjourned, George Gichimu, testifying for the defense said that he was responsible for assembling the church minutes between 2007 and 2008, but saved them in a hard drive maintained by his predecessor, David Maina. Gichimu is the current church secretary.

He denied knowledge that the pastor had announced his plans to retire around February 2015.

Gichimu added that he was extremely busy with school at the time and could have missed the announcement if at all it was made.

The unfolding All Saints Community church saga has caused a discomfort among other Kenyan community churches in New England, with many parishioners starting to question the composition of their organizational structures in relation to the voting culture in their churches during important decision that have in the past seen massive funds and properties lost when churches collapse following similar wrangles witnessed at the Quincy church.

The hearing continues on Tuesday morning at 9am as the court continued to determine if there was a valid controlling document for the church as it weighs whether to get involved to solve the dispute or stay away as per the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

The First Amendment limits courts' involvement in the affairs of hierarchical religious organizations unless there is a property dispute.

To view the organizational structure of your church if registered in Massachusetts,click here, enter your church name and hit search database on the Secretary of State website(http://corp.sec.state.ma.us/corpweb/CorpSearch/CorpSearch.aspx)

Plaintiff group

John Bret Giathi, left, plaintiff witness.

Plaintiff group

George Kamau, Plaintiff witness

Defense supporter

Defense supporter

Defense supporters

George Gichimu, defense witness

Assistant pastor, Dorcas Albrecht, addressing the Plaintiff group

Assistant pastor, Dorcas Albrecht, addressing the Plaintiff group

Anglican Church of Kenya Bishop in charge of Thika Diocese in central Kenya, Bishop Julius Wanyoike has indicated his willingness to appear before the Norfolk Superior court in Boston to testify in the ongoing dispute at the All Saints Community church in Quincy where a group of parishioners have sued their pastor, Rev. Canon Fredrick Thanji.

At the same time, Rev. Paul Mwaniki of the St. James Anglican Community church in Attleboro near Boston has dismissed the email communication tabled in court by Bishop William Murdoch of the Anglican diocese of New England recognizing the Anglican diocese of North America which ADNE is part of, as the sole mechanism to oversee all Kenyan Community church in North America and Canada that wish to be affiliated with the Anglican church of Kenya.

Rev. Paul Mwaniki of the St. James Anglican church Attleboro, MA. AJABU PIC/H.MAINA

Addressing the judge presiding the matter last Friday, Stephen MacLaughlin, the pastor's defense attorney, urged the court to delay the hearings for a reasonable period of time in order to allow Bishop Wanyoike to organize his travel arrangements so as to appear at the court testify.

MacLaughlin said that the Bishop would like to respond to Bishop William Murdoch's earlier testimony regarding the alleged affiliation between the troubled All Saints Community church and the Anglican Church of Kenya.

"I was informed that Bishop Wanyoike who was mentioned here on Tuesday called from Kenya last night and said he would like to fly here to give testimony regarding the affiliation of the All Saints Church and the Thika Diocese. There were some things said here by Bishop Murdoch regarding the affiliation issue and he would like to come and clarify. He is looking for the quickest, affordable air ticket to come within the next two weeks if the court allows it," he told Judge Jeferry Locke.

The judge did not respond to the request even after an objection was registered by attorney Corina Hale for the opposing group, indicating that she did not see the relevance of Bishop Wanyoike's testimony to the case that would warrant delaying the proceedings.

"You don't have to address that now," Judge Locke told attorney Hale when she rose to object as Maclaughlin injected the request towards the end of his direct questioning of Richard Richu, a defense witness testifying right before the close of the day.

During the second day of the hearings last week, Bishop Murdoch, head of the Anglican Diocese of New England that is responsible to oversee all Kenyan Community churches in USA and Canada that are affiliated with the main Anglican church of Kenya, told the court that Rev. Thanji's license to minister and Anglican Church of Kenya affiliated congregation had been terminated in 2011 following his own letter to withdraw.

Bishop Murdoch further added that he had no control of the alleged side partnership carved out between Rev. Thanji and Bishop Wanyoike who had signed a partnership deed with the All Saints church that was tabled in court last Wednesday.

The partnership was entered into last year when Bishop Wanyoike visited several area Kenyan Anglican community churches where he performed ecclesiastical ceremonies that only a bishop is allowed to perform.

According to witnesses who testified last week, Bishop Wanyoike was present at the All Saints Community church on Sunday October 31 when a Special General Meeting had been called on to try to resolve the simmering dispute regarding the alleged amended church Constitution.

An uproar had erupted in the courtroom when George Gichimu, the current church Secretary initially denied knowledge of the presence of Bishop Wanyoike at the church on the material day, forcing the court's security to quiet down enraged Kenyans objecting Gichimu's contention.

However, testifying on Wednesday, George Kamau told the court that Bishop Wanyoike was present in the church but did not attend the SGM that was taking place in the church basement. He however had sent about 6 other pastors who were accompanying him on the US tour to attend the meeting downstairs.

"The Bishop was upstairs in the main church, but a group of pastors who had come with him attended the meeting," Kamau said, adding that the Bishop did not help or attempt to help resolve the dispute going on.

When he testified, Bishop Murdoch said that there are only two Kenyan churches in the New England region that are in compliance with the Anglican Diocese of New England and Anglican Church of Kenya requirement that they use the standard Church constitution offered to their pastors in a formatted template.

He said that the pastors who objected to using that template and rather chose to withdraw their membership had their licenses revoked.

Among those who objected was Rev. Thanji, Rev. Paul Mwaniki of the St. James Anglican Community church in Attleboro.

"Did you offer the Constitution template to Rev. Thanji," Murdoch was asked by attorney Corina Hale for the plaintiffs on direct testimony.

"Yes," Murdoch replied.

"What did he say?"

"He said no thank you", the bishop testified.

Murdoch tabled an email communication from the leader of the Anglican church of Kenya, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala that confirmed the ACK's recognition of the Anglican Diocese of North America (ADNA) as the sole entity by which Kenyan community churches in USA that with to affiliate with ACK should conform to. 

Murdoch's ADNE is part of the larger ADNA.

Bishop William Murdoch, head of the of the Anglican Diocese of New England.

In addition, bishop Murdoch to the court that there are a now about 33 churches across the USA that are part of the Anglican Diocese of North America, and a multitude of many other variations of churches that call themselves Anglican churches but are not really aligned to ADNA.

He said that ADNA broke away from the American Episcopal Church in the mid 2000's when a group of bishops disagreed on the acceptance of the gay issue in the Episcopal Church that was part of the American Anglican church.

The breakaway churches formed a movement that refered to as the Global Anglican Future(GAFCON)after a major 7 day conference of conservativeAnglican Bishops and leaders held in Jerusalem in 2008.

According to Wikipedia, the seven-day conference took place from 22nd to 29th June 2008 to address the growing controversy of the divisions in theAnglican Communniondue to the gay issue, the rise ofSecularism,as well as concerns with HIV/AIDS and poverty.

However, speaking to Ajabu Africa News at the court on Friday, Rev. Mwaniki dismissed the email communication that Murdoch provided in court, saying he does not believe it came from Archbishop Wabukala.

He added that Bishop Murdoch should not be in a position to talk about Kenyan Anglican churches since the last time he was in Kenya was in 2009 and no longer represents ACK.

"I made some calls and I can tell you for sure that that email did not come from the Archbishop. Bishop Murdoch also should not be talking about this issue as he no longer represents the ACK. In fact, he is not part of the Anglican community as he had come from the Episcopal Church," Mwaniki said.

Rev. Mwaniki however did not comment on the specifics that led to his license revocation by Bishop Murdoch, butt promised to address the issue at a later date.

The hearing continues Tuesday morning May 31st.

The mystery at the All Saints Kenyan Community church in Quincy near Boston deepened yesterday when a judge presiding the case postponed the hearing for this Thursday--after attorneys from both sides attempted to introduce documents in court from top Anglican church of Kenya leaders, for and against the legal standing of Rev. Fredrick Thanji to serve the congregation under the Anglican Church of Kenya.

Tension was high as over 30 members of the church opposed to the pastor packed the court at the Norfolk Superior Court in Needham, greatly outnumbering about 10 members in support of Rev. Thanji present before Judge Jeffrey Locke.

The Kenyans, who included other interested observers, heard that the top leaders of the entire Anglican Church in Kenya had provided documents that will be central to deciding whether the All Saints Community church in Quincy is a hierarchical church affiliated to the Anglican church of Kenya.

Bishop Julius Wanyoike, head of the Anglican Diocese of Thika in central Kenya, Kiambu county. BY COURTESY/YOUTUBE

According to Attorney Stephen J. MacLaughlin appearing on behalf of the pastor, he had in his possession a document from Bishop Julius Wanyoike, head of the Anglican Diocese of Thika in central Kenya, indicating that Rev. Thanji was a licensed pastor in good standing within the Anglican Church of Kenya, and that the pastor and his congregation were affiliate to the Diocese.

Maclaughlin was attempting to introduce evidence that will lead the court to dismiss the case on the basis of the First Amendment of the US Constitution that bars state courts from interfering with the administration and dispute resolution in hierarchical churches, unless a property dispute exists.

However, in a stunning rejoinder, attorney Corrina Hale appearing for the large pro-reform group told the judge that she had in her possession an email from the top leader of all Anglican churches in Kenya, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, confirming the official recognition of the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) as the sole overseer of all Kenyan Diaspora community churches in USA and Canada that proscribe to the Anglican church of Kenya doctrine.

The ACNA is led by Boston based Bishop Bill Murdock who two weeks ago released an email conforming the termination of Rev. Fredrick Thanji's license to operate a church under the auspices of Anglican community in USA, Kenya and worldwide.(Recap here:Violence erupts at troubled Kenyan church in Boston, pastor said to be unlicensed)

Hale added that she had further evidence in the form of an affidavit from Bishop Murdock confirming that Rev. Thanji's license to serve as the priest of the church in Boston had been revoked back in 2011.

She maintained earlier contention that following the license revocation, the pastor had been serving as an independent pastor and the church as an independent congregation, thereby providing the court a legitimate opportunity to intervene in the dispute that has been dogging the church for a while now.

At one point during the submissions, Judge Locke interjected to inquire where the Bishop Wanyoike resides being the alleged overseer of the All Saints Community church under the Anglican diocese of Thika.

"I believe he resides in Kenya," attorney Maclaughlin answered, leaving the judge curious as to how the bishop would appear in court if needed.

A large group of the All Saints Community church in Quincy who are suing their pastor, Rev. Fredrick Thanji emerge from the Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham after a hearing yesterday. AJABU MEDIA PIC/H.MAINA

"He would not be able to appear your honor," Maclaughlin responded.

Judge Locke then turned to Attorney Hale for the opposing group and inquired where the said Bishop Murdock resides while performing his duties as the alleged overseer of the Kenyan Community Anglican churches in North America.

"He resides here in Massachusetts your honor," she responded, adding that bishop Murdock would readily appear in court at any time needed if required to do so.

However, after listening to both attorneys, judge Locke said that he would require more time to study the case files since the issues was of profound interest and consequences to members of the church. He also said that it was important for the court to allocate sufficient time for a full hearing when the court is less busy at the mutually agreed time of Thursday, May 26 at 9am.

Close to 50 members of the All Saints church and other Kenyans interested in the case were dumbfounded with the turn of events as the Anglican Diocese of Thika operates under the umbrella of the Anglican church of Kenya led by the outgoing Archbishop Wabukala who is retiring after 7 years as the leader of the Kenyan Anglican denomination.

Wabukala is expected to step down from the helm of the church with millions of followers in Kenya next month when the newly elected Bishop Jackson Ole Sapit, is inaugurated.

"I can't believe what is going on here. Now we don't even know who to believe. We though bishop Wanyoike operates under Archbishop Wabukala, so for both bishops providing conflicting documents from the same Anglican Church comes as a complete shock to us. We need to know what is going on here. I hope the judge makes a determination on Thursday and save us from all this here and confusion,” said one pro-reform church member speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Attempts by Ajabu Africa News to obtain comments from the few members from the opposing group who appeared extremely nervous after the hearing were met with silence and open hostility.

After the hearing, the large group of members suing the pastor gathered outside the front entrance to the courthouse wearing yellow ribbons on their court lapels to signify solidarity, while discussing in hushed tones as they awaited the pastor and his group to emerge.

However, in a move viewed by the opposing group as a means to avoid embarrassment of meeting the large group outside, and the presence of Kenyan media glare, Rev. Thanji and his group remained holed up in the courthouse for over an hour after the proceedings ended, with only a few supporters emerging one by one after long intervals.

Realizing that the opposing group was not planning to leave the court area before he emerged, Rev. Thanji, his attorney and George Gichimu, a diehard supporter of the pastor were spotted emerging the courthouse from a back door and rushed to their cars parked in a nearby parking lot.

All Saints Community church pastor, Rev. Fredrick Thanji (center) and his attoney, Stephen MacLaughlin leave the Norfolk Superior court in Dedham through the back door and into the parking lot where he was driven away by a top supporGeorge Gichimu (far right). AJABU MEDIA PIC/H.MAINA

However, after catching up with the pastor's attorney, he told Ajabu Africa News that there was not much for him to comment yet as the alleged legal documents will be discussed on court on Thursday.

"Thursday would probably be a better day," MacLaughlin to Ajabu Media as the pastor was whisked away by Gichimu in a car.

The All Saints Community church dispute has generated a lot of interest among Kenyans in USA and back in the motherland who have been struggling with perennial infighting within the churches over control of funds and church property.

According to many observers, several other Kenyan churches in Boston who claim hierarchical affiliation with mother churches back in Kenya are silently grappling with a similar situation as the All Saints church, leaving them with no clear cut channels of dispute resolution beyond the four walls of the church while within the USA.

Although a majority of the Kenyan community churches in the region are independent, stand alone churches with no one to turn to in case of disputes, it is not yet clear if those who claim affiliation with churches in Kenya have presented to members how top leaders in Kenya will intervene in church disputes in the Diaspora while operating under the Kenyan law, while the said Diaspora community churches are obligated to operate under the US law.

The case is open to the public at the Norfolk Superior court located at 650 High St, Dedham, MA 02026.

Pro-reform group members chat with attorney Corina Hale

Pro-reform group members emerge from the courthouse

Pro-reform group members emerge from the courthouse

Pro-reform group members emerge from the courthouse

Pro-reform group members emerge from the courthouse

Rev. Fredrick Thanji leaves the courthouse

BOSTON---The dispute hearing of the Quincy, Boston based Kenyan All Saints' Community church produced fireworks then some uneasy calm outside the Norfolk Superior court during 4 days of intense suspense. Recap the action from the AjabuTV Video below >>>>

(Originally published Wed June 22, Updated Thurs, June 23, 2016, 11.30am)
BOSTON--There was shock inside the Norfolk Superior Court yesterday when a clearly upset and disappointed Judge admonished members of the Kenyan All Saints Community church in Quincy near Boston for failure to compromise in good faith to end an ugly dispute at the church built through the goodwill of the community over a 15 year period.

To add to the drama, Kenyans were hit with more shock when it emerged that the church pastor, Rev. Fredrick Thanji had enlisted help from two other local clergymen to introduce his church for affiliation with a different Anglican Church denomination based in New York, in a bid to end its current alleged status as an independent congregational church.

This, if accepted, would effectively limit the courts' ability to intervene in it's church governance matters as per the First Ammedment of the US Constitution.

The developments took place yesterday (Tuesday), when both sides returned to the court for final arguments after failure to come up with a amicable resolution on the highly emotional case after a 4 day witness testimonies were concluded 3 weeks ago before Judge Jeffery Locke.

Norfolk Superior Court Judge Jeffery Locke. PIC BY COURTESY-GETTY IMAGES/BOSTON GLOBE

At the end of the testimonies, the judge decided to postpone the final arguments phase after the two disputing sides assured him in court that they will be committed to finding a compromise on the dispute in good faith rather than having the judge make a ruling that would end up causing irreparable harm to one side.

As a result, the judge gave the two sides a three week window in which they would hold elections to fill positions in the church council left vacant when five previous members quit in protest last December, citing hostility, high handedness, lack of tolerance and outright manipulation from the pastor as chair of the council.

Once that church council was restored with fully functioning members, both sides had represented to the judge that they would then set up a new subcommittee to search for a new pastor to succeed Rev. Thanji who is due for retirement.

However, as soon as attorneys Corina Hale for the suing group and Stephen MacLauhlin for the pastor approached the bench yesterday for their final closing arguments, Judge Locke asked them if they, as well as the two disputing groups, had met to find a compromise in good faith as they has promised during the previous court appearance.

"I read the report in my chamber that there was no compromise reached by the two sides since the last time we were here. Before we proceed with anything today, I would like to know two things. First, how many times did you two meet to try and resolve this matter?"

Attorney Hale responded and said that she had spoken three times on the phone with her counterpart, Steve MacLaughlin without much success.

"They did not. We did not get to that point your honor," Hale continued but was cut short by the judge who at this point had completely lost his cool.

"And how many times did the two groups meet in an effort to come up with a good faith compromise as they said they would when we were here last time?"

"Well, shame on both sides on this matter. Shame on you for failing to meet and make a minimum effort to come up with a reasonable compromise as you promised here in this courtroom that you would. For this to happen with people who you would otherwise expect to show some good faith effort is very disappointing," the clearly upset judge said.

He added that failure by the disputing sides to hold any meeting in search of a compromise indicated that both sides chose to remain in their respective corners and do not want to make any good faith effort to resolve the matter.

"This now squarely in my laps and I will decide this matter," Judge Locke continued before asking to submit their final arguments.

The judge repeated his earlier contention that US courts are severely restricted by the First Amendment of the Constitution to intervene in internal affairs of religions organizations if there was evidence that the churches are run through some set governing principles, even when such principles may end up being unfair to members.

Grilling both attorneys during the closing arguments, the judge threatened to allow the motions to dismiss filed by Rev. Thanji if he found evidence that there was a valid church constitution that served as the governing document--in which case he would send the suing group back to the church to go find their own solutions their own way.

"There were two alleged Constitutions, one in 2002 and one in 2012.There has never been a vote in the church on either of these Constitutions," attorney Corina Hale appearing for the suing group charged while urging the court to allow her motion of Preliminary Injunction against the pastor so that they can have an opportunity to go back to the church they are being chased out of and create a new Constitution that would be duly voted for and adopted.

Attorney Corina Hale, representing the suing group. AJABU PIC/H.MAINA

"What if I find that there was there was a Constitution in 2012 and is effective? It is the consequence of this case law that the court steps back as it would be a violation of the first Amendment for the court to intervene," the judge interjected.

"I would therefore allow the motion to dismiss and your clients would be left to defend themselves outside the court," the judge said sending shivers among the close to 20 members of the suing group present.

Attorney Hale responded confidently, submitting that that the said 2012 Constitution was never approved for voted for in the church, and if the court does not intervene, then there will be nowhere else for the members to go for remedy.

"The members asked for the alleged 2012 Constitution so they can vote and approve it but that was never done. I believe that this is a matter for the court to intervene if it finds this church is an independent congregational church and not a hierarchical church," Hale said.

Judge Locke also put the defense in a tight spot when their attorney, Stephen MacLaughlin, said that the church had a valid Constitution that was amended and approved in 2012.

"Have I ever heard of a church council vote on anything during all the days we have been here?" the judge sought to know.

"I am not sure your honor," MacLauhglin admitted after a brief hesitation.

Attorney Stephen MacLaughlin, right, representing the Rev. Fredrick Thanji. AJABU PIC/H.MAINA

"But whether there was a dispute or not on anything in the church, the church council always solved it even when Rev. Thanji was not present. They didn't have to wait for Rev. Thanji to ratify or vote on anything,"

Moving along with her closing arguments, attorney Hale maintained that the All Saints Community church was an independent congregational church that was not affiliated with the Anglican Church of Kenya as claimed by Rev. Thanji, and hence the court had jurisdiction to intervene to resolve the current dispute.

She said the church was organized as a 501c (3) corporation under Massachusetts laws where no one person was not meant to have to total control of the organization as the pastor currently does.

She said that the pastor had over the years made sure that the church operates under no clearly set out rules and regulations other than other than the articles of association filed with the secretary of State and can be viewed online.

Hale dismissed the defense arguments that Kenyans in the church used "traditions brought from Kenya" as a way to govern the church in the absence of other clear rules.

She said that there were valid concerns that members were in danger of losing the church property as new reports indicated that Rev. Thanji had dispatched two local Kenyan clergymen who are his friends to convince a another US Bishop in New York who oversees a different church denomination to admit Rev. Thanji and All Saints church as an affiliate, even without bothering to consult the members.

Hale also said there were plans to have Bishop Wanyoike from the Thika diocese come in September to conduct a confirmation service at the All Saints church against the wishes of the members, even when the disputed matters have not yet been settled.

She urged the judge to order that the pastor should not do anything that would change the status of the church especially conveying the church property or interfering with bank accounts.

The attorney also urged the judge to allow her motion of injunction against the pastor so that the members can have an opportunity to create a Constitution that will serve the interests of all the members for the healthy running of the church.

"This church was built over many years and the 60 members who have paid for it are being chased out. If these members can not be allowed to go back and create a new Constitution to streamline the church, we urge that the court order this church be closed for now until a solution can be found," pleaded the attorney while winding up her closing argument.

In response, Attorney McLaughlin said that the suing group's contention that there was nowhere else to go to settle disputes in the church was "simply incorrect" as there was a Church Council that governs the church. He said that records can even show how many times that the council had resolved disputes.

However, it was at this point that the judge sought to know how the council resolved those disputes if there was no voting practice exercised.

McLaughlin urged the judge to dismiss the suit since it was filed as a "misnomer" by an "unidentified group" that had no authority to act on behalf of the All Saints Community church Inc., a registered corporation in Massachusetts.

He added that the plaintiffs had not exhausted their remedies for dispute resolution as contained in the alleged 2012 Constitution as they were advised to do by the church Chancellor.

"They have not followed the dispute resolution procedures. There is a proper way to do it in the 2012 Constitution."

McLaughlin maintained that none of the suing group's members raised any issue with the alleged 2012 Constitution in 2013 and 2014 until recently in 2015 when the pastor announced his retirement.

"It was approved and effective until Rev. Thanji said he will retire," McLaughlin said.

He countered that the allegations that the pastor may interfere to convey the church property or funds were "mere speculations" that could not be further from the truth.

"Rev. Thanji is not the treasurer and has no access to church funds. He only co-signs checks that are over $1,000."

The attorney added that there was absolutely no basis for the court to interfere in the internal governance of the All Saints church under the First Amendment of the US constitution by allowing the plaintiff motion for preliminary injunction, and by the fact that the suing members had refused to adhere to laid down dispute resolution procedures.

Members of the All Saints Community church suing Rev. Thanji outside the Norfolk Superior court. AJABU PIC/H.MAINA

However, in his closing remarks, Judge Locke said that since the two parties had failed to come up with a good faith compromise that would ensure fairness to all involved, he would now take the matter into his own hands and make a ruling.

He caused jitters among Kenyans when he assured them that the ruling he will make will not be based on the principles of fairness, as he would judge according to the legal standards laid out in the first Amendment in matters relating to internal governance of religious organizations.

The judge stressed that if he finds that there was a Constitution in the church that was effective, then "the court should get out of the way" to avoid violating the limitations of the First Ammendment in the US Constitution.

"I can't consider whether the Constitution is fair or unfair as this is not the business of the court.That is why I sent you guys to find a solution in the hopes of trying to get people motivated to a compromise led by the principles of good faith," he told dumbfounded Kenyans in reference to the amazing clause in the US Constitution regarding governance of churches that the vast majority of Kenyan Diaspora residents in USA are unaware of.

"Sadly, the parties had an opportunity to resolve this on the principles of fairness but they chose not to. I am now taking this matter into advisement and will make a ruling soon," concluded to the no nonsense Judge while rising up to adjourn the session, marking the end of the lengthy hearing that has captivated Kenyans in Boston and beyond.

As they filed out of the courtroom, members of both sides seemed completely shocked by the developments, with no one having any inclinations to what the ruling might turn out to be, but realizing either party could lose easily.

However, the suing group absolved itself from blame, claiming that it did everything under it's ability to compromise but the pastor remained a serious stumbling block.

They said that Rev. Thanji thwarted all recent efforts kick-started by Judge Locke to hold valid elections of the vacant church council slots and new pastor serach commitee by insisting on having one of three fellow Kenyan clergymen from the area who are not members of the church elected as a 9th person to break a possible tie vote when four members from each side were chosen to spearhead the dispute resolution.

"It does not look good for anyone. We did all we could in good faith tpo find a reasonable compromise. But even if we lose this, it is a big lesson to all Kenyans in the Diaspora who have been spending a lot of money and time to build churches without paying attention to what is written in their Constitutions regarding ownership especially where property is involved," said Peter Muhoro, a member of the suing group while talking to Ajabu Africa News outside the courthouse.

Muhoro added that most Kenyans in the Diaspora attend Kenyan community churches to worship and have a sense of belonging to a community, only to be taken advantage of by some unscrupulous clergymen who somehow know the law relating to churches while members remain clueless, often paying more attention to demanding family, school and work schedules.

"Most Kenyans dont know what their church Constitutions say will happen to the church buildings and funds in the event a church breaks up or comes to this kind of a situation before they embark on contributing their hard earned money. This now serves as a wakeup call since the pastors seem to have known well ahead of their members what is contained in the First Amendment of the US Constitution regarding churches. They seem to know this kind of a situation will arise one day and the court will say it cannot get involved. So the pastors are well prepared for this kind of day while we as members are not. It's very sad," added the father of two from Brockton.

"Even if we end up losing this battle, we can not let the effort go to waste.Something good has to come out of it. We Kenyans need to sit down and find out what is wrong with our community so that we can find solutions for the sake of our kids in America," said Jane Ndung'u, a mother of 3 from Randolph.

"This is actually now a good time to join a Kenyan organization outside of church where people can also have a sense of belonging in addition to their churches, where they can educate themselves on these matters that we are all unaware of. Pastors will never educate us and want us to stay in darkness only to be shocked when situations like what we are going through happen," she added.

The All Saints Dispute involves church property worth $1.5 million and unspecified amount of cash in the bank.

Efforts to get comments from the pastor's side were fruitless as equally shocked supporters filed away from the courthouse in total silence to wait for the ruling expected to be mailed to both the attorneys anywhere from several days to a few weeks.

Ajabu Media will be on point to bring you the eagerly awaited judgment once delivered.

BOSTON--Two Kenyan clergymen in the Boston region have been banned from setting foot at the All Saints Community Church in Quincy for unwanted interference in the ongoing dispute that landed their close associate, Rev. Fredrick Thanji in court, now awaiting a ruling from Judge Jeffery Locke of the Norfolk Superior Court.

Rev. Samuel Kimohu of the St. Stephens Community church in Lowell and Rev. Peter Kiama of the St. John's Anglican Church in Sutton, near Worcester, have been confirmed to be the two mysterious clergymen who went to New York in a bid to lobby for the embattled Rev. Fredrick Thanji get a new affiliation with the America Anglican Church denomination led by Bishop John Herzog, Ajabu Media can reliably reveal.

The two clergymen took the trip to the offices of Bishop Herzog on Monday, barely a day before Rev. Thanji was due back in court for a status hearing after a three week hiatus where the disputing sides were implored by the very concerned judge to come up with a good faith compromise in lieu of a court ruling.

However, according to reliable sources, the meeting did not go down well with Bishop Herzog, who promptly nipped the insidious scheme by the two clergymen in the bud, flatly rejecting the idea of taking in Rev. Thanji and the All Saints Church under his wings, especially at a time when the church is embroiled in a bitter court dispute.

The dispute that has been simmering in the background since 2012 when the church started amending an alleged church Constitution allegedly crafted in 2002 boiled over in the fall of 2015 and consequently found its way into courts early this year.

It revolves around the pastor's succession as well as and property worth close to $1.5 million, and a disputed affiliation with the Anglican Church of Kenya that has been challenged in the court as nonexistent.

Consequently, sources revealed to Ajabu Media that the two well known Kenyan clergymen, as well as any elder from the two respective churches, have banned by Bishop Herzog from setting foot at the All Saint Community church in Quincy for the foreseeable future until the mess there is amicably resolved, church council disbanded and a new one democratically elected.

"They were turned back unceremoniously. Bishop Herzog gave them very tight conditions if he will ever agree to give All Saints Community a green light for affiliation with the American Anglican Church," a reliable source in the know told Ajabu Media on condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to speak on the sensitive matter.

Contacted by Ajabu Media for more information, The Right Reverend Bishop John Herzog confirmed that the shocking developments are true and accurate.

"Yes. It's true the two pastors visited my office in New York on Monday to talk about our usual church affairs. But I did not entertain the conversation about the All Saints Community Church under Rev. Fredrick Thanji when they brought it up in the middle of our conversations. They wanted me to take him into our diocese, but I said no," Herzog told Ajabu Media during a telephone Interview from New York.

"First of all, it is my opinion that the church matters should never be discussed in court as it is happening there. Now that they are already there, there is nothing we can do. It’s very unfortunate. Why would anyone take up a church that is involved in court cases and the entire financial burden that comes with?" he added.

He said that he instructed Rev. Kimohu and Kiama not to interfere in any way shape or form in the All Saints Controversy or else they would be permanently kicked out of the American Anglican church denomination.

"I instructed my priests to stay away from that controversy. I told them that no one under my church, whether a pastor, an elder, or even a lay person should ever set foot at the All Saints Community church for any event-- even when invited--whether to preach or to do any other function. I told them if they so, then I will let them go from under my watch," the Bishop said sternly, acknowledging the seriousness of the matter.

Herzon added that if Rev. Thanji and his friends had approached him for advice on how to resolve the dispute long before the matter spilled out of hand and landed in the court, he would have freely provided it.

"But now it's too late. I want nothing to do with the matter at all."

He added that he has the outmost respect of Bishop William Murdoch of the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA), whom Rev. Thanji was originally affiliated before he wrote a letter to withdraw, resulting in his license revocation to conduct religious ceremonies under the different Anglican denomination affiliated with the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK).

Bishop Herzog belongs to the American Anglican Church (AAC) with is completely different and has no relation to Murdoch’s Anglican Church of North America (ACNA).

According to Herzog, the American Anglican Church has over 15 parishes (churches) across the USA, seven of which are Kenyan Community churches.

The Rt. Rev. Bishop John Herzog at St. Stephens Lowell for a function. PIC BY COURTESY/SAMRACK

Among those are three Kenyan Community churches located in the New England region, including the St. Stephens Church in Lowell, the St. John's Anglican Church in Sutton and the newly launched Good Shepherd Anglican Church Brockton under Rev. Cyrus Irungu.

When Bishop Murdoch testified in court recently on the All Saints Church Dispute, he said that the Anglican Church of North America is the only mechanism recognized by the Anglican Church of Kenya to use for any Kenyan community churches in USA and Canada wishing to be affiliated with the larger motherland denomination.

Murdoch told the court that as a bishop consecrated in Kenya under the Anglican church of Kenya, he currently oversees 3 Kenyan community churches in the New England region.

Among those include the St. Paul's Community Church in Lawrence under Rev. Venerable Peter Gachathi, and the Faith Anglican Church in Lowell led by Rev. Justus Munyasya.

"The All Saints Community church in Quincy, the St. James Community church in Attleboro and the St. Luke's church in Malden are no longer affiliated with the ACNA," Murdock told Judge Locke.

"This is very wrong. Why would pastor Kimohu pastor Kiama and Pastor Ivan Mwangi form Lynn agree to come and cast the tie breaker vote in our church while they are not even church members? We all Know they are friends with pastor Thanji so anyone can tell how they would vote to break a tie in the committee even if they were allowed to come in and vote," said an extremely upset All Saints Community church member who requested to remain anonymous.

"If it were not for their interference, then we probably might have found a compromise. Now everything has gone downhill as a result and we are just waiting for what the judge will decide. It's very heartbreaking. It seems these pastors are always scheming how to protect each other and don’t care about the church members, even going to the extent of manipulating like this behind our backs," added the concerned member.

More upset church members said that by their actions, it clearly show that the two pastors were plotting to help Rev. Thanji take away the church from them, after they had spent massive financial and time resources to build and pay up the mortgage in less than 3 years.

"But we thank God that Bishop Herzog turned them back right away and banned them from interfering with our own problems. These two pastors already have serious financial and moral problems in their own churches right now and instead of solving those, they are coming to mess up with our own church. Everything done in darkness will one day come out in the light," added another concerned female member.

Four years ago, Rev. Kimohu was in the news again for engineering a move to kick out 3 pastors from his church, who had helped serve with him for several years, only for them to be asked to leave unceremoniously for unclear reasons.

Sources say that Reverends Kimohu and Kiama were extremely shocked by the developments as they had not predicted the reaction from Bishop Herzog, well known in the Kenyan Diaspora Community for his role in establishing Kenyan Community churches affiliated to the American Anglican Church.

Contacted on the phone for comments, Rev. Kiama was not available to pick up, and has not yet responsed to a voice message.

However, Rev. Kimohu became agitated when contacted by Ajabu Media on the phone for comment. He said that it was Rev. Thanji who contacted him to cast the tie breaker vote and it was not his idea in the first place.

"Since it did not happen, why are we talking about this," he loudly asked Ajabu Media.

"I don't qualify to say anything regarding the All Saints Church," he continued.

Informed that members of the All Saints Community Church said that he had already interfered with their church, the highly agitated clergyman hung up the phone unceremoniously.

National Council of Bishops of Repentance and Holiness Ministry seating in Nairobi has resolved to excommunicate Reverend Evelyne Adhiambo Opondo after she allegedly defrauded the ministry.

Speaking to the Saturday Nation after the meeting in Nairobi's Riverside head office, 'Prophet' David Owuor, said that the ministry has to go a long way to reaffirm its position of zero tolerance to sin.

"I would like to inform the public and followers that the said person ceases to be a pastor and an agent of the our ministry with immediate effect. As you know our ministry will not like to be associated with dishonesty, as this amounts to sinning in the church," Dr Owuor affirmed.

Reverend Opondo of the Repentance and Holiness Ministry Dagoretti Corner Altar in Nairobi is said to have allegedly obtained Sh4,932,200 from Kings' Outreach Church.

She is accused to have pretended that she would help the complainant register the church countrywide.

She denied the charge and was freed on a Sh2 million bond with an alternative cash bail of Sh500,000.

The case will be heard on August 23.

BOSTON--The judge presiding over the bitter dispute at the Kenyan All Saints Community church in Boston has dismissed the lawsuit brought by 59 members of the church challenging Rev. Fredrick Thanji's unilateral plans for choosing a successor and attempting to kick out dissenting members.

However, at the same time, Judge Jeffery Locke of the Norfolk Superior Court said that the court would stop the pastor from kicking out the dissenting members by preventing them from pursuing the dispute resolution they are looking for as valid church members since 2002 through the avenues laid out in the disputed 2012 church Constitution.

The judge ruled that there was enough evidence to show that the church had been following a governing structure laid out in the 2002 Constitution presented to the court, and that the same Constitution was used as a template by the Church Council to try and revamp it to the now hotly disputed 2012 Constitution.

"Although this Court is not persuaded that the 2012 Constitution was validly adopted by the church membership, the defendant (Rev. Thanji) may well be stopped from denying plaintiff (suing group) the right to pursue their grievance according to the disputed resolution mechanism he contends is controlling here," ruled the judge in a 12 page ruling obtained by Ajabu Media.

At the same time, even before the ruling was issued early Tuesday morning, shocking developments emerged at the troubled church when the pastor, Rev. Fredrick Thanji allegedly attempted in vain to ban the assistant pastor, Rev. Dorcas Abreletch from serving as a priest oor even setting foot at the church any more.

The development took place soon after a tension filled church service last Sunday.

Speaking to Ajabu Media, on the phone, Rev. Dorcas revealed that the pastor called her for a brief meeting after Sunday service and ordered her to quit serving at the church, or even attending the church at all in the future.

Rev. Dorcas Abreletch, the Assitant pastor at the All Saints Community church in Quincy (center) posing a question to the attoney representing the members suing their pastor. AJABU PHOTO/H.MAINA

The assistant pastor said that Rev. Thanji was unhappy with her stance of remaining neutral by talking and mingling with everyone in the church from both sides of the dispute, as well as attending events in the wider Kenyan community in the company of the members suing him.

"Rev. Thanji asked to meet with me privately after Sunday service and invited the church Lay leader Martha Kangethe to the meeting. After a brief discussion, the pastor told me that he was unhappy that I was not denouncing the group that sued him and therefore I should stop serving as a priest or attend our church any longer," Rev. Dorcas told Ajabu Media.

"I responded and told him I will not denounce anyone in the church and will continue to remain neutral and associate with everybody as the bible teaches us. I also told him I will continue attending and worshiping at church as I have done for the last 6 years but will no longer serve at the pulpit, will not wear the my priest's robes, and will sit in the pews among other worshipers going forward. He did not take that very kindly," she added.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS STORY. CHECK BACK LATER FOR DETAILS.

(AJABU AFRICAN NEWS, Saturday, July 9, 2016), BOSTON__While moving to dismiss the case against Rev. Fredrick Thanji of the Kenyan All Saint Community Church in Quincy, near Boston, Norfolk Superior Court Judge Jeffery Locke said Tuesday that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to rule on the case due to the limitations of separation of Church and State as set in the First Amendment of the US Constitution as well as Massachusetts law.

In so doing, the judge effectively removed the court from the hot potato dispute, and back into the arms of the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK), where different Bishops have competing claims regarding who holds the jurisdictional authority over the All Saints Community Church Quincy and other Kenyan Community churches in North America and Canada wishing to be affiliated with the over 4 million member motherland Anglican Communion.

In the 20 page ruling obtained by Ajabu Media, the Superior Court Judge said that, although evidence showed disputed 2012 Church Constitution was not voted for or adopted by the All Saints Congregants, he has found enough evidence that the initial 2002 Constitution was valid as a church governing document.

Therefore, by itself, the 2002 All Saints Church Constitution might give the court enough reason to remove itself from the dispute to avoid intruding in the internal matters governing the affairs of the church against the Principles of the First Amendment, he indicated.

Members of the All Saints Community Church in Quincy who sued their pastor wearing orange and yellow colored images bearing solidarity messages soon after leaving Sunday service. AJABU MEDIA PIC/H.MAINA

Judge Locke also said that there was ample evidence that All Saint church Quincy had some form of affiliation with the Anglican Church of Kenya though the Thika Diocese, even through that relationship was questionable, as there existed competing claims between the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya, Eliud Wabukala, and his junior, Bishop Julius Wanyoike who heads the Thika Diocese.

The Judge wrote that documents and testimony provided proved that Bishop Wanyoike had signed missions partnership deed with Rev. Frederick Thanji without the knowledge or approval of the Archbishop Wabukala who is represented in the USA by Bishop William Murdock of the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA).

While testifying before the court, the judge added, Bishop Murdoch had said that the ACNA had revoked the license to Rev. Thanji to operate under the Anglican Church of Kenya in 2011 after he refused to follow and comply with ACNA Constitution.

But even after his license was cancelled, evidence available indicated that Rev. Thanji and Bishop Wanyoike signed a partnership agreement, and that Rev. Thanji was installed as a Canon with the Anglican Church of Kenya in 2014.

"Notwithstanding the ecclesiastical directive to join the ACNA, Reverend Thanji and at least one other Kenyan church) established an affiliation with the Thika Diocese of the Anglican Church of Kenya. On May 18, 2014, Reverend Thanji was installed as a Diocesan Canon of the Thika Diocese by Bishop Julius Wanyoike," Judge Lock said.

The other Kenyan church that the judge refered to is the St. James Community church in Attlebory led by Rev. Canon Paul Mwaniki.

Norfolk Superior Court Judge, Jeffery Locke. Getty Images, by Courtesy/Boston Globe

The judge further said that Bishop Wanyoike and Rev. Thanji signed an affiliation agreement entitled "Companions and Partners in Mission" that was executed in May 2014 when Bishop Wanyoike was at the All Saint Community Church where the bishop also consecrated a new Sunday school building.

"While the ACNA and the New England Diocese assert that they have provincial authority over all Anglican communities in North America, their claim is undermined by the actions of the Thika Diocese and it's bishop, Reverend Wanyoike."

" Whether Bishop Wanyoike overstepped his authority in establishing an affiliation with All Saints, as is suggested by Archbishop Wabukala's May 21, 2016 letter, can best, (and only) be determined by the Anglican Church itself. A civil court cannot decide the dispute without intruding into the internal structure and governance of the Anglican Church in derogation of established First Amendment Principles," he continued in the epic ruling.

Archbishop Wabukala retired two weeks ago, handing over the leadership of the ACK Communion to the newly elected Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit.

Reliable sources disclosed to Ajabu Media that the new Archbishop has said that the mess between the Anglican Church of Kenya, the Thika Diocese and the Anglican Church of North America that has crystallized the other mess at the All Saints Quincy Church will be his first order of business to sort out when he settles down in his new capacity within the next two weeks or so.

In addition to the subject matter jurisdiction handicap, the judge ruled that the case should also be dismissed based on the defendant's second motion to dismiss on the grounds of "misnomer of parties."

The judge added that none of the congregants who brought the suit showed evidence of being an official, director or agent of the All Saints Church Incorporated, therefore they had no legal had authority to institute a lawsuit on behalf of the religious organization incorporated in Massachusetts.

The ruling was in line with what the judge had warned during his opening remarks at the start of the 3 day hearings conducted at the Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, near Boston over a period of three days last month.

Bishop Julius Wanyoike, leader of the Thika Diocese of the ACK. Pic by Courtesy

Delivering his opening remarks, the judge had indicated that his first and foremost priority would be to "establish whether there was a controlling document in the church" that laid out procedure of governance of church affairs. If he found enough evidence for that, whether in the form of a Constitution, By-Laws or other mechanisms, then he would dismiss suit and send back the congregants to their church find their own solutions in "their own ways".

When the parties returned to court for final arguments, Judge Locke admonished both sides and said it as a big shame for people otherwise "expected to show good faith efforts" to forgive each other and compromise to fail to do so.

Therefore when the ruling came out early Tuesday morning, it was not totally unexpected by camps on both sides--who were well aware of all the stark possibilities--having failed to compromise on three occasions provided by the court.

However, in a surprising move, the judge threw a lifeline to the 59 congregants who filed a petition against their pastor claiming they have contributed lots of their financial and time resources towards building the All Saints Church, paying off the mortgage in "few short years", and are therefore against Rev. Thanji's efforts to kick them out of the church by refusing to adhere to the terms and conditions they wanted reflected in the revised 2012 Constitution that is under dispute.

Aisle seated with members opposing Rev. Thanji's position. AJABU MEDIA PIC/H.MAINA

The judge said that the dispute came to a boil at a particular church service in September 2015, and rapidly degenerated to find its way into the court in January this year.

"In response to what he may have perceived as a challenge to his authority, Thanji rashly declared that as a founder, president, and pastor of All Saints, he was the "boss", and did not need permission to act for the Church,"' said the Judge in the ruling.

He added that following the contentions comments, a sizeable number of the membership boycotted Sunday services in early 2015, and demanded a special general meeting be held, which the Church Council agreed to schedule for October 31, 2015.

However, at the particular Special General meeting, the judge continued, members raised a number of issues, including the desire to have a new valid church Constitution, dissolution of the existing Church Council, and election of new council members by the congregation. They also demanded a date on which Rev. Thanji would retire following his previous announcement that he would like to retire. The members sought to put together a selection process fore the appointment of a new pastor, and confirmation that ownership of the church real estate at 33 Grafton Street in Quincy was vested in the membership and not owned by the pastor and his family.

"The issues were subsequently memorialized in a petition that was signed by 59 members of the congregation (represented to be about 75% of the total membership). However, the petition was rejected by Thanji and the Church Council, resulting in with five of members of the Church Council to quit in protest."

The pastor, the judge continued, then swiftly moved to fill the now vacant seats with his own appointed officials, resulting in an instant suit by the enraged petitioners.

Recognizing the difficult situation the suing group faced, Judge Locke said that since Rev. Thanji had indicated in his motion to dismiss that they had failed to exhaust the dispute resolution procedure as laid out in the disputed 2012 Constitution, then the pastor should provide them the opportunity to seek the same remedies they have been aspiring for over a long time.

The hawkeyed judge spotted article XV in the disputed Constitution that provides for grievances to be arbitrated, in the first instance, by the rector or the Church Council, and if not resolved, they should be decided by the church Chancellor.

Aisle seated with members supporting Rev. Thanji's position.AJABU MEDIA PIC/H.MAINA

If that doesn't work, the judge continued, "Article XVI provides for appellate procedures a panel of clergy, Anglican lay persons who are not members of All Saints, and the Chancellor. Although this Court is not persuaded that the 2012 Constitution was validly adopted by the church membership, the defendant (Rev. Thanji) may well be estopped from denying plaintiff the right to pursue their grievance according to the disputed resolution mechanism he contends is controlling here," noted the judge, effectively limiting Rev. Thanji's ability to kick out the dissenting members, and kicking the can down the road and back into the All Saints Church Quincy and the Anglican church of Kenya.

He clarified that in acknowledging the church autonomy in resolving such disputes, civil courts apply the said respect to both congregational as well as hierarchical churches.

He added that even in a situation where a church claims to be independent or congregational in nature, civil courts' jurisdiction can only be applied to the extent of identifying the authority authorized to act by the church, and "enforcing the resolution of the conflict by that authority", hence the All Saints Church and the Anglican Church of Kenya must step in to end the ugly dispute that has embarrassed religious leaders and worshippers in the Kenyan Diaspora community in USA and back home.

Reacting to the surprising ruling members who sued the pastor hailed the outcome as not so bad for them, considering that they were poorly misinformed from the get go about the limitations on civil courts in adjudicating church disputes as provided by the First Amendment and Massachusetts law.

They thanked the judge for stopping their pastor form his efforts to kick them out, which he had already started to accelerate this past Sunday by banning the assistant pastor, Dorcas Abreletch from appearing at the church any more.

"We are not going anywhere. The judge has confirmed all we have been saying all along. All Saints Church is our church, we have built it and we have a right to be there. We understand that the court's ability to decide on this matter was complicated by the First Amendment," said John Brett Giathi, one of the leaders of the suing group during a telephone interview with Ajabu Media.

"This was a very simple issue. I tried to tell the pastor to agree to meet with the people and fix the problems in the new Constitution that they wanted but he refused. This thing should, have never gone to court. The court is bad and can even go under the bed to find what is hidden there, revealing things that to people that they should have never known," said Rev. Dorcas while reiterating that the neither she nor the suing members should leave the church at all.

Rev. Dorcas Abreletch, assistant pastor of the All Saints Community Church in Quincy, second left, leads Praise and Worship session last Sunday, moments before she was allegedly ordered out of the church.AJABU MEDIA IMAGE/H.MAINA

"Even the sign outside the church says "All are Welcome". Why should I be stopped from attending my Church?"' She posed.

During the service last Sunday where Rev. Dorcas was banned from attending the church forthwith, over 30 members of the suing group had appeared in the church in orange and yellow t-shirts branded with messages indicating that they would not leave the church under any circumstances.

United in purpose and solidarity, the members sat on one isle in the sanctuary, while about 12 members supporting the pastor sat on the other.

Efforts to get comments from the pastor or congregants supporting him have been met with utter silence and in most cases, with open hostility.

The dispute involves the control of church property worth an estimated USD1.5million (KES151,791,750 million), including the main church building that was previously a Synagogue that the Kenyans converted into a place of worship after purchase, a newly construccted Children's Learning Center as well as unspecified amount of cash in the bank.

The All Saints Quincy church saga is being followed closely by parishioners in other Kenyans community churches, some of whom have lost hundreds of thousands of funds in real estate and in cash after unresolved disputes led to collapse of the churches, with proceeds from sale of such real estate going unaccounted for, usually ending with clergymen,their families and die-hard close associates.

Many Kenyans in the area and beyond view the All Saints dispute as a text book profile of what not to do, or what details to pay attention to in the process of establishing, developing or upgrading church constitutions, registered directors of the incorporated religious organizations, and even the composition of the Church Council members--before allocating hard earned cash to frequent church building and development fundraisers.

As it stands right now, the All Saints saga has just entered round two, with both camps digging-in thei heels and no end in sight.

The new Children's Learning Center building

BOSTON---Six Police Squad cars including a dog unit rushed to the troubled All Saints Quincy Kenyan community church Sunday when a worried Reverend Fredrick Thanji and close lieutenants called to say that the service had been taken over by "chaotic members".

Trouble started early morning when the two sides locked in a bitter dispute revolving selection of a successor pastor, contents of a new revamped Church Constitution, composition of the Church Council members as well as property work over $1.5million arrived for the first Sunday service following the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against the pastor at the Norfolk Superior Judge.

Both sides of the dispute appeared energized with the ruling they each saw as a win, with the pastor and his supported upbeat that the case was dismissed, while the suing group was super charged that the judge warned the pastor against denying them the chance to pursue their grievances though the church channels laid out in the disputed 2012 Constitution that the pastor claimed is in control.

As a result, both sides came early around 10.30am prepared to pursue their agendas, although different, in a service that was planned to be short to allow the church to proceed to an annual Music competition held by a group of Kenyan community churches in the region taking place in Lowell.

However, as Reverend Thanji and his group assembled into the church office to put on the priest's robes and prepare to start the service, close to 40 members that brought the dismissed suit packed the sanctuary and started on a spirited Praise and Worship session, several members told Ajabu Media that was camped near the gate outside the church.

Around 11am, sources said, an elderly woman shifted the worshipers from the praise and worship into a prayer session that lasted several minutes, prompting the pastor to appear beside her and nudge her to cut end the prayers so the official service could start.

However, the elderly lady did not budge as other members continued to prayer alongside her, urging God to intervene an save the church from it’s deep crisis.

Efforts by the pastor and church secretary, George Gichimu to shut off the sound system so the prayers could end fell flat as they soon realized the opposing group was using an alternative, portable sound system that included a powerful speaker, microphone and a fully charged amplifier.

Sources told Ajabu media the move was a creative problem solving move to circumvent the pastor's group that had previously been preventing them from addressing the church using the main church sound system.

When it became clear that they would not stop their prayers and worship, the pastor and his assistants retreated back it not he office where they proceeded to call the Quincy Police department.

"I heard Gichimu yell at the pastor frantically that "they have hijacked the service, they have hijacked the service", then they went back into the office and called the police,"' one parishioner told Ajabu News.

Moments later, two Quincy Police department troopers appeared in two squad cars, one of which was carrying police dogs, apparently in readiness to quell "chaos" as reported.

Two officers rushed into the church where Rev. Thanji, who was spotted seen waiting for them anxiously, opened the door and welcomed them inside.

Less than ten minutes later, four more police cars pulled in outside the church as backup, with officers rushing inside the church where they got holed up for the next one hour in deep conversations with the pastor, parishioners and even children present.

Occasionally, a few police officers would step outside the sanctuary door with members from both sides of the dispute to talk about the problem away from the general congregation, and then would get back in for further consultations.

Ajabu Media Reporter camped outside the gate overheard the police demanding to know who owns the church and who was in the deed documents.

John Bret Giath, one of the one of the leaders of the members demanding change at the church, together with Jacob Thuo and Peter Njoroge engaged the police in a conversation, telling them that the church was owned by the membership and not one person.

They were further heard telling the police that a case that they had filed at the court against the pastor was dismissed, but threat the judge asked both sides to go back to the church and resolve the grievances there, but the pastor was refusing to give them a chance to be heard.

The group handed the police a copy of the dismissal orders, upon which the police seemed to agree with them after perusing through Judge Jeffery Locke's notes on page 11 of the 12 page judgement.

After more than an hour of observations where they were satisfied that there was no chaos in the church as presented on the 911 call, 4 police officers left the church, but left two outside on guard just as a precaution until the service ended.

"It is as peaceful as i have ever seen.Absolutely no chaos," a police officer leaving the church told the Ajabu media reporter who sought to know how things looked inside the church where access was restricted.

Sources said that the opposing group continued to hold a one hour service on their own as the pastor refused to heed advice from his own supporters that they hold immediate talks with the opposing group in an effort to find a compromise that would restore normal order of business.

Police leave the Kenyan All Saints Community church in Quincy after finding no evidence of crowd trouble. AJBAU PHOTO/H.MAINA

The pastors group then eventually left the church for the music festivals, with the opposing group continuing with the service uninterrupted until around 1.30pm.

Finding no other need to hang around anymore, the last two police officers also left the vicinity.

Moments later, Rev. Thanji's defense attorney, Stephen McLaughlin rushed into the church, after he was apparently summoned by the pastor and his group.

Before they left, the opposing group members ordered Pizzas as lunch for a horde of children that was promptly dropped off by a driver from Quincy House of Pizza.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS STORY. CHECK BACK LATER FOR DETAILS

Four Quincy Police officers and the K 9 Dog Unit leave the scene at the Kenyan All Saints Community church, as the opposing group peacefully continued with the service, and the pastors supporters leaving for the music festivals, all under the watch of two more police officers left behind as a precautionary measure (below Pic).

(AJABU AFRICAN NEWS, WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2016), BOSTON,---Shocking drama ensued at the troubled Kenyan All Saints Community church in Quincy near Boston Sunday when the pastor, Rev. Fredrick Thanji locked out dissenting members from entering the church for Sunday service by serving them with "No Trespassing" orders and placing a Community Police officer at the gate to enforce the order.

A Quincy Community police officer stops protesting congregants from gaining access to the church for Sunday service. AJABU AFRICAN NEWS PHOTO/H.MAINA

Enraged with the unexpected development, about 59 congregants who have been locked in a bitter dispute with the pastor for more than one year decided to excersise their freedom of speech rights guaranteed under the First Ammendment of the US Constitution by staging a a protest demo--replete with Anti-Pastor chants, banners messages and loud Praise and Worship songs led by Rev. Dorcas Abreletch--an assistant pastor who was also kicked out-- that attracted the attention of several citizens in the quiet neighborhood.

The development came as a stunning defiance of a warning by a Norfolk Superior court judge to Rev. Thanji against preventing dissenting members from pursuing their grievances using church channels--when he dismissed a lawsuit brought by the members against the pastor--on the basis of limitations by the First Amendment and Misnomer of Parties. (Recap Here:Judge dismisses case against Kenyan pastor in Boston, stops pastor from kicking out suing parishioners)

All Saints Community church demonstrate against their pastor, Rev. Fredrick Thanji.AJABU AFRICA NEWS PIC/H.MAINA

Feeling energized by the ruling, and in an effort to turn the tables on the dissenting group that had taken over the church service last Sunday, Rev. Fredrick Thanji moved to expel the group forthwith.

Donning yellow and orange t-shirts, the opposing group arrived early (around 10am) for the usual another Sunday service they had vowed to take over once again.

However, this time around, the members were met by rude shock when they found Rev. Thanji, together with the church secretary, George Gichimu and Treasurer, Joseph Njuguna had arrived much earlier before in a bid to lock them out under the watch of a lone officer from the Quincy Community Police.
 
"He told us we were banned from entering the church by a no trespassing order filed by Thanji's attorney. The officer said he was hired by Thanji's attorney to prevent us from entering and that the only way for us to get in would be to go through the court to sort out the matter," said John Bret Giathi while speaking to Ajabu Africa News at the church.

Several neighbors gawked from their windows and doorways as Rev. Thanji emerged from the church, cutting through enraged protesters to consult with the Community policeman on guard.

A protest sign by All Saints Church members. AJABU AFRICA NEWS PIC/H.MAINA

Shouts of "Thanji must go", "This is our church too", "Shindwe"(Kenyan term to curse and chase out devil) and more rent the air as the pastor made his way back into the church leaving part of his own flock and their children stranded at the gates as the friendly looking policeman stood guard with strict orders to let in only those who support him.

Deciding against of entering the church in violation of the trespass notice to avoid possible arrests, the protesting members resorted to holding up protest banners while at the same time singing praise and worship songs led by Rev. Dorcas Abreletch, the All Saints Quincy assistant pastor who was also among those served with the No trespass warnings.

The ensuing melee attracted more neighbors who came out of their houses to inquire what was going on.

Among those who popped out to take a look was Hellen Warshauer, an elderly woman who said she had been attracted by the sweet praise and worship songs only to be met with by the banner holding protesters and police presence.

"I came out of my house when I heard the sweet worship songs.The music was so good that i decided to come closer and hear some more.I am very surprised and disappointed with what is going on,"she told Ajabu Africa.

Hellen Warshauer, a former members of the Beth Israel Synagogue in Quincy before they donated it to a Jewish school in Newton, then sold to Kenyans who converted it into the All Saints Community church talks to a group of members kicked out of the church by the pastor, Rev. Fredrick Thanji.AJABU AFRICA NEWS PIC/H.MAINA

Washauer revealed that together with her husband who passed away one and a half years ago, they had been long time worshipers at the All Saints Church back in the day when it was a Jewish Synagogue.

She said that the board of the directors of the Synagogue together with the surviving members decided to donate the building to a Jewish school located in Newton, Massachusetts when membership declined and the few left could not maintain it any longer.

"We lost a lot of membership as most worshipers became too old while others passed away. The board decided to give the building and all the money left over to a Jewish Children's school in Newton. I think then that school sold off the building to the Kenyan community. The Kenyans agreed to let a commemorative stone remain here at the grounds in remembrance of our Synagogue. It is very sad what is now going on now and I hope all involved can come together and find a common solution," she added.

All Saints congregants siding with the pastor were met jeers and taunting words as they made their way into the church pas the protesters at the gate.

Ajabu Media was also locked out of the building and served with a No Trespass order, in a bid to keep the developments away from the wider Kenyan community and general public's eye.

However, Rev. Thanji and a group of about 10 members continued with their own counter- Praise and Worship session being heard coming out the windows.

Not ready to relent, the protesting congregants continued with the protest until around 1.30pm when the inside service ended and the pastor emerged together with his wife and supporters.

Protesters hold up signs. AJABU AFRICAN NEWS PIC/H.MAINA

"My main prayer to you is that you don't get discouraged and stop going into a house of Worship just because you have been chased away from your current church. Even if it becomes impossible to go back to your church for any unforeseen reason, there will always be another house of God you can worship at," she comforted the disappointed Kenyans.

After exchanging some documents with the Community police detail, now accompanied by another officer who had arrived from the Quincy Police Department, the pastor rushed to his car escorted by the police amid more jeers and taunts from the enraged members.

"This is very sad. This should not be happening in this day and age, all because the pastor would not agree to even give a chance to voice our grievances," said Nick Kimani of Quincy.

The protesting group then left for a meeting and prayers at one of the member's house in nearby Randolph. A formal church service was led by Rev. Dorcas who told the bitter and disappointed men, women and children that it was very necessary to hold the service so they can feel as if they also attended church that particular Sunday.

Rev. Dorcas encouraged the group that despite the unfortunate developments taking place at the church they have built know and grew up in, God will never abandon them as long as they keep up their faith and trust in God.

All Saints Church assistant pastor, Rev. Dorcas Abreletch leads protesting parishioners in Praise and Worship songs outside their church in Quincy, near Boston. AJABU AFRICAN NEWS PIC/H.MAINA

According to several protestors, Rev. Thanji made the move in an effort to prevent them from pursuing grievances they presented to him last Sunday but he ignored, choosing to call the police in an effort to kick them out.(Recap Here:Police rush into feuding Kenyan church in Boston as opposing group takes over Sunday service)

The grievances include a request for an urgent Special General Meeting to discuss recent developments at the church, as well as voting for a new church council, claiming the existing one is compromised and was no longer representing the wishes of the majority of the congregants.

They said that Thanji should heed Judge Locke's warning from preventing them to pursue their grievances using the laid out church procedures and hierarchy at the church which whose alleged affiliation with the Anglican Church of Kenya has become a matter of contention.

The judge further said that the dispute should be solved within the church under the guidance of the Anglican church of Kenya whom Rev.Thanji claimed affiliation through the Thika Diocese led by Bishop Julius Wanyoike.

Before the judgment was issued, Bishop Wanyoike had unsuccessfully requested the court to be allowed to fly into Boston to testify before the court in support of Rev. Thanji's position.

The Thika based bishop has not yet responded to a request by Ajabu Africa News for comments on the way forward to resolve the ugly dispute in the Diaspora church where he has visited before.

It is not yet clear whether the newly elected leader of the Anglican Church of Kenya communion, Archbishop Jackson Ole- Sapit will step in to adjudicate the simmering dispute that has cast serious confusion among many Kenyans in the Diaspora who identify as Anglicans on how to relate to the denomination in the future in the wake of the apparent power struggle between individual dioceses and the mother ACK body.

"It's very unfortunate that the pastor did not want to listen to our grievances. We have built this church together over a very for a long time and this is not the time to kick us out. Rev. Thanji is trying to kill a generational vision that we have been having here. We were hoping to bring up our kids in the fear of God here but it seems like Thanji does not care about them at all. We can't leave this church under any circumstances," said Jacob Thuo, a father of three and a long time congregant.

The group said that there were no signs of trouble during all the years before they acquired the $1.5 million church property, and during the time of mortgage payments.

"Before the mortgage was paid off, the pastor was very friendly. He made us commit to pay $300 per member, and $600 for a family for the church building fundraisers held twice a year as towards purchasing this church. That does not include the money we would contributed at the actual fundraisers, and the money we would invite other Kenyans in the community to bring us. Now that the church is fully paid for, the pastor is trying to kick us out. This is very unfortunate and we will not relent. This situation is very embarrassing and sends the wrong messages to our children and the entire Kenyan community who are witnessing what is going on," John Giathi, the former chairman of the Church Development Committee who led congregants to purchase and renovate the church.

George Gichimu locks the church doors.AJABU AFRICA NEWS PIC/H.MAINA

Giathi urged other members of the Kenyan community fed up with the situation to come to their aid with prayers and financial support to pursue the matter in legal channels in an effort to save the church.

"We urge all Kenyans in the Boston region who helped us buy this church with their donations to come in again and help us save the same church. We need your prayers and financial support to continue efforts to solve this matter amicably for the sake of the Kenyan community here, their children and future generations."

The group blasted a few members of the church council that are supporting Rev. Thanji to deny them the right to worship at their own church.

"It's very wrong for a few of our friends who we built this church together and are now claiming to be the church council members to gang up and sign a letter authorizing to expel us form the church. This is very disingenuous and is the height of hypocrisy," said George Kamau, members of the group demanding change.

Kamau added that among 11 church council members who signed a petition to expel the group includes: Rev. Fredrick Thanji, George Gichimu, Anthony Kabuga, Elizabeth Mbugua, Nancy Muiru, Martha Nguru, Joseph Njuguna, Samuel Mwai, Simon Kamoni, Anastasia Kamau, and Job Kariuki. Grace Mbogo, 12 the member of the disputed council, did not append her signature.

According to the Secretary of State website, the church board of directors include: Fredrick Thanji (President), Joseph Njuguna (Treasurer), David Maina (Clerk), Mary Kinyanjui (Director), Anthony Kabuga( Director), and Elizabeth Mbugua(Director).

 

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.

Protesting Kenyan All Saints Quincy Church members take a vote of no confidence in their pastor , Rev. Fredrick Thanji. AJABU AFRICA PIC/H.MAINA

"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.

Badly divided Kenyans at the All Saints church in Quincy near Boston. Members supporting the pastor quietly leave the church after Sunday service as members kicked out protest outside the gate. AJABU AFRICA NEWS PIC/H.MAINA

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.

 

BOSTON__ Determined to save their church from total collapse, about 60 adults and 65 children who were evicted from the Kenyan All Saints Community church in Quincy have organized a legal fees fundraiser for Sunday August, 28 at the VFW Hall in Randolph, near Boston.

However, even as the group works hard to save the church, the pastor has moved to send selective membership renewal letters and application forms to some spouses in the evicted group, while leaving out more outspoken family members.

According to leaders of the group, which has been staging protests and outdoor church services at the church gates for four Sundays in a row, the planned fundraiser will enable them to settle massive legal fees incurred to date, as well as current fees needed to sort out the far from over problem.

They urged the Kenyan community in the region to turn out in big numbers to help them raise the needed funds, just as they did years ago to help build the church.

"We thank many Kenyans in the Boston region who came out and supported us over several years to raise money to build this church and pay up the mortgage. However, due to the recent problem that have occurred here, we urge the same Kenyans and others who may have the desire to advocate for justice and save the same church they helped build from collapsing to come and help us raise legal fees," said John Bret Giathi, former church building committee chairman. As committee chairman, Giathi led congregants in organizing fundraisers that saw the church acquired and paid for in 3 years instead of the projected 10 year period.

"We have suffered a lot and our children are very confused as to what has happened here. All they want is to be able to go back to worship at the church and in their Sunday school where they say they had a lot of fun," he added.

Giathi said that the group is in consultation with legal advisers who are working behind the scenes to come to a final resolution and thus they still need help to foot the bill.

But in a bizarre about face, the evicted group revealed that the church pastor has sent letters inviting some of the evicted congregants to return to church and renew their membership while leaving out others, even within the same family household.

The group criticized Rev. Thanji for his "dishonest effort" since it is neither possible nor in good faith to invite someone's wife to return to church while asking the husband to stay away.

According to the invitation letter seen by Ajabu Africa news, the pastor indicated that the All Saints church is an independent Anglican church that is affiliated with the Anglican church of the Thika Diocese and is currently in the process of accepting membership applications from existing members seeking to renew their memberships, former members seeking reinstatement of lapsed membership, as well as from persons who have never been members of the church.

"This letter is being sent to you because you have been identified as a former member of the Church, or as a person who may have an interest in becoming a Member of the Church," read part of the highly contentious invitation offer.

Targeted or interested persons are urged to complete an accompanying application form to be mailed to the church in Quincy with a $10 administrative fee if they wish to be considered.

A copy of membership renewal, reinstatement or new member application offer sent to selected members of the All Saints Community church in Quincy recently evicted from the church after a bitter dispute over contents of a new  Church Constitution. Pic by Courtesy.

However, in a disclaimer, the pastor cautions would be members that the invitation is not intended to indicate that the recipient is a past or current member of the church, or whether they have any standing within the church.

Rev. Thanji further cautions that the All Saints Community Church reserves the right to decline approval of any application on any grounds determined to be in the best interests of the church. The letter includes a reminder of the "Church's assessment of the Applicant's ability and willingness to adhere to those Conditions of Membership as set forth in the Application Forms," and finally concludes by wishing the Grace of God to the targeted congregant.

"This sounds like a joke gone bad. How can Rev. Thanji send a letter to invite my wife back to church and leave me out? This is absolute discrimination. It is an effort to cause divisions in families by deliberately setting wife against husband," said Giathi, whose wife Lillian received a letter to come back to the church which conveniently left him out.

"He has sent similar letters either to other wives of other members in our group and to some husbands while leaving their wives out. He is sending to those he thinks are not outspoken enough in an effort to boost membership now that the tithes and offerings have gone low after he evicted us," said George Kamau, another leader of the group seeking to reform the church.

He added that those who have received the letters are not interested in re-applying for membership until the pastor opens the church doors wide and lets the evicted group come back so they can discuss and clarify their "standing" in  the church that they have a great emotional and spiritual connection with.

"This letter serves to indicate to our fellow Kenyans of the manipulation that has been going on at this church. You can see the pastor is not even concerned with the unity of the family unit as he is concerned with the number of membership for financial purposes. He wants only members in the church who cannot speak up to any injustice going on or who are afraid to advance an idea to make the church better. Unfortunately, all our members are very united in resolve that they will keep fighting on to solve the problem and leave the church intact as it was before," he added.

Kamau also urged Kenyans in the community to turn out in big numbers to support the group that has highlighted a big problem plaguing several other Kenyan community churches in the region. They hope to avert a potential loss of funds and church property donated by unsuspecting members of the community who believe they are building churches for everyone's benefit, only to be shocked that they have no say at all in the matters of the church.

He added that since hopeful Kenyan immigrants started arriving in Boston in the mid 60's, it is only the current generation that has managed to put up community foundation structures in the form of churches, making it all the more important to protect these structures for future generations.

"Kenyans in Boston have contributed immensely to put up community foundations from around 2,000 while previous generations were not able to do anything to that end. It is very important for the current generation to come together and protect these foundations to ensure that our future generations enjoy the amenities. As a community, Kenyans need to rise up to the occasion without fear to put up more structures, not just churches, but also social halls or community centers where we can display our culture like other communities have been doing for long all over New England."

Kamau said that it is unfortunate that Rev. Thanji and the people supporting him have been going around the community tarnishing the names of the group agitating for reform. Thanji claims that that the group was looking for leadership positions in the church, and that they got frustrated when that did not happen.

"This is absolutely not true. We are not interested in leadership positions as some of us even resigned from those positions when we could not get our voices heard in the church council. On top of that, how can 60 adults be struggling for less than a dozen leadership positions in the church. This is very unfortunate for the pastor to spread lies out there in the wider community," lamented the father of three.

"It's very weired. I have never seen a pastor who seeks to disperse his flock instead of bringing them together."

Rev. Fredrick Thanji emerges frorm the Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham at the end of the first day of hearings off a lawsuit filed by a majority of the All Saints Church congregants. AJABU AFRICA PIC/H.MAINA

The dispute at the All Saints church had been building for many years with members complaining of high handedness by the pastor, Rev. Thanji as soon as they finished paying off the close to $1million church mortgage.

The pastor allegedly declared that he is the Founder, President and CEO and founder of the church and that his actions, whether to install a new pastor or control the direction of the church should not be challenged by anyone.

The declaration was seen by some congregants as a way by the reverent to indicate the church was his personal property, while members were under the impression that they had been building a public structure owned by the community.

"He even said he can die for the church. How can you die for a something that is not your personal property?", wondered Kamau during an interview with Ajabu African News.

The dispute got worse when the pastor announced his intended retirement, but resisted efforts by the congregants to allow the church council more control in the process of selecting a new pastor and carrying out other administrative duties.

Having failed to come to a compromise, the evicted members headed for the courts to seek legal redress, but the court, although sympathizing with their plight, dismissed the lawsuit citing limitations of the Separation of Church and State as per the First Amendment of the US Constitution. The Norfolk Superior court also ruled that the suit was not properly brought as none of the complaining members were members of the church council or officials of the church authorized to act on behalf of the All Saints church, an Incorporated non profit in the State of Massachusetts.

"We can all improve the affairs in our churches that we love so much if we are able to point out the problems people did not know about and solve them amicably in good faith as expected of any good Christian. That is what we are trying to do here at All Saints Quincy and we urge you to come support us," said Peter Karanja, another leader of the group and one of the founding members of the All Saints Church Quincy.

The funds drive will start around 2pm to 7pm on Sunday August 28 at the VFW Hall located at 10 Highland Avenue, Randolph MA.

Those who are far from the region or cannot make it on that day are urged to donate via CashApp to

Kamotho: (617)-331-2420

Donations can also be deposited with Harbor One Bank, Account #: 1103644231, or 1101397295

"Food and refreshments will be served," added the event organizers.

Editing by Abbie Normal Goldberg

BOSTON---Close to 60 members of the Kenyan community in Boston recently evicted from the All Saints Community church in Quincy near Boston raised over $10,000 Sunday evening, in addition to another $13,000 raised over the last couple of weeks towards a legal bill associated with a suit against their pastor, Rev. Fredrick Thanji.

At the same time, an outcry has erupted in the Kenyan community in Boston with many concerned Kenyans taking to social media and other forums, calling for an end to church based disputes that have caused serious divisions and increased animosity among countrymen and women far from their motherland.

During the fundraiser held at the VFW Hall in Randolph, several other Kenyans from the region attended to support their suffering countrymen and women, while others sent donations through various means, including CashApp and in person.

Organizers felt buoyed by the selfless effort by several dozen Kenyans attending the event whose contributions will go a long way towards curing a legal bill accrued in the process of seeking legal redress in the courts after their pastor snubbed all efforts for an amicable dispute resolution.

"This is really good. It shows what can be achieved when people unite and stay committed to a cause they believe in. We thank all those who came and all who sent their donations. May God bless you all," said David Karumwa, one of the event organizers while speaking during a vote of thanks.

Kenya children evicted from the All Saints Church Quincy engage in an activity to raise money. AJABU IMAGE/H.MAINA

Several speakers who addressed the gathering congratulated the group for sticking together to search for a solution instead of scattering to different other churches, leaving the problem unresolved to the detriment of future generations.

"Many Kenyans have been moving from one church to the other when they feel violated at their place of worship. This is not good. I am glad we did not do the same but decided to stay together. The challenge is ours to find a solution and we should not stop as we have not yet achieved our goal," said Jacob Thuo, one of the event organizers.

"It has been eleven months now since this thing started and we are still together. That is a big commitment that was not present before among us. People have been volunteering their time and resources to do different things that advanced our cause, including showing up at the court and going in and out of different offices. That is very inspiring," said George Kamau, another leader of the group.

Kamau added that as sad as it was to be evicted from their church, the group must stick together and find a solution for the sake of their suffering children.

"We started that church because we wanted our kids to have a strong foundation in Christian values as we were given by our parents. Now I feel very bad when my kids keep asking me if they will ever go back to their church since I don't have an answer," he continued.

Kamau blamed Rev. Thanji for causing the problem that has left many kids confused and unsure of the importance of the church. He added that similar problems were occurring in other Kenyan community churches in Boston.

"There is currently a big outcry in the Kenyan community in Boston for our young kids and future generations. Some of our kids now say they don't want to go to church after witnessing all the ugly fighting going on. We need to stand together and find urgent lasting solutions for this."

Rev. Agness Kuria leads in a Praise and Worship session.AJABU IMAGE/H.MAINA

The father of three attributed the problem to the poor foundations that the Kenyan community in the region was established on, with many clergymen starting churches that were run as personal businesses rather than public non-profit organizations where documented governance structures were transparent and made easily available to members.

Encouraging the group to have faith and stay committed, Rev. Dorcas urged members of the group to remain committed and focused to do the right thing before God in order to receive healing and a brighter future.

"Be committed and one day, you will look back and say that you went through a difficult problem in your church but God saw you through to become even stronger than before."

Pastor Agness Kuria, who recently quit as the leading minister of the St. Luke's Anglican Church in Malden in an almost similar scandal to the All Saints Quincy, attended the fundraiser, leading the group in several praise and worship songs.

An outcry by other Kenyans unhappy with the development at the All Saints Church also exploded on facebook with many terming it as "very embarrassing".

But in a message of support and encouragement, Frank Kahiga, a user based in Boston, sympathized with members of the evicted group, reminding them that such situations they were going through were predicted in the bible already, and remedies prescribed in the book of Jeremiah 23:
Frank KahigaTo all those affected, be encouraged that: "Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!" declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: "You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.... (Jeremiah 23)."

To celebrate the progress achieved, the group will be holding an end of summer goat eating Labour Day barbecue this Sunday September 4 at the Houghton Pond Park in Canton starting 3pm, where all those who supported them with funds and prayers are invited to attend.
 

Rev. Dorcas Abreletch donates funds.

David Karumwa

John Brett Giathi donates funds

George Kamau

A young boy test drives a bike he just won in a fundraising auction.

Jacob Thuo, the emcee for the day.

Security agencies in Kibwezi, Kenya Thursday ordered the closure of a church run by a self-proclaimed ghost-buster over alleged sex orgies.

Machinery Assistant County Commissioner Vitalis Ogur, who was accompanied by local police officers, ordered the closure of the ghost-buster premise.

Addressing residents at Masongaleni market where the said church operates from, Mr Ogur said he had received complaints that some church orderlies were involved in orgies involving school-going girls.

"We have agreed that the church will remain closed until we investigate the allegations levelled against the pastor and the church officials. We will get to the bottom of the matter," he said.

Head of the Parents' Association at a local school, Mary Mutembei, claimed a student had been impregnated by church officials, forcing her to drop out of school.

The pastor, however, defended himself against the accusations, saying 'devil worshipping' traders around the area were terrified by his ability to 'neutralise' their powers.

"These allegations are baseless. They are falsehoods peddled by traders who lead wayward lifestyles at the market and who have been unable to stomach our style of preaching and exorcising demons," he said.

According to the pastor, his style of evangelism, which entails busting demons, had earned him enemies among fellow pastors and traders at the market.

"They have fought me since I first set base at the market one year ago," said the pastor who was accompanied by his sister and two worshippers.

MALDEN, Mass.,__Bishop John Okinda, the General Secretary of the Pentecostal Evangelical Fellowship of Africa (PEFA), Kenya Chapter has landed in Boston where he will lead a friends appreciation service Sunday October 9'th at the PEFA Church in Malden starting 11am.

Speaking to Ajabu Africa News, PEFA church pastor, Rev. Dr. Charles Karanja said that it is the first time such a high ranking leader the denomination has come to Boston for ministry work.

"It is the first time we are having such a top leader at the PEFA church visit us here in Boston. He will be our main speaker during a friend's appreciations day on Sunday. Our church would like to invite all our friends and Kenyans in Boston to come and worship with us as we give our general secretary a warm welcome," said the pastor.

The service Malden branch of PEFA church is located next to the Oak Groove train station at 376 Washington Street, Malden.

For more into, contact Dr. Karanja at: 617-784-5729

BOSTON--Long time African Diaspora evangelists, Prophetess Mwaka and her husband, Apostle Darius Twagirayesu are relocating back to Africa after decades of ministry in USA where they were the founders of the first African community church in Boston.

Breaking the new to Ajabu Africa News, Darius Twagirayesu said that the family of 6 had decided to return to the motherland of Rwanda to carry on the next phase of their ministry especially among the hundreds of thousands of extremely disadvantaged children in the region.

Twagirayesu said the family is slated to leave the US by the end of this month.

To see off their friends in Boston, the couple is holding a final two day event at the Victory International Family church in Newton from tomorrow, Saturday December 17 from 5pm and Sunday December 18 from 11am, with a final session at 4pm.

The prayer sessions have been hosted by Rev. Samuel Kasozi, pastor of the VCFI.

The church is located at 161 North st, Newton, MA 02460.

The couple will be highly missed and remembered in the African community in Boston for pioneering in setting up churches, and especially the highly entertaining and motivating Valentines dinner for singles sponsored by the Fresh Aroma Ministries that took place annually in the region before the couple relocated to Dallas, Texas.

While in Dallas the couple led the All Nations International church.

"We would like to sincerely thank all our friends in Boston and everywhere in USA for the love and support they have shown us over the years in this ministry. You will forever remain in our hearts," the pastor told Ajabu Africa on the telephone from Dallas.

"We are inviting anyone who would like to see us off to come to the prayer and worship sessions this weekend at the Victory International church in Newton," he added.

Ajabu Media congratulates Prophetess Mwaka and Darius for their selfless and inspiring service to many in the African community in Boston, especially to Kenyans, Ugandans, Rwanda, Congolese, Zambians and more.

We wish the evangelists an even more productive service to the people in the motherland.

Pope Francis has expressed his desire to make a trip to South Sudan together with the head of the Anglican Church to bring attention to the suffering of people stricken by civil war and famine.

Francis made the disclosure in impromptu comments during a visit to Rome's Anglican church, the first to the parish by a pope, to mark the 200th anniversary of its opening.

"My aides and I are studying the possibility of a trip to South Sudan," the pope said in response to a question about Christian Churches in Africa.

He recalled that last October the Catholic, Episcopalian and Presbyterian bishops came to Rome to discuss the situation in their country and invited him to visit.

Francis said they told him "but don't come alone, come with Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury". Welby is spiritual head of the worldwide Anglican communion, which counts about 85 million members and is the world's third-largest Christian denomination.

"The situation is a bit ugly down there but we have to do it because the three of them (the local bishops from different churches) together want peace and they are working together for peace," Francis said.

Oil-producing South Sudan, which became independent in 2011, descended into civil war in December 2013 when a dispute between President Salva Kiir and his sacked deputy Riek Machar ended with fighting, often occurring along ethnic lines. Both sides have targeted civilians, human rights groups say.

Kiir's government declared a famine in some part of the country last week.

South Sudan has been hit by the same east African drought that has pushed Somalia back to the brink of famine, six years after 260,000 people starved to death in 2011.

Francis said the trip would likely last just one day, which Vatican sources have said would be for security reasons. Francis gave no indication when it could take place but sources have said it would be this year.

The Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches have been split since 1534 when King Henry VIII broke with Rome to start the Church of England.

BOSTON--Starting tonight to Sunday evening, renowned TBN Televangelist David Turner will be leading the annual God is Calling Revival Conference at the Victory Family Church International (VFCI), an African Diaspora led multicultural church in Newtonville, near Boston.

The conference, hosted by the Victory Family church International in conjunction with David Turner Ministries (DTM) has become a big attraction to a wide mix of worshippers from diverse racial backgrounds in the region, including African immigrants, Latino immigrants, as well as American nationals , some of whom drive from as far as Connecticut.

According to Pastor Samuel Kasozi, pastor of the Victory Family Church International, the church is excited to once again welcome Dr. Turner to Boston to minister to the people.

"We are very happy and excited that Dr. Turner is once again coming to our church to lead in this annual conference. We are welcoming everyone from out there come and attend any of the sessions starting Friday evening, through Sunday evening. It will be a big blessing," Kasozi who hails from the Ugandan community told Ajabu African News.

The three day will kick off with a session on Friday night at 6.3o pm on Friday and Saturday,
followed by a Sunday morning service from 11am to 12.30pm.

A final revival praise and worship session will take place on Sunday evening from 5pm to 10pm.

The 2017 edition of the conference will be Turner's 4th straight year to worship with the African community.

During the 2016 edition, Turner revealed that his ministry was looking to partner with the VCFI to extend the Gospel to Africa with charitable work planned to kick off in Uganda.

The VFC church is located at 161 North st in Newtonville, MA.

For more info, Contact:
Pastor Samuel Kasozi: 617-538-2554
Dorothy Sebakka: 857-204-6067

BRIDEWATER, MA__A video recap of the first ever visit by the leader of the over 5 million strong Anglican communion in Kenya during is first ever visit to the USA where he visited members of the Faith Anglican church in Bridgewater who had been displaced from the All saints community church in Quincy.

There was drama in Nyeri town, central Kenya on Wednesday after a bishop was caught pants down with his pregnant sister-in-law.

PastorTimothy Wanyoike(40) and Scholar Kariuki, 21, were caught having sex by her husband Kariuki Macharia.

After finding the two in his one-bedroom house, Macharia descended on Wanyoike with kicks and blows, saying the two had been having the illicit affair for the last four years.

He said he had been monitoring his wife's text messages and decided to lay a trap by pretending he was away on a field assignment.

Residents jammed the estate and followed the drama which included the pastor's attempt to defend himself.

Wanyoike's wife, Margaret, also joined the scuffle and started beating him in anger.

The Sh10,500 that the bishop had taken to Scholar was recovered at the scene.

Police responded and took Wanyoike, who was seriously injured, to Nyeri divisional police station.

KENYA__A former church moderator and four other people were Wednesday charged with stealing Sh39.9 million.

David Gathanju, who served as the moderator of Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) General Assembly between 2009 and 2015, was charged alongside Esther Wanjiru, Peter Mwangi, Stephen Muhoro and James Muiruri, who are all former employees of the church.

According to the charge sheet, on diverse dates between January 2, 2016, and June 30, 2017, at PCEA headquarters in Nairobi's South C estate, the five conspired to steal from the church.

In a second count, they were accused of stealing Sh39.9 million, which came into their possession by virtue of their employment.

Four of them denied the charges before Principal Magistrate Stella Atambo but Mr Muiruri did not take a plea as his lawyer, Cyrus Gitari, said his client was sick and admitted in Thika Nursing Home.

The magistrate ordered the accused remanded until today, when the court will rule on their bail applications.

Cash bail

Representing Mr Gathanju, Robert Mutitu said: "I call on this court to take into consideration the age of the accused, who is now 64 years, and give him a cash bail. He is still in office as a clergyman and is ready to abide by the orders and terms of the court."

Danson Omari, representing the other three accused, requested a cash bail that was "reasonable and affordable".

"The three have since been fired by the church and are therefore praying to be granted a cash bail that is both reasonable and affordable," said Mr Omari.

Earlier, there was a heated debate between the defence, prosecution and the complainant about whether to defer the case or not.

Mr Mutitu said the church had mechanisms of dealing with such matters.

"The General Assembly a few months ago appointed a committee to deal with the matter and is yet to give its report. The church has not exhausted all its machinery in settling the dispute," he said.

Split church

Omari said charging the five would split the church, which has 10 million followers.

"Let us save the church by deferring the plea taking by the accused persons today. If the plea is taken, the damage (it) will do to the church will not be redone with consent to withdraw among the parties. Taking the plea could end up doing (more) harm to the church than the general welfare," he said.

The lawyers representing the church - Kimamo Muchiri and Henry Leparmarai - told the court they did not have proper instructions on the matter from their client.

"We have received... mixed reactions... therefore leave the court to direct on the matter," said Mr Kimamo.

LOWELL, Mass.,__Embattled pastor of the Kenyan community St. Stephen church in Lowell stepped down as main pastor and all administrative responsibilities. The unexpected development came through a 1 sentence statement read by Purity Muraya, a member of the board of directors, at the start of an unusually well attended service.

Reliable sources indicated that many parishioners, including some who had filed the court case against Kimohu, as well as others who had left the church in recent years when the disputes started had come back ready for a showdown to vote out the pastor after weeks of boardroom maneuvering failed to bear fruits.

However, Kimohu's move effectively thwarted the acrimonious situation, paving the way for a widely expected healing of bitter divisions and revival of one of the oldest Kenyan community churches in the region. The move came barely two weeks after the long serving pastor was welcomed back to the church in an emotional ceremony following a 9 month hiatus occasioned by a draining court battle against the American Anglican church, the affiliated oversight body that defrocked him due to allegations of "insubordination". Recap here (St. Stephen Pastors shed Tears of Joy)

THIS IS A BREAKIGN NEWS STORY. CHECK LATER FOR DETAILS

My Damascus Road Experience and the Return Journey Home to Catholicism.

The last several months found me very angry and distraught - with good reason. My state of mind was a result of my catholic anger getting the best of me and for this I have no regrets, apologies nor misgivings.

I listened to my anger and I found my voice and in this voice my calling to action and embarked on a personal journey whose first step encouraged me to leave the Church I have called home all my life. For those who are still wrapping their heads around the previous statement, here is a clarification: Yes, I left my Catholicism in search of answers and reconciliation!

In the months I have spent outside the Church I have used to engage my friends within the magisterium, to evaluate my faith and understand what it is that makes me very angry about what happened within the Church and mostly who most of the victims were and then the cover up took the proverbial cake!

At the very onset, I thought my anger was Unchristian, but upon further review, I remembered what they taught us in our early days in Sunday school. There were moments when Jesus was very angry and even acted on his anger. I am not claiming to be Him or even BLACK JESUS , that title has already been taken by RG III, but rather pointing out the fact that even in his own infinite wisdom, Jesus was angry at times. His anger was righteous and always in defense of others and never of himself.

I am writing today not because I intend to beat Catholicism to a pulp, I am writing because I believe in the Holy Catholic and apostolic church. I am writing because in my travels in search of answers I came across what I was once taught was one of the principal texts of the Second Vatican Council 'Lumen Gentium - The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church'.In its Chapter 4 section 33, the laity are called to defend the Church's primary mission of salvation.'Consequently, may every opportunity be given them so that, according to their abilities and the needs of the times, they may zealously participate in the saving work of the Church' the text directly asserts.

In my studying of the above text, a direct call to arms in defense of the faith of our parents, I had my'Damascus Road Experience'I realized that this Second Vatican Council's central document as promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1964 challenges the laity to hold accountable those within the same Magisterial hierarchy it establishes in matters concerning the well being of the Church - the bride of Christ.

I am making my amends to return home to seek to remedy the situation from within. I do not claim to have all the answers but the fact that it is hard, will not deter me from trying. Catholicism is more than the profession of faith and Sunday Masses, It is a way of life. I have no regrets about my anger, infact I consider it a gift from above and my own World view, God's misgivings with our past.

I am coming home where I belong, I return home battered but stronger, shaken but resolute, having doubted but in firm belief that the Church will weather the storm but it will take more than empty promises and moribund philosophies to reclaim her lost glory. It will take faith and action and the buck stops at we, the faithful.

Pope Francis, whose papacy has been marked by efforts to quell a global crisis over sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy, said on Tuesday he was committed to stopping the abuse of nuns by priests and bishops, some of whom had used the women as sex slaves.

Francis made his comments on the plane returning from Abu Dhabi in response to a reporter's question about an article last week in a Vatican monthly magazine about the abuse of nuns in the Catholic Church.

Recently more nuns, encouraged by the #MeToo movement, have been coming forward to describe abuse at the hands of priests and bishops. Last year, the International Union of Superiors General, which represents more than 500,000 Catholic nuns, urged their members to report abuse.

"It is true ... there have been priests and even bishops who have done this. I think it is still going on because something does not stop just because you have become aware of it," Francis said.

"We have been working on this for a long time. We have suspended some priests because of this," he said, adding that the Vatican was in the process of shutting down a female religious order because of sexual abuse and corruption. He did not name it.

"I can't say 'this does not happen in my house.' It is true. Do we have to do more? Yes. Are we willing? Yes," he said.

Francis said former Pope Benedict dissolved a religious order of women shortly after his election as pontiff in 2005 "because slavery had become part of it (the religious order), even sexual slavery on the part of priests and the founder".

He did not name the group but Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said it was a French order.

Before he became pope, Benedict was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican department that investigates sexual abuse. The pope at the time was John Paul.

Then-cardinal Ratzinger wanted to investigate the religious order where women were being abused but he was blocked, Francis said, without saying who prevented the probe.

After he became pope, Ratzinger reopened the investigation and dissolved the order, Francis said.

Pope Francis has summoned key bishops from around the world to a summit later this month at the Vatican to find a unified response on how to protect children from sexual abuse by clergy.

Asked if there would be some kind of similar action to confront abuse of nuns in the Church, he said: "I want to move forward. We are working on it."

BOSTON--In keeping up with his relentless promise to work with the African community in Boston in spreading the Good news and minister to the suffering, US televangelist, David Turner of David Turner Ministries will is back in Boston to hold a tow day conference starting tomorrow Saturday May 18 through Sunday evening.

According to organizers at the Victory Family Church International (VFCI), an African community church that has been hosting the TBN televangelist for the annual event consistently over the last 6 years, Turner has helped change many lives for the better every time he attends the convention.

"Since I met Dr. Turner at a conference in Dallas several years ago, and invited him to our church, life has never been the same. He has faithfully attended the conferences at our church every year and has healed many people in the process," Rev. Samuel Kasozzi, pastor of the VFCI church reminded worshipers during one of the recent annual events.

Rev. Samuel Kasozzi of Victory Family Church International with David Turner at  the conclusion of a recent annual worship convention at the African community church in newtonville near  Boston. PIC BY H.MAINA/AJABU AFRICA NEWS

The convention, dubbed “Miracles, signs and wonders” kicks off tomorrow at 5pm followed by a Sunday morning service held at the church located at 161 North street, Newtonville, MA 02460. It will end with a Sunday evening session held at the same venue.

The event has in the past attracted a large number of worshippers form many different races and immigrant communities from around Boston and beyond.

Organizers have extended an open invitation to all in the various communities to attend the 2019 edition of the convention.

For more information, contact: 508-797-2450