With the Democratic Republic of Congo suffering through civil war, crippling inflation, natural disasters and tribal fighting, the Anglican Church of Australia is being asked to partner with the Congolese Church to help bring relief to the war-torn country.

This month, two respected Congolese church leaders will arrive in Australia for a two-month speaking tour of churches in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Adelaide.

The trip has been organised by returned CMS missionaries from Congo and Tanzania, who are now parishioners at churches across Australia. It will officially begin with the ‘Concert for Congo: Spread the Word, Stop the War 2003’, to be held in Penrith on February 22nd.

Bishop Masimango Katanda and Archdeacon Muhindo Isesomo have been invited to address Australians on the challenges and opportunities confronting the Anglican Church in the Congo.
Bishop Katanda’s Diocese of Kindu is the newest diocese in the Congo, with 48 parishes, 68 pastors and some 250 churches.

Despite destruction and upheaval of recent years, the Diocese has continued to grow. Work on a new Ministry Training Centre has begun and is prgressing slowly. The Centre will train clergy and evangelists both for ministry and in helping to physically rebuild their shattered homeland.
Archdeacon Isesomo, who visited Australia in 1999, is head of the Anglican Church’s Evangelism Department for the whole country.

During his last visit, funds were raised for the purchase of a motorcycle, which replaced an old bicycle to allow him to visit all areas of the vast country.

Also on the agenda for their visit are meetings with Federal Members of Parliament, where the possibility of more aid and support from Australia will be discussed.

Matthew Toulmin, a member of the organising committee for the tour and the son of former CMS missionaries in Congo, says the tour will allow Anglican Christians in Australia to understand what the Congolese Church is going through and provide appropriate support.
“The UN is present [in the Congo] but they are struggling for troops,” he said.
“With situations like Iraq and Afghanistan, it seems as though most countries have ‘bigger fish to fry’.”
While the Congo achieved independence in 1965, missionaries to the country regularly reported that conditions were becoming worse, not better. President Mobutu’s dictatorship was succeeded by that of Laurent Kabila, who was assassinated in 1999, leading to civil war.

Economic problems and tribal fighting – where much of the country has descended into almost total anarchy and barbarism – have been ongoing problems.

Refugees from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda have fled across the border, only to find themselves embroiled in Congo’s civil war.

In the short-term it is hoped that the Australian Church can provide financial and prayer support for its counterpart in the Congo.

However Mr Toulmin hopes the tour may see a return to Australia providing human resources.
“We are hoping to plant some seeds so that there might be some people that God will raise up to go and work there in the future,” he said.