Bishop of Birkenhead leads team on visit to Congo

Sep 12 2012 by Liam Murphy, Heswall News

BISHOP of Birkenhead Keith Sinclair led a group from his church to build links with people in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The two week trip included visits to schools, medical centres and the new university college which is training students to be nurses in Aru, in the north-east of the country on the border with Uganda.

Bishop Keith said his group of 145 people was overwhelmed by the hospitality shown by their hosts.

The group also visited a rural church in Ekanga, where the bishop confirmed 290 people alongside Bishop Ande, the Bishop of Aru.

After the service Bishop Keith's team was given lunch by the village and as a gift of thanks the villagers presented the bishop with a chicken.

Bishop Keith said: “We thank God for this visit. We have learnt so much about hospitality, love and service that transcends conflict and war. We have much to learn as well as give and I pray this visit will help us do both well.”

Bishop Ande added: “You know your best friends during hard times. It is wonderful to have Bishop Keith and his team here in Congo and be able to share God’s love with people at the right time.”

The visit was part of a growing link between the Chester diocese and the dioceses of Aru and Boga in the DR Congo. More details of the link can be found on Chester’s diocesan website www.chester.anglican.org