KENYANS IN THE U.S. PRAY FOR PEACE

Father Opondo of St Johns Catholic Church, Winthrop, MA , leads Kenyan Faithful in a Mass after prayers for the Country of Kenya
 
By AjabuAfrica.com
Winthrop, Massachusetts, USA
January 11, 2008

Kenyans in USA thronged churches today to hold prayers for their beloved country, after weeks of traumatic news regarding the killings and violence that followed the disputed presidential election.

Churches in Lowell, Worcester, Lawrence, Winthrop, Attleboro, Quincy, Springfield, Dracut, Cambridge and elsewhere in Massachusetts saw massive turnouts of congregants.

At St. John’s Catholic Church in Winthrop, Bishop Wambua of Rapture Harvest Mission Church in Cambridge preached a message of peace and reconciliation for all affected parties. “The most important thing now is to focus on the welfare of our country. We need to identify the things that divide us so that in our communication we can avoid elevating those things to the extent where they can lead us to destruction”, he said.

Many Kenyans believe politicians should categorically and loudly ask their supporters to stop the killings and the violence. “Problems of the vote count should be addressed in a more civil manner”, lamented one sad Kenyan.

The priest of the Winthrop Catholic church, Father Opondo, vividly described the importance of unity and tolerance when people live together. He described how this principle has helped growth of the faithful in his church. “Are you praying for the beautiful country of Kenya that is being destroyed right now?” he enquired.

enyans Fill the St Johns Church in Winthrop MA to capacity

During the service, the master of ceremony, Mr. Kagunye, led Kenyans in setting January 19th, 2008 as the date to hold a fund raising ceremony in aid of the people affected by the ethnic violence in Kenya. The venue will be St. John’s Catholic Church in Winthrop.
Other people who joined the service were Rev. James Ngotho of St.  Stephen’s Church in Lynn, Rev. Frank Mwebesa, from Uganda, of Intercity Prayer Altars Network, Waltham and Pastor Jared Mlongecha, from
Tanzania, of International Gospel Church in                                                                                              Chelsea, Massachusetts.