Bishop Mtumbuka Urges Junior Sunday School Children to be Instruments of Peace
By Phillip Chisi
Bishop Martin Anwel Mtumbuka of the Diocese of Karonga has urged Junior Sunday School children to be instruments of peace in their homes and communities.
Bishop Mtumbuka said this on Sunday at St Mary’s Karonga Girls Secondary School when he interacted with over 260 children from all corners of the Diocese at this year’s Diocesan Junior Sunday School Rally.
The Bishop stressed that children have a bigger role to play in the promotion of peace. He further assured the children that the Church will continue to teach to be instruments of peace and on ways of resolving conflicts among themselves among themselves or among those they know.
In the same vein, the Bishop has declared, effective 26th August, 2018, children should be singing or reciting Franciscan Prayer of Peace in their Mass between communion and thanksgiving hymn across the Diocese. The Bishop further asked the children to emulate St Francis’ desire for peace.
The rally was held under the theme, “Children the Instruments of Peace”. The aim of the rally was to give children a platform to share their experiences including their challenges from spiritual and social aspects. Both the Pastoral and Caritas commissions were involved in facilitating the discussion.
Bishop Mtumbuka further assured the young ones that he will attend to the issues they raised during the meeting. Some of the issues presented ranges from inadequate schools and teachers, gender based violence in their families and communities which affect their wellbeing, and many more.
The children also expressed experience with the work of the different arms of the Diocese, most especially, the Justice and Peace Desk and Tuntufye FM Radio.
The Bishop further thanked all the Sunday school instructors for taking care of the children and urged them to work with humility and persistence.
The Vicar General of the Diocese of Karonga Monsignor Denis Chitete led the opening Mass of Saturday the 25th of August. The Bishop presided over the closing Mass on Sunday evening.
In Karonga Diocese Junior Sunday school consist of children aged between six and fourteen.
2018 Third INTERPLAST Team Arrives in Karonga Diocese
By Vincent Shaba
On the 18th of August, a third INTERPLAST Team in 2018 arrived from Germany. This is a 5 member team of Orthopedic Surgical Specialist comprising of Dr. Joachim Groschel (Anaesthetist), Dr. Thomas Vasters (Surgeon), Angelike Moehrer (Surgical Nurse) Barbra Hippler (Nurse anaesthetist) and Phillip Groschel (Assistant).
The Specialists were picked at the Kamuzu International Airport and spent a night in Mzuzu before arriving at Chitipa District Hospital the following day on the 19th. This team of specialists will assist patients with orthopedic conditions including fractures, cleft lips and palates, malformation of hands/legs, extensive burn scars, bone and soft tissue tumours until the 30th of August.
Chairperson of Interplast Team, Dr. Michael Shidelko, will join the team on 27 August. The team was very delighted upon arrival full of energy to fulfill their mission of serving Malawians with the above conditions.
Interplast Team’s visits to Malawi in general, and Karonga Diocese in Particular, are a result of the request Bishop Martin Anwel Mtumbuka made to the Team’s Chairperson.
Karonga Diocese Releases 2018 Form 1 Selection For Catholic Secondary Schools in the Diocese
By Admin
Out of the 399 candidates who sat for the final entrance examinations, 145 students passed and selected to different secondary schools. To fill the remaining 44 places, the Diocese looked for suitable candidates outside the Diocese. Mzuzu Diocese has sent some students to these schools and other students have been supplied by Livingstonia Synod of the CCAP.
In terms of parishes, the students have been selected as follows: Livingstonia Parish 0, St. Matthias Parish 1, St. Ignatius Parish 3, St. John Paul II Parish 4, St Anne’s Parish 7, St. Steven Parish 8, St Michael’s Parish 37, St. Joseph the Worker Cathedral Parish 38, and St. Mary’s Parish 47.
Congratulations to successful candidates.
Development Desk of the Diocese of Karonga Support Mwakenja Mwangonde Village with Relief Items
By Deodatus Muriya (Head of Department M & E)
The Desk Officer for Development Mr Franklin Msiska has urged Mwankenja Mwangonde villagers to desist from selling relief items they have received courtesy of the Diocese of Karonga but rather use them for the benefit of their households.
Mr Msiska made these remarks on 16th August, 2018 in Mwankenja Mwangonde Village where the Desk distributed relief items to the villagers, who were once victims of internal displacement following a violent conflict with neighbouring villages.
This is part of the Diocese of Karonga’s efforts to help these villagers in their resettlement process after spending nine months in exile. The Diocese has since December last year been supporting them with farm inputs and food.
Among the items distributed to each household were food items such as a 50 kilogram bag of maize, 10 kilograms of sugar beans, 10 kilograms of Likuni Phala and 2 litres of cooking oil. Other no food items included 4 pieces of cooking pots, 5 pieces of eating plates, 5 cups, and four pieces of blankets. The villagers also received farm inputs such as 50 kilogram of NPK fertilizer, 50 kilograms of Urea, 10 kilograms if maize seed, 3 bundles of cassava cuttings and three bundles of sweet potato vines.
In his remarks, Village Headman Mwankenja Mwangonde thanked the Diocese of Karonga for the continuous support being provided to his subjects. He assured the Diocese that the relief items given to them will not be sold but used for the benefit of the community.
The Diocese of Karonga is implementing these resettlement interventions with financial support from the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart in Germany.
Justice and Peace Desk Drills Community Action Groups in PETS
By Vincent Bwinga
The Justice and Peace Desk of Karonga Diocese on 17 August, 2018 trained members of Community Actions Groups (CAGs) from Mbande and Lupembe Area Development Committees in Karonga District on Public Expenditure Tracking Survey (PETS).
The CAGs are an important part in the implementation of the Desk’s Citizen Action for Local Government Accountability Project (CALGA) project. The project strives to contribute towards transparency and accountability in the management of local development resources in district councils in Malawi.
The training imparted on the CAGs skills and knowledge on how to track development resources systematically from the source to the beneficiary by looking at the allocation of resources, receipt, utilization and results.
This training comes against the background where there is seeming underdevelopment in most areas of Malawi despite resources being disbursed for the same. Citizens rarely challenge duty bearers, collectively, to account for the resources due to among other things limited access to information on local development resources, and lack of knowledge at community level and poor coordination.
The Justice and Peace also took the CAG members through Local Government Act, Decentralization Policy, public finance and guidelines for development resources. This is so because the CAGs will be the nucleus from which community demand for participation, transparency and accountability in development activities from the district councils will grow.
Speaking after the training, Reverend Msowoya of Lupembe ADC commended the training saying they now have the basis for which to demand transparency and accountability.
“Community structures and citizens are being challenged by the district council because of lack of enough information that can guide them to demand what they want. The knowledge gained here will help us move our communities to actively and collectively track allocation and utilization of local government resources in their areas,” said Msowoya.
Similar activity will be conducted in other the areas of traditional authorities Kilupula and Wasambo in Karonga District and Kameme, Mwenemisuku and Mwabulambia in Chitipa District.
Citizen Action for Local Government Accountability is a three year project funded by Irish Aid through Danish Church Aid.
179 Catholics from St. John Paul II Parish Receive the Sacrament of Confirmation
By Brian Kachitete CMA
The Vicar General of the Diocese of Karonga Monsignor Denis Chitete on Saturday August 19, 2018 administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to 179 Christians at St John Paul II Parish in Chitipa District. The 179 Christians ranged from Sunday school children, youths and adults. Before the confirmations these Christians had undergone three weeks of intensive lessons.
In his homily, Monsignor Chitete reminded the faithful on the significance of the Sacrament of Confirmation.
“The sacrament you are receiving today is not just a symbolic gesture. This sacrament symbolizes that you are now adults. You must fully and actively participate in the life and activities of the Church,” said the Monsignor.
He also challenged the Christians who received the Sacrament to show the fruits of receiving the Holy Spirit in their daily lives in their villages. He urged them to show real signs of transformation, that people should see change in them.
‘‘When you go to your different homes, people should see the difference in you. Show to the world that you have received the Holy Spirit,’’ He said.
This is the second Confirmation to take place in St. John Paul ll Parish since it was established two years ago.
Bishop Mtumbuka Exhorts Newly Confirmed Christians to Profess and Live their Faith
By Phillip Chisi CMA
On Sunday the 19th August 2018 Bishop Martin Anwel Mtumbuka of Karonga Diocese administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to 390 Christians at St Mary’s Parish in Karonga District. In the Catholic Church, Confirmation is described as the rite of passage to spiritual adulthood.
In his sermon, the Bishop related the conferring of the Sacrament of Confirmation to the Pentecost event with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with His graces on the confirmed. Just as the apostles came out to preach boldly after the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Sacrament of Confirmation helps and gives Christians the ability to live their faith in every sphere of their lives and to witness Christ in every situation.
“Not only do the sacraments reveal God to us, but they also serve to make us receptive to God. All the sacraments affect our personal relationship to God and to one another. The Holy Spirit works through the Sacraments. He leads us to Christ who unites us with the Father,” the Bishop said.
“We need to stand unshaken, profess and live our Catholic faith at all the times. Let us not be carried away by others, we have to stick to what we profess. By participating in the sacraments, we draw closer to God,” the Bishop said.
He further urged all Christians to participate fully in the life the Church, also through their small Christian communities because through them Christians grow together spiritually and materially.
The ordinary minister of Confirmation is the Bishop, who is the Chief Shepherd and possess the fullness of priesthood. In other cases, the Bishop grants this faculty to a priest of his choice to administer the sacrament on his behalf.
The newly confirmed have completed a three year catechumenate in line with the Episcopal Conference of Malawi’s guidelines for Christian initiation. These have passed through several steps during which they progressively received catechumen oil, cross, Sacrament of Baptism, First Communion and ultimately Sacrament of Confirmation.
Development Desk Trains Mwankenja Mwangonde Villagers in crop production
Deodatus Muriya (Head of M&E Department)
From 8 to10 August, 2018, the Development Desk of the Diocese of Karonga conducted training in crop production at Mwankenja Mwangonde Village, TA Kyungu in Karonga District.
These villagers spent about nine months away from their village following a violent conflict with neighbouring villages. The Diocese of Karonga, through the Justice and Peace Desk, in collaboration with other key stakeholders played a crucial role in resolving the conflict and bringing the conflicting parties together.
Now the Development Desk is helping in the post-conflict resettlement process by providing livelihood support in terms of relief food and crop production. The resettlement interventions to these once internally displaced people are being funded by the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart- Germany.
The topics covered during the training included group formation and dynamics, winter cropping and its technologies for crops like vegetables, maize and tomato. Farmers have also been trained in controlling fall armyworm attack using integrated pest management approach.
The Desk Officer for Development Franklin Msiska thanked the communities for active participation during the training and encouraged them to practice what they have learnt in their garden.
Village Headman Mwankenja Mwangonde thanked Karonga Diocese for the continuous support it has been providing to his subjects. He further asked the Diocese also to support other people within the Diocese who are also in need.
The training was facilitated by the Agricultural Extension and Development Officer (AEDO) for Mpata section and farmers were divided into five groups. Through these groups, they will plant maize and vegetables which will provide food and income, in case they sell the green maize and vegetables, hence improving food security and living standards at household level.
Bishop Mtumbuka Confirms 317 Christians at Kasantha: Calls for Peace
By Ignatius Mvula
On Friday, 10th August 2018, Bishop Martin Mtumbuka reiterated his call to Christians and people of goodwill to preserve peace in their areas.
The Bishop made this call, in his address to the gathering at St Steven’s Parish (Kasantha), after administering the Sacrament of Confirmation to 317 Christians. The area under St Steven’s Parish is usually affected by violent conflicts over land, witchcraft allegations and chieftaincy wrangles.
“As a Church and people of good will, we are all invited to proclaim peace in our societies. We cannot be indifferent, when people who are advanced in years are being beaten or driven out of their homes. This is uncalled for,” said Bishop Mtumbuka.
He added that it is a contradiction to say that we are Christians and live a life which is contrary to the core values of Christianity.
“It is deception to come to Church in large numbers or administer sacraments to huge numbers of people yet there is no genuine love and reconciliation among us,” said the Bishop.
“In as far as we are concerned, we shall never keep silent when old people are being tortured, beaten, accused for no reason at all, all people are dignified regardless of their age or status, so we must treat them with that dignified status” Said Right Reverend Mtumbuka drawing applause from a cathedral that gathered at the parish.
The Bishop said in clear terms that terms that all Catholics involved in all kinds of violence will be excommunicated from sacramental life.
The Bishop encouraged the youth and Sunday school children to concentrate on school so as to grow into trustworthy adults.
“The Pastoral Commission must ensure that our youth and children are well prepared in the Catholic faith so that their life does not contradict what they say and do,” said the Bishop.
The Catechetical Methodology Advisor for Kasantha Parish, Mr Bernard Nyasulu attributed the large numbers of people joining the Catholic faith to the work of Tuntufye FM Radio and the new catechism of the Diocese.
“The radio has played a big role in drawing people to the Catholic Church. Secondly, the catechism has had a huge impact on the people,” said Mr Nyasulu.
The Parish Priest of Kasantha Father Laurent Dziko thanked God for this year’s harvest where 132 people were baptised and 317 were confirmed. Out of the confirmed 91 are Sunday school children while 58 were youth.
Bishop Mtumbuka Impressed with Progress of Work at Chipunga Farm
By Admin
Bishop Martin Anwel Mtumbuka has expressed satisfaction with the work being done on Chipunga Farm Limited, which belongs to Karonga Diocese.
The Bishop made these remarks in a message after a three hour tour of the farm. The Bishop said he is very pleased with the work being done on the farm. In comparison with what he saw last week at Mughese Farm in Misuku, the Bishop said there is a “huge scale of work being done” at Chipunga.
“The nursery of macadamia has started off very well and the one of coffee is huge and impressive. Those who worked on the water system did an excellent job,” reads part of the message.
“The size of the Farm itself makes it very clear that this is a huge and challenging project for but also a very big blessing for it… [is] such a huge and highly viable farm,” said the Bishop.
“If in ten years’ time this Diocese can’t be self-reliant financially, we will have only ourselves to blame and future generations will not forgive us,” said the Bishop.
The Bishop Mtumbuka is also impressed with the work being done at the livestock farm in Nthalire, where he visited three weeks ago. Bishop thanked the officers involved in these projects.