The Eye of the Needle: Church Mission and Investment
*By Father Joseph Mkinga
In Luke 18:22, Jesus tells a wealthy young man to ‘sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor.’ Jesus goes on to say, ‘it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.’ When we look at both scripture and tradition, we find Christians wrestling with how to apply the teachings of Jesus and how to care for the poor. It is very clear that even among early Christians, the Acts of the Apostles and Pauline Churches, the teaching of renunciation of wealth never took root. However, there was a serious commitment to address the gap between the poor and the rich in their communities.
The motto of Karonga Diocese is ‘We shall go to them’. This motto is at the center of the nature of the Church as a mission. God’s plan of salvation is meant for all peoples and all nations (Mt 28:19). That’s what we see happening after Pentecost, Christ’s disciples go out to spread the Gospel. Evangelism, belongs to the very nature of the Church. There is no sharing in Christ without sharing in his mission. This focus on Christ’s mission of going to all peoples has a number of consequences for the missionary church. Echoing the words of Late Bishop Zuza of Mzuzu, ‘Nyengo yakwana’ (It is time) for the local church to support its own mission.
In order to reach out and touch everyone with the message of Christ within and beyond the diocese, Karonga Diocese requires enormous resources to fulfill the implications of its mission. To reduce overdependence on external financial assistance in support of its missionary initiatives enshrined in the motto; ‘we shall go to them’. The Diocese of Karonga embarked an investment drive through agribusinesses ventures. Among the initiatives is Chipunga Farms Limited; an agribusiness outfit that specializes in coffee and macadamia plantations.
The Diocese of Karonga acquired Chipunga Farms Limited in January, 2018. Chipunga Farms Limited is a limited liability company and to date, comprises of three farms namely; Mughese Coffee Farm at Misuku in Chitipa District, Chiwela Farm in Rumphi District and the main farm Chipunga Farm. Chipunga Farm has 286.46 hectares (ha) of land of which 160.0 ha is earmarked for coffee and macadamia plantations in the next 5 years. The farm is located in Chikwina, Nkhata-Bay District in Traditional Authority Mnyaluanga. It is 25 kilometres to the North East of Mzuzu City. The Farm has 37.0 ha of land planted with coffee in three stages, the older one is 5 years and is in its third harvest in 2023, the medium is 3-year-old and the other one is 1 years old. In addition to coffee, the farm has also 31.0 ha of macadamia, of which 18.79 ha is productive and 12.21ha of macadamia is 3 years old.
We have arrived at a critical juncture in our life together. We cannot deny the fact that life has changed a lot more than we envisaged. We are at a point where only the most adaptive to change survive (Charles Darwin). In as much as the Church wishes to spread the gospel, there is no denial of the role of money in fulfilling the church mission. We cannot cast a blind eye on the fact that external support is diminishing at a fast rate than we could wish.
While there has been considerable discernment about the best way of deploying our meagre financial resources collected from the faithful, we must recognize the sad reality before us. The Church does in fact require more financial assistance to pay salaries, maintain property, build churches, schools, hospitals and support all other institutions of evangelization including the radio station. At the same time, our reading of the signs of the times, has led us to understand that in addition to the many ministry projects that the diocese undertakes, our investment strategy and approach should be informed by our sense of vocation and call. St Paul, the Apostles, reminds us in Acts 18:1-4, that he made tents, in order to earn money to support himself in his real ministry of witnessing to Christ. It is certainly true that Paul wants to support himself. Yet his intention was not only to support himself in his preaching ministry, but also to provide financial support to the needy.
When Paul describes his economic impact among the Ephesians, he says: I coveted no ones’ silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to those who were with me, in all things I have shown you that by so toiling one must help the weak,remembering the words of Jesus Christ, how he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ (Acts 20:33-35).
Paul’s money earning work was an effort to build up the community. He sets an example for everyone to follow in enhancing the common good and support of the weak. This gives the basis for the diocese of Karonga to toil in order to help the weak and to support the mission. Tent making has become a common metaphor for the church to engage in a money-earning enterprise as means to support church mission. It is thus very clear that money-earning is for the building of the Kingdom of God. As such, the question is how moral is the enterprise that raises these funds. And of what benefit are the funds towards the common good.
Christian life has been marked by considered concern for the poor, a principle that bears witness to God’s goodness. From the days of Jesus Christ to the early church described in Luke-Acts, a wrestling with how to deploy financial resources for the common good has ensued. We find in the writings of early theologians like Clement of Alexander and St Augustine of Christians believing in a just society where resources are shared with those in need (The Epistle to Diognetus).
Though one cannot determine a precise starting point for socially responsible investing, there are elements of such conscientious practices in Christian tradition reminding us that humanity should use money for building the Kingdom of God, and not to exploit others. Otherwise, riches without a responsible social concern can yield worse outcomes and capitalist culture. Thus, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven if the money-earning enterprise is deprived of ethics. That is, if riches are not used for common good and for the building of the Kingdom of God.
The early church was intensely interested in the common good- in creating communities that ensured peoples essential needs were provided for. The leaders of the early church knew that they could never achieve such a reality without the spiritual and moral transformation of those who had the resources. They knew that they could never provide essential needs if the people saw their enterprise as singularly their own. Instead, the enterprises had the capacity to be used for the ministry to benefit both owners and those who had a need. And this ultimately, is the point I would like to leave you with. That one of the great spiritual transformations of Karonga Diocese is how people think about money. That the Diocese approaches money with intention and conviction about its purpose in spreading the Gospel and building the Kingdom of God.
In investing, Karonga Diocese, does not depart from traditional Christian teaching. It is merely embracing what has been traditionally and biblically taught. That by …going to them, it is our purpose and calling to minister to others using our spiritual gifts and financial resources ethically, mindfully and creatively. Only then could our riches help us lead us to heaven.
*The author, Rev. Fr. Joseph Mkinga, Acting General Manager for Chipunga Farms Limited
Justice and Peace Desk Trains Safeguarding Focal Persons
By Janet Mhango
From the 14th to the 15th of September, CCJP has trained the Safeguarding Focal Persons on safeguarding, case management, and referral. The training brought about 54 Safeguarding Focal Persons from 25 Catholic Primary Schools and 4 Catholic Secondary Schools in Chitipa District.
Through the training, CCJP has equipped these Safeguarding Focal persons with more skills to handle both reported and non-reported cases of abuse, creating a safe environment for students and contributing towards protecting the rights of children in respective schools.
This training was conducted because of the strong view that most issues regarding abuses in schools are swept under the carpet. Cases of abuse are barely reported. In addition, although the Diocese of Karonga established Safeguarding Focal Persons in all its institutions, they had implementation and enforcement gaps that needed them to be filled, hence the trained.
The Justice and Peace Desk of the Diocese of Karonga, with Funding from Misereor, is implementing a project in Chitipa District called “Gender Sensibilization and Safeguarding in the Diocese of Karonga.”
One of the objectives of the project is that Catholic Primary Schools have established systems for the protection of students. To achieve this objective, the project works with Safeguarding Focal Persons which are structures established by the Diocese of Karonga to handle safeguarding concerns and reported cases of abuse.
St Mauritius Secondary Set for Second Enrollment of Form I – Board
By Lino Nyirenda
The Board of Governors of St Mauritius Secondary School, meeting on 4th September, 2023, has confirmed that the School is set to receive the second cohort of Form I.
The school opened its doors to education on 10th October, 2022 with 100 Form I students. Selection to the school is done by both government (65%) and the Diocese of Karonga (35%). This means this year the school will have an enrollment of 200 students. The school which is under the proprietorship of the Diocese of Karonga is a Government Assisted school.
Speaking after touring the school, the Board Chairperson, Mr. Kaunda Gondwe said he has been satisfied with the readiness of the second hostel which has already been furnished with beds and mattresses and a second classroom block furnished with desks. Both the hostel and Classroom have a capacity of 100 students.
With financial support from the Diocese, the School’s Headteacher, Mr. Madalitso Mbalazada, reported that the school had already procured boarding requirements and teaching and learning resources. With great satisfaction he said that the school was set to commence the academic year on Monday, 11th September, 2023.
The office of the Education Division Manager (North) committed to send additional teachers to beef up the level of qualified staff, which is currently at 6. Departments of Sciences and Humanities are the most understaffed.
The Board mandated the School Management to include additional qualified assistant teachers on the school’s budget and also identify rentable accommodation for the new staff to be deployed by the Education Office.
The school continues to enjoy support from the Diocese, Ministry of Education and the surrounding community. “Certa bonum certamen”. We will continue to “fight a good fight”.
Pictorial Focus
A Call to Move Away From “Muzyoka Syndrome”: Reorienting Evangelization And Christian Praxis To Challenge Superstition
By Father Erick Nyondo
Over a period of time, the thrill and muse to write has never hit me. Surely, whether that has been out of choice or merely the focus on the “busyness attitude” that sometimes cripples hobbies, I still cannot describe. But I have been challenged with the discernible superstitious beliefs and conducts among the people I have for a limited time pastored. This has obliged me to coin a simple write up that would aid me evacuate my inner turmoil and disquiet over what I have observed and give suggestion for change.
It is a sad reality that 21st century Christian persons would still be chained in the shackles of superstitious beliefs and still adhere to the so called “witchfinders or witchdoctors”. The question that every reasonable pastoral worker would ask himself or herself in the fronts of these heinous beliefs would be: Has the Gospel of Light been entrenched in our souls? After all this charismatic and kerygmatic proclamation of the Gospel, why is the faith still skin-deep?
The honourable expectation is that with the advent of sophisticated academic progress, the technological and digital acceleration processes and inter-cultural confrontations we should all embrace more radicalized and liberalized mental-paradigm shifts by becoming more and more reasonable and logical. There is need for questioning our life circumstances and events and subject them to a relatively reasoned direction that would foster mental and spiritual maturation. The Gospel has been preached ever since to challenge our different beliefs, customs, attitudes and habits. It has powerfully exposed essential and reified conceptions of life and destiny. What a grace and fortune! To still expect in this “Reign of the Gospel of Light”, the presence of persons stuck in dark reign of superstitious beliefs and other related issues is sadly and worrisomely unfortunate.
To reiterate my pastoral experience and encounters in the couple of months that I have been a priest, I have been confronted with what I have styled in this article “Muzyoka Syndrome”. It relatively entails, the people’s desperate and perpetual recourse to magic, a flawed hope in the efficacy of certain rituals as being capable of unleashing certain hidden realities and intention and also a fatally flawed strategy of life that could decorate one’s fortunes without hard work and sacrifice.
The assumption of this terminology has further been enhanced basically by different sentiments that I have heard most often among the flock that I have pastored. For instance, I once heard someone at a funeral ceremony saying, “Mwana angafwa uli, kalipo kalipo, tamuchima”, literally meaning “How would a child just die? There must be something amiss, we will find out from the herbalist the truth of the cause of death”. Another Christian lamenting over the poor yield of his field uttered these words, “Mpunga wangu ghutacha kanunu, alipo uyo oyawila” literally meaning, “The harvest of my rice or the yield of my rice is not as I expected, there must be someone who has magically tampered with the yield”. These statements were pronounced by people who have been Christians for over twenty years. As a poor novice priest, with months’ experience, I felt deeply embarrassed, wounded and challenged. Deep in me, I felt a wave of unanswered questions. Do we as preachers have a problem? Do we really sow the seed that would yield a hundredfold? Would we ever be successful to engrave the Gospel of Light in the hearts of the people to ignite their credo in dark-moments?
All these unanswered questions led me to propose a better re-oriented approach to evangelization and Christian praxis. The following patterns of apostolate are my humble suggestions. We need to embrace a more mature and Christ-centred catechetical commitment as pastors of the Gospel of Light. This aspect should not be overlooked. It can be of help especially in introducing the young Sunday school children to the fundamental mysteries of life and its usual hiccups and align them to the mystery of Christ’s Gospel of Light which becomes clearer when life moments are precisely turbulent and overwhelming.
I would like to applaud the Diocese of Karonga in introducing Catechisms for instruction and faith formation. These Catechism, named Kasambizgani Mitundu Yose, have truly and continue to shape the faith of the Christians in the diocese. If we would move towards composing a Catechism on the Mystery of Suffering as grounded in the Paschal Mystery and orient the cries of the people to Christ’s redemptive paschal sighs in Garden of Gethsemane, their pains to the atoning thorns of Christ at Cavalry and their life suffocating moments to the hope of Easter Joy, we would eradicate the muzgoka syndromes that usually manifest in people’s dark times.
Secondly, there is a prompt need for the re-evangelisation of culture. What is expected for us ministers of the Gospel of Light in our confrontation with people’s cultural beliefs that are marred with awkward hopes in witchfinders and witchdoctors and their submission to “cleansing” rituals is to emphasize on the transformative power of the Gospel.
Furthermore, we need to make the Table of Sacrifice a “True Ritual” where everyone submitted to the Eucharistic Banquet would realize in their life a mysterious explanation of the life’s tragedies as being answered by Christ who is Broken and Shared to give us all a true meaning and dignity amidst torments. This demands a well-founded mutual intimacy with Christ, a deep rooted spirituality and an aggressive witnessing. We need to let the Gospel of Light radiate in all our parochial circumferences. Each ray of this Gospel must find its destination in a people so apt to transformation.
We all as ministers must fight the muzgoka syndrome so soberly, seriously and aggressively carrying the emblem of Christ’s Pasch.
Bishop Mtumbuka Warns Newly Recruited Employees Against Fraud
By Trifornia Mtawali
Bishop Martin Anwell Mtumbuka of Karonga Diocese has challenged the newly recruited staff members and all workers of the diocese to keep away from fraud and corruption because these malpractices injure the less privileged they are meant to serve.
Bishop Mtumbuka stressed on this during an orientation meeting on Friday with the new employees in a five year Community Transformation Project being implemented in the diocese.
Bishop Mtumbuka said corruption is one of the factors contributing to worsening poverty in various societies and it is not only against the laws of the country but also the laws of the Catholic Church hence anyone taking part in such vices has to be punished accordingly.
On another note, Bishop Mtumbuka also expressed gratitude seeing increasing numbers of females showing interest to work with the diocese, which proves that the diocese is an equal opportunity employer. He further added that a lot is to be done in making sure that these female employees get senior and decision making positions as this will strengthen women empowerment as well as gender equality policies.
Speaking after the meeting, the Pastoral Secretary, who also works as Bishop’s Secretary, for Karonga Diocese Father Robert Songa encouraged the youths to be responsible and lead by example in societies they will be working in and refrain from excessive drinking of alcohol to preserve morals in the country.
Father Songa made these remarks following the recruitment of several qualified youths in various positions in the diocese. Community Transformation Project will be implemented at Jalawe in Rumphi District, Kopakopa in Chitipa District, and Chankholombe in Karonga District focusing on issues to do with Agriculture, Health, Education, and Pastoral among others.
APPOINTMENT OF THE VICAR GENERAL OF KARONGA DIOCESE
Announcement
His Lordship Rt. Rev. Martin Anwel Mtumbuka of the Diocese of Karonga has appointed Rev. Fr. Laurent Chogawana Dziko as the Vicar General. This follows the passing of Mons. Denis Solomon Chitete, who until his death on 24th December, 2021, was the Vicar General of the Diocese of Karonga.
Monsignor Lorent Chogawana Dziko was born on 28th June, 1968 at Kasina, in Dedza District. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Dedza on 14th September, 2002 at Mua Parish. The late Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Kanyama sent him to the Diocese of Karonga as a Fidei Donum priest on 18th May 2012.
Monsignor Lorent Chogawana Dziko has served in various parishes such as St. Anne’s, St. Mary’s, St. Steven’s, Immaculate Heart of Mary, and currently he is the Parish Priest of St. John Paul II Parish and Moderator of St. Elijah Sub-Parish. He is also the Member of the College of Consultors, the Chairperson of the Diocesan Pastoral Commission, the Dean of Kapoka Deanery, the Diocesan Lay Apostolate Chaplain, the Diocesan Chaplain of the Kolping Society, and the Chairperson of the Diocesan Events Committee.
The appointment of Mons. Lorent Chogawana Dziko as the Vicar General of the Diocese of Karonga illustrates the fact that although a priest is either incardinated to a particular diocese or is a member of a particular religious congregation, he is ultimately a son and servant of the Universal Church which is a great honour that God has bestowed on all of his humble servants.
We all join His Lordship Rt. Rev. Martin Anwel Mtumbuka, in wishing our new Vicar General the very best as his begins, besides his many other pastoral ministries, this challenging but noble ministry in the Diocese of Karonga. We most sincerely assure him of our full support and prayers.
With most sincere best wishes and prayers,
Fr. Joseph M. Sikwese
THE BISHOP’S SECRETARY
Bishop Mtumbuka Hands over Houses to Victims of Violence
By Wezi Mwangonde
Bishop Martin Anwel Mtumbuka of the Diocese of Karonga has officially handed over 22 houses to victims of violence caused by witchcraft accusations and chieftaincy succession wrangles at a function which took place at Ngerenge in Karonga District.
Speaking during the official handover ceremony, Bishop Martin Anwel Mtumbuka challenged traditional leaders to stop fueling violence in their areas by promoting fairness when settling disputes. The Bishop expressed concern that some conflicts are caused by traditional leaders due to lack of justice when settling disputes.
“The truth is that most of the times violence is caused by traditional leaders because of unfairness in dealing with chieftainship succession, land demarcation and allocation of development projects. Our plea to traditional leaders is to always exercise justice when handling these issues to maintain peace,” said Bishop Mtumbuka.
In his remarks, T/A Kilupula appreciated the peacebuilding efforts of the Diocese of Karonga. He also expressed a word of gratitude for the support the Diocese renders to the people in the area.
He added that traditional leaders have a responsibility to build peace in their areas through closer collaboration with their community members.
“Yes we have a responsibility to bring peace in our communities but there are some individuals who fuel violence but they do not understand the causes very well for example witchcraft accusations which traditional have always spoken against,” explained Kilupula.
With financial support from the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart in Germany, the Caritas Commission of the Diocese of Karonga implemented the “Transforming Conflict and Resettle Internally Displaced People” project. Under the objective of resettling internally displaced people, the Diocese has constructed 8 houses in Chakwera Village, 3 houses in Ngerenge, 1 house in Lupembe, 5 houses at Majaliro, 3 houses at Fulirwa, 1 house in Mwanjabala Village and 1 in Kafikisira Village.
The project has distributed food and other basic household items to 540 victimised and vulnerable households; 210 in Mpata (Mwankenja Mwangonde, Mwawembe Kalambo and Mwentete villages) and 330 in Chakwera Village. The project also engaged 2,500 people in conflict transformation process in the district in the areas of Paramount Chief Kyungu and T/A Kilupula.
Karonga Diocese Priests Trained in Catholic “Scouting”
By Memory Moyo
With an aim of making sure that priests of Karonga Diocese are working hand in hand with Catholic Scouts in their respective parishes, the Diocesan Catholic Scout has trained the priests to understand the concept of scouts.
Speaking in an interview at Mikoma Lodge in Karonga District, the Diocesan Chaplain of Catholic Scouts Fr. Joseph Mkinga said it can be very easy for priests to work together with the scouts if only they know how scout is operating.
“It was difficult for our priests to collaborate with the Scouts because they had limited understanding on how Scouts operate. So I believe that this meeting has enlightened them on the operations of the Scouts,” Father Mkinga narrated.
On his part, one of the participants Fr. Atupele Kuyokwa from St, Ignatius Parish said it has indeed been difficult to work with Scouts in his parish as he was not well acquainted with the principles of Scouts. Therefore Fr. Kuyokwa has appreciated the knowledge gained through the meeting.
“I really appreciate Fr. Mkinga for organizing this meeting with an aim to making us understand how we can work with our Catholic Scouts. Honestly, it was very difficult for us,” Kuyokwa said. The Catholic Scout of the Diocese of Karonga started its official operation on 19th October, 2019, under the initiative of Bishop Aniwel Mtumbuka of the Diocese of Karonga
Success Story: Benedict Nyondo’s Spiritual Journey with VLCFF
By Benedict Reshas Nyondo*
I enrolled with the Virtue Learning Community for Faith Formation (VLCFF), offered by the University of Dayton in collaboration with the Diocese of Karonga, by the grace of God. My name together with others had been submitted to the diocese. I realized most of the people on the list were teachers from both primary and secondary schools. There were also Catechetical Methodology Advisors for the Catholic schools in the diocese. We were soon invited for orientation since it was the first time for most of us to take online courses.
I remember very well the first five-week course in Images of Jesus started on 28th May, 2017. Since that time VLCFF has not only changed my lifestyle but has transformed my way of living. The studies, reflection writing and the discussions on the board with fellow students from various dioceses have been very helpful to my spiritual formation. The beginning looked so humble that I could hardly realize that I could reach this far. The Images of Jesus, however, gave me hope that the journey would bear fruits.
Some of the courses covered like The Sacraments were practical in nature such that I would, in most of the times, use them either for my daily activities or use them for my students’ lessons. I honestly found some courses quite enriching. For instance, the Introduction to Prayer course was very touching.
I liked the mode of online lesson delivery with very effective and reliable facilitators. There is no time wasted when one gets enrolled with VLCFF. The courses were so motivating that one felt like going on with learning. As a teacher, I found the courses quite helpful. The courses added more information to my old catechism classes to the extent that I was more knowledgeable than before.
As a catechist, there is one particular learning experience that I gained most, lesson planning. I must accept that as a teacher, I am quite aware how important a lesson plan is for the effective delivery of the lesson in class. But to plan for a catechism class, it was like a taboo. I used to have only short notes for the lesson. After going through this course, I appreciate the importance of the lesson plan for the class. It is through the planning that a teacher discovers what resources may be required in the course of lesson delivery. The lesson plan is, therefore, instrumental in soliciting the right materials or resources for teaching.
On discussion boards, I learned a variety of experiences from other ethnic groups but with one Catholic faith. I remember very well to have enjoyed learning from the dioceses that allow their parishioners to kneel when receiving the Eucharist. I liked it because it shows our deep respect for Jesus Christ, who is present in the Blessed Sacrament.
Time management is another area of achievement that I attribute to VLCFF. Being a secondary school teacher with other responsibilities attached to the profession; it was not easy to meet the due dates for the assignments. As if that was not enough, black outs were the order of the day. Above all these challenges, I had to make sure time was respected. There were times when things went beyond my control. These are times facilitators came to my rescue with their proper guidance and encouragement.
My success for my spiritual growth with VLCFF is evident in many ways. My performance as a school catechist is from nothing but VLCFF. The skills gained in planning the lessons help me in delivering catechesis as well as conducting Sunday services in communities outside the school campus during holidays. VLCFF has made it possible that I should reach out the communities. Reaching out such communities is in agreement with the diocese’s motto: “We shall go to them”.
*Benedict Reshas Nyondo was installed Reader on 13th November, 2021. This is one of the two ministries one is supposed to receive before receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders. He will be ordained Permanent Deacon in July, 2022.
Karonga Diocese Has One New Priest
By Benjamin Msowoya
Bishop Martin Anwel Mtumbuka of the Diocese of Karonga on Saturday ordained Deacon Erick Nyondo to priesthood during a solemn Eucharistic celebration which took place at St Joseph the Worker Cathedral.
The celebration attracted Catholic faithful and people of goodwill from within and outside the diocese. Following his ordination, Father Erick Nyondo brings the number of Diocesan Priests to twenty. Father Erick Nyondo will begin his priestly ministry as a Curate at St Ignatius Parish (Nthalire).
During the same celebration, the Bishop admitted Mr Benedict Nyondo, of Immaculate Heart of Mary (Chisankhwa) Parish, to the Ministry of Reader (Lector), on his journey to becoming a Permanent Deacon next year. This is the first of the two ministries one has to receive on the journey to receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Mr Nyondo completes this journey in July, 2022, and will become the first ever Permanent Deacon in Malawi.During the same event, Bishop Mtumbuka also blessed the cassock of Novice Jeremias Villalba of the Society of St Elijah (a Missionary Society that complements well the Diocese’s Ad Gentes missionary activities) and are working in Chisenga in the Diocese of Karonga.
