PNNE to Hold Meeting on Ushindi Church by Harrison Maina, Ajabu Africa News, posted FEB 25, 2011
LOWELL,Mass.,_The unfolding saga at the Kenyan Community Presbyterian church (Ushindi) takes a new turn this week when the Presbytery of Northern New England, (PNNE) announced a special meeting this Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Eliot Presbyterian Church, located at 273 Summer Street, Lowell.
The meeting that will start at 2:30PM will be held in response to requests by many members the church to have a platform for discussions without fear of intimidation.
In an open letter and blog entry through Ajabu Africa News, addressed to the members and friends of the Ushindi church, Rev. Stephen Quinlan, who one week ago was barred from delivering a notice to the church leaders challenging the validity of Dr. Anthony Mumbui Karimi return to the pulpit without the clearance from the PNNE, said that the Presbytery is trying to work with members of the Ushindi church to resolve a “serious conflict in the congregation”.
During the visit to Ushindi church, Rev. Quinlan was accompanied by Elder Darnall Burks, a member of the PNNE Committee on Ministry.
Rev. Quinlan, was the lead prosecution counsel during the sex abuse trial against Dr. Karimi that took place in Bedford, New Hampshire in November last year.
After about 11 hours of a marathon trial followed by another 3 hours of jury deliberation, Dr. Mumbui was found guilty on 3 counts of sexual abuse and sexual malfeasance. He was also temporarily excluded from office and ordered to undergo six-months of supervised counseling.
However, according to Rev. Quinlan, shortly after the trial, Dr. Mumbui exercised his right of appeal to a higher church court at the Synod of the Northeast (PCUSA) which the Synod agreed to hear, and clearly informed Dr. Karimi that the appeal did not absolve him from the guilty verdict until heard and determined, and therefore he did not have the right to return to his pastoral office.
Rev.Stephen Quinlan
But before the appeal was heard, “Dr. Mumbui, in defiance of the decision of the church court returned to the Ushindi fellowship and represented himself as the pastor”, said Rev. Quinlan in his open letter.
“Dr. Mumbui was notified that this was an illegal action and that he was to cease all such activity. Again he defied the authority of PNNE and renounced his membership and the jurisdiction of PNNE. He is therefore no longer and ordained minister of the PCUSA and has no legitimacy as pastor of the Ushindi fellowship. By renouncing his membership in the PNNE, Dr. Mumbui has also abandoned his appeal”, he added.
Rev. Quinlan also said that in spite of the developments; Dr. Karimi has continued to represent himself as a pastor of the Presbyterian Church in East Africa (PCEA), and asserts that the Kenyan Community Presbyterian Church (Ushindi) is not a fellowship of the PCUSA, but is guided by the rules of the PCEA.
This, Quinlan added, is in contrast to information availed by a top official of the PCEA church in Kenya.
Several phone calls and an email requesting clarification from the PCEA headquarters in Nairobi Kenya have not been immediately returned.
Rev. Quinlan added that reports have reached the presbytery that “as Dr. Karimi continued to occupy the pulpit, he disseminates false and misleading information in order to confuse the congregation and bend them to his will”.
Due to this, “Concerned members of the Ushindi fellowship have made urgent appeal to the PNNE to intervene and stop to Dr. Mumbui’s divisive interference with the Ushindi fellowship”, added the Reverend.
Multiple reliable sources said that during the service last Sunday, Dr. Karimi took to the microphone and led a meeting that sought to address the situation of his return to church and chart the way forward.
According to the sources, and fired -up bloggists from Ushindi church who rely on IT to air their views, Dr. Karimi did not give satisfactory answers to questions regarding his sex abuse accusations and abrupt return to the church where he has been conducting sermons during the last several weeks.
Asserting that Ushindi church is not a member of PCUSA under the oversight of the presbytery of Northern New England, Dr. Karimi did not explain to the congregation when that arrangement changed, bloggists and other sources challenged Dr.Karimi.
According to the sources, the meeting on Sunday ended with threats to the previous board members to hand over all the books of accounts and the Ushindi church funds to the newly elected board. The new board was declared null and void by the PNNE as the elections that were held to usher in the board “did not follow the rules”.
Mumbui Karimi, former pastor of PCEA Ushindi church in Lowell , Massachusetts
Sources say that Dr. Karimi criticized the media for reporting negative matters happening in the African community churches, even though many people say that hiding community issues in gutters leads to unresolved problems that impact negatively on the community.
In many cases, the majority of the people in the African community are poorly informed about issues of concern happening in their churches as they are always too busy attending to work and daily chores to pay attention to details of what was going on.
Three years ago, another round of feuding at the Ushindi church led to problems that ended with the splitting of the church. 10 out of 14 board members who differed with Dr. Karimi on money issues at the time walked away from the church to form a new church now known as PCEA Imani church, located on 6 Rock street in Lowell, less that 3 miles from the current Ushindi church.
PCEA Imani church has now grown to over 80 members and is in the process of purchasing a permanent place of worship.
Many Kenyans interviewed ny Ajabu Africa News said that they are attached to the Ushindi church and it's members in one way or the other, and would not want to see any further breakup, hoping that the current issues can be resolved in accordance with respect to each other and the legally available tools without causing any further heartache in the close knit Kenyan community.
Despite repeated requests, Dr. Karimi, have not yet issued a statement to the media to clarify his position in the rapidly unfolding saga captivating Kenyans in the entire USA.
The Sunday meeting will take place at the Eliot Presbyterian Church at 273 Summer Street, Lowell on Sunday, February 27, 2011 at 2:30PM.
According to Rev. Quinlan, “Top officials of the Presbytery will be present to explain fully and accurately the situation and answer questions. “All members and friends of the Kenyan Community Presbyterian Church (Ushindi) are invited to attend”. Read full open invitation letter here >>
