Pastors Cry Foul for Sex Abuse Case aftermath, Plan Prayers Tomorrow

by Harrison Maina, Ajabu Africa News, posted December 18, 2010-Updated 12/19/10-7.00pm

LOWELL, Mass., _Several pastors of the Kenyan community churches in Massachusetts have complained of a negative image towards them that has resulted from the aftermath of the recent sex abuse case where a pastor was found guilty by a church based court of 3 counts of sex abuse related charges, with a prayer meeting planned tomorrow at the saint Stephens church in Lowell for the family of the pastor involved.

The  results of the case, that was tried by the Permanent  Judicial Commission (PJC) a special court  appointed  by the 2.3 million member Presbyterian church of USA to deal with disputes  within the church, brought an outcry from members of the public who have  accused  a few other pastors of bad behavior contrary to the word they teach.

 The case also brought sharp focus to the running and administration of the local Kenyan community churches with most Kenyans saying that would like to see their churches operate under some larger church governing authority which would result in more transparency and accountability at running their affairs.

 Other Kenyans have questioned the validity and readiness of a few pastors to serve as spiritual leaders in some churches without knowledge or proof of when and who ordained them officially into full service ministry.

 Official ordination, while not guaranteeing that a pastor will not get involved in unwanted behavior, is seen by many as a validation that a pastor has undergone the rigorous spiritual training and mandated  undertake the tough job of ministering to the spiritual needs of their flock.

As a result of the outcry, some pastors feel that they are being bundled together with the few pastors who may or keep falling into temptation and therefore pleaded with Kenyans to differentiate between those have been accused and the many that are still upholding and practicing the true word of God the right way, serving as role models to their congregations.

“Not all pastors are doing bad things out there. Most pastors are good pastors”, said Rev. Jeremiah Githere during a wake service for the late Terasia Wambui Wa-Nguyaii held on Thursday in Nashua, NH.

Rev. Jeremiah Githere

 “We therefore urge all Kenyans who are saying or writting (blogging) negative things about pastors in the community to think again before they say or write these things.

 Rev. Githere clarified that while it is true that some men of God have fallen into temptation, Kenyans need to realize that they too are human beings like any other who may make bad decisions at one time or the other. He added that he was not defending bad behavior but wanted to make things clear.

Dozens of Kenyans across the US, from the East Coast to the West Coast have been complaining through the internet of major suffering in marriage and other relashionships caused by a few Kenyan pastors who they trusted with their problems, only for the pastors to get romantically involved with their partners in the process.

Other pastors have spewed personal and confidential information about those they have been counselling to the public, in a community where juicy grapevine spreads like bushfire.

“Let everybody carry their cross”, pastor Githere said recently to Ajabu Africa News. He also urged for forgiveness of those pastors that the community is complaining about saying “Love your pastors out there”.

 He asked Kenyans and the media to report or talk on particular pastors who have been accused or wrong doing rather generalizing by relating stories and bundling all pastors together.

Two years ago, during a Jamhuri day celebration event at the Christ is the Answer Church (CITAC) in North Chelmsford, the chairman of the Kenya Pastors’ Fellowship, Bishop David Karaya had asked the Kenyan community to forgive the pastors who may have wronged them.

During the plea, Bishop Karaya did not elaborate why the pastors were requesting forgiveness and only addressed the issue briefly in general terms.Reliable sources said that some pastors were unhappy with his generalized apology saying that they had not authorized him to apologize on their behalf.

Earlier during the same year, a prolific Kenyan preacher, Rev. Dr.Wilfred Lai, from the Jesus Celebration Center based in Mombasa Kenya, during a sermon at the Radisson Hotel in Chelmsford, which neighbors Lowelll, had bitterly complained of a few Kenyan pastors in the USA who were more concerned with satisfaction of bodily and monetary passions than spiritual guidance for their flock.

Bishop Dr.Wilfred Lai during a sermon at Saint Stephens church in Lowell in October, 2008

Dr. Lai said that due to such pastors lowering their moral standards, they served as poor role models and led their congregations to lower their own moral standards even lower.Recap story here.

Close sources at that time said that a few Kenyan pastors were very unhappy that Ajabu Africa reported the still memorable sermon for it's sting, complaining that "the story was made up", even when over 250 Kenyans were in attendance to witness.

Other pastors have recently been urging Kenyans and the media to stop reporting or talking about the negative things that are happening in churches and instead seek to forgive any pastor accused of wrong doing so as to enable them continue with the running of their churches.

During a burial fund raising ceremony for the late Teresia Wambui Wa-Nguyaii held last Saturday at the Saint Stephens church in Lowell, Bishop Joshua Wambua of the Rapture Harvest Mission International said that if a pastor is found to have kissed a girl or acted inappropriately in church, then he should be called aside silently and asked to stop such behavior, so that he can continue leading the church.

 “This anointing is in a human being. Even when you get him with wrongs, we need to call them aside, talk to them silently so they don’t die”, said Bishop Wambua referring to the sexual abuse case that was reported by Ajabu Africa.

Bishop David Karaya

 “I might touch or kiss a girl but Ajabu Africa should not write that it’s sexual abuse,” added the pastor to stunned Kenyans, while a few people in the 400- plus crowd cheered him.

Bishop Wambua continued and said "Nikiomba Ka-kiss tu na Ajabu anasema ni sex harrasement?" ( Swahili for "If i ask for just a small kiss and Ajabu says it's sexual harrasement?").

However, the sex abuse charges that Bishop Wambua was referring to were defined by the Permanent  Judicial Commission (PJC) of which Ajabu Africa reported verbatim and a copy of the judgement trancript obtained.
 
 Bishop Wambua said that Kenyans need to support the pastor to be returned to the church so that we can move on as a community.

 “Get the pastor back and let’s move on. Everybody passes through an evil day”, said Bishop Wambua.

 A prayer meeting has been scheduled to take place tomorrow at the same Saint Stephens church at 5pm to pray for the pastor and his family.

  “We are calling for prayers to support the pastor and his family due to the issue they are going though right now”, said Rev. Samuel Kimuhu during the wake service for Teresia Wa-Nguyaii.

 In an email distribution to Ajabu Africa and other Kenyans inviting them for the prayers, Rev. Samuel Kimohu of Saint Stephens’s church said that “You all know what this family has been going through. It is my prayer that you will join us then and God will bless you”.

 Rev. Kimohu added that Rev. Canon Mwaniki of the Saint James Africa community church from Attleboro will deliver the sermon while Bishop Wambua will lead the prayers for the family.

“Many pastors have confirmed that they will attend these prayers”, said Rev. Kimohu in the email.

Kenyans interviewed by Ajabu Africa said that they would like to forget about the sex abuse saga and therefore it was inappropriate for some Kenyan pastors to keep bringing up the issue especially at burial meetings when people are mourning.

 “Bishop Wambua preached a very powerful sermon then messed it up by bringing up this issue that we had decided to forget and move on”, said a Kenyan lady soon after the fund raising but preferred to remain anonymous fearing retaliation.

”It was very inappropriate and was the wrong venue to say such a thing”, added the Kenyan.

Bishop Joshua Wambua

 “Touching anyone inappropriately even at places of our jobs is treated as sexual harrasement in America and should not be tolerated at all especially in church or asking the media to cover up”, added another disappointed woman who said she is a mother of two teenage daughters and a son and would not like to hear such a thing happen to them.
 
“We understand that not all our pastors have done bad things. But we as Kenyans also have a legitimate right to know when things are not working right in our churches so that we can deal with these issues rather than covering them up.We need to keep the confidence in our pastors as  our spiritual leaders”, added another man.
 
 “Kenyans are capable of forgiving each other and moving on but they want to see honest and fair efforts by pastors at dealing with these other issues that are going on silently in the community and can not be ignored anymore. Some Kenyans are hurting badly from the actions of a few pastors and they can not be asked not to talk about it”, he added.

 Tomorrow’s prayers have been organized by pastors who are friends to the family of the pastor involved, Rev. Kimohu told Ajabu Africa News during a telephone interview.

Other related articles
Pope: sex abuse scandal 'humiliating' but society must share the blame-The Telegraph, December 20
No bail for Irish priest accused of sex abuse-Washington Post, December 20
New York priest defrocked for child sex abuse-CNN, December 18

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