St. Michael's

Students leave St. Michael's chapel after worship

What does it mean to partner with a church on the other side of the globe? Are we bold enough and humble enough to think such a thing possible? It’s this quest and all of the surrounding issues that brought us to Rwanda this summer, having been asked to enter a ‘sister’ church relationship with St. Michael’s, Musanze.

Information was not easy to get. We weren’t sure who to talk with, what was happening in that church and if they even desired such a partnership. I see now that these questions were meant to be answered, or at least encountered, face to face. The theme of ‘dance’ keeps coming up again and again, and you don’t dance from a distance.

I’m learning that there are many facets to St. Michaels, because it’s not really one church, but a space. I think it refers more to the building and the spiritual activity that goes on there. Formerly a magistrate court, the building overlooking Sonrise School was renovated as a chapel for the school. Where once people had judgment pronounced over them worshipers now hear the Good News; where they were sent into prison they are now released into hope. It’s a wonderful picture. Redeemer Church is being asked to step into the hope that is being offered in that place and through those lives. Before traveling there it was impossible to know what that might look like, as hard as we tried.

For one thing, St. Michael’s means the spiritual life of Sonrise Primary School that worships there several times during the week. We were blessed to be a part of that service on Sunday morning, to preach there and to worship with the children. Several people from the community came to pray with the children during their service from 7:15am to 9. It’s a dynamic and awesome environment and we are being asked to join with that work.

But there is more, and this we only learned at the last minute. We had heard that the community people also worshiped at St. Michael’s, and I had assumed that this meant in conjunction with the Sonrise students. But the community church is a new group that is being planted there, and they worship after the Sonrise students leave. We only learned this on Saturday night as we kept asking questions and gently pursuing clarification.

Pastors Jay and Emile

St. Michaels’ is a preaching point in a parish of seven locations doing work in a very difficult area. In fact, Ruhengeri (the district name) is one of the hardest areas in Rwanda for evangelism, as it was once a stronghold for tribal religions. Many believed that the spirits of the dead went to the volcanoes, and that it was a place of evil and demons. The old Tutsi kings used to send people there as a form of exile. It is a hard place for new church work. And the people are poor. The pastor, Rev. Mugisha Emile, works tirelessly against many obstacles to reach people for Christ in seven different locations, one of them being the St. Michael’s site. He does this with no transportation and very little support, and his wife has been very ill. We met him only an hour before we were to leave Ruhengeri, so we’re grateful that we made that connection, and we have committed to praying for him and his people, communicating with him, and returning in a year to spend some time in his parish.

In some ways, things at St. Michael’s were as we expected them to be, in others, totally different. It shows me again why we must enter the dance face to face. We have a lot to learn.