RWANDA

Since Church of the Redeemer was planted in 1998 we have enjoyed a special relationship with leaders in the Anglican Church of Rwanda.

It became clear over time that this relationship was part of a larger move that the Spirit of God was orchestrating.

Early in our story we connected with Claire and Clemantine, two sisters who were refugees from the Rwandan genocide. We helped them and others in their family to relocate to Chicago, further deepening our ties to Rwanda.

Then we were asked to help launch Sonrise School.

Sonrise is a boarding school for some of the poorest children in Rwanda, many of whom had been orphaned by the horrors of the 1994 genocide. Church of the Redeemer has mobilized support for Sonrise since its opening, and Canon Jay serves on the U.S. board that provides oversight and support for the school. Our partner parish, St. Michael’s, is located on the Sonrise campus in Musanze, the beautiful mountain district near Rwanda’s famous gorillas.

We currently have two Redeemer families living in Rwanda full-time as an extension of our church.

These families serve in pastoral work, education and development. Our clergy and other leaders travel to Rwanda at least once a year in order to put in the “face time” required to deepen the relationships we’ve begun.

The energy and vitality of the Christian church is shifting ‘southward’ across the globe, to Africa, Asia and South America. This unique relationship, which we cherish, is a work of the Spirit in our midst to join us to that renewing reality that we seek to know in our own context on Chicago’s north shore.