The Kamusi Project
Meru Crisis...Do you know anything about it?
Submitted by Sue-in-USA on 9 December 2006 - 5:03am
I am having a difficult time finding information about the Meru Crisis that occured in the early 1990's in the village of Seela, near Arusha and Usa in Tanzania. I believe it may have stemmed from a religious split between the Lutheran and the Pentecostal faiths. I am eager to learn more about this time in history. Does anyone have any information or insights that they can share?
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English
Swahili
AMEC
AMEC = African Mission Evangelism Church.
It has nothing to do with Episcopal or Methodist in any way.
It has never been uncommon for the Lutheran Church worldwide to divide and then regroup on doctrinal or other issues. In this case we had another breakaway from a main body for reasons as previously noted. This time it had an African spin on it with tribalism, clanism, and some long standing latent animosities more at the bottom of the "us versus them" than doctrine. And it was seemingly this which lead to the violence and deaths. All of which is quite shameful to any Christian and explains why no one wants to talk much about it to an outsider.
At least this is what I have been able to discern on the subject.
Thank you for your thoughts
Thank you for your thoughts and your comments. I think, with this information, I may have found a report on the Meru Crisis. "Religious Conflict in 1990-1993 among the Rwa: Secession in a Lutheran Diocese in Northern Tanzania" By Catherine Baroin. Published in African Affairs, Vol. 95, No. 381 (Oct. 1996), pp. 529-554. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0001-9909(199610)95%3A381%3C529%3ARCI1AT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y
The title of the report appears to match the information I have so far. Anyone have any additional insights about the Meru Crisis while I wait for the local librarian to try to obtain a copy of the report?
Asante!
HI Sue, It came to happen I
HI Sue,
It came to happen I was using the dictionary this early morning after couple of years, and I checked the discussion forum to find your question.
Well, there was nothing Pentecostal in that conflict. There were two things contributing to that, I guess: quest of few Meru Lutheran parishes feeling sidelined from Arusha Diocese, especially on allocation of resources, and wanted more autonomy. So they demanded their own diocese, which they call "Diocese of Mt Meru". The rest of the Lutheran Church, espeacially the giant Northern Diocese and Diocese in Arusha Region, saw Meru too small to be on its own, so refused their application.
On the same side, a rise of AMEC, which called itself an alternative Lutheran church in TAnzania, was gaining hold (they were really a big problem all over NorthernTanzania, and in my church, the Sunday sermons turned out to be like anti-AMEC rallies). It gained more members in Meru because of the brewinf conflict, dissatisfactions, expelled clergs and church members, on top of the fact that Meru area is known to be among "hot spots" for struggle for independence (Their leader once travelled to UN to demand the Independence of Meru people).
Anyway, did I shade any light to what you were looking for? I
Jambo! Thank you for the
Jambo! Thank you for the information. I recently lived in the Meru area for 3 weeks and met church officials from the Meru Diocese. During my visit, they referred often to the Meru Crisis. I heard about people who were killed as a result of the Crisis, and I met a Pastor whose home was burned in the Crisis. I talked with a pastor who indicated that the church at which he serves "was a victim in the Crisis, though they are returining." Everywhere we walked, people had personal stories about "the other church" though there seems to be peace and some amount of mutual respect in that village now. Your explanation also helps to explain why the Meru Diocese is so small in comparison to the other Diocese in the area.
Any other insights into the AMEC would be greatly appreciated -- especially with regard to helping me to understand the dissatisfactions, why church members and clergy were expelled, and a bit more history about why Meru is considered to be a hot spot for the stuggle for indenpendence. I am very interested in learning more because of my personal connections to so many new friends in the Meru area. Asante rafiki yangu.
Do you know the full name of
Do you know the full name of the church (with the abbreviation AMEC)?
AMEC
Google it, Sue!!
African Methodist Evangelical Church
Is the "African Methodist
Is the "African Methodist Evangelical Church" the same as the "African Methodist Episcopal Church"?
Evangelical + Episcopal
Without attempting to delve into the theological niceties, I, off the top of my head and without doing any internet travelling, would be of the opinion that the "Evangelical" stresses common-or-garden spreading of the Gospel while the "Episcopal" might be used to underline the institution of the "Bishopric" (Episcopacy) of that particular Church. It stands to reason that both Churces will spread the Gospel (Evangelium) anyway.
I'm sure contributors more au fait than me with this scene will educate us appropriately.
Thank you for your help and
Thank you for your help and for your input....
The question of the what the E stands for in AME (Evangelical vs. Episcopal) came out of the internet search. The search of AME with "Evangelical" was not as fruitful as an internet search of AME with "Episcopal" -- though I found results for both. Trying to identify the church body actually associated with the Meru Crisis has been the difficult part. If AME with "Evangelical" is really the same actual church body as AME with "Episcopal" then the research becomes much easier because there is a wealth of theological information on the internet about AME with "Episcopal."
Just want to make sure I am heading down the right path when gathering the information.