n e w c h u r c h l i f e : j u ly / au g u s t 2 0 1 3
Two additional aspects of the meetings are worth highlighting. The
sessions had to be translated while they were taking place, because some
participants spoke French or English, but not both. The Revs. Segno Kodjo Ayi
(Togo), Sylvain Agnes (Ivory Coast), and Guillaume Anato (Benin) took turns
doing this, with others sometimes calling out suggested improvements! It was
a good example of how people of different language groups could comfortably
communicate at a set of meetings.
The second feature was the presence of two Nigerian guests – the Ebutemetta brothers. They had contacted us several years ago about establishing
connections with the General Church. The New Church has had a long presence
in Nigeria. It has had a historical relationship with the British Conference,
but its numbers are large enough that they appear to be a self-sufficient
organization. Both of these brothers had completed training for the ministry
in Nigeria, one being ordained and the other not. They find themselves in close
agreement with the General Church’s approach to the Heavenly Doctrines so it
was useful to meet and interact with them.
Benin
The Rev. Guillaume J. K. Anato is the pastor in the capital city, Cotonou, and I
visited both to ordain him into the second degree and to provide support for
the nascent New Church there. He has already gathered a core group and is
gradually expanding their numbers with newcomers.
Benin, like Togo, is a small, narrow country anchored at the ocean, with its
largest city, Cotonou, on the coast. It is French speaking, although it is not too
hard to find people who also speak English, in addition to their tribal tongues.
While the roads are gradually improving, the journey from Accra through
Togo on Friday still took the better part of the day.
On Saturday we began with a number of baptisms in the ocean. The
tradition of outdoor baptisms in rivers or oceans also exists in the Ivory
Coast. However, using the ocean was rather brave of them because most West
Africans fear the ocean – both the strong tides and sharks being deterrents.
The incoming waves led to some less-than-graceful moments, but overall it
went well with much joy and singing at the water’s edge.
We then traveled to the rented space they use for worship. They have
painted the interior of the room and are fixing it up. It is centrally located in
the city and is attracting visitors to services. We then visited the new property
they have purchased, with help from the General Church. It was a much longer
journey than anticipated because we were caught in an extensive traffic jam
due to a bicycle race in the city.
My first impression of the land, which is being used for farming, was that
it seemed far removed from the city, sort of a distant suburb. But they assured
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