Kassim Conteh
Tim Macquiban writes : It was a real pleasure to have Kassim as the student on placement for a year at Ponte Sant ’ Angelo Methodist Church Rome when he was pursuing his theological studies across the river at the Facoltà .
He made a very good impression with us in his preaching and leading of worship as well as relating to the younger people of our congregation there . We saw much promise and encouraged him in his studies , especially in his being often the sole Methodist at the Facolta . We are so glad that he is here in Britain for a year and can share his gifts and insights with us and engage in the learning at an ecumenical community with a strong Methodist component .
From our Italian student at Queen ’ s Foundation : Hello everyone , my name is Kassim and I am 30 years old . My country of origin is Sierra Leone , but I have been living in Italy since I was 7 years old . I was born in a Methodist family , my grandmother was a reverend and my mother is a local preacher . I have been a member of the Methodist Church of Milan since the early 2000s , practically since we discovered the existence of a Methodist Church in Italy .
In Italy , and specifically in the Milan area , I completed my schooling ( with a diploma in electrical engineering and automation ) and then graduated in theology at the Waldensian Faculty of Theology in Rome .
While waiting for a new destination to complete my formation , I had the opportunity to undergo a pastoral experience at the Waldensian church of San Germano Chisone ( January – September 2020 ). This allowed me to get to know the Waldensian reality in greater depth . I spent the first part of this experience observing and participating in the activities of the local community . I took part in catechism and Sunday school meetings , visited the old people in the residential care home in the town ( first with and then without the pastor ), attended and contributed to worship , took part in the Church council meetings , played an active part in the feast of 17 February ( giving a speech to the Waldensians present in the small neighbouring town of Porte ) and even had a little experience with the local church choir . Unfortunately the arrival of Covid-19 changed our schedule , causing limitation and sometimes even interrupting some activities . The positive side , however , is that this misfortune has allowed the Church to renew the way it proposes the Gospel . For worship we started filming our services ( then uploaded on YouTube and made available to the community for Sundays ) and for catechism we used one of the platforms available for group video calls . My contribution was more to help the pastor technologically with the meetings ( actively participating in the speeches ) and to prepare videos for the children in Sunday school . In one of the videos we prepared , we asked the children to write words of hope , which we then made available to the whole community ( if interested , you can find the content on the YouTube page ‘ San Germano Chisone Chiesa Valdese ’). Towards the end of the experience I also had the pleasure of visiting the Waldensian Museum ,
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