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By:
HARRISON MAINA | |||||||||
| Posted:
May,25-2016 13:57:50
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(AJABU AFRICA NEWS, Updated Sunday May 8, 2016, 2.30pm) BOSTON---A female pro-reform parishioner was reportedly shoved against the wall by a male supporter of the pastor at the All Saints Community church in Quincy last Sunday when a by warring camps shattered and the pastor, Rev. Fredrick Thanji, alleged to be operating under a revoked license.
According to reliable sources, tensions have been simmering for several weeks when the pastor reneged on his promise to cooperate and find a solution to the crisis dogging the church. He is alleged to have refused to sign on to a new constitution developed by attorneys from both sides of the dispute following recent court ordered talks to find a compromise by Monday, May 2nd. Recap Here: (Breakthrough at troubled Kenyan church in Boston after judge ordered talks produce compromise on new constitution) "He said he does not agree with the new constitution developed by both attorneys as it sets a very early retirement age at 65 years as per the Anglican church constitution for a pastor among other minor issues. He said that only the court can take him out of the church. We don't understand this as the pastor had already announced to the entire church that he would retire and had even found a new pastor to succeed him, although we did not agree with his choice as a church," said one of the pro-reform group members on a telephone interview with Ajabu Africa News. However, at the heart of the dispute is church property estimated at about $1.4 million, that include a fully paid up for main church building an a newly built and half paind for Children's learning center. Many parishioners fear the pastor is resisting a new constitution that vests most of the church governing power to a democratically elected church council with a view of retaining most of the decision making power on the pastor in conjunction with a few of his own preferefed close associates and family. If this is done, the pro-reform group contends, it will be very easy for the pastor and his associates to make a decision down the road that will see the said church property sold off or used for other purposes other than what they have been working for all the years they belived they are together as a church, while donating a lot of their time and financial resources to accumulate the property. However, the pastor vehemently denies the contention, maintaining that the church property is totally in safe hands. As tempers then flared last Sunday, chaos erupted when one of the pro-reform group leaders attempted to address the church to give an update on the crisis soon after service was over. Following the violent incident, the female parishioner is said to have filed a police report and sought medical assistance to treat her injuries. And as the volatile situation rapidly deteriorated with more parishioners coming close to physical blows, the warring parties rushed back to the Norfolk Superior court Monday afternoon for an urgent crisis status hearing, only to be hit with more shocking revelations that the church pastor, Rev. Fredrick, has been conducting the church without a license from the Anglican Diocese of New England to whom he claims affiliation.Recap Here: (Kenyan pastor in Boston sued by parishioners for alleged corrupt practices, judge orders urgent final talks) According to documents tabled by attorney Corina Hale on behalf of the pro-reform group before Judge Jeffrey Locke, who took over the case from the judge, Beverly J. Cannone who was transferred to a new jurisdiction, the Anglican Diocese of New England revoked Rev. Thanji's license to work as a pastor within the Anglican Communion worldwide in June 2011 when he (the pastor), wrote a letter of withdrawal from the Anglican Communion. "We received your letter and honor your request to withdraw yourself and your congregation from membership in the Anglican Diocese in New England. We regret that this decision was made without any dialogue with Bishop Murdoch. He is most interested in understanding the true reason behind this decision and would request a meeting with you to discuss these matters in detail early next fall," read an email written to Rev. Thanji by the Venerable Donald P. Roberts, the Archdeacon at the Anglican Diocese of New England tabled in the court and obtained by Ajabu Africa News. "Please be advised that your license to serve as a priest in the Anglican Diocese in New England has been revoked as of the date on your letter. This action also removes you as a priest serving in the Anglican Church in North America. Your connection with the Anglican Communion worldwide is also officially removed by your request," added Don Roberts, who is no longer with the Diocese.
The Diocese communiqu'e added that Bishop Murdock would notify the Anglican archbishop and other colleagues in Kenya about Rev. Thanji's status as well as that of his congregation. The Diocese regretted the development saying, "This is a sad day for the Bishop, the diocese, and those among us who love you as brothers and sisters in Christ. However, canonically, you have the right to exercise this right and therefore we are resigned to it",the letter grimly concludes. Rev. Thanji is officially a Canon in the Anglican Church, although it is not yer clear when the title was bestowed. According to Anglican Church titles, a "Canon"is an honorary title conferred upon a member of the clergy (and some lay persons) for faithful and valuable service to the church. During the ensuing melee last Sunday, a female parishioner, Regina Mwangi was shoved against the wall by Richard Richu, a staunch supporter of the pastor during a heated disagreement over why Richu was trying to drown out the voice of one of the pro-reform leaders (George Kamau) by turning up the music volume on the sound system when Kamau was trying to update church members through the microphone. Speaking to Ajabu Africa New, Mwangi said that she was manning the sound controls at the back of the church together with Richu when she saw another parishioner at the front of the church give him (Richu) a signal to raise the volume, just when George Kamau took the microphone to speak soon after the church service was over. Richu then suddenly turned the music to full blast in an effort to drown out Kamau's voice, disregarding the fact that there were very young babies in the church less than one month old. "We had Shiro Wa GP's Ariginyanyi song playing after the service was over. Then I saw George Kamau take the microphone to address the church. Someone down there beckoned to Richu to turn the volume up and down the microphone. I asked Richu why he was preventing George from talking by turning up the music to full blast yet there were small babies in the church less than one month old at the moment," she said. "It was then that I decided to turn the music down, only for Richu to violently dig his shoulder into my side with such force that he shoved me against the wall in full view of about 10 members sitting nearby. It was very scary. I am still hurting and I still can't believe it," added the mother of 2. Mwangi added that she felt very unsafe and intimidated by the incident. "You go to church to get consoled for your troubles. You never expect to be met with such violence in church. If this kind of thing can happen to me in the church, what about out there in the world? I feel very scared."
The shocking drama occurred less than a month since the two sides announced a breakthrough in talks ordered by Judge Cannone in an effort to resolve the ugly crisis to the satisfaction of all stakeholders. But in court submissions on Tuesday, attorney Stephen J. Mclaunghlin appearing for Rev. Thanji said that talks had broken down and there was no indication that a compromise can be found. Mclaunghlin repeated his earlier plea to the court to dismiss the case on the basis that the courts in Massachusetts can not intervene in internal matters of the governance of hierarchical churches as per the1st amendment of the US constitution, except if there is a legitimate property dispute. He claimed that the All Saints Community church is affiliated to the Anglican Church of Kenya which should be left to find a way to resolve the dispute. It was at this point that attorney Hale vehemently countered the assertion, and reveled that Rev. Thanji had already written an official letter to withdraw himself and his entire congregation from any affiliation with the Anglican Church, both in America and in Kenya. To support her argument, Hale stunned Kenyan present in the court when she tabled the email response from the Diocese of New England written in June 2011 acknowledging and accepting the pastor's request. "As it is right now, All Saints Community church is an independent congregational church. Therefore the court has all legal mandates to intervene in this dispute as provided for in the constitution for all stand alone congregational churches," she humbly submitted. The new revelations left members of the church speechless and lost for words, with many wondering what all that meant to ceremonies conducted by the pastor since 2011. "How can this be? We have been faithfully working with the pastor all this time and now to hear that he is license to conduct pastoral duties was revoked is truly shocking. What will happen to all those marriages, baptism and other ceremonies that he has conducted since then? We need answers to these things. It's very disheartening," said a member who requested to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue. Reached for comment and clarification, Rev. Thanji declined, saying it would be inappropriate as the matter was in front of the court. Efforts to reach Richard Richu, who is said to be the pastor's confidant and right hand man, were not successful as many voice and text messages left have not yet been replied. However, an official at the Anglican Diocese of New England told Ajabu Africa News that Bishop Murdoch, who is in charge of all Kenyan community Anglican churches in New England was aware of the said license revocation and the crisis currently brewing at the All Saints church. "Unfortunately, only the Bishop can give you specific comments about the issue, but he is away for a conference throughout this weekend," the official told Ajabu Africa News during a telephone interview. Indicating that there was a great interest by the court to intervene in the case and resolve the crisis, judge Locke declined to dismiss the case. He set a full hearing to take place on Tuesday May 24, 2016. It's not yet clear how the church services will be conducted between now and the hearing date. Unfortunately, other Kenyan churches in Boston have experiences similar troubles. Close to 10 churches in Boston have collapsed over the last 12 years when many members decided to stay away fearing a breakout of violence, while others have seen their membership dwindle from hundreds to only a handful. However, this is the time that members of a Kenyan community church in Boston have garnered enough courage decided to seek legal redress in an effort to save the church from total collapse due to financial and administrative wrangles. Stay tuned. Ajabu Media will update you on all new developments as they reach us. | |||||||||
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Source:
AJABU AFRICA NEWS
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