Ajabu Africa News

PHOTO:

Rev. Peter Kiama of the St. John’s Anglican Church in Sutton, near Worcester, left, and Rev. Samuel Kimohu of the St. Stephens Community church in Lowell during a function presided by Bishop Hohn Hergoz of the American Anglican Church (Background,right). PIC BY COURTESY/SAMRACK MEDIA

By:

HARRISON MAINA

Posted:

Jul,01-2016 15:20:44

BOSTON--Two Kenyan clergymen in the Boston region have been banned from setting foot at the All Saints Community Church in Quincy for unwanted interference in the ongoing dispute that landed their close associate, Rev. Fredrick Thanji in court, now awaiting a ruling from Judge Jeffery Locke of the Norfolk Superior Court.

Rev. Samuel Kimohu of the St. Stephens Community church in Lowell and Rev. Peter Kiama of the St. John's Anglican Church in Sutton, near Worcester, have been confirmed to be the two mysterious clergymen who went to New York in a bid to lobby for the embattled Rev. Fredrick Thanji get a new affiliation with the America Anglican Church denomination led by Bishop John Herzog, Ajabu Media can reliably reveal.

The two clergymen took the trip to the offices of Bishop Herzog on Monday, barely a day before Rev. Thanji was due back in court for a status hearing after a three week hiatus where the disputing sides were implored by the very concerned judge to come up with a good faith compromise in lieu of a court ruling.

However, according to reliable sources, the meeting did not go down well with Bishop Herzog, who promptly nipped the insidious scheme by the two clergymen in the bud, flatly rejecting the idea of taking in Rev. Thanji and the All Saints Church under his wings, especially at a time when the church is embroiled in a bitter court dispute.

The dispute that has been simmering in the background since 2012 when the church started amending an alleged church Constitution allegedly crafted in 2002 boiled over in the fall of 2015 and consequently found its way into courts early this year.

It revolves around the pastor's succession as well as and property worth close to $1.5 million, and a disputed affiliation with the Anglican Church of Kenya that has been challenged in the court as nonexistent.

Consequently, sources revealed to Ajabu Media that the two well known Kenyan clergymen, as well as any elder from the two respective churches, have banned by Bishop Herzog from setting foot at the All Saint Community church in Quincy for the foreseeable future until the mess there is amicably resolved, church council disbanded and a new one democratically elected.

"They were turned back unceremoniously. Bishop Herzog gave them very tight conditions if he will ever agree to give All Saints Community a green light for affiliation with the American Anglican Church," a reliable source in the know told Ajabu Media on condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to speak on the sensitive matter.

Contacted by Ajabu Media for more information, The Right Reverend Bishop John Herzog confirmed that the shocking developments are true and accurate.

"Yes. It's true the two pastors visited my office in New York on Monday to talk about our usual church affairs. But I did not entertain the conversation about the All Saints Community Church under Rev. Fredrick Thanji when they brought it up in the middle of our conversations. They wanted me to take him into our diocese, but I said no," Herzog told Ajabu Media during a telephone Interview from New York.

"First of all, it is my opinion that the church matters should never be discussed in court as it is happening there. Now that they are already there, there is nothing we can do. It’s very unfortunate. Why would anyone take up a church that is involved in court cases and the entire financial burden that comes with?" he added.

He said that he instructed Rev. Kimohu and Kiama not to interfere in any way shape or form in the All Saints Controversy or else they would be permanently kicked out of the American Anglican church denomination.

"I instructed my priests to stay away from that controversy. I told them that no one under my church, whether a pastor, an elder, or even a lay person should ever set foot at the All Saints Community church for any event-- even when invited--whether to preach or to do any other function. I told them if they so, then I will let them go from under my watch," the Bishop said sternly, acknowledging the seriousness of the matter.

Herzon added that if Rev. Thanji and his friends had approached him for advice on how to resolve the dispute long before the matter spilled out of hand and landed in the court, he would have freely provided it.

"But now it's too late. I want nothing to do with the matter at all."

He added that he has the outmost respect of Bishop William Murdoch of the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA), whom Rev. Thanji was originally affiliated before he wrote a letter to withdraw, resulting in his license revocation to conduct religious ceremonies under the different Anglican denomination affiliated with the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK).

Bishop Herzog belongs to the American Anglican Church (AAC) with is completely different and has no relation to Murdoch’s Anglican Church of North America (ACNA).

According to Herzog, the American Anglican Church has over 15 parishes (churches) across the USA, seven of which are Kenyan Community churches.

The Rt. Rev. Bishop John Herzog at St. Stephens Lowell for a function. PIC BY COURTESY/SAMRACK

Among those are three Kenyan Community churches located in the New England region, including the St. Stephens Church in Lowell, the St. John's Anglican Church in Sutton and the newly launched Good Shepherd Anglican Church Brockton under Rev. Cyrus Irungu.

When Bishop Murdoch testified in court recently on the All Saints Church Dispute, he said that the Anglican Church of North America is the only mechanism recognized by the Anglican Church of Kenya to use for any Kenyan community churches in USA and Canada wishing to be affiliated with the larger motherland denomination.

Murdoch told the court that as a bishop consecrated in Kenya under the Anglican church of Kenya, he currently oversees 3 Kenyan community churches in the New England region.

Among those include the St. Paul's Community Church in Lawrence under Rev. Venerable Peter Gachathi, and the Faith Anglican Church in Lowell led by Rev. Justus Munyasya.

"The All Saints Community church in Quincy, the St. James Community church in Attleboro and the St. Luke's church in Malden are no longer affiliated with the ACNA," Murdock told Judge Locke.

"This is very wrong. Why would pastor Kimohu pastor Kiama and Pastor Ivan Mwangi form Lynn agree to come and cast the tie breaker vote in our church while they are not even church members? We all Know they are friends with pastor Thanji so anyone can tell how they would vote to break a tie in the committee even if they were allowed to come in and vote," said an extremely upset All Saints Community church member who requested to remain anonymous.

"If it were not for their interference, then we probably might have found a compromise. Now everything has gone downhill as a result and we are just waiting for what the judge will decide. It's very heartbreaking. It seems these pastors are always scheming how to protect each other and don’t care about the church members, even going to the extent of manipulating like this behind our backs," added the concerned member.

More upset church members said that by their actions, it clearly show that the two pastors were plotting to help Rev. Thanji take away the church from them, after they had spent massive financial and time resources to build and pay up the mortgage in less than 3 years.

"But we thank God that Bishop Herzog turned them back right away and banned them from interfering with our own problems. These two pastors already have serious financial and moral problems in their own churches right now and instead of solving those, they are coming to mess up with our own church. Everything done in darkness will one day come out in the light," added another concerned female member.

Four years ago, Rev. Kimohu was in the news again for engineering a move to kick out 3 pastors from his church, who had helped serve with him for several years, only for them to be asked to leave unceremoniously for unclear reasons.

Sources say that Reverends Kimohu and Kiama were extremely shocked by the developments as they had not predicted the reaction from Bishop Herzog, well known in the Kenyan Diaspora Community for his role in establishing Kenyan Community churches affiliated to the American Anglican Church.

Contacted on the phone for comments, Rev. Kiama was not available to pick up, and has not yet responsed to a voice message.

However, Rev. Kimohu became agitated when contacted by Ajabu Media on the phone for comment. He said that it was Rev. Thanji who contacted him to cast the tie breaker vote and it was not his idea in the first place.

"Since it did not happen, why are we talking about this," he loudly asked Ajabu Media.

"I don't qualify to say anything regarding the All Saints Church," he continued.

Informed that members of the All Saints Community Church said that he had already interfered with their church, the highly agitated clergyman hung up the phone unceremoniously.

Source:

AJABU AFRICAN NEWS