BOSTON__ Determined to save their church from total collapse, about 60 adults and 65 children who were evicted from the Kenyan All Saints Community church in Quincy have organized a legal fees fundraiser for Sunday August, 28 at the VFW Hall in Randolph, near Boston.

However, even as the group works hard to save the church, the pastor has moved to send selective membership renewal letters and application forms to some spouses in the evicted group, while leaving out more outspoken family members.

According to leaders of the group, which has been staging protests and outdoor church services at the church gates for four Sundays in a row, the planned fundraiser will enable them to settle massive legal fees incurred to date, as well as current fees needed to sort out the far from over problem.

They urged the Kenyan community in the region to turn out in big numbers to help them raise the needed funds, just as they did years ago to help build the church.

"We thank many Kenyans in the Boston region who came out and supported us over several years to raise money to build this church and pay up the mortgage. However, due to the recent problem that have occurred here, we urge the same Kenyans and others who may have the desire to advocate for justice and save the same church they helped build from collapsing to come and help us raise legal fees," said John Bret Giathi, former church building committee chairman. As committee chairman, Giathi led congregants in organizing fundraisers that saw the church acquired and paid for in 3 years instead of the projected 10 year period.

"We have suffered a lot and our children are very confused as to what has happened here. All they want is to be able to go back to worship at the church and in their Sunday school where they say they had a lot of fun," he added.

Giathi said that the group is in consultation with legal advisers who are working behind the scenes to come to a final resolution and thus they still need help to foot the bill.

But in a bizarre about face, the evicted group revealed that the church pastor has sent letters inviting some of the evicted congregants to return to church and renew their membership while leaving out others, even within the same family household.

The group criticized Rev. Thanji for his "dishonest effort" since it is neither possible nor in good faith to invite someone's wife to return to church while asking the husband to stay away.

According to the invitation letter seen by Ajabu Africa news, the pastor indicated that the All Saints church is an independent Anglican church that is affiliated with the Anglican church of the Thika Diocese and is currently in the process of accepting membership applications from existing members seeking to renew their memberships, former members seeking reinstatement of lapsed membership, as well as from persons who have never been members of the church.

"This letter is being sent to you because you have been identified as a former member of the Church, or as a person who may have an interest in becoming a Member of the Church," read part of the highly contentious invitation offer.

Targeted or interested persons are urged to complete an accompanying application form to be mailed to the church in Quincy with a $10 administrative fee if they wish to be considered.

A copy of membership renewal, reinstatement or new member application offer sent to selected members of the All Saints Community church in Quincy recently evicted from the church after a bitter dispute over contents of a new  Church Constitution. Pic by Courtesy.

However, in a disclaimer, the pastor cautions would be members that the invitation is not intended to indicate that the recipient is a past or current member of the church, or whether they have any standing within the church.

Rev. Thanji further cautions that the All Saints Community Church reserves the right to decline approval of any application on any grounds determined to be in the best interests of the church. The letter includes a reminder of the "Church's assessment of the Applicant's ability and willingness to adhere to those Conditions of Membership as set forth in the Application Forms," and finally concludes by wishing the Grace of God to the targeted congregant.

"This sounds like a joke gone bad. How can Rev. Thanji send a letter to invite my wife back to church and leave me out? This is absolute discrimination. It is an effort to cause divisions in families by deliberately setting wife against husband," said Giathi, whose wife Lillian received a letter to come back to the church which conveniently left him out.

"He has sent similar letters either to other wives of other members in our group and to some husbands while leaving their wives out. He is sending to those he thinks are not outspoken enough in an effort to boost membership now that the tithes and offerings have gone low after he evicted us," said George Kamau, another leader of the group seeking to reform the church.

He added that those who have received the letters are not interested in re-applying for membership until the pastor opens the church doors wide and lets the evicted group come back so they can discuss and clarify their "standing" in  the church that they have a great emotional and spiritual connection with.

"This letter serves to indicate to our fellow Kenyans of the manipulation that has been going on at this church. You can see the pastor is not even concerned with the unity of the family unit as he is concerned with the number of membership for financial purposes. He wants only members in the church who cannot speak up to any injustice going on or who are afraid to advance an idea to make the church better. Unfortunately, all our members are very united in resolve that they will keep fighting on to solve the problem and leave the church intact as it was before," he added.

Kamau also urged Kenyans in the community to turn out in big numbers to support the group that has highlighted a big problem plaguing several other Kenyan community churches in the region. They hope to avert a potential loss of funds and church property donated by unsuspecting members of the community who believe they are building churches for everyone's benefit, only to be shocked that they have no say at all in the matters of the church.

He added that since hopeful Kenyan immigrants started arriving in Boston in the mid 60's, it is only the current generation that has managed to put up community foundation structures in the form of churches, making it all the more important to protect these structures for future generations.

"Kenyans in Boston have contributed immensely to put up community foundations from around 2,000 while previous generations were not able to do anything to that end. It is very important for the current generation to come together and protect these foundations to ensure that our future generations enjoy the amenities. As a community, Kenyans need to rise up to the occasion without fear to put up more structures, not just churches, but also social halls or community centers where we can display our culture like other communities have been doing for long all over New England."

Kamau said that it is unfortunate that Rev. Thanji and the people supporting him have been going around the community tarnishing the names of the group agitating for reform. Thanji claims that that the group was looking for leadership positions in the church, and that they got frustrated when that did not happen.

"This is absolutely not true. We are not interested in leadership positions as some of us even resigned from those positions when we could not get our voices heard in the church council. On top of that, how can 60 adults be struggling for less than a dozen leadership positions in the church. This is very unfortunate for the pastor to spread lies out there in the wider community," lamented the father of three.

"It's very weired. I have never seen a pastor who seeks to disperse his flock instead of bringing them together."

Rev. Fredrick Thanji emerges frorm the Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham at the end of the first day of hearings off a lawsuit filed by a majority of the All Saints Church congregants. AJABU AFRICA PIC/H.MAINA

The dispute at the All Saints church had been building for many years with members complaining of high handedness by the pastor, Rev. Thanji as soon as they finished paying off the close to $1million church mortgage.

The pastor allegedly declared that he is the Founder, President and CEO and founder of the church and that his actions, whether to install a new pastor or control the direction of the church should not be challenged by anyone.

The declaration was seen by some congregants as a way by the reverent to indicate the church was his personal property, while members were under the impression that they had been building a public structure owned by the community.

"He even said he can die for the church. How can you die for a something that is not your personal property?", wondered Kamau during an interview with Ajabu African News.

The dispute got worse when the pastor announced his intended retirement, but resisted efforts by the congregants to allow the church council more control in the process of selecting a new pastor and carrying out other administrative duties.

Having failed to come to a compromise, the evicted members headed for the courts to seek legal redress, but the court, although sympathizing with their plight, dismissed the lawsuit citing limitations of the Separation of Church and State as per the First Amendment of the US Constitution. The Norfolk Superior court also ruled that the suit was not properly brought as none of the complaining members were members of the church council or officials of the church authorized to act on behalf of the All Saints church, an Incorporated non profit in the State of Massachusetts.

"We can all improve the affairs in our churches that we love so much if we are able to point out the problems people did not know about and solve them amicably in good faith as expected of any good Christian. That is what we are trying to do here at All Saints Quincy and we urge you to come support us," said Peter Karanja, another leader of the group and one of the founding members of the All Saints Church Quincy.

The funds drive will start around 2pm to 7pm on Sunday August 28 at the VFW Hall located at 10 Highland Avenue, Randolph MA.

Those who are far from the region or cannot make it on that day are urged to donate via CashApp to

Kamotho: (617)-331-2420

Donations can also be deposited with Harbor One Bank, Account #: 1103644231, or 1101397295

"Food and refreshments will be served," added the event organizers.

Editing by Abbie Normal Goldberg