Thad Barnum and the AMiA: Why I Decided to Stay in Rwanda

From here:

Bishop Thad Barnum

On December 5, my last COB conference call, I learned of a conversation that would eventually take root and change the course of AMIA altogether. Our Chairman reported that in June, at some point during or after the turbulent House of Bishops meeting in Rwanda, retired Archbishop Kolini said to our Chairman that he believed it was time for AMIA to leave Rwanda.

And with that, vision was born.

By mid-summer, our Chairman met in London with AMIA's retired and founding archbishops. It was here, as I understand it, that the concept of a new AMIA Missionary Society took shape out of a perceived concern that AMIA was suddenly vulnerable to the leadership changes in Rwanda. As this meeting took place, the vision of the Missionary Society -- a real, tangible "option" -- was as yet completely unknown to, and outside the counsel of, our own Rwandan Archbishop, Onesphore Rwaje.

But it had momentum and strength. It connected the AMIA with our past because our three retired founding archbishops now put their full weight of support behind the vision. And I realized then, even when I first heard of this plan in late August, I knew that the possibility of leaving Rwanda and starting a new Missionary Society was more than just an "option."

To me, it felt like a done deal.

A deal I knew would divide us. Or at least me. For I actually believed that we, in AMIA, at our very core, were more than canonically resident in Rwanda. We were in relationship with them, and them with us, and if the day ever came for us to be released into something different, something new, it would be have to be done together in prayer, over time, and by the unity and peace that comes from the Holy Spirit.

No, for me, I personally could not take the journey out of Rwanda.


Read it all here at SF.