Christmas Play Introduction - "Democratic Republic of the Congo"

     The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of four United Methodist mission partnerships that our West Ohio Conference has throughout the world.  The others are with United Methodists in Mexico, Russia, and Vietnam.  Our international partnerships remind us that our faith is a global faith and one that includes different customs, languages, and ways of expressing the good news of Jesus Christ. 

     The United Methodist Church has a long and far reaching presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  When fighting broke out in 1999, the local United Methodist Churches reached out to assist the internally displaced persons who had arrived as refugees from the wars in Rwanda and Burundi.  The United Methodist Church of the DRC has been recognized as a major contributor among the faith based community in helping the peace process take hold.

     In 2002, our United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) opened an office in the country to offer programs that focus on health, nutrition, and agriculture.  To date, the United Methodist Church has helped to stop the spread of Malaria through the distribution of 30,000 nets reaching 13,557 households including 15,461 children under the age of 5 and 3,634 pregnant women.

     Over 26,000 individual house to house awareness visits have been made to share information about Malaria and how the United Methodist Church can be of help. 

     72,000 people directly benefit from the food security program of the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

     I’m pleased to announce that our church will be sending a $1,000 gift out of our church budget to support our United Methodist ministry outreach in the DRC, Mexico, Russia, and Vietnam.

     Christians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have a lot to teach us about preparing for Christmas.  For one thing, they don’t focus on presents like we do here because of their deep poverty.  Instead, they prepare for the holiday by acting out the Christmas story through plays.  On early Christmas Eve, people in the church will gather and act out different scenes from the bible.  They’ll time these skits just right so that when the clock strikes midnight, Jesus is born.  But even then, they continue on through dawn with more skits and the singing of carols.

     Because of this, we thought it would be fun to join our brothers and sisters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, by celebrating our own Christmas play.  So sit back and enjoy.

     And as they say in the DRC, “Mbotama Malamu!”

     Merry Christmas!

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