First Nigerian Bishop In Church of England Counters Islamist Terror With Message Of Love In Jesus Christ.
Ruth
Gledhill CHRISTIAN
TODAY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR.
Rev
Woyin Karowei Dorgu told Christian Today: "In time of pain and difficulty,
people ask the question, 'Where is God?'
"I
often say God is with us. That's the message of Christmas. Emmanuel, God with
us.
"God
never abandons us in our time of trouble. In fact but for the grace of God, many
more people may have been killed in Berlin yesterday.
"What
I often think is that it could have been worse, but for the grace of God. So God
is with us in our suffering. God bears our pain with us, he cries with us. But
for his support and strength, how would we cope in difficult times?"
He
spoke of his time as a medical doctor in a missionary hospital in Zaria in
Kaduna, northern Nigeria, where many victims of Boko Haram atrocities were
treated.
"I've
got friends back there whose families have been affected, whose relatives have
been abducted," he said.
"What
happened in Berlin yesterday is unthinkable and it is not acceptable.
"Even
when we differ on religious or political grounds, we should talk with each other
rather than resorting to violence. The pain and harrowing devastation that is
caused by things like that are very difficult to imagine.
"I
lived in a city in northern Nigeria, in Zaria, where 127 churches were burned
down in one day. And lots of Christians were killed in their churches. So I know
about the pain of extremist violence and the pain of human suffering that comes
with these events."
He
acknowledged London could be a target for the Islamist terrorists but added: "I
think we shouldn't give place to fear. I think we should be hopeful and trusting
and prayerful and be on the lookout for each other's welfare and support each
other.
"And
I believe by doing so we will not give in to fear that divides and creates
pressure. Fear is intimidating, fear is not good, fear creates tension, fear
creates suspicion. If we give place to love, hope, trust and the peace that
Christmas brings, then we will not be giving into fear. So I plead with
Londoners to live in hope and love with each other and share the goodwill
message of this Christmas season."
Known
as "Brother K" to his parishioners at St John, Upper Holloway in north London,
Karowei's appointment as the next Bishop of Woolwich makes him the first black
and ethnic minority or "BME" appointment to an episcopal see in the Church of
England since that of John Sentamu, now Archbishop of York, more than two
decades ago.
Woy
in his native Ijaw tongue means God and Karoway means priest or servant of God.
His father, a senior government official who was the first head of the civil
service in the mid-west region of Nigeria, was "unknowingly prophetic" when he
had his son christened "servant of God", said Karowei's wife Mosun.
He
was born in Burutu, a sea port in the south-eastern delta region of Nigeria.
Both
Karowei and his wife trained as doctors in Nigeria. They came to Britain when he
received his "call" to the ministry at age 29 and he trained at the London Bible
College and at Oak Hill, the evangelical seminary in north London. She is now a
consultant child psychiatrist.
He
said he was excited by the vision of the Southwark docese: "hearts on fire –
loving God, walking with Jesus, led by the Spirit."
He
described how he was born into a Christian family but rebelled and left the
church for a brief period of atheism. But he met some Christians at university,
saying: "I decided to accept Jesus as my personal saviour and Lord in my early
20s."
He
pledged to embrace the Archbishop of Canterbury's "renewal and reform"
programme.
"I
will promote and encourage a culture of prayer, mission and church growth that
is intentional, proactive and determined. I would encourage natural evangelism
and new priorities in ongoing mission at our doorsteps and vibrant ministry in
our churches, chaplaincies, workplaces, homes and communities that is aimed at
achieving more personal growth, congregational growth and fresh expressions of
church."
The
church needs in particular to celebrate its young people and invite them to be
part of the "Jesus movement", he added.
"I
will seek to promote and encourage a culture of prayer. I will encourage natural
evangelism thorough relationships and friendships.
"I
come among you as a partner in the Gospel of Christ, a brother in Christ. All
the glory will return to Him who has called us as ministers of his Gospel. I
will endeavour to be a Christ-centred leader who is prayerful, collaborating
intentional, caring, thoughtful and persistent in Christ."
Currently,
just over 3.4 per cent of all stipendiary clergy are BME and an even smaller
proportion, 2.2 per cent of senior staff, are BME.
In
fact there are just five other senior BME clergy in the Church of England. They
are the Dean of Manchester, Rogers Govender, Archdeacon of Southend Mina
Smallman, Archdeacon of Barking John Perumbalath and Archdeacon of Hackney Liz
Adekunle.
The
appointment of the Karowei to be a bishop in the Southwark diocese was welcomed
by senior clergy as an historic move that will bring new missionary zeal for
Jesus to Britain.
Bishop
Chessun told Christian Today: "Karowei has a very infectious, attractive faith.
I look forward to the contribution Karowei will make as a committed evangelical
Christian, as a disciple and as someone who sees that they are called to be a
missionary. Karowei and his wife felt that their call, their Christian call,
firstly in their medical training and then in their discipleship, was about
being missionaries. This will be a wonderful enrichment of episcopal ministry in
this diocese."
He
added: "For Karowei this is not about coming to England as a missionary. This is
about his whole life being witness, being about missionary zeal for the Gospel,
whether in Nigeria, England, Woolwich or the Diocese of London. That is the
nature of his calling."
Canon
Stephen Hance, director of mission for the Southwark diocese, who worked with
Dorgu in Tollington parish 20 years ago in north London, said: "He is a person
of resilience. He is an evangelist for Christ with a pastor's life. He is a man
who evidences the presence of the Holy Spirit in all he
does."
