03.08.2023

Meeting Churches and Former Staff

During his visit, Moderator Bishop Dr. Abednego Keshomshahara (right) also spoke to Volker Martin Dally (left), General Secretary of the UEM. Photo by: Martina Pauly / UEM

Bishop Dr. Abednego Keshomshahara, Moderator of the United Evangelical Mission, has visited its office in Germany, Wuppertal. He met UEM leadership personell and discussed current developments with them.

As Moderator, Keshomshahara is the head of UEM’s General Assembly and Council, the two highest decision making bodies within the Communion of Churches. He is Bishop of ELCT-NWD*, one of UEM’s members in Tanzania. The General Assembly and the Council consist of representatives from all three UEM Regions: Asia, Africa and Germany, with Asia and Africa together holding a majority of the votes.

During his stay, Keshomshahara met with leadership of two German member churches of UEM, EKiR* and EKvW*: “I visited them to see what they are doing and to thank them for their contributions for UEM’s work international and national. The churches in Germany are doing a wonderful job and their contributions are very important for the UEM.”

Another part of Keshomshahara’s visit was the conference of former UEM staff. Here, the effects of the pandemic on church life in different continents was discussed, but also questions on developing church music. Keshomshahara explains: “Traditional music and modern music: How do we merge the two? How do we tolerate both sides? Given that old people like traditional music and the young generation would like modern music, which is vibrant, which is lively. We had a discussion on that and it was a good meeting as I saw.”

During his former visits to Germany, he came to congregations offering traditional services on Sunday morning and services with modern music and drama for youth in the evening. “This could be one of the way to address the needs of both sides of congregants” Keshomshahara says, because: “Where there is tolerance, both types of music could be offered. I have also experienced choirs in German which make singing exercises and sing well for themselves during exercises without singing in the church on Sundays. Such choirs should be requested and encouraged to sing as a way of Christian witness to others.”

*ELCT/NWD = Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania, North Western Diocese

*EKiR = Evangelische Kirche im Rheinland (Evangelical Church in the Rhineland)

*EKvW = Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen (Evangelical Church in Westphalia)