Two Farewells After Years of Service

It has been such a wonderful time with lots of lessons learnt and experiences acquired during my time with UEM.,” says Rev Dr John Wesley Kabango as he takes his leave. The pastor of the EAR* was officially bid farewell last Thursday at the Mission House of the United Evangelical Mission (UEM) in Wuppertal (Germany). Kabango had worked for the UEM since 1997; starting 2011 as Head of the Africa Department and as a member of the Management Team.

John Wesley Kabango: Serving the African Member Churches

Representatives of UEM member churches and former colleagues attended his farewell. Many of them had worked with Kabango for many years. Some of them he had himself recently accompanied into retirement in his roles as Executive Secretary and Deputy General Secretary.

“You were never the boss who decided things from above – you were always a colleague and ensured that everyone met at eye level,” said Jörg Zimmermann, a pastor in Neuss and long-time companion of Kabango, in his sermon.

Also present were his wife, Angélique Uwumuremyi, and his children with their families. Uwumuremyi contributed greatly to exchange in the UEM communion and taught Kinyarwanda to young people in the UEM Volunteer Programme.

Speakers recalled shared travels and church visits, repeatedly highlighting Kabango’s strong relationships with the African UEM member churches.

Rev Dr Emmanuel Muhozi will take over responsibilities for the work of the Africa Division as his successor.

Jochen Motte: Justice, Peace, Integrity of Creation (JPIC)

A further farewell took place two weeks ago at the Unterbarmen Main Church in Wuppertal, where staff and guests gathered: Alongside his departure as Deputy General Secretary and Head of the JPIC Department, Rev Dr Jochen Motte was also retired by the EKiR*.

He had worked for UEM since 1993, overseeing the JPIC programme and advocacy projects in various countries, including Germany, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

In his sermon, UEM General Secretary Rev Dr Andar Parlindungan, said: “You have reminded us again and again that justice is not a secondary matter in the church, but that it belongs to the very heart of the church. I want to thank you particularly for this commitment.” And Angelika Veddeler, former Head of the Germany Department, added: “In the Management Team meetings we could always rely on your UEM memory!”

Thea Hummel will take over the UEM’s human rights and environmental work as Head of Advocacy.

We would like to express our deeply felt appreciation to Rev Dr Jochen Motte and Rev Dr John Wesley Kabango for their years long service with the UEM and wish them every blessing for their retirement.

 

*EAR = Eglise Anglicane au Rwanda (Anglican Church of Rwanda)

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

*JPIC = Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation