‘Parishes Need to Be Closer to the People,’ Bishop Mtumbuka
By Benedict Kauteka*
Bishop Martin Anwel Mtumbuka of the Diocese of Karonga says it is his wish that Parishes should be closer to people; where priests can easily reach out to and serve them better.
Bishop Mtumbuka has said this on Wednesday 16, October at Nyungwe where he held consultative meeting with the church leaders, from Ngala and Wovwe zones under St. Anne’s Parish, on the proper site for constructing a new parish.
Bishop further says it is good for priests to know the families they are serving right from their homes to appreciate their living conditions.
He further encourages church leaders to keep on taking care of priests by among other things providing them with food, proper to a self-reliant and self-propagating church.
In order to make this happen a committee of seven comprising of leaders from both zones has been established to work on the issue of land where the parish will be located. The Bishop suggests that the place should not be far from Nyungwe because it is centrally located.
This will be the second parish to come out of St Anne’s after the establishment of St Francis De Sales (Livingstonia) Parish.
Ngara and Wovwe zones have a combined population of about 10,042 christans and a total of 32 prayer centers. At the moment, St Anne’s parish has a total of 51 prayer centers and stretches from Ndembwera to Sangilo and from Zgewa to Chisumbu in Karonga District.
*Benedict Kauteka is Methodology Advisor for St Anne’s Parish