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Kenya's Christians in Week of Unity Prayer with Call “not to discriminate against anybody”

Fr. Innocent Maganya. Credit: Fr. Innocent Maganya

The Catholic Priest at the helm of the International Ecumenical Movement - Kenya Chapter (IEM-K) has, in his message for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU), called on followers of Christ in the East African nation to shun all forms of discrimination. 

In an interview with ACI Africa, Fr. Innocent Maganya reflected on the theme of this year’s celebration, “Do good; seek justice.”

Fr. Maganya said that the theme for the annual prayer initiative “is a reminder, in the line of the words of the prophet Isaiah, that we are all called to do good and to do justice.”

“We are not to discriminate against anybody because of their racial or ethnic background. It is a call for all Christians, Protestants, and Catholics, to do good,” the IEM-K Chairman said during the Thursday, January 19 interview.

The member of the Society of Missionaries of Africa (MAfr.) said Christians need to “go beyond our ethnic divisions and work together to do good, work for the promotion of justice, fight against corruption, care for the poor and the marginalized in our society.”

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The theme is also a call on all Christians to join hands and speak against societal ills such as corruption and oppression of the vulnerable and marginalized members of society, Fr. Maganya said. 

WPCU is observed annually from the 18th to the 25th of January. The week’s theme is produced by different local churches across the world. 

This year's theme, selected by the Minnesota Council of Churches, USA, was motivated by the aftermath of the extrajudicial killing of George Floyd and the trial of the police officer responsible for his death.

In his message entailing materials for use throughout the week, Fr. Maganya says the coming together of various Christian denominations to observe the annual prayer week “reminds us of our common Christian commitment to justice and mercy.”

He adds that while joining hands to mark the annual celebration, Christians “must recognize that the Church did not always walk with the poor.”

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“May our celebration be an occasion for repentance and a call for action,” says the Priest who serves as  the Director of the Institute of Inter-Religious Dialogue and Islamic Studies (IRDIS) at the Kenya-based Tangaza University College

Fr. Maganya says that the fight against corruption, injustice, and oppression is both a personal and collective mission.

As part of its activities to mark WPCU, IEM-K has organized an ecumenical service scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 21 at Our Lady of the Rosary Ridgeways Catholic Parish of Nairobi Archdiocese.

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.