East Angola Background Notes and Purpose for Going. . .
The Yellowstone Annual Conference (YAC) of the United Methodist Church has had a connection with the East Angola Conference (there is also a West Angola Conference, centered in Luanda) since 2003. There were teams from Yellowstone that went to Angola in 2003, 2005, and 2007. This relationship began with Bishop Brown.
The YAC began to set up the Angola Pastor’s Salary Support Project in 2003, significant giving did not really happen until 2006, but it was 2008 when it actually was in place, accounts set up, and committees organized, etc. It was originally designed to be a project whereby YAC contributed $38,000 a year, East Angola Conference $19,000, General Board Global Ministries $10,000. In fact, YAC is the only one contributing to the project. And, for almost all pastors, the $40 they receive is the only pay they receive. The Yellowstone Annual Conference currently provides salary assistance for more than 50 East Angolan pastors.
The pastors salary support project is administered by Alcides Martins. Alcides is a young man that studied in FL for a year, speaks excellent English, and is a person of high integrity. He is the person that Sally McConnell worked with to get your visas and make arrangements in Angola. Alcides has set up the project and pays the pastors 3 times a year. For some districts, it is very difficult to get the pay to the pastors because they live so far from Malange, and do not have any ways to communicate (no electricity or mail) – so Alcides makes other arrangements. He finds someone he can trust that is going to a certain place, gives them the money, the recipient then signs when they receive it . . . it’s not a perfect system. In addition funds being delivered, several receive their compensation when they come to Malange, Alcides reports to Sally twice a year on the project. Our opportunity, during this trip, will be to actively represent the Yellowstone Annual Conference and its partnership in East Angola.
The purpose of our trip:
- is to reconnect with the pastors and the East Angola Conference;
- for us to meet some pastors and leaders of the Methodist Church and learn and understand the importance of our partnership;
- to explore new ways that we can be in partnership together.
- to evaluate the project (what are the long term goals as seen by the church there)
- to video, photograph and write about your trip in such a way that it can be shared with the rest of the conference
- explore the options of bringing a pastor here (that speaks English) for a couple weeks (??)
Mark, I consider this to be very important work. I hope you will consider writing an article about the need for salary support and the effective ministry of Angolan pastors for a wider audience than your own conference. This need deserves attention from a WIDER audience.
Posted by: Holly Boardman (@halehawk) | February 01, 2012 at 06:21 AM