The Mission of the Mill Hill Missionaries in Western Kenya from 1963 to 2016: Challenges and Achievements
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Date
2016
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Tangaza University College
Abstract
Since the arrival of missionaries in East Africa a lot has taken place. This includes physical development in terms of infrastructure, introduction and improvement of formal education, health and social services. But at the core of this mission is the message of Jesus Christ, the Good News. All these other factors that have been brought and improved by the missionaries to point to the nature of the mission of Christ. The role of the missionaries was to show this love of Christ in a practical way, that the kingdom of God may be felt among the people. That being the main aim of the missionaries, the main question that we ask today is, “did they keep to the mission as it was supposed to or it was what they thought fit to do as missionary work?”
The Mill Hill Missionaries have been in east Africa for more than a century. For this time they have carried out missionary work among some of the local communities here. This paper is going to investigate and to look into the missionary activities of the Mill Hill Missionaries, their impact, successes and failures in their mission here in East Africa especially in Western Kenya from the year 1963 to present. This year also marks the year Kenya gained her independence. This was also the moment that the people of Kenya were coming out of a colonial period and there were some negative sentiments towards the missionaries who were foreign since the missionaries were from Europe and the colonialist were also from Europe.
It is significant to mention that this year (2016) the Mill Hill Missionaries are celebrating 150yrs of their foundation since 1866. These 150yrs mark a moment of looking back and counting the blessings that the Mill Hill have attained. It is also a moment of self-searching in terms of the methods of evangelization that were used and how relevant they have been in bringing the Good News of Christ, especially to those in the greatest need.
This paper will also delve into what is the understating of mission according to different theologians and as well point out what the church teaches about mission and the evolution of its understanding from pre to post Vatican II to date. All these will be to shed light on the mission of the Mill Hill Missionaries and therefore point out the areas where they have kept to the mission of the Church within their own charism of “to love and to serve”, or they have deviated from that.
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Keywords
Mission, Mill Hill Missionaries, Western Kenya, Challenges