Next week, Bishop Moira Astin, Chair of Trustees, and Revd Dr Alastair McKay, Executive Director of Reconciliation Initiatives (RI), prepare to travel to Kenya as RI hosts its first-ever residential training for bishops and their spouses from the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK).
The conference will take place from 27 October to 1 November, bringing senior church leaders together to explore practical ways of peacemaking and working for reconciliation in their local Kenyan contexts, both inside the church and in the wider community.
This training event marks a significant step forward in RI’s emerging work in Kenya. It is part of a growing partnership with the ACK, supported by Revd Fedis Nyagah, who recently joined RI as Project Manager for Kenya.
Fedis has drawn together a local team of three facilitators, led by William Kiptoo, a highly experienced peacebuilder. The facilitation team are passionate about helping church leaders become better peacemakers in their communities, and will be supporting the bishops and their spouses in thinking through how to take this forward in their dioceses.
RI’s work in Kenya is being overseen by a small group of ACK representatives chaired by Canon Martin Olando, who is principal of the Anglican theological college in Mombasa. Martin shared how the idea for this programme began:
“It all started in 2020, when Alastair and I first made contact through social media. Alastair, who was born in Kenya, visited Nairobi in 2022 and met with a few bishops to see if this kind of work could assist the Kenyan church. The bishops immediately saw the value. And here we are, ready for our first major training together.”
Canon Martin also spoke warmly about Fedis’s leadership:
“She’s already doing a fantastic job. Things are really moving forward, and we can feel the support from across the ACK. The bishops, clergy, and communities are all getting behind this.”
He added that the programme will help church leaders build peace and reconciliation in a very practical way:
“Jesus calls us to be reconcilers, and this training will help us to live that out.”
Peacebuilding expert William Kiptoo, who has over 25 years of experience, is equally enthusiastic.
“This training is something new and special,” he said. “For the first time in my experience, bishops and their spouses will learn side by side. We’ll be exploring how to handle conflict, build peace, and strengthen relationships in our churches. As far as I know, working with bishops and their spouses together hasn’t been done like this before in Kenya.”
This first Practical Peacemaking conference marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Reconciliation Initiatives in Kenya.
“We hope that this is just the start,” said Canon Martin. “As the programme grows, we hope to train even more leaders in Kenya – and possibly beyond!”
You can read more about Fedis and the launch of RI’s work in Kenya here: Reconciliation Initiatives Launches Work in Kenya.