Mvume Dandala
General secretary, All Africa Conference of Churches
Bio and press contact: see below.
The churches of Africa send greetings of peace to the peoples and churches of the world. Our greetings are immersed in tears, for in our own struggles we have known a great suffering. But our prayer is not just for peace in Africa but for peace in the whole world, for we know that the peoples of the world all deserve peace wherever they may be.
Our prayer is that great countries like the United States of America, countries that are endowed with great power, great gifts and great responsibility, will rise to the challenge to be agents of peace. It was your own son, in the United States, who said "Peace is not [only] the goal that we struggle for but also the path that we use to achieve that goal." We long for countries like the United States to take this seriously. We urge the churches in the United States in particular to assist their great country to keep their eyes on the prize of peace.
We ourselves continue to pray and hope that peace will be realized in our own lifetime. From where we are as we send these greetings to you, we wish assure you that we will strive with all that we have to stand for peace.
Message delivered on 21 September, 2004, to mark the observance of the International Day of Prayer for Peace.
Biographical summary
Rev. Dr
Mvume Dandala
has worked hard to promote peace in Africa as the general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches. He has been given the award of Peace Hero, and has been pro-active in the prevention of conflicts in Africa. He has strongly supported the healing of the people of Rwanda, and has spoken out against genocidal practices in Sudan. He believes there are no tribes or races in the church, and advocates ecumenical involvement in opposing socio-political and economic evils.
Media contact:
Lucy Akinyi Ogot +254-444-14-83/13-30/13-38 infodesk@aacc-ceta.org
Last edited on
September 20, 2004
by
Juan Michel
/ WCC