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December 2001
Mauritius Report
24-30 December 2001
Spending Christmas on the Island of Mauritius sounds romantic,
doesn’t it? It was. But it was much more than that.
Let’s begin at the beginning. In July, when we began to
plan for our Christmas vacation with our "kids" we were
in the midst of Zimbabwe’s fuel crisis. Four-hour fuel lines
were the norm. It was not unusual to wait three or four hours
only to be told, "The fuel is finished." Thinking of
trying to take the kids around Zimbabwe without the availability
of fuel was giving us nightmares. We had to
come up with an alternative plan. Air Zimbabwe was offering special
fares to Mauritius and we jumped on the idea, knowing that we
could also visit pastors and churches of our church partner, the
Presbyterian Church of Mauritius (PCM).
As a family, we had a wonderful vacation and we were privileged
to see and understand something of the successes and problems
of the people and the Church in Mauritius.
Christian ministry on the island of Mauritius was begun by the
London Missionary Society and followed up by missionaries of the
Church of Scotland. In 1979, the Church of Scotland turned the
property and the mission over to PCM and has had little involvement
since that time. PCM has continued some contact with the Scottish
church over the years, but would appreciate more relations with
them.
The PCM is a vibrant church, though growing slowly. At present,
there are five churches. The Rev. France Cangy is the pastor of
St. Pierre and St. Joseph. The Rev. Lala Nirina Rokotoarisoa is
the pastor of St. Andre, a Mauritian and Malagasy (that is, from
Madagascar) congregation. The Rev. Gerard David, a recent graduate
of theological college in Fiji, is the pastor of St. Jean, the
oldest church, built in 1840. The Rev. Rodney Curpanen is the
pastor of the English-speaking congregation at St. Columba.
The majority of the population of Mauritius is Hindu, Catholic,
and Muslim, while only 5 percent are Protestants. Our role is
to help the PCM discern the best way to reach out to these other
groups.
The Rev. Rodney Curpanen, a graduate of PC(USA)’s Union
Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, is the key leader in the church.
He comes from a Youth For Christ background and has a strong desire
for evangelism to have a central place in the Church. He was pleased
that the church was receptive to the idea of cell groups, small
Bible study/prayer groups. The cell groups are providing nurture,
leadership training, and a gentle way to do evangelism. The churches
are growing as they reach out to each cultural group on
the island. We witnessed a beautiful cross-section of the people
of Mauritius as we worshiped with them at St. Columba. The oneness
of the Body of Christ was so obvious in the midst of that diversity.
Praise God!
Pastor France Cangy, who pastors the St Joseph congregation
in Grand Gaube, near where we stayed, was very helpful to us as
we spent a day with him visiting churches and church leaders.
The Grand Gaube church has a strong cell-group ministry and has
grown 250 percent in the past five years under France’s leadership.
We were impressed with France and the cell group leaders with
whom we met.
Rodney, as well as being the Moderator, is filling the newly
created role of General Secretary for the church. In this new
role, he implements and manages the programs of the church and
communicates with PCM’s partners around the world. He is
the first of our church partners to talk to us about mutual partnership.
By this he means that PCM can be a giver and not just a receiver.
Certainly, PCM has much to offer those of us who partner with
them.
Rodney’s sermon at St. Columba on Sunday, 30 December 2001,
was very timely. He spoke from Matthew 2 and Colossians 3. Jesus,
the Prince of Peace, had to flee to Egypt with Mary and Joseph
to avoid certain death. Then, when it was safe, he returned, with
his parents, to live in Palestine. Throughout his life, Jesus,
the Lord of peace, was involved in conflict. He spoke about peace
in the midst of conflict and offered a peace that is greater than
the conflict in the world. He calls us to take His peace into
a world of
suffering and disillusionment. Can we do otherwise?
Prayer needs:
- Rodney and France as they lead the church
- Strengthening of the outreach ministries to the poor and suffering
- Equipping of lay people and pastors for outreach to Hindus
and
- Muslims Raising up of new pastors
- The spread of cell groups throughout each congregation
Bob and Bobbi Snyder
The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 53
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