Lausanne World Pulse – Remembering Genocide with Hope: Rwanda Heals Through Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Representatives of ALARM Rwanda met to discuss the Church’s role in remembering the 1994 genocide which devestated that country.

As a member of the Global Reconciliation Network and a co-convener of Issue Group on Racial and Tribal Reconciliation at the Lausanne 2004 Forum for World Evangelization in Thailand, I and the staff of African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries, Inc. (ALARM) continue to make reconciliation a vital and integral part in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Through a ministry of leadership development and biblical reconciliation in eight countries in East and Central Africa, we believe that without the work of reconciliation in countries like Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, northern Uganda and Sudan, it is impossible to reach out to scattered people troubled by violence, hatred, retaliation and tribal wars. This is why the organization sees reconciliation as an element that cannot be divorced from evangelism and discipleship. In countries that have experienced genocide and where the Church is widely blamed for its participation in genocide by commission and omission, the organization brought together church leaders from both Hutus and Tutsi tribes for a public confession and a commitment to remember genocide with hope (not with hate). There was also a renewed commitment to fight genocide ideology through biblical teaching and practical actions.

Combating Genocide Through Forgiveness and Healing

On 24-25 April 2007, ALARM Rwanda—in conjunction with the Rwandan government Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sports—conducted a retreat for sixty-two church legal representatives at the Kigali Serena Hotel. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the role of the Church in remembering the genocide and fighting its ideology.

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Dr. Celestin Musekura, a Rwandan and ordained Baptist minister, is the president and founder of African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries, Inc (ALARM, Inc). He trains leaders and is involved in tribal and political forgiveness and reconciliation in East and Central Africa.