Religion

Kenyan Cardinal Urges Compassion for Extremist Killers

Published

10 years ago

April 9, 2015

A woman sobs into her scarf after she viewed the body of a relative killed in last Thursday’s attack on Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya, at Chiromo funeral home, Nairobi, Kenya, Wednesday, April 8, 2015. Al-Shabab gunmen rampaged through the university at dawn Thursday, killing over 140 people in the group’s deadliest attack in the East African country. Four militants were slain by security forces to end the siege just after dusk. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)

CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Some relatives of students who were mercilessly gunned down by Islamic militants said Wednesday they would pray for forgiveness for the killers, responding to a Catholic archbishop who visited a morgue where victims’ bodies are being kept.

Cardinal John Njue, the archbishop of Nairobi, prayed with some of the families with a son or daughter, nephew or niece who died in the April 2 assault on Garissa University College by al-Shabab, the extremist group based in neighboring Somalia. Four gunmen killed 148 people and then also died when Kenyan security forces regained control of the campus later in the day.

“You should pray for your enemies, so that they can change,” said Teresa Kiiru, whose cousin, 22-year-old Obeddy Oking, died in the attack. “As Christians, we are told to forgive those who sin against us.”

Many family members have described, sometimes bitterly, the death of a child in the Garissa slaughter as not just an emotional blow, but also the loss of an “investment” into which they had poured money and hopes. Making it to university is a big achievement in Kenya, where many people don’t get opportunities that open the way to a financially secure life.

Some home villages of the dead students, seen as bright stars who were making their communities proud, are reportedly experiencing collective grief. On Wednesday, the morgue began releasing bodies to grieving families, who prepared to take the coffins on long bus journeys for burial at home.

“Take courage and do not give up,” Njue told relatives sitting under a tent at Nairobi’s Chiromo Funeral Parlour. “These are the challenges that come in our lives. Some of them are most probably too heavy … heavier than we can be able to bear, humanly speaking. But let us try what we can.”

The cardinal said he hoped the Garissa attack would become a “moment of re-examination” of ways to improve security for Kenyans following numerous allegations that the government response was slow and initially ineffective. He appealed for a “process of compassion” for the perpetrators, despite their terrible deed.

“We pray then for all those who are concerned with this,” he said. “We are not dealing with animals, we are dealing with human beings … If this were to happen to them, I don’t think any of them would ever be joyful.”

The message resonated with Evelyn Wakholi, whose 18-year-old daughter, Milly Yonbo, died in the attack.

“The Bible says: ‘Do not judge,'” Wakholi said. “It’s painful, but what can we do?”

Then she wondered aloud why the killers, one of whom has been identified as the son of a Kenyan government official, had to kill young people rather than the elderly. Youths, Wakholi declared, could withstand the suffering, and unlike their elders, have yet to experience the fullness of life.

Milly’s aunt, Josephine Shiyuka, said her Christian faith dictated forgiveness for the killers, noting Jesus Christ forgave those who crucified him. Those who helped the gunmen might still turn back from their violent creed, she said.

“If they’re living, they still have time to change,” she said.

Al-Shabab, however, has warned of more attacks after the Garissa bloodshed. It said “Kenyan cities will run red with blood,” according to the SITE intelligence monitoring group.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta vowed a sharp response to last week’s attack. Kenyan warplanes attacked suspected militant positions in Somalia, and the government said Wednesday that it was freezing accounts of organizations and individuals suspected of financing Islamic extremists.

The freeze applies to 85 companies and individuals identified because of suspicious transactions, said senior treasury official Kamau Thugge. The list includes organizations dealing in remittances to Somalia.

After praying with families at the morgue, the cardinal said in an interview with The Associated Press that parents of the dead were going through a “very, very trying time” and that what the attackers did was “really horrible,” but he held out hope that militants would repent.

“Let us pray for them, that they may come to a point of undergoing a metamorphosis” in which they realize “they are dealing with life,” Njue said.

However the bereaved father of Oking, the 22-year-old student who died in Garissa, said he did not have such hope.

“I don’t have any compassion for the terrorists, because I took my child to school. Today, I am taking him dead,” said the father, John Wanyonyi Okodoi.

“I had invested a lot in that child; from childhood, high school to university,” he said. “Even his brothers — I dropped them for the sake of this child because he performed so well. I asked the family, ‘Let him go so he would come and help us.’ Today we are completely desperate. We have no future. We are only being given hope, but the gateway to see that hope is bleak.”

___

AP writer Tom Odula contributed to this report from Nairobi.

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Oak Temple Hill Hosts Interfaith Leaders from Across the Bay Area

Distinguished faith leaders Rev. Ken Chambers, executive director the Interfaith Council of Alameda County (ICAC); Michael Pappas, executive director of the San Francisco Interfaith Council; and Dr. Ejaz Naqzi, president of the Contra Costa County Interfaith Council addressed the group on key issues including homelessness, food insecurity, immigration, and meaningful opportunities to care for individuals and communities in need.

Published

2 days ago

June 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Troy McCombs (from the state of Washington), Elder Mark Mortensen (from Irvine, CA), Michael Pappas, Rev. Ken Chambers, Dr. Ejaz Naqvi, Elder Sigfried Nauman (from the state of Washington), and Richard Kopf. Courtesy photo.

Special to the Post

Interfaith leaders from the Bay Area participated in a panel discussion at the annual meeting of communication leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held on Temple Hill in Oakland on May 31. Distinguished faith leaders Rev. Ken Chambers, executive director the Interfaith Council of Alameda County (ICAC); Michael Pappas, executive director of the San Francisco Interfaith Council; and Dr. Ejaz Naqzi, president of the Contra Costa County Interfaith Council addressed the group on key issues including homelessness, food insecurity, immigration, and meaningful opportunities to care for individuals and communities in need.

Chambers, said he is thankful for the leadership and support of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints’ global ministry, which recently worked with the interfaith congregations of ICAC to help Yasjmine Oeveraas a homeless Norwegian mother and her family find shelter and access to government services.

Oeveraas told the story of how she was assisted by ICAC to the Oakland Post. “I’m a Norwegian citizen who escaped an abusive marriage with nowhere to go. We’ve been homeless in Florida since January 2024. Recently, we came to California for my son’s passport, but my plan to drive for Uber fell through, leaving us homeless again. Through 2-1-1, I was connected to Rev. Ken Chambers, pastor of the West Side Missionary Baptist Church and president of the Interfaith Council of Alameda County, and his car park program, which changed our lives. We spent about a week-and-a-half living in our car before being blessed with a trailer. After four years of uncertainty and 18 months of homelessness, this program has given us stability and hope again.

“Now, both my son and I have the opportunity to continue our education. I’m pursuing cyber analytics, something I couldn’t do while living in the car. My son can also complete his education, which is a huge relief. This program has given us the space to focus and regain our dignity. I am working harder than ever to reach my goals and give back to others in need.”

Richard Kopf, communication director for The Church of Jesus Christ in the Bay Area stated: “As followers of Jesus Christ, we embrace interfaith cooperation and are united in our efforts to show God’s love for all of his children.”

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Faith Tabernacle A.O.H. Church Welcomes New Assistant Overseer Edmund A. Singleton

The Faith Tabernacle A.O.H. Church of God in Richmond announced last week that it is honored to welcome Assistant Overseer Edmund A. Singleton II as our new Pastor and to introduce him to the Richmond community. At the 108th A.O.H National Pentecostal services on June 10, 2024, Asst. Overseer Singleton was appointed Pastor of the Faith Tabernacle A.O.H. Church by the National Presider, Bishop Lawrence Williams.

Published

9 months ago

October 2, 2024

Oakland Post

Faith Tabernacle A.O.H. Church New Assistant Overseer Edmund A. Singleton. Courtesy of Faith Tabernacle A.O.H. Church.

By Pamela Carter

When Jesus sent out his twelve disciples to minister the gospel he told them how they should conduct themselves as kingdom servants (Matt. 10:5–15). But he also spoke of the responsibility of the people to receive these ministers as his official representatives. Jesus insists that the way people receive his ministers reflects their relationship with God (Matt. 10:40). He invites God’s people to welcome “a prophet in the name of a prophet” and “to receive a righteous man’s reward” (v. 41).

At the 108^th A.O.H National Pentecostal services on June 10, 2024, Asst. Overseer Singleton was appointed Pastor of the Faith Tabernacle A.O.H. Church by the National Presider, Bishop Lawrence Williams.

His official installation services will be on Oct. 19, 2024, at 6 p.m. PT. Pastor Singleton will be the 3^rd Shepard appointed to this ministry over its 69-years of existence.

Singleton, originally united with the Faith Tabernacle church in 1993, under the leadership of Bishop George and Elder Verley Ayers. He served diligently on various ministries, including Youth Department, Deacons, Ushers, an the Choir.

In 2001, the Lord called him to the ecclesiastic ministry. He began his studies and tutelage to receive his Reverend licenses in 2003. At the request of Bishop Ayers, he studied and passed his Elder’s exam and was ordained an Elder at the 90^th Pentecostal meeting in 2006. In 2021, he was elevated to Assistant Overseer of the Western Region Diocese by Bishop Lawrence Williams.

In 2020, Pastor Singleton founded the Jehu Unchained Podcast, a Christian show to help individuals discover who God is and the benefits of being a born-again believer. His listenership continues to grow and has spread worldwide. In 2021, he launched the Jehu Unchained non-profit organization, geared to encouraging and supporting the youth in our community.

Pastor Singleton is a native of Oakland and a graduate of Kennedy High School in Richmond. He attended Contra Costa college and has worked in the construction industry for over 30-years.

Pastor Singleton is blessed to be married to his wife, Sister Kristie Palmer, for 27 years. They have two children, Edmund, III and Kayla.

As a husband and father, he brings a bit of wisdom, a sense of humor and a love for God’s people. He as a passion for the youth and witnessing the transformation of souls by the power of God.

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COMMENTARY: Prayer is Your Power

Published

2 years ago

February 6, 2023

Oakland Post

Prayer is about faith. It is believing that God hears us.

Faithful Utterances

By Dr. Froswa Booker-Drew | Texas Metro News

This week, a friend informed me that she was following the ambulance to the hospital with her husband. Her husband was going through a major health crisis. She wasn’t the only one who reached out—a friend’s mother had unexplained pain and another friend contacted me about her friend’s son who was hospitalized with pneumonia. Each of them asked that I pray for them.

I consider it an honor to pray for others. Prayer is powerful and I love that I have a group of friends who I can turn to that I call the “prayer warriors” that when I send a text to lift up the concerns and issues of others before God, they go into battle mode.

Prayer is a weapon and I think many of us don’t understand its power until we need it. For many of us, it’s a routine, something that’s more about religion than it is about relationship. We have gotten prayer twisted as some exchange solely for stuff. God is not a celestial Santa Claus dropping off gifts. Prayer is an opportunity to go before to God sincerely in relationship. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.

Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” (Matthew 6:5–8)

Prayer is about faith. It is believing that God hears us. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) I realize that my prayers are even more powerful when I am in relationship with others seeking God: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Matthew 18:20). It’s dangerous when we see prayer as a way to manipulate God into doing what we want. There is nothing wrong with bringing your requests before God but it’s important to check our motivation and intention. It’s also important to know that just because God doesn’t answer our prayers in the way that we want does not mean that God doesn’t love us.

It doesn’t mean that God does not hear us. It does not negate the omnipotence or goodness of God, either. We must believe that God is able. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) It’s easy to blame God when things don’t go the way we want them to—”the rain falls on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45).

Terrible things happen to good people often. We live in an unjust world with people making decisions that are informed more by profit than people. We cannot take those principles into our relationship with God. We must believe that “… all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) …. God is concerned with our hearts, with people and cares for us even when things don’t go the way we’d like. I can report that all of the individuals we prayed for had excellent results.

God is good! Yet, I realize that this isn’t always the case. Prayer is powerful. God wants us to have this daily form of communication. 1 John 5:14, tells us: “And this is the boldness we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” Don’t use prayer just when you need something. Just as all relationships require consistent communication for growth and results, the same is even more important in our relationship with God. Prayer is a powerful partnership with God that can move mountains when we believe!

Dr. Froswa’ Booker-Drew is the host of the Tapestry Podcast and the author of three books for women. She is also the Vice President of Community Affairs for the State Fair of Texas. To learn more, visit drfroswa.com.