The Rev. Simion Kinono trained eight women and eight men to be catechists in prisons in Burundi. The training used a pedagogical method of teaching and small group discussion; the discussion groups were organized by gender and an experienced woman priest led the women’s discussion.
The topics offered in the training included:
- The Biblical foundations for mission, which helped trainees understand that they were participating in God’s mission;
- Why/Where/to Whom is our mission, which helped trainees understand that God’s mission includes all;
- Homiletics, which covered the basics of a good homily and the message for inmates;
- How to lead an ordinary service, including familiarity with the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer and the hymnal; and
- Health and Spirituality, which addressed God’s will for spiritual, emotional and physical health for all God’s people.
Kinono believes that the training was highly successful. Specifically, he believes that the trainees fully grasped their role in the Great Commission, and their role in sharing God’s Good News with everyone. He is grateful for the support of his Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Sixbert Macumi, who blessed and commissioned the trainees and echoes the missional themes of the training.
