Reception for African Counseling Center Founder
Presence and mission
Saturday, April 12. 5 a.m. Last night nobody drank the cinnamon decaf, this morning I have a carafe full. The basket of grounds overflowed; as I empty it, dark wet grounds clump on the counter, in the napkin, on my fingers. I nuke a couple slices of leftover pound cake to go with my coffee; read the psalm and gospel for the morning; over pound cake, ponder the last few pages of I and Thou.
The cat waits at my shoulder on the shelf beside me, emitting sharp cries “Myow! Myow!” demanding attention; if I stop working and settle back for her to lay in my lap, she hops off.
When you are sent forth, God remains presence for you; whoever walks in his mission always has God before him: the more faithful the fulfillment, the stronger and more constant the nearness.
I and Thou, p. 164
No one’s sure what Buber means precisely. That much is clear from translator Walter Kaufmann’s notes (see footnote 8, pp. 163-164.)
The cat hops between me and the keyboard.
We want God always to be there; so if, waiting before the Countenance, we feel only absence, we fill the gap with faith. We substitute faith that sustains us during the absence or latency of You for the actuality of You. We turn God into a God-thing which we can manipulate.
But those who wait for the actualization of the eternal You and who act for the world find that they live before the Countenance.
I give both cats Whiskas treats and they race off into the dark house.
Gathering of people on mission
Friday, April 11. 4 p.m. In less than three hours twelve people were gathered to meet Dr. Jean-Emile Ngué, including the ministers of Trinity United Methodist Church Dr. John Peters and Teresa McRoberts. Dr. Ngué is Executive Director of the African Counseling Center (ACC) in Yaoundé and Secretary General of the Council of Protestant Churches in Cameroon.
Once Sandy and Jean-Emile had arrived home, the rush of preparation was on. We set out a dish of granola, lemon pound cake, strawberry-blueberry tarts; sliced kiwi fruit and plantain; brewed tea and made cranberry-ginger punch. We had a take-home sheaf of info and a prayer reminder; song sheets with favorite hymns which we often sing over long distance telephone lines.
After introductions people shared their experience with missions. Several are involved with high risk youth in Richmond. Others participate in the church’s annual medical mission to Honduras.
Divine appointment
Folks enjoyed hearing how Dr. Sam Roberts showed up at the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care (VIPCare) 11 years ago, with an African pastor and grad student interested in pastoral care. My wife Sandy, untypically, had a free hour to speak with them.
Cameroon pastors had sent Jean-Emile to the States for one year of study, but when he discovered pastoral care and counseling he recognized the critical need for this discipline in Africa. He remained, earning a DMin degree from the School of Theology at Virginia Union University and completing counselor training programs at VIPCare.
He adapted Western psychology and counseling for the African context and developed a model based on the African identity. In 2000 he began the African Counseling Center (ACC), the first pastoral counseling service and training center in Africa.
Companions in Hope
In 2002, VIPCare staff including Vic Maloy, Executive Director, Dennett Slemp, Mary Fran Hughes-McIntyre, and Sandy Hamilton, and Sharron Hawke, RN, a graduate of the VIPCare congregational care program, visited Yaoundé to present a pastoral counseling seminar to 70 pastors. The African staff chose the name “Companions in Hope” for the American and African partners.
The ACC provides training for children in protecting themselves from sexual abuse and HIV/AIDS infection. It runs support groups for HIV+ mothers and grandmothers rearing children whose parents have died of AIDS. It has an outreach program to street children.
In addition, its staff provide counseling to individuals and couples, and pastoral care and counseling training for pastors.
The American Association of Pastoral Counselors invited Dr. Ngué and ACC Program Director Samuel Lindjeck to present a seminar on multicultural issues in training international students in the United States at its annual meeting in Norfolk in April. Because of delays in being granted visas, however, VIPCare staff were presenters, using materials prepared by Dr. Ngué and Mr. Lindjeck.
Tags: African Counseling Center, mission