Contact: Connie Nelson, (404) 727-8880

See also: Missionaries Return to Congo (GBGM, September 29, 1998)

NEW YORK (GBGM) –The Rev. John L. McCullough, executive in charge of mission personnel for the General Board of Global Ministries, announced today that an agreement has been reached for several mission personnel to return to limited regions within the Democratic Republic of Congo following a three-week relocation from the central African country.

All mission personnel on assignment in Congo were relocated to Zambia or the United States in late August as the war in northeast Congo spread to the outskirts of Kinshasa, the capital city. During that period, President Laurent Kabila relocated his office to Lubumbashi in the southern quadrant of the country. It was this action, along with a U.S. State Department advisory, that led to the decision to remove GBGM personnel.

In the interim period, the governments of Mozambique, Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe have sent troops to assist the Kabila government in driving back rebel forces which are reported to be aided by Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. While there remain specific areas of the country which have not yet been brought fully under the control of the Congo, the southern region is considered to be quite secure, Rev. McCullough reported.

GBGM executives, including Dr. Randolph Nugent, General Secretary, and Rev. McCullough have worked closely with Bishops Fama Onema (Central Congo), Kainda Katembo (Southern Congo), and Ntambo Nkulu (North Katanga). As a result, mission personnel assigned to work in Lubumbashi, Likasi, Mulungwishi and Kolwezi have been authorized to return to their places of assignment. They include Elizabeth and Tom Ryder, Roberta and Glenn Hupprich, Vivian Woodyard, Ellen and Jeff Hoover, Joan and Don Woodward, Delbert and Sandy Groves and Lori and David Persons. All other missionary stations are continuing to operate under Congolese UMC leadership.

Mission personnel assigned to other locations in the Congo have been given the option to go to any of the four approved locations, to remain in Zambia–where all relocated mission personnel have been assisting the church during the interim--or to return to the U.S. until the situation in remote areas of the country improves. GBGM mission personnel currently on home assignment to the United States will remain there until further notice.

Rev. McCullough reports "that the last several years have been particularly traumatic for the church and its mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire). The patience and perseverance of the church, its leaders, members and missionaries stands as profound witness of their Christian faith, commitment to the cause of Christ, and the strength of the United Methodist Church in the Republic. All of us hope that the long nightmare of the Congo's despair is now ending."

September 25, 1998