Introduction to the Presidential visit to Methodist Church Kenya and Uganda

Before her Presidential year began, Helen Cameron undertook a visit to the Methodist Church in Kenya and Uganda. It was an inspiring journey across the two countries visiting a wide variety of ministries in urban and rural settings. From the slums of Nairobi, we visited isolated Methodist communities along the Tana River Valley that had been established by Methodist missionaries in the 19th century and which had only recently been devastated by floods.

On Sunday, Helen preached in a busy town in the Rift Valley before visiting a Methodist Clinic and Secondary School in the expansive west of the country. Our journey continued in Uganda where we had moving visits to Methodist communities deep in rural areas before celebrating our presence with the women of the Synod in Jinja.

The British Methodist Church entered Kenya in 1862 and started at Ribe station near Mombasa. Today the Church is present in 45 counties in Kenya and efforts are being made to cover all 47 counties. MCK also has Synods in Uganda and Tanzania and ministries in Southern Sudan and Congo. The Church has Ministers and church members from almost all the ethnic groups in Kenya.

MCK became autonomous from the British Methodist Church in 1967 and the Church has continued to grow steadily. With its’ Headquarters in Nairobi, the Church now has over 1000 congregations, with ministries including a University with satellite campus and a Hospital with a number of dispensaries and clinics. MCK manages over six hundred primary and secondary schools, numerous colleges, three Guest Houses, an Insurance brokers firm, three rural training Centres, and children’s homes.

Everywhere we went, we were warmly welcomed and due to our global connections, we are never apart from friends. Helen wrote: “One of the delights of my presidential year has been arriving at airports in the middle of the night and being greeted by the familiar faces of friends. Revd Dr John Maromba (previously Bishop) now Secretary of the Methodist Church Kenya was a colleague when he studied at the Queens Foundation in Birmingham. It was wonderful to see him again and be blessed by his gentle wisdom once more.“