Easter Greetings to all who are reading this! Due to some technical difficulties, I was unable to share news on my site for a while, but that has since been fixed, and we are back up and running. (Please note the change from emmanuelkatongole.com to emmanuelkatongole.org.) These have been a fruitful past few months, on many fronts, and I am happy to share some updates:
Developments from Bethany Land Institute are encouraging. In January, we held a beautiful memorial for the late Father Anthony “Zach” Rweza, one of the BLI co-founders. There, we committed to building a memorial hall in memory of Father Zach and raised over $10,000 to start this project. The second cohort of caretakers is now on campus, and the team is excitedly preparing for Earth Day. Over 400 primary students will be visiting BLI on that day to learn, celebrate, and participate in the work (collect and recycle plastics) of creation care. On the international front, BLI is also now featured on the Laudato Si’ page of Yale’s Forum on Religion and Ecology, enabling us to grow our presence and reach. Finally, we are excited to announce that BLI will be holding an official celebration and public launch on July 29, 2022 (the Feast of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus). All are welcome to attend. Please contact us here if interested.
At Notre Dame, my spring course on Peace, Ecology and Integral Human Development has been going well, thanks in great part to an extraordinary group of students. I have also been busy with various lectures and talking engagements. Here, you will find me speaking with a recent Notre Dame graduate about peacebuilding, ecology, and the COP26 United Nations climate change conference. I also recently gave a lecture at Messiah College and subsequently engaged in conversation with administration and faculty. The college uses the term reconciliation in their mission statement and currently has all students reading Reconciling All Things. I also gave this year’s Westwood Myron Tylor Lectures on preaching at the Emmanuel Christian Seminary (Milligan University). See these lectures below.
Finally, I am excited to share that Who Are My People, my latest book, is out. In this book, I examine what it means to be both African and Christian in a continent often riddled with violence. I am thankful to all who helped me with this book and am excited to share it with you all.
I would like to wish a happy Easter to all of you. I hope this season serves as a time of renewal, growth, and joy. With peace,
Father Emmanuel
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