Could you say this East African Creed?
We believe in the one High God, who out of love created the beautiful world and everything good in it. God created us and wanted us to be happy, loves the world and every nation and tribe on the earth. We have known this High God in the darkness, and now we know in the light.
God promised in the book of the word, the bible, that he would save the world and all the nations and tribes. We believe that God made good this promise by sending the divine son, Jesus Christ, a man in the flesh, a Jew by tribe, born poor in a little village, who left his home and was always on safari doing good, curing people by the power of God, teaching about God and us, showing that the meaning of religion is love. He was rejected by his people, tortured and nailed hands and feet to a cross, and died. He laid buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him, and on the third day he rose from the grave. He ascended to the skies. He is the Lord.
We believe that all our sins are forgiven through him. All who have faith in him must be sorry for their sins, be baptised in the Holy Spirit of God, live the rules of love and share the bread together in love, and announce the good news to others until Jesus comes again. We are waiting for him. He is alive. He lives.
This we believe. Amen.
Fr Vincent Donovan worked for many years amongst the Masai peoples, a nomadic tribe in East Africa. He formulated this creed in union with the people from whom he learned their way of thinking. He speaks of learning from them to sing a song of creation and a hymn of salvation. As you read and re-read the East African Creed – how does it in any way differ from your own understanding? Perhaps not at all. The message is universal.
God bless us, world and creation.
Fr John
(1st January 2017)
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