Overview

The African Church and COVID-19: Human Security, the Church, and Society in Kenya is a bold and incisive look at the African Church in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the book, contributors explore how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragilities of African society as well as the weaknesses in the Church’s role in helping and serving African communities. The African Church and COVID-19 analyzes the question of how the Church in Kenya should move forward in a post-COVID-19 era to address the vulnerabilities of socio-economic and political structures in Africa.

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9781793650986

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Reviews

African scholars cannot outsource the responsibility of reflecting on the African condition to outsiders, no matter how well-meaning those outsiders might be. Contributors to this volume have taken this challenge seriously, investing resources in clarifying the role of the Church in Africa in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. This volume bears testimony to the importance of contextual theologies, as the contributors have demonstrated how the Church has sought to be visible on the frontlines in responding to one of the most demanding pandemics of our time. It is a timely, well researched, and balanced publication. -- Ezra Chitando, University of Zimbabwe and World Council of Churches, Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy This book makes an excellent articulation of socio-ethical implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and the prophetic role of the church in Africa in addressing the pandemic. This ground-breaking book captures new ways of doing theology and ministering to the people of God in times of pandemic. While the world concentrates on medical care and healing of persons affected by the pandemic, it is equally important, as demonstrated by this book, to draw attention to the pains of isolation, poverty, unemployment, conflicts, human rights abuse, and political violence. This edited volume is an important book for students and lecturers in sociology, peace studies, religion, and political science. -- Elias O. Opongo, Centre for Research, Training and Publications, Hekima University College, Nairobi Drawing on the African context, this book offers a lucid and multidisciplinary insight of how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the religious and social life through human security lenses. This book illuminates and re-imagines through a whole-of-society approach how the Church in Africa is and ought to be responding to the ravages of the on(going) health epidemic. The book reflects and articulates the everyday realities brought by the pandemic but also takes a problem-solving perspective. This book would be useful for African theologians, historians, educators, and development practitioners. -- John Mwangi, St. Paul’s University, Limuru, Kenya This book covers a wide array of issues related to the Christian community’s response to the widely disruptive COVID-19 pandemic. The volume’s multidisciplinary approach to the problem at hand is its most useful contribution. The book shows the fruits of collaborative engagement between the various university disciplines. Indeed, we need to make room for the other voice, and we need a trialogue between the church, the society, and the academy. The book also goes beyond mere description of the problem at hand to a carefully crafted prescription of remedies to it. Pastors, scholars, theologians, students, and Christian leaders will find this resource a gem to behold. I highly recommend it without reservation. -- David Tarus, Executive Director, Association for Christian Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA)

African scholars cannot outsource the responsibility of reflecting on the African condition to outsiders, no matter how well-meaning those outsiders might be. Contributors to this volume have taken this challenge seriously, investing resources in clarifying the role of the Church in Africa in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. This volume bears testimony to the importance of contextual theologies, as the contributors have demonstrated how the Church has sought to be visible on the frontlines in responding to one of the most demanding pandemics of our time. It is a timely, well researched, and balanced publication. -- Ezra Chitando, University of Zimbabwe and World Council of Churches, Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy This book makes an excellent articulation of socio-ethical implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and the prophetic role of the church in Africa in addressing the pandemic. This ground-breaking book captures new ways of doing theology and ministering to the people of God in times of pandemic. While the world concentrates on medical care and healing of persons affected by the pandemic, it is equally important, as demonstrated by this book, to draw attention to the pains of isolation, poverty, unemployment, conflicts, human rights abuse, and political violence. This edited volume is an important book for students and lecturers in sociology, peace studies, religion, and political science. -- Elias O. Opongo, Centre for Research, Training and Publications, Hekima University College, Nairobi Drawing on the African context, this book offers a lucid and multidisciplinary insight of how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the religious and social life through human security lenses. This book illuminates and re-imagines through a whole-of-society approach how the Church in Africa is and ought to be responding to the ravages of the on(going) health epidemic. The book reflects and articulates the everyday realities brought by the pandemic but also takes a problem-solving perspective. This book would be useful for African theologians, historians, educators, and development practitioners. -- John Mwangi, St. Paul's University, Limuru, Kenya This book covers a wide array of issues related to the Christian community's response to the widely disruptive COVID-19 pandemic. The volume's multidisciplinary approach to the problem at hand is its most useful contribution. The book shows the fruits of collaborative engagement between the various university disciplines. Indeed, we need to make room for the other voice, and we need a trialogue between the church, the society, and the academy. The book also goes beyond mere description of the problem at hand to a carefully crafted prescription of remedies to it. Pastors, scholars, theologians, students, and Christian leaders will find this resource a gem to behold. I highly recommend it without reservation. -- David Tarus, Executive Director, Association for Christian Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA)

Author Information

Martin Munyao is lecturer in the department of peace and international studies and deputy director of Open, Distance, and Electronic Learning (ODEL) at Daystar University, Kenya. Joseph Muutuki is senior lecturer in the Department of Theology and Pastoral Studies at Daystar University, Kenya. Patrick Musembi is dean for the School of Arts and Humanities at Daystar University, Kenya. Daniel Kaunga is adjunct lecturer in the Department of Theology and Pastoral Studies.at Daystar University, Kenya and pursuing his PhD at Kenyatta University, Kenya.

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