Did you know Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the sixth in the world? Did you know that the World Population Prospects predicts that by 2050, Nigeria will become the third most populated country in the world? Did you know that Nigeria is predominantly Christian and Muslim? Did you know Nigerian leadership, socio-political and religious, had the foresight to build a National Islamic Mosque and National Christian Center next to each other in the federation capitol of Abuja to show unity in Nigeria? More than this, the faith of Nigerian people is alive, resilient, and vibrant despite the challenges of environmental decline and climate change, hunger, poverty, and conflict in this region of Africa.
I witnessed this recently when I was honored to sojourn to Nigeria where partners of Bread for the World gathered for historic moments together: the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC-CETA) on the occasion of its 60th anniversary and 12th Assembly—and the historic visit of the World Council of Churches during its 75th year. I was invited to give the message of the related service at the First Baptist Church hosted by the Nigerian Baptist Church Convention and a host of other national churches and the councils of churches.
The invitation also included hosting a Bread related side event at the AACC on Pan Africanism and Faith, featuring issues related to a Pan African lens on hunger, poverty, women, and climate justice. The side event included a follow up to the joint work with our Faithful Voice on Hunger and Climate Justice coalition statement, adopted last year at the AACC headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, in preparation for COP 28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Bread’s partnership on hunger and climate as well as with Pan African Women of Faith/Pan African Women’s Ecumenical Empowerment Network (PAWEEN) was also featured. Last month PAW/PAWEEN held its annual conference in Washington, D.C., and online. The women made their voices known on Capitol Hill concerning Bread’s advocacy agenda that featured support for the Farm Bill from their lens. Go here to be engaged.
Both the conference and AACC 60th featured the launch of my new book, Ahead of Her Time: Pan African Women of Faith and the Vision of Christian Unity, Mission, and Justice, published by WCC. The book launch also included the “Ahead of Her Time” Lifetime Awards to the women featured in the book. The book shares the untold stories of several pan-African women of faith from Africa, North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe, who provided local, national, and global ecumenical leadership in the history of the churches during formative periods of the modern-day ecumenical movement. A global announcement about this event at Bread for the World is here. The book can be ordered in print or on Kindle at Amazon.com as well.
Angelique Walker-Smith is senior associate for Pan African and Orthodox Church engagement at Bread for the World.
