On the Way to Calgary
Devotions and prayers for the 2026 Leadership Gathering
Bishop Mande Muyombo
North Katanga-Tanzania Episcopal Area
Sunday, October 11, 2026 · Sixth of seven devotions
Seven bishops from across the connection are offering a devotion and a prayer on each of the seven Sundays leading to the Council of Bishops Leadership Gathering in Calgary, Alberta, October 20 to 24, 2026. You are invited to read, to pray, and to share these with your congregation.
Scripture
“We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
2 Corinthians 5:20, NIV
Reflection
Throughout my life, I have admired friends and others who serve as ambassadors for their countries abroad. After studying Peace, Leadership and Governance at Africa University and meeting friends who pursued diplomacy, I considered this career myself. I have also seen ambassadors face the hardships of war and other crises. Even so, many have told me that representing their countries abroad is an honor, enhanced by the privileges, immunities, and security their host nations provide.
As ambassadors speak with the authority of their nations, Christians speak with the authority Christ has entrusted to them. Having served as a layperson, an ordained minister, and now a bishop, I feel called to represent Christ in the world. To help reconcile the world to God, however, I must first be reconciled to God. This calling is especially urgent in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a nation wounded by decades of division, violence, and war. If indeed, my country is a very religious country with about 85 % of the population that claims to be Christians, then Paul is making an appeal that we should all be agents of reconciliation. Reconciliation is something that God accomplishes and offers as a gift. We as Congolese people and as United Methodists are called to receive it rather than manufacture it.
Prayer
Gracious God, I pray that we as Congolese people will embrace your grace as a sign of reconciliation with you and with each other. Our tribal diversity and mineral resources should be received as gifts from you and not as sources of conflicts.
Lord, you have also called many of us to serve you in the United Methodist Church, a worldwide denomination is rich in its diversity and faith expressions. Help us oh God to form disciples who will be empowered by your Holy Spirit to be catalysts of peace and reconciliation in their respective communities. May your Spirit help us transcend our differences and love one another as children created in your image.
Read the whole series: On the Way to Calgary.
Next: Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr., Sunday, October 18, 2026.