In the Image of God

Over 500 people, students, pastors, family members, and community residents, walked in hushed conversations a mile from a now abandoned field to the mission complex of Remera Rukoma in southern Rwanda. This was part of the property of the third mission station founded by the Eglise Prebyterien au Rwanda, the  Presbyterian Church of Rwanda (EPR) but it was also the site of a massacre of 600 Tutsis in 1994, yet one more site of the Genocide that claimed over 800,000 lives. All those killed on this site were pastors, students, and staff of the school and the hospital. The pastors had thought they could protect the students and staff, but no one was immune. The solemn walk reminded us all of that, as we retraced the steps of those who knew they were marching to their death.

The march ended at the school, where their death march had begun. There we gathered to remember, to honor those who had died and to find meaning in the midst of grief, even 19 years later, for the survivors, family and friends assembled. A great deal of that meaning came from the sermon which was the center piece of the worship service. The preacher called us to Gen. 1 and 2, where we were reminded that all humans have been created in the image of God. She talked about the power of knowing that we are made in God’s image, that we carry within us the identity of being his people. If we can live in that reality, our primary identity is not as Tutsi or Hutu, Rwandan or any other nationality or ethnic group but our primary identity is in God. This is also how we find the strength to forgive and to move forward. She then drew us to John 11:25, the assurance Jesus gives that he is the resurrection and the life. She made the strong point that death for Christians in never hopeless, regardless of the circumstances and we need to take hope in that truth as well.



Survivors' Choir

The remembrance continued with testimonies of remembrance and stories of moving forward by as survivor of the attack and by the widow of one of the victims. The pastors and family members were then invited to the burial site to lay flowers in memory of the victims. That was an emotional time, to see the actual graves and to see photos of those entombed there. Back at the school grounds, the remembrance continues with music and drama by several survivor groups, all who sang or spoke of remembering to ensure that such a thing never happens again. By the end of the ceremony, the tone of the event had shifted for solemn to hopeful. The day ended on a note of optimism that this was not in vain, if we can learn from it to build to the future.

These remembrances around Genocide happen every year, to remember the victims and to celebrate the survivors, but even more, to deepen the commitment that such a thing will never happen again in Rwanda. The remembering brings hope out of incredible pain and meaning out of otherwise senseless death. It is difficult, but it is important for the future.