Our Mission

J&GK-House is a mission of the Episcopal Missionary Church-USA (EMC) based in Kenya, in East Africa whose mandate is to demonstrate a faith in our Lord Jesus Christ being lived out in the world. J&GK-House subscribes to the vision and mission of the EMC pertaining to the Bible and being traditional, Missional, Episcopal and Anglican.

In the year 2020, the Anglican Church of Kenya, Thika Diocesan Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Julius Wanyoike mandated The Diocesan Commission on Pastoral Work to memorialize and archive for Diocesan records the role that Ven. John Kago played in the establishment of Anglican Churches in the Republic of Kenya generally and in the Diocese of Thika in particular; his work as Provincial Secretary of the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) and subsequently, as the first General Secretary of the Council of Anglican Provinces in the continent of Africa (CAPA).

The Ven. John Kago

Ordained a Deacon: 1959

Ordained a Priest: 1962

Made Rural Dean: 1968

Made an Archdeacon: 1975

Appointed ACK Provincial Secretary: November of 1976 to 1993.

The Provincial Secretary is the Archbishop’s personal assistant and does whatever asked to do by him, which covered a very wide area and exposed him to ecumenical and the global church. When the Archbishop of Canterbury visited Kenya, Ven. Kago and his wife took care of him. He hosted three Archbishops of Canterbury during his tenure as Provincial Secretary.

CAPA General Secretary:  1993-1996.

The CAPA General Secretary work introduced him to the entire Anglican Communion and after his retirement from CAPA, many in the entire Anglican Communion wrote him letters of best wishes. CAPA was started in 1979 and as General Secretary, one of his duties was to organize the training of newly consecrated bishops of the Anglican Dioceses in Africa. CAPA Council met annually and Ven. Kago organized and attended these from 1982-1993.

Trainers came from all over the world and not just from within Africa and Ven. Kago had contacts with many Anglican churches all over the world from East to West; from New Zealand to Argentina and was invited to visit churches in Europe, the Americas and Asia and finished five Kenyan passports because of all his travels and became known by the Anglican church all over the world.

In 1976 at a meeting in Australia, Anglican church leaders from the countries South of the Equator expressed concern they did not know each other. To change this, they agreed to form an umbrella organization and called it, “Anglican Encounter in the South” which would include Anglican Dioceses South of the Equator- from Fiji to Argentina and Ven. John Kago was asked to coordinate the work of that organization. In that capacity, he organized the first meeting held in Nairobi, Kenya so he would continue his work as Provincial Secretary and coordinate the Anglican encounter in the South meeting. That meeting took place in 1994 and exposed him to many Christians from south of the equator.

One of those who taught the newly consecrated bishops for many years was the late Bishop John T. Walker, first African American Bishop of Washington and later Dean of the Episcopal Cathedral in Washington DC and Ven. Kago came to know him well and Bishop Walker became a good friend and a regular trainer of the newly consecrated Anglican bishops in Africa.

The Book of Common Prayer, 1928 Edition, is the basis for all of our worship. The Prayer Book is a document which is best described as being orthodox in its expressions of the Christian faith, using the liturgies which have been a part of catholic worship for centuries. There is no modern “innovation” in the Prayer Book; it calls upon us to conform ourselves to God’s word, rather than trying to change the church’s teachings to fit mankind’s “desires.

Molding believers, influencing the world

 

The Lessons at Morning and Evening Prayer and at the Holy Communion shall be read from a translation of the Holy Scriptures approved by this Church, among which are the following: The King James or Authorized Version; The New King James Version; The Revised Standard Version of 1952; The New International Version; The New English Bible. If the Rector of a congregation desires to use any other translation he shall request permission of the Bishop.

Biblical

We believe that the Bible shows us the way to Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. It’s why we read the Bible in our services, and why we preach from the words we just read together. As Anglicans, we’ve been following the same Bible Reading Plan for nearly 500 years!

Traditional

We honor the Christian witness we have inherited by all those believers who came before us. Part of how we honor them is to carry on their ministries with our own. It doesn’t mean that all you’ll see is dusty hymnals and rickety pews. It does mean that we try to live out the way of faith that’s been modeled to us by those who have lived out their faith for generation after generation.

Missional

It’s our goal to be the church, both inside our parishes and in the whole world. We believe that we are laborers of the harvest and are on a mission from God: to live out the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, here and now, no matter where we live or who we are. Sometimes that doesn’t look like your usual Sunday service. Sometimes it’s chaplaincy, sometimes it’s serving in a shelter, sometimes it’s counseling, or medical practice, or just helping rebuild after a storm. It’s not just about believing Jesus but believing in Jesus with the way we live.

Episcopal

Our ministers are servant leaders; they don’t work for a board of directors, stewards, elders, or trustees. To be “Episcopal” means that we have ministers called bishops whose job it is to pastor your pastor and to represent Christian unity between congregations.

Anglican

Anglican – Our way of worshipping descends from the Book of Common Prayer, published in England during the 16^th century as an answer to problems in the Roman Catholic Church at that time. For nearly 500 years, Anglicans the world over have worshipped using words derived from this monumental guide to worshipping together as one body. In fact, if you’ve ever been to a wedding, you’ve probably already heard some words from the Book of Common Prayer!