Newsletter from the CEI of the Evangelical Church in Morocco

by Middle East & Europe - Global Ministries | published on Mar 29, 2016

Like many church bodies here in Morocco, the CEI is run by people who have often been in Morocco for several years but who eventually leave us to return to their home countries. This was the case in 2015, a year in which there was quite a bit of change amongst church leadership. First of all, in July, our team coordinator Carlos Funk finished his term after three years of service in Morocco and left to take a pastoral position in France. His gentle spirit and calm presence will be missed by all of us here.

Carlos’ work has been taken over by Miora Andriatsimalia who is a pastoral intern and a theology student at the Al Mowafaqa Ecumenical Theological Institute. Before taking this position with the CEI, Miora was the pastoral intern in Agadir where she was already very involved in the work of the local CEI team, in addition to helping with the accounting at the na-tional level. We are thankful for her faithful engagement and her many skills that will help us great-ly in our work.

Then, at the end of September, Pastor Samuel Amédro, President of the EEAM and of the CEI, resigned for health reasons. We wish him a full and rapid recovery and God’s blessing on his continued ministry in France. Samuel is replaced by Pastor Karen Thomas Smith who has been involved in the work of the CEI since its beginning in 2003, and who was already on the national board.

Even with the changes we have experienced among leadership, the work of the CEI continues in the same spirit of welcome and accompaniment of our brothers and sisters among us who suffer. The number of needy individuals continues to grow and regularly presents a challenge to our ability to respond. With God’s help, we continue to do our best to maintain hope for those who despair and to proclaim God’s love in a very tangible way to those who feel rejected and forgotten. May God bless the efforts of God’s children throughout the world to live out the gospel in this way.

Pastor Karen Thomas Smith
President of the EEAM and the CEI