Gahini Anglican Church in Kayonza District is set for the construction of a new Rwf1 billion place of worship, the church’s steering committee has said. 

According to Denis Karera, who heads the committee, architectural design works are almost complete.

Karera, who spoke during the steering committee`s meeting in Kigali on Tuesday, said construction work will start early December and it is expected to last one year.

"The church that is currently being used is more than 50 years old, and with the construction of the new one, we also want to ensure that the old structure is left in place for history,” said Karera.

Officials said although the church has some money to kick off the project, fundraising drives are still on to raise the required amount.

Revival

Speaking to The New Times, Bishop Alexis Bilindabagabo, of Gahini Diocese, who represents church leaders on the steering committee, said the new church will work as a channel through which the church’s history will be kept and transformed to the next generation.

"This old church is historical based on what has happened or taken place in it. I am sure that the new one will enable the church keep its long history for as long as the Anglican Church exists,” he said.

The bishop called on members of the church and well wishers to contribute towards construction of the church.  

He said the old church is a an important symbol of the Anglican Church in the country. 

Gahini Diocese is the centre of one of the nine dioceses of the Eglise Episcopale au Rwanda, the Anglican Church of Rwanda and one of the four Rwandan sites chosen by the Church Missionary Society.

More importantly, Gahini has long been known as the spiritual home and centre of East African Revival Movement since the early 1930s.