The Rt. Rev. M. Thomas Shaw, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, visited the Hill last night to host a lecture about the diocese's relationship with Rwanda and to tell a story about a woman he met while visiting the country last month.
Shaw was selected by the Tufts Chaplaincy to give his talk, titled "An Ordinary Woman with Uncommon Courage: a Story from Rwanda," as the semester's first installment of the Goddard Chapel Forum on Religion and Moral Courage, a lecture series organized and sponsored by the Tufts Chaplaincy. "They chose the topic of religion and moral courage, and they chose to invite Bishop Tom Shaw because he's had a lot of experience with [the Tufts Chaplaincy]," Protestant Chaplain Rachael Pettengill said.
"He goes to Israel very often, and he brings students there, and he also brings students to Africa very often, so we asked him if he would come and share something about a woman that he met when he was in Rwanda and share her story of moral courage," she added.
Shaw and a group of students from Boston College and Northeastern University made a pilgrimage to Rwanda this winter break to study the 1994 Rwandan genocide between the Tutsi and Hutu groups.
The trip sought to explore and learn more about not only the Rwandan genocide and other genocies, but also the effects and results of the recent attempts at reconciliation across the country between the two groups, according to Shaw.
Shaw stated that the trip also aimed to take the lessons of these attempts at reconciliation back to the United States to address tensions between certain groups, including those of a racial or socioeconomic nature.
"We are God's agents for reconciliation," he said.
In his talk, Shaw explained the diocese's relationship with Rwanda.
"Our diocese for a number of years has had a strong commitment to those who are struggling with AIDS or AIDS treatment," he said.
According to Shaw, the trip included visits to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre and a celebration at the house of a widow named Lydia whose Tutsi husband was murdered during the genocide.
The celebration included religious leaders, politicians and both survivors and perpetrators of the genocide.
Lydia spoke about her experience during the genocide, including witnessing the murder of her husband and her children and being raped by members of the genocide and contracting AIDS, Shaw said.
When reconciliation commenced between the two groups, Lydia was at first against forgiving the perpetrators of the crimes against her and her family, Shaw said.
But after the murderer of her husband came to visit her after his release from prison, Lydia explained that she forgave the man and continues to speak with him almost every day as friends, according to Shaw.
Shaw explained that though at first confused by her gesture, he sought an explanation in the gospels of the bible.
"The reason that she was able to experience that tremendous moral courage is because she heard the stories, because she prayed, because she was surrounded by people who had the same values," Shaw said.
Shaw said he travels with members of the diocese overseas once or twice a year to oversee and expand local projects.
Shaw also noted the importance of maintaining a strong relationship between the Anglican and Episcopalian churches, especially given the rapid growth of the Anglican church in Africa.
"I want our brothers and sisters in Africa to know that we are people of faith," Shaw said.
