FRIENDS OF THE BISHOP (FOB)

The Friends of the Bishop (FOB) was founded in 2015, after the Bishop had an encounter with two families namely; Mr. & Mrs. Chimfulunganya and Mr. & Mrs. Sauti of St. Peter the Apostle in Ndeke- Kitwe,

He explained to them the role of his Office as Chief Shepherd in terms of;

I).      Governance

ii).      Teaching

iii).     Sanctifying

He further explained that issues of governance covered General Administration which was mobilization of resources, Financial and Human Resources as well as infrastructure development.

The couples were amazed at how involving the Office of the Bishop was.

It was from this simple background that the couple took a leaf from the Friends of the Franciscan Friars, Friends of the SMA as well as Dominicans. In the same vein they decided to come up with the notion of forming the association. It was imperative for the Bishop to have friends to support him do the works of Evangelization and fill the gaps that he might not manage because of human constraints especially resource mobilization.

FOB Association resolved that they would be there to assist the Diocese of Ndola through the Office of the Bishop looking to the future of the Church.

They resolved to undertake and think ahead in terms of;

  • Long term investment
  • Medium term investment
  • Short term investment

Which would sustain the works of Evangelization in future.  In order to make this a reality and to bring it to fruition. Fr. Benedict Ng’andwe  who was  the Parish Priest for St. Peter the Apostle Mushili Ndola at that time,  was appointed as Chaplain and assigned to spearhead the Friends of the Bishop in the Diocese. Hence the first Chapter of the Friends of the Bishop was formed in Kitwe with an executive led by Mr. John Chimfulunganya of St. Peter the Apostle Ndeke in Kitwe.  The 2nd Chapter was established in Ndola and was led by Mr. John Kapasa of St. Joseph Itawa Parish in Ndola. Few months later another Chapter was formed in Chingola led by Mr. Fidelis Chanda of Sts .Peter and Paul.

Priests were assigned to be Chaplains of Kitwe and Chingola namely Fr. Cletus Mutunu and Fr. Lewis Mutachila respectively. This was done in order to ensure efficiency in meeting its obligations of participating in the Church’s objective of self sustainability.

In the last two (2) years major activities had been done such as coming together in Prayer, Days of Recollection, Eucharistic celebrations, Fundraising ventures and other Social gatherings amongest the Chapters and agape encounters with the Bishop himself.

Membership is open to all the Catholic Faithful who believe in self propagating, self governance and self sustainability. At the moment the Association has drawn membership from St. Peter the Apostle in Mushili, St. Joseph Itawa , St. Peter the Apostle in Ndeke Kitwe, St. Peter Ipusukilo and St. John Mukasa Kwacha Bulangililo.

In the last two (2) years the FOB have raised over K120, 000(One Hundred and Twenty Thousand Kwacha) which was given to the Diocesan Treasury to ensure the gaps encountered financially are sealed. Thus making the Church secure and have a bigger financial base, to meet our own works of Evangelization in future.

Should you be willing to join the FOB association for this noble cause kindly get in touch with:

Mr. John Kapasa -0966627414

Mr. John Chimfulunganya-0965928529

Mr. Fidelis Chanda -0968378332