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By Phileas Jusu*

7:00 A.M. ET Nov. 27, 2011

The Rev. Etta Nicol thanks the congregation at Trinity United Methodist Church in Moyamba after being inducted and robed as a Sierra Leone Annual Conference district superintendent. UMNS web-only photos by Phileas Jusu.

The Sierra Leone Annual (regional) Conference now has two female district superintendents, ending a 15-year absence of women in this position.

The Rev. Mariama Bockari, 52, has been appointed to the northern Makeni District and the Rev. Etta Nicol, 70, to the Moyamba District in the south, the conference’s second largest district after the Freetown District in the country’s capital.

The conference’s first and only other female district superintendent, the Rev Mary Johnson, was appointed in 1985; she retired in 1996.

The appointment of the two female district superintendents at this year’s annual conference gave great hope for female leadership in the church at a time when women in the country are yearning for equal representation in decision-making at the national level.

At her induction service on Oct. 9 at First United Methodist Church in Makeni, Bockari noted the significance when she said, “By appointing me as district superintendent, you (Bishop John K.Yambasu) have elevated womanhood. The church will always be the pacesetter for elevating women to leadership positions. God does not look at the outward appearance of man but the heart.”

The Rev. Mariama Bockari (right) was inducted as a district superintendent of the Sierra Leone Conference. To the left is her husband, retired Rev. David Bockari, and in the background is Bishop John K. Yambasu.

She thanked Johnson, now retired, for having worked so hard to lay the foundation of leadership for women in the church and promised to work very hard to show that women can lead when given the opportunity.

Makeni District lay leader M. C. Conteh, who has been ill, left his sick bed to attend the induction service and appeared supported by two people. Though ill, his excitement was visible. He referred to Bockari as a willing and capable leader who over a short time in the district displayed her leadership ability by reuniting with the church a member who had abandoned Christianity for Islam because of differences with the district leadership.

‘We will work with you’

“She is visiting everybody, everywhere in the district. We like her; she is giving us spiritual massaging. We will not fail you; we will work with you,” Conteh said.

Bockari comes from an Islamic background and is the first Christian and first pastor from the Fulani family. She became a Christian when her son was healed through prayers offered by a local pastor.

Millicent Yambaush, (right) photographs the induction ceremony of the Rev. Mariama Bockarie.

“My son would convulse between five to six times a day. Eventually, the convulsion reduced from six to once a day, from once a month to once a year and eventually disappeared after continuous prayers. Then, I vowed to serve the God that healed my son for the rest of my life,” she said in an interview.

Bockari has a certificate in pastoral studies from the Sierra Leone Theological College and Church Training Centre in Freetown, a diploma in theology from the Evangelical College of  Theology in Freetown and has just completed a  bachelor of arts in adult education at the Evangelical College of Theology in Freetown and is awaiting graduation.

She has served as pastor-in-charge of several United Methodist churches in Sierra Leone. From 2009 to 2011, she was director of Christian Education/Specialized Ministry to Children. She has served as member of many United Methodist school boards. She is the president of the United Methodist Clergy Women’s Association.

Bockari and her husband, the Rev. David S. M. Bockari, are the parents of eight children.

Urged to confront challenges

Preaching on the theme “In Desert Places” at Nicol's July 17 induction at Trinity United Methodist Church in Moyamba, Yambasu encouraged Nicol to confront her challenges in the district with courage and determination to succeed.

The bishop’s word indicated to her to expect obstacles in a conference that has been accustomed to the culture of male leadership for more than 130 years. Quoting excerpts from Exodus 17:1-7, Yambasu said that God always has solutions to the problems of leaders he sends to “desert places” and that the solution is often in their hands. Yambasu encouraged Nicol to work with the district elders to overcome the challenges ahead.

“It is a unique day; an occasion for joy, an occasion for celebration, an occasion when we must return thanks and praises to God,” Yambasu said during the ceremony.

The former principal of the denomination’s first girls’ high school — the Harford School for Girls — Nicol has a certificate in pastoral studies from the Sierra Leone Theological College and a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in the United States.

“I want to glorify God for bringing me thus far. It has been a long journey. I expect him to continue leading me on,” Nicol said.

Nicol also served as director of specialized ministry to children and was the conference’s education secretary for day care, nursery and primary up to the time of her appointment as district superintendent.

Nicol and her husband, David Momoh Nicol Sr., have four children.

*Jusu is a United Methodist communicator based in Sierra Leone.

News media contact: Tafadzwa Mudambanuki, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.