Buckie priests go the extra miles to share their faith
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TRAVELLING 4500 miles to share your enthusiasm and faith is a huge commitment, but that's just what two Buckie-based Catholic priests have dedicated their lives to doing.
Frs Peter Ezekoka and Kingsley Chigbo, who are based at St Peter's in Buckie, serve not just the parish in the town but also those of Fochabers, Keith and Huntly.
It's been a far cry from their native Nigeria – they both hail from the south east of the country and have known each other since they entered seminary there at the age of 10. This lifelong connection was to continue when they made the long trip to Scotland in May 2018, spending three months in Aberdeen before taking over the reins at Huntly and Keith.
A year later they were given responsibility for the parishes in Buckie and Fochabers.
They moved to stay in Buckie last year.
It has been something of a rollercoaster ride for the two priests, who have had to adapt to a completely different culture, accent and weather, not to mention a two-year Covid lockdown while their families were thousands of miles away.
The nature of parishes here compared to Nigeria also represented a different challenge.
Fr Peter said: "The weather was a bit of a shock.
"When we first arrived it was May, almost summer but for us it was very cold.
"One big difference we noticed between here and Nigeria was in terms of the people coming to church. In Nigeria there were quite of a lot of people coming along, with many young people while here there weren't so many and they were usually older people.
"One of the first challenges we had was learning how to minister to elderly people not just younger people.
"One of the great advantages of rural parishes is that know your parishioners by name and interact with them more closely. You're a part of the community and it's been very interesting.
"Since we came to Buckie we noticed another change; it's a bigger community so we have more people in church.
"On Sundays we have five services which we share between us."
Coming to terms with Doric in its many forms was one of Fr Kingsley's initial challenges.
"I did struggle with the accent after I arrived and I have to pay a lot of attention when someone's speaking to me," he continued.
"There are times I have to respectfully say 'pardon?' but people are friendly, they understand the situation and are helpful.
"It goes both ways, though, sometimes people don't understand us!"
While the priests have a number of parishes to cover they both expressed a strong determination to reach out beyond the Roman Catholic community itself.
Fr Peter said: "We want to make the church more homely, a place where people can come and find peace and friendliness.
"We're trying to do this in different ways.
"People sometimes see the church as a place to go to do certain things but it should also be a place where come and have a chat."
One of the initiatives they have undertaken is the formation of the Good News Group, explained Fr Kingsley.
"The group meets once a month and the aim is to try and encourage parishioners to be part of our evangelistic mission and to assist in going out ministering to others.
"It's been very interesting going out into the community and talking about and sharing our faith with others. We're going beyond the church and out into the community.
"We're also keen to work with other organisations – for example, we had a summer fete with St Peter's Primary which went very well – and we're hoping to have a Christmas programme this year."
Earlier this year saw the duo bring a colourful taste of their home continent to Buckie when they invited Aberdeen-based group Afristyle to a fund-raising evening, the proceeds going towards a new organ for the church.
The Covid pandemic along with the lockdowns and two years of restrictions presented many hurdles for the priests, along with other clergy in the area. Services, prayer gatherings and parish meetings all went online, with efforts also under taken to help combat loneliness amongst parishioners, including regular phone calls.
Given the people-orientated nature of their vocations, both Fr Peter and Fr Kingsley said that at first they both felt a bit "disconnected" when the initial lockdown slammed into place at the end of March 2020.
However, every cloud has a silver lining, as they say, and for Fr Peter it was an opportunity to achieve a lifelong ambition.
He explained: "I used the lockdown to sit down and write a book about about my faith and discipleship and what it means to follow Jesus.
"It took me about five months to write, even though some of its manuscripts were fruits of my reflection over the years. I kept it to myself because I was writing how my personal stories and experiences have shaped my understanding of discipleship. But I had friends who helped to correct the English before it was published.
"Lockdown brought changes in people's life and activities - the camera became our medium of evangelisation. One day as I sat down before my computer an idea came into my head, maybe you should begin writing the book you have always wanted to write. I told myself, an inspirational book about my experience of Christ and why we must keep on following him despite the ups and downs of life would be apt.
"Writing isn't easy – on one occasion I had an idea and when I rushed to my computer to type it my phone rang and that idea evaporated like the angels share in whisky. I spent more than 30 minutes trying to recall the idea and how best to present it, it came back, but in another form.
"I recall falling asleep on my desk one night as I struggled with how best to use the right terms to express my ideas, only for my alarm to wake me up on the following day. I typed the entire book myself – the process offered me great peace and joy.
"I chose the title – I Will Follow You, But... – to show that there will always be ‘buts’ - challenges and concerns whenever decisions to follow Christ are made. Discipleship is never a bed of roses, neither is it a state of bliss like the garden of Eden."
The original inspiration for the book came in April 2019 when Fr Peter was invited to facilitate a preached retreat at St. Mary’s Kinnoull.
Proceeds from the sale of the book will help support educational projects in Nigeria.
