Peter Mateso & Bryan Mealer in conversation
FREE
Saturday, December 7
7:00 PM Goma, DRC/Central European Time
1:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time (US East Coast)
10:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time (US West Coast)
Peter Mateso
I am Peter Mateso, a Congolese (DRC) born in Uganda where I did part of my primary school. My parents decided to go back to the D.R.Congo in 1983. Ordained a Catholic priest in Bunia (DRC) in 2005 for the Missionaries of Africa, also known as White Fathers, I was appointed to Malawi where I served from 2005 to 2012. I was then sent to Lyon France for a Masters in Church History and training in spiritual guidance from 2012 to 2015. This led me to Abidjan (Ivory Coast) to serve in training seminarians. I was thereafter asked to return to Lyon where I am preparing a doctorate in Theology.
A personal note: Being from Bunia, I am very aware of the consequences of war and sensitive to people's suffering. As a priest, my faith helps me in encouraging people not to give up, but to hope and participate actively in building a better society and a brighter future.
Bryan Mealer
Is a mental health chaplain, journalist, and author. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), he currently serves as Director of Social and Spiritual Support at Broadway Community in New York City, helping people experiencing chronic homelessness and poor mental health stabilize and find housing. Prior to entering ministry, Bryan worked as a reporter for the Associated Press, Harper's, and the Guardian, among other publications. He's the author of four books, including All Things Must Fight to Live, which chronicled his years covering the war in D.R. Congo, and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (written with William Kamkwamba) which became a New York Times bestseller and Netflix film. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and children.