Cameroon pastor takes ministry to Snohomish

Pastor Moses Tanni, a baptist from Cameroon is spending four months teaching and preaching at First Presbyterian Church in Snohomish. He brings a message from Africa.

Pastor Tanni, 63, comes from Kumbo, the second-largest city in Cameroon’s northwestern province. The major religions in Cameroon are Christian, Muslim and pagan.

He is accustomed to having missionaries come to the hospital where he ministers to patients as a chaplain. He has served as the supervisor for all of the chaplains in the hospital system. “I retired three years ago, but I am not tired,” he said.

There is much work to be done. The hospitals need doctors, nurses, medical technicians, specialists, supplies, equipment, and money. Anti-retroviral drugs, which are used to treat HIV, have helped a great deal, Tanni said. “My eye is on the spiritual aspects of issues,” he said. “Americans as a whole and the church have contributed immensely to the well-being of the people of Cameroon.”

Tanni visited Snohomish 20 years ago with Dr. Brad Gerrish, a retired doctor who attended First Presbyterian Church and does missionary work abroad. Tanni impressed the American doctor with his faith and exuberant spirit. This time, Tanni is staying with Dr. Jon Bishop, who is retired from Snohomish Family Medical Center.

“Every year, one of us has gone to work in an under-served area,” Bishop said with one of the seven doctors he’s practiced with.

Tanni said he won’t know precisely the message he hopes to impart on Snohomish until after meeting people. He plans to spend time with families and exchange stories to better see the American way before he comes up with a lesson. “We have to understand where each other comes from to pass a message meaningfully,” he said.

During his last trip, Tanni said, he was struck by the fast pace of American life. He found the culture to be focused on the individual while Cameroon has a more communal way, he said. He also noticed that many people are materialistic in the U.S.

He was taken back by piled-high carts coming out of Costco and the sea of cars on the freeway. He said he couldn’t believe the ease with which cash machines would shoot out money or the amount of food that went to waste.

Tanni was shocked when he learned the price of a plate of food atop the Space Needle. “They told me the fantastic cost and I said, ‘And some are starving?’” he said.

Pat Sanvik lives in Lake Stevens but attends First Presbyterian Church. She said Tanni offers wonderful insights into American life. “That’s why we found it so riveting and rewarding to have him join us in ministry,” she said.

Tanni is quick to point out that he is not here to condemn. Rather, he is observing cultural differences to better understand the people. That’ll help him prepare a message that the people will understand.

He’d like to see Africans and Americans alike deepen their commitment to the church and their faith.

“My mission for this trip is interwoven with the mission of the church,” he said. “That is giving the world the message of God.”

Moses’ wife, Margarete, is joining him on this journey. He will be preaching at First Presbyterian Church in Snohomish at 10:30 a.m. almost every other Sunday from March 15 through to early June.