THEN AND NOW:

GENERAL MISSIONARY CONFERENCES OF NORTHERN RHODESIA 1914-1944


After reporting on the latest UCZ International Partners Forum and this year being the 100^th anniversary of a first meeting, I thought it might be interesting to look at how in the past, Churches regularly met to discuss, cooperate and tackle mutual problems.

 

The ecumenical roots of the United Church of Zambia can be traced back to this meeting and the formation of the General Missionary Conference of Northern Rhodesia which first convened 100 years ago in 1914 in Livingstone.

 

Below is a table of their meetings between 1914 and 1944. In 1945 the GMC’s place was taken by the Christian Council of Northern Rhodesia which in turn at Independence became the Christian Council of Zambia, to which the UCZ belongs

 

CONFERENCE	VENUE	YEAR	PRESIDENT
1st GMC	Livingstone	1914	Rev E W Smith Primitive Methodist
2nd	Livingstone	1919	Rev A Jalla PEMS
3rd	Kafue	1922	Rt Rev Alston May UMCA
4th	Kafue	1924	Rev Malcolm Moffat CofS
5th	Livingstone	1927	Rev CP Pauw DRCM
6th	Broken Hill (Kabwe)	1931	Rev S D Gray WMMS
7th	Ndola	1935	Rt Rev A May UMCA
8th	Lusaka	1939	Rev H J Barnes LMS
9th	Chalimbana	1944	Rev H J Barnes LMS

 

Prior to the formation of the GMC there had been much informal cooperation amongst Missions in the areas of fellowship, hospitality, linguistics, medical, maternity and dental treatment amongst themselves. Health, education and social justice were even then national matters and areas of ecumenical cooperation. The divisions of denominationalism were more keenly felt back home in Europe or North America than at work here in the mission field.  The 1910 Edinburgh World Conference did much, by starting to repudiate sectarian division and demonstrating the inner and essential unity of the Church.

 

 

The objects of the GMC were to provide:

*cooperation and fellowship in the areas of evangelization,

*public sensitization on Mission and

*oversight of the interests of the indigenous people.

 

The denominations represented were;
Paris Evangelical Mission Society (French Protestant)

London Missionary Society (Congregationalist)

Church of Scotland

Reformed Church

South African Baptist Mission society

Seventh Day Adventist Mission

Brethren in Christ Church

Universities Mission to Central Africa (Anglican)

South Africa General Mission (Evangelical)

The Salvation Army

Bible Class Mission

Pilgrim Holiness Church

United Missions in the Copperbelt (LMS, CofS, UMCA, MMS, SABM & USCL)

 

The main business at the 1914 meeting, at which only the Paris Mission, Methodists, Anglicans, Mennonites and Wesleyans were present, was the need to have a common national curriculum and for regular government subsidies for mission schools.

 

CHRISTIAN COUNCIL OF NORTHERN RHODESIA 1945 -1963

 

70 years ago in 1944 the General Conference met for the last time. Of the 16 Mission Societies at work in the country, 14 were present, the Roman Catholics were not authorized to attend and the Church of Christ sent their apologies. The agenda covered post-war education, agriculture, relations with Colonial authorities, Churches in mining areas, youth ministry, health, African literature and moral and social questions regarding the returning military. It was agreed to form a Christian Council of Northern Rhodesia, similar to other countries, uniting all the Churches and replacing the GCM with it. This new body would also collaborate with the Councils of Central and Southern Africa especially Nyasaland. A provisional Council was made responsible for preparing its organization and its constitution.

 

It held its inaugural meeting at Mindolo and held bi-annual meetings till 1963

 

COUNCIL MEETING	VENUE	YEAR	PRESIDING
1	Mindolo	1945	Pres: Rev  E G Nightingale Sec: Rev A J Cross
2	Livingstone	1947	G R Suckling Rev G Hewitt
3	Mufulira	1949	Rt Rev R Selby-Taylor Rev G Hewitt
4	Lusaka	1951	Rev G Fraser Rev B T Foster
5	Kitwe	1953	Rev G Hewitt P S Walton
6	Chikankata	1955	Rev G Hewitt PA Musgrove
7	Lusaka	1957	Rev M Temple Rev E Matthews
8	Mindolo	1959	Rev E Nightingale Rev M Temple
9	Mindolo	1961	Rt Rev O Wilkinson Rev E Nightingale
10	Mindolo	1963	Dr A Thuma Rev E Nightingale

 

In 1964 the 11^th meeting in Mindolo changed its name to the Christian Council of Zambia with Rev Safeli Chileshe as President and Rev Philip Kazhila as Secretary. The CCZ membership consists of 21 Protestant Churches and 15 Church related bodies. Its name was later changed to the Council of Churches in Zambia. There is another ecumenical body the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia and the Catholics have their Episcopal Conference of Zambia. All three bodies try to work together where they can.

 

Rev Suzanne Matale presently serves as the General Secretary for The Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) It is the official ecumenical umbrella organisation for most mainline Christian churches. CCZ seeks to promote cooperation and fellowship between Christian churches and organizations in the nation. It serves to strengthen Christian unity and to promote social justice, peace and development. For example at the moment, with other bodies it is involved in the constitutional review process, gender, poverty and other social issues. Its ministry is promoting human dignity to member churches, organizations, and to the people of Zambia by facilitation, advocacy, capacity-building, and networking to the glory of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The CCZ has a website which is presently being updated http://www.ccz.org.zm

UCZ INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS CONSULTATION MEETING - KABWE 17 &18 JULY 2014

Under this year’s theme “Seeking the Church Transformed through Prudent Stewardship” the United Church of Zambia met with international partners involved with UCZ Projects for a two-day Conference on 17 & 18 July at the Diakonia Centre in Kabwe. This was a follow-up to a previous meeting held in July 2011 and was a mid-term review of the Strategic Plan as part of the mutual commitment of walking together. It was an opportunity for presentation dialogue feedback and reflection.

 

Participants included representatives from the Geneva Church, Church of Scotland, United Reformed Church, US Board of Trustees, World Renew, Gossner Mission and Council for World Mission. Representing the UCZ were the Synod Executive and Heads of Departments and Institutions with the Presbytery Bishops, also attending were representatives from the Trustees, Strategic Plan Technical, Golden Jubilee, Synod Construction, World Partnership and Fundraising Committees

 

After worship and a devotion led by Rev S Silishebo, reminding us of our blessings and the meaning of Jubilee, the meeting opened with a welcome by the Synod Bishop Rev M Mulumbwa followed by an address by the General Secretary, Rev Dr Peggy Mulambya Kabonde, to the delegates who were mixed and seated around 6 different tables.

 

The meeting was ably moderated by Ms Omega Bula and the first plenary session opened with a panel presentation on the Context for Mission. Rev Mary Mpingu spoke on the impact of poverty on rural ministry and the Church’s response to poverty alleviation through Skill Centres and Microfinance. Despite the challenges there were successes.

 

She was followed by Mrs Yeta who, from a woman’s perspective, shared their vision for the Church. She noted that there were no female Bishops at the moment in the UCZ and there was still an obvious lack of female representation in other Church leadership positions. Foreign ownership of land and the inability of women to be given land in their own right was a matter of concern. Malnourishment, unsafe drinking water, HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence, poor employment opportunities were all factors affecting women that the Church could help with.

 

Friday Ngoma talked about the challenges and opportunities for Youth and Young Adult Ministries. It is a confusing time of generational culture clashes: ITC v writing or preaching v Facebook. In the Church many youth are attracted to charismatic pentecostalism, - other areas of concern for young people were HIV/AIDS, GBV, lack of educational opportunities, early marriages, teen-pregnancies and chronic poverty. He suggested a refocusing of resources to Youth Ministry to reconcile, mentor and disciple the young so they too may be equipped and sent out.

 

At the end of each session there was a time to question and reflect on what we heard and to consider what God was saying to us.

 

After lunch we heard from Dr Alex Simwanza and Mr Ngande Mwanajiti who highlighted the progress being made with the implementation of the Strategic Plan.  

The meeting was highly gratified to see signs of greater financial stability through debt reduction and increased income. The restructuring had also led to greater managerial and organizational effectiveness. This would be further reinforced with the advent of missional congregations. This should also lead to more meaningful participation and greater accountability with better communication so that it was not just top-down but also bottom-up so that the grassroots had the opportunity to feedback. Better utilization of church land was another priority and advocating for and speaking out on social justice issues.     

 

After supper to end the first day we joined with Music Ministry Kabwe for a time of praise and worship, from the Busokololo Church Choir at All Saints Congregation. They have recently produced an excellent DVD called Samaria.

 

On Friday morning we again started with praise and prayer. The first session was a financial analysis of the Church over the same period, highlighting salient features and was presented by Mr I Kangwa Financial Secretary and Mr C Katongo the Internal Auditor. It explained the accounting and budgetary control systems now in operation and undertook a financial performance analysis looking at income and expenditure, assets and liabilities, ending with investments and cash flow projections. This led to a discussion concerning ethical investment and a recommendation that the UCZ only invest in tax-compliant and socially-responsible companies. 

 

The next stage discussed the Key Action Points arising from the reports and presentations. The areas the meeting wished to affirm and strengthen leading to an Action Improvement Plan for future direction were:

 

*Development of the missional congregation

*Advocacy –Local and National

*Address social injustices and their causes

*Ethical investments

*Communication Flow

*Improved Church Statistics

*Training of Clergy & Ministry Formation

*Youth Ministry

*Migrant and Transhumance Ministry

*Improved Social Services (Health & Education)

*Empowering women, the poor and marginalized

* Church land utilization – Title deeds

* Sustainability of Misprol Projects

 

Wolfgang Pfeiffer then spoke on behalf of the Gossner Mission explaining the history of their link with the UCZ and their emphasis on Community Development and Social Justice and focusing on self-help and agriculture to improve living standards and promote poverty alleviation amongst the poor and vulnerable.

 

The final session linked this all to the Golden Jubilee. It is proposed that there will be events starting on 15^th  January 2015 with Seminars and an exhibition at the Mulunguishi Government Complex^. On the 16^th  January there will be a Service at Mindolo commemorating the 1965 Union Service and using the same Order of Service. The climax to these events will be a national celebration at the Gabon Heroes Stadium held on 18^th January. International partners and their representatives would be most welcome to part of this programme.

 

Our closing worship included Holy Communion. It was a useful time together, learning in what practical ways the UCZ is being transformed by prudent stewardship - a journey on which we are all travelling and an on-going process.          

United Church of Zambia at 50

In 2015, the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) will celebrate its Golden Jubilee – 50 years of spreading the Good News – while strengthening the bond of unity, founded then. Other than preaching the gospel, the UCZ is deeply involved in the work of social ministry, concerned with the physical, social and spiritual well-being of all Zambians.

 

On Sunday 29 June Mwandi Consistory launched its Golden Jubilee Celebrations. This event commenced at 0900h with the congregants assembling at Mwandi MTN for a march through the village to the service held outside the Church. The Boys Brigade Drums led the procession with the Consistory’s Golden Jubilee Banner, the marchers were made up by Church workers, the Boys and Girls Brigade and Sunday School at the head followed by the 5 Sections or Wards that make up Mwandi Congregation, each displaying at their head their own printed banners.

 

On arrival at the Church the march participants, around 200, were welcomed by those who had not marched and were awaiting the crowd’s arrival including His Royal Highness Senior Chief Inyambo Yeta and his wife Moyo Lunga.

 

The Service began with the setting down of the banner, the lighting of a candle and the entry of the Bible. Then all stood for the National Anthem.

The Call to Worship was from Psalm 133 and 134:

 

How wonderful it is, how pleasant for God’s people to live together in harmony

It is like the precious oil running down from Aaron’s head and beard, down to the collar of his robes

It is like the dew on Mount Hermon, falling on the hills of Zion

That is where the Lord has promised his blessings, life that never ends.

 

Come and praise the Lord all his servants, all who serve his Temple at night,

Raise your hands in prayer in the Temple, and praise the Lord!

May the Lord who made Heaven and Earth, bless you from Zion

 

This was followed by the Hymn of Praise 'Lwakulumbeka Mulena' (We praise you, Lord)

The Worship Leader Deaconness Josephine Kabamba then gave the Prayer of Invocation, Thanksgiving and Confession. The Old Testament Reading came from Exodus 3:7-15 about the seemingly impossible task facing the Children of Israel in their struggle for liberation. We then enjoyed a time of praise and worship led by the Resurrection Choir.

 

The Church Secretary was called to welcome visitors and give the intimations of all the forthcoming Church activities this week. The Prayer of Intercession was offered and ended with the Lord’s Prayer. The Gospel was Luke 4:16-19 where Jesus read from Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth, another message of Liberation where Jesus makes clear the 5 purposes for which God had sent him. After this the Offering was received and dedicated. The Rev Manda preached, taking up the theme of liberation. The United Church of Zambia and the Zambian State are the same age with both celebrating their 50^th anniversary this year. While Zambia now enjoys political freedom, there is still much to be done regarding the nation’s economic, social and spiritual bondage.

 

There was a short musical interlude before the Guest of Honour the District Commissioner Mrs Afuna Chali spoke to the congregation. She thanked the UCZ for working in partnership with the Government in the fields of health, education and social services nation-wide, and mentioning in particular Mwandi Mission Hospital, our UCZ Mwandi Primary and Secondary Schools, the OVC programme and Kandiana, our home for Aged.

 

The Congregation then recited the Golden Jubilee Pledge.

 Leader: Israel often strayed from the blessing of unity. Renewal came as its leaders turned the people back to celebrate and honour the oneness in being chosen people of God. God’s hand comes upon repentant people giving them all one heart to do his will. (2 Chron 30:12)

All: May we glorify you with one heart, O Lord!

 

Leader: God calls the members of the body of Christ to live in unity with one another. As Christians we witness our union with Jesus as we work and live with one another in unity of spirit through the bond of peace. (Eph 4:1-3)

All: May we glorify you with one heart, O Lord!

 

Leader:God grants gifts to equip the members and build up the body, so that all will come to a unity of faith and to a knowledge of the Son of Man, mature and attaining the fullness of Christ. (Eph 4:11-13)

All: May we glorify you with one heart, O Lord!

 

Leader: Clothing ourselves as one body with the virtues of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and forgiveness, we witness our unity through love which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Col 3:12-14)

All: May we glorify you with one heart, O Lord!

 

Leader Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, help us to remain attached to you so we will bear much fruit. Pour out your spirit of unity that we who profess faith in you might witness to that belief by our thoughts words deeds and love, shown for you and each other. As we are one in the Spirit so shall we be one in the Lord.

All: With one heart we pray. Amen.

 

Leader: Paul challenged the Christians in Corinth to know their hearts and to show in their actions that Christ has not been divided. He challenges us too to realize more fully the unity we already have in Christ. With all those in every place who call on the Lord Jesus Christ,

 

Hymn 58: U yomunde hahulu (You are so very beautiful.)

 

All: Together we are called to be saints,

Leader: Graced by God in every way.

All: Together we give thanks for one another,

Leader: Rich in the many blessings God has given us through our union in Christ

 

All: Together we are not lacking in any spiritual gift,

Leader: Sure in God, who strengthens us for love and service.

 

All: Together we affirm that God is faithful

Leader: Embraced by Jesus Christ

 

All Together we called into fellowship

Leader: United in the same mind and purpose.

 

All: Together we seek to be in agreement

Leader: Overcoming our quarrels about the one who was crucified for us

 

All: Together we belong to Christ

 

Leader: Has Christ then been divided?

All: No! Together we go into the world to proclaim the Good News.!

 

The service concluded by all singing Hymn 82 La kacenu, ha u sa bulukiwe (Today, as you have still been spared) followed by the Grace and Benediction.

 

A celebratory lunch was then enjoyed by all; Chicken, beef, cabbage, soup and buhobe washed down by Coke, Fanta or Sprite.

 

This was the beginning locally of the UCZ Golden Jubilee celebrations; it is still the prayer of many that the church realise its position in the body of Christ, and continue to look out as part of the worldwide church and embracing Christ’s wish that we all may be one (John 17:21) witnessed by our “50 Years of the Gospel and Unity”.

The Widening Income Achievement Gap

 

I have just read this enlightening article by Sean F Reardon who is an Education Professor at Stanford, California. It appeared in a back-number of the American teachers’ magazine, EL -Faces of Poverty. Vol. 70 No 8 of May 2013 and although focused on America, I suspect that much of what he says would apply to Zambia, Scotland and anywhere else in the world of neo-liberal economics.

 

Reardon looks at the increasing income gap between rich and poor and the resultant decline in social mobility. He highlights the decrease in middle class jobs in manufacturing and the competition faced by individuals and the costs for families for their off-spring to achieve academic success. High-earning families spend seven times as much on child development as low income families. This spills over into participation in extracurricular clubs and free-time activities. As well as differences in examination results there are fewer and fewer students from poorer backgrounds accessing tertiary education.

 

Comparing academic achievement and family income, there were three significant findings for Reardon. The first was the growth of the income achievement gap in these past 30 years. In reading achievement in the1950s, 60s & 70s the standard deviation between rich and poor was around 0.9. By the 90s and 00s this had risen by 40% to 1.25.

Income inequality rose dramatically over the same period making the gap between rich and poor much greater.

 

The second was that income gaps in other measures of education success in its wider sense had grown too. This included tertiary education completion rates where high income students are an increasing proportion of the matriculated students at elite colleges and universities. A related issue was the differing degrees of civic engagement through extracurricular activities, sports, academic clubs, voluntary organizations and participation in community life, so while Thandi juggles with piano, choir, Girls’ Brigade, ballet and netball in her busy life, all Masiye has to look forward to, is preventative maintenance with a hoe on a Wednesday afternoon!

 

Thirdly the attainment gap is already there on entry to Pre-School and does not grow significantly throughout the schooling period. This suggests that the gap is not due to unequal school quality, in fact schooling may actually narrow the academic achievement gaps rather than widen them. School holidays were also found to widen the gap when schools were not in session, causing the ‘summer setback’ especially, in the lower Primary years.

 

Reardon then looks to the social history of the past 50 years to help explain the causes and reasons for the growth in the income achievement gap. In 1970s the income gap between rich and poor was a factor of 5, today a high income family earns 11 times more than a poor family. So the rich have even more resources to invest in education than before, relative to the poor.

 

Upward social mobility is now more difficult because of income inequality and the decline in Western economic growth since the 1970s. This has led to a large increase in low-skill, low wage service or routine production jobs with minimum wage and zero hours contracts, on the other hand there are a much smaller number of high-skill, high- wage jobs in financial services, information technology and engineering design. Gone are the jobs that provided a respectable living without a university degree and so now education is vital for economic success. In Zambia it is now almost impossible to get even the lowliest of Government jobs such as a hospital cleaner, without good Grade 12 results

 

Popular notions too of what constitutes educational success have returned to the normative and quantitative with marks, grades and tables playing a dominant role. High- income children are more likely to have two tertiary-educated, parents both of whom work, whereas low-income children are more likely to be raised by a single mother who left school with few qualifications. These factors too have an important bearing on child development.

 

Schools have in the past played a role as a social equalizer where children of all backgrounds would have equal opportunity to learn and develop. This could be done with the support of government, both national and local and with family and community support that promoted cognitive and social development to try and close these gaps.

 

Reardon stresses the importance of resources being devoted to early education, by intervening early, the more likely it is that the gaps can be effectively tackled and eliminated. The recent Early Childhood Care, Development and Education Syllabus is testimony to Zambian Education taking this seriously. Reardon also suggests extending the school day and year and providing after-school and summer-school programmes to help narrow the gaps. The extra time gained has to be used effectively. Equal access to high-quality teachers is important as is a stimulating curriculum in well-resourced schools. Otherwise schools will reflect these gaps with schools being high-income or low-income, segregated by the type of housing and homes the pupils come from and the income of the parents. This will do nothing to promote socio-economic diversity or cohesion within schools or to show that through education and hard work anyone can rise to any position in society.

 

SOME RELATED STATISTICS

 

  USA              SCOTLAND                          ZAMBIA

 

Poverty Threshold       $US23 000 p.a.    GBP21 000                                    $730 or K4400 p.a.    

                                    (Family of 4)        (Family of 4)                      ($2.00 a day)

Extreme Poverty         $11 680                GBP18 600                                    $460 or K2740 p.a.

                                    ($32 a day)                                                      ($1.25 a day)

Suburban Poverty Rate 11.3%                             14%                        22% (Lusaka)

                                                                                                            34% (Copperbelt)

                                                                                                            70% (Rural)

                                                USA                            SCOTLAND       ZAMBIA

Living below poverty line       46 million (15%)         950 000(18%)      7.9 million (60%)

 

In extreme poverty                  20.4 million (6%)        710 000 (14%)                  5.5 million (42%)             

 

Worldwide 21 000 children die every day from hunger. 1 every 4 seconds.

 

                       

Malawian Elections

With Ruairidh, Charles and Bevan all at present in Lilongwe unpacking and getting the house ready for Fiona and the girls moving this week, it has been interesting watching the outplay of the recent Malawian Presidential Elections. Zambia's Vice-President Guy Scott last week attended the inauguration and afterwards held talks with President Peter Mutharika in Blantyre after his victory in the May 20^th Elections. While Dr Scott and President Sata offered their congratulations, Malawi's former president Joyce Banda was conspicuous by her absence at the event.

After a robust campaign and some delay with the results, the Malawi Electoral Commission last Friday announced that Peter Mutharika won 36% of the vote. Second was Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party with 27.8%, and Joyce Banda was third with 20.2%. There was quite a similar break up of the vote in Zambia in 2008, with the President being elected on a minority of the vote. In neither Zambia nor Malawi is there provision constitutionally for a French-style Presidential run-off, it is a case of the Westminster’s first-past-the-post wins.

It is alleged that there were irregularities with polling places in Blantyre and Lilongwe being open for three days instead of 12 hours. This was attributed to a shortage of ballot papers. This reason did not convince some voters who protested. From some centres the number of people voting was greater than the number on the Electoral Register.

These anomolies and flaws prompted Joyce Banda, though acting ultra vires, to try and invalidate the election results. However, this was seen as personal pique since Peter was former President Bingu wa Mutharika’s brother. Peter had been Bingu’s chosen successor in stead of the then Vice-President Joyce.  The attempted annulment and the promised future support for Rev Chikwera in the proposed re-run was widely criticised at home and abroad.

The other parties tried either to have the results released without further ado or to postpone them by extending the 8-day period for the count; even the Electoral Commission applied to the High Court for a recount. The High Court granted the MEC’s application for a recount but only with the 8 day time-frame permitted for the count. There was no time to do this so Mutharika was declared the winner on 30^th May and sworn-in the next day.

Prior to the elections Joyce Banda's Government was hit by a major financial scandal called 'Cashgate', where US$32.5 million from the sale of Government assets including a fleet of luxury cars and a presidential jet could not be accounted for. Another factor in her demise was the mishandling of food security last year in which over 2 million Malawian were affected by a severe maize shortage. The strategic reserves disappeared but free maize was surprisingly available at ruling-party political rallies for supporters. On top of this a 34% devaluation of the Kwacha caused prices to rise by 50%. Corruption and hunger were the tipping points for many voters.

The new president has promised change but Malawians remember the administration of his older brother with its inflation and shortages; and from the content of his inaugural speech heard little to indicate any significant changes in the style of governance. For many, it is a matter of wait and see.

Banda was considered by much of the West to be a new kind of African leader, and for those who get most of their news about Malawi from the mainstream Western media, the election results were quite a surprise. Her image at home is somewhat different where she acted just like any other Malawian politician in her position whether buying votes or agreeing to IMF demands and making life more difficult for poor Malawians in the process. As the Chewa proverb says: Mapanga awiri abvumbwitsa! : (Sitting between )- Two huts can make you get soaked!

This election was chaotic with no candidate being above reproach. But despite the disorganisation and rigging, Malawi's young democracy dealt with the problem and found a peaceful and fairly consensual solution. Again whoever cries for rain also cries for mud –Warira mvula, warira matope!