The Church in Zimbabwe
"Worship was not brought to Africa by the missionaries. Black people knew God and worshipped him before missionaries ever turn up. They worshipped God through their ancestors who were known as mediators and messengers of God." Wilbert Sayimani, General Secretary of the Zimbabwe presbytery of the Uniting Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa (UPCSA).
Missionary background
The missionaries who went to Zimbabwe in the latter years of the nineteenth century - whether Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Evangelical Lutheran, Presbyterian or Congregational and then the United Methodists from the USA - took with them Christianity dressed in western culture. Often lacking understanding of the culture, the missionaries discouraged indigenous expression and ritual which they regarded as heathen. Singing and dancing, clapping and drumming were all banned from worship.
In the 1950s the spirit of independence began to blow across Africa. The same spirit permeated the churches as Africans began to seek free expression in worship. Indigenous music for church was composed, women started swaying their bodies as they sang and added to the missionary hymns verses that were relevant to their every day life experience, changing the atmosphere from formal solemnity to one of spontaneous expression.
The churches in Zimbabwe today
Today, 25% of the population of Zimbabwe belong to the mainline Christian
denominations of missionary descent, which includes two Council for
World Mission partners:
- the Uniting Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa (UPCSA) which
has presbyteries in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia, of some 135,000
people
- the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) which has
some 280,000 members in Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and
Zimbabwe.
Steve Titus, President of UCCSA, writes: "The Church has always
been a champion of the poor and voiceless. It has brought education,
health-care and social services to Africa."
African Independent Churches attract about 50% of the population.
"
When the African people accepted Christianity, they struggled with the
Western culture that came with it, hence the emergence of African Independent
Churches (AICs). AICs manage to join Christian and the African emotional
ways of worship. They express their faith in completely African ways.
.... AICs are playing a significant role towards contextualising theology
in Africa. Today their worship seems to be sweeping over southern Africa
and affecting all mainline black churches." Wilbert Sayimani, UPCSA.
"
Efforts are made to Africanise worship to facilitate local cultural expressions
of love towards God and neighbours. Traditional Western expressions of
worship are increasingly inappropriate for black people and have been
a reason for youth turning away from Christianity. But we are now experiencing
revival and youth are increasingly involved in the Church. Indeed, young
people and new charismatic groups in the mainline churches are demanding
new, lively forms of worship. My local church has separate services for
Christians who prefer the traditional Western worship and those who prefer
the younger charismatic ones." Steve Titus, UCCSA.
Music in the churches
In both mainline and independent churches music is important and faith is shared through song. The two songs are taken from Sing! Zimbabwe, a Counterpoint collection of 30 songs gathered from visits to mainline and independent churches and women's groups, Shona and Ndebele alike. Maggie Hamilton who recorded these songs commented "Music has proved to be a uniting factor among churches in general as people have come together to share concerns, celebrate weddings, attend funerals and many other functions where each church is free to sing songs from its background. Denominational boundaries are broken as the people are united through song."
Reading: Psalm 146
Discussion pointers
- Who are the 'men in power'?
- What do we mean by 'power'?
- Who has 'the God of Jacob to help him'?
- How does God 'give justice to those denied it, give food to the hungry, give liberty to prisoners'?
- In what ways can we nurture and express God in us?
Prayer
God of Jacob, we turn to you for the life of our world.
Where there is generosity found in us, expand it with your grace;
where our longing for newness has run dry, refresh it with your truth;
where there is creativity of heart, deepen it with your wisdom;
where there is hope of reconciliation, add your power to make us one.
Raise up in us honesty of mind, passion for justice, and courage to choose your prophetic way.
(adapted from the World Council of Churches Assembly in Harare, 1998)
The songs
The gospel is good (Yakanaka Vhangeri) Source: Drawn to the Wonder, CWM, 1995
This is a well-known tune throughout southern Africa and typically varies as it travels, melodically and textually. This text extols the strength of the gospel and its implications for word and action. It was taught in Shona by Thandiwe Kanyowa from Zimbabwe at the 1993 Council for World Mission Council Meeting in Jamaica. Although the Shona appears at first sight to have a daunting number of words, there is only one word different in each verse and pronunciation is literal (with hard 'g's) - so don't be put off from trying the original language! Music directors may choose to omit the repeats.
Almighty God, pour down the Holy Spirit Source: Sing! Zimbabwe, Counterpoint, 1998
This Ndebele song should be taken at a steady pace to appreciate its strength. It can be repeated as often as required. As with other songs from this part of the world, the music serves as a framework; anyone who fancies it can improvise over the top. It was recorded by the Methodist Church Choir in Mpopoma, Bulawayo, in 1998.
Thanks to Maggie Hamilton of Counterpoint for her work on the CforL pages about the churches.
