Story by Taurai Emmanuel Maforo
“These meetings are a sure sign that as Zimbabwe you were ready for us, 100percent!” said the Secretary of the Standing Committee on Central Conference Affairs (SCCCA) the Rev. Kimba Evariste who was flanked by Mrs. Christine Flick, a member of the committee and Rev. Dr Zebediah Tendai Marewangepo and Rev. Alan Masimba Gurupira, the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area Administrative Assistant and his deputy respectively.
He said this at the just ended indaba between the SCCCA representatives and the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area leadership from Zimbabwe West Annual Conference (ZWAC), Zimbabwe East Annual Conference (ZEAC), and the Malawi Mission Conference held at Harare Inner City church to assess the possible creation of new Episcopal Area(s). The assessment visit by the SCCCA team began on January 27 and winds up on February 2nd 2015.
The SCCCA duo was presented with detailed reports which included statistical figures of; Total members and participants – 222 208(ZEAC=112 962, ZWAC=99 589, Malawi=9 657); Total Clergy – 397(ZEAC=175, ZWAC=196, Malawi=26; Total Congregations – 970 (ZEAC=431, ZWAC=420, Malawi=119).
In his opening prayer Bishop Eben Kanukayi Nhiwatiwa said, “The meeting has brought us together with our visiting teams to plan for the present and the future of this great denomination called The United Methodist Church…”
The bishop described the gathering as a moment of celebrating the growth of the church.
“As we gather here, we celebrate the coming of the church in Africa through sending of one Bishop for Africa…and now we talk of a number of Episcopal areas and Central Conferences.” He said this to an audible acclamation from leaders who bowed their heads in prayer.
The Assessment team and process
The team is part of the three-team delegation to Africa. The three teams are on assessment visits for creation of Episcopal Areas in South Congo, North Katanga, and Zimbabwe.
In his opening remarks Rev. Kimba said “Our mission is to make an assessment and not to guarantee that Zimbabwe will have a second bishop. These are learning and hearing experiences.” At the end of the assessment visit the duo will meet with the rest of the committee in Mozambique and finalise proposals.
“The final decision making for the proposals following these meetings entirely rest upon the General Conference” said Mrs. Flick
The process involved receiving of inputs from Zimbabwe West Annual Conference, Zimbabwe East Annual Conference and Malawi Mission Conference. Separate meetings were held with each of the groups represented.
Reports by participants at the just ended assessment meeting exhibited Zimbabwe Episcopal Area’s high level of readiness towards creation of new Episcopal Areas.
Of particular reference is the progress achieved this far with regards to building head offices for the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area’s two annual conferences. The Zimbabwe West Annual Conference new head office will be ready for occupation by March 1 2015, while the ground-breaking ceremony for the Zimbabwe East Annual Conference will be held on March 8 2015 in Mutare and estimated completion is August 2016.
Capacity
Submissions by Council on Finance and Administration (Confad) chairpersons Messrs Maxwell Gwangwadza and Danford Mutwiwa for ZWAC and ZEAC respectively demonstrated the church’s ability to raise funds for projects of a high magnitude. The hosting of the Ebenezer Convention 2014 financed to the tune of US$250,000, ZWAC Head Office construction US$611,328 for 2014 and additional $488,672 for 2015, ZEAC Head Office construction – close to US$500,000 will be injected at the start of the project following the ground-breaking ceremony on the 8th of March 2015.
The ZEAC Confad projects spending $697,000 towards the new head office project for 2015. “This is no impossible feat considering we were able to raise funds for Ebenezer in 2014 through contributions from districts. We will simply do the same for the head office.” said Mr. Mutwiwa
Judging by the pace at which the sister conference progressed Mr. Mutwiwa was upbeat that they (ZEAC) will not falter.
In addition the finance body in agreement with Board of Trustees (BOT) and Episcopacy Committees gave indications that plans are at an advanced stage towards procuring a second Episcopal vehicle which is expected by end of February 2015. To further support the episcopacy, the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area has already made plans for the acquisition of a second episcopal residence.
The Itinerary
Rev. Kimba and Mrs. Flick were received at the Harare International Airport by Bishop Nhiwatiwa. They spent the later part of the day touring the current ZWAC head office in Chinhoyi Street before proceeding to No. 10 Harvey Brown in the Milton Park area to view the new head office. Their second day was spent in meetings and deliberations followed visits to two of the oldest churches in Harare – St. Paul (Mbare), and St. Mark (Highfield). The next lag of their itinerary will see them travelling to Mutare. On their way they will visit Marondera Inner City, and then proceed to Hilltop in Mutare, Old Mutare, and Africa University. Towards closure of this historic visit the duo will worship in Murewa, visit Chisipiti UMC, and final meet with the Bishop before departure on 2 February 2015.
Gallery
End
Pastor Taurai Emmanuel Maforo is a communicator in the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area.