Story by: Rev. Taurai Emmanuel Maforo
Photographer: Rutendo Luckmore Kufarimayi
MCZ Presiding Bishop Simbarashe Sithole paid a courtesy call on Bishop Gift Machinga to strengthen ties between the two denominations.
Bishop Sithole was elected at the 48th Annual Conference at Masvingo Teachers’ College as the MCZ Presiding Bishop in August of 2025, succeeding after Bishop George T. Mawire.
Bishop Gift Kudakwashe Machinga is the active Resident Bishop of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, and Botswana Episcopal Area, elected on March 15, 2025, during the Africa Central Conference held at Birchwood Conference Center, South Africa. Bishop Machinga took the mantle from Retired Bishop of the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area Eben Kanukayi Nhiwatiwa.
The bishops continue to work towards strengthening ties between the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe (MCZ) and the United Methodist Church (UMC)ahead of the first ever Mega Wesleyan Convention slated for later this year.
Members from the two Wesleyan churches will converge together with the African Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and the Salvation Army, bringing a wonderful flare of Methodism in one place.
The denominations stand among the major mainline churches in Zimbabwe with their roots coming from John Wesley (1703-1791), an 18th Century cleric who became the principal leader of the Methodist Movement. John Wesley experienced the historic “Heartwarming experience” on 24 May 1738 at Aldersgate, the fire which continued to rage beyond Britain into America, and has spread into Africa – and particularly Zimbabwe.
The two – MCZ and UMC are sister churches from Britain and from the United States of America respectively. With very slight peculiarities, the two churches have a deep grounding in Wesleyan theology and share the same doctrinal foundations within the four “Wesleyan Quadrilateral” or the “Four Pillars of Faith, that is Scripture, Tradition, Reason and Experience.
In an era where the body of Christ is increasingly becoming fragmented, the meeting of the Bishops and the organising of a Mega Wesleyan Convention stands out as a non-verbal statement calling stronger ecumenical relations and unity in diversity