Did you ever have a dream of a street, a park, or perhaps a country being named after you?
Naming a country after himself was the arrogant feat accomplished by Cecil Rhodes, a British citizen in the late 1800s. As the founder of the British South Africa Company in 1893, Rhodes, besides reaping untold riches, managed to name a large territory in the southern part of Africa after himself, Rhodesia, a new country 1.5 times larger than his home country, England. No doubt a conquest bolstering his prestige in the gentlemen’s clubs of London, while his subjects spent lifetimes toiling and sweating in his diamond, gold and copper mines.
After comparatively low rates of COVID-19 infection throughout most of 2020, Southern Africa experienced dramatically increased caseloads in the wake of the holiday season.
World Day of Prayer is a global ecumenical movement that is celebrated in more than 170 countries and led by Christian women who welcome all to join in prayer and action for peace and justice. The day’s motto is “informed prayer and prayerful action.” World Day of Prayer is celebrated on the first Friday in March; this year, that is today, March 6.
In a country where people are traumatized by poverty, political instability and economic decline, Rev. Lydia Neshangwe is a leader in bringing healing to those around her.
The cautious optimism that characterized the popular mood in Zimbabwe at the beginning of 2018 had largely dissipated by the beginning of this year. In January 2019, a huge fuel price increase triggered widespread protests that were brutally suppressed by security forces, prompting concerns that Zimbabwe is returning to the repression that marked the Mugabe era. In the midst of this turmoil, the Church is working to foster national dialogue that emphasizes the sanctity of the 2013 Constitution and unity in diversity.
Zimbabwe’s voters went to the polls in large numbers on Monday, July 30, in “harmonized elections” for president and members of Parliament. Domestic and international election observers commended the voting process as orderly and generally peaceful.
When the people of Zimbabwe go to the polls on Monday, July 30, it will be the first time since the country gained independence in 1980 that Robert Mugabe’s name will not appear on the presidential ballot.
Is mission a one-way street? Not to people in Denver Presbytery or the Presbytery of Zimbabwe of the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa (UPCSA). These two presbyteries have been faithful witnesses to the unity of the body of Christ for more than a decade, despite the nearly 10,000 miles between them.
