Women are backbone of Anglican church in Zimbabwe

06/09/09 Bishop Sebastian Bakare of Harare and his wife Ruth talk about the role of the Mothers Union and women in the Anglican church throughout Zimbabwe.','player');" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(56, 86, 144); line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; ">Women are backbone of Anglican church in Zimbabwe, Bakares say

Episcopal life06/09/09

Video: Bishop Sebastian Bakare of Harare and his wife Ruth talk about the role of the Mothers Union and women in the Anglican church throughout Zimbabwe. Here

God save the Church in Zimbabwe

Bishop Levee Kadenge

God Save the Anglican Church

By Bishop Levee Kadenge

One wonders whether we have already seen or heard the worst coming from our sisters and brothers in the Anglican Church. A few days ago listening to the Voice of America news VOA I could not believe that Bishop Nolbert Kunonga who is pitted against the (Anglican) Church of the Province of Central Africa could respond with such venom to a question why his breakaway section of the church was getting less and less members. His response was in Shona "Nhunzi dzinoenda kunenyama yakaora" (Flies are attracted by rotten meat).

Should a church leader or former church leader say that non members or potential members of his church were like flies who flocked in their numbers to rotting meat when they had left his church.

My appeal to the larger church of the world is to pray for our sisters and brothers in the Anglican Church here in Zimbabwe. Politicians are fuelling the already dire situation in this church. June is the month Anglicans in the Central Africa region which comprises Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe come together in Marondera in Zimbabwe at a place near Bernard Muzeki College, a place believed Bernard Muzeki, one of the earliest black missionaries was killed.

Kunonga has already booked the place with the police so that the whole of Anglicanism here in this region will not have access to it. What has the police to do with that function if not supporting one man's cause? God forbid!!!

The Harare Diocese which is at the centre of these problems was being led by Bishop Kunonga until the Central province excommunicated him a year ago for breaking away from the church. The retired bishop of Manicaland Bishop Sebastian Bakare was called to lead the Diocese temporarily while it elected a new bishop. Bakare has seen hell. At one service his communion elements were thrown to the ground by Bishop Kunonga.

Recently a new bishop Dr Chad Gandiya has been elected and awaits confirmation. One person in the Diocese is said to have objected to his appointment and the church leadership from the province will be meeting soon in Harare to consider the evidence so that they can make a decision. May God save this great church.

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Dewa Mavhinga

From Nehanda Radio

Bishop Trevor Manhanga, Pseudo-Christians and the Struggle for Zimbabwe
By Dewa Mavhinga

For those familiar with Zimbabwean politics l know already you have in mind ZANU-PF activists like: the dubious but prominent churchman, Reverend Obadiah Musindo (a convicted rapist who once described Mugabe as a ‘Black Moses’ and denounced MDC in his prayers) who heads Destiny Africa Network; yet another convicted rapist and ZANU-PF supporter, Madzibaba Pastor Lawrence Katsiru of the apostolic sect who terrorized Marondera in the cause of ZANU-PF; Madzibaba Nzira, also a convicted rapist who at one time “prophesied” that Mugabe was Zimbabwe’s rightful ruler; and die-hard ZANU-PF supporter, Mugabe praise singer and war veteran, disgraced Bishop Nolbert Kunonga who was excommunicated for the Anglican Church. In August 2005 Kunonga appeared before an ecclesiastical court facing numerous charges of bringing the church into disrepute including by bringing militant ZANU-PF politics to the pulpit.

Apart from these, we have more subtle and smooth supporters of ZANU-PFs disguised as churchmen, one of whom is Bishop Trevor Manhanga, who, of late, has been actively supporting embattled Reserve Bank Governor, Gideon Gono.

More here

The Confirmation of Chad Gandiya

From Avondale Parish

KNOW all men that by mundane choice and DIVINE permission that THE CHURCH CONFIRMATION COURT of 02.06.09 confirmed CHAD GANDIYA as the next BISHOP OF HARARE.

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The consecration is set for 25th July 2009. We need to continue to pray for Chad and Faith at this momentous time in their lives.

and from the new Diocese of Harare Newsletter (Volume 1, Issue 1):

My dear sisters and brothers we are glad to introduce you to our Newsletter.

We have been waiting for a long time for it because members of our Diocese have been unable to share stories with one another.

There maybe some members of the CPCA who only knew that they could not use their churches and also remained unaware that their fellow Christians have been seriously persecuted, arrested, spent nights in the police cell, tear gassed for no reason except that they are members of the CPCA.

One would have wished to share these stories had we had the means to do so. But in the absence of the communication desk, it has not been possible.

We are so delighted to inform you that with the opening of this new unit in our Diocesan office, we stand a good chance to communicate and share stories that affect our Diocesan life. We therefore invite you to send information that you think is worth sharing with your sisters and brothers in the Diocese.

This newsletter is yours and it can only be of interest if Parishes submit stories for publication. I therefore recommend you to make use of this opportunity.

The coordinator of this desk is Yvonne Munzara who will welcome any information for publication. We are very grateful to the Commission on Communication to have worked so hard to create this instrument.

We believe will help to promote good news of the Kingdom of God.

+ Sebastian Harare

ANGLICAN HARARE DIOCESE (CPCA) ELECT NEW BISHOP

The Diocese of Harare (CPCA) first edition newsletter is proud to announce to all its readers worldwide that Canon Dr Chad Gandiya, was elected the new Bishop of the Harare Diocese. He will be confirmed on June, 2 2009 and his ordination as the Bishop of Harare (CPCA) will be on July 26, 2009.

We say congratulations, Makorokoto Amhlope to the Bishop elect and the whole Diocese of Harare (CPCA).

The elections for the new Bishop were characterized by transparency, clear criteria, and involvement of the whole Diocese, following proper procedures which were formally approved in the 2008 Synod.

The Deputy Provincial Chancellor, Mr B. Stumbles and the Diocesan Registrar, Mr M. Chingore confirmed these procedures to be fully in accordance with the Provincial laws for electing a Bishop. They were carefully taken from the Canons of the Province and the Acts of the Diocese. There was a secret ballot in which electors placed their choice of candidates whose names had been submitted in accordance with the rules. The candidate who received at least 2/3 (two thirds) of the votes was declared elected. In this particular election the Bishop elect came out to be Canon Dr Chad Gandiya.

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And from the comfort and ease of my desk I congratulate the Diocese of Harare Communication Desk for this publication. Keeping in touch locally and internationally is food and drink to the vitality of faithful church life.

I will post more from the newsletter here in the next day or two.

In the meantime, if you wish to contact them directly, you can email dhrecpca@ecoweb.co.zw.

Small victories are important

John ‘Bosco’ Nyombi

From The Wardman Wire

Following an eight year ordeal the Ugandan gay asylum seeker John ‘Bosco’ Nyombi has finally won asylum in the UK.

Bosco had been returned to Uganda where he was arrested, imprisoned more than once, and beaten. This was despite the fact that a judicial review of his case was still outstanding.

Therefore Judge Sir George Newman, saying the Home Office was guilty of “a grave and serious breach” of the law, demanded his return.

Deportation had been violent:

At the airport, when he resisted leaving the van, he was handcuffed, punched in his private parts to make him straighten his legs so they could be belted together. Crying, he was lifted on to the plane and flown out of the country. (Jacqui Smith has ordered an inquiry into widespread reports of violence during removals).

His mobile phone had been taken from him and he was given no chance to contact friends or lawyers, even though Home Office rules required that he should have 72 hours’ notice of removal to give him a chance to make calls.

Judge Newman said he was satisfied that Bosco was telling the truth and that the actions of the Border Agency officers were “deliberately calculated to avoid any complication that could arise from Mr Bosco ’s removal becoming publicly known.”

Lawyers for the Home Secretary conceded in court that his removal was carried out illegally. But they argued that flying him back to the UK was pointless because the 38-year-old was bound to lose the fresh asylum claim he now wanted to make.

Rejecting their arguments, Judge Newman said: “I find it impossible to conclude, on the basis of the evidence as it now is [Bosco's situation on returning to Uganda], that there is not the real possibility that a judge might find that he is at risk if he is returned (to his homeland) by reason of his homosexuality.”

Emphasis added.

Even for the Home Office this is bad. To argue that illegality can be allowed to stand because they have decided he will eventually lose his case is the argument of tyranny.

But there are possibly hundreds of cases where there is no publicity and the Home Office (and the UK Border Agency) can and do get away with all sorts. They have a culture of disbelief of anyone's claim. They bend (and make) the rules to suit themselves. They will argue black is white in court. They work hard to avoid external scrutiny. If they feel they are being challenged, whether by public campaigns or individual lawyers, they give every impression of responding like spoilt bullies - lashing out at anyone in their reach.

I accept the issues are complicated. I accept that openhandedness is not acceptable politically (though you have to ask how we got to this point), and I know I am out of my depth. But to act outside the law, to act on the assumption everyone else is an enemy, to disbelieve everything and everyone, is inexorably to become what you are nominally fighting: criminal, deceiptful, uncontrollable.

Saint Nyerere?

Mkapa, Lwanga, Baharagate and Magige after the prayers. Behind them are President Museveni and First Lady Janet

From Uganda's New Vision

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has supported the ongoing campaign in the Catholic Church to have former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere recognised as a saint.

The campaign to bestow sainthood on Nyerere began on January 26, 2006 when the Vatican accepted a request from the Bishop of Musoma in northern Tanzania to canonise the late leader. The Vatican then granted him the title of ‘Servant of God.’

.....

Prayers for Nyerere’s canonisation, organised by the widow, have been conducted at the Namugongo shrine since 2007.

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I wonder what miracles they will attribute to him?

Not the first to cast a stone

From the Herald (1 June 09)

Harare — AS the rift in the Anglican Church continues, a priest at St Columbus Parish in Kuwadzana allegedly stoned a policeman trying to restrain the two factions involved in the fight for control the church.

Constable Lancelot Kanaveti of Kuwadzana Police Station sustained a cut on the head and was taken to hospital for treatment.

Reverend Augustine Dizara (39) of the Bakare faction last Friday appeared before Mbare magistrate Ms Marehwanazvo Gofa charged with assault.

He was remanded out of custody to June 3 for trial on US$20 bail after he pleaded not guilty to the charge. Officials at the Mbare court told The Herald that more than 20 church members from the Bakare faction were fined at Kuwadzana Police Station in connection with the same incident before Dizara was taken to court.

Prosecutor Mr Kudakwashe Tagwirei alleges that on May 21, some women from the Kunonga faction were conducting Thursday prayer meetings at the church.

At around 2pm, it is alleged, women from the Bakare faction arrived at the church with the intention of holding a prayer meeting after the Kunonga faction had finished theirs.

Cst Kanaveti was among three police officers who were deployed at the church to maintain peace and order as the worshippers shared time slots to conduct their services in line with a court order.

It is the State's case that the group of worshippers from the Bakare faction entered the chapel while the Kunonga faction's prayer meeting was still in progress and tried to forcibly get them out before they finished.

The court heard that police were called to intervene and calm the potentially riotous situation in the church. Police ordered all the worshippers from the two factions to vacate the premises after they had failed to share the time slots peacefully, a decision which allegedly did not go down well with Dizara.

It is the State's case that when the worshippers were at the main gate, Dizara picked up a stone and hit Cst Kanaveti on the head, seriously injuring him.

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I wonder whether the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe will continue to be called the 'Bakare faction' by the government mouthpiece after Bakare has gone.