The African Way: Reflections From ZambiaBy Lesley CrossonKitwe, Zambia, July 16 -- There is a quiet solemnity to the United Methodist commissioning service in which missionaries are officially sent forth to serve. The music, the worship, the audience all seem to be in absolute agreement that these weighty happenings should take place in an atmosphere of hushed reverence. And I thought so, too. Then I came here to Kitwe's Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation to witness the very first Service of Commissioning to be held outside of the United States. It was an historic event in more ways than that one: The first time so many African men and women--47 of the 53 consecrated--would be commissioned. And the first time I would see the solemnity of the event so joyfully shattered in an outpouring of music and song and dance. That's the African way, they told me. Big, joyous, spirit-filled and guaranteed to have the audience nearly dancing in the aisles (see photos). At first, it seemed as though the weather wouldn't cooperate. Then, as if God himself was smiling on the day, a burst of sunshine banished the gray cloud cover that for days had hung over this city in Africa's mineral rich Copper Belt. The candidates, who would soon be officially anointed "Missioners of Hope" to minister to the needs of the children of Africa, assembled on the green dressed in the traditional clothing of their African countries. Even some of the Americans, in a curtsy to the nations where they would be serving, donned colorful African dress. All of them posed in the hot sun, delighted, for photo after photo. About a quarter of a mile across the campus, in front of the United Church of Zambia chapel, the grass was being flattened beneath the feet of the African church choirs that had been assembling all morning. Choir members with babies strapped to their backs--and not a wail from any of them--spontaneously broke into song as they waited for their moment to shine. And then it was time for them to join the rest of the participants on the other side of the campus. You could hear it clear across the green: the beginning of the procession to the chapel. The choirs led the way with drummers keeping the beat as excited onlookers along the path cheered them. They couldn't just sing on a day like this when all eyes were on the procession they were leading. Along came the prancing choir from Chimwemwe Catholic Church in Kitwe, dressed in white blouses and long blue patterned wrap skirts. Then the United Methodist Church of Zambia choir, attired in bright yellow scarves and green blouses, chosen they said, to represent the green leaves of a tree and the brightness of the sun. The Dorca Choir of the Mindolo congregation, crisp and confident in red and white. The precisely choreographed Light Choir from Solwezi, Zambia pausing for a crowd-pleasing exhibition of meticulously choreographed dance steps, in black and white striped caps. And finally, the bow-tied Heavy Choir from Zambezi. Right behind them were the bishops, clergy, and dignitaries. Around the curve came Bishop and Mrs. Katembo Kainda of the Southern Congo area; Bishop and Mrs. Arthur Kulah of Liberia; Bishop and Mrs. Done Peter Dabale of Nigeria; retired Bishop and Mrs.Forrest Stith; Bishop John Hopkins of the Minnesota area. If they seemed ready to burst into song themselves, well, it was understandable, because all around them was joyous singing punctuated by amens, whoops, and ululations. Then the main event: The Missioners of Hope themselves, some carrying banners announcing their annual conferences and proudly proclaiming their status as Missioners of Hope, for the children of Africa. No rainbow could cast a brighter glow than these fifty-three men and women in robes and wraps and turbans and gowns, with hands clapping and faces straining to remain solemn in a procession that had soared so far above the ordinary from the moment it stepped off. Spirits were so high as the procession continued, the atmosphere so joyous, that no one batted an eye as over-excited onlookers and yes, a press corps that was anything but mere observer and recorder on this glorious day repeatedly broke into the line to push cameras and microphones into the beaming faces of missioners, drummers, and bishops too. Into the chapel they marched to hear co-host Bishop Katembo welcome all to the gathering and to hear the greetings and congratulations sent by all the bishops who couldn't be in Zambia today. Just when it seemed that a state of near perfection had been reached, the drama heightened as the rear doors flew open for the triumphant entrance of the Democratic Republic of Congo choir, in perfect voice and resplendent in black slacks, white shirts and bright red blazers. The choir had been detained at the border between Congo and Zambia and the fear that they would not make it had turned into fact in the minds of many. But, here they were singing their way down the aisle as chairs were rushed to the front to seat them. Everywhere you looked there were choirs and people spilling out of the doorways of the flower-filled chapel. Many in the audience who had come to watch were moved to the point of turning themselves into a spontaneous background chorus for the choirs. "It is nice, nice, nice," declared a clapping Emmanuel Mumba, there with his friend Stephen Salinyinge to witness the proceedings. "We are both teachers at the Ittmpi Community School because it is always our interest to help the children. We hope we can join them," he said, referring to the Missioners of Hope. That was something you heard over and over--people so moved by the service that they too wanted to become Missioners of Hope and serve in ministries that would help heal the traumas of war for the children of Africa and assure them their share of the abundant life promised to all God's children. Missioner Charles Bonner from Liberia is on the way to Ghana to teach carpentry to refugees from his home country. He said he felt as if he could fly there on his own wings. "I'm so overwhelmed, I feel so good inside, so spirit filled. There are children who don't know their own destiny. We must help find a future for them," he declared. Drucilla Smith, a missioner from Illinois being deployed to Mozambique to minister to orphans in a vocational training program, called it "an out of body experience." She said she had never felt so sure about anything in her life. "Maybe the reality will hit tomorrow," she mused. For Bishop John Hopkins, the reality was that each of the missioners had a special purpose, a special calling that the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries was enabling them to fill through these special ministries to children. "Each of you missioners assembled here is called to take the children in your arms and to love them and show them the love of Jesus Christ. Our prayer is that you can restore some shattered hope. We believe that you have been chosen by God to represent us in places where we can't be to take care of these children," he preached. At one point, scores of children surrounded mission personnel head the Rev. John McCullough at the front of church as a visible reminder of just what this mission initiative is all about, and to share in the collective embrace of the audience. After some three and a half hours we were moving toward the point when the missioners would submit to the traditional laying on of hands and have the anchor crosses symbolizing the journeys of early Christian missionaries placed around their necks. But there would be no subdued offering of congratulations to the new missionaries or polite edging toward the exits. The scent of history was in the air and it was sweet because this class of missionaries represented not just the movement of so many Africans into the mission leadership of the church, but a first look at the changing face of mission service for the new millennium. The day drew to a close in the warm darkness of a winter evening in Africa, on nearly as high a note as it began, with exhausted folks singing, laughing, and dancing out the doors to tables laden with light refreshment and the aroma of beef, chicken, and cabbage being prepared in the yard by cooks from the Congo delegation. So, no, it wasn't like any other commissioning service. It was the church, our church, in all its loving, laughing, noisy splendidness sending off its newest class of missionaries the African way. I will remember it forever. Also see related UMNS article:
Lesley Crosson is Director of Public Relations for the General Board of Global Ministries |