23 January 2011 Third Sunday after Epiphany

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THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY

23^rd January 2011

Graphics and cartoons & liturgical material appear only in the printed version

BRINGING THE POMMES

DOWN TO TERRE

An English immigrant, roused by an Australian's scorn of his nation, protested that he was born an Englishman and hoped to die an Englishman. "Man," scoffed the Australian, "have you no ambition?"

A philosophical but pessimistic Australian cricket fan before the recent and final test match against England was heard to comment: "No matter if we win or lose this game, we will still be winners in the game of life, because when our opponents waken up tomorrow they'll still be English and we won't."

RETURNING TO ZIMBABWE (8)

Andrew Neaum

Travelling along the Musami road on our way to Bernard Mizeki College, near Marondera, through what used to be designated, in the bad old days, the Mangwende Tribal Trust lands, and now in the bad new days, I know not what, but probably the same, was a true home-coming. This was the area that first ignited my love of Africa as a boy.

Mission priesting

When we first went to Rhodesia in 1956 my father was based at what is now Bernard Mizeki College, but his responsibilities as a "mission priest" included the oversight and care of all the Anglican schools and churches in a great swathe of country to the north and east, an area fifty of so miles wide and three hundred miles long. When on holiday from school my brother and I would sometimes accompany him on the shorter of his regular treks to distant schools in the rattling utes he drove over terrible roads. It was these vehicles and roads that eventually ruined the vertebrae in his neck, giving him a permanent "jitter" and painful pull of the head to one side that no specialist was able ever to do much about. It was a legacy he lived with from about his mid forties until his death at 89, one of the costs of mission priesting.

Travelling in such lovely country over such roads was fascinating to young boys. The beauty of the granite "dwalas", inhabited by baboons, leopards and dassies, the lovely msasa-tree savannah lands and the friend-liness of the local people living so close to the breadline in romantic seeming, but often horrifyingly primitive conditions, are an irresistible backdrop to a happy childhood. It was good to be back, even though the eyes of an adult are more perceptively critical and the unhappy politics of a troubled land bring an awareness of deep divisions and social unrest that must have been there even in my youth, though in a different form because the Mangwende district played its part in the eruption of the civil war that led eventually to the downfall of Ian Smith.

When eventually we found the turn off to Bernard Mizeki College, the frisson of recognition was faint because so much has changed in fifty or more years. We passed the College itself and found our way, with little difficulty and a bit of advice, to the Primary School, where we parked our car and ate some fine sandwiches, perching ourselves on some convenient stones, enjoying the sunny and breeze-rendered lovely day.

Bernard Mizeki College

The building of the "College" had been the cause of our move from St Bernard's Mission to Chikwaka all those years ago, because my father was against the whole project. Bernard Mizeki College was originally conceived as an elite school, a sort of African Anglican "public school", the brainchild of two English public school educated Anglicans called, I seem to remember, Canon Grinham and Maurice Carver. Doubtless a pair of fine and idealistic Christians, they nonetheless became our family's bete noirs, especially my pugnacious and doughty mother's. My father considered the importation of elitism into an Africa crying out for universal education, especially of girls, was iniquitous. However, being far from diocesan headquarters the forces in favour of the College were able to outmanoeuvre him, and so he shifted his mission headquarters to Chikwaka, having negotiated the grant of a sizeable block of land from the local chief.

On finishing our lunch we attempted to find the first house I had lived in, in Africa, but were unsuccessful, even though we enlisted the help of a local lad. His English was too poor really to understand what we were looking for. He did show us the new church, however, not a patch on the original one, which remains as lovely in my memory as the finest of English parish churches. It was destroyed or fell down years and years ago, but was steeply thatch-roofed, with ragged eaves supported by spindly msasa tree posts. Termite ridden, cement floored and with large, unglazed windows, it brought heaven very close to earth when filled with African school boys singing Victorian hymns in lush harmony, as outside the cicadas shredded the air, the black collared barbets called and called, and great blue headed lizards on the tree trunks bobbed their scaly heads.

The house we couldn't find was a modest one and our inability to locate it was probably due to its ceasing to exist. Our hot water system had comprised in those days a pair of forty four gallon drums on their side in a brick kiln outside the house and plumbed in. A wood fire was lit underneath the drums, as necessary, and hot water was hot indeed. My father built an external office and storeroom for school text books outside and away from the house. To my delight a pair of beautiful bee-eaters burrowed into the pile of building sand next to it to nest.

Bernard Mizeki Shrine

Because we were on a tight schedule, needing to be in Mutare before nightfall, we did not linger looking for a house that in all probability had long been demolished. After a quick look at the church, we pressed on down hardly remembered dirt roads to find the "Bernard Mizeki Shrine".

Bernard Mizeki was born in Mocambique in about 1861 and martyred on the 18 June 1896. He went as a child to Cape Town and influenced by the Cowley Fathers became a Christian. He trained as a Catechist, proving to have a great facility for languages. In January 1891 he accompanied the new missionary bishop of Mashonaland, George William Knight-Bruce, to Southern Rhodesia as a lay catechist among the Shona people and was sent to work in the Marondera district. There he built a home and took people who wanted to learn into his house to teach them the Gospel.

During the Mashona Rebellion of 1896, all missionary workers were ordered to safety, but Bernard chose to stay on. On the night of the 18 of June 1896 he was dragged from his home and stabbed. His wife found him still alive and went for help. Before she could return, she and others reported seeing a great white light all over that place, and a loud noise "like many wings of great birds". He is now widely revered as an Anglican martyr and saint.

His work among the Shona bore fruit. After long years of earlier mission work in Mashonaland by white missionaries, the first Shona convert to be baptised was one of the young men whom Bernard had taught: John Kapuya. John was baptised only a month after Bernard's death. The shrine, close to Bernard Mizeki College is a lovely, simple, white-washed, thatched chapel, open to the bush. Every year on the anniversary of his death, Anglicans as well as other Christians congregate in great numbers to celebrate him and the faith, camping joyfully in the bush. It is a wonderful occasion to experience. The smell of wood smoke from the campfires and of cooking, the sound of laughter and singing and the music, reverence and fellowship of the great celebratory Eucharist are unforgettable.

We were told that the worshippers in 2010, although assured of ready access by the authorities were denied it by the police and so their authentic celebration had to be held in a stadium in Marondera instead of at the lovely Shrine. This gathering, by all accounts, was nonetheless a great success, to the chagrin of the pretender bishop Kunonga and his followers.

We found the Shrine as lovely as I remembered it and we were made most welcome by the friendly caretaker. Its open armed and all-welcoming altar, its hilled and sylvan setting, simple layout, and rural quietude are all that one could ask of a shrine to a remarkable Anglican hero.

We left the shrine and made our way back to the main road that runs along the high veld from Harare to Mutare. Because of our visit to Bernard Mizeki College and then the Shrine, we had by-passed Marondera itself, but would visit it on our return journey. The road to Mutare runs through some splendid country, especially as you approach the eastern mountains and Mutare.

On the major roads in Zimbabwe vehicles are stopped periodically, either for a toll or by police for inspection or quizzing. The tolls appear to be a way of raising revenue to maintain roads that appear to be barely maintained at all. You are warned well in advance of an impending toll stop and usually are directed by signposts or by a row of boulders across the road onto a dusty detour around where eventually a proper toll booth will be built. The cost levied per car was an American dollar, more for mini-buses, more for large buses and trucks. The collectors of the toll, and their numerous hangers-on were unfailingly genial. So too were the police at their road blocks. There would sometimes be a uniformed man in the background with an AK rifle, but we were always greeted with courtesy and waved through. The likes of us were not the object of their interest. Buses, sometimes trucks and nearly always crowded taxis seemed to be of far greater interest to them. (To be continued.....)

CONGRATULATIONS

Birthdays

Michelle Bye 23rd Jan

Joyce Cavill 25th Jan

Malcolm Button 28th Jan

Elaine McMullan 29th Jan

Wilma White 29th Jan

HALL COMMITTEE MEETING

There is a Hall Committee meeting on Tuesday, the 25th of January, at 7.30pm in Roz's Room.

KEYS PLEASE

As you might have read, the hall was broken into and robbed last weekend. Nothing too unusual about that I suppose, but a fair amount of valuable stuff was stolen, a few thousand dollars worth at least. We are not sure how the thieves got in the first time, but get in they did, and then carefully stored their ill-gotten gains in or behind the wheelie bins for later collection. We noticed this and with the help of the police reclaimed it all and returned it to the kitchen. The police told us that they would warn their night shift to keep an eye on the place in case the thieves did indeed return. The keeping eyes must have been bleary or overworked however, because not only did the robbers return, they forced a window in the atrium and helped themselves to even more than before!

If anyone has any tablecloths belonging to the hall would they please let us know as we need to count them for insurance purposes.

Anyone in possession of a hall key please let Heather in the Parish Office know. We need to update our key register. The expense of changing locks yet again daunts us, but we might have to unless we are able to assure ourselves that we know where all keys are.

ROSTERS

If you have not received a roster for your church duty please ask at the office for the one you need. A few are being revised. We will advise accordingly when this is done.

PCC IN DOOKIE

The next Parish Council meeting, on the 16th February, will be held at Dookie. At the hotel for 6.00pm.

FLOWER POWER

There is a meeting on the 1st February at 10am in the narthex for all those who are willing to arrange flowers in the church. It may eventuate that we do not have enough committed helpers to keep fresh flowers in our church! So it is important that you please make your feelings known and/or attend the meeting. Heather Nichols

CALENDARS

There are still a few Anglican Calendars to be collected from the office, please make sure you pick yours up if you have ordered one. They are $12 each.

STRATEGY MEETING

There is a "Strategy Meeting" in the Library on Tuesday the 8th of February at 5.30pm.

CARPETED

The old carpeting in the priests' vestry, parish office, store room, associate priest's office and photocopy room used to be red but most strangely over the years has gone largely black, though patchily. This is tolerable in most rooms but not really in the more public Parish Office and some kind and anonymous parishioner has noticed this and offered to pay for recarpeting. This will be done on Tuesday, we hope. Many thanks!

SUNDAY 13^th FEBRUARY

Our preacher on Sunday 13th of February will be Kasey, the bright little spark who has helped enliven the parish these past few weeks, a theological student at Trinity in Melbourne. Afterwards there will be a BBQ to farewell her and thank her. Please note the date. She has been delightful to have around as well as resourceful, confident and brimming with good ideas.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

As usual the parish AGM takes place on Ash Wednesday which this year is on the 9th of March. Later than usual it gives us some time to relax, but please note that we will need all reports by the February 20th if they are to be included in the booklet of reports.

Nomination forms for Wardens, Councillors, Synod Representatives and Parochial Nominators will be available in a few weeks time.

LENT STUDY GROUPS

It is not too early to start thinking positively about what we plan to take up in order to help make the Forty Days of Lent an enriching and worthwhile experience for us. Lenten Study Groups are a part of this. There is a list for the names of those who would like to sign up for one such on the table in the Narthex.

We are offering a single course this year but at two different times. The Revd Gail Bryce will be leading one on Mondays at 1.30pm. (Starting on th 14th March) Canon Andrew will be leading one on Tuesdays at 7.30pm, preceded by a Eucharist at 7.00pm. (Starting on the 15th March) So if you miss one you can always attend the other.

FLOOD APPEAL

The Parish Council at its meeting last week endorsed the decision to donate $1400 to the Flood Appeal, this being half of the money collected at the great Macedonian Orthodox celebration of the Baptism of Christ.

DATES FOR THE DIARY

Feb 1^st Meeting of Flower Guild 10am /Narthex

Feb 8^th Strategy Meeting - Library

Feb 12^th Women's Breakfast "Valentine's Day"

Feb 15^th Friendship Group

Feb 16^th Parish Council at Dookie

Feb 17^th Evening Guild Meeting 1.30pm

Feb 19^th Wedding

Feb 20^th Deadline for next "Outreach"

Feb 22^nd Bishop in Council

Mar 8^th "Moving On" Grief Support Group

Mar 9^th Annual General Meeting (Ash Wednesday)

Mar 10^th Evening Guild Fashion Parade 1.30pm

Mar 13^th Lauren Artress to preach (Labyrinth doyenne)

Mar 16^th Parish Council

Apr 9^th Wedding

May 22^nd Patronal Festival

Jun 3 & 4 Synod

July 17^th Bishop's Visit

Oct 23^rd Confirmation

READINGS for 30th January

Micah 6:1-8, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

REQUESTS FOR PRAYER

At the beginning of each month this list is cleared and ALL names need putting down again on the list in the narthex and signed in. No names should be listed without a person's permission. The list for names of those to be prayed for is kept in the top drawer of the little plastic box of drawers on the narthex table.

Nicole Ackland, Alan Akers, Norma Anderson, Jeffrey Andrewartha, Deb Bagley, Jan & Neville Black, Liam Bognar, Ian Carmen, Rebecca Cole, John Faragher, John Green, Kath Grills, Frank Harder, Margaret Hoare, Maximus Hendrych, Margaret Kidman, Hilder Lidgard, Albert Oxenbury, Isabelle Richards, Suzanne Singh, Marion Smith, Peter Swindells, Patricia Sparkes, Xavier Vale, David, Dawn, Robbie, James, Lynn, David & Judith, Stewart, Charles.

Rest in Peace

Lil Walters

Anniversary of death:

Dorothy Blizzard, Barbara Crosby Margaret Neaum 23^rd, Beula Teasdale 26^th, Edie Alexander 27^th, Margaret Bone, Elsie Knights 29^th, Clarrie Hooper 30^th.

Duties for 23rd January 2011

Readers 8.30 Heather Fitzgerald, Liz Gyles

Readers 10.30 Nancy Noonan, Linda Prosser

Servers 8.30 Michelle, Beth

Servers 10.30 Jenny, Venita, Valerie

Intercessors Carole Henderson, Celebrant

Euc. Assts 8.30 Carole Henderson, Bev Condon

Euc. Assts 10.30 Christine Evans, J Pleming

Welcoming 8.30 Shirley Dean, Bev Reither

Welcomers 10.30 Jenny Moran, Nola Brewer

Sidespeople 8.30 Joe Pearson, Norm Mitchelmore

Sidespeople 10.30 Charlotte Brewer

Tea 8.30 Gwyn Cowland

Mowing 22nd Not this week

Duties for 30th January 2011

Readers 8.30 Bev Condon, Norm Mitchelmore

Readers 10.30 Verna Pestell, Greg Pestell

Servers 8.30 Beth, Michelle

Servers 10.30 Zebedee

Intercessors Heather Fitzgerald, Jenny Pleming

Euc. Assts 8.30 John Horder, Heather Fitzgerald

Euc. Assts 10.30 Greg Pestell, Joe Fernandez

Welcoming 8.30 Beryl Goodfellow, Bev Ralph

Welcomers 10.30 Lesley Kenna, Frank Steen

Sidespeople 8.30 Gwyn & Merv Cowland

Sidespeople 10.30 Nola Brewer, Lesley Kenna

Tea 8.30 Val Bambrook

Mowing 28th Jan Margaret Carroll, Beryl Bonfitto

THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH

Monday 24th January Timothy, Titus, Silas

Rector's day off,

Rev. Helen Malcolm away till 21 Feb

7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel