Chortling Churchmen

oths and laughed almost uncontrollably at the words of the President. For a few moments the address actually had to stop because the clerics were giggling and chortling so much. The cause for their hilarity was President Mugabe’s reference to Archbishop Pius Ncube’s public statement that he was praying for the President’s death. I sat in shock, overwhelmed with despair. This public display of hilarity represented the moral leadership of our country. These are the men who are supposed to be taking the pain and suffering of ordinary people to the President and appealing for an end to the horrific deprivations. Their laughter went beyond the bounds of diplomacy and even if it was just for show or for the camera, it sent a chill through the air. I am still haunted by an image given to me by a churchman in 2002. Perhaps repeating that image now may help our giggling clerics. It was just before the March 2002 elections and a small Evangelical Church in the town was taken over by militant youths. The Pastor was barricaded into the building and subjected to taunts, threats, harassment and intimidation. He was accused of being a supporter of the opposition MDC. Some hours later the Pastor was freed but the youths stayed behind and used the Church as a re-education centre. In the following weeks there were reports of numerous people being taken to the Church and beaten, accused of supporting the opposition. The Pastor was refused entry to his Church and so he held Sunday services in the garden of his home. It was some weeks later when the youths who had seized the Church building finally moved out and the Pastor returned to find horror. Loud speaker equipment had been stolen. Electrical wiring had been ripped off the walls. Carpets, chairs, a tape recorder, tea urn, cups and saucers had been looted. Even a box of children’s toys had gone. Worst of all was what had been left behind. Witnessed only by God, the walls and floors of the Church were stained with blood. The blood of the ordinary men and women who live in the town. Many people from all over the world, desperate to help Zimbabwe, offer their prayers for us in church every week. May they pray now for courage, dignity and strength for our church leaders. This is not the time for giggling and chortling it is the time for determination, sacrifice and strong moral leadership. Until next week, Ndini shamwari yenyu.