It is doubtless true that religion has been the world's psychiatrist throughout the centuries. ~ Karl Menninger. Perhaps their faith is all that people have left in these troubled times, but congregations of all denominations are flourishing in present day Zimbabwe. (Pictured: Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai recently Parishioners are taking over every large empty buildings, defunct cinemas, theatres, barns, factories, and warehouses for their church services. Some meet under the shade of trees. Sundays reverberate with joyous music and there are more people in church on Friday night than in the pubs. Church conventions gather extraordinary crowds, with thousands of people meeting to worship and pray for entire weekends.
The new charismatic churches appear to hold more for the bewildered populace than the older established churches like the Church of England, the Catholic and the Presbyterian churches. (Pictured: Churches are thriving in the current Zimbabwean climate)
The praying poor
Many struggling theatres and businesses make their main income from hiring out their premises to church groups on Sundays. Instead of pantomimes, operas or farces, these auditoriums resound to the sound of people praying, or speaking in tongues. Many are the voices of the poor who have little else to do except pray that their lives would take a different turn. The pastors and leaders of these churches are enigmatic and charismatic. Their voices sweep through the cities, exhorting their congregations to trust the Lord and follow His path to righteousness and fulfilment. One of the largest sects is a group of men and women who gather under trees wherever they can, in vast numbers, with staves in hand. They are from the Zionist Church.
With more than a million followers in Zimbabwe and lead by Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi, his followers still pray under the shade of trees. The leaders sit on chairs or benches. But in most cases, men sit on stones while women sit on mats or rags. Some men bring their own portable stools. Doctors, lawyers and managing directors, with their latest four-by-fours parked close by, kneel on the hard earth together with their poorer colleagues.
Other religious sects also use trees as their temples, and long lines of white or blue clad worshippers can be seen making their quiet way to commune with their God in whatever place they can to find peace in prayer.
Post published in: News