All posts Report Out of Africa, Part 4: We have much to learn
8/11/2009 11:08:23 AM
“Welcome to Kaning’a CCAP” is more than a printed message on the front of the worship folder. There is a genuine spirit of open hospitality in this vibrant evangelical congregation of the Church Central Africa Presbyterian in Lilongwe, Malawi. The pastor, Rev. C.E.J. Msangaambe is on study leave in South Africa, but the Clerk of Session, Mr. F. N. Moyo, and the other lay leaders take the mantle of church leadership seriously and naturally in his absence.
Kaning’a CCAP (Church Central Africa Presbyterian) in Lilongwe, Malawi.
I arrived at 6:45 a.m. to meet with the session prior to the 7 a.m. (English) service. After welcomes and prayers, I learned that I would be responsible for the entire service and without delay was escorted across to the sanctuary, through a curtain, and offered a seat on the bench behind the pulpit. My escort and friend from the Ministry of Hope, Kelvin Kalonga, turned in the hymnal to the order of service and with a smile and gesture toward the pulpit, sent me on my way. The Lord is good and I found my way through the call to worship, recitation of the Law, prayers of heartfelt confession from around the sanctuary to a time of mutual assurance of God’s pardon in Jesus Christ. The celebratory singing that followed was surely a pleasure to God’s ear. As I was reveling in the music, Kelvin leaned over to let me know that next I would be expected to spend time with the children. I am sure my eyes went wide. A children’s message? I had not prepared for that. Kelvin said, “Just tell them what you’re going to tell the adults, only on their level.” And with that he pointed that I should proceed.
The Rev. Carmen Fowler delivers her sermon at Kaning’a.
There were about 10 paces from the bench behind the pulpit to the front of the chancel. Plenty of time for God to work! I was intending to preach on Ephesians 4 and the fullness of the body of Christ, so the time with the children became an impromptu song and dance of “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” with the accompanying commentary that the body of Christ has one head and many parts. They certainly seemed to enjoy the message even if much of what I said was lost for lack of translation.
When the time came for the call for the offering, Kelvin instructed me to sit down. Apparently this was something that the elders handled. The first offering is one we would all recognize, a passing of the plate down the row and the depositing of the odd bill and loose coins.
Then it was announced that the tithe would be collected. Members of the congregation came forward to present their tithe when their part of the city was identified. You know in advance if your tithe is due on the first or subsequent Sunday of the month.
Following these offerings it was time for the Harvest Offering. As a sub-Saharan African nation, Malawi’s seasons are reversed from our own. Our summer is their winter, making July and August the harvest months of the year. Bushels of maize, bags of beans, cartons of eggs, heads of cabbage, baskets of tomatoes and pails piled high with potatoes cluttered the Chancel and God was praised for His goodness. First fruits, given freely, with deepest gratitude.
A corn crib filled with maize.
The “life” offering came next. Those present whose birthday would be celebrated during the week came forward, introduced themselves, announced their birthday and the how old they would be. Prayers of gratitude to God for another year were offered and then each “life” was offered to God for His use and to His glory. The sentiment of Romans 12:1 writ large, “I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your Spiritual act of worship.”
The session met in the vestry before and after worship. Every member greeted every other by name with a formal handshake before finding a seat. In the bulletin and from the front of the sanctuary, several upcoming weddings had been announced with the concluding instruction that “anyone who has good reasons why the two must not marry should inform the appropriate church elders.” At the session meeting following the service, this was seriously discussed particularly when a member of Kaning’a was to be wed to someone from another church. The responsible elder reported on the status of the pre-marital counseling, the name of the older couple mentoring the younger, and if anyone had reported any reason why the two should not be wed. It seemed that everything was in order for the wedding a week hence and another round of inquiry would take place on the three weddings that were yet two weeks out.
I was thinking about just how seriously these elders took their role and responsibility for the spiritual and personal nurture of their young people, only to learn that they also take financial stewardship very seriously as well. Earlier I shared about the collection of the tithe. Well, each elder has a responsibility for one of the “areas” whose tithe is collected each Sunday. As the people are presenting their tithes, the elder is checking them off. At the session meeting, each elder publically reports those who did not present their tithe. The session prays for these members and charges the elder to make a visit that afternoon to find out what distress the family is experiencing and what the church family can do to assist them. There was no sense in which they intended to project guilt upon those who had not given. There was a genuine spirit of concern and care for members of the body who were clearly in a time of need if they were unable to give to God what is His.
Four offerings: the tithe, further offerings, first fruits from the harvest, and then the offering of your life. I tried to imagine how such a practice might translate in the States.
The harvest offering fills the Chancel at Kaning’a.
I count it a great privilege to worship with Christians in other cultural contexts. I learn so much about my own worship practices and I am refreshed to experience how others worship the Lord our God. Jesus is unashamedly honored in Malawi. The Bible is taken at face value to be the Word of God and regarded as authoritative in matters of faith and life. Discipline is a natural part of discipleship and all Christians submit mutually to one another when a word of exhortation is spoken. The fruits of the Spirit are in abundant evidence: particularly patience. Malawians are some of the most patient people I have ever met (more on that subject in another post). Suffice it to say here that we have much to learn from our Presbyterian brothers and sisters in the Church Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP).
To follow other stories in the Report Out of Africa Series, click here.