During May 2007 a party of visitors from Malawi arrived in Aberdeen to further our relationship with the church there. Included in the party were Rev Matherio Msatithe, Lasmore Mbotwa and Austin Katunga all from our twin congregation at Mpachika and who were guests of the Manse family. A full programme was arranged for all of our visitors but on Sunday 13 May our three Mpachika guests attended morning worship at St Mark's and Rev Matherio Msatithe delivered the Sermon. This is reproduced below and we thank Rev Msatithe for his permission to do so. The theme of the sermon is WE CHRISTIANS ARE A SPECIAL PEOPLE - A SPECIAL GROUP. (First Letter of Peter Ch 2 v 9-10)Each one of us regardless of who we are, what we do, how we look, we are special and we must be proud of ourselves. Peter in his moving homily was telling the believers, who accepted Christ as their personal saviour that; 1. They were the chosen people; they were different from the rest because they got God’s grace as they were chosen from among others. Peter emphasized that you are a special group because before they were in darkness but now they are walking in the light, symbolizing redemption 2. Peter continues that they were not only chosen but they were also a Royal priesthood with a specific purpose, a purpose to serve others, a purpose to serve the world, a purpose to serve each other not uniformity or conformity but to diversity. 3. Thirdly Peter tells the believers that they were a holy nation, an attribute of God hence emphasizing that they were a special group. This though was to say that they were in communion with God. Today all of us gathered in this beautiful church I suppose confessed Christ as our personal saviour. The fact that we accepted Christ; we have a privilege to be called by the most popular name under the sun called CHRISTIANS. Peter therefore is telling us that - We are the chosen people -praise God. We must know that God chose us for a purpose, it could be to reach the un-reached, to serve those who have never received Christ as their personal saviour, if Jesus is the light of the world and we the chosen few are therefore the light of the world too. We are also a royal priesthood not mere Christians and we must have all the reasons to smile and be happy knowing quite well how a royal family is all about. It is amazing to be associated with such a metaphor.
As a royal family we are called to;
-serve in diversity
-witness Christ to all
-make the world a better place to live
-create a conducive environment for the un-reached to be reached. As Peter told the believers that they were a holy nation, he is doing likewise today that we too are a holy nation, this is one of God’s unique attribute we are called to be. We may seem to be on the losing side as the believers during Peter’s time were, but for sure we are sharing the goodness of God, if we lose the inferior good we have to know that we are receiving our salvation. The glory of God and our own felicity are so connected that if we regularly seek the one we must attain the other. We Christians must know that we are one family regardless of where we are. We make one family, a sort and species of people distinct from the common world hence the theme we are special.
All the true servants of Christ are a royal priesthood separated from sin consecrated to God and offering to God spiritual services and oblations accepted to God through Jesus Christ. It is imperative to know that these dignities and virtues are not natural to us for our first state was horrid darkness but we were actually called out of darkness and we show forth the virtues and praises of him who called us. We are therefore compelled to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to all homes of mankind, to places where we work as members of the royal family, to communities to which we belong. We have to know that God did not create us to live alone. Let me take this opportunity to say that Malawi we call the warm heart of Africa counts itself a blessed nation because of Scotland through the amazing work of Dr David Livingstone. In other words we are proud to say that Scotland is our spiritual mother, a mother who chose. A holy mother, a mother that never forgets her child, a mother who is a royal priesthood hence her child Malawi. It is our prayer that God bless Scotland our beloved mother as we are not going to forget that -We are a chosen people
-A special people
-A royal priesthood
-A holy nation
LET US JOIN HANDS AND PRAY
Lord thank you that you have made us one through your beloved son Jesus, we pray Lord for your church throughout the world that it may share to the full in the work of your son, revealing you to men and women, reconciling them to you that we may learn to love one another as members of the same family. And that your church may exhibit unity which is your will. Lord, open our ears to hear what you are saying to us in the things that happen to us and in the people we meet. Open our eyes to see the needs of the people around us.
Open our hands to do our work well, to help when help is needed.
Open our lips to tell the good news of Jesus and bring comfort, happiness and laughter to other people.
Open our minds to discover new truth about you and the world.
Open our hearts to love you and our fellow men and women as you have loved us To Him with you our Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, all honour and praise shall be given now and for ever. Amen
John made his first trip and Rosalyn her second to Mpachika in September 2006. In the Christmas 2006 edition of "The Messenger" we printed a special supplement about the trip and that material is reproduced here so that it can be read by our friends in Malawi. To accommodate this update the Twinning section of the website has been enlarged by the addition of a second Archive Page to hold older material and all of the pages have been re-done. So far I only have three photographs from the 2006 trip and they now lead the Photograph Album. On New Years Day 2007 the children were entertained to a party sponsored by a member of St Mark's and the next few images were taken then. Malawi, September '06 There are no words that I could write that could ever hope to describe my feelings about my trip to Malawi from 13-29 September. From the moment we arrived in the country which is described as the "warm heart of Africa" it became obvious why it received this name. For all of our time there, we were all subjected to these warm hearts that exuded love and friendship. Not out of duty but out of genuine Christian love. As most of you will know, St. Mark's is twinned with Mpachika, which is one of three churches divided in a rural area populated by something like 100,000 people. The area is divided up in to three large villages and each one has its own identity and chief and tribal customs. The poverty is something you find hard to describe. No running water, no electricity, no services, very few shops, and roads that you would not believe! Yet, for all of that they are happy and seem in the main, contented with what they have or do not have. On our first Sunday there, Rosalyn and I were invited to attend church. I was invited to preach and we took our place in the church just before 8 am. We met the Kirk Session and one or two other members in a small room before entering the church. The minister asked me if I would like to do a baptism, to which I heartily agreed. What he did not tell me though was that there were to be 2 infant baptisms, 74 adult baptisms and 132 new communicant confirmations! Had they been saving them up for me just to impress? Well, no they hadn't. By the way, the service finished just after 1pm. Over five hours long! How would you like a five hour service on a Sunday at St. Mark's. I bet the pews would be empty! The following Sunday, Rosalyn and I sat through a five and a half hour service which was completely in Chechewa, (local language) not understanding a single word and many of the worshippers for that service had walked up to 16 miles to get there in good time for the service. Each place we went to, we were greeted with the same wonderful hospitality. We almost felt like Royalty on a Royal walkabout. The one thing that I did feel strange about was the way in which men are looked upon by women, especially the Abusa (minister). The women all kneel and pay homage to the Abusa. It is an uncomfortable feeling, but it is their culture and it is a matter of respect. In one school we went to visit, we were rapturously greeted by more than 9,500 pupils and only 40 teachers. Now, there is a sum to work out!!
John Interview With Members of Mpachika Womens Guild Q How many of there are you?
A 140-ish
Q How long has the Mpachika Guild been running for?
A Since 1956
Q What is the average age of the Guild members?
A It used to be women over 40 and now it is over 20.
Q Is there a process for joining the Guild?
A Women need to start attending the Guild about 2 years beforehand and then they undergo training for a year, attending special classes.
Q How do you decide what projects you support?
A We fall under Blantyre Synod but we try to support ourselves. In terms of projects, we decide at the time who we support in the area e.g. food and clothes to orphans etc.
Q Tell me about your costumes.
A We wear white tunics and head scarves with black skirts. We pay for our own costumes and new ones are blessed in Church before use. We wear special chitenjes with Synod motifs for special occasions.
Q Can you give me a brief description of your activities during the week?
A On Tuesdays we do hospital visits for Church members and choir practice. We have our own choir (one of 8 at Mpachika church) and 3/4 of our members are in the choir. On Thursdays we have choir practise and knitting and craft activities. The items that we make are sold at the church for funds for the church or for projects. On Saturdays, we have Bible Study and go round visiting older people in the area - many of whom cannot now make it to church.
Q How is your Committee made up?
A We have an Executive committee comprising of the President, Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary, Vice Secretary, Treasurer and four general committee members. We are elected by a voting system. There are 7 zones in the Mpachika area and we try to have a committee member from each zone for ease of communication. Interview with Members of St. Mark's Guild Q What do you call yourself?
A The Guild used to be called the Women's Guild but changed a few years ago to simply "The Guild".
Q How many of you are there?
A About 32 people.
Q How long has St. Mark's Guild been running for?
A For over 100 years. We have just had our 100 years centenary celebrations!
Q What is the average age of Guild members and who is membership open to?
A The average age of members is around 50+ and membership is open to both men and women.
Q Is there a process for joining the Guild?
A No, you just turn up. We pay an annual membership fee which goes to the Central Committee of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh.
Q How do you decide which projects you support?
A Nationally, we are given a choice of 6 projects every three years by the Church of Scotland. Each Guild can choose their own projects from these six. We can choose two or three or just one.
Q Do you have costumes?
A No, we just come as we are.
Q Can you give me a brief description of your activities during the week?
A We meet for a meeting every two weeks when we have an activity or a guest speaker. However, there is also much duplication of membership with other St. Mark's organisations like The Guild of Friendship, Circle of Care and those members who are concerned with organisation of coffee mornings etc.
Q How is your committee made up?
A We have a President, a Secretary and Treasurer. People put names forward for election and there is the usual voting system. The Secretary usually goes on to become the President. Malawi trip What can I say about my return visit to Malawi? It was great and possibly even better than the first time around although that was a hard act to follow. I definitely felt much more relaxed because things were more familiar and I knew more people. It was great to see people again and catch up. I stayed with the same hosts and John stayed with the hosts that Margaret stayed with last year so we were literally 'next door' to each other which was nice. My hosts said to me that it wasn't just like having a good friend back to stay - it was more like having one of the family staying - which I thought was lovely. They made me feel so welcome and comfortable that I actually DID feel like one of their family and not a guest. The trip was very hectic and I'm sure John will agree. The programme was packed each and every day and was very interesting but our "free" evenings were not free and taken up with visiting, healing services and or prayer meetings. Nevertheless, we embraced it all and enjoyed ever minute of the visits. The Malawians who hosted us and who escorted us around the country went absolutely out of their way to make us feel relaxed and welcome and many of them had taken time off work to be with us which we appreciated greatly. I experienced it all on my first visit but still can't get over their enthusiasm for their church and their religion. They live for their church and their commitment to their faith most definitely puts many of us to shame. I know that I personally feel a better person for knowing the Malawians and from the partnership we have formed and hope that the rest of the St. Mark's congregation feel the same. I know it is difficult when you don't know people personally but hopefully John and Margaret and I can relate some of the experiences we have had in Malawi and that that will keep you close to Blantyre and to Mpachika, our twinned church and its congregation. Rosalyn This poem was given to me by a young member of Mpachika church - also a member of the Mpachika Main Youth Choir (of which John and I are honorary members now!!). He wrote it after our visit to the service on the first Sunday we visited. I promised him it would go in the next magazine. The Wonderful Sunday, By Moses Chakhaza Indeed it was the day
That Mpachika CCAP came into singing
Joyful souls gathered
"I thought it was a joke"
Said one weak-minded person
Who just visited the church
I looked at him without despair
Because I knew it was a great day. I remained silent for a while
As I welcomed the wonderful Sunday and the Aberdonians
In a vision
I felt like being with the Angelsl
With no doubts, I proved the partnership
To be holily bound
With a point that it was evidenced by God. I was very excited
As I saw the image of St. Mark's Church
With a hopeful feeling that we are still together
Mwalandilldwa! Mwalandillidwa!
(Welcome! Welcome!)
We shouted while smiling at them
What a wonderful day! The Mpachika Kitchen Project As you know we are committed to building a kitchen in Malawi at Mpachika church so that the congregation can help to feed the children in the village who are either orphaned or have parents who are too poor to feed them. It will cost us MKW (Malawian Kwatcha) 1,000,000 which is about ÂŁ3,800 and we are a good way to having that amount. However, we still need a little more, so if you can help, please leave it for Jennifer, our Treasurer, in an envelope marked "Mpachika Kitchen Fund". This will build a kitchen which is about 30 feet by about 15 feet and equip it for cooking the food.
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