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Our link diocese: N Zambia
At the end of July our diocese was thrilled to
welcome Archbishop Bernard Malango of our link diocese of Northern
Zambia, and Iindaba asked him to update us on his diocese.
Archbishop Bernard was here for the Institution
of Bishop Bethlehem.On a visit to one of the parishes, he shared some
insights about himself and his diocese. A Malawian by birth, he was
chosen by his fellow bishops to become the bishop of N Zambia in
1988. The diocese is the largest in the Province of Central Africa,
of which he is the Primate, and will be multiplying into two next
year. The new diocese will be known as the Diocese of Luapula. This
will release Abp Bernard from some of his diocesan workload and
enable him to spend more time in other dioceses.
He said, “The Church is growing fast in the
Province and sometimes in my diocese I am called upon to confirm a
hundred candidates in a parish, and once as many as 300. Many of the
mission churches in remote areas are inaccessible by car, so I park
as close as possible, then I walk a kilometre or two to the church.
However, the journey is always joyful as I am met by a group of
singing, dancing and chatting parishioners. Along the way others join
us, many of whom are not Christians but who start asking about our
joy, and quite a few of these become Christians through this witness.
Eighteen months ago a new mission station was planted about 800kms
from Kitwe and already it has over 100 baptised members.”
The new mission station in the north-western part
of our country is on 2000 hectares of ground given to us. A church
hall has been completed and is being used for worship services which
are led by a catechist. Three chalets have also been completed and
these will be used by visitors to the mission station.
“The work ahead of us in putting up the
infrastructure is mammoth and requires a lot of support both
spiritually and materially. We need a lot of prayers so that God can
provide us with the resources we need for this big project,”
added Obed Mangimela, the Diocesan Secretary. ”We also have a
programme in Kitwe for the street children. A farm was bought for
them two years ago and it is the intention of the Diocese to convert
this place into a skills training centre and to impart skills to
street children in disciplines such as carpentry and joinery,
bricklaying, tailoring and agriculture, so that eventually they
become self-reliant. This is a very ambitious project which requires
God’s guidance and blessings.”
On HIV/AIDS he said, “One of our priests
attended an All Africa Anglican Conference in Johannesburg recently.
The diocesan synod appointed a committee to spearhead the HIV/AIDS
campaign in our diocese. The matter was also emphasised by Abp
Bernard in his charge to the Synod. It is our prayer that this
programme succeeds.”
Of the Province of Central Africa Abp Bernard
said it has 12 dioceses at present but, with the split, it will have
15 by the end of 2002.
Abp Bernard and his wife Charity have two
daughters, Mary and Neema (Grace in Swahili), and three sons, Andrew,
Edward and Emmanuel, and eight grandchildren.
Members of our diocese are encouraged to pray for
our link dioceses, the other two being Namibia and St Helena.
Another “Books of the
Bible” Puzzle
The Editor had to be reminded that one of the
books had a not very well known alternate name, before she got all 45
books. There are also 16 names of people from the Bible.
Within this text I have concealed the names of
forty-five books of the Bible. While I managed to format the words
such that the letters of each name are consecutive, they are not
always contiguous; so the name may be entirely within a single word
or may span across two or more words. Finally, for those whose
spelling is too bad, “i” ahead of “e” is the rule
to remember. Brother Martinez rates this a most difficult puzzle that
should, in fact, severely challenge you because it also contains a
number of other names from the Bible which are not the names of Bible
books. Perhaps I’m only being truthful when I admit it usually
takes someone like the preacher, the Right Reverend Joshua Williams,
to find all the names and sort out which are Bible books and which
are not. And yes, there have been a beleaguered few who have found
the job to have been a humbling experience which, in spite of their
lamentations, left them with a dismal aching feeling and a damaged
ego. One comic, a heathen at heart, remarked that, no, a hard puzzle
like this could not be done quickly, if at all. However, first
Timothy and then Juan Miguel Remos estimated it took only about one
hour to find the answers. A week later, a Judean bibliophile,
Monsignor Galati, answered the puzzle in less than thirty minutes
while Father Philippi answered it in a little more than an hour. A
Miss Hermione Wishag gained the speed record by solving the puzzle in
less than twenty minutes, only to be outdone by Frank Dijon, a
headmaster at the local seminary, who finished it in ten minutes
flat! These solvers created such a stir with their quick solutions
that the San Luis Obispo Chronicle’s editor, Alex O. Dushek, did
an article about them in the Sunday edition. Incidentally, both Alex
and Erin, his cousin, are also talented creators and avid solvers of
puzzles.The approach to the problem varies widely. While some go at
it by the numbers, looking systematically for each name, others rely
upon a fluke of luck or await some divine revelation and too often
find themselves in a real jam, especially when looking for some of
the more obscure names. Some choose to work alone while others feel
that, when trying to do it solo, monotony sets in before they can
complete the puzzle. Ian found working alone so monotonous that he
wrote a little tune titled “A Song of Solo Montony,” which
he hums while working on this puzzle. Ian really prefers working
together with Abraham because when the frustration begins to get a
little too deep, he’s Ian’s inspiration to keep trying. I
know also that sister Daniella, Jose, Phil and Lisa actually prefer
to work in total silence, while Bobby Joe likes to listen to
classical music. Wilson even resorted to the herbal potion
Retro-Beta- Sorbitol (RBS) to sharpen his mind even though there are
no studies to prove RBS has any beneficial effects. My very dear
friend Lisa Mueller says that though some may consider her odd, she
believes she can concentrate much better if she brews herself a cup
of nice hot tea. On the other hand, my neighbour, Eugene Zekie, loves
coffee and chose a cup of his favourite blend instead. I might note
that of the lists that I have seen, Gene’s is by far the
shortest. You may judge some other method to be more effective,
offering, perhaps, alms for inspiration or, following the example of
Mary Johnson, by chanting a favourite mantra. So, while there is no
cash award for doing so, in case this puzzle happens to appeal to you
and you wish to compete, read this text carefully and let neither
tedium nor ache lessen your enjoyment or keep you from answering the
challenge of finding the names of all forty-five books. As a bonus,
how many other different names that are not the names of Bible books
can you find (some may appear more than once)?
- Enjoy! Ed.
Congratulations
Mrs Queenie Ah Why, who won the beautiful
"Cat" quilt, is joined by her grandchildren Hayley and
Caitlin Wong Leith and Darine Tye in front of the quilt being held up
by Ken Simpson and Archdeacon Christopher Holmes.
Iindaba congratulates Mrs Queenie Ah Why of Opel
Road, and a member of St Francis Xavier Church, on winning the
“Cat” quilt which was raffled in aid of the House of
Resurrection Haven funds. Ken Simpson, chairman of the Liaison
Committee, is proud to announce that R2 374 was raised through the raffle.
Readers are reminded that there is still an
urgent need for people to sell tickets for the Christmas Cheer draw.
The tickets sell at R5 each and the Haven receives R3 of every one
sold by them.
Please phone Ken if you can help (041) 360 6808
Convent, Transkei
This extract from the newsletter of the SSJE
(a Community in fellowship with the Community of St John the Baptist)
was submitted by Alicia Skenjana, who grew up at St Cuthbert’s.
I have received sad news from Monica Mary, Mother
of the Community of St John the Baptist at St Cuthbert’s (in St
John’s Diocese). One evening all the Sisters were in chapel for
Evening Prayer when suddenly they noticed thick smoke coming through
the doors and windows. The Sisters rushed out and saw that the
kitchen area was on fire. The flames spread rapidly, and soon the
whole convent was ablaze. Attempts to control the fire failed; the
police came but had no extinguishers, and the fire brigade arrived
after two hours! Many valuable articles were lost, including
chalices, vestments, books, furniture and clothing. Nothing could be
saved. We are very thankful that none of the Sisters was hurt. The
Community is planning to rebuild the Convent and is appealing for funds.
Gifts to: Community of St John the Baptist,
Standard Bank, P O Box 209, Umtata.
Account no: 080865704
Serial no: 0621
- Fr James Naters, SSJE
Media Relations for Ministry Workshop
16 & 17 October
Ecumedia Administrator will contact clergy with
details! Don't miss it!
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