Encouragement from Zimbabwe

Holy Trinity last night welcomed Bishop Ishmael Mukuwanda to our Sunday @ 7 service

 

Bishop Ismael is the Bishop of the Diocese of  Central Zimbabwe, and was here as part of the historic link between his Diocese and the Croydon Area of our own Diocese.

 

His message from Philippians 1 was an encouraging one - the church in Zimbabwe has suffered greatly in recent years, with congregations and clergy being locked out of their buildings, at the same time as enduring economic and political pressures, and yet is thriving and growing. Bishop Ishmael made the connection between the apostle Paul's prison chains which served to advance the gospel, and his Diocese's own sufferings which have served to grow the church and witness to the faithfulness and sovereignty of God.

 

¹² Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. ¹³ As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. ¹⁴ And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

 Bishop Ishmael spoke of how the church had grown in reliance on God through their recent difficulties. He encouraged us not to ask 'Lord, why is this happening to us?', bit rather to ask 'Lord how can we serve you here, with what we have?'

The future of leadership in Zimbabwe is still uncertain, but the economy is gradually improving. Bishop Ishmael gave an example of this as he explained that for the first time he had been able to pay his own air fare to the UK, rather than to receive it as a gift from the Croydon Area.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul writes with a greeting that many of us who were at last night's service would want to echo in relation to the church in Zimbabwe:

I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

To read more about the link between Croydon and Zimbabwe click on the map below:

 

http://www.croydonzimbabwelink.org.uk/