Greeting from Zambia!
Where does one learn history? From the wisdom of our elders. Rev Balongo, a retired minister of the United Church of Zambia, and his wife, welcomed me into their home for conversation and stories about the formation of the UCZ.
They explained the process and decision, at the time of union, as to which Women's Christian Fellowship uniform would be adopted by the newly united groups. Each group -- Methodists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians -- had to explain the meaning behind the colours and symbols of their uniform, and one was chosen. As it turns out, it was the Methodist uniform with the red blouse, black skirt and shoes, and white hat/wrap.
Then, the languages of this united church... to illustrate the complexity of the situation, Rev Balongo stepped over to his library in the corner of the lounge and gathered a pile of hymnbooks, each one in a different language. All but two are currently out of print. A recent project has matched the English and Bemba hymnals, number for number, song for song. This is what I have been using to improve my Bemba, matching the English and Bemba texts and identifying matching words. Of course it's my spiritual and theological vocabulary that is expanding -- Mupashi waMushilo - Holy Spirit; lelo - today; Na muli - I believe; maka - power, strength; mulu - heaven, up; ukulekelelwa - forgiveness; mweo - life; bafwa - of the dead. Helpful words if you are a minister/Reverend!
Where does one learn history? From the wisdom of our elders. Rev Balongo, a retired minister of the United Church of Zambia, and his wife, welcomed me into their home for conversation and stories about the formation of the UCZ.
They explained the process and decision, at the time of union, as to which Women's Christian Fellowship uniform would be adopted by the newly united groups. Each group -- Methodists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians -- had to explain the meaning behind the colours and symbols of their uniform, and one was chosen. As it turns out, it was the Methodist uniform with the red blouse, black skirt and shoes, and white hat/wrap.
