In Malawi it is widely believed that education is not only acquired through formal education, but also through merely travelling to different parts of the world. I have grown up looking at that belief as a way for some people to look down on formal education if they did not have a chance to go through the four walls of a classroom, but travelled widely to neighbouring countries and even beyond in search of casual work.
This belief reflected in my mind on my first day of attending the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. I agree that travelling exposes people to new things, but interaction with people from different cultural backgrounds also plays a bigger role as a source of knowledge and new ideas. My presence at the 139th General Assembly provided the opportunity to engage ministers and elders from across the church; and through these interactions I may claim to have added a reasonable amount of knowledge about the church in Canada.
In my discussions, I focused on worship and the messages that dominate the pulpits in Canadian churches in comparison to those in Malawi. I shared that in Malawi the themes that run across the pulpits are usually about the hope of the suffering, God’s intervention, condemnation of cultural practices that seem to be in conflict with the word of God, punishment for sin, and other themes associated with suffering, while my Canadian counterparts shared that their messages revolve around the goodness of God, forgiveness, wholeness, and love of God.
The issue of different thematic approaches did not bring much surprise considering the different contexts of the two churches: the Malawian church members are going through difficult times socially as well as economically, hence the message of hope for God’s intervention in their suffering. HIV/AIDS has not spared the already starving people in the Malawian church, hence the message of hope becomes relevant to the suffering, orphans and those taking care of them. This is in sharp contrast with the Canadian church where members live comfortable lives and never go to sleep on empty stomachs.
Something surprising surfaced as I engaged ministers in Korean and Ghananian churches. They indicated that their churches are enjoying rapid increases in membership while there is a general outcry of membership decline in most churches. A minister from the Ghananian church attributed the growth to parents’ ability to encourage their children to go to church. Maybe there is something to learn from this.
I also had a memorable opportunity: I was the first Malawian minister and journalist to congratulate Rev. David Sutherland in his election as Moderator of the 139th General Assembly. The former Moderator, Rev. John Vissers visited Malawi at the end of last year.
