Malindi Parish background:
For several decades the Diocese of Birmingham has been linked to the Church in Malawi, with visits being exchanged and spiritual support being offered, as well as financial aid which is distributed centrally through the Church to people and communities in need.
In order to make the relationships more immediate and personal, parishes in the Birmingham Diocese have been encouraged to link up with parishes in Malawi and on July 17th this year such a link was formally established between our five village parishes and the parish of Malindi, a former mission station on the southern shore of Lake Malawi. Gifts and greetings were exchanged between the Revd. Alex Mann and the then Malindi parish priest, Father Hopeson Jailosi, who also sent a letter introducing himself to the Church family here in England.
The present church building in Malindi, St. Martin’s, dates back to 1911 and the parish includes five sub churches which although they lack funds, always have good attendances. Congregations are large and the worship vibrant. The churches are also involved in the setting up and provision of schools, both primary and secondary, a hospital and workshops.
In March 2005 Austrey and Warton PCC decided to establish a parish link with Malindi parish on the southern shore of Lake Malawi. A parish link has many advantages over sending money to a needy area or supporting a missionary in that it requires personal contact and therefore builds up relationships with the people in the parish.
Latest News
Now that a new priest is in place in Malindi, and with a new Bishop in charge of the Diocese of Upper Shire, the youthful Bishop Brighton Malasa, there are signs of a returning vitality in the life of the Church. Our description of the Birmingham Diocesan initiative “Transforming Church” in last August’s “Dove” editorial struck a chord with the people there, as they seek a revival of spirituality among their Church members. They are also looking to spread the Gospel among Muslims who predominate in some parts of the parish.
They are also very much concerned with social issues and establishing Malindi once more as a thriving and prosperous community, generating income for its residents. Tourism is a potential growth area and there are plans to refurbish some of the older buildings to provide accommodation for visitors. They would like to create a museum to house exhibits connected with the area’s past history, its association with the explorer David Livingstone and its development as a mission station in the late 19th century, possibly using the decommissioned mission ship Chauncy Maples for this purpose. They see a market for the sale of local craft items and the possible reopening of the Malindi workshop and the pottery. Health and education are important areas of concern too: they stress the need for programmes to combat HIV and AIDS, the need to encourage youngsters to continue with secondary schooling (not freely available in Malawi), the need to provide accommodation for teachers and hospital workers. The priests often have a problem with lack of reliable transport, communication and internet facilities.
All these projects of course require funding, some of which comes through individuals or else organisations like MACS (Malawi Association for Christian Support). An interesting development in recent times has been the establishment of a Permaculture Network in Malawi, to aid sustainability and self-sufficiency. Advice is given about improving methods of farming and more efficient food production, about understanding land management in order to preserve and maintain ecosystems. Present farming methods are still very much at the mercy of the weather and although the first rains fell in November, allowing the planting of crops to begin, there is some concern that insufficient rain has fallen to ensure a good harvest and some even fear a drought. Unnatural weather conditions can also occur: fierce storms struck around Christmas time, resulting in the deaths of five people by lightning in a village in the parish of Malindi, as well as damage to property from falling trees.
However, they are delighted that our parish link is being maintained and we look forward to a deepening of the ties between us during the coming year.
An excerpt from the recent newsletter from Bethesda Leprosy Hospital:
“Bethesda continues its march forward in reaching to the needs of patients and children in the best possible way, with Christ’s love. Called to serve the people scorned and rejected by society, we draw our strength from God daily through prayer, studying His Word and being in Him. 14 patients and others accepted the Lord this year and were baptised. 11260 outpatients visited our hospital during this year so far with various health problems. A total of 1259 leprosy, AIDS and general patients were given inpatient care. The hospital offered maternity services to 24 HIV positive pregnant women and provided prophylactic treatment and baby food to all the babies born. 53 HIV positive patients on Home Based care programme continue to receive good care and healthy nutrition. All the 147 children living in the hostels are receiving quality education, spiritual nurture and good care. All the 29 HIV positive children in our George Muller Home continue to receive anti-retroviral drugs and are in good health. The Lord in His goodness enabled us to complete the construction of the Home building and a small guesthouse on the campus.
We acknowledge with humbled hearts that all these activities were made possible only with God’s partnership and prayers, we once again thank you all with much gratitude.”
Birmingham City Mission
We continue to support the invaluable work done by the Birmingham City Mission among the homeless, the elderly, families struggling with poverty and debt, impressionable and vulnerable young people in the city. We give direct financial support through a tithe of church offerings, some church members work as volunteers and approximately every 2 months BCM collects certain items of unwanted furniture and clothing as well as donations of basic foodstuffs (with a long shelf life).
If you have any items you wish to donate, please contact either BCM on 0121 643 4324 or Gwyneth Shilleto on 01827 330569 so we can arrange to collect from your home. Please note there are no storage facilities for goods to be left before BCM arrive. Thank you for your co-operation.