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By Maidstone Mulenga

With a focus on promotion of education, health, and spiritual development, the Baltimore-Washington Conference has started work on a new framework for partnership with the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church (ZEA), which encompasses two annual conferences.

To kick-off the discussion on a new partnership agreement, the Rev. Dr. Joseph Daniels, chair of the Zimbabwe Partnership and superintendent of the Greater Washington District, and BWC Assistant to the Bishop, the Rev. Maidstone Mulenga, met with their counterparts at the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area head office in Harare on March 18. During the meeting, the two sides agreed on the need to continue the partnership that originally started in December 1997, and to refine it to address current needs in both BWC and ZEA, especially in regard to pastors’ training, education, community health and leadership development.

ZEA Deputy Assistant to the Bishop, the Rev. Alan Gurupira, noted that one of the sure benefits of the partnership was the success of the Pastors’ School, held every two years at Africa University with BWC providing most of the support in resources and instructors. The next one is set for July 2015.

“The partnership must continue,” said Gurupira, who is also the director of Connectional Ministries.  “There has been great fruit and we are inviting you to continue the partnership.”

Through the Rev. Austern Chepiri, who is in charge of mission projects, the Zimbabwean side also expressed appreciation for the support from the BWC in terms of projects that were accomplished through the Hope Fund, which included construction of several parsonages and sanctuaries throughout Zimbabwe.

Daniels also noted that the Baltimore-Washington Conference has benefited greatly from the partnership, especially in spiritual growth among those who have taken mission trips to Zimbabwe and participated in the Pastors’ School. “Many people are actualizing their dreams through this partnership, and still others are being summoned to ministry,” Daniels said.

The two sides also talked about the possibility of pulpit exchanges between pastors, new possible topics for the pastors’ school, a collective focus on youth and young adult ministry with a possible forum during the school being established, the need for literature on UMC polity, and for attention to be devoted to growing junior church schools in Zimbabwe.

The two sides agreed to explore how the partnership would help in the revitalization and upgrade of the hospitals and rural clinics in Zimbabwe through partnership with the Zimbabwe Health Board, ZEA Conference leadership and UMCOR.

Apart from the Pastors’ School and mission projects, the two sides also talked about the possibility of creating scholarship funds to help with the education fees for students in UMC schools and to encourage individuals, churches or organizations to contribute to the timely payment of the base salaries for pastors in ZEA.

The Baltimore-Washington Conference will continue to work with its local churches to recruit, equip and deploy Volunteer in Mission (VIM) teams throughout Zimbabwe in support of schools, hospitals, clinics and local churches. The ZEA leadership said their conferences will incorporate the key elements of the covenant relationship agreement into the long term strategic missional priorities and its annual operating plans.

The Rev. Dr. Z.T. Marewangepo, the senior assistant to the bishop, announced that the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area is focused on “BEB”; the first “B” standing for bringing more souls to Jesus Christ; “E” for Ebenezer Convention, which the ZEA will host in August; and the last “B” for building new conference centers.

Later, Daniels and Mulenga were taken on the tour of the new conference center, under construction in a residential area in Harare.

The meeting was also attended by members of the Board of Ordained Ministry, who are in charge of the Pastors’ School. They will draft the initial plan for the 2015 Pastors’ School and share it with BWC team before it is finalized.

The BWC side will draft the new partnership agreement and share it with the Zimbabwean team and then present a finalized version for approval by Bishop Marcus Matthews and his counterpart, Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa.