St James in the Bush

Melusi Sibanda

Description

Promoting positive community was something that just came naturally to Francis Boatwright, a pioneer educationalist who worked for many years in Mozambique. His great passion was helping others reach their potential and was also good at bringing healing to people, so they could know themselves as whole persons capable of contributing to human flourishing. Boatwright moved to Zimbabwe, a country of natural beauty, in the middle of the twentieth century with his wife Monica who had an excellent command of the Nguni languages. As they had no house at first, the Boatwrights camped out. But the bush was very thick. It wasn't long before they started getting visits from wild animals and snakes of all kinds...

Sujets

• Lettres et linguistique

Informations

• Publié par: Andrews UK
• Date de parution: 04 avril 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781785386275
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

St James in the Bush
An Act of Faith
By
Melusi Sibanda
Foreword by
Janette O’Neill





First published in 2016 by
AG Books
www.agbooks.co.uk
Digital edition converted and distributed by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
© Copyright 2016 Melusi Sibanda
The right of Melusi Sibanda to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The views and opinions expressed herein belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of AG Books or Andrews UK Limited.




Thanks are due to many people who offered advice and support and those who shared their own memories and reflections so generously in the development of this book, as well various organisations that gave me support including ALMA who provided photos of Maciene Cathedral. Proofreading, editing and designing of the cover page would not have proceeded so efficiently without the assistance of a number of people whose contribution is very much appreciated. I cannot express enough gratitude and thanks to Martin and Doreen Kilbey and John Guthrie of Broadland Properties Ltd for their support. My heartfelt thanks.



Abbreviations
AA Agric Alert
ASC Africa Sub-Committee
ALMA Angola, London & Mozambique Association
ANC African National Council
BC Beauty Contest
BCP Book of Common Prayer
BPA Baden-Powell Award
CAF Central African Federation
CBS Cathedral Boarding School
CCSA Chief Commissioner for South Africa
CMS Church Missionary Society
CPCA Church of the Province of Central Africa
CPSA Church of the Province of South Africa
CR Community of the Resurrection
DCMN Division Commissioner of Matabeleland North
DCMW Division Commissioner of Matabeleland West
DH Dining Hall
DBF Diocesan Board of Finance
EC Episcopal Commissary
GCE General Certificate of Education
JC Junior Certificate
LAC Land Apportionment Act
LM Lourenço Marques
LTA Land Tenure Act
MC Mission Church
MMSC Medical Missions Sub-Committee
MND Matabeleland North Division
MOS Missionary Optical Service
MU Mothers’ Union
O Level Ordinary Level
OHP Order of the Holy Paraclete
OS Overseas Secretary
PCP Patrol Camp Permit
P-in-C Priest-in-Charge
RC Roman Catholic
RGGA Rhodesia Girl Guides Association
RYSE Rhodesian Young Scientists Exhibition
SO Sanctions Order
SPCK Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge
SPG Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
Sr Sister
Sr GB Sr Grace Barbara
Sr JM Sr Janet Mary
SRS Salisbury Research Station
ST Standing Committee
TC Territorial Commissioner
TFP Transport for Peggy
TLC The Living Church
TLCRF The Living Church Relief Fund
TTL Tribal Trust Land
UCE United College of Education
UDI Unilateral Declaration of Independence
UMCA Universities Mission to Central Africa
UN United Nations
USPG United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (1965-2012)
USPG United Society Partners in the Gospel (from 2016)
WAGGGS World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
YFC Young Farmers’ Club
YSP Young Scientists’ Project



Foreword
USPG is an ancient society. Brought into being by the Revd Thomas Bray following a visit to the New World in 1700 where he noted that there was ‘little spiritual vitality’ and ‘poor organizational condition’ of religious life in the colonies. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts was formed in 1701 and the first missionaries landed in America the following year.
For the next 150 years, missionaries were sent all over the globe to both spread the gospel and organise an Anglican structure to promote this work. In the 1860’s a new impetus in global mission emerged to specifically fight the evil of slavery, a detested corollary of the predatory nature of colonialism. Despite the abolition laws the trade still persisted and the men of the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham responded to David Livingstone’s cry to end the trade and build prosperous Christian societies in its stead. The Universities Mission to Central Africa (UMCA) was closely allied to SPG and was later to merge and form United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.
In Central Africa, which included both Mozambique and Zimbabwe, the work of the missionary bore a consistency that can be seen wherever SPG and UMCA ventured - that is a concern with holistic mission, with both spiritual and physical needs of the whole person. An SPG mission created alongside a place of worship, schooling, health care and farm to embed itself in the life of a community, and to offer to its communicant members and importantly to those who were not, welcome steps over the barriers to their prosperity. In particular, health care and education were often completely absent from the rural communities and continued to be so until well after independent governments were stable enough to address the needs of their people. The missions offered such tangible witness to God’s love for all, that this caring presence was able to overcome the barriers that kept people from recognizing the power and presence of God and the hope that faith in Jesus could mean in their lives.
Many of the men and women who ventured forth went having heard God’s call, and were mostly certain of what they were bringing to the mission field. On arrival they would be met with what was needed. The dissonance often created angst, frustration and dark nights of the soul as it took time for the wants and needs to find the conjunction with the gifts that the missionary so wanted to deliver. But for some remarkable people the response was immediate. The understanding of their new home became a lifelong loving endeavour that began as they stepped from ships, trains or carriages but more usually carts into their new home. Francis Boatwright was such a person. I think it would be fair to say that he was unappreciated at home. He was initially denied the chance to serve overseas as his fellow clergy deemed that his human frailties rendered him unfit for the mission field. But he was not to be deterred and his persistence was rewarded by a posting to Mozambique. The remarkable life and mission is now described in this wonderful book. I am so pleased that this chronicle can record the complexities, the difficulties as well as the resilience, strength and achievements of Boatwright’s abundant life and point to the legacies that only love can create.
Janette O’Neill
General Secretary USPG
London
September 2016



Preface
This book tells the story of how Francis Boatwright was able to stay close to God through his many years of sick health during which he battled against depression. He was a very knowledgeable man, with a sharp mind and tough physique, but emotional depression couple with hard work led to physical exhaustion. Many times in his life, Francis had succumbed to ill-health and had been told to take some time off work and get some good rest.
One of the most remarkable qualities about Francis is that he always bounced back even though he was operating under great pressure all the time. Every time he bounced back to work, Francis was able to work even harder and achieve much more than what he had done before. In a real sense, therefore, it is God who was always close by Francis even at those times when he felt very tired and ill. It seems that all that Francis needed to do was to recognize that powerful presence in his life which was the source of his strength and thus helped him to grow and loosen any chains of agony and discomfort which constrained him from time to time.
Francis’ life is set in the wider picture of the development of the Anglican Mission in Zimbabwe which was known as Rhodesia until the country gained its independence in 1980. This writer’s middle name, ‘Francis,’ was given at the point of baptism, as a baby, through the hands of Francis Boatwright, a priest who was known as a ‘bush missionary,’ having established dozens of mission stations, first in Mozambique then later on in Zimbabwe. Before his ordination to the priesthood, Francis had spent a number of years working at a printing firm, so he was excellent with communications and also very skilled at developing photographs.
Although he had been ordained into the Church of England, Francis had had only a brief ministry there but spent nearly two decades in Mozambique where he also became Dean of Maciene Cathedral and Archdeacon of Lebombo. At one point during his time in Mozambique, Francis got help from readers of an American Christian magazine called ‘The Living Church’ (TLC) who were instrumental in saving one of his church schools which had been forced to close down due to financial difficulties.
Francis’ Diocese in Mozambique was supported by the London-based, ‘Society for the Propagation of the Gospel’ (SPG), later designated as the ‘United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel’ (USPG), rechristened as the ‘United Society’ in 2012 and then becoming the Uni