The big event of this weekend was the centennial celebration for Henry Henderson Institute. It has been a long time in the planning. In fact, the real anniversary was in 2009, but the celebration was postponed until everything was in place. One of the blessings of not being bound by time, as we are in the Northern Hemisphere, is the ability to celebrate when ready, not when the clock or the calendar degrees. So the celebration was set for 10-10-10, to begin at 10 a.m., marking a date that will not happen for another hundred years. Everything was in place. The road in front of the school had been paved. The trees had been pruned to make room for all the tents to be erected. Commemorative cloth had been produced and sold, so everyone and everything could be dressed in the material of the day. All the alumni had been invited, especially the Number One Alumni, the president of Malawi, His Excellency Ngwazi Prof. Bingu wa Mutharika. He was the Guest of Honor. That meant that everything that happened focused around him, as it should, as honored guest and as President.

Early in the week, preparations were begun for the big day. The grounds were readied. The tents were erected. The school buildings were cleaned and polished, inside and out. The students were rehearsed. Speeches were written and revised, so that on Sunday morning only the finishing touches remained. Chairs were set up and ushers were instructed about who was to sit where. The clergy were instructed to gather at St. Michael’s church at 8:15 for our instructions and preparations for processing to our seats near the platform. From these seats, we had shelter from the sun and a relatively good view of the Presidential party on a platform which had been erected in front of the school hall and decorated with the commemorative cloth. By 9 a.m., everyone was in place to await the arrival of the President. All the seats in the 7 tents that were erected and in the unprotected areas near the platform were filled and people stood under trees and out in the sun, to get a good view of the events. The grounds were packed. As we waited, red carpet was rolled out and swept clean for everywhere the President would walk, the Malawi police inspection for security, the media set up their equipment to televise the event, and choirs took turns singing, as final rehearsals and live entertainment. As the hour of arrival neared, women gathered along the entry road to sing and welcome the president’s convoy. Anticipation and celebration filled the air.

At 10:10 a.m. (on Malawian time), sirens sounded to announce the President’s arrival. Everyone snapped to attention as the motorcade pulled in and the President emerged. He was greeted by the General Secretary, the Synod Moderator and all the political officials who had gathered for the event, several of them alumni of HHI. They escorted him into the school, on his red carpet, where he signed the guest book and inspected a classroom and the library. As he emerged from the building, the Malawi Police Band played the National Anthem and the President took his seat of honor on the platform. After the formal greetings and recognition of all dignitaries, the program began with a worship service. This followed the usual format for CCAP worship. The Moderator, Rev. Reynold Mangisa, preached. Three choirs sang, including the Women’s Choir from Chigodi Congregation. This was a great honor for the church I serve and for our choir. The offering went to HHI for improvement to the buildings.

After the worship service, the real celebration began. The primary school children performed traditional rhythmic dumb bell exercises. This is synchronized movement and tapping of a set of wooden dumb bells by 40 young students. The President rose from his seat to give money to the group and to “exercise” with them. The crowd cheered his participation. Then the Beni dancers, came, young boys and girls who do military precision dance/march to a drum beat. Again the President won the applause of the crowd when he joined them in marching and gave them a monetary gift of appreciation. The alumni then marched from their seats, arranged in decade groups, in front of the platform to greet the President. Some of the older folks had been asked to represent 1909 to 1929, even though these were not their years. But from then on, those who marched did so according to the years they attended the school. The numbers of alumni swelled as the decades drew closer to the present. The Police Band played and the crowd cheered. It was an impressive procession of professional business people, teachers, pastors, and political and civic leaders. An Alumnus from each decade had been selected to give “brief” reflections on their time at HHI. This was interspersed with poems and a skit. Finally, the HHI choir sang as the present students released blue and white balloons. Then the dignitaries offered speeches. These remembered the early history of the school and those who had served in leadership over the last century. The last to speak, of course, was the President. While he shared official “State remarks” about education, he also offered some of his remembrances of his time as a student at HHI and then he presented a sizable check to the administration as a kickoff to the fundraising    for the future building improvements. He challenged his fellow alumni to step forward and contribute in the near future.

With the festivities completed, the Police Band played the national anthem again and everyone sang. The President was once again escorted to his motorcade and the women sang and cheered as the cars pulled away. The long anticipated event was over. As the crowd dispersed, comments of praise could be heard. No one seemed to notice that it was six hours since we had all gathered in preparation for the President’s arrival. Time didn’t matter. It was a good event, well worth the wait and all the preparations.