The Transfer

I have been transferred as associate pastor from the Chigodi congregation to the Limbe congregation. Sunday was my first time with the congregation as their associate. I have preached there a number of times with the Partnership but this is different. This is as a pastor for the congregation, not as a guest preacher. The welcome was warm and encouraging. And I clearly recognized the difference between a city congregation and a village congregation.

The pastor, Rev. Rodney Bona, had told me that we were having just one service instead of the usual two. The service was to begin at 7:30 a.m. and would be primarily in Chichewa. I wanted to be prompt, so I arrived shortly after 7 a.m. to find the parking lot nearly full. As I got out of the car, I heard congregational singing. My heart sank. Had I misunderstood and was I late for my first service with a new congregation? I quietly made my way to a side entrance, to slip in as unnoticed as possible. As I entered the sanctuary, I breathed a sigh of relief. The service in progress was a wedding. It had begun at 6 a.m. to be finished in time for the Sunday service. The pastor was just pronouncing the benediction. I wasn’t late but I had a graphic example of the intense schedule of a city church where services have to be placed at all times to accommodate the needs of the congregation.

After the wedding party had recessed, the elders gathered in the pastor’s office and quickly set the order of worship in place, assigning parts easily. I was to give the opening prayer. During the announcements, I would be introduced to the church and give greetings. Those were my only responsibilities. The pastor had come and gone. He would slip in to the service once it had begun. His home is on the church grounds and he went home to freshen up after the wedding. This is Malawi and even a 6 a.m. wedding is hot when one is fully robed.

The order of service is the same in every CCAP church, but the flavor is different because of the personalities of the congregations. Limbe is a large and generally well educated congregation. The parking lot overflows with newer model cars. The church has tiled flooring throughout the sanctuary. The sound system is controlled for a sound booth near the chancel. The elders come dressed in fresh suits or stylish dresses. The choirs all have their recorded accompaniments. The service begins promptly at the designated time. There is a formality that does not exist in a village church. But there are a few things that remain the same. Men still sit together on one side of the church and women on the other. The small children still wander up and down the aisles, going between their parents. Sunday school is conducted concurrent with the worship service so their singing can be heard during the service. The Spirit is evident in the praise songs and joy of the worship time.

As I worshipped with the congregation, I felt comfortable and welcomed. I anticipate a good time of learning and growing in faith together in the months ahead. Transfers are good. They are part of the life of a minister but more than that, they are part of God's plan for our growth and good.

Church Farewell

Pastors in Blantyre Synod are assigned to churches at the discretion of the Synod and the Presbytery. These decisions are made by the executive team of the judicatory body. The pastor’s response is to go where he or she is sent. That obedience is part of the ordination vows. I am part of Blantyre Synod, so when the executives of the Synod told me I was to be transferred from the Chigodi congregation to the Limbe congregation, my response was, “Of course.” Actually, I knew this was  going to happen, since the young pastor who has come as my assistant at Chigodi Women’s Training Center needed to be assigned to a congregation and it was most logical that she take the church closest to the Center, where she is living. The congregation, however, was not as willing. It wasn’t that they didn’t want Rev. Jailos. It was that they didn’t want to lose me. But after some long conversations with the elders, they accepted the transfer and began to plan a farewell Sunday for me.

Sunday was the big day and it was a big day. We usually have two services, one in English and one in Chichewa, but on special occasions, we combine and have only one service. That was the schedule for Sunday. That meant that the church was crowded, as we packed the two congregations into one. The choirs of the congregation usually divide between the services, but since there was only one, all the choirs were present and they each had prepared special music for the occasion, songs thanking me for being their pastor. That was most humbling. I preached the sermon, with the session clerk as my translator. It was a joy to work with him for one last time in this way. After the offering, came speeches of appreciation. It was a humbling, too, to hear all they thought I had done for them and with them in just 16 months. Then came the giving of gifts. This has a particularly Malawian flavor. Each of the zones of the church, the various groups of the church and some individuals had gifts to present. I stood in the front as the giver of the gift danced up the aisle with the gift as a choir sang. The giver knelt in front of me to present the gift, which I received and then handed to member of the mvano who was there to assist me. She took the gift and placed it in the growing stack beside the pulpit. One of the elders stood on the other side of me with a bucket in hand, to receive the kwacha that the folks from the group wished to give. The giving of money is part of the fun of giving here. This is usually given in small bills of 20 kwacha (about 13 cents) and 50 kwacha (about 33 cents), but many of them. The fun is in the dancing and the tossing of the money, all the while choirs sing. This can go on for some time. The whole process of gift giving took almost an hour. It is not the amount given that matters. It is the heart and the fun of the giving that matter. There was great heart in their giving. I was deeply touched. After the service, there was a dinner at the Women’s Center, just up the hill from the church, for all the elders and their spouses. There were more speeches and more laughter as we shared a final meal together as pastor and elders.

Pastors become used to going to and leaving congregations. That is part of the call of God but there is always something bitter sweet about having to say goodbye. While it means new opportunities for the pastor and for the congregation, it is hard to let go of the relationships that have been built and the ministry that has been done together. I guess that is the price of engaging in one another’s lives. The farewell recognized that relationship and appreciated the time together. I praise God for that. I’ve said goodbye, but part of my heart remains, as part of my heart has in every congregation I have had to leave.

Session clerk and his wife tossing kwacha as a farewell gesture