Local Ministry Groups - Learning from Zambia

It is very likely that the future enablers of Local Ministry Groups in Bath & Wells, lay or ordained, could learn a great deal from their counterparts in Zambia.

Read on for pictures and an explanation of how lay church members and clergy need to work together.

The Anglican Church in Zambia grew out of the missionary impetus of David Livingstone and others in the second half of the 19th century. Anglicans are around 2% of the population of 10 million.

How does the church in Zambia resource all these groups of Christians with so few priests?

The answer lies with the immense contribution to the life of the church there that is made by the lay people themselves.

Bishop Robert Mumbi - churches needed to have more confidence in their lay readers.

Bishop Robert said that he had spoken to Bishop Peter about the involvement of lay people when he had attended an Archdeaconry Training Day on Local Ministry Groups/Changing Lives in September 2004. He said that he was surprised that the day was only aimed at the clergy, and that readers had not been included, or were not having a similar day. He said churches needed to have more confidence in their lay readers. He said in Zambia there were generally very good relationships between clergy and readers. Priests supervised and undertook weddings and sacramental ministry, most of the pastoral work was undertaken by readers.

One newly trained reader from the Diocese of Northern Zambia describes his duties as training for baptism and confirmation, evangelising in community meetings, encouraging the weak and conducting healing prayers in homes and hospitals, deputising for the priest, continuing to learn in order to fully understand church doctrine, and burying dead members of the congregation in the absence of the priest. He described his year’s training as covering a vast amount of work.

Bishop William Muchombo and his wife Mary with Archbishop Rowan Williams

Methods of training varied around the dioceses, especially for those living in the remote rural areas. It was often done over six months at evening classes in basic theology. Usually new readers did three months initial training followed by a review, and if suitable would continue and were then taken on in their parishes. Sometimes training was done as an intensive week’s course at a parish centre. The candidates would have to bring their own food, or get their congregations to contribute. There was usually a year’s practical work with a priest before licensing, generally done locally.

Most parishes have several readers; the newly licensed reader in Northern Zambia is one of nine readers. Many readers take extended communion, and their dedication to this was much valued. They lead prayers, take baptisms in emergencies, preach, undertake pastoral care and take many of the funerals that are all too frequent because of Zambia’s high mortality rate due to HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Life expectancy in Zambia is currently 33 years.

Having a bicycle is a great help

Bishop William describes the first half of their training as learning the practicalities of how to preach, teach, lead worship, and manage meetings. The second half concentrates on the content. It is necessary for a candidate to be able to read and write, which probably excludes many capable people who have not been able to access enough education.

Many people in the rural areas of Zambia exist by small-scale farming, so prospective readers, and clergy, would often need to get help in cultivating their fields while being trained. They might also need help with washing their robes, as soap is not always easy to come by, and takes a sizeable proportion of a family’s budget.

Having a bicycle is a great help, particularly if someone in the congregation can help to maintain it. Congregations within one parish in a rural part of Zambia may be spread over the area equivalent to an English diocese!

Bishop William says that Eastern Diocese subsidises the costs as much as possible in the rural areas, particularly of registration and materials. Candidates are usually provided with a prayer book and a Bible. There are women Lay Readers, and all ages are represented. They are generally very active, self-motivated people, with superb organisational skills. There is a Readers Union, but it meets infrequently because of the logistics of people having to travel huge distances to get together. There is not a great deal of difference in the work undertaken by a lay reader and a lay evangelist. The evangelist tends to be regarded as a more ‘official’ lay worker, and undertakes a year’s training at the Seminary.

He wondered if the Anglican Church would grow more quickly with more priests, but believed that on the other hand lay readers do have a very important bearing on church growth. The reader also takes the place of a catechist - preparing candidates for baptism and confirmation, in addition to all the other roles. He said that in some cases readers have been used for Outreach Ministry, but with a biting national economy this has been proving a bit difficult in that individuals have to make ends meet and thus have to divide their time accordingly. This is so because the Lay Ministry is voluntary and a non salaried one.

He said that therefore people will ensure that they first engage in their normal occupations/chores which ensure that their livelihood or survival is secured and then afterwards try and do God's work. As such when they cannot raise enough there will be the tendency to go on, leaving very little time for God's work.

Procession at St Anne's Church