Church Moderator embarks on trip marking 100 years of Malawi Church

Published on 15 August 2024 3 minutes read

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland will take part in celebrations marking 100 years of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) as part of a visit to Malawi.

During the trip, which will also include a week in Kenya beforehand, Rt Rev Dr Shaw Paterson will join the Centenary Celebratory Service at stadium in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi.

Rt Rev Dr Shaw Paterson Outside His Church
Rt Rev Dr Shaw Paterson.

The worship event, which takes place on Sunday 25 August and will be led by representatives from the CCAP, will be attended by the country's president as well as of the presidents of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

One of the highlights of the visit will be a trip to Zomba Theological University (ZTU) where Dr Paterson will lead a seminar on his doctoral subject, on better pastoral support following early miscarriage.

Dr Paterson's theme for the year is ‘Building Together' and there will be opportunity to hear about the new post-graduate centre being built to allow Malawians to study for PhDs in country – thus building people as well as infrastructure. It is hoped there may be a Moderator's challenge to congregations to support this venture.

In Kenya Dr Paterson will be hosted by the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) and will meet with other partners including the Programme for Christian-Muslim Relations in Africa (PROCMURA), an organisation founded in 1959 to help build good relations between Christians and Muslims in Africa.

Whilst in Nairobi, he will also meet with some of the leadership of Presbyterian Church of South Sudan.

Dr Paterson will then travel to St Paul's University in Limuru, a short distance from the capital, as well as Kikuyu Mission Hospital and the Presbyterian University of East Africa on the outskirts of Nairobi.

For the first Sunday of his visit he will worship and preach at PCEA Kibera Congregation, a church which is twinned with Barrhead Bourock Church of Scotland.

The church here receives a grant to help care for orphans from the Church of Scotland's HIV programme.

From Kenya Dr Paterson will travel to the CCAP Synod of Blantyre. This will include a visit to Mulanje Mission Hospital and a meeting with Rev Isobel Phiri, the Vice Chancellor of University of Blantyre Synod.

At Thondwe, near Zomba, the Moderator will meet the congregation who are twinned with Innerleithen, Traquair and Walkerburn Church of Scotland and take part in the blessing of a new bridge connecting the community with the school.

In Lilongwe he will meet with Christian Aid Malawi staff and over the course of several days attend events marking the 100th anniversary of the CCAP including a book launch for ‘The Church of Central Africa Presbyterian 1924-2024: A Centenary Assessment', where Dr Paterson will be the keynote speaker.

As a guest of Livingstonia Synod, as part of a busy programme, Dr Paterson will lead a seminar at the university's College of Theology, and visit Bandawe on the Lakeshore, one of the congregations whose Guild is twinned with the church of Scotland Guild. He will also meet up with the Brough family, who are Church of Scotland mission partners in Malawi.

Dr Paterson said: "The ties that the Church of Scotland has with the both the CCAP and the PCEA run deeply.

"It will be a privilege to meet with their members, to join the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the CCAP, and above all to join in together in worship.

"A real highlight for me will be to meet in-person with churches twinned with Church of Scotland congregations and give thanks for the faith that we share."

Follow the Moderator's Facebook page for regular updates from the trip.