For the last four months Ingwenya Mission has experienced several sudden deaths of workers, very closely associated with the Mission and school for many years.
In mid-January the community at Ingwenya was shocked and saddened by
the sudden death of an old, respected elder, Joseph Mazwi Sibanda, who lived at Libeni, which is about five miles from Ingwenya and where we have a church which is part of the Ingwenya congregation. Formerly Mr. Mazwi had served the Mission for many years as a builder but it is as one of the church leaders he will be remembered.
He took an active part in church work, sometimes taking services at Ingwenya, but particularly at two outstations, Gadade and Inyathi. He was a familiar figure as he cycled to Gadade, which is several miles distant from his home.
Mr. Mazwi often spent a week-end at Inyathi, staying with his son and family who live there, and conducting the services at the church. (Our church at Inyathi was opened a number of years ago and is in a district not far from what was the London Missionary Society station which Robert Moffat helped to establish in 1860).
Many of our people in Scotland will remember having seen or met Mr. Mazwi, a tall, spare man with a pleasant expression, at the time of his being a representative elder at the Synod Meetings in Scotland in 1988. It was a most enjoyable and memorable visit for him.
Last September, Mr Mazwi attended the Communion services which were held at Ingwenya and at which the minister of the congregation, Rev Aaron Ndebele, was assisted by Rev. Neil Ross. Mr. Mazwi commented on how much he had enjoyed the Communion. It was to be his last.
His wife died a few months before him. Two of his sons, Philip and Samuel, have worked on the Mission for many years. May the Lord bless the voice of death in his family, in the school, and to us all in the congregation.
(Miss Katie Macaulay has kindly supplied the above notes on Mr. Mazwi).
A longstanding member at Ingwenya, Mrs. Pepheta, passed away recently. She had been a pupil in the school in the early days (1933) and was very good at answering Bible questions. She had the great privilege of having a gracious mother. Because she was concerned that her large number of grandchildren would learn as many Scripture verses as possible she was anxious to have a new Sindebele Bible to replace her old one which was in tatters. Sindebele Bibles were difficult to obtain at that time so she had to go to great lengths in trying to secure a copy.
The staff in the boarding school were shocked when a young assistant cook, in his late twenties, passed away suddenly at the end of last year.
During the December school holidays Miss Norma McLean visited our Mbuma mission station. She was driven there by Mr. James Mpofu, who is
now Building Works Manager in the place of the late Mr David Ndlovu. Because there had been a very heavy rainfall for some days previously and the side roads were almost impassable it was necessary to continue on the main road until they had reached Inkayi, 80 miles north-west of Ingwenya. Mr. Mpofu’s home is at Inkayi, so he took the opportunity to show Norma the spot where his grandfather, John Mpofu, had begun missionary work in Rev. J.B. Radasi’s day, about 1922. John Mpofu and his son Alexander (Mr. James Mpofu’s father) travelled on foot for four days from Ingwenya to reach the place. The local people resented the arrival of strangers and burnt the thatch of their houses three times, but they persevered in the work. Eventually, in the goodness of the Most High, they established a church and had a good number of converts, old and young. Norma wrote: “It was wonderful how the Lord worked in that primitive place, and how the work extended to Zenka, where eventually there was a Teacher-Training school which continued until Mr. Fraser’s death. From there the work spread to Mbuma. Not by might, nor by power but by my Spirit, saith the Lord”. If we would be remembering that the work is the Lord’s and that He will continue it according to His good pleasure and for His own glory we should be much calmer and more confident in the face of difficulties.”
J.N.
Protestant View
Roman Catholic Chaplain for the Queen
ROMAN Catholicism in our nation received another boost when one of its leading clergymen was appointed recently as an honorary Chaplain to the Queen. Monsignor Noel Mullen, principal chaplain to the Royal Navy, is the first Roman Catholic to receive this honour which was conferred on him by the Queen at the end of January.
While this appointment brings Romanism yet closer to the Royal Family and gives Rome greater opportunity for influence in royal circles, it also is contrary, we believe, to the Coronation Oath and to the enactments referred to in the Oath which provide specifically for a Protestant Throne. It is this fact which is of most concern to those who seek the preservation of the Protestant nature and foundation of the British Throne.
The Queen, in taking the Coronation Oath, has declared, “I do solemnly, and in the presence of God profess, testify, and declare that I am a faithful Protestant, and that I will, according to the true intent of the enactments which
secure the Protestant Succession to the Throne of my Realm, uphold and maintain the said enactments to the best of my power according to law.” One of those enactments is the Bill of Rights which forbids, among other things, that the Monarch shall be reconciled to, or shall hold communion with, the see or Church of Rome.
The Queen’s attendance at a Roman Catholic service
IT is with sadness that we record that the Queen became the first reigning monarch since the Reformation to make an official visit to a Roman Catholic service when she attended a commemorative service at the end of November at Westminster Cathedral to mark the centenary of its foundation. This was an action, we believe, which was contrary to the terms of the Coronation Oath. At her Coronation, the Queen promised to maintain to the utmost of her power “the laws of God, the true profession of the gospel and the Protestant Reformed religion established by law.”
In its letter of 20th October to the Queen, our Religion and Morals Committee said, among other things, “…We fear that Your Majesty’s presence will encourage the people of our United Kingdom to think that the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church may be accepted with confidence and that the old Reformation barriers may now safely be taken down. Rome continues to maintain that the authority of the Church is above or equal to that of the Bible, and upholds a Papacy which usurps the prerogatives of Christ, commanding the universal subjection of rulers and nations and insisting on the manifestly erroneous doctrines of papal infallibility, transubstantiation, a celibate clergy and the worshipping of saints and relics. These traditions of men obscure the only way of salvation by true faith in Jesus Christ our Saviour…”
“It is because we desire the Christian good of all peoples, the salvation of sinners and the restoration of Christian principles in our society that we respectfully urge Your Majesty not to attend this event….”
The reply from a member of the Queen’s staff to the Committee Clerk, Rev John Goldby, stated, “…The Queen noted carefully the views expressed in your letter. I should say, however, that this centenary anniversary service will be ecumenical in nature. As such, it will be attended by representatives of various Christian faiths. Furthermore, in the past The Queen has attended many other such ecumenical events in this country and abroad; similarly Cardinal Hume has attended many services at which The Queen, as Sovereign Head of the Church of England, was present….”
Her Majesty has indeed been ill-served in being advised by the
Archbishop of Canterbury to attend this service. Rome regards the presence of the Queen at this very significant anniversary service, in the cathedral which it calls “the mother church of Catholicism in this country”, as yet another victory in its advance against Protestantism – yet another gain in its unremitting push for power. In the Roman Catholic newspaper, The Universe, of 17th December 1995, an article entitled: “The Bold Step Taken by Elizabeth II”, begins thus, “Make no mistake – when the Queen entered Westminster Cathedral to attend vespers last week it was the single most important constitutional act for the Catholic Church in England since the Catholic Emancipation Acts of the last century.”
Let us be seeking earnestly that the Lord will preserve our Protestant constitution and prevent our decline into pre-Reformation darkness.
Notes and Comments
Obscene magazines aimed at young teenage girls
MR Peter Luff MP had much support in the Commons last month for his Periodicals (Protection of Children) Bill, which is intended to control the sale of certain widely sold teenage girls’ magazines which have most offensive and explicit sexual contents. The Bill gained a first reading but it does not appear that it will become law. The Government will not be supporting it through the Commons, said a Government source, because it is impracticable, but Home Office Ministers will be speaking to the publishers about the matter; in any case it is up to parents to decide what their children have access to. This response is an abnegation of governmental responsibility.
The publishers claim that the magazines (such as It’s Bliss, and More!), provide useful information for young girls, but their claim highlights, rather than hides, their cynical and self-serving manipulation of impressionable adolescents. The London Times rightly condemns the publishers as being highly irresponsible in encouraging “a hedonistic attitude to sex when teenage pregnancies are still too high and evidence strongly suggests that early sexual activity increases the risk of cervical cancer”.
Our Religion and Morals Committee sent one of these obscene magazines to the Northern Constabulary last October, requesting it to refer the matter to the Procurator Fiscal. The Chief Constable replied, “Notwithstanding the fact that I fully share your concerns regarding the content of the magazine and that it has the potential to corrupt, I am inhibited from taking any definitive action on advice from the Procurator Fiscal that
he would not be prepared to institute proceedings under the Act as he is of the opinion that the magazine is no more pornographic than many others openly for sale in newsagents throughout the country.”
Matters have sunk to a very low ebb when the hands of the police are tied by higher official policy which says, as it were, about such a serious breach of the law: “The crime is no worse than similar others which are being widely committed; therefore take no action.” We have great reason to cry to God that He would deal with this “wicked and adulterous generation” in mercy, and not in judgement, so that we would repent of the immorality which pervades the country, and become a godly nation.
The true face of Sinn Fein and the Irish Republican Army
THE IRA has shown its true colours once again by its London bombings. The affrontry, duplicity and cold-blooded cynicism of the leaders of Sinn Fein and the IRA in saying that the break-down of the “peace process” was the fault of the British Government is almost incredible, but we need not be surprised by their statement.
How is the Government at fault in their eyes? It has asked them to surrender their weapons of murder before joining any peace negotiations – but they insist on holding on to them while sitting at the table. It has called for elections in Northern Ireland – but they know that the world will then see that they have the support of less than 10 per cent of the electorate, and they are resolved that the bullet and the bomb will win the day for them.
While they talked about the need to achieve peace, and even before the Mitchell Commission reported on terrorist weapons, they were implementing their plans for the London bombing.
We cannot see that the Ulster problem admits of any just solution by political negotiations; nor can we see any significant betterment in the situation as long as the Government refuses to act decisively against republican armed forces which are enemies of Britain. The only solution which will appease Sinn Fein and the IRA is that Britain surrender Ulster and its British citizens to Ireland.
We are quite sure however, that God is able to divide and scatter these enemies of Protestantism and democracy and to bring stability to this troubled part of the United Kingdom. The ideal solution – and one that is prayed for by the Lord’s people – is that God would pour out his Spirit upon the land so that Roman Catholics and unconverted Protestants would turn from their errors and sins and be joined together in the bonds of gospel truth, repentance, faith and love.
Church Information
Eastern Europe Mission visit
PENDING my obtaining leave of absence from my Presbytery, I hope to visit Eastern Europe, along with Mr Alastair MacRae, Inverness, for two and a half weeks. We intend to take our usual vehicle, well-laden with humanitarian aid, Bibles and Christian literature, and visit our friends and contacts mainly in Kishinev in Moldova and Kiev in Ukraine. God willing, we plan to leave on Tuesday, 19th March, and cross from Ramsgate to Oostende on the Sally Line ferry, and then to return on Friday, 5th April.
Our giving humanitarian aid, which is a christian duty of course, is not our principle aim in visiting Eastern Europe but to bring the Scriptures to those who are yet in spiritual darkness. To distribute the Word of God is to distribute the most important of all writings, because it is the very “word of truth” from the mouth of God – the “word of salvation” which alone holds forth the remedy for lost, ruined sinners. Its teachings are always relevant to all classes of people in every place throughout the world.
We believe that at present God in His providence directs our Church to continue this missionary endeavour in Eastern Europe. We hope therefore that all who read this will pray for the work, seeking that the Lord will bless His word to those into whose hands it comes, and to the few to whom we preach during our visits. We hope also that financial support for the maintaining of the work will be given. This is even more necessary at present because the Eastern Europe Fund expenditure for 1995 exceeded the income.
(Rev) Donald A. Ross
Staff required for African Missions
THE Foreign Missions Committee would be pleased to hear from any suitably qualified persons with a desire to serve the Lord in the foreign mission field in the following areas and positions.
ZIMBABWE
- Secondary School Ingwenya. Teachers urgently required.
- Mbuma Hospital, Nkayi. At least four situations vacant.
KENYA
- Omorembe Health Centre, Sengera. Nurses required immediately.
- Sengera Mission. Primary or secondary teacher.
Enquiries should be made to the Clerk, Rev JR Tallach, The Free Presbyterian Manse, Raasay, Kyle, Ross-shire, IV40 8PB (Tel and Fax: 01478 660216), in the first instance.