125th Jubilee Celebration IPM

Jubilee Celebration Sat-Sun 14-15th July. The formal synod meeting ended and therefore today saw the special jubilee celebration start. Bus and car loads of people arrived from all over Mozambique across dust and potholed tracks. Merchandise of jubilee tea shirts fabrics and hats dominated dress. Maputo contingent had not arrived so the 9am bible study took the form of hymn practice. Then breakfast while we still waited arrivals. Breakfast was traumatic as Didier’s translator collapsed and received emergency medical aid before being to hospital where we later heard he was improving.

The jubilee consisted of each presbytery and group in IPM offering a choir contribution with much dancing. These ranged from traditional to highbrow to rap. There was a choir from the Swiss Mission Church who were in attendance and they offered several contributions during the celebration which were well received. There were three lectures scheduled for during the day but the timetable got further and further behind. The first by Reinaldo from Ricatla explored the historical identity of IPM. He used the image of a snake shedding its skin as an image of IPM becoming a church in its own right with the departure of the Swiss and how it needs to do so again now to move forward and transform Mozambique in the name of Christ. The other two lectures were not audible and certainly not translatable and most people slept or talked through them on account of this. One was on IPM’s contribution to the nation and one to society in general.

Special guests were fed in a hospitality tent with buffet normally of chicken and rice or maize plus fish or another meat. All cooking was done on open fires by an army of women. Water was manually pumped up by people by rotating a ‘roundabout’ manually and brought in by lorry. Hundreds of others were fed with a main meal each day – an incredible operation. There was a festive air with people sleeping in tents, cars, buses, on the ground and groups singing and dancing whatever they were doing. For some the event carried on all night but we went off at about 9pm to get some sleep and rest taking Christine from Switzerland with us.

Sunday saw great anticipation as the President of Mozambique was coming. The Presbyterian Church of South Africa had provided gowns and preaching scarves for each pastor of IPM and there was a grand procession of them all to start the day’s proceedings. Then we sang to welcome President Guebuza, who unveiled a plaque that was only completed on Friday, planted a tree and renamed the school. The President joined us for worship which was brilliant. It included the ordination of six new pastors that Rowena along with all pastors present was invited to share in the laying on of hands for. This was very moving.

The president of the United Presbyterian Church of South Africa (EPCSA) peached and one of his colleagues translated for us. He was very challenging talking of God’s nature being that of spirit and truth (John 4v 24) and Jesus having been anointed in the Spirit being given a job description found in Luke 4 – to bring sight to the blind, liberation to captives etc. This is our job description now as we follow Christ’s job description. As the church cannot be made without this Spirit and job description being followed neither can good government. It was good and challenging for a sermon in front of the nation’s president. Various presentations were made to the nation's president and some choirs sang before he responded. By then our translator had departed but folk said afterwards that it was full and comprehensive indicating IPM’s contribution in the history of Mozambique and today.

Special guests then had lunch in the presence of President Guebuza although he left soon to travel on. The huge cakes remained uncut. We then returned to the jubilee celebration for further presentations from the Swiss but time ran out and at 1pm Ernesto declared the jubilee celebration at an end. Bart then drove us back to Maputo and we stopped at a women’s project at Minchot on route. They are building a new prayer station church, conference centre and accommodation. It is not yet up to the roof.

We arrived in Maputo about 5.30 to find no rooms in the guest house and so ended up in a seafront hotel for the night. This was very relaxing after the basic accommodation at Antioch. Poor Bart had still to take others to a hotel after dropping us off and then take them to the airport for 5am on Monday. The jubilee celebration especially the worship on the Sunday was great and moving to share in. The whole atmosphere was vibrant and full of hope for the future of IPM.