Two months into his 12-month term of office as the Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s new Moderator, Right Reverend Dr Richard Kerr, has hit the ground running, having returned recently from Zimbabwe.
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Zimbabwe: Partnering in the gospel
The eight-day visit, the first by an Irish Presbyterian Moderator to the country, was at the invitation of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian’s (CCAP) Synod of Harare – one of the six synods that make up the pan national denomination, which covers Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.
Having been commissioned by PCI in 1991 for service in Malawi, and having previously served as a volunteer short term mission worker from 1989, as a former missionary, Dr Kerr spent 11 years serving the Church there with his wife Brenda – where he also became a CCAP elder.
Describing that period in their lives as ‘formative’, it had also been an important personal time for them:
“We returned to Northern Ireland in the year 2000, having made many friends, with all our three children having spent their early years there. Twenty-six years on, there was something really lovely about going back to central Africa. It really felt that I had come home, something I shared when I spoke at the CCAP General Assembly Conference.”
Moderator's visit to Zimbabwe
While friendships were revisited, the visit was far from a personal trip, as Dr Kerr was there representing PCI, bringing a message of goodwill to its global mission partner during the Church’s quadrennial General Assembly, which was hosted by the Synod of Harare in Zimbabwe’s capital. It was the first time that the meeting had been held in the country.
Translated into Chichewa, the majority language of Malawi, and one of the official languages of Zimbabwe, Dr Kerr also preached on his theme, ‘For God so loved’ from John 3:16 to a joint service for all the CCAP congregations in the city. This took place in the Mbare district of the capital, Harare, as the Moderator explained:
“Most services tend to be lengthy, and this one was no exception, as it lasted for four hours and was followed by a three-hour choral festival! It was just one memorable part of an incredibly busy eight days that was packed with 21 different events, with a lot of travelling along rough, dusty, and very bumpy roads in between. But it was a wonderful opportunity to deepen our relationship with the CCAP’s Synod of Harare, and the significant and precious near 70-year relationship that we have with the denomination as a whole.”
During his visit, the Moderator had the opportunity to meet, pray with, and be briefed by, each of the six CCAP synods. He also met senior office bearers from CCAP, including Rt Rev Missie Kananji Spiki, its new Moderator and first woman to lead the Church:
“The briefing from our host, the Synod of Harare by its senior officers, focused on all aspects of their work in Zimbabwe, especially with young people and schools, including plans for their own theological college.
“Brenda and I saw the site of a new college, we met members of the Women’s Guild, where I planted a tree at the site of their new centre, an organisation which is such a force for good, and does amazing work for church practically and spiritually. It was a highlight of my trip. We also visited numerous prayer houses, a school, and six congregations.”
The Synod's of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian
PCI's relationship with the CCAP goes back to 1958 when Rev Bill Jackson became the first of 90 men and women from the all Ireland denomination to serve with CCAP in Malawi.
The six autonomous synods within that make up the Church are:
- Synod of Livingstonia, Malawi
- Synod of Balantrye, Malawi
- Synod of Nkoma, Malawi
- Synod of Zambia
- Synod of Imhatso, Mozambique
- Synod of Harare, Zimbabwe
They come together for the CCAP's General Assembly Conference once every four years.
In 2025 the Moderator, Dr Gribben, represented PCI at the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Livingstonia Mission, which became the Synod of Livingstonia.
Reflecting further on his time in Zimbabwe, Dr Kerr also noted that while CCAP was not a wealthy church, it was investing spiritually in communities and new congregations, such as a church plant in a place called Epworth, a district on the edge of Harare, which they visited.
“Epworth is a sprawling area of over 200,000 people. Famous for its balancing rocks, a natural wonder which features on the front of Zimbabwean dollars, actually, it is an impoverished place with many issues including unemployment and drug and alcohol addiction. It is also a place where CCAP is bringing the gospel – the true gospel, rather than the heretical health and wealth teaching of the so called ‘prosperity gospel’.
“The majority of the Epworth church plant members are women. They talk about an ‘iron and steel’ approach: CCAP provide the iron roofing sheets and steel structure, while the local church makes the bricks. Their T-shirts proclaim Matthew 16:18, “On this rock I will build my church”, a reference to the famous local rocks, which was so appropriate.
“Their creativity, commitment to the gospel, love for Christ and those around them, was so inspiring. It was much more than a physical and financial investment in a community, it was a spiritual investment, which excites me.”
Moderator's visit to Zimbabwe
Dr Kerr will make a report of his visit to PCI’s Council for Global Mission, which organised the trip:
“I will be happy to report that the long, special, and enduring relationship that we have with the CCAP is strong – a strong partnership in the furtherance of the gospel that continues to contribute to the growth of God’s Church in Central Africa.
“Their vision as a Church, which we saw on various church notice boards was, ‘We are a living church serving the Lord to His glory’. We can learn much from our brothers and sisters in Christ there. For Brenda and me, it was a privilege to have been sent so many years ago, and a privilege to be able to return again,” he said.