The Sunday Mail
Linda Mzapi
THE Methodist Church in Zimbabwe has implored congregants to focus on helping the needy in their 2016-2020 Strategic Plan. Titled Methodist Development and Relief Agency (MeDRA) 2016 to 2020 Strategic Plan, the programme will assist vulnerable and needy groups.
At the launch, Methodist Church in Zimbabwe Reverend Bishop Tawanda Sungai said, “The church’s main goal is to help community and be compassionate even with the little that we have we help people. It should also meet people’s needs not people meeting the church’s need.”
Partners like the Australian Embassy, AfriCare, TearFund, AfroSoft and Zimbabwe Development Commission Trust, among others, attended the launch.
Presiding bishop, Rev Dr Solomon Zwana, drew attendees’ attention to the fact that the church believed in both preaching and practicing.
“We go beyond proclamations: what we do is called faith in action. It is not enough for people to be delivered from spiritual poverty but material poverty as well.”
He condemned how churches are now just praying for poverty to varnish yet do not offer a ground to stand on after the spiritual poverty has been dealt with.
Mr Clifford Bvuranda, a beneficiary of the programme from Gokwe South, expressed his gratitude to MeDRA for offering a helping hand.
“MeDRA is a blessing to us as they imparted knowledge first then through being practical later which is the reason why their projects have survived this long as compared to other organisations.
“It has proved the saying: ‘Life is not just a book of theories but a series of practicals.’ No one is being left out even the disabled and we are a gender sensitive community.”
He said that they were in turn helping other vulnerable groups through paying school fees and donaating books and school uniforms. MeDRA is carrying out bee keeping, piggery, sheep rearing and sewing projects in Gokwe South and Muzarabani districts.
The MeDRA 2016-2020 Strategic Plan focuses on empowering communities; promoting social justice, mutual respect and tolerance; mobilising resources for sustainability; and strengthening the church to deliver its on mandate.
MeDRA is celebrating 11 years of existence.
