The United Reformed Church (URC) has sent greetings to the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) on its 60th anniversary.
On January 16, 1965, the UCZ was formed with four separate missions coming into union representing different Christian traditions. These were the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society (PEMS), The London Missionary Society (LMS), the Methodists and the Church of Scotland.
The political liberation of Zambia contributed to the union of the Churches echoing the slogan of “One Zambia, One Nation” coined by the first Republican president, Dr Kenneth David Kaunda, whose father was a Church of Scotland missionary.
URC General Secretary, the Revd Dr John P Bradbury, sent the following message to the General Secretary of the UCZ, the Revd Chipasha Musaba:
Dear Friends of the United Church of Zambia,
On behalf of the United Reformed Church in the United Kingdom, I would like to congratulate you on your 60th anniversary, commemorating the life, ministry and witness of the UCZ over the past 60 years.
As brothers and sisters in Christ, we rejoice with thanksgiving on the anniversary of your union, a communion that created a community with many different languages, peoples and cultures, all bonded together by a deep Christian faith.
We also give thanks for the links between the URC’s Wessex Synod and the UCZ, and for the exchange programmes and other activities over many years.
The formation of the UCZ was driven by the word of God and the spirit of integration. The jubilee is a time during which the covenant community of unity and peace is restored through the establishing of shalom based upon God’s justice.
It is a time to remind ourselves that God has remained faithful, so that we must continue to walk the path of God with love, peace and reconciliation.
May the spirit of the Lord be upon you as you proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.
The UCZ held an anniversary celebration on January 16 at its Mindolo Congregation in Kitwe. The service was attended by Zambia’s Minister of Commerce, Trade and industry, the Hon Mulenga Chipoka, and attended by UCZ Synod officials, mission partners, clergy, and congregations.
The milestone celebration reflected on God’s faithfulness and the church’s impactful journey over the past six decades.
Image: United Church of Zambia.