STRIVING FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE AMONG ALL PEOPLE
Dear Friends in Christ:
As I was about to write for the March issue of The Apostle, I received an e-mail from Fr. Harry Grace about the situation in Zimbabwe. Fr. Harry’s e-mail led me to the website of ONE. This organization describes itself as “a grassroots campaign and advocacy organization backed by more than 2 million people from around the world and every walk of life who are committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.”
David Lane, the President of One.org has written:
Zimbabwe is beyond a state of crisis.
Zimbabwe was once one of the most promising countries in Africa with a thriving agriculture industry, one of the region’s highest literacy rates and a robust healthcare system. Today, Zimbabwe is a land of devastation. 28 years of increasingly dictatorial rule by President Robert Mugabe have led to hyperinflation, food shortages and a breakdown of basic public services.
Last year, the world watched Zimbabwe suffer through a botched and violent election. But last Wednesday, after months of bitter negotiations with President Robert Mugabe, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as the new Prime Minister, forming a “unity government” that will attempt to move the country forward. It won’t be easy. Last year’s disastrous election and President’s Mugabe’s continued presence casts doubt about how much change is possible. The good news is that Zimbabwe does not have to do this work alone. The African Union (AU) will serve as guarantor for this new government and it is critical that they take immediate action to ensure Zimbabwe’s unity government takes steps in the right direction.
Zimbabwe is far away and what happens there may not seem to matter much to us, but it does. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his address to last summer’s Lambeth Conference of the Anglican Communion’s Bishops, reminded the Bishops – and all of us – that God has bound us together with all of the people of the earth in a covenant of fate. In our Baptismal Covenant we recognize our special responsibility in this covenant of fate as we promise with God’s help to “strive for justice and peace among all people….” One way that I am trying to do that in response to the crisis in Zimbabwe is to join One.org in urging the African Union to keep its promise to serve as guarantor or Zimbabwe’s unity government. I am also going to write to President Obama and to our Senators and Representative and urge them to make support of Zimbabwe’s government a priority. Finally, my Lenten discipline will include daily prayers for Zimbabwe and its people, especially the Anglicans in the countries five dioceses - Central Zimbabwe, Harare, Manicaland, Masvingo, and Matabeleland.
What any of us can do in the face of the world’s problems may not seem like much, but we do what we can and trust God to use our simple acts of faith to transform the world. I invite you to join me this Lent in offering to God our simple acts of faith for the transformation of Zimbabwe.
Your elder brother,
Daniel
P.S. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have issued a plea for prayer and fasting for Zimbabwe.
