AWS President Kevin Frederick Reflects on his Recent Visit in Malawi
From the 12th Century forward, the pre-Reformation Waldensians gravitated to Scripture passages that emphasized the responsive works of the faithful, rather than their doctrinal beliefs. They were far more interested in books of the New Testament like James, than in doctrinal books, like Romans. In that vein the work of practical theology has always played a defining role in my work as a pastor. The following article illustrates the way that I am actively pursuing a Waldensian-style practical theology in my retirement.
In May, I traveled with a team of nine other members of the PC(USA) Presbytery of Western North Carolina to Malawi. Our group worked on water resources and termite damage repair at the Malingunde Health Clinic. In a more general way, we also offered our support for ongoing projects at the Ebenezer School and Nkhoma Hospital.
The impact of the total withdrawal of US Agency for International Development funding was evident in the loss of critical medicines for AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The cancellation of the USAID program negatively impacts hundreds of patients at this one hospital as well as their families. We also noted that the current drought in southern Africa is increasing hunger and malnutrition everywhere we visited.
During this trip, I conducted Men in the Mirror multiple training over 10 days, preached multiple sermons over 3 days, and participated in the graduation ceremony at the Nkhoma Synod seminary.
Eighteen seminary students and their wives participated in a three-day Men in the Mirror training session. This training was very well received with energetic conversation. A statement by the seminary´s dean was also encouraging: “This curriculum focuses on Jesus’ critique of his own culture and traditions and builds on the Bible’s critique of traditional understandings of masculinity which run counter to the health and well-being of family relationships.”
Ten pastors and their wives were trained in the use of the Couples in the Mirror curriculum, which led to some very healthy dialogue. One wife commented that, as a result of having participated in the training, for the first time she felt understood and able to speak what was in her heart. The biblically based training also empowered pastors’ wives to play a critical role of being educators in their churches.
Twenty pastors who were new to the curriculum received instruction in the use of Men in the Mirror in their churches. This included two pastors from a neighboring synod in Malawi, Blantyre Synod.
A total of 48 pastors and 28 wives participated in the Men in the Mirror, the Couples in the Mirror or the Chaplains in the Mirror training.
I also met with two chaplains from the Malawi National Police Force about the newly revised Chaplains in the Mirror devotional series. This contains case studies provided by Valdese, North Carolina, Chief of Police Marc Sharpe, who has thirty-five years of experience in local and state criminal investigation. When the Malawian chaplains shared this resource with their supervisor, he was very interested in implementing this training with their chaplains and crime prevention officers.
In the conversations following the trainings, I was also asked by leadership of Nkhoma Synod and the Jehosephat Seminary to write a curriculum for teens. I will work with two other professional youth educators to have this completed by the end of this year.
So, here´s a summary of the progress we have seen in Malawi over the past year:
● There continues to be a remarkable openness and receptivity to Men in the Mirror in Malawi.
● 70 Men in the Mirror small groups have been formed with 10-12 participants in each group.
● There are also 45 new Couples in the Mirror groups with over 900 participants.
● In an increasing number of local Presbyterian churches, women are being included in ordained leadership positions.
● The 48 pastors trained represent congregations totaling more than 90,000 members.
● Many pastors also asked if they could preach from the curriculum materials during Sunday worship, which they were encouraged to do.
Malawi has been called “the smiling heart of Africa” because of the friendly and open spirit of most of its people. This was my second trip to Malawi.
It was truly humbling to see the impact of these three resources on the lives of so many people and on the relationships within congregations between men and women. As the author of these materials, I stand it awe at their impact.
The author, the Rev. Dr. Kevin Frederick, is the president of the American Waldensian Society and the now retired former pastor of the Waldensian Presbyterian Church in Valdese, North Carolina.
Malawi, the third poorest nation in the world, is a nation of 18 million people, and has more than 3 million Presbyterians, with that number growing by thousands every year.
