ANGLICAN CHURCH IN TROUBLED WATERS

ANGLICAN-INFORMATION has just received alarming news from the Anglican diocese of Upper Shire where recent democratic resistance to the attempted imposition by the Provincial Bishops of an unpopular candidate as bishop has been causing consternation. It appears that Fr Joel Malanda, until recently Training Chaplain of Upper Shire diocese has been detained with other priests for the 'crime' of attempting to deliver a valid Court Injunction preventing the bishops from imposing a candidate of their own choice. This is not an offence of any kind and the police had been pushed into this action by bishops pulling rank. See news report below from Upper Shire - name of correspondent witheld for obvious reasons.

It also appears that the principal legal assailant who ordered the police to arrest Fr Malanda was none other than Bishop James Tengatenga, Bishop of South Malawi. This is the same bishop who recently publically tore up a letter of protest at the behaviour of the bishops, and threw it at the priest delivering it, in a fit of rage.

Tengatenga had accused Fr Malanda and other priests of Upper Shire Diocese of threatening violence, which was completely untrue, as demonstrated by the police who, after briefly detaining the priests, examined the valid Court Injunction from Zomba High Court and ended up escorting them to the Seventh Day Adventist Lodge where the Bishops are staying near to St Paul's Cathedral, to make sure that that they might deliver the Court Petition and the bishops not hide from it or refuse it as apparently they had been trying to do.

Readers will recall the heartfelt letter published by us in our last release from all the Archdeacons of the Diocese of Upper Shire sent to acting Dean Albert Chama, Bishop of Northern Zambia. This reasonable letter requested that the recent diocesan elective process which saw all the diocesan representatives voting against the bishops’ candidate The Rev'd Alinafe Kalemba, Dean of Leonard Kamungu Theological College, be respected.

However, far from respecting democratic principals, the bishops have decided to trample over the democratic and synodical wishes of the priests and people. Moreover as the bishops are no longer making headway with silly accusations about homosexuality, they are now trying to make the elections in Lake Malawi and Upper Shire a black/white issue. It is particularly shocking in this context to find Bishop James Tengatenga to the fore of such racism. Tengatenga is a regular visitor to the 'white' sections of the Anglican Communion, hosted and toasted by them not least regularly in the UK and the the United States. He is in receipt of 'white' monies for various family expenses from his 'white' hosts and moreover he is an international editor of Modern Believing, the 'white' Journal of the Modern Churchpeople's Union. In addition Tengatenga is a member of the Anglican Consultative Council, the senior executive body of the Anglican Communion, accountable to the Archbishop of Canterbury.

If such promotion of racism had occurred on the part of a 'white' bishop there would rightly be an outcry and calls for resignation. We now call publically on Tengatenga to explain himself and we will publish his apologetic.

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From our correspondent in Upper Shire

The news that Fr Malanda has been arrested by Police for attempting to deliver a court injunction is disturbing to say the least. Fr Malanda was once a Priest In Charge of Likwenu Parish in the ‘Yapa Chire’ (Upper Shire) Diocese and recently when Archbishop Malango was retiring, he was appointed the training chaplain of the same diocese.

The guy is fighting for the voiceless who are for a Mzungu (Chichewa for white), who are in majority and this has infuriated a few guys who are for a Munthu (literally a person or human being but used here to signify non white). The guys behind the menace are not the Malandas of this world, as people elsewhere would like us to believe, but those advocating for a Munthu, whom they want to impose on the Diocese, led by the Head of the Southern Malawi Diocese (Tengatenga).

Let the bishops and their Yes men and women know that the people are tired of the nonsense taking place in our dioceses. Its time to change our tactics and follow Jesus’ example of being humble.

Viva Fr Malanda! Viva those who pray for peace in the diocese!

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ANGLICAN-INFORMATION observes that: The Petition for an Injunction will now be heard in the High Court of Zomba on 15th April and so the Provincial Bishops have now managed to have civil cases against them in two dioceses, Upper Shire and Lake Malawi. Unfortunately, and no doubt instead of returning to proper synodical Church procedures to resolve the cases, they will go on wasting considerable sums of Provincial and Diocesan money in legal fees.

These tragic and unnecessary events have been caused entirely by the Provincial Bishops under the leadership of Bernard Malango and now Albert Chama. The brief successful interlude of common sense and correct synodical procedure under Bishop Trevor Mwamba of Botswana, when he was Dean, before his arbitrary sacking by previous Archbishop Bernard Malango, has now long since passed and the autocratic regime of Albert Chama continues in an attempt to assert itself. Chama, himself seems blind to the consequences what is happening and is reported as ‘laughing facetiously’ at the people of Malawi whenever the situation is brought to his attention.

The Provincial bishops have now flown in (all expenses paid) to a meeting to take place this Saturday (29th March) in Blantyre, Diocese of Southern Malawi, Tengatenga’s diocese, when they will continue to contrive to impose candidates. They will also discuss the shameful events still taking taking place in the Diocese of Harare, Zimbabwe as Nolbert Kunonga, self-proclaimed Archbishop of Zimbabawe, continues (unlike the courageous priests in Upper Shire) to promote violence – Acting Dean Chama and the other bishops big problem is that it is difficult for them to take a credible self-righteous position vis a vis arch racist and autocrat Kunonga when their own stand is so morally bankrupt - no wonder the priests and people are in revolt against them and world looks on in disbelief.

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