Mindolo Mission of the London Missionary Society: Origins,Development,and Initiatives for Ecumenism

Introduction

Christianity was first introduced in Zambia by David Livingstone during his journey in Africa as a missionary-explorer. Livingstone died in the Chitambo district of Zambia in 1873. ¹ Following Livingstone’s appeal to Europeans to come to Africa and promote Christianity, commerce and civilization, after 1883 a number of missionary societies entered Zambia. ² The protestant missions’ arrival was in part inspired by the eighteenth-century revival movement which primarily focused on preaching and teaching the gospel of God’s salvation for all human creatures to the farthest ends of the world. As for the Roman Catholic missions, it is generally argued that they wanted to find new areas for evangelization that were untainted by liberalism. Liberalism threatened the authority of the Roman Church by its emphasis on equality, freedom and fraternity, the principles of the French Revolution in 1789. ³ Also the London Missionary Society arrived in 1883 and opened mission stations among the Lungu, Mambwe, Namwanga and Bemba peoples in Northern Zambia. ⁴ The Church of Scotland Mission began entering the North Eastern and Central parts of Zambia in 1894. ⁵ Other missionary societies to arrive in Zambia include the Paris Missionary Society, the Primitive Methodists, the Wesleyan Methodists, the Baptists, the Dutch Reformed Church, the Seventh Day Adventists and the Anglicans. ⁶ These missionary bodies are considered as pioneers of evangelization and mission work in the region. Most missionary societies and missions with a charismatic and Pentecostal background arrived after 1940. ⁷ Of special interest for this paper are the activities of the LMS and the negotiations for ecumenism and church union in Zambia which led to the formation of Mindolo mission.

The London Missionary Society in Zambia

The LMS was the first missionary society to work in Zambia. Its board of directors decided in 1857 to start mission work among the Makololo people. The pioneer party consisted of Rev. Halloway Helmore and Rev. Roger Price who trained a number of African evangelists to assist in missionary activities. ⁸ The missionaries reached Linyati, the palace of king Sekeletu, on the fourteenth of February 1860. Their efforts to open a station failed. David Livingstone visited the place in 1860 and found that most of the European members of the party had died and others had returned to Kuruman. ⁹

The LMS opened its next station near Lake Tanganyika and came back to Southern Africa only in the late seventies. LMS missionaries reached Ujiji on 23^rd August 1877, opened a first station in Zambia in 1885, and in 1889 finally established a permanent station at Niamkolo. ¹⁰ Other stations followed: Kawimbe (the former Fwambo) mission in 1887, Kambole in 1894, Mbeleshi in 1900, Kashinda in 1908, Kafulwe in 1918 and Senga in 1923. ¹¹ Mindolo mission was the last station, opening in 1934. The LMS chose to establish itself in Mindolo because of the growth of the mines in the Copperbelt. ¹²

The opening of Mindolo Mission

The developments in the history of Christianity in Zambia that led to the establishment of Mindolo Mission are rooted in the spirit of ecumenism that characterized the Christian Council of Northern Rhodesia (CCNR), the Northern Rhodesia General Missionary Conference (NRMC) and in social changes that took place in the Copperbelt province.

First and foremost, the discovery of minerals in Zambia had an impact on missionary activities. Between 1899 and 1902 lead and zinc were discovered in Broken Hill (Kabwe) and copper was found in what is today called the Copperbelt. Mines were opened at Luanshya, Mufulira, Nchanga, Chambeshi and Ndola. Thousands of migrants settled in the area where by 1925 also rich deposits of sulphide ores had been found. ¹³ The opening of mines and the construction of a railway line led to the development of substantial mining communities in Kabwe and Copperbelt.

Changes in the region began with the arrival of growing numbers of Africans which resulted in the formation of the Union Church in the Copperbelt (UCC). Africans who came to the Copperbelt to work in the mines left their ancestral land and their family religion and had to learn the religion of the white settlers. The dilemma that African migrants found themselves in is well documented by A. M. Chirgwin of the LMS who visited the Copperbelt in 1931:

In six months he [an African migrant] had passed from the patriarchal age into the modern industrial period, from the age of Abraham into that of Henry Ford. It was wonderful, but it was also terrifying. For in that man the problem of Africa was focused. One side of his life was linked with his ancestors, generations back, another side was being drawn forward by the very machinery he was working. For him, and for thousands like him, the strain of adjustment might prove too great. He might be torn right away from his ancestral roots and be sucked into the swirl of the modern torrent, a man who had lost his gods but had not found God. ¹⁴

The Union Church took off as a spontaneous movement amongst the African Christians who had come to the Copperbelt, not only from different parts of Zambia but from all over Central Africa. ¹⁵ Christians, mostly from the Scottish mission stations in North-Eastern part of Zambia and the LMS in the Northern part of Zambia (Mbereshi mission in particular), formed a ‘Kirk Session’ of elders who, in the compounds, organized church activities such as preaching, teaching, and evangelism. ¹⁶ These activities were first noticed in 1925 by missionaries of the South African Baptist Society who worked in Ndola and Kafulafuta. ¹⁷ Christians worked together to build churches in all the main compounds of Copperbelt. They used their own resources to sponsor evangelists. But the UCC was still without an ordained minister. The lay leaders of the church asked Rev. A. J. Cross of the South African Baptists Missionary Committee Society (SABMCS) at Kafulafuta to be their minister because he was the nearest missionary. ¹⁸

The UCC consisted of Africans who were adherents of the LMS and the Church of Barotseland, while there were Methodists from the Methodist Missionary Society in Southern Province, Anglicans from the University Mission to Central Africa, followers of the South African Baptist Missionary Society, the Church of Scotland Foreign Mission Committee and the Presbyterian Church of South Africa. ¹⁹ All non-Catholic missions referred their followers to the care of Rev. Cross and the UCC. However, the Dutch Reformed Church Mission (DRCM) and the Universities Mission to Central Africa (UMCA) would from time to time send a minister of their own to visit their adherents. ²⁰ The purpose of the UCC was to be the fellowship of all those Christians who came from different backgrounds but lived as one community in the Copperbelt. ²¹ The UCC conducted evangelism campaigns, church services and distributed Christian literature. Ministers from different cooperating missions could serve freely in the UCC. ²² Issues of creed or denomination were secondary to issues of evangelism and unity. Thus, Copperbelt developed into an ecumenical community of Christ. ²³

Another development was the formation of United Mission in the Copperbelt (UMCB). In 1924 the Northern Rhodesia General Missionary Conference (NRGMC) identified the need for a comprehensive welfare scheme in the Kabwe district of Zambia. ²⁴ The Wesleyans, Jesuits and the Dutch Reformed Church Mission sent each at least one missionary to serve in Kabwe. However, in the Copperbelt Rev. A. J. Cross of the South African Baptist Mission remained until 1931 the only missionary to serve. The Jesuits would send some of their missionaries to attend to their adherents but always on a short-term basis. ²⁵

The 1931 NRGMC meeting held in Kabwe discussed socio-political issues, educational matters, welfare for infants and customary law. The meeting emphasized the need for unity among the different missionary societies and a resolution was adopted to establish a United Mission on the Copperbelt. ²⁶ A. M. Chirgwin of the LMS documents that ‘there was a good deal of discussion of the problems created by the sudden emergence of industrialism in the Africa’s primitive society’. ²⁷ Chirgwin took the initiative to invite missionaries of various societies who were present at the conference to meet in private session and to come up with specific recommendations to their Home Boards. The missionaries drew up ‘[a] Scheme for Co-operation of Missions in the Copperbelt’ which was later submitted to the parent societies. ²⁸ It was this embryotic scheme from which developed the UMCB.

In the previous year the LMS and the International Missionary Council (IMC) had started discussions on how the dangers arising from the development of large-scale industry in Africa could be addressed. The Department of Social and Industrial Research of the IMC proposed to send out a commission under the leadership of Mr. Merle Davis to study the impact of industrialization on the Copperbelt. Chirgwin held talks with Mr. Merle Davis and Dr. J. H. Oldham on how mission work and study of Copperbelt could be undertaken. The IMC indicated ‘that they favored co-operative action on the part of all the societies involved and also the sending out of missionaries with some understanding of African anthropology’. ²⁹

On his return to Britain after attending the 1931 NRGMC meeting, Chirgwin held talks with Merle Davis and Mike Moore who was a candidate for missionary service. Moore was studying anthropology with the University of Cambridge. Chirgwin recommended that Moore be the LMS member of the co-operative scheme proposed at the NRGMC meetings of 1931 in Broken Hill or any similar ecumenical body that would be formed to foster unity among the missionary societies. ³⁰ With this in mind Moore’s offer for service was accepted. At the end of his Cheshunt course in 1933, the LMS decided to send him to Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). ³¹ Upon arrival in Northern Rhodesia, Moore was appointed to serve on the Copperbelt.

An important part in the ecumenical movement in the Copperbelt region was the establishing of Mindolo Mission. As the NRGMC delayed the implementation of the 1931 resolution to form a co-operative scheme in form of the UMCB, the LMS took the initiative and, in 1934, founded Mindolo Mission under the leadership of Rev. R. J. B. Moore. ³² The LMS obtained the title deed to Mindolo Mission land in 1935. ³³ The lease was for 99 years. ³⁴ Mindolo Mission became a centre of missionary activities including meetings.

The UMCB came formally into being in 1936. It was comprised of the LMS, the Livingstonia Mission of the Church of Scotland, or the Church of Scotland Foreign Mission Committee, the Universities’ Mission to Central Africa (UMCA), the Methodist Missionary Society, the South African Baptist Missionary Society and the United Society for Christian Literature. ³⁵ Each participating missionary society sent a representative to join the team. The Anglicans and the United Society for Christian Literature participated in the work of the United Mission without becoming members. ³⁶ The UMCB elected Rev. A. J. Cross as its first leader and Rev. R. J. B. Moore of the LMS as coordinator of the work of evangelism. ³⁷ The UMCB cooperated with the LMS in running the Mindolo mission station when it formally began operating.

Rev. Moore, Rev. G. R. Fraser of the Church of Scotland in Luanshya and others formed the European staff of the UMCB. Rev. Moore was coordinator of mission work on the Copperbelt. He was instrumental in activating the UMCB services in the region and he also was involved, in an advisory capacity, with the Beer Hall Boards at Nkana and Mufulira. ³⁸ As already noted, Mindolo Mission became more of an ecumenical centre. The missionaries established the Christian Writers Centre and Art at the mission station. This later became the Africa Literature Centre. ³⁹ In 1936 the UMCB decided to work with the UCC. A District Council was formed to oversee the congregations on the Copperbelt. All the churches in Ndola, Kitwe, Luanshya, Mufulira and Chingola were represented on the District Council that was composed of missionaries, evangelists and members from each congregation. ⁴⁰ Rev. Moore contributed significantly to the strengthening of the existing Union Churches. ⁴¹

The UMCB was active from 1936 to 1955 in the area, concerning itself with evangelism, the training of catechumens, church discipline and the provision of courses for evangelists. ⁴² The UMCB also offered financial and practical assistance to church building programs in the compounds on the Copperbelt. Challenges in the areas of education and welfare ultimately led to tensions in the UMCB and, in June 1955, to its disbandment. By then the UMCB had managed to lay strong foundations for the work of evangelism. ⁴³

The wind of Church union

Employment opportunities in the Copper mines in the late 1920s attracted many Africans to the Copperbelt. Christians from different denominations were among those who came to the new towns. They came from different provinces of Zambia and the neighboring countries. These Christians began to worship together resulting in the formation of the UCC as already noted. In the 1930s many mines on the Copperbelt closed down due to the worldwide economic depression. The Union Church lost many of its most active members. The LMS began to foster elements of ecumenism in the UCC and UMCB. ⁴⁴

The LMS played a significant role in promoting Church union in its mission field due to its background. From its inception in 1795 the LMS had been non-denominational. Its formation brought together Anglicans, Scottish Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Methodists to do the mission of God. ⁴⁵ The policy of the LMS was not to select and send out missionaries on the basis of their denominations but, rather, task them simply with preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, also in the remotest corners of the world. ⁴⁶ In the Copperbelt the UMCB and the cooperating missions in the UCC all promoted cooperation and unity. However, the various denominations preserved their own approach to mission. They also maintained their links with overseas missions. The Methodists considered home and foreign missions as one and the same. Scottish Presbyterian missionaries looked upon mission as an obligation of the church while the LMS were more congregational. ⁴⁷

Almost halfway through the twentieth century the Church of Central Africa in Rhodesia (CCAR) was formed. In 1945 the LMS joined forces with the Church of Scotland Mission and the Union Church of the Copperbelt. The result was the establishment of the Church of Central Africa in Rhodesia (CCAR). ⁴⁸ As a wind of ecclesiastical union seemed to be blowing in Zambia, Rev. Moore decided to seek union with the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP). The UMCB had just been formed. Lubwa, Mwenzo, and Chitambo missions in Zambia had originally been part of the Church of Scotland in Malawi but joined the CCAP after its formation. However, the congregations would meet with UCC and LMS congregations in Zambia to discuss the possibility of further church union. ⁴⁹ On the 10^th December 1937 representatives of the CCAP and LMS met at Lubwa mission. ⁵⁰ The CCAP Synod of 22^nd to 26^th August 1945 turned down the proposal that Lubwa, Mwenzo and Chitambo missions should form a union with LMS. But they agreed with forming the North-Eastern Presbytery of CCAP in Zambia. Rev. Kenneth Francis of Kashinda mission, Rev. Gideon Chinula, and Rev. Dr. D. M. Brown who had spoken out strongly in support of the proposal for union saw this as a chance to unite the new CCAP North-Eastern Presbytery with LMS congregations and the UCC and to establish the CCAR on 1^st December 1945. Thus, a union of CCAP congregations in North-Eastern Zambia, the LMS and the UCC had come into being. This was the first organic church union in Zambia. ⁵¹ Rev. Dr. Brown, a missionary from the Church of Scotland and moderator of the new North-Eastern Presbytery, presided over the meeting. Rev. K. D. Francis of the LMS attended and was nominated as the first moderator of CCAR. Rev. Henry Kasokolo replaced him in 1946. ⁵² When the CCAR was formed Rev. Henry Kasokolo had been secretary of the District Council of the UCC. ⁵³ This organic church union meant that Mindolo Mission became the property of the union Church—the CCAR. The meeting elected Mr Dauti Yamba as treasurer and Rev. G. C. Cato and Rev. Issac M. Mutubila as clerks. ⁵⁴

The formation of CCAR came with its own challenges. There was concern about the position of the Church of Scotland missionaries working in Zambia. The Church of Scotland had to decide whether they would be allowed to continue working under the CCAR or send them to Malawi. ⁵⁵ Christians in the Copperbelt who came from a CCAP background accused the LMS of being weak on church discipline and many broke away from the CCAR citing liturgical, church polity and disciplinary issues. In 1958 the CCAP Livingstonia Synod ⁵⁶ resolved not to officially open any CCAP congregation in the Copperbelt and in other towns where members were leaving the CCAR with the intention to establish CCAP congregations in Zambia. ⁵⁷

In yet another development the United Church of Central Africa in Rhodesia (UCCAR) was formed. In 1958 Rev. Frazer of the Methodist Church managed to negotiate a union between the CCAR and the Copperbelt Christian Council (CCC) to which the Methodists belonged. The aim was to facilitate smooth negotiations about a union between the CCAR and the Methodists. Subsequently, on 26^th of July 1958, the CCAR was joined by the Copperbelt Free Church Council and together they became the UCCAR. ⁵⁸ By now the union incorporated the LMS, the Church of Scotland, the Union Churches of the Copperbelt and the Copperbelt Free Church Council of European Congregations. ⁵⁹ Rev. Isaac Mutubila was elected president of UCCAR and Rev. Joel Chisanga and Rev. E. Read were elected clerks. The inauguration of UCCAR took place at Mindolo Mission in Kitwe. ⁶⁰ As a result of this organic union Mindolo Mission became a property of the new union Church—the UCCAR. It must also be noted that in 1953, missionaries of the United Church of Canada began to serve the church in Zambia to help in the planning and negotiations for Church union in the Copperbelt.

Another development on Mindolo Mission was the setting up of the Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation (MEF). The UMCB had in 1936 begun to organize social activities for people in the Copperbelt and Kabwe such as debates, boxing, indoor games, concerts, African games, dances and choirs. Due to internal problems among the member churches of UMCB, the missions put a stop to these UMCB activities and formed the Copperbelt Christian Services Council (CCSC) that now introduced Christian activities for miners and their families and organized united mission witness. ⁶¹ In 1958, during the time the UCCAR was active, the missions on the Copperbelt decided to form the MEF as an independent and unifying body for ecumenical work on a much broader and firmer basis and to take over the responsibilities of the UMCB and, subsequently CCSC. ⁶² Rev. Edward J. Peter Matthews was appointed the first director. Rev. Matthews, an Australian, had been sent by the LMS to search for a place where an ecumenical centre could be established and was accommodated at Mindolo mission. ⁶³ The foundation which received much financial support from the World Council of Churches set up courses for leadership and research work and provided a variety of services concerning conferences and consultation. MEF served as a pan-African centre for peace building and political reflection. The MEF premises housed the African Literature Centre, the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) and a Women’s Training Centre. ⁶⁴ The Women’s Training Centre contributed significantly to the promotion of women’s rights such as the rights of divorcees, widows and married women. MEF also provided courses for Youth leaders and seminars and conferences to promote peace and political reconciliation. ⁶⁵

To facilitate the development of MEF as an independent foundation, the UCCAR Property Committee and the missionaries decided to apportion land at Mindolo Mission according to the activities which were taking place. In 1958 almost half of the land at Mindolo Mission was reserved for the development of MEF. The remaining area offered space for the building of the United Theological College and for other UCCAR activities. The site extended roughly from just beyond the Mindolo Mission church to the fence, marking off the Teachers Training College (TTC) staff housing, and from the Mindolo Primary School to the stream. The 1960 report of the Kashinda Bible School of the LMS indicates that the UCCAR Property Committee proposed to develop this remaining portion as follows: between the stream and the access road to the centre housing would be built for six members of staff of the UCCAR and the tutors for the United Theological College. Buildings for the United Theological College and student housing were to be erected on that part of the site nearest to the TTC housing; that is to say furthest away from the Mindolo Mission church. ⁶⁶

These developments show that by 1958 Mindolo mission was more than an LMS mission station. It had developed into an ecumenical place with many ecumenical activities taking place. ⁶⁷ For example the CCAR made a resolution in 1957 that the title deed of Mindolo Mission should be in its name taking effect from 1^st of June 1957. ⁶⁸ The matter was again considered in 1958 when UCCAR—the newly formed union Church—resolved the title deed of Mindolo Mission land be in its name. However, with the plans to put up a large ecumenical institution at Mindolo Mission it was agreed that the title deed be in the name of such an institution. Rev. Peter Matthews, as executive secretary of the Copperbelt Christian Service Council, addressed UCCAR Presbytery meeting in 1958 about establishing MEF to which the Presbytery agreed. ⁶⁹ Due to the growth of MEF and its many ecumenical activities, supported by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), the title deed of Mindolo Mission land was changed into Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation registered Trustees under the Land perpetual succession Act on 29^th of March 1960. ⁷⁰

The spirit of ecumenism was strong at the time MEF was established. In 1962 the UCCAR was fully involved in the activities of MEF. There was co-existence between UCCAR and MEF as is indicated in a report by Rev. G. W. Legge to the 1962 UCCAR Synod. ⁷¹ UCCAR handed over some buildings to MEF to enable it carryout its work. MEF needed more buildings for students and staff. ⁷² The Synod minutes of 1962 indicate:

Early in the year the MEF approached the UCCAR with a view to taking over the houses occupied by Rev. W. V. Stone and Dr. G. W. Legge. An arrangement was arrived at whereby the foundation agreed to replace the two houses with two new houses on the new UCCAR site similar to the one built for the Synod Clerk. ⁷³

One of the houses referred to is across the stream and used to be Manse (minister’s house) for the Mindolo Mission Church Minister Rev. Peter Mathews, first director of the MEF. The houses were not replaced and remained property of MEF. ⁷⁴ Rev. Legge was chairperson of MEF at the time. Other members of the board of governors were Rev. K. Mwenda, Mr. J. Nyirenda and Mrs. R. Arnot. At the same Synod meeting Rev. J. Oglethorpe, vice principal of MEF, asked for the continued support of UCCAR in the activities of MEF. ⁷⁵ When the Women’s Training Centre was opened, MEF suggested that churches should foster more voluntary church leadership of women trainees. ⁷⁶

Another factor that played a role in the sequence of events associated with changes that took place at Mindolo Mission was the slow development of the site reserved for building the United Theological College. There was uncertainty as to whether the United Theological College would be realized at all. The Church of Barotseland and the Methodist Church refused to commit themselves to the building of the College. Kindred churches in Malawi and Zimbabwe also opposed to moving the ministerial training from Kashinda in Mporokoso district to Mindolo Mission. In 1958 it was resolved to build a Theological College at Mindolo Mission. Revs G. C. Morris, J. C. Sikazwe, P. Matthews, I. M. Mutubila, J. Mwape, K. Francis, H. Barnes and E. Read were asked to evaluate the matter and report to Synod. ⁷⁷ However, after the UCCAR singlehandedly sourced funds from the United Church of Canada and the Church of Scotland, the Theological College became in 1962 operational. ⁷⁸ In the meantime MEF had grown into an international ecumenical centre for peace-building, worship and theological reflection. In addition, the increase of nationalism in Zambia was accompanied by continued negotiations for church unity. As it was not clear what the future held, it was best to have the title deed in the name of the MEF because it was a well-established ecumenical institution. Accordingly, Rev. P. Matthews and the cooperating missions of the UCCAR made the changes in 1960. ⁷⁹ When, in 1962, Rev. Joel Chisanga and Rev. Vernon Stone moved to Mindolo to teach at the Theological College, the title of Mindolo Mission land had already been changed. Rev. Joel Chisanga had been trained at Kashinda Bible School from 1949 to 1952, together with Revs Noah Chulu, George H. Mwali and Jonas Sinyangwe. ⁸⁰ He became the first African principal of the Theological College.

Zambia’s political independence in 1964 caused several shifts in the religious field with regards to Church union. UCCAR persisted in its efforts to bring on board other churches in Zambia. UCCAR and the Methodists held meetings to negotiate for union. The Anglicans and the Church of Barotseland were present as observers. The Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa resolved not to support any suggestion of union with, or of seconding its ministers to, UCCAR. ⁸¹ In 1960 the Methodist Synod agreed that the Northern Rhodesia District of the Methodist Church enters into union with the UCCAR. However, the decision was endorsed in 1964 by the Methodist Conference in Great Britain. ⁸² Political independence, on 24^th of October 1964, precipitated the need for ecclesial independence. President Kenneth Kaunda, himself the son of an indigenous African minister at Lubwa Mission, called for church and ecclesiastical independence. ⁸³ Supported by Rev. Collin Morris, Kaunda was in agreement with the church’s initiative for union which they thought might inspire the nation as a whole to solidarity under the motto ‘One Zambia, One Nation’. ⁸⁴ On 16^th of January 1965, three months after Zambia’s political independence, the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) was inaugurated at Mindolo Mission in Kitwe. ⁸⁵ The Methodist Church ⁸⁶ and the Church of Barotseland, operating under the PEMS, joined the UCCAR to form the UCZ. ⁸⁷ The formation of the UCZ came with its complications and challenges with regards to the ownership of Mindolo Mission.

Challenges to the spirit of ecumenism

The attempts to create an ecumenical community were encouraged by the resolutions of the Edinburgh Conference of 1910. The conference emphasized the need to promote ecumenism in the fields of mission and evangelism. ⁸⁸ Consequently, in Livingstone the General Missionary Conference in Northern Rhodesia (GMCNR) was established in 1914. Methodist missionaries Rev. J. W. Price and Rev. J. E. Mac Lennan had initiated the conference. It was inaugurated under the leadership of Rev. Edwin William Smith of the Primitive Methodist Missionary Society on 29^th of June 1914 in Livingstone. Denominations and organizations represented in the GMCNR included the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society (PEMS), the London Missionary Society (LMS), the Methodist Missionary Society, the Livingstonia Mission of the Church of Scotland, the Dutch Reformed Church Mission, the South African Baptist Missionary Society, the Seventh Day Adventist Mission, the Brethren in Christ and the Universities Mission to Central Africa. ⁸⁹

Among the aims of the GMCNR were: the promotion of cooperation between different missionary societies, the effective evangelization of races living in Zambia, enlightening the public opinion on Christian missions and watching over the interests of the native races. The GMCNR also wished to contribute to social justice. After the abolition of the slave trade it demanded that the children of slaves be declared free. ⁹⁰ The GMCNR ended its work in 1944. In 1945 the Christian Council of Northern Rhodesia (CCNR) was formed at Mindolo mission. Rev. E. G. Nightingale was elected president and Rev. A. J. Cross became secretary. In the CCNR different church denominations and missionary societies worked together from 1945 to 1963. ⁹¹ As stated above, it was the growth of mining communities in Copperbelt that motivated the LMS to open a mission station at Mindolo.

Consequently, after the formation of UCZ in 1965, it was assumed by its leaders and its general membership that Mindolo Mission was a property of UCZ. Little was known that the UCCAR and its cooperating missions had agreed to have the title deed of the land in the name of MEF. With the departure of most European missionaries after independence, the spirit of ecumenism dwindled. MEF and the UCZ operated, and continue to operate, as separate institutions with different properties and liabilities. This reality has resulted in squabbles between MEF and UCZ over the ownership of the mission land.

The matter of subdividing Mindolo Mission land—plot 150 as it is known by the Kitwe City Council—arose in 1974. A meeting was held in April 1974 between representatives of MEF and UCZ to discuss, among other things, UCZ occupancy of Mindolo mission land. ⁹² Mr. Jason Mfula was director of MEF at the time. The UCZ asked MEF to consider division of the land into two portions. The minutes of the UCZ Synod Executive held from 14 to 16 November 1975 indicate that the principal, Rev Joel Chisanga, presented the Executive with a letter from the director of the MEF, Mr. Mfula dated 1 July 1975, in which the MEF expresses its willingness to subdivide land. ⁹³ Mr. Mfula accepted to subdivide the land on behalf of the MEF while insisting on its ownership of Mission land plot 150, referring to UCZ as a tenant. ⁹⁴ A progress report on UCZ property at Mindolo, compiled by Mr. F. C. Cloke and dated 9 October 1974 confirms MEF’s willingness to subdivide the land. ⁹⁵

Mr. Mfula accompanied by Mr. F. C. Cloke who was UCZ Synod Financial Secretary approached the Ministry of Lands to find out whether such a proposal could be considered. The Registrar of Lands declared there was no objection to subdivision of the land, but that planning permission would have to be obtained from the Kitwe City Council. The Ministry of Lands offered to provide guidance in the process of subdividing the Mission land. The MEF and the UCZ agreed to draw up a separate agreement covering the maintenance of roads, water supply, ground rates and so forth should the mission land be subdivided. However, the land was not subdivided. ⁹⁶ In a letter dated 9 April 1981 and addressed to the surveyor general and in another letter written to MCMK Consulting Engineers dated 13 May 1981, it is indicated that the MEF regarded UCZ as a tenant. ⁹⁷ The land was surveyed and a drawing for subdivision done but the matter was never concluded.

In 1997 at the UCZ Synod Executive meeting held from 28^th of April to the 2^nd of May, the Board of Trustees of the UCZ presented a report in which it appealed to the church to take up the matter from where it was left in 1974. The Copperbelt Estate Management Board and the UCZ Theological College were tasked with submitting a report but never did so. However, UCZ Synod formed a committee on 20^th of March 2001 to investigate the land situation at Mindolo Mission. At the time Rev. Patrice Siyemeto was Synod Bishop, Rev. Silishebo Silishebo was general secretary, Rev. Committee Njase was Copperbelt Presbytery Bishop and Rev. Peggy Kabonde Copperbelt Presbytery secretary. Members of the committee were Rev. Bishop C. Njase (Chairperson), Rev. Joel Chisanga (convener), Rev. S. M. Mayani (land coordinator), Rev. T. Kalongo (UCZ Theological College principal), Mr. E. Nsama, Mr. Chilembo, Mr. B. Mbewe, Mr. G. M. Mwandamena (legal advisor), Mr. E. H. Chanda (Presbytery treasurer) and Rev. P. Kabonde (Presbytery secretary). The committee held its first meeting on 20 March 2002. ⁹⁸

In 2002 the committee, through Rev. S. M. Mayani, obtained the title deeds drawings for the subdivision from the Ministry of Lands in Lusaka. A copy of the title deed that had been issued to MEF was traced as well as a map of mission land drawn in 1959. ⁹⁹ On 31 July 2002 a formal application to subdivide Mindolo Mission land was made to the Kitwe City Council. The Ministry of Lands in Lusaka ratified the subdivision approval by the Kitwe City Council under Minute PWd/43/06/02 and numbered all UCZ plots as A to F. ¹⁰⁰ Fr. Charley Thomas, director of MEF, confirmed MEF’s willingness to subdivide land to Rev. Silishebo Silishebo who was general secretary of UCZ in 2003. However, the Kitwe City Council discovered an anomaly in the planning permit for subdivision and the process could not continue.

The site plan for subdivision shows the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA), Theological Education by Extension in Zambia (TEEZ) and St. John’s Anglican Seminary as situated in the UCZ subdivisions E and C. ¹⁰¹ One would therefore regard YWCA, TEEZ and the Anglicans as UCZ tenants if the subdivision of the mission land is done. However, these institutions were allowed to build on the mission land due to the ecumenical cooperation that existed between Churches and Church-related institutions in Zambia. As already stated, Mindolo mission became an ecumenical centre from the time of the UMCB. Each institution had its own Board or administration but they prayed together and shared transport. They also had monthly meetings where they planned and shared ideas within the spirit of ecumenism. ¹⁰²

As can be seen from the case of Mindolo Mission, the spirit of ecumenism in Zambia and other parts of Africa has dwindled. There is a need to revive the spirit of ecumenism. When Western missionaries came to Zambia they often competed for converts and missionary societies created their own territories. ¹⁰³ Denominationalism was promoted by colonial policies. The British South African Company allocated land to missionary societies. ¹⁰⁴ But soon the missionaries began to realize the negative impact of divisions, of denominationalism, and started to consider initiatives for ecumenism. The resulting negotiations were aimed at bringing together the different missionary bodies operating in Zambia. ¹⁰⁵ Missionaries began to cooperate in the fields of education, health and social justice. It was from this backdrop that Mindolo mission was founded by the LMS and later became one of the best ecumenical centres in Africa.

Conclusion

The evangelical spirit that characterized the 1910 World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh inspired missionaries who had come to Africa to work towards organic unity. Missionaries became aware that the divisions in Protestantism hampered their work. In Zambia, for instance, the General Missionary Conference (GMC) was formed in 1914 under the leadership of Rev. Edwin William Smith, a Primitive Methodist missionary, to counteract the divisions in the Christian Church. ¹⁰⁶

The legacy of the ecumenical movement in Zambia can be seen in the unity of churches in the field of mission. Mindolo Mission started as a meeting place for Christians who had come to the Copperbelt after the opening of the mines. The LMS formerly opened a mission station there in 1934. As we can see in this paper, the MEF was formed by the churches within the framework of ecumenism—the forerunner of UCZ. One would therefore expect UCZ, MEF and other church institutions on Mindolo Mission to live together as brothers and sisters in the spirit of ecumenism.