Source: The Herald – Breaking news.
Bishop Christopher ChotoTalent Chimutambgi and Remember Deketeke
The recent decision of the general conference of the United Methodist Church, the church’s global body, meeting in the United States to cease seeing homosexuality as incompatible with its teachings and that same sex marriages can be recognised is highly unlikely to be accepted in Zimbabwe.
The president of Zimbabwe Christian Ministers Association (ZCMA) Bishop Christopher Choto condemned the practice, insisting the culprits were not worried to manipulate what is written in the word of God to their advantage.
“We were really shocked by the decision by the United Methodist Church in the United States for giving a stamp of approval for this same sex marriage. The vote itself is something which took us by surprise. It’s against the word of God since the Lord created two people in the beginning of the opposite sex to multiply and have the children,” said Bishop Choto.
“There is nowhere we can change the word of God on marriages and sexuality and morality. We believe that most of the people who voted are from Europe and they are not even worried about changing the word of God,” said Bishop Choto.
Council for Churches in Africa Founder and president Bishop Rocky Moyo said he was happy with the Zimbabwean Chapter who attended the meeting for refusing to embrace the decision.
“I would like to thank the Zimbabwean delegation who attended the meeting for refusing to be contaminated and embrace such a so-called sinful act. It’s totally unacceptable and deviates from our norms and values as Zimbabweans and Africa as a whole. As a governing body of African Churches we condone such practice, whether I’m paid I wouldn’t accept that,” said Bishop Moyo.
Ginford Dzimati, a UMC member and a delegate to the 2024 General Conference said the decision by the UMC mother board to recognise homosexuality might result in splitting the church.
“The splitting of the church now because of recognising homosexuality is brewing and the outcome might see the end of what was our United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe and Africa at large and see the resurfacing of a new and stronger church,” he said.
“The church members and the country are not happy at the moment, in fact the people are angry because their leadership betrayed them by voting for an abominable practice as a policy.”
This comes after general conference delegates of the UMC early last week, in the United States, voted overwhelmingly in favour of ceasing to condemn homosexuality. By a vote of 523 to 161 after about an hour-and-a-half of debate, general conference delegates eliminated the 52-year-old assertion in the denomination’s social principles that “the practice of homosexuality . . . is incompatible with Christian teaching”.
In the same vote, delegates affirmed “marriage as a sacred, lifelong covenant that brings two people of faith (adult man and adult woman of consenting age or two adult persons of consenting age) into a union of one another and deeper relationship with God and the religious community”, effectively recognising same-sex marriages as valid.
Randall Miller, who chaired the Social Principles Task Force that led the development of the revisions approved over the past week, said this was a historic moment.
“It’s been 40 years of work for me and others to remove the incompatibility clause from our Social Principles and really live in through our belief that all people are scared,” said Miller, who is gay and long advocated for the full inclusion of LGBTQ people in church life.
“Just deeply grateful and it’s wonderful to have come to this moment.”
While the Zimbabwean delegation were in the minority, the Western majority took their numerical advantage.
The decision of the UMC also sparked debate on social media platforms with many denouncing it as “unholy” and a “sin”.
The body representing Zimbabwean mainline protestant churches, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, opposed the decision. The Zimbabwean UMC is a member of the Zimbabwean Council of Churches, ZCC president, Bishop Ignatius Makumbe, who is from the Anglican Church, said churches should align their policies with Government statutes.
“There is a need for churches to align themselves with the country’s statutes, and as of now the country’s (statutes) state that marriage is only between a man and a woman,” he said.
“UMC in Zimbabwe and in Africa at large needs to draw lessons from what the Anglican and the Roman Catholic Churches did, by refusing to go against the idea of God to allow homosexuality in their churches and defend their dignities as Africans.”
A theology graduate, Mr Andrew Makahamadze who is a member of Glad Tidings Fellowship Church said it was quite disturbing for established denominations to suddenly change their Christianity orientation in pursuit of carnality.
“It is very disturbing, it won’t be a church as it must be, it is like people have remained with a name not a church because there are no values which are expected. The church belongs to Christ Jesus who is the Head according to the Bible. It’s not our project so we are bound to follow the values of the owner of the Church who is Christ,” said Mr Makahamadze.
Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe president Bishop Amon Madawo said church doctrines cannot change the definition of marriage.
“The definition of marriage is given by God through the bible which says a man must marry a woman and church doctrines cannot change such statutes,” said Bishop Madawo.
“The Bible clearly indicated that a male person must marry a female one and the two shall cohabitation as husband and wife, not man to marry a man and a woman to marry a female. People are no longer complying with the principles of the early church, but are now pursuing their canal needs. It’s unheard of and devilish,” he said.
Mr James Kawadza a member from Revelation UMC decried the future of the church and warned African church leaders to desist from betraying the body of Christ.
“Crises that we are experiencing now is because our leadership, in their quest to consolidate power there, have side-lined themselves with the American homosexuals. In this regard, African church leaders should desist from being contaminated, they should stand with the church,” he said.
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