Malawi and Zimbabwe Publishing Team Updates
By Stephen Bryant
The Malawi Publications Team was organized in 2009 and since then has been working hand in hand with the conference leaders to produce leadership resources for the pastors and for the members throughout the conference in the form of newsletters, Sunday School material, devotions, and church certificates.
At the meeting this month, the team is preparing to publish a new hymn book with hymns in English, Chichewa and Tumbuka and United Methodist liturgies in time for the annual conference meeting. This will be a great step forward in the life of the United Methodist Church in Malawi. In 2017 they team will focus on smaller pamphlets that will help to educate the lay people about United Methodist beliefs and polity.
The Zimbabwe Episcopal Area has worked tirelessly since 2010 to produce high quality resources for use by the pastors and the lay leaders in the church. They have a strong team of writers and dedicated editors who work hand in hand. The most unique project that has come out of the ZEA is a braille hymnal. It is now for sale by order to individual members, local churches and the school for the blind where the hymnal is a blessing.
Over the past two years the team has been developing a coordinated Sunday school curriculum for children, youth and adults. The project will be published in three volumes, one for each age level; it will allow an entire congregation to study the same contemporary events simultaneously and age appropriately. The curriculum should be published by annual conference meetings in December and will be a model that can be shared across the connection.