Pray for Namibia on Sunday, September 29 2013
Lectionary Selection:
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 1-15
Prayers for Namibia:
God of all places and times, we seek your guidance and direction for the future of your people. We walk two steps forward, yet it seems we always fall at least one step back; and the steps, they are so daunting! Help us see the good you have for us in the future and may it encourage and strengthen us to run the steps of the race with you. Amen.
Mission Stewardship Moment from Namibia:
Namibia exists as a place of contrasts. Winter is dry desert, summer flooding in a large country, home to only 2 million people. Free from colonial Germany and Apartheid South Africa but captive to economic and social disparities for its people. Modern cities thrive while rural areas struggle with minimal support.
The village of Kalkfeld has a population of two thousand people. It was downgraded to a settlement which leaves them no option to self- govern and instead brings them under government rule. They have no gas station, grocery store, or bank. Houses stand vacant while families travel to work outside of this settlement. The post office exists only to distribute welfare to the elderly and disabled.
This community embodies a remarkable resilience in the face of circumstances most of us would not withstand. They march forward each day many miles from home, leaving children in the care of the church, seeking work just to reach the next meal. In Kalkfeld the gravestones outnumber the residents, yet they press on.
The congregational church is a beacon of light. It sits on land granted to it by a farmer many years ago. In some ways it is like the land that Jeremiah bought- a representation of hope. A place where the people of Nambia come together in community and discover their God given gifts and power despite government rule that tells them otherwise. It has the potential to play a prophetic role in the future of this community.
The children work together on projects at the church. They are the future stewards of this place of hope, this land bought in the midst of oppressive rule and redeemed for God’s future.
(Prayer and Mission Moment by the Reverend Dr. Loletta Barrett)
More information on Namibia: http://globalministries.org/africa/countries/namibia/
Global Ministries Missionary in Namibia:
The Reverend Dr. Loletta Barrett, member of Bloomington Congregational Church, Bloomington, California, serves with the Namibia Synod of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa, in Kalkfeld, Namibia. She serves as a local pastor.