UCCSA likely to change name
Admission of Church of Angola, a positive move Member countries increase
One of the oldest churches in the country- the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa ( UCCSA) - is likely to change its name once all protocols and consultations have been dispensed with.
The decision to consult in respect of change of name was taken by the just- ended General Assembly in Gaborone, which was attended by all the five Southern African states.
The delegates of the five countries - Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe - unanimously agreed to the proposal that the Evangelical Congregational Church of Angola or Igreja Evangelica Congreagacional em Angola ( IGREJA) and Malawi be admitted into their fold.
Just like many sister countries, the Angolan church is not ordinary. It has the numbers and valuable property such as schools and hospitals. At 2.5 million the IGREJA membership is bigger than the population of Botswana.
Speaking to Botswana Guardian, the Secretary General of the UCCSA Assembly, Reverend, Kudzani Ndebele described the admission of the Evangelical congregational church of Angola as a milestone.
“This by all means is not a small church. It has a membership of over 2,5 million, over 2500 local churches and over 350 ordained ministers”. Ndebele said it comes into the UCCSA with all that infrastructure. “We have also taken a decision to expand into Malawi after we received an invitation through the Synod of Mozambique and that decision has been undertaken”. They have also agreed to embark on deepening the church’s identity and unity, to ensure that it reaches out to more members. Ndebele is first to admit that good as it may be, the new membership comes with its own challenges. First being the communication barrier. In Angola they mostly speak Portuguese, while in Southern Africa the common medium of communication in meetings has been English. The second challenge is integration, explaining that some come from an Evangelical background, while others are from a liberal kind of congregationalism, however that unity is the principal thing. He added that there will be more opportunities to explore and learn from one another, and new ways of doing things. He was noncommittal on whether the church will change its name, only saying that Assembly will apply its mind when full integration has been made by 2024.
For now, the name remains the same. ‘’ I cannot say in the future it will not change, nor remain the same. But, we would remain open to whatever opportunities shall arise.’’ UCCSA was formerly known as London Missionary Society. It came into Botswana through missionaries like David Livingstone.