The Sunday News
Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
A CARNIVAL atmosphere has engulfed the ZCC Defe Shrine in Gokwe District as thousands of congregants led by Bishop Dr Nehemiah Mutendi converge to celebrate the 47th anniversary of the passing on of church founder Reverend Samuel Mutendi.
President Mnangagwa and his deputy Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga are expected to grace the conference today. A number of congregants and visitors from around the world have come in to attend the annual pilgrimage at the Holy Shrine that started last weekend.
The shrine is turning into a religious tourist resort of note, dubbed an oasis of hope because of the diverse of hope giving development projects underway at the ZCC headquarters.
Thousands of buses and light motor vehicles of all shapes and sizes have thronged Defe Dopota from all corners of the country and the region for the memorial week. The annual event has grown so much in popularity that a very large portion of the people who attend are curious visitors and traders who annually register substantial economic gains from trading with the pilgrims.
Music from the evergreen ZCC Dopota brass band and choral groups from parishes around the country and region are also dominating the sounds during the day and night.
Rev Mutendi, who was 96, passed on in 1976 on July 20 shortly after revealing to his followers at Sote in Gutu District that he had fought a good fight, finished his course and kept his faith. He further proclaimed that a crown of righteousness was laid up for him by the Lord (2 Timothy 4 vs 7-8).
For many years the ceremony was held on July 20 at Defe Dopota in Gokwe, but of late the church has moved the ceremony close to the Heroes Holidays in August in order to accommodate the working class and students who would have closed schools.
Defe, the ZCC headquarters located on the fringes of Chirisa Game Park some 95 kilometres due west of Gokwe town in Gokwe South (off Nemangwe road) in a formerly tsetse infested area, is the premier heritage site of the Zion Christian Church.
This place was chosen by the Lord and revealed to Rev Samuel Mutendi in the early seventies, who in turn showed it to his son Nehemiah the current Bishop, long before the church established its mission station there.
Members of the ZCC kicked off this year with a lot of joy and hope for anticipated blessings to coincide with the 47th anniversary of the death of their founder.
Bishop Dr Nehemiah Mutendi
Bishop Mutendi has led the church since the passing on of his father. In his address Bishop Mutendi made a passionate appeal to church members to preserve the peace that the country had enjoyed over the years and urged members to work hard for their families, their church and their country.
“No prophet must fight the State, no prophet must dispose of Caesar but should honour Caesar, God founded Zion on peace and love and Zion in politics means you can’t ignore that you are preaching in an area with political leaders, you can’t pretend there is no political leadership. We should honour and respect our leaders,” he said.
Bishop Mutendi said there are people who say we are taking a wrong turn by involving ourselves in politics.
“Regime change the people talk of looks good but it is bad for us. We must not despise our forefathers by engaging in acts that will leave us in problems,” he said.
A former teacher, Bishop Mutendi has taken the church to greater heights as instructed by his father who told him to spread the gospel beyond the borders of Zimbabwe. He has indeed done so spreading the ZCC to neighbouring countries like Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.
The church has also established branches or representatives in Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Bishop Mutendi has also expanded the number of schools from three to over 14 including the state-of-the-art Samuel Centenary Academy in Belvedere.
Today will therefore, be a special day for the church as they will have the Zuva raSamere Procession of the Saints — one of the most important events on the ZCC calendar as it allows the Bishop to get as close to as many of the members as possible.
During the procession, the various band units of the church will take turns to provide the gracious escort, marching behind the Bishop, playing solemn music, with the Bishop occasionally dancing to the tune to the amusement and appreciation of the cheering pilgrims.
