Its Maulana, Chilapula

At the ongoing bianuall conference of the Blantyre Synod, delegates elected Rev Maulana to the post of General Secretary and Rev Chilapula (Mrs) as Moderator of Blantyre Synod. The new Deputy General Secreatary is Rev Nyekanyeka and the Vice Moderator is Rev Andrew Kamponda.

Rev Maulana was previously Executive Director of the Chilema Lay Training Centre in Zomba while Rev Chilapula is the Moderator of Mount Pleasant congregation in Blantyre City Presbytery.

The posts of Moderator and Deputy General Secretary fell vacant earlier in the year following an incident where the then holders of th these posts jointly addressed a press conference distancing Blantyre Synod from a pastoral letter that had been issued by the Roman Catholic clergy critical of some aspects of the sitting government. At an extra-ordinary assembly of the Synod, delegates resolved that this action was deplorable and that the two should not continue in their offices.

Inauguration of Biannual Conference

The 2011 biannual conference of the Synod of Blantyre was inaugurated with a special service of worship on Sunday, 21st August, 2011. The service was held in the St Michael and All Angels Multipurpose Church Hall. With the exception of the 6 oclcock am service, all the other services at St Michael and all Angels were merged into one joint service.

The service was attended by the Blantyre Synod management (comprising the Acting Moderator, the General Secretary and the Acting Deputy General Secretary), delegates from the Presybteries, representatives of foreign missions from Canada, Scotland and Australia and St Michael and All Angels congregants.
One of the special activities during the service was the ordination of thirteen ordinands to become full ministers of word and sacrament. These had been on a one year internship at various congregations within the Synod, following their completion of formal trainng at the Zomba Theological College.

The English sermon was taken by Rev Mike Burns, a Canadian missionary currently attached to St James congregation as Associate Pastor to Rev Songola.

Rev Gertrude Kapuma took the Chichewa sermon. She bemoaned the apparent division along tribal lines within the Synod. "Why should a newspaper reporter list Blantyre Synod candidates as 'so and so from this district and such and such from that district'", she querried, in reference to an article that had appeared in a local newspaper giving details of ministers chosen to run for various positions of leadership during the conference.

She also strongly spoke against the tendency by some candidates or their agents to offer gifts of money to some voters with a view to winning them over. She submitted that the best approach would be to ask God, through prayer and supplication, to chose the best people to become leaders of the Synod.

The biannual conference will continue in the Multipurpose Hall for another four days. On 22nd August, delegates will vote to chose a new Moderator and Vice Moderator, General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary.