Liturgy and Justice in Postcolonial Zimbabwe: Holy People, Holy Places, Holy Things in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Liturgy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ)1 is central to worship. Both clergy and laity have to be trained for participating in the liturgy, which is understood by laity and some members of the clergy to be limited to the activities of the church during a worship session, mainly on Sundays, in designated worship spaces. The ELCZ is a product of missionaries from Sweden who started mission stations in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces of what was then Rhodesia.2 Attending church services was meant to transform black people into Westerners through worship, dress code, hymns, language, liturgical moves, and musical instruments. In other words, the holy people, holy places, and holy things3 were aligned to western culture. Being a Lutheran was tantamount to being a photocopy of a Swedish person. Any activities that missionaries associated with ancestors were dismissed as unholy. The trend was therefore that on Sundays, Africans became some form of Europeans, and then on other days during the week, reverted to being Africans.