Celebrating Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday

During my Volunteers in Mission trip to Zimbabwe, I participated twice in Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday--July 26 with the people of Streamview United Methodist Church and August 2 with the people of St. Peters United Methodist Church, both of them in Mutare. Each was a joyous celebration, filled with powerful singing, drumming, and dancing.

The practice of Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday, as I have learned since my return, dates back to as early as 1910. This is what is reported in Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa in his book, Humble Beginnings: A Brief History of the United Methodist Church [in the] Zimbabwe Area.

The contemporary celebration of Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday, however, is due in many ways to the work of Chuck Miller, a missionary from Texas who translated Shona/ Zimbabwean concepts and words into powerful religious concepts. He developed the concept of "harvest thanksgiving" from the Shona concept of "Bupuro," which means "harvest." As director of stewardship, he introduced the use of motivating language for the churches. No one wanted to be part of a "Garaipasi Church," which is a "do nothing church." It is better to be part of a "Simukayi" congregation, which is a "stand-up for the challenge" church. The best is to be a "Fambayi" church, which means a church that is "on the move." Both Streamview and St. Peters certainly appeared to me to be "Fambayi" congregations!

The presentation of "Harvest Thanksgiving" gifts is done by sections. A section is comprised of up to ten households in a geographic area. The sections meet together once a week for prayer and other purposes. The Streamview church had 22 sections, and the St. Peters church had 14 sections. In addition, gifts are brought forward by "junior church" (Sunday School), the United Methodist Women (RRW), the United Methodist Men, the United Methodist Youth, and--at St. Peters church--the choir. Finally, there was the recognition of visitors at each congregation, with the "Visitors Section" at St. Peters invited to come and make their special donation for the day.

In past years, people brought actual produce from their harvest, and some still do so. At Streamview, bags of cement were among the items that were contributed by many of the sections. I had seen them being unloaded at the Streamview church site on Saturday, and many of the sections reported with pride on the number of bags that they had contributed.

As it happened, the area where the bags of cement were stored was in the same building as the men's and women's bathrooms. One of the section leaders reported with bursting pride that, "If you want to see what we've done, you need to go to the bathroom!" There was an immediate outburst of good natured laughter as well as a look of horror on her face when she realized what she had said!

As each section was announced, a sound of singing would begin toward the back of the worship area. Eventually the members of that section would make their way forward, singing all the while. A spokesperson for the section would boast in a good natured way of all the blessings God had given them, and then he or she would announce what had been brought by that section. A running total was kept of all the financial contributions so that a total could be announced at the end of the service.

One of the touching moments at the Streamview celebration of "Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday" was when one woman, who was herself a widow, said that there were no widows and no orphans in that section. This was because "Jesus is our husband, and Jesus is our father."

At St. Peters church, one of the older women in the congregation--dressed in her United Methodist Women's uniform--had a special presentation to make to Ed Dodge and Peggy Miller. They are two of the children of the late Bishop Ralph Dodge, who was so important to the life of the church in Zimbabwe. , two of the children of Bishop Ralph Dodge who had been so important to the life of the church in Zimbabwe.

A portion of Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday service at St. Peters, in fact, was given over to a brief celebration of the life of Bishop Dodge. The choir director, Patrick Matsikenyiri, had prepared a version of "Celebrate" that honored Bishop Dodge's ministry. A fuller celebration of Bishop Dodge's life will take place when the Ralph E. Dodge Library and Convention Center at Zimunya is completed.

During one of these services, another person on the platform leaned over and asked if we had anything like Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday in the states. I could only shake my head "no," but not without regret.

All of us, no matter where we live, need to experience the joy and power, community and commitment, blessing and good will of Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday. None of us should ever settle for being part of a "Garaipasi (do nothing) Church." We need to be--or become--a "Simukayi Church," standing up to the many challenges facing us. Even better will be when we become a "Fambayi Church," which is "on the move" to make a difference in the world by the power of Christ!