Praying and Acting for Zimbabwe (click here for more)

"Compelling evidence of violence, intimidation and outright terror; the studied harassment of the leadership of the MDC, including its Presidential candidate, by the security organs of the Zimbabwean government; the arrest and detention of the Secretary-General of the MDC; the banning of MDC public meetings; and denial of access to the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, all have convinced us that free and fair elections are not possible in the political environment prevalent in Zimbabwe today." (ANC Statement on Zimbabwe, 23 June 2008)

"'You shall love your neighbour as yourself" (Mt.22:39). Electoral processes and outcomes are not an excuse for breaching God's commandments. The sun will still rise on June 28, 2008, well after the elections. May our present conduct help Zimbabwe rise too to assume its rightful place among the nations of the world." (Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference statement, June 2008)

The deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe over the past few weeks has been the subject of immense concern for many. Aware of violent attacks like those described in this article from the New York Times and this video, how can we respond as Christians?

In recent statements, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches and the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference have requested our prayers.

The Catholic bishops noted: "We renew the call to prayer for all our needs, which include a credible electoral process, food and provisions for our families, education for our children, medicines for the sick and respect for every human life and dignity."

The Church leaders have also requested that the SADC (Southern African Development Community) and African Union "work towards arresting the deteriorating political and security situation in Zimbabwe. " Prayers for the leadership of the SADC. in particular, would be welcome. A security troika of SADC leaders met yesterday in Swaziland to discuss the crisis. They have urged that the elections scheduled for Friday be postponed. The official SADC mediator for the situation, President Mbeki of South Africa, whose "soft" approach to Mugabe has been widely criticised as ineffective (as per this cartoon), was not invited.

Christian Aid partner the Habakkuk Trust have also requested prayers for strength, hope and the "walk to freedom" "I sense a great feeling of helplessness," their director writes, requesting the prayers for hope.

That same feeling of helplessness has been echoed by many here. But for local Church of England vicar Nigel Hawkes, it is precisely that sense that makes prayer so vital. "We have no physical means of influencing events, and what we are left with is prayer. As a Christian, I believe [praying] is a very powerful thing that we can do." We find, he adds, any power we have "in God's power."

Hawkes has been reminding himself and others to pray by wearing a black dog collar. He was inspired by Archbishop of York John Sentamu's cutting up his dog collar, and by a parishioner who came to prayer wearing a black armband on the day after the Archbishop's action. The black -- which serves, he says, "as a visible sign of our concern," is a constant reminder to "offer to God the troubles of the people in Zimbabwe and pray that there will be a resolution." 

Hawkes is encouraging others to join in both the symbolic action and  prayer. His hope is that if enough people join in,  it will "get the whole dea of prayer for Zimbabwe into the common psyche." And, reflecting on he ways in which some previously intractable-looking problems, such as partheid in South Africa, have been relved, he adds: [sometimes there is] o human answer . . . and [after prayer] suddenly a change came about."

Some suggestions:

Find out more, and pray on what you find out. The Guardian has a good section devoted to Zimbabwe, including a blog with links to Zimbabwean activist websites. Or try following the situation -- and the changing Southern African approach to it -- through Southern African media: From South Africa, for example, the official SABC news, the Independent Online (including this reader poll), Mail and Guardian, Sunday Times and Cape Argus all have extensive coverage of Zimbabwe. Pray for the situations and people mentioned. From inside Zimbabwe itself, there are papers (for example, The Herald), which give a sense of the officially sanctioned press; The Zimbabwean is an independent paper printed outside Zimbabwe but for Zimbabweans. Go here for a discussion of the difficulties involved in reporting from Zimbabwe.

CAFOD, Christian Aid and Tearfund all have sections dedicated to the crisis in Zimbabwe, offering news, prayer points/requests, and opportunities to donate for future work. Read . . . pray . . .give . . . .