"How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?" So asked the exiled Israelites in Babylon. Christians in Zambia face a different question: how shall they sing the Lord's song in their own land, when it is so afflicted by poverty, violence and the scourge of HIV/Aids?

A workshop on liturgy and music in Kabwe in August was reminded that one Zambian in five between the ages of 19 and 49 is HIV positive.

Opening the workshop, Kenneth Kaunda, the first president of Zambia, said that this was just one of many challenges facing the country. Four out of five people were living in poverty. There was a growing problem of alcohol and drugs.

HIV/Aids was above all a spiritual challenge, he said. People fare better when they have a spiritual anchor that gives them hope. He commended the churches' programmes of home-based care, which brings out personal commitment and team work in communities.

Kaunda expected the workshop to strengthen cooperation between the four sponsoring churches: the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, the Reformed Church in Zambia, the United Church of Zambia, and the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. And responding to critics of his advocacy of condoms, Kaunda said when he tells people to use condoms he is merely trying to be practical. "Remember, prevention is better than cure," he said.

The workshop was initiated by the Southern Africa Alliance of Reformed Churches in preparation for the SAARC regional conference to be held in Harare in November, and the 24th general council (Accra, 2004) of the World Alliance. There were 34 participants: 31 from the four Zambian churches, two from Uganda, and Majaha Nhliziyo, the SAARC coordinator based in Botswana.

Majaha Nhiziyo, SAARC coordinator

Two taskforce groups on liturgy and music were led by the workshop chaplain, Jane Nyirongo, and Andrew Muwowo respectively.

Japhet Ndlovu, SAARC moderator and general secretary of the Christian Council of Zambia, said in a keynote address that if worship were to nourish our spirituality, it would need to integrate action, art and music. The gospel must be communicated in the language of those taking part and rooted in their real-life context of suffering and poverty.

Betty Marlyn, a theological tutor in the United Church of Zambia, highlighted the impact of poverty on HIV/Aids. Many Zambian families lacked the resources for a balanced diet. Malnutrition meant that when they were infected with HIV their immune system could not defend their bodies. Where resources such as hospitals and medicines were beyond many people's reach, conditions that were curable were not cured, and life expectancy was abnormally short. In Kitwe Central Hospital, forty people died every day.

Lackson Chibuye, coordinator of the Council for World Mission's Africa region HIV/Aids project described the epidemic as a theological crisis. In the past people condemned Aids patients, seeing them as being punished by God for their sins. Now people were starting to embrace those suffering from HIV/Aids. If the church cultivates better attitudes in those who visit HIV/Aids patients, they will be in a better position to recover. Ministers should take a special interest in knowing about HIV/Aids and not just fall back on prayer.

In his paper on the rationale of the Reformed worship service, JJ Van Wyk, a theological tutor in the Reformed Church of Zambia, said that worship had an inner logic, based on the covenant relationship between God and his people. Worship is dialogue. God speaks in the liturgy, but also requires the people to respond as community, and not just as isolated individuals. Worship is celebration. The awareness of human sin is overshadowed by a deep appreciation of the boundless mercy of God. Worship is thus characterized by order and simplicity, expressing profound gratitude and expectation.

Nelly Chingobe, regional coordinator of the Young Women's Christian Association in Kabwe, presented a paper on a Christian response to the problem of violence in church and society. She said that many women were experiencing lots of problems in their homes.

Zambian church members

Church members from nearly all the congregations in Kabwe joined the workshop participants in a demonstration against HIV/Aids. They marched with banners in a long procession from the town centre to St. Columba's Presbyterian Church, singing chants and songs in praise of Jesus.

During the workshop, songs with African traditional melodies were composed about HIV/Aids. Morning and evening devotions were conducted by the participants themselves under the guidance of the chaplain. It was noted that an exercise of this kind can bear good fruit in the development of mission in unity.

From a report by Andrew Muwowo