Mother Miriam's Second Visit to Malawi

with the Convent Dedication and Life Profession of the Founding Sisters

The following are excerpts from Mother Miriam’s e-mail messages home during her three-week Visitation to Malawi.

Saturday, May 7, 2005

Well, it's 10AM in Malawi, but I am still on Eastern time (4AM) with only one cup of coffee! I’m a little sleepy to say the least!

I continue to be very proud, thankful and pleased with the Sisters here, especially Srs. Monica, Martha, and Maria Nema (the “3Ms”). The Bishop affirms my first impressions. He, too, is amazed at the tenacity and energy all five have put into making the convent a real working house. They have managed all the projects we had planned last year—the chicken house, the incinerator, the sacristy and the brick wall. The goats lost their nice barn to the laying hens because they do just fine on pasture now that the wall protects them from poachers. There's a Brahma steer out there, too, waiting for slaughter next Friday for the Profession festivities.

Plans for the Profession and Dedication are massive. A committee of 40 from all three nearby parishes has been working since February on details for housing, feeding, and transporting 400 people. The Sisters tell me this is going on national TV. As Sister Martha would say, “Oh, my!” I have to do the presentation of the Sisters in Chichewa. That should be interesting. All the verbs are eight syllables long, and each syllable starts with three consonants!

Sunday, May 15

After Pentecost's 3+ hour Mass at Holy Trinity, Luwinga, I have a little time to describe yesterday’s events and the people’s excitement. There must have been over 500 people involved — clergy and congregation.

The Dioceses of Lake Malawi, Southern Malawi and Upper Shire sent representatives. Archbishop Bernard Malango of Central Africa and his wife Charity, Canon Bill Atwood of the Ekklesia Society, and Bishop Jackson Biggers, retired Bishop of Northern Malawi came for the day. Three Anglican Sisters of St. Mary and Martha of Bethany, Sr. Martha Bridget, Sr. Mercy, Sr. Jane, and the Diocesan Development Officer for Southwest Tanganyika, Mr. Douglas Magombola, came on Friday from Njombe, Tanzania. They speak Swahili and English, so English won for everyone, much to my relief.

The day started with Matins at 6:20AM. The ‘3Ms’ and Sr. Georgina had been up and decorating the church and our chapel since 3:30AM. I was up at 4:45AM to walk to the parish church and lay out the cinctures, veils, crosses, and rings for the Investiture.

The liturgy started at 8AM at the convent with the blessing of the compound and consecration and naming of the chapel. Bishop Biggers officiated.

At 9AM the Mothers’ Union, St. Agnes’ girls, the Sisters’ families, acolytes, religious, the clergy and us in the back, followed by the bishops, formed a procession of at least 200 and walked from the convent to Holy Trinity Church, Luwinga. It took about 20 minutes with much hymn singing. The procession was sooooo long that they didn't even worry that there were at least 4 hymns going at the same time all the way.

Six choirs from the area did different parts of the service. The Profession expressed the Malawian understanding of the Bride of Christ imagery with decorations and liturgical flourishes drawn from local wedding customs. For instance, when we arrived at the church, the 3Ms stepped out of line while I proceeded into church with the Bishops. Then the music changed while eight flower girls dressed in matching rented satin dresses escorted the Sisters to their three chairs in front of the sanctuary.

St. Mark’s Choir, Mzuzu, had composed two new hymns based on our Profession antiphons. Sister Maria Nema adapted three antiphons to Chichewa with my help. We practiced a lot. It was like three blind men off to market — I knew the plainsong, but not the Chichewa, our Sisters knew the Chichewa, but not the plainsong, and the Tanzanian Sisters struck out on both! With a week of coaching on all sides, I think we did a creditable job of it.

The Investiture was a lot of fun. As I finished putting each new article of clothing on a Sister, the drummer in the choir did a flourish and a bang of the cymbals. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. The whole congregation was enjoying it. The Mass continued Malawian-style, a respectful and respectable celebration all around, as well as just plain fun.

Nobody complained that the service didn't end until 12:45PM!!! Then we got instructions where to go for lunch. The religious and the Bishops recessed back to the convent, escorted by the Mothers’ Union. One priest decided we were not forming up or marching fast enough. He was a wiry little fellow. He went running up and down the line yelling, “Tiyeni,(Let’s go) tiyeni, tiyeni” and flapping his arms up and down. I had to laugh, seeing him try to bully the Mothers’ Union and his fellow clergy!

Lunch was another hour and a half of organized chaos, but there was enough food to serve over 400 guests. A minor miracle in itself, considering that just yesterday they slaughtered 100 chickens, the steer, took four 50kg bags of corn to the mill to make flour for nsima, etc. Nothing can be taken for granted in this country. Bread is the ultimate luxury when you consider how many wheat grains need to be ground before flour is ready to be mixed with yeast and other ingredients. And oh, by the way, where do you find the yeast, when there isn’t a Fleischman's package?

We arrived at St. Mark's Hall at 3PM, an hour late for the reception. There were a lot of speeches, hymns and dancing by different choirs, and processions of gift-giving to the 3Ms. Mr. Chithila, Sister Monica's father, gave the Sisters a wonderful tribute and a marvelous description of his appreciation of their sacrifice of prayer. Coming from a parent, it was a very powerful witness.

I decided there were enough speeches when my time came. So, with Fr. Mponda's help, I made a ceremony of my own with gifts brought from America for each member of the Committee that put this huge event together. It was unexpected and the recipients seemed both surprised and touched. Even the smallest gesture, like holy cards given to as many as possible with our Annunciation window in Greenwich printed on the front and the Profession ceremony date on the back, were received proudly and graciously.

So the day ended at 6:15PM instead of 4PM as scheduled, not bad by Malawian standards. We returned to a convent full of dirty dishes and trash from lunch. Thanks to the Tanzanian Sisters, we cleaned and scrounged some supper out of the leftovers with some fresh nsima and greens from the garden.

By 9:30PM life was back to normal except the Sisters had not opened their gifts. I was for waiting until the morning, but Sr. Martha, “the taskmaster,” said she was both too tired and too excited to sleep and wanted to open them all. I said OK by me, but the agogo (grandmother) Mother was going to bed. They stayed up until 11PM, and then Sr. Monica drove to Mr. Sumane's house at 4AM this morning to get Mr. Magombola for the Tanzanian Sisters. The Tanzanians had to leave that early to get across the border checkpoint in daylight.

Monday, May 16

Well, whenever something very good and of the Lord happens, something very sad follows. Sister Georgina was waiting for the Profession to be over to tell us that she wanted to leave the community. The other Sisters pulled themselves together after this difficult news. Georgina quietly packed my second suitcase with her personal things and left at 5:45AM this morning. Sisters Martha, Monica and Maria Nema drove with her to her family's home in Mzuzu.

Tuesday, May 17

Now Sister Patricia Taonga is leaving. The only reason she gave us was, “My friend is leaving so I have to leave also.” We are sad once more, but we accept her discernment.

Wednesday, May 18

After two days of tension and departures, we all breathed a sigh of pain and relief and got on with life. We took time to digest these leave-takings coming so close on the heels of the solemn Profession. It was hard on the Sisters and it will be hard on the good Church people in Malawi because this is the first time they have seen Junior Sisters leave. That is why we have the Juniorate — so that young women can experience the religious life even as they continue to pray for discernment as to God’s will for their future.

(More on current projects and future plans at Luwinga in the next Messenger.)