United in Peace
UCCSA Zimbabwe Champions Regional Healing and Development
In August 2024, representatives from six regions of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) Zimbabwe Synod came together at Hope Fountain Mission for a weeklong Peace and Development Champions Training. Delegates hailed from Dombodema, Zinyangeni, Tjimali, Makhazankala, Hope Fountain, and Gwanda, reflecting the church’s cultural and spiritual diversity. Their mission: to learn how to lead their communities toward peace, healing, and holistic development.
The training emphasized that peacebuilding begins with understanding. Participants explored conflicts at personal, communal, and church levels using tools like the Conflict Tree, uncovering the deep roots that often lie beneath surface tensions.
“We discovered that most conflicts have roots deeper than we think,” said one participant. “Once you understand the roots, you can heal the tree.”
Guided by the Ukuthula Trust, participants engaged in trauma healing sessions that created safe spaces for truth-telling and emotional recovery. For many, confronting the painful legacy of Gukurahundi was deeply personal.
“It was the first time I felt I could speak openly about my story,” shared one woman softly. “In that moment, I felt the beginning of peace.”
Through worship, reflection, and shared experience, the participants rediscovered the power of faith to heal wounds that politics could not. By the end of the week, each participant was commissioned as a Peace and Development Champion (PDC)—a role that blends pastoral care with community action.
“We go back to our regions as torchbearers,” said a group leader. “Our call is to plant peace where there is division.”
The diversity of the group—men and women from six different regions—enriched discussions, deepened mutual understanding, and reinforced the collective commitment to reconciliation.
“Every story we heard reminded us that peace is both personal and collective,” reflected a facilitator from Ukuthula Trust. “Healing the land begins with healing hearts.”
Participants left with practical tools and a renewed sense of purpose. They had learned that peacebuilding is not just about stopping conflicts—it is about building relationships, fostering livelihoods, and creating conditions where communities can thrive.
“For the first time, I saw that peacebuilding is not just about stopping fights,” said a participant from Bubi. “It’s about building relationships and creating livelihoods that make peace possible.”
From Plumtree to Gwanda, Kezi to Nkayi, the Zimbabwe Synod is now equipped with champions ready to transform church and society.
“We return home ready to build communities of peace,” said one new PDC. “Because our faith demands that we do.”
Through the work of these six regions, the UCCSA Zimbabwe Synod is living out the gospel of peace, planting seeds of understanding and unity where division once reigned—and proving that the Spirit of God continues to renew the face of the earth.
Through the work of these six regions, the UCCSA Zimbabwe Synod is living out the gospel of peace, planting seeds of understanding and unity where division once reigned—and proving that the Spirit of God continues to renew the face of the earth.
This is a One Great Hour of Sharing story. The United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) Zimbabwe Synod is one of the many partners of Global Ministries supported through the One Great Hour of Sharing offering. The Peace and Development Champions Training, trauma healing work, and community development efforts described here are made possible through the faithful generosity of congregations who give to One Great Hour of Sharing.
Through One Great Hour of Sharing, churches help equip leaders, foster reconciliation, and strengthen communities around the world. This ministry of regional healing and development in Zimbabwe continues because of the support of the One Great Hour of Sharing offering.