The United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) celebrated its 58th anniversary on 3 October with a series of celebrations and services across its five synods, centred on the theme “Empowered by faith, united in purpose, transforming communities and systems for a just and hopeful future.”
On a day that UCCSA calls Congregational Day, the annual anniversary date commemorates the church’s founding on 3 October 1967, when Southern Africa’s Congregational churches gathered in Durban, South Africa, to form a new, allied witness.
The origins of that, which would birth the UCCSA, had its nascent days centuries earlier with the missionary vision of the London Missionary Society (LMS) – the predecessor body of the Council for World Mission (CWM).
As one of the three mission traditions working in Southern Africa, the LMS, together with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABM) and the Congregational Union of South Africa (CUSA) created unique strands of faith that each carried a distinct history while still sharing a common spiritual DNA – Congregationalism, a movement rooted in the English Reformation’s Puritan faith culture and pilgrim traditions that sailed on the Mayflower in 1620.
Today, the UCCSA continues to weave a spiritual tapestry that has helped shape and empower communities living in the synods based in Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
“As UCCSA writes the vision for the next season, we invite the global church to journey with us in prayer, partnership, and shared mission so that together we may embody a just and hopeful future in Southern Africa and beyond,” said Rev. Wellington Sibanda, the UCCSA Media Liaison Officer, adding that the UCCSA is not just marking 58 years of ministry, but also making concrete moves in boldly stepping into God’s future with courage.
