Faith page launched

THE Manica Post has launched a page on faith matters that will accommodate written input from churches and other religious organisations.

Speaking at the launch of the page dubbed “Matters of Faith” at a breakfast meeting held in Mutare last week, the Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs Cde Mandi Chimene praised the publication for giving religion a voice.

“The Manica Post has opened a new chapter in Manicaland where it has provided us with a platform to interact freely far from our offices and churches.

“The church is now an active player in the economic turnaround programme through evangelical tourism and where are you churches in Manicaland in this crusade?

“Yes, we have indigenous churches like Johanne Marange Apostolic Church which attracts thousands of followers in July for their Passover Feast, but are doing enough to publicise these gatherings?

“It is no longer business as usual, the church can draw huge crowds if it uses the local media to publish its major events and gatherings and in Manicaland you are lucky to have a paper like The Manica Post which is found in every major city or town in this country. Utilise it to your advantage,” she said.

Church leaders, she said, must uphold high morals.

“To the church, I want to implore you to demonstrate high ethical standards and values in leadership, especially in the area of accountability. Christian leadership entails being a servant of the people you lead.

“It is for this reason that, ethics have to be taken seriously.

“As servants of the Lord we must ensure that our moral standing in society is not questioned. It has become common in the recent past to hear of the clergy to be involved in undesired activities that tarnish the good name of the church,” she said.

Speaking at the same function Zimpapers board member, Bishop Trevor Manhanga said religion and the media were influential institutions that would bring about societal and economic development if allowed to unite.

He urged church leaders to embrace The Manica Post as their partner.

“If you want to do anything and ignore the religious community, you are bound to fail. We are grateful of the initiative being taken by The Manica Post to give us space in their publication. This shows that the organization respects religion. When religion unites with the media, it’s a bond between two vital drivers in the community.

“The church is an education centre and the media chips in to disseminate that information. That Faith Page will give people an understanding of their faith. It’s a mirror that will show the world what Christians and Moslems believe in. The Manica Post is giving us a wonderful opportunity to talk about our faith and educate people. Let’s share on the Faith Page the wonderful things that are happening in all the churches.

“A lot of community developmental projects are being carried out by church organisations and the world needs to know about that. The next time that our brothers in Marange have a Passover we make sure that we have a special edition to highlight that event. By so doing we connect the paper with that religious grouping. The establishment of the Faith Page is most welcome. When we have Ramadan we want our Muslim brothers captured in the Faith Page as well,” he said.

Religious leaders were encouraged to write articles that educate people on issues they desire.

The paper’s editor, Mr Hatred Zenenga said the Matters of Faith page is a cost effective way by the church to disseminate information to the world.

“As a newspaper serving your local community, here is a service hard for you to ignore. A cost effective means of reaching out into the community with a message that will promote faith. Many church outreach programmes, while very effective, com every expensive. But as a newspaper we can drastically reduce this cost for you while offering more room for content and the ability to reach to thousands of people,” he said.

Mr Zenenga said the page can be used to publish sermons and share testimonies

Manica Post Sales, Marketing and Distribution manager, Mrs Elizabeth Mushonga, said by coming up with the faith page the paper was opening lines of communications with religion.

“This is our response to the need by church leaders to afford them a voice and space in our publication.

“We are bringing religious leaders together and offer the paper as their first choice to communicate messages to the people. For a long time religious issues had no space in the paper and we hope by giving churches the voice, our circulation figures will improve as Christians will definitely identify themselves with content therein,” she said.

Anglican Bishop Ruwona urged the religious community to grab the opportunity with both hands and communicate with the people using the faith page.

He said The Manica Post needs the support of church organisations to remain viable.

Questions were raised on the need to forward articles that do not cause friction between church organisations but promote good morals in the community.

It was also proposed that the paper be sold at church premises to increase circulation figures.