I have always been impressed by the facility with which my Catholic priest friends come up with an apt aphorism in Latin at the drop of a hat. A case in point was the review by Fr Francis Bonongwe of the book I co-edited about the centenary of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian.
He began with the point that there are many festivals and celebrations in Malawi, but these are often quite ephemeral. A book, on the other hand, has a certain permanence. Hence the aphorism – “spoken words fly away, written ones remain.” An encouraging thought to sustain the long and laborious task of creating a book.
The purpose of this one was that we would have some substantial analysis to present to the CCAP centenary celebration. Now we have duly presented it, and it was given high profile with Malawi’s new Vice President Michael Usi honouring us by coming to launch the book at the international conference centre in Lilongwe.
Usually when I have a book to launch I feel that those who come to the event deserve to be rewarded by a discount on the normal price if they choose to buy a copy. This one, however, went in the opposite direction. After some reflection on what the book has to offer, copies were auctioned and people vied with each other to pay the highest price. All proceeds to the CCAP General Assembly!
For the twenty of us who contributed to the book, this has fulfilled our hopes. Or not quite yet. Now the book needs to be read, reflected upon and acted upon. Then its mission will truly be accomplished.
The open access edition of the book can be downloaded free of charge at https://globethics.net/publications/church-central-africa-presbyterian-1924-2024
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