A first for Zomba Theological University this past week was an Ecotheological Festival – a fun event that showcased the efforts being made to connect Christian faith and ecological awareness.
This year we handed leadership of our ecotheological work to the students and they have stepped up with energy and imagination. If there is any sign of hope in our environmental crisis it might be that the young generation is doing much better at addressing the issue than their parents did.
This was very apparent at the festival. The heart of it was a choral competition – always a hit in Malawi – in which choirs competed to offer the most compelling composition featuring a call to care for creation. Choral performance is a very popular and widespread artistic expression in Malawi but, until now, few songs have featured environmental themes. The festival offered convincing evidence that this is now changing.
It also included preaching, recitation of a newly-composed creed, poetry, drama and other kinds of performance. Banners were erected on the campus, all students received a locally-made satchel with the ZTU green theology logo printed on it, and the ecotheological activists sported t-shirts promoting green theology.
The festival concluded with getting our hands dirty by planting some shrubs in the grounds, which have been very bare but are now becoming enlivened by beautiful flowers and young trees. No one can miss the fact that change is underway as ZTU creates a “green campus.”
During the semester we have been internally focussed on transformation at ZTU itself but in the vacation attention will turn to the communities where students live and work. We aim to share the theological renewal with churches and communities far and wide.
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