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Thokozile Mbedzi

THE Lutheran Church of Zimbabwe joined the Scouts Association of Zimbabwe to mark their organisation’s annual birthday commemorations in style.

A total of 150 scouts and their leaders from four schools in Matabeleland region namely St Columbus High, Manama Primary, Sizane High and Pumula High School attended the weekend campout event at Gordon Park in Matopo. Major activities included painting, pillow fights, presenting flags to the pastors to honour the founder, among others.

Congregates and the scouts attending a church service

The event is done every Sunday before the birthday of the late founder of the scouts movement, Robert Stevenson Smyth Baden Powell, who was born on 22 February 1857.

Matabeleland regional Scout commissioner Mr Jolly Limukani Mathe said the day was an important one for their members and spreading their operations.

“This is an important day for scouts to came together to celebrate together and participate together in various activities, which include Campfire, community projects, and ceremonies.

“It is a time for reflection on the impact of scout and positive values it instils in young people.

“Gordon Park is our heart of scouting in Matabeleland and this is the time to renew our commitment and principles of scouting service to others on how to adventure personal development and acknowledgement,” said Mr Mathe.

One of the first Matrova crue scouts, Mr Dumisani Mandela Dale, said they have mutual relations with the church hence the presence of the Lutheran Church.

“We have mutual relations with the church as scouts as both parties assist each other.

The scouts presenting the flag to Reverand Tumisang Matshelo

“As scouts and the church we are reaffirming our commitment to service and we shall   be going a long way because our values are also practised in church and the future will interpret our fate,” he said.

“As scouts our moto is that ‘on my honour l promise that I will do my best, do my duty to God, help other people, my country and to keep the scout law’.

“This vision has come strongly especially with the drug and substance abuse rocking our modern-day community. The church has a mandate and the scouts also have the mandate and that is why we are gathered hear to fight this vice together.”

Mr Dale commended the church for challenging the boy scouts association to embrace high moral value and having faith in God for spiritual growth.

“We also have the girls scout association under the boy scouts,” he said.

Lutheran Church Bishop, Mr Michael Dube, said church values and scouts operations have common relations that make it easier to work together.

“The church preach the gospel and teach proper values of discipline. We have come together with the scouts because we have a common values and moral values to bring children to a better future in the fight against drug abuse,” he said.

Mr Dumisani Mandela Dale

“As a church we will go a long way supporting the scouts in our schools. We had scouts and we are going to revive them.

“Our key areas in education department is to overcome ignorance and superstition through sound education so they became responsible citizens.

“Our theme as the western diocese is to rekindle Lutheranism in the prevailing context,” said Mr Dube.

“We are looking at some of the things that are diminishing, which are key to people and giving good values of Ubuntu.

“At our schools we also assigned more pastors to be chaplains in order to monitor learners with the teachers.”