Almost ten years ago Archbishop John Sentamu was on the BBC’s ‘Andrew Marr Show’ and cut up his dog collar saying that he wouldn’t wear it again until Mugabe was no longer President of Zimbabwe. It was a powerful and symbolic act that captured the imagination of people. Since then I’ve seen the Archbishop on many occasions – at services, in the closed rooms of the Crown Nominations Commission, at his home at Bishopthorpe in York, at Synod in that city or in Westminster – and I can honestly say that he has never had a bit of plastic around his neck. However important the occasion, whoever was in the congregation, the absence of that bit of gleaming white plastic was obvious. Perhaps now the collar will be reinserted.

There goes the collar! (Picture BBC)
It has been a rollercoaster of emotions, these days since it looked as though Mugabe would be going immediately and then appeared to be hanging on and then, finally, in the face of impeachment, went. My thoughts and prayers have been with my friends in that wonderful but beleaguered country.
I’ve been thinking about the priests from Zimbabwe that I spent time with at St George’s College in Jerusalem last November. We were studying together, clergy from the Diocese of Southwark and clergy from our link dioceses of Matabeleland, Central Zimbabwe, Manicaland and Masvingo, with clergy as well from the Diocese of Harare. It was great getting to know each other on the neutral territory of the Holy Land and a great preparation for my return to Zimbabwe in February of this year. With Bishop Christopher, the Bishop of Southwark, as well as the Archdeacon of Southwark, Jane Steen and the Director of Communications, Wendy Robins, we travelled around each of those five dioceses, an opportunity for me to see all the cathedrals as well as visiting a variety of projects. As ever it was amazing to witness the resilience and sheer joy and hopefulness of the people. Their generosity knew no bounds as they fed us like honoured guests with food, I suspect, that they could hardly spare.
But what I have also been thinking about in these days has been assembly at Cathedral School. Each week one of the clergy from the Cathedral goes into our parish primary school, to do, as clergy across the church do, lead assembly. Assemblies and expectations of the clergy have changed in the 34 years I have been ordained when I began leading assembly at St James’ Middle School, in Manston on the outskirts of Leeds. We may have taken in a visual aid but that was it – the rest relied upon us talking. But now I have to go armed with a PowerPoint presentation to illustrate what I’m going to do. It’s not a bad thing and I really enjoy both preparing and delivering the assemblies. But whatever it is that we are thinking about we conclude with a prayer for Zimbabwe. The children have learnt it off by heart and with hands together and eyes closed they say a variant of the Prayer for Africa.
God bless Zimbabwe
protect her children
transform her leaders
heal her communities
and grant her peace.
for Jesus Christ’s sake.
Amen.
That regular praying for Zimbabwe which takes place in the Cathedral School and at the map of Zimbabwe in the nave of the Cathedral, is not a symbolic act, of course, not like the statement made by the Archbishop, destroying his collar. As we pray we believe that it will make a difference. And it has, certainly to our friends in Zimbabwe. I have told them about assembly and about all the children caught up in prayer. And then I filmed a bunch of children at one of the schools in Masvingo greeting the Southwark children with a rapturous greeting. The children back home loved it – they saw the faces of the children they were praying for!

Children from one of our link schools
I love the Letter of James. It always feels to me that it could have been written yesterday, so relevant, so direct, so challenging, whether it be about how the rich treat the poor, how the tongue can run away with itself, or where our priorities lie. And then in the final chapter James talks about prayer.
The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest. (James 5.16b-18)
That fervent prayer made a difference and we believe that prayer, beyond being symbolic of our love and concern, is effective, it changes things. Sometimes that is hard to see, very hard to see, but I do not lose faith that in God’s season things change and the harvest comes.
Whether or not ++Sentamu takes up his collar again we will continue to pray that prayer. As the Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, said
‘The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.’
The people of Zimbabwe have stepped out, now their leaders have to step up and we need to pray for them and journey with them. So join the children of Cathedral School and pray with us.
God bless Zimbabwe
protect her children
transform her leaders
heal her communities
and grant her peace.
for Jesus Christ’s sake.
Amen.