African Earthkeepers

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Mission churches and the African Independent Churches (AICs) are the two primary ecclesial contexts in which Christianity has spread in Africa. Mission churches are those that have evolved directly from the outreach of Western denominations, and AICs are churches begun by Africans in Africa, primarily for Africans. It is increasingly evident that in terms of growth rates, indigenised evangelisation, missionary campaigns and ecclesiastical contextualisation, AICs can no longer be regarded as peripheral; they belong to the mainstream of African Christianity. Few in-depth studies have, however, been undertaken which throw light on the indigenous mission dimension. In this publication the author presents the reader with a picture of how AICs in Zimbabwe responded to the environmental devastation that has taken place in their country following the War of Independence. Initiated by the author, tree-planting eucharists became an intrinsic part of earth-healing rituals in which communicants confess their sins against the earth. Readers will be drawn to the detailed descriptions of 'earth healing' (maporesanyika) ceremonies held by the earthkeeping churches.