In a keynote address during the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Solidarity Visit to
Zimbabwe, Rev. Dr Hanns Lessing, executive secretary for Communion and Theology at the
World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), reflected on the church’s vocation in a
nation still carrying deep wounds.

Remembering 2017
In 2017, an ecumenical visit to Zimbabwe took place amid widespread hope following the end of
Robert Mugabe’s rule. Expectations of a “new dispensation,” accountable leadership, economic
renewal, and national healing were high.

Lessing said, “The churches did not create that hope. They received it, guarded it, and sought to
give it moral and spiritual depth.”

Today, many hopes remain unrealised. Economic hardship, political polarisation, and eroded
public trust persist. Solidarity must begin with modesty; we come to listen, learn, and stand
alongside, not with ready-made solutions. The church must resist neutrality in the face of
injustice.

Trauma Theology
Zimbabwe carries multiple histories of violence: colonial rule, the liberation struggle,
Gukurahundi, political conflict, and economic collapse. Drawing on theologian Septemmy
Lakawa’s distinction:

Dry wounds have become scars
Wet wounds remain open and vulnerable

Christian theology often moves too quickly from suffering to resolution. Trauma theology asks
us to remain longer with wounds that are still wet, to hope truthfully.

What Kind of Church?
The church’s first contribution is not a programme but a presence. It is called to be:

A community of worship – reoriented toward the living God
A community of accompaniment – walking alongside the suffering
A community of public witness – speaking truth to injustice
The church becomes trustworthy before it becomes persuasive.

The Belhar Confession
The Belhar Confession, born in the struggle against apartheid, turns forty in 2026. Its central
claim, “The church must stand where God stands: against injustice and with the wronged.”
This is not merely ethical; it is theological. The church stands with the wronged because this is
where God is.

From Wounds to Trust
Drawing on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dr Lessing emphasises that hope is not the erasure of history,
but the promise that wounded histories need not determine the future. Healing cannot be
separated from justice; without truth and accountability, trust cannot grow.
Political transitions alone cannot heal wounded societies. Healing requires patient work: truthful
remembrance, justice, and restored trust. The church’s calling is clear: to stand where God
stands, against injustice and with the wronged.

May our solidarity become a participation in Christ’s own ministry of reconciliation.
Rev. Dr Hanns Lessing is Executive Secretary for Communion and Theology at the World
Communion of Reformed Churches. This address was delivered during the World Council of
Churches Ecumenical Solidarity Visit to Zimbabwe on 21 July 2026.

The presentation can be found here, under WCRC Resources.

Photo: confort @confort_muthar