“I’m an African” Poems

CWM recognises that young people are full participants and contributors in God’s mission and are vital to the ministry of Jesus. As a process for leadership formation and nurturing, youth initiatives have been planned in the regions, as a platform for young people within member churches in the regions to come together, to grow and to contribute in addressing the challenges they perceive Empire poses; and God sends to address in mission.

Two young poets performed at Groutville Congregational Church during the Youth Initiative in CWM Africa region last September.

Not because I’m black. But because my heart warms And tears run down my face When I think about Africa.

I’m an African, Not because I live here, But because the African Sun lit my path. Because the air that I breathe Is for these majestic mountains.

That air nurtured me Growing up.

I’m an African, Not because I can speak Swahili, shona, zulu or xhosa. But because my heart is Shaped like a question mark, Just like Africa.

I’m an African, Not because I’m black, But because my umbilical cord Is buried under the majestic Mountains of Africa.

by Miss Amahle Ngcobo, a member of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) Groutville Circuit.

I’m an African child from the dusty streets of mother Africa, an African child who owes his loyalty to the people of Africa and their struggles.

I’m an African child who hates seeing our beautiful God-given continent portrayed as a charity case by the rest of the world. As they call it Africa I call it home, a home which continues to bleed heavily, although the population gets younger but our problems get older.

I’m an African child who will continue to fight for the interests of my fellow African brothers and sisters who face major problems,

I’m an African child who’ll continue showing the rest of the world how beautiful our continent is, you might not see the beauty of Africa on TV but the beauty lives within each and every single one of us African children.

I’m an African child who will never give up no matter what, an African child who first accepts that I’m African not only because I was born in Africa but because Africa was born in me.

I’m an African child with rough hair and dark eyes, I might not have blue eyes and blonde hair that some perceive as “beauty” but I’m African and proud of it!

I’m an African child who will one day travel around the world and have to answer silly stereotypical questions about my home (Africa). I’m an African child and there’s no one in the world I would rather be than to be African. When an African boy sees an African girl he sees a sister, and when an African girl sees an African boy she sees a brother.

I Am A Girl

A coming-of-age documentary where we get to experience the stories of 6 girls, all from different countries spread across the various continents in the world, to witness their cultural diversity and what it means to be a young female, growing up in their part of the world. Discrimination is still very much alive in this day and age, but these young and strong women show us their strength and courage as they cling on to hope and determination and have found ways to face the ugly reality of an unbalanced system which women still face largely today in their daily lives.

https://bit.ly/2QkFYnD

In My Blood It Runs

Dujuan is a 10-year-old boy belonging to the Arrernte Aboriginal family in Australia. The film allows viewers to look into the life of his and his family, facing the daily discrimination of a largely white community in Alice Springs. The face of colonialism is an ugly and difficult one to confront as he is subjected to and forced upon whitewashed versions of colonial history taught in school which avoids much of the truth, and the biasedness faced due to everyday racial profiling.

https://bit.ly/3eDKbg0

On the Record

A controversial documentary that gives us a look into the allegations towards a powerfully influential hip-hop music executive in America on the sexual abuse and harassment of over 20 women in his career. Considered a mogul in his line of expertise, Russell Simmons had the willing support of many from the industry. In an industry which normalises and condones the belittling of women, black women folk are expected to unconditionally support the male counterparts of their own race, tends to silence the victims from speaking out.

https://bit.ly/2RfWh5Y

MLK/FBI

MLK/FBI is an insightful exploration of the declassified documents on the investigation and harassment of Martin Luther King Jr. by the FBI. Viewers are given the opportunity to witness and understand the struggles of MLK and the civil rights movement which came to inspire and influence many, and also exposes essentially, the roots of white supremacy in America.

https://bit.ly/3vTXKgY

For Sama

In the midst of war in Syria, a young mother documented her journey of survival alongside her new born, Sama, and her doctor husband, as they struggled to stay alive as the incomprehensible violence and carnage unfolded around them. With hundreds of thousands Syrians murdered in the war while more than 10 million being displaced by it, the raw footages from the film provides us with in-your-face reality towards of the situation.

https://bit.ly/33AndQv

Seaspiracy

Seaspiracy is a documentary by Ali Tabrizi, a film-maker and environmentalist who is passionate towards the eco-system and marine life within our oceans. The film aims at exposing the ugly truths of the fishing industries globally and the unethical practices committed by most, and without any legal ramifications.

https://bit.ly/3w090bK

Life in a Day

Film-makers from all around the globe contributed video footages of themselves within the day of 25 July 2020, to a time capsule to be showcased to future generations to come; capturing the diverse yet shared humanity of the population on the planet. How different our lives are yet how similar they can be, and how some are able to thrive in chaos while others struggle in peace.

https://bit.ly/3f9OcaZ

The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files

Imagine living in a country your entire life, from childhood to elderhood only to one day, be suddenly stripped of your citizenship and cast as an illegal immigrant due to a new regulation drawn up by the government, resulting in the loss of status, employment and savings, and facing the stress of the high possibility of deportation to a country so distant and unfamiliar to you – how is this fair and humane? 3 Windrush generation citizens shares in this film the discrimination and hostility they’ve faced in this ordeal.

https://bbc.in/3f9L0fy

Salam Neighbour

Two American film-makers made camp with Syrian refugees in Za’atari to provide viewers with an intimate glimpse at what heartbreak and hope amidst the chaos look like in the most pressing humanitarian crisis the world has ever witnessed. Through the eyes of five refugees and their families, the experiences of personal loss, overcoming cultural differences, shortages of basic necessities, first-aid, food and water, and the many challenges thrusted at them – while they recover from displacement and rebuild familiarities of the lives they’ve once had

https://bit.ly/3bjGNox

CodeGirl

“Women and technology don’t mix”, such socially unequal driven and biased notions are rampant when it comes to business and tech. This film presents a group of entrepreneurial girls who devised the winning application by creating awareness on the contamination of their source of water in the area, breaking from all negative stereotypes and proving that women are equally capable at holding their own and taking a slice in the digital industry.

https://bit.ly/33ACFw5

THE OLDEST

TECHNOLOGY

By Owain Llŷr Evans

The computer has been switched off and I have been staring silently for some minutes at the machine’s blank screen.

We’ve been close recently, the machine and me, and I’ve made less use of the faithful ink-pen of late. It is the pen that now links word to word at this precise moment, as I search for memories regarding the paradox of our faith. There is no-one like Ann Griffiths for expressing that very paradox: Rhoi awdur bywyd i farwolaeth/ A chladdu’r atgyfodiad mawr …; Byw i weld yr Anweledig,/ Fu farw ac sy’n awr yn fyw. (Putting the author of life to death / And burying the great resurrection ... Living to see the Invisible / Who died and is now alive.)

I admit that it is a total paradox to read on the computer screen a reproduction of these few comments that were written in reality, using that cooperation between hand and ink-pen, and that smooth touch upon clean white paper, rather than the usual tap-tap-tapping on computer keys. I do this in a totally intentional way, in order to reveal that paradox that is at the heart of our faith. It is ancient, but as new as this morning’s dawn. Our faith is universally current and constantly new. It is the answer but an answer that has a question mark clinging to it every time.

The ink-pen works fine. We two understand each other completely; old things are good and the old ways of understanding and accomplishing things work just as well – they work very well – still, but Zoom, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are beneficial also, these new ways or fairly new ways of understanding also work well, they work very well. The old and new together, the one and the other, both are needed.

So, do we need a church website? No, we do not. Do we need a Twitter account? No we do not. Do we need YouTube and Facebook? No. Are these things beneficial in the church’s mission? Yes they are. Are these media helpful in getting in touch with people anywhere? Yes they are. Is Zoom a blessing? Yes it is.

But I believe that it is content that is most important. If we prepare a presentation for Zoom, or broadcast a sermon on YouTube or prepare a letter with a stamp or an e-pistle, if we tweet or shout, then we should ensure that the content is worthy. It is the quality of the content that is important, the content is more important than the mode of delivery. We could be in possession of all the devices and technology available, but without the content of our message being worthwhile, then all is lost. We might as well acknowledge, that without the quality of content, there is not one reason why an individual should choose to come and worship or listen to a sermon, or to follow any @whatever. What drives people towards a certain kind of content is quality, and relevance.

The essence of our ministry is to create and uphold content of quality that is relevant and real. Of all the challenges facing the church, this is the biggest one, to ensure that our creative energies are channelled into creating relevant content that will strengthen our testimony and promote the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Whilst we are getting to grips with this, there is no matter, in truth, if the medium we use is the ink-pen or computer, snail mail or Zoom.

Owain Llŷr Evans: father; minister of Minny Street Congregational Church in the Cathays area of Cardiff since 2002. The eleven years previously he served a mix of Congregational and Baptist churches in the Wrexham area of north Wales. Cricket not rugby; dogs not cats; red not white; letter not email; jazz not blues; growing old not growing up; the main things are the plain things; all knowing begins with knowing God.