So Women in Ministries of the United Reformed Church were together with Women in Ministries of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa in Botswana. It was a first gathering and our theme was SEDIBA meaning 'well' in the language of Botswana.One afternoon the women of Kanye village taught us how they made clay pots and we had the opportunity to make a well. The earth was red-brown and tough to mold but most had a go and as we did we sat and laughed, chatted and the bonds of friendship were formed through storytelling. This activity of forming a clay well was for me connected to the traditional place of a well for women of many generations in Botswana. Women walked separately or together to the well (SEDIBA) and sat, shared, cried, moaned, fretted and listened and grew together. This still happens in some areas of Botswana and the other countries we visited. In Zimbabwe it is more difficult because of the lack of water. The gathering place has dried up and the water tables are very low.
SEDIBA is also a gathering place in other ways: mentally, spiritually and supportively. It is in the act, witness and solidarity of being together that Sediba is created, found, celebrated and honoured. It is also where there is the presence of Wisdom, God's Spirit. In naming and forming Sediba wellness is inspired. This is like Living Water - the wellness of the water which is related to salvation and to the person, Jesus. There are complexities and nuances of bringing together a well which is at once physical, cultural, spiritual and theological from one well story to another. Niehbur might have a field day with his Christ and Culture debates and suggestions however what became apparent for the UK Women in Ministries was that it was extremely difficult for us to identify an equivalent Sediba within our UK contexts.
Any thoughts or suggestions....
Where is Sediba - where is the well for women and men in the UK today?
I can identify for myself where I find Sediba but it does not necessarily resonate with others.
