Methodist African woman bishop makes history

The Rev Joaquina Filipe Nhanala was elected on 23 July 2008 as the first female United Methodist bishop in Africa, reports UMNS. Nhanala, aged 51, the pastor of Matola United Methodist Church in Mozambique, was elected during the 22-24 July 2008 meeting of the denomination's Africa Central Conference at Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe. Effective from 1 September, she will succeed Bishop João Somane Machado, who is retiring as the leader of the Mozambique area. Besides serving a large church in Matola, a suburb of Maputo, Nhanala has coordinated women's projects for the Mozambique church and led a World Relief HIV/AIDS programme designed to mobilize churches for education and advocacy in Mozambique's three southern provinces. Nhanala and the programme were featured in the 2004 Bread for the World video, "Keep the Promise... [read full story]