The Methodist Church in Zimbabwe divides its membership into three categories: Full Members; On Trial members and Adherents.
4.4.1.1.1 Full Members
According to the Deed of Church Order and Standing Orders of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, the following are considered as full members of the Church:
namely (i) Those who confess Jesus Christ as lord and Savior and accept the obligations to serve Him in the life of the Church and the world are welcome as full members. (ii) If not already baptized those seeking full membership and have not previously received Christian
Baptism shall be baptized either before or in connection with the service of confirmation or Reception into Full Membership. Children can only become full members of the church at the age of 12 years old after confirmation.248
Youths from 13 years of age and above, can be full members of the Church if (1) they are baptised and confirmed; (2) if not, are encouraged to attend classes for at least three months to learn about basic Christian principles and Church doctrine after which they can be baptised and confirmed as full members of the Methodist Church; (3) if they are under a disciplinary matter such as being pregnant or a single mother or in the case of a boy, having made a girl pregnant before marriage, they are to remain On-Trial members until such a time they get married according to the recommended standard.249
Adults can be full members of the Church if (1) they are baptised and confirmed; (2) If they are married to one wife or one husband; (3) In the case of polygamists, they remain as On- Trial members for ever or they can wed the first wife (vahosi) and divorce the rest; As for a woman from a polygamous marriage, she can be a full member of the Church only if she is the first wife otherwise she remains as an On-Trial member of the Church for ever; (4) Single and mature mothers can be full members of the Church after being assessed on their faith and commitment as On-Trial members for at least one year, as for single fathers they remain On- Trial members of the Church until they get a Christian wedding; (5) As for those who are married traditionally only the wife is accepted as a full member of the Church after an assessment for at least five years but the husband remains an On-Trial member until such a time he has a Christian wedding, if the husband is not a Christian the lady is assessed for at least five years as an On-Trial member, elderly ladies are asked especially to check on her marital status – that is if she is coming from a monogamous or polygamous marriage, if she is
248 Methodist Church in Zimbabwe Deed of Church Order and Standing Order (Harare: Research and
Publication, 2009), 191.
really married or just co-habiting (kubika mapoto); (6) Those who are cohabiting are not accepted as full members of the Church until such a time when they get married.250
4.4.1.1.2 On Trial Members
These are members who desire to be prepared for reception into full membership of the Methodist Church. On Trial members are arranged into classes for training. This training takes a period of at least three months, depending on each individual case. After this probation period, those who have been examined and approved are admitted into full membership by the leaders meeting and publicly recognised at the earliest opportunity at a service to be known as the service of confirmation, or reception into full membership, preceded by the sacrament of Baptism, conducted by the Minister in the presence of the Church and including the sacrament of the Lord‟s supper.251
4.4.1.1.3 Adherents
These are made up of:
a) Members from other denominations who enjoy the fellowship of the Methodist church, be it on-trial members or full members of those churches, without any commitment to Methodist discipline.
b) Members whose marriage falls out of the recommended acceptance in Standing Orders 900 (3). Standing Orders 900 (3) states that those to be received into full membership of the church must produce proof of marriage. Where no marriage certificate is available each case should be considered by the leaders‟ meeting. The meeting should verify that the marriage is life long, monogamous and has been stable for at least five years. Thus, polygamist men, men married traditionally (roora) but who did not have a Christian wedding, women from a polygamist marriage (starting from the second wife onwards).
c) Those who come to the Methodist church for worship or fellowship but do not wish to become members.
d) Disciplined members.252
250 Methodist Church in Zimbabwe Deed of Church Order and Standing Order (Harare: Research and
Publication: 2009), 194-195.
251 Ibid., 191
252 Methodist Church in Zimbabwe Deed of Church Order and Standing Order (Harare: Research and
Most of those who fall under the category of adherents are not allowed to participate in any of the sacraments, that is, Baptism and Holy Communion, mainly because they do not qualify. Adherence in the Methodist Church cannot take up any leadership role, that is from being a class leader to being ordained. They are not to take up leading responsibilities in any of the Church organisations such as Sunday school, Girls Christian Union (GCU), Boys Christian Union (BCU), Men‟s Christian Union (MCU) and Ruwadzano (Women‟s fellowship) because they are not regarded as active members of the Methodist Church.
It is evident from this brief structure of membership that the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe‟s approach to sexuality seems to be patterned along the people‟s culture, where only heterosexual relationships and marriage are accepted as the norm for sexual relationships. For those who are homosexuals, their place in the Methodist Church is on the peripheries of Church structures. That is they can come and worship but since their relationships are listed among the unacceptable practices, that means they cannot be full members but only Adherents of the Church.
Having said that, it is extremely difficult for self professed homosexuals to have the nerve to attend Church even as adherents because of the tensions one is bound to arouse. On the other hand if they keep their sexuality to themselves they can become full members of the Church and participate in all of the sacraments with no problem. For homosexuals the major problem is that they are forced by the Church to stay in the closet or live a lie. Coming out would mean risking being ostracised, not only by the Church but by the whole society of which the Church is a part. For the homosexual it is a question of choosing between the two „devils‟: The first devil is being forced to live a lie and enjoy the benefits of socialising, interacting and having the privilege of being a full member of the Church, the second devil is being
honest by coming out but isolated and ostracised by the Church and society or even worse. The cost of being gay can be highly expensive.