Prairie Grove United Methodist Church issued the following announcement on Oct. 6.
Transitioning from pastoral duties to retirement can be daunting, but several pastors in Zimbabwe have taken a leap of faith, retired from active ministry and become small-business entrepreneurs.
More than half of Zimbabwe’s clergy retirees have become involved in agriculture, with the Revs. Zebediah Marewangepo, Kelvin Mwandira, Ananias Mutemeri and John Chinyati embarking on horticultural activities. The Rev. Miriam Kanjanda took a different path and invested in real estate.
“Poultry, rabbit, goat rearing and fruit farming is my new hobby, together with my wife, Mildred Tapiwa, a retired nurse,” said Marewangepo, 84. “We used to raise more than 500 chickens but are now downgrading as we age.”
As a young man, he trained as a carpenter, then earned various theology and Christian education degrees in the United States, India and the Netherlands.
“I am happy to venture into agriculture,” he said. “I am now mainly into horticulture.”
Community members and other clergy applaud the efforts of the clergy-turned-farmers.
“Rev. Marewangepo has always been a true reflection of the benefits of hard work,” said Loveness Mutezo, who chairs the Equitable Salaries and Compensation Committee of the Zimbabwe East Conference. “The Glen Lorne community is benefiting immensely from some of his projects such as maize, vegetables, poultry and fruit farming.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Prairie Grove United Methodist Church
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