At the beginning of November Embangweni mission station (now once again named Loudon) celebrated its centenary. I was invited out to give a public centenary lecture on Donald Fraser and the Ngoni Church. I went (at very short notice) with some ambivalence: it was going to be a short, rushed trip in the middle of my university term and I would only be in Malawi for a week. I returned entirely glad that I had gone, after a wonderful week of celebration and hospitality.

The celebrations began on the Friday, as many hundreds of people began arriving at Loudon. On Saturday there was a service in the church, followed by my lecture - attended by around one thousand people: everyone from primary school children to university professors; from eight year olds to at least one minister nearing one hundred. Saturday also saw an afternoon of drama, dancing and choir-singing: a time of great joy and celebration.

The main celebrations took place on the Sunday, and were attended by the First Vice- President of Malawi, Justin Malewezi, as well as several other leading politicians, Georgina Fraser (Donald and Agnes Fraser's great-granddaughter) and a crowd of between three and four thousand people. The day began with a moving wreath-laying ceremony at the grave of Donald Fraser, following which the Vice-President toured a special exhibition of Synod work, and visited the Deaf School.

The centenary service of worship was held in the open air, outside the church, like Fraser's great sacramental conventions a hundred years ago. It was a wonderful mix of the old and the new: old men dressed, traditional Ngoni toga-style, in the dark blue centenary cloth, young women with brightly coloured umbrellas to shade them and their babies from the strong sun: old, moving, graceful Ngoni hymns; wonderful vibrant young choirs, dancing as well as singing modern African hymns: passionate (and funny) sermons in both English and Chitumbuka: greetings from partner churches (Donald Walker brought greetings from the Church of Scotland, and I from the Presbyterian Church in Ireland).

Frequent reference was made, not only to the Frasers, but also to many of the local Christian pioneers - Jonathan Chirwa, Mawelera Tembo, Charles Chinula, Peter Thole, and a host more. The whole celebration gave witness to the fact that they had laid strong foundations in the faith, and in a real sense they were all present with us at what was an occasion of great joy.