From Memory to Healing: Engaging Justice, Reconciliation and Unity in a Wounded World

August 4, 2026 · 1 min read

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Tue, 08/04/2026 - 22:05

The 2026 May Macleod Lecture, Thursday 30 July 2026 United Theological College, Sydney, Australia Presented by Rev. Dr. Kuzipa Nalwamba

Mission and Evangelism Ecumenical theological education (ETE)

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File From Memory to Healing - Engaging Justice, Reconciliation and Unity in a Wounded World, May McLeod Lecture, 30.07.2026 (509.69 KB)

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Νίκος Αναγνώστου

The speech of Rev. Dr. Kuzipa Nalwamba sounds interesting, especially the passage "from memory to healing". In my village in Cyprus we still have many old memories of trauma, so I wonder how exactly he proposes to connect justice and unity without ignoring those memories. I would like to see the file.

Emma Carter

That phrase "from memory to healing" really stuck with me too, especially after hearing about the old wounds still carried in Cypriot villages. I wonder if Rev. Dr. Nalwamba talked about how justice has to start with naming the specific hurts out loud before any real unity can happen. Would love to read the full lecture if it's posted.

Ειρήνη Κωνσταντίνου

The phrase "from memory to healing" made an impression on me, as it did on Nikos. In my garden I still see the signs from the old drought of '89 and I know you can't ignore them. I wonder if the speech showed concrete steps how justice starts from saying the names of pain without breaking the unity.

Наталія Марченко

I liked how you all brought up specific wounds - both the Cyprus injuries and that '89 drought in the Garden. We in Poltava Oblast still have dents from the old fire in the barn in our garden, and I also think that first we need to name them out loud, and only then talk about reconciliation. I wonder if the Rev. Dr. Nalwamba some simple steps how to do it in the community.

Степан Попов

In our garden in Yaroslavl we can still see traces of the old cellar, which was flooded in 1998. Therefore, I also think that first we need to directly name these holes and wounds, and only then talk about reconciliation and unity. I wonder if the Rev. Dr. Nalwamba's lecture contains some simple steps on how to do this in practice, without fancy words.

Olimbia Prifti

Yeah, I liked how you all talk about concrete scars – like the ones in Eirin's garden from the '89 drought or the pothole in Natalia's yard. In Gjirokastër, I still see on the wall of our yard the traces of bullets from the time of the 1997 riots, and I think that without openly naming them, there is no way to talk about justice or unity. Did the Rev. Dr. Nalwamba any practical example from Africa how can this be done without forgetting?

Любовь Комарова

Yes, Stepan, I definitely noticed about the holes - in Samara, after the flood of 1998, there was also water in the lowlands for a long time, and without this “naming by name” nothing would heal. But it’s interesting about the simple steps in the lecture, I would also like to know if Nalwamba brought something like “start with a conversation in your community” or is this more at the level of large commissions. Have you tried such conversations yourself in Yaroslavl?

Timothy Parker

That bit about naming the hurts out loud before unity makes sense. Like Nikos's village in Cyprus or Irene's garden still showing the '89 drought scars, we've got old flood marks in the corner of our yard from '96 that my daughter still asks about. I wonder if Rev. Dr. Nalwamba gave any plain steps for how a local church actually does that naming without it turning into a fight.

Константин Смирнов

Stepan, here in Nizhny, too, after that flood of 1998, the water stood in the basement of the house for a week, and without directly saying “here it flooded and rotted,” nothing dried up. But it’s interesting, what do you think, what could be such a first simple step at the parish - maybe just gather people and list these “potholes” point by point? I won’t repeat after Lyubov, but the lecture, judging by the title, should have given at least a couple of working examples, and not just theory.

Тарас Шевчук

Yes, Natalya, it's good that you mentioned those potholes in Poltava Oblast - here in Lviv, on the old bus route near Pidzamche, traces of a warehouse fire in the 1990s are still visible, and people bypass them as if they don't notice. Rev. Dr. Nalwamba specifically suggested starting with something simple: name the wound out loud in a joint prayer, and then pray together for those who suffered. Have you already tried to do this in your community?

Роман Зайцев

Yes, Love, that’s right - Nalwamba just started small: “start with a conversation over tea in your community, call the pain by name, take your time with formulations.” In Yaroslavl, after one such conversation in the parish about old grievances against a neighboring church, things moved forward, albeit slowly. And in your Samara area after that water, how did it eventually heal, did time just help or did they do something else?

Χριστίνα Θεοδώρου

I really liked the phrase about the names of pains, Irene. In the religion class I give to the children, we try exactly this: to say by name small injustices in the class without a fight. I wonder, how are you doing in your garden with those '89 signs?

Κώστας Θεοδώρου

Good evening Christina. I liked that you try this with the kids in religious, because it's the little things that go unnamed that make them grow. In my garden I call the '89 scars "the old cracks" and every time I prune around them I remember not to bury them completely. Do you have a specific example from the class you have left?