This week another flag arrived at St. James. It is the flag of Zambia (East Africa). Zambia is the homeland of parishioner Bester Seemani and her daughter Suzen Fylke. We are happy to have Bester and Suzen with us and to be able to see their flag join the others that represent the lands of our parishioners who are first-generation in the U.S.
St. James welcomes all – from any land or nation. St. James continues to be a bridge parish – a bridge between races, nations, neighborhoods, political positions, personal identities and more.
The national flag of Zambia was adopted on October 24, 1964, Zambia’s independence day. Before that, Zambia was the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia and used a defaced Blue Ensign as its flag.
The current flag is used as both a national flag and an ensign. It is green with an orange-coloured African fish eagle in flight over a rectangular block of three vertical stripes, coloured from left to right: red, black and orange. The placement of the eagle and block of stripes at the flag’s fly is notable as most emblems and devices on flags are placed at centre or at the hoist. Green stands for the nation’s lush flora, red for the nation’s struggle for freedom, black for the Zambian people and orange for the land’s natural resources and mineral wealth. Additionally, the eagle flying above the coloured stripes is intended to represent the people’s ability to rise above the nation’s problems.