Archbishop Thabo Makgoba

To the Laos - To the People of God, May 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Fri, 18 May 2012 08:34:00 +0000

Dear People of God

This year is my fifth as Archbishop of Cape Town, and also sees the tenth anniversary of my consecration. All who are able are invited to share in celebrating this decade at a special service in St George’s Cathedral, Cape Town, at noon on 26 May!

Since becoming Metropolitan, I have continually been struck by the wonderful sense of common life shared across the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, and the great distances between us – not just in geography, but in some of the human realities that we experience. I pray we can sustain this sense of togetherness by sharing news from around our church and praying for one another. St Paul wrote in his first letter to the Thessalonians, ‘We always give thanks to God for all of you, and mention you in our prayers …’ (1 Thess 1:2). Let us bear each other up in the same way!

A particularly urgent and important prayer request come from Bishop Adam Taaso, who asks for our intercessions for Lesotho’s elections on 26 May. In recent weeks, there has been a lot of tension within and between different parties, with outbreaks of violence, even murder. The churches are working with others to promote peaceful, free elections, and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu – himself Bishop of Lesotho from 1976 to 1978 – visited at the end of April. He appealed for an end to violence, and invited all the political parties to sign a pledge to pursue peaceful elections and to respect the results in due course. Please pray that these promises may be kept.

Another topic for prayer is the diocesan synods of Namibia and Port Elizabeth, on 24-26 May. May they be times of fellowship, planning and renewing diocesan vision and mission, and also of commitment to mutual accountability in the things of God.

Our most distant Diocese is the mid-Atlantic Island of St Helena. Last month Bishop Richard Fenwick and his wife Jane spent a morning at Bishopscourt. They were on their way to the UK, for well-earned holiday, as well as a busy programme of visits to congregations and others who support the Diocese. Jane – whose birthday it was – showed us a wonderful slide show of Island life, and Bishop Richard spoke about the church’s priorities. Work is due to begin soon on St Helena’s first airport, and this will mean major changes to nearly every aspect of Island life. Building work will bring a large influx of workers, and further challenges will follow when it opens, making travel and tourism to and from St Helena far easier. Please keep ‘the Saints’ in your prayers.

One of the joys of travelling around the Province and meeting Anglicans is that again and again I feel my heart lifting, as we recognise one another not only as brothers and sisters in Christ, but as sharing something very special within the family of ACSA. It is a precious, holy, gift, to know that we belong together, held in the embrace of God’s steadfast love. It is as if well-springs of joyful encouragement overflow when we meet – an encouragement that strengthens and inspires us, whatever challenges we face.

Yet meeting together over such big distances is difficult and expensive. This is why Provincial Synod is held every three years, with Provincial Standing Committee in intervening years; and though all Dioceses are represented, only relatively few people participate. So we must ensure ACSA ‘meets’ in other, more comprehensive, ways, and nurture our fellowship in Christ, and partnership in the gospel. These letters are one way of contributing to this goal. Social media can also help, like my Facebook page (‘Archbishop Thabo Makgoba’) and blog (http://archbishop.anglicanchurchsa.org) and there are other FB pages for Provincial organisations, as well as Dioceses, Parishes and other groups. Please use what you can, and, whatever else, do pray!

But while all these are great for sharing news, they are not so good for in-depth reflection or debate. So let me first commend Southern Anglican: through its pages ACSA members can offer views on important questions that face the church, or face us as Christians engaging with the world around. Please do take the initiative to contact to the editor, Revd Loraine Tulleken, offering pieces for publication. This is our magazine, open to all, so let’s make it work by addressing what matters to us most, in its pages.

Second, I invite you all to join me at the Anglicans Ablaze Conference, ‘A Generation Rising Up’, from 3 to 6 October, in Johannesburg. With the backing of the Synod of Bishops, and supported by Growing the Church, this conference will help us celebrate together and explore more deeply our Provincial Vision – that we are ‘Anglicans who ACT: Anchored in the love of Christ, Committed to God’s mission, Transformed by the Holy Spirit’. For more information, contact GtC on office@growingthechurch.org.za or 021 712 0408, or see www.anglicansablaze.org. I look forward to meeting many of you there. If you cannot come in person, please ‘be present’ by praying. And whether you can come or not, I encourage your parish to follow the 6-week sermon series, with material for Bible studies, on the Vision and Mission Statement. Download this at www.growingthechurch.org.za/events.aspx.

Last month Lungi and I and our daughter Pabi were in London, where I preached at St Martin in the Fields at a service celebrating the silver wedding of Pabi’s godmother, Tricia Sibbons and her husband Douglas Board. We got to know Tricia when she was a warden at St Martins, which has historic links with St Marys’ in the City Cathedral, Johannesburg, where I was curate. Tricia was the first Director of the Trevor Huddleston Memorial Centre, and now chairs its Board. She and Douglas arranged for me to address a group of London lawyers and business people, challenging them not just to help such initiatives by donations, but to use their influence to change the politico-economic systems that continue to place politics and profits before people and planet.

I was able to pursue the same argument a fortnight later at the World Economic Forum Africa Summit in Addis Ababa, where I was a panel speaker in sessions on ‘Fostering Political Stability’ and ‘The Future Role of Civil Society’. Please keep praying that such opportunities continue to arise for me to make the voice of the church heard, promoting gospel values, moral living, and priorities that reflect God’s justice, among those who shape how our world is run. They need to hear the clear message that the current world order creates poverty, damages the planet, and puts all our futures in jeopardy. I have asked Prof Gerald West to compile Bible studies for 2013 to help us reflect theologically on economics. I am also working to promote initiatives that particularly help tackle youth unemployment – I shall say more about these next month.

Scripture says, ‘Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another … ’ (Heb 10:24-5). Let us work hard at doing this, in person, and in prayer.

Yours in the Service of Christ,

+Thabo Cape Town

'Winds of Change' initiative with King of the Royal Bafokeng Nation

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Wed, 09 May 2012 07:16:00 +0000

This press release was issued on 8 May 2012

Archbishop of Cape Town and King of the Royal Bafokeng Nation promote ‘Winds of Change’ upliftment initiative at the World Economic Forum Africa Summit

The Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, and Kgosi Leruo T Molotlegi, King of the Royal Bafokeng Nation, will this week present proposals for a new initiative, called ‘Winds of Change’, in Addis Ababa at the Africa Summit of the World Economic Forum.

Speaking in both private and public sessions of the summit, they will outline their ideas for pursuing collaboration between the private sector and faith-based NGOs to bring upliftment to communities marginalised from mainstream economic engagement.

In developing the initiative, they look to draw on resources, knowledge, experience, and networks from the African diaspora and other friends, especially in the US, where, among others, they are in touch with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Deloitte and Touche are helping ensure sound financial accountability.

Speaking before leaving Cape Town, Archbishop Makgoba said ‘His Majesty Kgosi Leruo and I are both committed to providing just, effective and innovative leadership in our time. In this, we aspire to follow the best example of our forefathers, both the Bafokeng kings, and my ancestor King Makgoba.’

‘Institutions must outlast their incumbents if they are to be sustainable, which is why they must be durable, organized, and efficient,’ explained Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi. ‘While using the mechanisms of the free market to grow our assets and secure investment, our real aim is to build institutions, and ensure that they continue to benefit the entire community equitably.’

By working with the Royal Bafokeng Nation, the initiative aims to pioneer new partnership models between the private and not-for-profit sectors, which can help people help themselves. They hope to forge new tools for helping impoverished communities achieve social, economic, and environmental sustainability true to its African heritage and traditions – tools which can then be employed elsewhere on the continent. Health, education, poverty reduction and employment creation are particular goals.

A formal launch of the Winds of Change initiative will be held later this year.

Note for editors: The World Economic Forum Africa Summit runs from 9 to 11 May 2012.

Issued by the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town

Further details of the Winds of Change initiative can be obtained from
Pumeza Magona: archpa@anglicanchurchsa.org.za, +27 21 763 1320

Leadership - Further Update

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:55:00 +0000

The latest news is that the broadcast is likely to be on Sunday at 9.30pm, with repeats on Monday: 10h30, Tuesday:22h30, Wednesday: 12h30, Thursday: 09h30, and Friday:23h30. We will just have to wait and see!

Leadership - Revised Broadcast Details

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:03:00 +0000

We have just heard this afternoon, that this episode of 'Judge for Yourself' (see prevous post) is now only going to be shown on ETVNews, ie DSTV 403, at 9pm on Sunday. When we find out if / when it will also be on ETV, this information will be posted on the blog.

Leadership - Judge for Yourself, ETV, 29 April, 18.30

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:57:00 +0000

Archbishop Thabo Magkoba will be appearing on ETV’s ‘Judge for Yourself’ programme, this coming Sunday, 29 April, at 18.30. The focus of the programme, hosted by Judge Dennis Davis, is Leadership, and he will participate alongside Minister Trevor Manuel and the organisational change expert, Louise van Rhyn.

Prayers and Assistance Urged for Sudan and South Sudan

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:39:00 +0000

The following statement was issued on 25 April 2012

The Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba, has urged support for the Archbishop of Sudan’s appeal for peace, as tensions rise between Sudan and South Sudan. Encouraging prayer and material assistance from his church, he also calls for the international community, through the various channels open to it, to take steps to promote an immediate cessation of hostilities and encourage progress in establishing a just and lasting settlement.

Writing to the Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA), Dr Makgoba said,

‘Dear Brothers in Christ, I commend to your urgent prayers, and those of our whole church, the appeal from Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul Yak, for peace, as tensions and violence mount between Sudan and South Sudan (see the Anglican Communion News Service release below). We pray for wisdom to prevail, so that full blown war may be averted, and a just and lasting settlement become more fully established between the two countries. We ask God to lead the two Presidents to continue pursuing peace, despite the challenges, and for the whole international community, including through such bodies as the African Union and United Nations, to take all appropriate steps to support and promote this process.

‘Let us also encourage giving what material support we are able to provide, towards those suffering as a result of this unrest and conflict. This can be given to Archbishop Daniel through the ACSA bank account.’

‘Yours in the Service of Christ

+Thabo Cape Town’

Issued by the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town
Inquiries: Ms Wendy Kelderman on 021-763-1320 (office hours)

Banking Details:

Standard Bank;
Cape Town Branch No 020 009;
Account No 07 056 2423;
Account Name: ACSA - Provincial Trusts’ Board
Reference: Sudan

Anglican Communion News Service Release: Archbishop of Sudan appeals for peace as tensions rise between neighbouring countries

April 24, 2012 - ACNS: http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/4/24/ACNS5092

By Anglican Alliance staff

The Anglican archbishop who was instrumental in delivering peace to Sudan has raised the spectre of full-blown war and appealed for restraint from the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan.
Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul Yak, leader of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, urged the two presidents to pursue peace in spite of the difficulties following the major clashes threatening the fragile peace that churches helped to broker in 2005.
In a statement released Monday, he wrote that he was deeply concerned that the conflict between the two countries has escalated close to full blown war. The current civil war began in 1983 and is one of the longest running conflicts in the world, costing nearly two million lives.
After a long history of violence and war since independence, a second major conflict broke out in 1983 between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and the Government of Sudan.
Archbishop Daniel’s statement comes at a low moment in the peace process. The signatories of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the agreement which provided the path for the countries to separate last year, have lost momentum to follow through with their commitments.
Archbishop Daniel urged presidents Salva Kiir Mayardit and Omar Al Bashir not to lose the great amount of goodwill from their peoples shown during the process that led to the independence of South Sudan. He appealed to the people of both countries to refuse to be incited to return to war by their leaderships.
‘We should learn from the 55 years of war not to return to it so hastily. The blood of those who fought for peace should not have been poured in vain. We call on all sides to exercise restraint and pursue peace at all costs. God is on the side of those who seek peace.’
Unusually this week, as tensions both side of the border have reached a high, there have been attacks against Christian churches in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital. Christians and Muslims across the usually tolerant city have joined together in condemning the violence.

Thanksgiving Service for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:39:00 +0000

Below are the sermon and blessing from the Service of Thanksgiving to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, held in St Alban's Cathedral, Pretoria, on 17 April 2012, in the presence of Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal.

The Sermon

1 Timothy 2:1-6

May I speak in the name of God, who desires for us a quiet and peaceable life, lived in all godliness and dignity.

Your Royal Highness, Vice-Admiral Laurence, Excellencies, honoured guests, Cathedral Chapter and Choir, Choirs of Pretoria Girls’ and Pretoria Boys’ High Schools, brothers and sisters in Christ, friends, it is a great privilege to reflect on today’s joyful celebrations of the Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee, not only as Queen of England, but also as head of the Commonwealth.

When South Africa finally achieved democracy in 1994, re-joining the Commonwealth was one of our new government’s first priorities. The old South Africa was, of course, among its founders. Indeed, the Afrikaner statesman, Jan Smuts, was among the first to propose such a network of nations, with historic ties to the British Crown.

Yet some asked in 1994 – and some continue to ask – why, after our long struggle for freedom, we should want to link ourselves to this body, with – let us be honest – roots in both colonialism and our own traumatic past. But today’s South Africans, more than most people, know that none of us need remain victims of our past. And at Eastertide, most of all, we affirm that no situation is beyond redemptive transformation, new life, and fruitful growth.

Today’s Commonwealth is vastly different from that envisaged by its founders. Its modern identity – reflected in the Singapore Declaration of 1971 – is a voluntary association of nations who believe that ‘international peace and order are essential to the security and prosperity of mankind’. It is committed to individual liberty, human rights and good governance, upheld by the rule of law within effectively functioning democracies. All this, of course, lies at the heart of the new South African Constitution.

It also lies at the heart of God’s desires for human society – as you read for us, Your Royal Highness. This is the ‘quiet and peaceable life’, lived ‘in all godliness and dignity’, so we might come to ‘knowledge of the truth’. Knowing God’s truth relates not only to our eternal destiny, but is also found in tangibly experiencing the liberty and abundant life promised by Christ Jesus – ‘the one mediator between God and humanity’ – in every area of human existence.

This good news, Christ’s gospel, should touch our souls, certainly; but also our hearts, minds and physical well-being, here and now: as individuals, and in our societies, nations and political systems. As I see it, this ranges from the abolition of material poverty, through to the freedom of speech of individuals and media. It also entails the provision of neutral secular space in which all faiths and none may be freely followed; as everyone enjoys tangible opportunity and encouragement to aspire to the greatest good of all.

When we live like this, says St Paul, ‘it is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour.’ Therefore all in authority should expect citizens to hold them to such ideals, even as we also undertake to pray for God’s help – that leaders might have wisdom to know the right path to pursue, and the strength and courage to follow it.

In this, we also look to God, in Jesus Christ, for a true understanding of right leadership. As Holy Week and Easter remind us, it is the leadership of service, the readiness to dedicate his whole life to the responsibilities entrusted to him. We pray that the good example of the Queen – whose life has been so marked by these characteristics, and who says so clearly that she tries to follow Christ’s example – … we pray that her example may be emulated throughout the Commonwealth and beyond: in servant leadership, dedicated to the well-being of nations and peoples, especially those in greatest need.

The Commonwealth is a remarkable body, not least in the diversity of its members. This is both challenge and strength. I am reminded of the Scriptural image of the Body of Christ. St Paul writes of the great diversity – even at times, mutual incomprehension – that there is between seeing eyes and hearing ears, between hands and feet. But all hold together in Christ. Enriched by one another’s presence, they are able to do far more together than they could apart. This is something that a similar international association, the Anglican Communion, would do well to remember!

It is also our hope for the Commonwealth, united through the largely gospel-shaped principles outlined in the Singapore Declaration. We look especially to Britain, to be a servant leader within, and beyond, the Commonwealth – helping us all breathe vibrant life into the principles we share, and further peace with justice throughout the world. Yet South Africa, alongside other members, must also make our contribution to the Commonwealth’s work – of which education is one priority area, very close to my heart. Another is the environment. It is perhaps a happy coincidence that the main Diamond Jubilee celebrations fall on World Environment Day – both point us to faithful stewardship of whatever responsibilities are entrusted to us.

Today we celebrate a long life of faithful stewardship. Indeed, it was more than sixty years ago, when, in 1947, the young Princess Elizabeth first addressed the Commonwealth. And it was here in South Africa – in Cape Town to be exact – where she spoke these famous words: ‘I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service.’

And so, with great joy in our hearts, we thank the ‘God of Grace’ of whom we earlier sang, for his ‘glorious faithfulness’, and for hers; that as Queen, she has been enabled to fulfil her promise, to such a great degree. We offer her our heartfelt congratulations, and our prayers: both our prayers of thanksgiving for this life of dedicated service; and our intercessions that she may continue to walk in the blessed ways of the Lord in all that still lies ahead. And may, as we also sang, our Great Redeemer continue to guide each one of us, and may we all, throughout our lives, ever give him our songs and our praises.

Amen.

The Blessing

God the Father,
for the coming of whose kingdom we pray,
grant his wisdom and guidance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second,
and to all in authority;

God the Son,
who is the Prince of Peace,
grant all people a quiet and peaceable life,
of godliness and dignity;

God the Holy Spirit,
who strengthens our inner being by his power,
grant us the surpassing knowledge of his truth,
and the immeasurable fullness of his love;

Go forth into the world in peace, be of good courage,
fight the good fight of faith, that you may finish your course with joy;
and the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you, and remain with you always. Amen

To the Laos - To the People of God, Easter 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:27:00 +0000

Alleluia! Christ is risen! We are risen! Alleluia!

Dear People of God

I wish you a blessed and joyful Easter! Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, has taken away the sins of the world – by his death he has destroyed death, and by his rising he has restored us to eternal life. And so we are delivered from the bondage of sin and the fear of death, into the glorious liberty of the Children of God. Alleluia, indeed!

May God our Father, who, by his Spirit, raised his Son from death, grant us grace to walk with him in his risen life. May we all be people who demonstrate what it is to receive the redemptive power of the resurrection, working within every aspect of our lives. To show in practice God’s on-going work of healing and wholeness, of shaping us in increasing Christ-likeness, is one of the most effective ways of sharing the gospel with the world around. All of us, as individuals, and in our church communities, should be places where the risen Christ is seen to be alive, so others may encounter him. It is not enough for us to preach the resurrection to others – we should also enjoy the fullness of all that Christ has won for us in our own lives and relationships!

We also pray for the fullness of the resurrection to be experienced throughout our world – in Syria, and across the Middle East; and in Mali, in Sudan and South Sudan, in Zimbabwe, and in all the troubled places of our continent. We pray for this also in every country of our Province, especially in situations of material poverty and all other forms of impoverishment (for example, in the provision of education, health services, water and sanitation), where there is injustice and unfairness (including in political structures and/or their implementation), and wherever truth (such as through media freedom) and abundant life are constrained instead of being encouraged to flourish.

Renewed life and hope are God’s ‘theme tune’ for life within our congregations, our churches, our dioceses – calling us joyfully and confidently onwards, through whatever challenges we face. Renewed life and hope are also God’s desire and promise to the world-wide Anglican Communion.

As you may know, the Church of England has voted not to adopt the Anglican Covenant that has been sent to all the Member Churches of the Communion for consideration. This does not mean that the Covenant lapses. Nor does not mean an end to the fundamental underlying questions which the Covenant is intended to address. We still need to ask ourselves: who do we believe ourselves called to be by God, and what does it mean to speak of an Anglican ‘Communion’ – rather than, say, a ‘Federation’ or other form of association. A ‘Communion’ is so much more – a true family of churches, within the body of Christ, as so many of us have experienced, for example, through exchanges with link Dioceses. We feel a closeness through recognising our ‘family resemblance’, even when we are from very different parts of the world, and the frequently used language of ‘bonds of affection’ resonates clearly.

But how can we order our international institutional life, and the relationships between Provinces, in ways that reflect this experience, and our theological understanding of the unity with diversity that is found in belonging together as members of the body of Christ, as Scripture describes? Provinces have always been legally independent (reflecting their separate Constitutions and Canons); while the ‘Instruments of Communion’ have only been advisory, rightly respecting Provinces’ status under canon law. But such legal independence can allow, and even promote comfortableness with, a separateness that has not always been sufficiently balanced by more organic and spiritual interrelationships. We have wrestled over decades with how to get this balance right, for example, in commitments to ‘Mutual Responsibility and Interdependence in the Body of Christ’ made at the 1963 Toronto Congress. The Communion said then ‘our unity in Christ, expressed in our full communion, is the most profound bond among us, in all our political and racial and cultural diversity’, and therefore ‘our need is … to understand how God has led us, through the sometimes painful history of our time, to see the gifts of freedom and communion in their great terms, and to live up to them.’ The Congress warned ‘if we are not responsible stewards of what Christ has given us, we will lose even what we have.’

My great concern is that the poor handling of disagreements on human sexuality is evidence that we have not learnt the lessons of that time, and have not been ‘responsible’. We have been content to drift apart in our Provinces, on the basis of legal separateness, so that when differences arose we had lost our ability to connect and work through them in love together. If we are serious about living as a global ‘Communion’, we must address this. I still believe that the Covenant offers us an excellent framework for doing so, if we are prepared to work for it to achieve its full potential. Perhaps some of us must take a lead in exploring how it can reach its promise, on behalf of others who are unable to take that step at present. Seven Provinces have already affirmed the Covenant, and we took the first step to do so at the last Provincial Synod. I very much hope we shall ratify this decision next year.

Yet we should not do so lightly, but in full awareness that we are committing ourselves to live in mutual interdependence – even as we uphold non-interference in one another’s affairs. I have written more about the Covenant in two long letters which you can read on line at http://archbishop.anglicanchurchsa.org/2012/01/necessary-covenant.html and http://archbishop.anglicanchurchsa.org/2012/03/anglican-covenant-letter-to-archbishop.html. I know some dioceses have discussed the Covenant. If you have not, please do take time to look at it, and do forward any comments you have to the Provincial Executive Officer, at peo@anglicanchurchsa.org.za.

Meanwhile, I hope you have seen my tribute to Dr Rowan Williams, who stands down at the end of the year. We have been inordinately privileged to have had such an able theologian and deeply spiritual thinker, as Archbishop of Canterbury. (See http://archbishop.anglicanchurchsa.org/2012/03/archbishoip-of-canterbury.html). The Anglican Communion Office is inviting all Anglicans around the world to share their view on the priorities for the ministry of the next Archbishop of Canterbury, through their website at http://www.anglicancommunion.org/communion/abc/comments.cfm. Most of all please pray for all involved in the appointment process.

Yours in the Service of Christ, crucified and raised for our redemption,

+Thabo Cape Town

Nedbank Chair's Right to Criticise Government

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 16:01:00 +0000

The following press release was issued on 15 April 2012

Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba has defended the right of business leader Reuel Khoza to criticise the government and has called for the controversy over his views to be transformed into a thorough debate on South Africa's economic policies.

He also said in a statement that the suggestion by ANC General Secretary Gwede Mantashe that Nedbank could lose government business over the criticism was "very worrying," adding: "This is a free and democratic society, where all of us, including business, have the right to criticise government and the governing party without being punished for it. I say, don't tackle the man, tackle the ball."

The full text of Archbishop Makgoba's statement follows:

Nedbank Chairperson Reuel Khoza has taken a brave stand in expressing some of the critical ethical and moral challenges facing South Africa today. As a citizen of a constitutional democracy, he is well within his rights to have raised his concerns, just as government ministers and the General Secretary of the ANC are within their rights to have responded robustly.

However, General Secretary Gwede Mantashe's statement in the New Age, that "One of the issues that must be discussed in earnest is whether banking with an institution that sees government as foolish and insane makes any sense," is very worrying.

This is a free and democratic society, where all of us, including business, have the right to criticise government and the governing party without being punished for it. I say, don't tackle the man: tackle the ball.

Business in South Africa has as much right as any of us, and indeed a responsibility, to play its role in achieving social cohesion through constructive engagement.

However, the ANC and contributors to the debate such as Minister Blade Nzimande also raise important issues which must not be lost amid the controversy. What is the ideal economic policy for South Africa, and why is this debate generating such anger? We need a broad open debate.

All of us need to seize this opportunity to raise our concerns, and together build a new consensus on economic policy. Let South Africans talk freely – no one should be afraid to express their opinions.

Archbishop Makgoba may be contacted on 071 362 8510.

Issued by the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town
Inquiries: Ms Wendy Kelderman on 021-763-1320 (office hours)

Message to the Archbishop of the Sudan on the Latest Violence

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:41:00 +0000

The following press release was issued on 12 April 2012.

Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town sends Message to the Archbishop of Sudan on Latest Violence

The Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town has written to the Most Revd Dr Daniel Deng Bul Yak, Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan, expressing the support of his church in the light of increasing tension and violence between Sudan and South Sudan. Writing in Easter Week, Dr Makgoba highlights his ‘reflections on what it means to be each other’s neighbours in living out the renewed hope of Eastertide’. He assures Dr Deng of prayers for a successful outcome to negotiations, delivering a settlement between Sudan and South Sudan ‘which will bring lasting peace with justice to both nations and all who live within their borders’ and also offers prayers for those killed, bereaved, injured or otherwise harmed by the violence.

The full text of the letter follows below.

Issued by the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town
Inquiries: Ms Wendy Kelderman on 021-763-1320 (office hours)

Letter to the Most Revd Dr Daniel Deng Bul Yak, Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan

My Dear Brother in Christ,

The good news of Easter, and my own reflections on what it means to be each other’s neighbours in living out the renewed hope of Eastertide, compel me to write to you, to assure you of our continued support and prayers for you and the people of the Episcopal Church of Sudan and indeed all the people of the Sudan and South Sudan, especially in the light of news of increasing tension and violence.

You are much on our hearts and on our minds, as we see the media reports, and so we pray that efforts to resume negotiations and achieve a peaceful resolution may be successful, and that both nations may establish true justice and peace for all.

As we pray for your country and faithful Christians there, we also think and pray beyond our household of faith and pray for the souls of all the departed, and for all who are injured, bereaved, or harmed in any way by the renewed conflicts. We also pray for implementation of a real peace between the two countries and the successful outcome of negotiations.

May Sudan and South Sudan come to a settlement which will bring lasting peace with justice to both nations and all who live within their borders. And in this, may you and your church be blessed, and be a blessing to others in sharing the sure and certain hope that Jesus Christ has won for us all.

Yours in the service of Christ, crucified and raised to new life for the redemption of the world,

+Thabo Cape Town

Easter Vigil at St George's Cathedral, Cape Town

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:26:00 +0000

The following sermon was preached at the Easter Vigil Service at St George's Cathedral, Cape Town, on 7 April 2012.

Romans 6:3-11; Mark 16:1-8

Alleluia, Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Sisters and Brothers in Christ, may all the fullness of Easter resurrection life be yours!

I was reflecting earlier that this is my fifth Easter with you, and I realise that I am more than well settled, because I am now finding that the sort of questions I get from journalists at this time of year are beginning to sound all too familiar.

So, for example, I’ve had one journalist asking what my Easter message would be to MTN, given the accusations that they are undermining South Africa’s values, in their relationships in Iran; and another asked me what I thought of the Red Bull advert; and then there was the question about ‘halaal’ hot cross buns – where, perhaps a little flippantly, I answered that Christians should take this as encouragement to share them with their Muslim neighbours!

And then came the Sunday Times, asking for my response to the news that Pastor Ray McCauley’s Rhema Church is planting a congregation at Silverstar Casino on the West Rand. Well, I hope they carry that part of my answer in which I say that the Holy Spirit leads God’s people to proclaim the gospel anywhere and everywhere, and so if the Holy Spirit has led Rhema to open a church at the casino, well, I hope they won’t gamble, but I also hope they will persevere in preaching the good news of Jesus Christ as I’m sure people there need to hear it!

For this is our Easter good news: Jesus, who was crucified, has been raised! And we who have been united with his death in baptism, are united within him also in his risen life! Yet what does it mean for you to be united with him in his risen life? What does it mean for me, and in my responding to the sort of questions I’ve just outlined?

The gospel of St Mark, probably the oldest account we have in Scripture, tells us of how the women learnt that Jesus had been raised; a whole new way of life has begun – but it does not tell us what happened next. There is a lesson here for us. We know Jesus has been raised, and so we have been raised too. Yet it is for us to find out what this resurrection means for us, here and now.

The young man points us in the right direction. He says to the women at the tomb ‘He is going ahead of you.’ Jesus leads us on, on whatever life’s journey has in store for us. All of us must be ready to be led onwards in our spiritual pilgrimage. Some of us will do that through actual physical pilgrimages, for example to the Holy Land. Perhaps coming to the Cathedral tonight is a step on your journey of faith.

Outer journeying is often accompanied by inner journeying. It may just be to a quiet day with the Centre of Christian Spirituality, or for a weekend away. Some go on longer retreats. Perhaps earlier this week you walked the ‘Stations of the city’ in the company of others – from other churches, even from other faiths. Companions on the journey are often important in helping us seek the face of God – as the two disciples found on the road to Emmaus, when they realised that it was Jesus with whom they had walked.

Our gospel reading reminds us that Easter has come to us all – and yet we are also called forwards, into new life, by Jesus who goes ahead of us. What might this mean for you, together, as the Cathedral family. You too are at a point where a whole new way of life has begun. It is less than a year since I installed your Dean, and here is he now with a completely fresh clergy team. A new way of life has begun for the Cathedral and its people – but, like the first disciples, we too are still finding out what this will mean for us.

Some of you may know the group development model described as ‘Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing’. This lays out helpfully the sort of stages that people go through, when some new chapter is begun. Let me explain. First comes ‘forming’ – when a new reality is created, with all its exciting hopes and expectations! People get to know one another, but are all still on best behaviour as we start to consider the challenges ahead from our new perspectives!

And there are certainly plenty of challenges – not least, the roof! But there are also questions about what it means to be at the heart of the city, at a time of so many political and socio-economic changes. And what of our role in the Diocese, the Anglican Church in Southern Africa, and within the world-wide Anglican Communion, where we have so many friends, such strong ties – and yet where there are also many changes happening. We must not forget what is perhaps the primary calling – as a Christian community, which must be nurtured in its life of worship, witness and service.

You may have noticed that I am using the words ‘we’ and ‘our’ rather a lot! For I too have a spiritual home here – not only on festivals, but also often at the 8am Sunday service, when, if I am not busy elsewhere, it is a joy to slide quietly into my seat, and be fed through being part of this family of God. And therefore it is my commitment to help you in discovering and living out God’s vision for your lives. So I share with you, in this process of wrestling with the questions of the Cathedral’s new calling.

And alongside all these challenges come the other questions, of what new beginnings come with this new Dean, to whom God has given many different gifts, different experiences and skills, a different personality and character, to his predecessor – and the same is true of the full time clergy team.

There is much promise of newness of life – but such change can be very unsettling, once the honeymoon period is over. And so then comes the storming! All the different ideas about who we are and what we should be doing come into the open, where they compete for consideration. This needs to happen, if we are to go forwards. At best it is constructive brainstorming – but sometimes it can be more tempestuous, as it stirs up unspoken assumptions, and forces us to look more radically at who we are and where we should be going.

Yet we should not be afraid. As the young man at the tomb said to the women, ‘Do not be alarmed.’ For the risen Christ may well be deliberately leading us on a more profound journey of reflection and discovery than we had anticipated. We can be confident that – by his grace, and holy trust, tolerance and patience growing among us – God will help us take on this deeper task of discernment, and find his way forward for us together.

As we seek the face of God himself, we will come to see in him a shared vision and common goals, and so develop shared understandings of how we should pursue these. This is called the ‘norming’ stage. We establish a ‘new norm’, a common view of our vocation and how we will give expression to it, within our walls and in engagement with the community around.

And the better we can establish such a new norm, the better we are likely then to do in ‘performing’ – in actually achieving this vision – in living it out in fruitful lives. For we know that our ultimate calling, in following Jesus, is to abide in him and ‘bear the fruit that will last’.

Yet following Jesus can be demanding – for, as he tells us, this means taking up our crosses. As we go forward, there may be aspects of our old life that we have to leave behind: which we have, so to speak, to put to death. When this happens, we should not be surprised to find ourselves grieving. This is natural. But God comforts those who bring their griefs to him – as Jesus promised in the beatitudes. The sorrow of Good Friday gives way to the joy of Easter. And the joy of Easter flows through us to the world – it is the basis of our ‘performing’, bearing fruit wherever we are called.

So let us share in reflecting on how to make the Easter message tangible within and beyond these walls. Please pray with and for me too, as I consider how to share the good news that Christ is risen in concrete ways some of the areas to which I am called. Easter people, like the Old Testament prophets, are to be a prophetic and consistent voice in our land: a voice of prayer to God, and of conscience to our leaders. We are both to intercede, and to demand justice and mercy for all. Informal settlements are especially on my heart – from Khayelitsha’s water and sanitation needs, to the people of Langa, or Kennedy Road near Durban, following devastating fires last month, last week. Therefore let us pray, and work, for proper housing, safety, sanitation and water for everyone, as part of the abundant life which the Risen Jesus Christ offers.

So, finally, dear people of God of St George’s Cathedral – may all the fullness of Christ’s resurrection life be yours! And do not be alarmed, if new life is unsettling. Know that the risen Christ is going ahead of you – and as you follow him, you will find that all he has told you, all his promises, are true.

Alleluia, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Chrism Eucharist and Renewal of Clergy Vows

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:53:00 +0000

The following sermon was preached at the Chrism Eucharist with the Renewal of Clergy Vows, at St Thomas' Church, Rondebosch, on 5 April 2012.

Isaiah 61:1-9; Revelation 1:4b-8; Luke 4:16-21

May I speak in the name of the living God, who is, and was and is to come. Amen.

[Expressions of thanks to all who share in the work of the Diocese, and to all who helped in the preparation of this service.]

Once again we hear those familiar words, from Old and New Testaments: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me’. The Spirit of the Lord comes upon Jesus Christ, so that he might fulfil his calling. And we believe that the Spirit of the Lord comes upon us, so we, in our turn, too may fulfil our own God-given vocation.

God’s Spirit comes upon all Christians – dwelling within each one of us, as signified in our baptism. And we pray for God’s Spirit to come in a particular way upon those called to ordained ministry. But we also believe God’s Spirit comes upon the body of Christ, so that together, we, his church, may also fulfil our God-given calling.

It is easy to forget this, in our individualistic society. But today is a good day to consider this, as we come together specifically in the Eucharistic fellowship of the Diocese, in the koinonia of communion, in which we are inevitably bound with one another through together being ‘in Christ’. Looking back, and looking ahead, as my fifth year here begins, I am confident of the work of the Holy Spirit among us – indwelling our structures, our processes, our institutional life.

I reflected on some of this at Diocesan Standing Committee – how we have moved forward with a sense of doing ‘service delivery with the gospel’ within our churches, within our city, especially through the life that God’s Spirit is breathing into Chapter 20 of the Diocesan Acts, with its provisions for various task teams. We have made huge progress with the Social Development Forum. We are taking important steps forward with music and liturgy; and with corporate governance practices – King III, the Audit Committee, and the Remuneration Committee. We are now seeking out skilled individuals to serve on these, and on the Stewardship Giving Committee. And though we are budgeting for a deficit in running costs this year, this does not undermine the bigger picture which is that our overall Diocesan finances are actually in a very good place. Through all of these, and through the ‘Renew Africa Season’ that will begin later this year, we are strengthening our capacity for renewal and growth.

And so we see the Spirit’s work among us, not only in what we see as the obviously ‘spiritual’ - being rooted in Scripture and in prayer – but also across the whole breadth of the life of faith, the life of ‘worship, witness and service’. This calls us to be faithful stewards of our resources – and I don’t just mean the environment, though that is vital, but in the ordering of our time, our working lives, our critical engagement with society. We must use all these resources well, so that we can strive towards our God-given potential, to fulfil our God-given vocation of preaching redemption from sin and death, and demonstrating God’s limitless loving care for God’s people, and God’s creation.

God’s Spirit is upon us, calling us forward, often into untrodden territory. God’s Spirit challenges us to use old tools to dig deep and find newness of life. God’s Spirit is pressing us to have a prophetic ministry – perhaps declaring the gospel in new areas.

For myself, I had not expected when I came to Cape Town to spend so much time on questions of water and sanitation – which has led some to call me ‘the toilets Archbishop’! Yet I am sure that Jesus, who was not afraid to embrace unclean lepers, would not have held back when seeing people in such need; with their safety and dignity compromised by the lack of these basic constitutional provisions.

And I did not expect to spend so much time with the Press Freedom Commission (and I am happy to say we have now sent our report for editing and printing; and I hope you will read it when it is published). The same is true of opposing the Protection of State Information Bill. Yet Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life – and so how can we allow the suppression of the truth, which will only undermine the ability of our society to live in ways that promote abundant life for all?

Within the Church, as both ACSA and our Diocese move from vision and planning to implementation, I find myself called to spend more time and energy on fund-raising. I also find I need to do more reflecting and acting on how faith relates to money and wider economic questions – which, I have to say, is an area I generally prefer to leave to others!

To be a Christian, to place ourselves in the hands of the living God, to be open to his Spirit coming upon us, is a risky business! It is to lay ourselves open to being taken outside our comfort zones. This is as true of us as congregations and Diocese, as it is of us as individuals. And it is as true of our outer lives as it is of our inner spiritual journeys.

There is no part of our lives – together, or as individuals – in which God’s Spirit will not interfere! He interferes for our own good, and for the good of those to whom he sends us! Therefore, today, we recommit ourselves to live dangerously, following wherever God’s Spirit leads!

This requires us, in our busy schedules, in the turmoil of changing society, to make space and time to be open to the Spirit coming upon us; to listen to that still, small voice; and to be ready to respond when we hear the call ‘follow me’. There should be no tension between preaching the good news of eternal life and the coming of God’s kingdom; and the living out of the kingdom’s eternal values, such as justice and mercy – in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.

Sometimes, I know, I get the balance of life wrong – in my spirituality, and in how I direct my time and energies. And when I get it wrong, I feel it. Imbalance in my spiritual equilibrium tells me; unease in my body tells me – and my staff and my family tell me too, often in more explicit ways!!

But the answer is not to draw back, and attempt to live a safe life on the surface. There we are too much at the mercy of being tossed about on the ups and downs of the waves caused by the fickle changing winds in today’s turbulent world. Instead, we need deeper sea anchors – that reach down into the bottomless depths of God’s flowing Spirit – depths where we perhaps cannot see clearly, but where we feel the certainty of God’s presence, steadily engaging us.

St Augustine said that the presence and knowledge of God is ‘both sought in order that it may be found more sweetly, and found in order that it may be sought more eagerly’. The more we find him, the more we yearn for him, and the more we seek him – this is surely the pattern of our lives. For, as St Augustine also said, if we think we have understood God, then what we have understood is not God – for God is always taking us beyond ourselves, and beyond our capacity to pin him down.

We need to remember this, for sometimes it can be dangerous to say ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me’ – for it can tempt us to believe that we have somehow ‘arrived’. Yet becoming a Christian, or being ordained, is not an arrival – it is a beginning!

So, on the one hand, all Christians are to follow Jesus Christ, empowered by the same Spirit, in bringing good news wherever there is impoverishment; in proclaiming release to all who are held captive, imprisoned, trapped and confined; in declaring the recovery of sight to the blind, and so forth. But on the other hand, we also still need to keep hearing this good news, in finding release, in having our blindness healed, and so on.

Indeed, I have been personally challenged by this realisation, in pondering what it means to do ‘service delivery with the gospel’ at the level of parish / pastoral charge and local community; and of individuals within parishes / pastoral charges and local communities. If we want individuals and communities to know and experience for themselves what such promises mean, it is not enough for us just to declare them. We too must model what it means to receive the gospel, and go on receiving it in ever greater fullness.

Do we, as clergy, as Christian leaders, show our people what it means to acknowledge our own poverty and receive God’s good news? Do we demonstrate in our own lives God’s release, God’s liberty, from what holds us back, from what oppresses or traps or constrains us? Do we live allowing our own blind spots to be touched, and have our eyes opened to new ways of seeing? Do we show that we are prepared to be taken outside our comfort zones – in our inner life, and in our outer life – following God’s calling, however disconcerting? And do we help the communities within our local churches demonstrate what it means to receive the good news of the gospel – so that we can be a model for the wider communities around us to receive this good news?

I suspect it is sometimes far easier to preach these things to others, than to receive them ourselves! But if we are not open to receive, how can we expect others also to receive?

Perhaps this Triduum, the challenge for us who are preaching and teaching is to listen for ourselves to the word we believe God is giving us to share with others! Perhaps in the next few days we need to reflect more not on how we can bring this good news to others, but more on where we need to receive it ourselves. For we know that there is no limit to the redemptive work that God desires to do among his people – until everything in heaven and earth is reconciled to God by the blood of the cross (Col 1:20).

So this year, let our lives not only reflect what it means to communicate the continuing work of Christ’s passion, his death and resurrection – but also what it means to receive that continuing work within our own lives: as clergy, as Christians, as congregations, and as a Diocese. In the coming days, we shall, with great solemnity and great joy, commemorate the glorious story of our redemption through Christ’s death and resurrection.

My prayer for us all is that our lives may be places where the unfolding of this glorious story, this holy mystery, may be truly visible.

So may we be those, of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke in the last verse of our first reading: ‘All who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.’ And may we bless others, by showing them how they too may receive God’s blessing. A holy and blessed Easter to you all. Amen

Fire in Kennedy Road

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:28:00 +0000

The following press release was issued on 4 April 2012.

The Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba has sent his condolences and the assurance of his continued support to the people of the Kennedy Road settlement after a tragic fire swept through their community on Tuesday.

The Archbishop conveyed the message through a letter to the Rt Revd Rubin Phillip, Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Natal. He said in a statement:

"We are deeply saddened in Holy Week to learn of the fire which has ravaged the little which the people and community still possessed. I understand that it is estimated that at least 1000 people are now homeless.

"I know of the journey of the people of Kennedy Road: of their struggle for descent housing, for dignity and respect and the realisation of their constitutional rights. As we weep with them at this time, we continue to support their call for dignity and justice, and we appeal to our leaders and to the general population to help provide people with proper houses, and to improve the provision clean water and decent sanitation.

"May the message of Easter bring consolation to the community and a resolve to continue their fight for better housing, sanitation and water, as well as for safety."

Issued by the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town
Inquiries: Wendy Kelderman on 021- 763-1320 (office hours)

Anglican Covenant: Letter to the Archbishop of York

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 07:42:00 +0000

The following letter was sent to the Archbishop of York on 15 March 2012. The Dioceses of York and Cape Town (together with False Bay and Saldanha Bay) share a Companion Link.

My dear brother in Christ

I send my love and my prayers to you and your Diocese, our beloved partners in the gospel, as you prepare for your Diocesan Synod next month, asking that by his Spirit, God may bless you with his grace and presence, and lead you into all truth.

Reflecting on the particular link we share within the Anglican Communion has prompted me to consider further the nature of relationships within the Communion, and what indeed it means to speak of ourselves as Communion, particularly in light of current debates around the Covenant. As you know, in our last Provincial Synod, the Anglican Church of Southern Africa took the decision to proceed with adopting the Covenant – a move which we will need to ratify at our next meeting, in 2013, to complete the process. There are many reasons why we feel that far greater potential to walk in the paths God has prepared for us both as a Province, and within the Communion as a whole, lies in adopting the Covenant than in doing otherwise.

When I came to your Clergy Conference in September 2010, when people from Cape Town, Saldanha Bay and False Bay Dioceses come to York, and when we receive visits from you, we know that this is far more than merely a convenient network through which each of us stands to gain something. And though we refer to our relationship as a ‘Companion Link’, the word which comes to mind when I recall my time with you at the University of Lancaster is that of family – of flesh and blood inextricably belonging together. And of course, as Christians, we know this belonging together comes through the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ whose passion and resurrection, the source of our redemption, are at the heart of our Lent observances and our Easter reaffirmation of the promises of our baptism. In these, as Scripture reminds us, we are buried and raised with him (Col 2:12). This is true koinonia, true Communion – united with one another, through being united with him.

This organic sense of belonging, of being members together of the same family, has been of intense importance to us in Southern Africa, over many decades. In my Epiphany letter to Archbishop Rowan (http://archbishop.anglicanchurchsa.org/2012/01/necessary-covenant.html), I recalled how we knew we were not alone during the dark days of apartheid. There was never any question over whether or not we would have support from elsewhere in the Communion – because we were one family, and our family would always be there for us when we needed it. When then Bishop Tutu was hauled before a Commission designed to ruin him and the South African Council of Churches, the authorities were at a loss to understand how Archbishops and Bishops from around the Anglican world came of their own volition to give testimony in solidarity with him, saying ‘If you touch one of us, you touch us all.’ And just last year I was privileged to share that same assurance with Bishop Chad of Harare and his clergy and people, when I travelled to Zimbabwe with Archbishop Rowan.

We need to know that we are not alone, that we are part of a wider belonging, when life is hard. But we need it too when life is easy – requiring interaction with perspectives and preoccupations beyond our own, recognising God speaks in many ways, one of which is through other members of the body of Christ. We cannot grow into becoming the people we are called to be without also growing into the relationship to which God calls us within Christ’s body.

Now, some will say, all this can happen without the Anglican Covenant. And there is of course considerable truth in this. But it seems to me that the Covenant has the potential to help us do it far better – provided we commit ourselves to making the Covenant work. For the Covenant does not guarantee a cast iron solution to all our problems – for frankly, no alternative that we could try to devise could fully do this. And we must also accept that the Covenant has the potential to be used badly – but then again, we have seen that the Primates’ meeting, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council all have the capacity to fall far, far, short of their potential, if we are not prepared to let the grace of God rule and direct all that they are and do. They are human constructs, designed to help us express structurally the life-giving gifts with which we believe God has blessed the Anglican Communion, and through which we believe he calls us to be a blessing to the world. But we can derail all of them if we so choose.

Herein lies part of our fundamental wrestling: how it is that spiritual truths find human expression in the ordering of our lives? For on the one hand, it is true that the nature of our legislative systems means that Provinces have always been ‘legally independent’ – though in fact we do make binding commitments of accountability to bodies outside ourselves, for example in our membership of the World Council of Churches; or, as the Church of England has done, in the Porvoo Agreement. In this sense, the Covenant is asking nothing new of us, and perhaps rather less, not least in that it creates no powers to interfere in any Province’s life. Rather, it asks us to speak up and be counted, as those who explicitly declare our belief that we are called always to take council together on matters with the potential to affect one another – so we can learn from one another, and learn about the impacts that changes in one part of our Communion life might have on another. Thus we can pursue our callings within the context of sensitivity to the wider witness of God’s people to God’s world.

It seems to me that we need a clear counterweight to ‘legal independence’, so as to acknowledge that we do not have effective ways of legislating for ‘bonds of affection’ and for the sort of ties that characterise family life. For (and this is my ‘on the other hand’), we must never forget that the true essence of our identity is found in God alone. It is in him we put our trust, for who we are, and who we are called to be – not in Provincial legislation, and not in human Covenants.

This question of trust is one of profound challenge to all human beings, and especially to us as Anglicans today. To ‘believe and trust’ invariably means being prepared to be taken outside our comfort zones. As the writer to the Hebrews says, ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God’ (Heb 10:31). And, as I know all too well from my own experience, it would be hard enough to contemplate walking this path of trusting dependence if my life and ministry were merely about my own relationship with God; but realising that trusting myself to God inextricably also means trusting myself to God’s people – who I know are likely to be little better at consistent faithful obedience than I am – is a far greater risk to what I like to think of as my ability to be master of my own destiny.

But none of us are masters of our own destiny. None of us, as individuals or churches, can see ourselves as self-determining. Therefore our primary sense of identity cannot rest in our legal separateness. Our call to dependence on God, and, through this, to our mutual interdependence within the body of Christ is neither optional nor negotiable. For the promises of God of being built together as living stones (1 Pet 2:5); of both giving and receiving of the manifestation of the Spirit given to each for the common good (1 Cor 12:7); and of so much else of what Scripture teaches about the nature and vocation of the Church, lie, not in standing firm in our individuality, but through explicitly trusting ourselves to one another, and walking hand in hand into a future overflowing with God’s promises of grace and hope. It is living as those who truly believe and trust in our vocation to ‘lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’ (Eph 4:1-2).

So let us not be downhearted at our differences and disagreements, but rather let us lift our eyes with hopefulness to the promises of God’s salvific and redemptive promises – sure and certain – in Jesus Christ our Lord. For it is he who makes the Church faithful and obedient, holy and loving, since he is the one who ‘loved the Church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendour, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind – yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish’ (Eph 5:25-7). This is the one whom we trust: believing and trusting in this promise not only for our own lives, but for those in the Anglican Communion with whom we may fear we have little in common.

And here St Paul’s description of the body of Christ is helpful. For he makes clear that different members can be, and indeed often are, mutually incomprehensible: the eye cannot understand hearing, nor the hand seeing. But it is in recognising Christ as head of all that they recognise one another as belonging together. As I said at your clergy conference, we have learnt this by painful wrestling together in Southern Africa. It is something with which we continue to be challenged, across the vast ethnic, cultural, political and socio-economic differences of our Province. Yet, more than this, we have found that, even in painful difference, we are better able to discern God’s truth together than apart. All this is why we hold together in ongoing debate across the whole spectrum of views on human sexuality – we do not agree, and our differences are sharp and painful, but we will not turn our backs on brothers and sisters in Christ and instead will keep wrestling together. This is why we are proceeding towards adopting the Covenant.

All this underlines how we should not view the Covenant merely as the product of, or designed to address, disagreements over human sexuality. This is to miss the fundamental matter of our identity and calling. It seems to me that we have become far too comfortable in our superficially separate legal identities, and have neglected the far more profound nature of who we are, as Anglicans, called to live in global Communion, within the purposes of God. This is why it really will not do to say that it is better to have no Covenant. We have become content to drift apart – a drift which I fear will continue unchecked if we do not stand up and commit ourselves to return to a more godly life of true Communion.

Allowing secular legal norms to define us in our separate identities, without counterbalancing commitments of mutual interdependence, and the drifting apart that has followed, are, it seems to me, what have particularly allowed such sharp bitterness in handling our differences. The disunity over sexuality merely reflects this deeper malaise within our common life. As I have said elsewhere, I feel we have failed to take seriously the commitments to ‘Mutual Responsibility and Interdependence in the Body of Christ’ made at the 1963 Toronto Congress. We said then ‘our unity in Christ, expressed in our full communion, is the most profound bond among us, in all our political and racial and cultural diversity’ and in consequence, ‘our need is … to understand how God has led us, through the sometimes painful history of our time, to see the gifts of freedom and communion in their great terms, and to live up to them.’ The Congress warned ‘if we are not responsible stewards of what Christ has given us, we will lose even what we have.’ But it appears we have not been responsible, taking one another for granted, being content to do our own thing, allowing ourselves to be preoccupied with our own concerns, so that when differences arose we had lost our ability to connect and work through them in love together.

But thanks be to God, who calls us together, not through binding legal processes (for the Covenant does not provide for these, whatever some critics may claim), but rather through ‘the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus’ (Rom 8:2). This is the nature of the bonds of affection which we are called to re-weave and nurture – bonds that ‘constrain’ us only through the same sort of mutuality of love St Paul had in mind when he wrote ‘all things are lawful but not all things are beneficial – all things are lawful but not all things build up’ (1 Cor 10:23). It thus invites us – invites God’s Spirit – to breathe new and redemptive life into the Communion’s existing frameworks.

And so we particularly hold you in our prayers, along with those other English Dioceses, and other Provinces, who are still considering the Covenant. The Communion, and all it has the potential to be and become, under God, matters. Echoing St Paul, we affirm that we cannot say ‘We have no need of you’ (1 Cor 12:21). Rather, all of you, as partners covenanting to go forward in newness of life together, are ‘indispensable’ (v.22) to our own ability to grow in faithful obedience to what we believe is God’s vocation for all Anglicans, and ultimately towards the fullness of his vision for his One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Yours in the service of Christ

+Thabo Cape Town

Archbishop of Canterbury

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 07:46:00 +0000

Statement by The Most Revd Dr Thabo C Makgoba, Archbishop of Cape Town, on the news that Archbishop Rowan Williams will step down at the end of 2012 as the Archbishop of Canterbury and take up the position of Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge.

My heart is very full at the news that Dr Rowan Williams will stand down at the end of this year. We in the Anglican Communion, and indeed the wider world, have been inordinately privileged to have such an able theologian and deeply spiritual thinker, as Archbishop of Canterbury over the last decade. He has exercised remarkable gospel-shaped leadership during tumultuous times for our Communion, in which his commitment to consensus seeking, rooted in his refusal to take quick and easy solutions that fail to address the more fundamental issues, has shown great courage and deeply profound rootedness in the faith to which we are called. Again and again he has returned us to the central questions of whose we are, and for whom we are to be – in loving, faithful, obedient, service of God, of God’s church, and of God’s world. I look forward to the fresh contribution he will be able to make in coming years to the Christian voice in the public space, as he moves to Cambridge.

I personally, and we in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, will miss him very much. He has been a great friend to us, and especially to me when I was first appointed Archbishop and learning the ropes. As Southern Africans we say he is ‘Truly Umtu’, someone who lives and embodies the fullness of ubuntu – that it is through others we find our own humanity, umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu. We wish him, his wife Jane, and children Rhiannon and Pip, great joy and blessing during the rest of their time at Lambeth Palace, and in the new chapter of life that lies ahead. They have the assurance of our fondest love and prayers in the coming months.

Issued by the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town
Inquiries: Ms Wendy Kelderman on 021-763-1320 (office hours)

Inauguration as Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:25:00 +0000

The address given on 28 February 2012, following inauguration as Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape.

Chair of Council, Mr Brian Williams, and Members of Council; Vice Chancellor, Professor Brian O’Connell, and all other staff, students, alumni and members of the wider UWC family; honoured guests; ladies and gentlemen; it is a great honour to find myself being inaugurated as Chancellor of this distinguished university. Thank you.

I am deeply humbled by this privilege you have bestowed upon me, and I fully commit myself to uphold the responsibilities of this office, to the best of my ability. Knowing my predecessor well, I am quite sure that my feet are many sizes bigger than his; but nonetheless I am also certain that he has left me with the challenge of a very large pair of shoes to fill!

As I look back, almost my whole life has been bound up with education, in one form or another. After schooling, first in Alexandra then at Orlando High, came Wits university. Soon after graduating with my bachelors’ degree, I also completed theological studies for ordination in the Anglican Church, with time in Grahamstown. I then returned to Wits for honours, followed by a Masters of Education. I lectured part time at Wits, and was also Dean of Knockando, at Wits College of Education (formerly Johannesburg College of Education). And as if all that were not enough, I went on to pursue a doctorate, graduating in 2009 from the University of Cape Town. You might say that I am something of a perpetual student at heart, though teaching has also always been a great joy to me, whether in the corridors of learning or through the channels of the church.

Despite this long connection with studying and teaching, the privilege of becoming the Chancellor of UWC prompted me to revisit two key questions. First, what actually is the task of education? And what, in light of our answer, is the true vocation of a university within South Africa, in the unfolding years of the twenty-first century?

The simplistic response might be that the role of a university is to pursue and disseminate learning. But this begs the question of what constitutes learning. It is of course far more than the accumulation and communication of information: facts and figures, opinions and arguments, practices and procedures. For theory cannot be abstracted from the human contexts of surrounding societies and the wider world. As we well know, from quantum physics to the writing of history, there is no wholly neutral place from which to view our world, and no completely objective way of speaking about what we think we know; and nor can there be. One corollary of this is that there is equally no morally or ethically neutral way of pursuing or sharing learning. Both are always inextricably linked to the world around: the world in which we live; the world from which our students come, and to which they return.

Education must fit us for engagement with such a world. What we need then, is beyond mere knowledge – understanding, perhaps. But the word which resonates best for me is ‘wisdom’. From the hikmat of the Old Testament, to the sophia of ancient Greeks and the New Testament, this is a concept with a long and honourable pedigree. It calls us to ‘realised knowledge’, to ‘practical understanding’ (such as that of the skilled craftsman or woman), to shrewd discernment of situations and how to handle them. Wisdom is what enables human beings to be competent and skilled in engaging well with life, and in playing a constructive role in wider society. It is what enables us to be – so to speak – part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Of course, wisdom in Christian tradition is inescapably bound up with living according to God’s purposes for humanity – purposes which we believe are designed by an infinitely loving creator entirely for our well-being; in other words, for the flourishing of individuals within flourishing societies. This aligns closely with the concept, shared in many faiths and philosophies, of the moral life being directed towards the common good of all members of society. Yet even if one abstracts the concept from any specifically religious or philosophical context, it still retains an unavoidable ethical component. One cannot be wise and simultaneously pursue an immoral life – not merely in the personal sphere, but in any other walk of life.

And this is why for me, moral leadership and education must go hand in hand. Our task is both to provide moral leadership, and to help form the moral leaders, which our country, our continent, so desperately need.

For wisdom directs us to seek a world of justice and fairness for all, which moves towards overcoming inequalities – whether the legacies of the past, or the growing economic disparities of more recent years, to name but two – and strives to promote conditions in which all may have the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

Within South Africa we are blessed with a Constitution that provides a clear picture of such a society. Its preamble describes a united, democratic, nation, with overarching goals that include healing the divisions of the past; establishing a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights, and which improves the quality of life of all citizens and frees the potential of each person.

This is the yardstick against which we must measure progress, success, morality. This is the vision to which we must commit ourselves, and which we can only achieve through strong ethical leadership that draws energy from the promises of the Constitution, and captures the hope that gave this nation birth. This is in many ways a deeply spiritual undertaking. We are speaking of the nurturing of the soul of our nation.

The choice for education – particularly tertiary education – is actually quite stark. Do we position all we say and do within such a context, committed to such goals, putting our weight behind the pursuit of such a vision – or do we not? Do we sit by while corruption grows, nepotism flourishes, freedom diminishes, and inequality deepens; and be happily, heedlessly, complicit while narrow self-interest, callous selfishness, and the pursuit of personal gain, of power, status, and material wealth, regardless of the consequences for other people or our planet, become the norm? Do we turn a blind eye as cutting corners, dropping standards, sharp practices, become the order of the day?

Now, the University of the Western Cape has come a very long way since it started life as a so-called ‘bush college’, over half a century ago. The radical changes UWC has experienced through these decades mirror those our nation has undergone. Indeed, this place has had leaders, and produced leaders, who have been at the forefront in driving the best of these changes. Today, I am proud that we are one of the most diverse universities in South Africa – and this without compromising standards of excellence or quality of education. We have an international reputation, particularly for the research and development of open-source software solutions and open educational resources. Our historic commitment to genuine transformation, and to upliftment of all, has gone without saying.

Yet the situation we face demands that we relax neither our vigilance nor our commitment, for it is not at all clear that our country as a whole remains safely on the path to achieving the vision for which so many struggled, and for which so many gave their lives. It is all too evident that economic disparities remain vast, and are even growing. The situation in education is little better, for all that the headline statistics trumpet great increases in matric pass-rates. For beneath these figures lies the sad story that a good half of those who entered school in 2000 failed even to write matric. And what can a pass truly mean, when it is sufficient to achieve a mere 40% or even 30%?

We must not be afraid of excellence. We must reject any generalised attitude of acceptance towards the mediocre, even inadequate; and name it for what it is, especially where it is bound up with deep and complex apprehensions of inferiority, inherited from the past. For these we must seek continuing healing and wholeness, a liberation of the heart and mind and soul from any persisting legacy of the lies of apartheid. The other side of the same coin is to beware of grandiose and indefensible claims which can never be realised – from the capacity of our economy or our global political influence to the potential of our football team – which then only reinforce the idea that failure, suitably dressed up in fine rhetorical clothes, is all we can expect. No, we must be realistic about where we are coming from and what can be done, but always seeking to go forward, do better, make progress.

For we know that educational and economic poverty, left unaddressed, are mutually reinforcing, condemning generations to squalor; whereas education – rightly prioritised, resourced and directed – ought to be a primary means of escaping and overcoming financial deprivation, whether by individuals or of whole communities. We need an economic wind of change. We need the emancipation of all who are currently deprived of the ability, for whatever reason, to realise a decent and dignified standard of living.

The task of education, at every level, is to be alert and intentional in working to overcome these divisions and close these gaps, for their existence and their persisting, even worsening, is a scandal. It is truly immoral. Institutions such as ours must name and address these gulfs, speaking up against all in society that fuels their continuance, whether directly or indirectly, through the policies and practices of politicians, the private sector, civil society or anywhere else.

And in our own area of expertise – education – we must engage with policy makers and role players, not only in the tertiary sector, but in support of reform that will ensure schools provide our children with the basic knowledge, and technical and language skills, to succeed in life, including in preparing them adequately for further study where this is appropriate. Furthermore, unless we locate these skills within an ethical framework, which helps young people learn to pose and wrestle with deeper questions about life’s purpose, the human capacity for good and evil, and the need to choose between right and wrong, we are not going to build that ‘better life for all’ of which politicians and others so easily speak.

Universities have a particular task in searching out and offering better ways forward, across the breadth of human activity. For it is far easier to criticise and pull down, than to create and build up. Yet universities, more than most other institutions, are called to be pioneers of new ideas, researching and developing fresh possibilities, new options, better ways ahead; and then offering these resources to those who need to draw on them. And we must do all this not in isolation, either from one another within our different disciplines, or from others around us. For the comprehensive challenges of contemporary life require joined up responses, with joined up thinking and acting: across academic fields; between academic institutions in this country, this continent and beyond; and in partnership with other spheres of society. I am glad that, even in small ways, I am finding opportunities to engage with others across the continent, even the globe – with the African diaspora, and our friends – to bring new participants to the table as we seek effective solutions to poverty in all its ramifications.

‘Knowledge is power’ says the well-known maxim. In the past, knowledge – knowledge available to, and controlled by, a narrow elite; knowledge as one of the currencies of empire – was used to subjugate and maintain enslavement. Now, today, rightly harnessed, the power of knowledge, of true wisdom, can and must be deployed in the service of liberation and emancipation.

This brings me back to the question of moral leadership. Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese leader and Nobel Peace Winner, has been quoted as saying that ‘the quintessential revolution is that of the spirit … To live the full life, one must have the courage to bear responsibility of the needs of others … one must want to bear this responsibility’ (Peter Popham, The Lady and the Peacock: The Life of Aung San Suu Kyi, Rider, 2011, p.301). We need leaders prepared to bear this responsibility, prepared to undertake this ‘revolution of the spirit’ in the service of others, which is so counter-cultural to the individualist and self-centred trends of contemporary life.

All of us, in one way or another, have the capacity to be leaders, and to be moral leaders. For all of us live in a world of choice; and the choices we make, or fail to make, for good and for ill, inevitably affect our own lives and the lives of others around us. How we handle relationships, how we act as parents, how we deal with bosses or employees or clients, our role within our neighbourhood, our willingness to serve on school boards, our readiness to stand up and be counted – all of these are potential acts of leadership.

Some of us, however, find ourselves in positions where we have the gift – the responsibility – of being able to exercise influence on a wider level: perhaps as academics and teachers, as community activists, politicians, journalists, writers, religious leaders, and so on. Perhaps the decisions we take in our work – as government officials, as business people, or in many other walks of life – impact upon our society, upon our world, and their wellbeing. Or perhaps we are still at the stage of learning, and aspire to become such a person.

In such situations, all of us must remember that those who are in greatest need are those whose voices we are least likely to hear, whose influence upon us is likely to be far weaker than that of those already enjoying power, wealth, status. We must be mindful in paying attention not only to what is big and loud and right before us. We need to take account of the small, the hidden, the marginalised, the weak, the poor. Indeed, more often than not, we need to put them first. Only in this way can we turn around the systemic injustices that are legacies of the past or symptoms of current unsustainable policies.

This may take considerable courage. It goes against the grain of so much of contemporary life. But this is a mark of true moral leadership, of genuine wisdom: to be able to see with clear eyes what is the right course of action to pursue, and not only to follow it, but to give others the encouragement to do the same. Psychologist Nathaniel Branden said, ‘Innovators and creators are person who can to a higher degree than average accept the condition of aloneness. They are more willing to follow their own vision, even when it takes them far from the mainland of the human community. Unexplored places do not frighten them – or not, at any rate, as much as they frighten those around them. This is one of the secrets of their power. That which we call “genius” has a great deal to do with courage and daring, a great deal to do with nerve.’

Genius, courage and daring: all in the service of wisdom, all in the service of others, of society and of our planet. Can we make these the defining marks of the University of the Western Cape? I pray it may be so. I commit myself to this vision. And I ask you to join me.

Thank you.

Our Church and Canon Law

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:38:00 +0000

This is the edited version of some reflections shared on 28 February 2012 with a group considering the re-launch of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa's Canon Law Society.

Thank you for coming today, to consider the re-launch of ACSA’s Canon Law Society. Let me offer a few reflections, from my own perspective.

I recently asked staff to put together a file of papers on the canon law issues that have crossed my desk since becoming Archbishop barely 4 years ago. The file, I have to say, is far too fat! And it seems to me that there are two reasons that contribute to this.

The first is that there is not enough awareness of how and where to apply and implement canon law – and there is a particular need for Bishops to be better equipped in this area. So my first challenge to a new Society, to you, would be to compile a sort of ‘Dummies’ Guide to Canon Law’ – a user-friendly manual. Particularly helpful would be some guidelines that say ‘If situation X arises, do Y’, where this is appropriate.

But the second issue we face is the need for a right understanding of when to resort to canonically based actions. As someone has said, the Canons do not replace the Bible! And scripture is clear. While Jesus came to fulfil the law, he was against legalism. St Paul also writes about avoiding – and avoiding provoking – legislative procedures, especially in secular courts, wherever possible. Both put the emphasis on relationships and actions that are rooted in, unearth, and birth, love and compassion.

In equipping Bishops and church leaders, all should know how to respect and uphold canon law and the regulations of the church, in all forms. But, more importantly, they must be chief pastors, and understand how our first obligation is always to exhaust the pastoral routes open to us.

At Morning Prayer today, we read the 23rd Psalm, and I was reminded again of the calling, particularly to Bishops, to shepherd our sheep as Christ does his flock. Legal actions should, generally speaking, always be the last resort. And the legal advice that comes to us should share this same perspective. The laws of love and grace are our priority.

Those giving legal advice should not be afraid to challenge Bishops! We need this. We need to be told if we are thinking of heading in the wrong direction – in the procedures to which we look, and in their appropriate application. If you don’t tell us clearly, you are not helping!

There is another angle to this, specifically in relation to clergy ‘vocation’ questions. I know that the relationship between Bishops and clergy as not one of direct employment remains where we stand in terms of case law. But this is no excuse whatsoever for Bishops to treat clergy poorly. The church should behave towards its clergy better than the best practices of any employment code. She should live the biblical values of what it is to be human and created in the image of God, as well as demonstrate the wider constitutional context within which she serves.

I know that in the past rectors treated curates, and bishops treated clergy, often more than high-handedly. But we need to wake up, and acknowledge that this was wrong; and that it is completely unacceptable to perpetuate either such attitudes or such practices today.

Nor can we ignore the changed legal context, which has rebalanced working relationships, providing workers with far fuller rights than in the bad old days. In my view, then, vocational and employment matters are also first a moral and then a legal question. There is no justification for Church practices to be anything less than the best we see in the world around. Therefore, on moral grounds at least as much as legal grounds, I hope that we resort to this area of law as little as possible.

I also hope that through regularising clergy licensing across dioceses, we will also be able to avoid some of the recent sorry tales – including where (as in the case of Fr Mbombo and the Diocese of the Highveld) secular courts have told us that we are failing in our responsibilities, including at the highest level, through our appeals system.

There are some other reflections I want to mention briefly.

The first is this, that all of us need to be aware of the high, high, cost of litigation. It is scandalous that we have to spend such vast sums, which ought to be directed towards the mission and ministry of the church. Indeed, I would put it stronger – we are depriving the church of these sums, which were given precisely for mission and ministry. It is appalling stewardship. People, on whatever side of whatever argument, need to know this. (For example, ensuring the consecration of the Bishop of Mbashe in the face of court challenges cost ACSA a lot of money. And there are other examples I could mention.)

Arising from this is the thought that we need to do better in ensuring matters of canon law are included in training clergy. I know some dioceses are now including this within Anglican Studies modules, but we need to do this more widely. This not only means College of the Transfiguration (COTT), but – and perhaps especially – with those who follow more general courses that are not taught within an Anglican framework. Perhaps you might be able to help with producing training materials.

So, as is clear, there is plenty on the canon law plate for you to get your teeth into! May God bless your discussions – so that you, and your work, may be a blessing to God’s church and God’s people, in our ministry and mission to God’s world. Thank you.

Lenten Reflection - The 'Good News' about Sin

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:47:00 +0000

This reflection draws on recent sermons at St George’s Cathedral, Cape Town, and Christ the King, Sophiatown.

‘Turn away from sin, and believe the good news.’ These are the words with which each of us are anointed with ash at the beginning of Lent, and they tell us that sin and good news go hand in hand. You don’t get one without the other.

Sin is of course a very unfashionable word in contemporary society, but there is no escaping it. More importantly, we must not deny its reality, for we cannot have God’s good news if we do not acknowledge our involvement in sin. In other words, if we are better to appreciate, and receive, the fullness of God’s good news – the gospel of salvation and redemption – we, and our world, need a better grasp and fuller acknowledgement of sin, in every area of life.

This means we need to be honest about our shortcomings, weaknesses and failings; about our mistakes and misjudgements; about our bad attitudes, inappropriate thoughts, ill-chosen words and wrong actions – and not just in the personal, domestic, sphere, but also in public arena. Alongside politics at every level (national to local, elected to official), this also means in business and professional life, in academia, in the media, across civil society, even within the communities where we live, and among whom we network and socialise.

The aim of bringing sin into the light is not to put ourselves or others under condemnation, but rather, to open up ourselves, our church, society and world, to the glorious opportunities for God’s salvation and redemption in every area of human life and activity. And let’s be honest: we certainly need God’s rescue and recovery in so much of society! Yet if we do not acknowledge sin, how can we receive God’s more than wonderful solution to sin?

But admitting guilt, and feeling shame, appear increasingly alien in today’s societies. Sometimes it seems the only sin is being caught. Short of a criminal conviction, we are asked to believe, and act as if, everyone is more innocent than the proverbial dove. And no matter how dubious a person’s reputation, or how dodgy their track record, if that person’s suitability for some task or role is questioned, then it seems that the questioner is the one branded as being in the wrong. Further, when apologies are issued, too often they are given, in terms not of an admission of wrong doing, but rather of regret that someone was offended. It is as if the offended person is being blamed for being too soft-skinned!

Why have we got ourselves into this position?

It seems to me that the main cause is as much about failing to understand salvation, as it is about failing to understand sin. For if there is no hope of salvation – no hope of forgiveness or redemption, no hope of God wiping the slate clean of guilt and shame, and providing an opportunity to make a fresh start – then no wonder we don’t want to admit to being in the wrong. We see it in little children: ‘Did you eat the chocolate cake?’ we say. ‘No Daddy’ replies the small child, even when caught with a face smeared with icing! As adults, we are little better – though we may be far more skilled at constructing (or having our spokespeople construct for us) sophisticated excuses about how we really weren’t at all responsible, and should not be considered as having failed in any way, or as bearing any sort of guilt in the matter!

But if no one is guilty of anything; if no one has failed, or fallen short, or let anyone down – then how can we go forward? How can we speak of righting wrongs, of addressing shortcomings, of doing better? It is a recipe for accepting mediocrity and failure – and this is a disaster for our societies, for our nations; a disaster for all hope of moral and ethical living.

But, thanks be to God, we have a remedy! For God too does not want us to be left standing under condemnation. Therefore, as we well know, God sent ‘his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life’ (Jn 3:16). And the next verse further underlines for us – should we have any lingering doubts – that God is far, far, more interested in liberating us from the quagmire of our weaknesses and failings, than he is in pronouncing us guilty. It reads ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.’

And so, now we live in a world where Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, has taken away the sins of the world (cf Jn 1:29); where he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Pet 2:24). We live in a world where forgiveness is freely offered for true repentance and readiness to make amends.

Even more than this, the God of infinite love promises to redeem all that has gone awry; to rescue what is lost; to heal every hurt; to mend the broken; to cleanse what is marred; to overturn evil and bring good out of every situation and circumstance: all of this, and more besides, provided we turn to him, acknowledge our failings and our dependency upon him, and put ourselves into his hands.

So then, what is the particular lesson for us this Ash Wednesday, this Lent?

It is this: that we must be gospel people, good news people, in declaring through the way we speak and act and live our lives that God forgives the sins of all who turn away from sin, and turn to him. We must demonstrate that we are not afraid of sin – not afraid to admit we are ‘only human’: that we are less than perfect, that we often fail, that we get things wrong, that we make mistakes, and even that we sometimes intentionally choose wrong over right. And in declaring we are not afraid of sin, we also declare – even more loudly and clearly – that the God of love desires to deal with sin: not through condemnation, but through salvation and redemption; through rescuing and restoring; through his infinite love and compassion for his needy children and his needy world.

This is what we need to hear, throughout the whole of human society – private and public. It is especially what our leaders need to hear, in every walk of society and nation. They need to know that the ultimate good news only comes to human beings when we acknowledge the reality of what it is to be ‘only human’ – and this is something of which we do not need to be afraid. For to admit our failings is not the worst thing that can happen to us, but rather it is the key to opening the door to the best thing that can happen to us.

So then, in conclusion, what is God’s word to us this Lent? What is his word to us, which we need to share with one another, and with God’s world? It is surely no more and no less than this: ‘turn away from sin, and believe the good news’.

May it be so. Amen

To the Laos - To the People of God, February 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 13:21:00 +0000

Dear People of God

Though it is only February, it has already been a busy year, and this will be one of my longer letters, including the statement from the recent Synod of Bishops.

But let me begin by thanking you for all your prayers, especially for the time that Lungi and I spent in Davos at the World Economic Forum last month. It was a very stimulating and stretching few days, considering how best to insert values-based thinking into a context which is primarily marked by ‘worshipping the financial bottom line’. Please do continue to hold in your prayers all who seek to promote ethical perspectives in politico-economic debates. This is so vital at this time of global rethinking of our financial systems.

On the plane, I read John Suggit’s new book ‘A Breath of Fresh Air’. It lives up to its title, offering key tools for biblical interpretation in John’s typically simple, accessible, yet profound, way. I recommend it to you all, perhaps as something to take on for Lent. It is available from the ACSA Publishing Committee. For further details see http://www.anglicanchurchsa.org/view.asp?ItemID=65&tname=tblComponent2&oname=Publications&pg=front, and you can order it via publish@anglicanchurchsa.org.za.

In similar vein, I highly recommend the Lent Bible Study course, ‘People of the Way’. Produced by the Diocese of Johannesburg it is a valuable resource to us as we seek to live as God’s faithful people in Southern Africa.

Another resource I commend to clergy and all who preach or are involved in preparing Services, is ‘Word and Worship’. This is a collection of suggested sermon outlines and liturgies based on the Revised Common Lectionary, produced by a South African ecumenical team with strong Anglican participation! The first volume, for Year B, is available through Dioceses, and from Ekklesia, the Ecumenical Centre for Leadership Development and Congregational Studies at Stellenbosch University. Year C will be available before Advent begins (for more information, contact ekklesia@sun.ac.za).

I know from personal experience it is hard to make time to read good books and pursue theological study, but it is vital we make this a priority; and parishes must encourage clergy to invest time in this. The whole church benefits from such studies, and I commend those who persevere, especially with higher degrees and research, and offer congratulations to those who have recently passed this hurdle, including Canon Sarah Rowland Jones, my researcher, who has been awarded a PhD by Nottingham University. I encourage clergy and laity alike to consider further training, and to take advantage of the opportunities offered, for example, by our Anglican House of Studies at the University of KwaZulu Natal for postgraduate study, or the Theological Education by Extension College (TEEC) for other courses. Diocesan Directors of Training should also know about courses in your area, or have resources you can follow.

There is also the opportunity to pursue Continuing Ministerial Education as groups – with support from the College of the Transfiguration. There is money available in the Provincial Budget for this, but it is very rarely drawn upon. Please contact COTT if you need more information, or have a proposal to put. And may I ask you to keep the college, and the Rector, Revd Prof Barney Pityana in your prayers, and to support them and their work as you can. We give thanks for his leadership, as he works to set the college on a firm foundation for the future, through the registration process, upgrading infrastructure, and pursuing an Endowment Fund to support longer term sustainability.

Very sad news for the Province is the death of the Very Revd Lubabalo Livingstone Ngewu, Dean of Pretoria, Provincial Trustee and former Rector of the College of the Transfiguration. I extend heartfelt condolences to his family, on the death of this remarkable and gifted man, and dear friend of me and so many. May all who loved him be consoled and comforted by the love of Jesus, who died to bring us life, and find hope and strength for the future.

Wishing you all a blessed and holy Lent

+Thabo Cape Town

[The Statement from the Synod of Bishops follows - available at http://archbishop.anglicanchurchsa.org/2012/02/statement-from-synod-of-bishops.html]

Sermon for Dean Lubabalo Livingstone Ngewu

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:29:00 +0000

The following sermon was preached at the Memorial Service for Dean Lubabalo Livingstone Ngewu, in Pretoria Cathedral on 16 February 2012.

1 Thess 4:13-18; Jn 6:37-40; Ps 121

May I speak in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, here we are, gathered before God, to mourn the death of our dear friend and brother, Lubabalo Livingstone Ngewu, and to seek God’s comfort, God’s strength, God’s compassion; and, most of all, to seek the certainty of his promises of salvation and redemption, healing and wholeness, for this life and for the life to come.

I want to begin by thanking you, Bishop Jo, Chapter, and the whole Cathedral family, for your invitation to me to preach at this Memorial Service. In my sermon, I hope to do three things. First, I want to share the word of God, offering God’s own consolation to you, to the Ngewu family, and to all who loved Lubabalo, or Livingstone, as so many knew him. Second, I want to add my own tributes to those that have been given to him, for he was my friend also. And finally, I want to offer a challenge to you all.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are gathered together here in the house of God, who is three and who is one. He is
• The Father, who watched his Son die in agony on the Cross;
• The Son, who wept at the grave of his friend, Lazarus; and
• The Spirit, who bears the deepest groanings of our hearts to the throne of grace.
Therefore, in the presence of this God of infinite love and mercy, the God who knows our inmost hearts, let us have courage to bring before him those deep groanings of our hearts; our weeping for our friend; our agonising over the brokenness of recent weeks and months. Let us open ourselves in all our pain, to the God who is for us; the God who is with us; the God who is within us; the God who is among us – so that we may know his tender touch upon our lives; and hear his still small voice promising hope, and newness of life.

Let us dare to grieve today:
• to grieve for Lubabalo, for Livingstone, and for the hole his death will leave in our lives; and
• to grieve for all that feels lost, and for all we wish might have been different.
But, as our first reading urged us, let us not grieve as those who have no hope.

As Lubabalo himself would have been the first to remind us – let us turn to the one who is the Living Stone, and find in Jesus Christ a firm place to stand, in all the uncertainties and confusions that Lubabalo’s death has brought us. We lift up our eyes, and look: not to the hills, or anywhere else on earth, since there are no earth-bound answers for us; but we look to the Lord, who has made heaven and earth. He is our keeper, our defence – and he is Lubabalo’s keeper and defence also.

Jesus’ own words, in our Gospel Reading, put this very clearly. All that God the Father has entrusted to him, will come to him. No-one who comes to Christ will ever be driven away. It is God the Father’s will; it is God the Son’s will; that all who believe and trust in God will be raised up, to new and everlasting life.

This is the new life of which St John caught a glimpse in his Revelation: the life of the holy city, the new Jerusalem, when all the old things have passed away. It is the life where God makes his home among his people, for ever; where he wipes away the tears from every eye; where there is no more death, no more crying, no more pain. In God’s nearer presence there is no more grief; no more failure; no more misunderstandings and broken relationships; no more falling short of what God desires of us and what we desire to be and become by his grace. Here, Jesus makes all things new: all broken hearts are mended; all shattered lives are restored; all wounds are healed; and all the imperfections of this life are made whole and new and fresh and bright and lovely and perfect within God’s perfect love.

This is the fullness of life which we believe and trust – with all the certainty of the promises of God – that Lubabalo, that Livingstone, now enjoys: going from us to be with the Lord for ever.

These same promises are for us also – and not only when the time comes for our mortal lives to end.

For, as St Paul makes clear in his letter to the Romans, Jesus Christ ‘died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living’ (Rom 14:9). Jesus truly is Lord of both the dead and the living. His promises of redemption hold good for us here too – for us as individuals, and for us as the community of God’s church, with all the brokenness and failings, the pains and conflicts, that characterise all human institutions. For we must remember that we are all redeemed sinners, and we remain sinners, and fallible, to the ends of our lives on earth. And our church too, is fallible, and we make mistakes, and we get it wrong, even as, at the same time, God works within us and makes us his instruments, to spread his gospel and build his kingdom.

Therefore, as individuals, and as the church:
• whenever and wherever we need it – as we inevitably do, time and again, always and everywhere – God’s forgiveness is there for us, if we are only ready to open ourselves in humility to receive it.
• whenever and wherever we need it – as we inevitably do, time and again, always and everywhere – God’s redemption is also there for us, if we can accept it.

As St Paul puts it, We know – yes, we know - that in all things, God works for good, for those who love him, whom he has called according to his purposes (Rom 8:28). This is not to say that all things, all situations, all events, are good. Far from it. But no circumstance is so bad, or so sad, that God cannot or will not work in it for good. There is no stumbling block that he cannot turn into a stepping stone – the Living Stone who is Jesus Christ, Lord and Saviour.

So we come today, daring to believe this – and daring to ask that, by the power of Christ’s cross, his death and resurrection, God’s immeasurable goodness might be at work redemptively in our lives; in our relationships; in our differences and disagreements; in our church; here and now.

We dare to ask that he may comfort us in all our griefs – and here we pray especially for Lubabalo’s wife Nosipho; for their children Funeka, Xolani and Unathi; for their broader family; and for all those closest to Lubabalo and who most deeply mourn his passing.

Christ’s word to us is that we should not be afraid to weep, nor afraid to acknowledge the depths of our sadness, our depression, even our anger, that this death should come at this time. We can be honest about all this to Jesus, who knows our breaking hearts, and desires to touch them with unimaginable tenderness. He encourages us with those famous words from the Sermon on the Mount ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.’

And because Jesus Christ is the Lord of both the living and the dead, we can offer to him all our unfinished business – all that we would like to say about Lubabalo, about Livingstone; all that we would like to say to him. We can come to Christ with all our uncertainties, even our failures, about whether we could, or should, have spoken or acted differently. Before Christ, we can remember Lubabalo / Livingstone with honesty – with all the love and affection, as well as the frustrations, that this remarkable child of God, provoked within us.

We remember someone larger than life – a big man, with great gifts and talents, especially of writing and speaking. A man with a strong personality, and, dare I say it, a strong will. Yet most of all, I remember a man of great joy, a man of enormous laughter; and a man of deep faith – a man who influenced so many for good, and pointed so many towards a closer walk with Jesus, not least through his time as Rector of COTT. We thank God for this man: for Lubabalo Livingstone Ngewu. We thank God for his blessings upon him; and for making him such a blessing to so many others and to the whole Anglican Church of Southern Africa.

Well done, good and faithful servant.

Finally, I said I would end with a challenge. My first challenge is to you, Bishop Jo, to your Chapter, and to Diocesan officials. It is this: remember that the Canons have no authority over the dead. I urge you, before Lubabalo is buried next Tuesday, to drop all the outstanding charges against him. And hang his portrait, like those of all other deans, in the Cathedral vestry.

And there is a further challenge, to everyone who has been caught up in any way in these tragic disagreements: to all of you I say this: find it within your hearts to create time and space to begin a process of reconciliation and forgiveness. All of us are called to live out the Christian virtues which Livingstone so fully taught, and himself espoused and strived to follow. It is not just my challenge, but it is God’s challenge – and also his encouragement and his promise – that we should dare to walk within his ways of mercy and peace.

So I end by once again thanking God for the life and ministry of our friend and brother, Dean Lubabalo Livingstone Ngewu.

Rest eternal grant to him, O Lord – and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace – and rise in Glory.

Amen.

Statement from Synod of Bishops

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:37:00 +0000

Statement by the Synod of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2

We, the Synod of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, gathered from 6 to 10 February, 2012, under Mantsopa Mountain at the St Augustine’s Centre, Modderpoort, in the Diocese of the Free State, for a time shaped by worship, prayer and reflection around the theme of spirited leadership.

Inspired by the beautiful scenery surrounding the diocesan centre, we worked and relaxed under the generous hospitality provided by Bishop Paddy Glover and his team, in the comfortably refurbished mission centre.

We began our work with a lively discussion facilitated by Bishop Brian Germond around the topic of creatively thinking outside of the box. We re-examined some of the mission opportunities God provides us, and the recent proposals of multiplication coming from the dioceses of Mozambique challenged us to think again on how we might respond to the fresh manifestation of the Spirit of God in our midst. We were challenged to take imaginative and courageous action that might include alternative models of ministry, mission and episcopal oversight. We agreed that we must willingly take risks, in faith.

At the invitation of the Bishop of Umzimvubu, we dealt at length with the complicated issues presently affecting his Diocese. After extensive discussions, we unanimously resolved the diocese should be placed under the care of a provincial administrative team. The team, appointed by the Archbishop, is mandated to take immediate action to resolve specific legal and financial issues; to offer pastoral care for the people, clergy and the bishop; and to initiate a longer term process of reconciliation. A letter to this effect will soon be read to the Diocese of Umzimvubu, by Bishops Rubin Phillip and Ebenezer Ntlali.

We revisited the issue of pastoral standards for civil partnerships, recognizing that we are engaged in a long term process even though many of our people now face immediate pain, isolation, and loneliness. While circumstances vary from diocese to diocese, all of us are openly engaged in a process of listening and discernment. Several bishops presented feedback from their dioceses. Special thanks were afforded to Bishop Bethlehem and the Diocese of Port Elizabeth for their example in readily engaging so deeply and thoroughly with this pastoral reality. We reaffirm that all dioceses continue to observe only the orthodox teaching and pastoral practices long held by the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.

We noted the importance of having a clear and uniform provincial policy on licencing clergy to ministries in our dioceses, and examined a draft policy paper. Bishops were encouraged to enable all clergy to be well informed about this policy. We also received, with thanks, templates, canonical references, and a draft agreement for implementing this policy in our dioceses.

We acknowledged the important historic role we have had in the work of education in the countries of our Province and, in the spirit of the Archbishop’s Regeneration for Education vision, recognized the opportunity for us to take on an innovative role within the dynamic reality of our nations. Therefore, we resolved to appoint a standing body under the leadership of Bishop Peter Lee. This will coordinate our diverse educational activities, and describe a set of principles for engagement with the work of education in our Province. We also congratulated the Archbishop on his recent appointment as Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape.

The Archbishop supported a call from the Dean of the Province that each diocese should send a further two students for training at the College of the Transfiguration. The Bishops agreed to consider this request seriously, and act upon it.

We joyfully acclaimed the life of Elizabeth Paul, recognizing her vibrant ministry of preaching, healing and exorcising demons in the Diocese of Umtata during the 1950s and 1960s. We agreed to place her feast in our liturgical calendar for 13 May. We also praised God with the Diocese of St Mark the Evangelist for the recent positive developments at Jane Furse, and continue to hold the centre in our prayer.

We rejoiced at the news surrounding the Anglicans Ablaze conference scheduled for 3 – 6 October, 2012 and we strongly encourage all God’s people to take advantage of this inspirational opportunity. We also took delight at the presentation of the new Lenten Course developed by the Diocese of Johannesburg, and we wholeheartedly recommend it for use in our parishes. Together with the entire of Church of God, we joined in giving thanks to God for the 20th anniversary of the ordination of women in our Province. Each Diocese committed itself to send at least one women priest to participate in the upcoming celebrations.

We noted with concern the recent incident concerning children under the care of the Sisters of the Community of Jesus’ Compassion in the Diocese of Natal and support the decision to establish a review committee.

We send our greetings, prayers of support and good wishes to our brothers and sisters of CAPA meeting this same week in Rwanda. May God enrich your fellowship together. We also send our prayers of support and greetings to our sisters and brothers of the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in New Zealand later this year; and to the General Synod of the Church of England, meeting in London this week.

We acknowledged the notice of retirement of the Rt. Revd. Paddy Glover as Bishop of the Free State and Dean of our Province. We will greatly miss Bishop Paddy’s enthusiasm, generous spirit, and fellowship in our Synods, but wish him and Kirsty a well-deserved rest and our heartfelt prayers as they enter a new phase of life together.

We gave thanks to the Archbishop and his planning team for providing the opportunity for us to enter into retreat together. This time of prayer and reflection on our roles as spirited leaders refreshed and challenged us in many ways. The Jesuit Institute South Africa provided three wonderful facilitators: Puleng Matseneng, Raymond Perrier and Fr. Thomas Plastow SJ, to lead our retreat. We were introduced to Ignatian Spirituality and the importance of identifying our deepest desires through daily reflection. This tool seeks to increase our self-awareness and thereby make us more aware of our own strengths and weaknesses. We spent time in small groups, silent reflection, writing journals, and open discussion as we examined various ways in which we can better live out our call to Spirited Leaders in God’s Church. Mr Adam Kahane’s presentation on the need to walk in tension between the extremes of power and love clearly touched many of us. Adam’s ten laws of power and love proved a very useful tool that we hope to share with leaders in our dioceses.

We thanked God for our time together, and the opportunity to grow closer to him and one another, and through this to seek God’s transforming renewal of our minds, our lives and our ministries.

Davos - World Economic Forum

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:04:00 +0000

The following press release was issued on 24 January 2012.

Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town to participate in World Economic Forum

The Most Revd Dr. Thabo C Makgoba leaves today to participate in the Annual Meeting 2012 of the World Economic Forum in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 25-29 January.

This 2012 Annual Meeting will convene under the theme, The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models, ‘whereby leaders return to their core purpose of defining what the future should look like, aligning stakeholders around that vision and inspiring their institutions to realize that vision.’

As part of the WEF programme the Archbishop will be a panellist in the session entitled ‘The Future of Democracy in Africa.’ It will address how established and nascent democracies being reformed and shaped to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

He will also be a discussion leader in the session ‘What will be the major ideological shifts of the 21st century?’ asking what the major ideological shifts of the 21st century might be.

As he prepared to leave South Africa’s beautiful summer for icy Davos, the Archbishop said, “I am once again looking forward to this meeting where faith intersects and interrogates capitalism. My hope is that God's capital will be spread and used especially for all of God’s people, and in this process care will be exercised over the environment. I believe deeply that democracy should not benefit a select few nor be imposed by others, but should be contextual ".

The World Economic Forum describes itself as an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Issued by the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town. Inquiries: Ms Wendy Kelderman on 021-763-1320 (office hours).

For more information about the WEF Annual Meeting see: www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2012

Diocese of Swaziland News

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:49:00 +0000

The following letter was sent to Bishop Paddy Glover, Dean of the Province, on 16 January. After it follows a corrected version of a press report on my visit to Swaziland that was carried in the Times of Swaziland.

My dear Paddy

I have just returned from the Diocese of Swaziland where I spent a weekend accompanied by Bishops Anthony Mdletshe and Funginkosi Mbhele.

I have had separate meetings with the Diocesan Council, Diocesan Finance Committee, the clergy of the Diocese and the Diocesan Chapter. I have also met with Bishop Mabuza, the auditors and the external partners of the Diocese of Swaziland. On Saturday we ordained two priests and six members of the laity were made deacon. On Sunday Bishop Mbhele, Bishop Mdletshe and I did three Confirmation services.

Bishop Mabuza has resigned and retired. I have appointed the Provost as Vicar-General after consultation with Chapter. I have also asked Bishops Mbhele and Mdletshe to take three months in turn to offer episcopal ministry, beginning on February 1 until the Elective Assembly in July this year. The Diocesan Finance Committee, Vicar-General, and Diocesan Administrator will work on the renumeration of Bishops Mbhele and Mdletshe during this six month period. Mr Rob Rogerson will assist if necessary in drawing up a budget.

The Diocese of Swaziland is in a healthy state in spite of all the challenges it went through. Bishop Mabuza must be congratulated and complimented for his effective leadership. We wish him a happy and blessed retirement.

I will issue a mandate for the Elective Assembly at an appropriate time.

Yours in the service of Christ

+Thabo Cape Town

From The Times of Swaziland (http://www.times.co.sz/) - Corrected Version

MBABANE – Anglican Church Archbishop Thabo Makgoba was in the country at the All Saints Cathedral Church Hall in Mbabane this weekend. He ordained two priests and six deacons on Saturday.

Archbishop Makgoba is the leader of all Anglican Churches in the Southern African region and is based in South Africa. Some of the notable figures who attended the event included High Court Judge Justice Qinisile Mabuza, Reverend Percy Mngomezulu and Director of Public Prosecutions Mumcy Dlamini.

The Archbishop also announced two South African Bishops who will become overseers of the local church after the retirement of Bishop Meshack Mabuza. The two are Funginkosi Mbhele and Anthony Mdletshe.

The event, which lasted for the whole day, was also attended by close friends and relatives of the new priests. The new priests will be stationed at the various Anglican Churches around the kingdom. After they were ordained, the priests and deacons took canonical vows in which they promised to uphold the values of the gospel, respect the leadership of the church and not discriminate in their ministry. They were congratulated by close family members and some of the congregants. They were, however, strictly warned not to abuse their offices by doing things that would be against the will of God.

Thabo Makgoba is the Archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa

A Necessary Covenant

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:57:00 +0000

The following Press Release was issued on 10 January 2012.

Archbishop of Cape Town's Letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury – 'A Necessary Covenant'

The Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba, has written to the Archbishop of Canterbury in response to his Advent Letter to the Primates of the Anglican Communion and Moderators of the United Churches. In his letter, Dr Makgoba reflects on the Anglican Covenant as ‘necessary’ for Anglicans ‘in recalling us to ourselves’. He argues that the Covenant must be considered on the basis of its ability to help Anglicans recover their true vocation within God’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. This includes growing more fully into the life of ‘mutual responsibility and interdependence’ which the 1963 Toronto Congress identified and from which the Communion has since drifted. Recalling how the Communion was able to stand in solidarity with Southern Africa in the past, he sees the Covenant as being an effective vehicle for more fully expressing Anglicanism’s theological, pastoral and missional understandings and callings.

Therefore, he says, it is a mistake to focus too narrowly either on the disagreements around human sexuality, or on seeking legally or structurally based solutions to current Anglican difficulties. The identity of the Communion’s member churches ‘should not principally be conveyed through legal prisms, whether of some form of centralising authority, or of Provinces’ constitutions and canon law which must be “safeguarded” from external “interference”.’ The Covenant also ensures that the Communion cannot ‘rest content with the sort of “autonomous” ecclesial units that implicitly privilege juridical unilateralism over autonomy more rightly understood as the growing organic interdependence that must inevitably mark the living body of Christ’ and so is necessary in taking the Communion beyond the context in which current difficulties could arise and be pursued so acrimoniously.

Though recognising the reality of human fallibility, the Communion should look to ‘the salvific work of Jesus Christ’ and put its trust in him, rather than appearing to seek structural or legal solutions to its difficulties. He sees the Covenant as a means for doing this, since it ‘places God’s vision for God’s Church and God’s world centre-stage; and then invites us to live into this as our ultimate and overriding context and calling.’ The provisions of the Covenant – which neither create new structures nor interfere in Provinces’ life – should be understood, he argues, in terms of ‘the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus’ (Rom 8:2). Covenanting together does not mean legal restrictions, but instead, says Dr Makgoba, ‘constraining ourselves through the same sort of mutuality of love St Paul had in mind when he wrote “all things are lawful but not all things are beneficial – all things are lawful but not all things build up” (1 Cor 10:23). The Archbishop encourages those who are daunted by the challenge of living together in Christ by noting that ‘St Paul is under no illusions as to how difficult it can be’, in illustrating this by the mutual incomprehension of seeing and hearing within a human body. He also points to Southern Africa’s experience of bridging vast differences in the past and today.

Finally, he encourages those Provinces of the Anglican Communion which have yet to do so, to adopt the Covenant. He says ‘echoing St Paul, we affirm that we cannot say “We have no need of you” (1 Cor 12:21).’ He concludes by urging ‘all of you, as partners covenanting to go forward in newness of life together, are “indispensable” (v.22) to our own ability to grow in faithful obedience to what we believe is God’s vocation for all Anglicans, and ultimately towards the fullness of his vision for his One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Issued by the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town. Inquiries: Ms Wendy Kelderman on 021-763-1320 (office hours)

The full text of Archbishop Makgoba’s letter follows below.

My dear brother in Christ

With love and prayers, I greet you this Epiphany-tide in the name of Christ, made manifest as Lord and Saviour of all.

Reading your Advent letter again, in the quieter period following Christmas, underlined the particular gift that the Communion has the potential to be, as together we share the message that Jesus Christ is truly ‘the Light to all nations’, in whatever troubles the world faces. This was vividly evident in the visit I made with you to Zimbabwe. The capacity to act together – across old divides of colonisers and colonised, and contemporary differences of rich and poor, north and south, through God’s gift of unity to the Communion – gives considerable force to our joint proclamation of Christ as the Light of the World. We cannot put in jeopardy our ability to spread the Gospel in this way. In everything from standing in solidarity with Bishop Chad of Harare and his clergy and people, to contributing effectively to debate on reshaping international economic structures in ways that are more just, we need to do our utmost in ensuring God’s word is effectively expressed in and to his world.

Support during the apartheid era to us in Southern Africa from across the Anglican world demonstrated how great a difference the Communion can make: from the pastoral care such encouragement brought, through to its impact in helping us speak truth to power. Our theological convictions that God had called us to a particular expression of common life within the body of Christ thus bore both pastoral and missional fruit during the struggle years. Enjoying an identity that has dimensions beyond the borders of our Province has continued to empower us to speak courageously and truthfully in all circumstances – for we believe that, as in the past, if any of us are adversely touched in any way, the whole Communion is touched.

Yet such mutuality cannot be taken for granted, and indeed, the way that our disagreements on human sexuality have played out suggests we had already begun to drift from that particular sense of belonging to God and to each other, within the wider body of Christ, which was so strong in Southern Africa’s great time of need. It seems to me that the Covenant is entirely necessary, in recalling us to ourselves. Only in this way can we continue to grow in bearing this rich fruit that comes from living the life which is both God’s gift and God’s calling. This is how we have seen the Covenant, and so the Anglican Church of Southern Africa has taken the first step towards adopting it, with the concluding stage of ratification on the agenda for our next Provincial Synod in 2013).

Conscious of this, I offer these reflections on the Covenant, and its potential – if we are prepared to work wholeheartedly within its framework, trusting God and one another – to help us grow more fully into our calling as faithful Anglicans, faithful Christians, faithful members of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. This is the proper context for our discerning of truth, our pursuit of unity, and our understanding of (and, indeed, our disagreeing over) how they relate. It concerns me greatly, therefore, that, from what I read on line and elsewhere, and from the responses I received to the article I wrote for The Living Church last year, too much of the debate around the Covenant seems to have lost sight of this as our true context. There appears to be a too narrowly blinkered focus on questions not primarily directed towards growing as faithful and obedient members together of the body of Christ, of which he is the one true head, with all that this entails.

Arguments that the Covenant is ‘not fit for purpose’ (for example through ‘going too far’ or ‘not going far enough’) are too often predicated upon an inadequate model of ‘being church’ and what it means to live as members of the body of Christ. Implicit, it seems to me, is a diminished view of God’s grace, God’s redemptive power and purposes, and God’s vision and calling upon his people and his Church, and so of Anglicanism’s place within these. Our sense of who we are, and called to become, should not principally be conveyed through legal prisms, whether of some form of centralising authority, or of Provinces’ constitutions and canon law which must be ‘safeguarded’ from external ‘interference’. Nor should we primarily look to structural or legal solutions to our undeniable difficulties or for regulating our relationships.

Scripture reminds us that solving our problems ultimately rests not on our efforts but on the salvific work of Jesus Christ. He is the one who can make the Church faithful and obedient, holy and loving. For he ‘loved the Church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendour, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind – yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish’ (Eph 5:25-7). Do we truly believe and trust in this promise of God for ourselves? Do we truly believe and trust in this promise of God at work in the lives of other Anglicans? Of course we must work with the reality of human failings, but surely we should debate and behave and order our lives on the basis of the overriding sure and certain hope of God’s redemption in Christ.

Seeing the Covenant merely as a product of disagreements over human sexuality, or in terms of whether or not it provides particular solutions to these disagreements, is therefore to miss the fundamental point. As I noted earlier, it seems that, especially in the acrimonious and bitter ways we have often handled our differences, disunity over sexuality was symptomatic of a deeper malaise within our common life. I suspect this reflects a failure to take seriously the commitments to ‘Mutual Responsibility and Interdependence in the Body of Christ’ made at the 1963 Toronto Congress. We said then ‘our unity in Christ, expressed in our full communion, is the most profound bond among us, in all our political and racial and cultural diversity’ and in consequence, ‘our need is … to understand how God has led us, through the sometimes painful history of our time, to see the gifts of freedom and communion in their great terms, and to live up to them.’ The Congress warned ‘if we are not responsible stewards of what Christ has given us, we will lose even what we have.’ But it appears we have not been responsible, taking one another for granted, being content to drift apart, allowing ourselves to be preoccupied with our own concerns, so that when differences arose we had lost our ability to connect and work through them in love together.

Therefore, to ask if the Covenant is ‘fit for purpose’ should be to ask whether it helps us address the foundational question of growing together in faithful obedience within the body of Christ. And it seems to me that, above all else, the Covenant does indeed do this, in the way it places God’s vision for God’s Church and God’s world centre-stage; and then invites us to live into this as our ultimate and overriding context and calling. It does not create new structures or authorities, nor alters constitutions; and scope for individual action remains considerable (as your letter underlines). But nor will it allow us to rest content with the sort of ‘autonomous’ ecclesial units that implicitly privilege juridical unilateralism over autonomy more rightly understood as the growing organic interdependence that must inevitably mark the living body of Christ. As ‘Covenant’, it propels us towards understanding and expressing its legal provisions in terms of ‘the law of the Spirit* of life in Christ Jesus’ (Rom 8:2); constraining ourselves through the same sort of mutuality of love St Paul had in mind when he wrote ‘all things are lawful but not all things are beneficial – all things are lawful but not all things build up’ (1 Cor 10:23). It thus invites us – invites God’s Spirit – to breathe new and redemptive life into the Communion’s existing frameworks.

Where we are apprehensive about our ability to ‘lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’ (Eph 4:1-2), then it is reassuring to note that St Paul is under no illusions as to how difficult it can be to relate to those who are different within Christ’s body. Members who are otherwise completely mutually incomprehensible (as seeing is to the ear, hearing to the eye – 1 Cor 12:17) can nonetheless hold together, if they can recognise that Christ lives in the other. This is something we learnt in the past in Southern Africa, and continue to experience across vast ethnic, cultural, political and socio-economic differences. More than this, we have found that, even in painful difference, we are better able to discern God’s truth together than apart. All this is why we hold together in ongoing debate across the whole spectrum of views on human sexuality – we do not agree, and our differences are sharp and painful, but we will not turn our backs on brothers and sisters in Christ and instead will keep wrestling together. This is why we are proceeding towards adopting the Covenant.

Finally, this is why we hold in our prayers those Provinces, including the Church of England, who are still considering the Covenant. The Communion, and all it has the potential to be and become, under God, matters. Echoing St Paul, we affirm that we cannot say ‘We have no need of you’ (1 Cor 12:21). Rather, all of you, as partners covenanting to go forward in newness of life together, are ‘indispensable’ (v.22) to our own ability to grow in faithful obedience to what we believe is God’s vocation for all Anglicans, and ultimately towards the fullness of his vision for his One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Yours in the service of Christ

+Thabo Cape Town

To: His Grace, the Archbishop of Canterbury; cc: Primates of the Anglican Communion, Moderators of the United Churches

Note: ‘Eyeball-to-Eyeball Communion’, The Living Church, posted 17 June 2011, is available at http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2011/6/17/eyeball-to-eyeball-communion.

To the Laos - To the People of God, Epiphany 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Thabo Makgoba) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:28:00 +0000

Dear People of God

As 2012 begins, let me share some reflections with you, and invite you to join in praying for all that the year ahead may bring us, and the nations to which we belong.

Today, 6 January, Christians celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. It is a wonderful occasion within the Church calendar, which often passes without us truly grasping its glorious message. Also known as the Manifestation of Christ, it marks how Jesus is revealed to the world as the Messiah – that is, God taking human form, as the promised Saviour of all. In the Western tradition, this is associated with the visit of the Magi, the Wise Men, who came from afar bearing gifts to the infant Jesus, acknowledging his kingship beyond the ancient Hebrew people. Older tradition, still observed in the Eastern churches, focusses on Jesus’ baptism as an adult in the river Jordan, at which the voice of God the Father is heard saying ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’, while the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, is seen to rest upon him. Both reflect the fullness of the mystery of the incarnation, which is at the heart of Christmas, whose ’12 days’ we have just celebrated: that God is ‘made flesh’ in Jesus Christ, to give his life to redeem all of creation, and humanity within it

Salvation and redemption are not words we use every day, but actually they do describe God’s ever-present – and very necessary – loving care at work in our world, and in our lives, if we are prepared to accept it. God comes to us because he knows we need help. We need help to ‘do the right thing’, and we need help to rescue the mess we make of our own lives, and the lives of others and of society, when we fail (as we so often, inevitably do) to do the right thing. God also comes to us to encourage and strengthen us when life is hard and we find ourselves battling, surrounding us with his love, his compassion, his tender healing touch wherever we find ourselves hurting and sore. And God also comes to us with hope and promise – to be with us throughout our life’s journey, and to bring us safely to his eternal home, if we trust him and his immeasurable love.

All this is true for us as individuals, in our families, and even across our nations. The best New Year’s resolutions we can make are not those which are about trying to convince ourselves to make more of an effort through our own will power, for we know that, far more often than not, we are likely to fail. Instead, the most important decision we can make is to go forward with our hand in the hand of Jesus Christ, acknowledging that we cannot manage on our own, but that we need his guidance and his help, so that we can discover what is the right way to live, and receive the encouragement we need.

I felt I was experiencing very vividly God’s promises to be ‘with us always, to the end of time’ (Matthew 28:20) when I, with my wife Lungi and children Nyaki and Pabi, were invited to visit Madiba and Mrs Graça Machel, just after Christmas. With generous hospitality, we were treated to not just a warm welcome, but a delicious meal, over which we shared great company. I am glad to say both are in good health, and Madiba’s humour and ready wit are as sharp as ever.

Below I share with you the special prayer written for our visit, which you might also like to use. More than this, I invite you to pray for the nations of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, especially your own – that our leaders too may go forward into the year ahead trusting in God to guide and direct them in the paths that bring abundant life to all. And may I also ask your prayers for other nations around us that are in special need at this time, particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following contested election results, and for Zimbabwe, where Anglicans continue to suffer political persecution (you may have seen my press statements on this).

And may Jesus, the living Word made Flesh, who is Emmanuel, God with us, grant you a blessed and holy year ahead, as you follow his call to discipleship.

Yours in the service of Christ

+Thabo Cape Town

Prayer for Madiba

The angel host that appeared to the shepherds sang ‘Glory to God in the Highest’. Lord God, heavenly king, yet born a tiny baby, we too sing your glory as we celebrate your coming as Emmanuel, God with us, our Friend and Saviour and Prince of Peace, in all that life brings our way.

As we give thanks at Christmas for all the rich gifts you shower on our lives, we thank you for the gift of Madiba himself, and all that you have helped him be and do, in his years on earth, and for the health and strength he continues to enjoy.

As we remember how, in Jesus, God was born into a human home, we thank you for the gift of this home, for the loving marriage shared with Graça, or the joys of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, of friends and family with whom we enjoy the love you pour upon us.

As, today, we remember St Stephen, the first Martyr, we thank you that you also inspired Madiba to devote his life to striving for all that is good and true, for all that is right and just, and to be a living sacrifice, and a bright shining example for others to follow.

As we look to the year ahead, we remember the words of Gabriel to Mary, and the Angels to the Shepherds - ‘Do not be afraid!’, and so we trust ourselves to you for all that is ahead, committing ourselves to keep on walking your ways, with our hand in yours, until that day you lead us safely home.

So today we ask your blessing on Madiba, and those he loves, and those who love him: May the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds, the perseverance of the wise men, the obedience of Mary and Joseph, and the peace of the Christ child be theirs, this Christmas;

And the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, but upon you, and remain with you always. Amen.