SABC News report on the Archbishop's Easter Vigil sermon

 

"We are seeing clear signs of hope in South Africa today" - Archbishop's Easter sermon

 The Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba

Archbishop of Cape Town

Easter Vigil 

St George’s Cathedral, Cape Town

April 4th 2026

Ezekiel 36: 22–28, Romans 6: 3–11, Matthew 28: 1–10

Alleluia, Our Lord has Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Sisters and Brothers in Christ, thank you for being here on this most holy night, when we recall and celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. Thank you Mr Dean – we really appreciate your leadership here – and the Sub-Dean, the Cathedral staff, all those responsible for the music, as well as to you, members of the congregation who ensure through your sacrificial giving that we have such a beautiful place in which to worship God. A special welcome to those who are visiting – we are privileged to have you join us.

Before I go any further, I ask for your prayers for the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, Archbishop Hosam Naoum, and his people, and for all faithful Christians who defy danger and restrictions to worship in Jerusalem tonight. I was deeply distressed to read last week that Israeli police stopped the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from celebrating Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Although that restriction has now been lifted, let us remember that the current conflict has prevented Muslims, Jews and Christians from observing Ramadan, Passover and Easter in their usual ways. Many in the faith community are interpreting the Israeli restrictions – and especially those on access to Al Aqsa Mosque on Eid – as punishment for the Muslim and Christian communities whose homes are in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

On a more hopeful note, I was excited last week to celebrate the installation of Archbishop Sarah Mullally of Canterbury in her Cathedral. On your behalf, I have welcomed her warmly, and expressed the hope that even as she ministers to all, her ministry will reflect a deep concern for the environment as well as those on the margins of society. In the days which followed her installation, the Primates of the Anglican Communion held a meeting where we discussed issues such as global conflict, the integrity of the environment and the effects of migration, looking at the underlying causes of these challenges. Leading the closing session of the meeting, my challenge to my fellow leaders of Anglican churches across the world was “What gives you joy?” since we cannot afford to get bogged down in despair at the state of our world.

Turning to our readings, the prophet Ezekiel was speaking into a moment of national despair for the society in which he lived. The people had lost their land, their temple and their political independence. They lived in exile and humiliation. Their institutions had collapsed and their confidence was shattered. Into their gloomy situation, God makes a remarkable promise when he declares, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you”. This anticipates the ministry of Jesus who, in his conversation with Nicodemus in John’s Gospel, makes it clear that no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born through water and the Spirit (John 3:5). 

In a similar way, in a single chapter of Matthew, from which we drew our Gospel reading tonight, we see a narrative shifting from one of despair in the previous chapter to one of hope. Matthew helps us to see that this hope, this new Resurrection life, this overturning of the old order and the ushering in of a new season, is often the work of taking small steps, of new life emerging from unexpected places and the most unlikely of people. 

If our hearts are not attuned to these sometimes quiet notes of grace, we will sadly miss the moments of Resurrection. No matter how hard the times and how bleak the outlook, God never abandons us to the worst of times. With this, no doubt, in his spirit, Matthew begins to find a new vocabulary; silence turns into words of proclamation and the fear that dominated the beginning of his story is transformed into deeds of courage. Here we find transformation, new hope, Resurrection.

And Matthew underlines that change is not immediate. It is accomplished on a journey, and it takes hard, disciplined, dedicated work to achieve. There is no Easter without the courage of those who made the journey to the tomb while it was dark, to go to a place where dangers lurked. As so often in the gospels, it was women who took the lead at the first Easter. In a world where theological articulation was a male domain, where women were not heard, it was women – the women who had stood at the foot of the Cross when the men ran away – who stepped out of their comfort zones and defied social and cultural norms to go to the tomb. It was women who found the courage to go in search of new life, so becoming the first of Jesus’s disciples to proclaim the first Easter.

Today it is when things are dark that we are called upon to summon up the courage and to take to the road to make change happen by being a part of that change long before the new era dawns. There are people in our country and our world who, once victory dawns, take credit for it without ever putting in any work when the night was dark, the road was long, and working for change was costly. But Matthew’s Gospel praises those who work in the dark in dangerous times, who are prepared to abandon their comfort zones and go to the tombs, and there to challenge the culture of death. History and new life emerges from hearts which, like those of the women at the tomb, are filled with courage, overcome life’s restrictions and proclaim confidently that “The Lord has risen.”

Easter should be a time of celebration, of renewal and of hope. But that is a hard sell, given the current state of the world. The Middle East is consumed by war, and those celebrating Easter in Jerusalem and other cities and towns across the region do so under the threat of drones and missiles. Not only that, the conflict threatens to spread, and its effects – especially the restrictions on oil and gas exports – are being experienced across the globe. Escalating petrol and especially diesel prices raise the spectre of rationing, speed restrictions and higher food prices. The war in Ukraine continues, with South Africans unwittingly and tragically dragged into it under false pretences. In Sudan we are seeing a repeat of the genocide of 20 years ago, apparently perpetrated by largely the same actors.

We are navigating a world filled with destruction and fear, not only abroad but at home. In many of our communities, an almost unstoppable culture of violence seems to have taken hold, fuelled by the vulnerability that comes from increasing poverty, unemployment and the plethora of social pathologies that democratic governance has failed to address after three decades. Waking up in the morning, it is almost a surprise not to read about a new corruption scandal involving those who pervert politics for self-serving ends. Whistle-blowers, witnesses and professionals such as lawyers are assassinated in brazen attempts to escape the consequences of taking bribes from tenderpreneurs. In Cape Town, teenagers are killed, victims of gang violence, with frightening regularity and domestic violence continues to stalk households. 

Perhaps worst of all, the confusing spectacle of claim and counter-claim we are seeing before Justice Madlanga and his fellow commissioners leaves the average South African unable to judge which police general is honest and who is controlled by a crime syndicate. Although we must wait for the Commission to sort the truth from the lies, it is already clear that the public cannot rely on the police service’s leadership, considered as a whole, to end the violence and criminality which has percolated to the top of society. At the same time we need to celebrate those officers in police stations across the country who do serve the public with dedication and empathy.

An evil which is not getting enough attention is how online gambling, easily accessible to anyone with a smartphone, is ruining people’s lives. In a recent discussion paper on online and interactive gambling, the National Treasury reported that annual betting revenue in South Africa has sky-rocketed by 390 percent in the past five years – from around R10.6 billion to R52 billion, with online betting estimated to generate more than R44 billion a year.

At a recent meeting, Anglican bishops from across Southern Africa gave accounts ranging from pensioners in South Africa gambling away their SASSA grants to students squandering financial aid for their studies. We heard of graduates who can’t find work borrowing money to gamble with in the hope of making a living, and of young people committing suicide in despair as a result of losing everything. As Dr Imraan Buccus has said, gambling has become “a form of economic self-medication, a desperate search for luck in a society that offers no opportunity.” 

The crisis that harmful gambling represents for society must be addressed urgently across government and civil society. We need to treat gambling the way we dealt with smoking and alcohol, and consider banning – or at least imposing strict restrictions on – gambling advertising. 

But the story of Easter tells us that we need not despair. On Good Friday, we heard a story of events 2,000 years ago that were not so different from what we see today. The first Easter took place when Palestine was oppressed by the brutal machinery of the Roman Empire. It was preceded by the harsh reality of pain, destruction, the demise of dignity, a political trial that perverted justice, the nailing of a man to a cross and the lives of his followers torn apart by cruelty. 

Just as the story of resurrection brought hope to the followers of Jesus, so we are seeing clear signs of hope in South Africa today. Matric pass rates are improving. The media continues to play a crucial role in exposing bad governance. Our Finance Minister tells us that levels of government debt are stabilising. Load shedding is largely something of the past, and reforms in power generation and transport networks are giving hope for better economic growth and therefore job creation. Business leaders with strong liberation movement credentials tell me they are cautiously optimistic about the prospects for investment in new economic activity. There is growing recognition that blindly enforcing the prescriptions of ideologues, whether on the left or the right, will not help our country to grow. Instead we are seeing the tens of thousands of highly-qualified graduates emerging from our universities looking for more pragmatic solutions to our problems. 

Thirty years ago, Desmond Tutu used to say that our country’s festering wounds needed to be opened, cleaned and cauterised before we would see healing. Today I believe the Madlanga Commission can perform that role – as long as its report is followed by strong and courageous action to root out the rot in our justice system. The challenges posed by its report will present President Cyril Ramaphosa with the most consequential decisions of his presidency. Fortunately he has on his side the unprecedented ferment in political parties, underpinned by our tradition of vigorous debate and civic engagement, which has the potential to sideline ageing leaders with entrenched positions and to create innovative new alliances.

Make no mistake, friends, the challenges we face are enormous, but turning around the ship of state in South Africa is more like altering the course of a supertanker than that of a speedboat – it will take time.

So this Easter, let us celebrate the signs of progress and our potential to do better as a nation. Prophetic faith insists that celebration itself can be an ethical act – a refusal to let cynicism have the final word. To rejoice responsibly is to affirm that goodness, beauty, and human dignity are not illusions but signs of God’s intention for the world.

As we engage our future, our season of new life, we keep in our hearts the reminder that resonates through Matthew’s Gospel – Jesus’ repeated assurance, “Be not afraid!” As we are told in Ezekiel, if we follow God’s statutes and observe God’s ordinances, “then you  shall be my people, and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 36: 27-28) 

With a confused and often chaotic world around us, with brokenness in our hearts, and amidst communities that are deeply fractured, Easter consoles us, challenges us: “Be not afraid!” and so gives us hope for all that lies ahead. 

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen indeed! 

* * * * *

“Men of violence have nailed diplomacy into a coffin” – Archbishop Thabo on the Middle East war

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba addressed the war in the Middle East at the beginning of a service for the Lay Ministers of the Diocese of Cape Town on March 1:

Sisters and brothers in Christ, you will know by now that the United States and Israel have launched a war against Iran, attacking many sites across the country and killing hundreds of people, including Iran's Supreme Leader. And a prosecutor in Minab in southern Iraq has told media that a girls' primary school in the town of Minab was hit, killing more than 100 people.
    At this time, we can do no better than to read the response to the war by the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, Archbishop Hosam Naoum, who is a close friend of our church, having studied at the College of the Transfiguration in Makhanda.
     Archbishop Naoum sent the following pastoral letter to the Anglican Communion yesterday:

“Dear Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“As you are all now painfully aware, in the early hours of this morning, February 28th, a coordinated and massive military assault was launched by the United States and Israel against numerous cities and installations within Iran.

“This operation, described by the leaders of the two nations as a 'pre-emptive' attack, has brought fire and destruction to the heart of Tehran, Isfahan, and beyond, striking at the very centers of governance and civilian life. Moreover, just prior to these events, Israel had also “pre-emptively” attacked various targets in southern Lebanon, where the number of casualties has yet to be determined. 

“Tragically, the cycle of violence has expanded with terrifying speed. In the hours following, Iran launched a widespread reprisal, with missiles and drones targeting Israel and U.S. military assets across the Gulf—striking installations in Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kurdistan-Iraq, Jordan, and Qatar. Sirens also blared across the Holy Land, warning of incoming missiles from Iran. Suddenly, our people from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf find themselves once again huddled in shelters, fearing for their lives as the shadow of a total regional war looms over us.

“These developments strike at the very soul of our [Anglican] Province of Jerusalem & the Middle East. Every single nation now engaged in this combat, and those bearing the brunt of the retaliatory strikes, resides within our ecclesiastical boundaries. 

"Our brothers and sisters in the Diocese of Iran are currently enduring the terror of aerial bombardment; our members in the Diocese of Cyprus & the Gulf are witnessing the arrival of war at their doorsteps; and our faithful in the Diocese of Jerusalem—extending across Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria—face an unprecedented threat of military escalation.

“In the face of such overwhelming force, we recall the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God' (Matt 5:9). Today, that calling feels heavier than ever before. When the 'spirit of fear' threatens to consume our hearts, we must anchor ourselves in the 'spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind' (2 Tim 1:7).

“First, I call upon the global Church to join us in urgent, unceasing prayer. We implore God to protect the innocent—the mothers, the children, and the elderly—who are caught in the crossfire of this 'Operation Epic Fury' and the subsequent 'crushing responses.' We pray specifically for a 'sound mind' for the leaders of the United States, Israel, and Iran, that they might recognize the futility of this bloodshed and turn back from the precipice of a global catastrophe.

“Second, we must offer each other the sanctuary of Christian love. I therefore urge our clergy and laity to be beacons of comfort. In a time of 'regime change' rhetoric and military ultimatums, let our message be the unchanging promise of Christ’s peace: to build each other up (1 Cor 8:1), for our hope is not in the strength of armadas or missile shields, but in the Prince of Peace.

“Finally, we must remain 'Bridge Builders.' Even as diplomatic windows seem to slam shut, the Church must keep the doors of reconciliation open. We refuse to see our neighbors as enemies, whether they be in Tehran, Tel Aviv, or the military bases of the Gulf. I extend an urgent invitation to the wider Anglican Communion and all people of goodwill: Intercede for us now. The hour is late, and the danger is great. We remain “battered and bruised, but not defeated.” May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

“In Christ,
The Most Reverend Dr Hosam E. Naoum
Primate and President Bishop
The Province of Jerusalem & the Middle East”

For our part in South Africa, it is abundantly clear that the men of violence have nailed diplomacy into a coffin and  decided that anyone can  kill and invade anyone. In the light of this, we have to call for a de-escalation of the conflict, but just as importantly, we must ask, what does it mean in practical terms to pursue Jesus's exhortation, “Blessed are the peace makers”. What does a sustainable peace mean, because anything short of this should be repudiated?

Now let us pray:

Loving God, Prince of Peace, we pray today for our sisters and brothers across the Middle East;
Look with mercy upon those who fear the terror of bombs from the sky,
Protect the innocent caught in the crossfire,
Be with those fleeing from their homes in a desperate search for places of safety;
Comfort those who mourn,
Defeat the schemes of men of violence; and
Strengthen the hands of those who even now work for peace.

Lord God,
    Bless the people of the Middle East;
    Protect their vulnerable children;
    Transform their divided leaders;
    Heal their wounded communities,
    Restore their human dignity,
    and give them lasting peace.
    Amen.

A Homily for Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday Eucharist 

St George’s Cathedral, Cape Town

18th February 2026

Readings: Isaiah 58:1-12, Psalm 51:1-17, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

May I speak in the name of God, who is Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. Amen.

Sisters and brothers in Christ, welcome to this Ash Wednesday service. and to the beginning of our journey through Lent and Passiontide to the Glorious celebration of Easter. Lent is a time of preparation for that great feast, a time of penitence, of seeking humility, of finding and expressing our gratitude for God’s love for us and of facing our own mortality. It is, to sum up, a season in which we are called to embark on an earnest search for God, stripping away all in our lives which distracts us from God, and during which by the grace of God we can find hope and joy in our lives and those of our communities.

Our readings today – from David’s penitential psalm, to Isaiah’s classic ode to compassion and liberation, to Matthew’s prescription to the kind of prayer that comes from the heart and not merely from the lips – can help us to discover the true meaning and the potential impact of Lent on our lives in a time of moral uncertainty and confusion.

It is hard to overstate the depth of the sin that David was atoning for when he wrote Psalm 51, desperately appealing “Have mercy on me, O God,” “wash me thoroughly from my guilt,” and “do not take your holy spirit from me.” David was actually seeking forgiveness for what we describe today as gender-based violence – violence which he perpetrated on Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, and which he then tried to cover up by orchestrating the death of Uriah.

In the context of the gender-based violence we experience in South Africa today, it needs to be emphasised that confession and contrition must include acceptance of the verdict of the judicial system. But accepting that, having confessed and shown repentance for our sins. what message does the passage from Isaiah have for us during Lent? Simply this: that the fast that is pleasing to God is one in which what others see reflects what is actually in our hearts. Our fast must be one in which we truly humble ourselves, in which metaphorically speaking, we wear sackcloth and ashes, to use the image which reflects how people showed repentance in Old Testament times. 

Such a fast promises us healing and restoration. But it also demands of us that we take the action so beautifully described in verses 6 and 7, and which played such an important role in the church struggle against apartheid: that we loose the chains of injustice, liberate the oppressed and provide food and housing for the poor. And underlining the importance of the outward observance of fasting reflecting a genuine inward faith, our reading from Matthew continues the emphasis on keeping a fast which reflects humility and integrity.

In a few moments we will have the sign of the Cross traced on our foreheads with ash. Ash has been  a symbol through the ages of our sad human reality, of our burnt-out lives, of our social realities, of the fires which rage and the shacks which burn in our informal settlements. In recent years, ash has represented, whether in Spain or Australia or the East Coast of the USA, the devastating fires that have caused such destruction as climate change and environmental squandering have made many parts of the world huge tinderboxes, not to speak of the ashes and rubble in Gaza, which represent the wholesale displacement of people.

Ash is indeed a symbol of fragility, vulnerability, poor choices and sin. That is true. But if it was the only truth, it would condemn us to a dark future. However, there is more to the ash you will receive today, because it is signed, not randomly, not as a smudge, but as a Cross, and that changes everything. The Cross reminds us that the ashes of our lives will be redeemed. As in nature, so too with us; scorched earth often yields new life, eco-systems re-activated and we rejoice in something better, more beautiful and bolder. 

Matthew understands that this hope, this renewal, our new humanity, is to be anchored in relationships. Thus he records Jesus reminding us of three traditional practices that we need to emulate in Lent if we are going to be open to transformation. Jesus reminds us firstly of the call to fast, which is all about our relationship with ourselves. Jesus then asks us to pray, which is about our relationship with God. Finally, Jesus challenges us to a generous giving of alms, which speaks to our relationship with others.

Christian fasting goes much deeper than the current fashionable practice of fasting linked to egotism and good health. It  reminds us that we are not sustained by bread alone, and speaks to the re-ordering of our desires. It exposes the subtle ways we attempt to assert an independence from God, and it creates space; space to listen, space to notice the hungry and those on the margins of society, space to rediscover and celebrate our dependence on God.

In his emphasis on prayer, Matthew calls on us to use it to help heal the wounds which cannot be seen. Wounds of abandonment, exclusion, racism, and patriarchy, all fester below the surface, in many people. In a nation that carries the residual trauma of apartheid, a nation that still experiences the very real trauma of violence – and especially the scourge of the abuse of women and children – prayer can never just be a private devotion. At its heart, prayer is fundamentally about transformation.

Finally, Jesus talks of alms-giving. In Biblical times, the giving of alms was more than making voluntary donations; it was a call to share justly. St. Augustine says that “Charity is no substitute for justice withheld”. Similarly, Madiba used to say that “Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity, it is an act of justice.” We dare not forget that we live in a country marked by deep inequalities, by relentless hunger and thus a large part of our response must be responding to the challenge of those who have fasting forced on them and for whom Lent is a year-round hell. Some part of our fasting must speak into that reality, into advocacy for food security and a society where no one goes to bed hungry. In a country where informal settlements stand next to wealthy suburbs, where youth unemployment is at its highest, the giving of alms is a moral response to a shared humanity and Lent an opportunity to align our actions with our values.

Finally, listen to this insightful saying by one of the Desert Fathers: “We are dust, yes, but dust breathed upon by God.” Therefore we journey into this Lententide, not with the shadow of our ashes haunting us, but with indefinable hope. Go into Lent boldly filled with hope!

Amen.

*  *  *  *  *

Global Centre for Peacebuilding and Business Launched to Promote Socially Responsible Mining

 St George’s Cathedral, Cape Town

Fifth Sunday After the Epiphany

The Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba

Archbishop of Cape Town 

Launch of the Global Centre for Peacebuilding and Business

February 8th, 2026 

Isaiah 58: 1-9a; Psalm 112: 1-10; 1 Corinthians 2: 1-12; Matthew 5:13-20

May I speak in the name of God who calls, informs and transforms us. Amen.

Thank you, Dean Terry, the Church Wardens and the staff of the Cathedral for your leadership and your welcome today. To our ecumenical friends, fellow clergy and bishops, and colleagues a special welcome. To the regular members of the Cathedral congregation, today’s launch of a Global Centre for Peace-building and Business represents an important step forward in an initiative in which churches, including the Church of England, the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and the Methodist Church in England are working with actors from the mining industry to promote ethical, sustainable mining.

Turning to today’s readings in the light of that introduction, Isaiah’s challenge, the Psalmist’s blessing, Paul’s witness, and Jesus’ salt-and-light vision, frame our purpose today: that is, to pursue justice and peace in contexts all too often marred by extraction and exploitation.

The Story of Mining in Our Lives

Mining has shaped human flourishing since our ancestors chipped flint for tools. Today, minerals power everything from our toothpaste to the digital devices that connect remote rural areas to cities, and one continent to another—and will even drive spacecraft like NASA’s ESCAPADE mission to Mars. In my own family, faith and mining intertwined: my father, a self-supporting priest of the Zion Christian Church, was a travelling salesman who travelled from mine compound to mine compound, selling clothing to West Rand mineworkers; my maternal grandfather hailed from the platinum fields of Bapong. As a psychologist, I’ve sat beside miners in a Johannesburg hospital, bearing witness to their pain and trauma after their spinal cords had been crushed in rockfalls deep underground, rendering them paraplegics and quadriplegics.

However, I must confess that we in the churches have fallen short in our ministry to the mining industry. Although our congregations include people from all sectors of the industry – owners, managers and workers – we have, for example, often failed to minister to miners living in hostels. So we have had a limited understanding of the needs, including the spiritual needs, of those who work in extreme heat on stopes two or three kilometres below the surface of the earth. And we have little understanding of the impact on managers and owners of the volatility of commodity prices, of the relentless pressures from shareholders for better results every quarter, and of the demands posed by technically sophisticated and complex mining operations.

Faith-based institutions speak with unique authority

But by joining the initiative which has led to today’s launch, we in the faith community, besides acknowledging the shortfalls I have referred to, have declared that it is not too late to remedy our past failures. Across Africa, faith-based institutions speak with unique authority. The leading continent-wide opinion pollster, Afrobarometer, has reported that a survey of 53,000 people across 39 African countries showed that two in every three Africans trust religious leaders, while fewer than half trust political leaders. In Central Africa, where the mining of strategic minerals is widely associated with child labour, environmental degradation and conflict, religious leaders are the only institution trusted by a majority. 

The words of Christine Firer Hinze, a theologian at the Jesuits’ Fordham University, sum up effectively the task we face. She has written that “in a world of radically unequal power and opportunities, one way towards justice and a better life for all is... about cultivating... practices of solidarity...” And her words challenge us here today to discern, in her words, “the interdependency of all peoples within earth’s habitats” and to work “collaboratively for the shared good of all people and the planet.” 

It is within this context that in South Africa and elsewhere, faith communities and the mining industry have begun to work together to ensure that the industry develops in ways that are in harmony with new patterns of human thought and behaviour, so that mining is seen as a welcome and valued partner in society, accepted as promoting the common good. 

Since 2013, we have been convening at Bishopscourt here in Cape Town what we have described as “Courageous Conversations” with mine CEOs, community leaders and NGOs. Beautifully, the conversations have been faith-led, starting with Evensong here at the cathedral, featuring the choir of St Cyprian’s Church, Langa. Morning Prayer has followed at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Protea, a site of apartheid forced removals. Key at these courageous conversations is seeking safe spaces to explore how the pursuit of business, the promotion of human dignity and caring for the environment intersect.

The challenges we face

Today the world confronts multiple fractures. Global norms are under strain, as the forum at Davos recently highlighted. Conflict is rising: in 2024 the Uppsala Conflict Data Programme recorded 61 state-based armed conflicts, the highest since 1946. Across Africa and beyond, local disputes over mineral wealth fuel ethnic tensions, insurgencies, and human suffering. The Democratic Republic of Congo, home to an estimated $24 trillion in untapped minerals, has seen six million deaths since 1996. And rebel groups profit from revenues from coltan, the mineral used in the manufacture of products such as smartphones, laptops and electric vehicles. 

We in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa have a special place in our hearts for our sisters and brothers in Mozambique, and I am glad that Bishop Manuel from Nampula is here today. This is because they used to be part of our church and because the apartheid government helped sponsor a destructive civil war there for nearly two generations. Now, the discovery of gas and rubies in northern Mozambique, combined with tensions born of past central government neglect of the region, and further fuelled by Islamic militancy, have generated a vicious insurgency. Thousands of civilians have been killed and over a million people displaced from their homes. On top of that, the legitimacy of a government which is being called upon to bring peace is in doubt because of a disputed election result.

In mining areas across the globe, we also confront the destructive legacy of past operations: abandoned mines, toxic waste and the failure of tailings dams containing the waste left over from mining. The collapse of these dams releases floods of mud which overwhelm communities: in 2019, 272 people died in Brumadinho in Brazil; in 2022, three people died in Jagersfontein in the Free State. In response, an independent Global Tailings Management Institute has been established in South Africa, backed by the United Nations, the mining industry, and the Church of England Pensions Board’s global safety initiative. There are these little initiatives that say we cannot be overwhelmed by darkness. As the song which we sung today says so beautifully:

Christ be our light! Shine in our hearts,

shine through the darkness.

Shine through the darkness.

Christ in your Church gathered today.

The challenges will grow over the next two decades as areas are mined out and the mines there begin to close. Old mining sites will need to be cleaned up and stabilised, hazardous material removed, waste dealt with and ecosystems restored. New mining ventures will need to adopt truly sustainable practices. At a meeting of investors and mining experts on Friday, our Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe, underscored this point. Observing that it is the sweat and blood of workers which transforms investment into wealth, he said investment needed to be accompanied by social responsibility, points that I would like to underscore too.

The Global Centre for Peacebuilding and Business

It is against this backdrop—over twelve years of prayer, study, and dialogue at Bishopscourt—that the Global Centre for Peacebuilding and Business has been conceived. The details have been fleshed out since a meeting at Bishopscourt two years ago, following a challenge I issued at the London Stock Exchange arising from the relationship between mining and conflicts.

Today, from this People’s Cathedral, we launch the centre. Our calling is to let our light shine, to be salt that seasons and preserves, to witness against injustice in mining practices, and to foster equitable partnerships that honour people and our planet. Our work will interrogate the questions: How shall we remain lamps and lamp-bearers in dark times? How shall our salt retain its flavour? I invite you now to join in this vital and ambitious work. 

We will focus especially on regions where extraction fuels conflict: Goma in the DR Congo, Cabo Delgado in Mozambique, communities in Madagascar, parts of Brazil, and areas plagued by the Zama-Zamas in South Africa, the informal miners who work abandoned shafts. We will continue the Marikana renewal project, of which I am a patron, which we launched more than decade ago in response to the massacre at that mine.

Together, through prayer, advocacy, dialogue and innovative finance, we can promote the rehabilitation of old mine landscapes, prevent new harms, and build local infrastructures for peace. We will build permanent infrastructure for dialogue. We will nurture the Peace Huts we have established in the DR Congo, the Peace Clubs in Mozambique and the Courageous Conversations in South Africa and Madagascar. My challenge today is: Will you commit your voice, your influence, your resources, your prayers to this project?

As president of the Centre, I pledge to walk this path with you—speaking boldly against oppression, illuminating injustice, and stewarding God’s good creation. Let me end with the words of the prophet Micah: “What does the Lord require of you but to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God?” Let us answer that call today.

Amen.

* * * * * 

Blessing & Dedication of Parish Hall at St Andrew’s Parish, Newlands, Cape Town

 Archbishop Thabo Makgoba

St Andrew’s Parish, Newlands

Service for Blessing & Dedication of Parish Hall

1st February 2026 

Readings: Colossians 3: 12 -17

May I speak in the name of God who calls, informs and transforms us. Amen.  

Sisters and brothers in Christ, the family of St Andrew’s, it’s a real joy to be with you to celebrate this important day. A warm welcome to Bishop Josh, Archdeacon Reeva and to all the clergy present and your spouses, as well as to the guests who are here to grace this occasion. A special welcome to our visitors and the benefactors of this beautiful project.  

Thank you especially to the Rector, Archdeacon Mkhuseli, and to all who worked to prepare this service. Thank you, Church Wardens, for your practical arrangements and your warm welcome on our arrival here this afternoon.  

In the letter to the Colossians, Paul refutes what is called the Colossian heresy, which – we can infer from his letter – included teaching which downplayed the divine nature of Christ. To accomplish his goal, Paul first exalts in Chapter One the supremacy of Christ. In today’s passage, having called his audience to renewal and to a new ordering of their hearts and minds, Paul proceeds to define more precisely what he means. To offset the lists of vices he has named in previous verses – vices which cause harm to others – he gives a list of virtues. In doing so, he focusses attention on the spiritual qualities which God’s chosen ones should display – virtues of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, all of them virtues which require us to care for others and to put them first. Note that three of the qualities Paul lists – namely kindness, meekness and patience – feature in Paul’s list of the fruits of the spirit in the Letter to the Galatians (Gal. 5:22). 

This week we celebrate Candlemas, the presentation of Christ in the Temple, a light to lighten the world and show the glory of God. It is an important festival, a time of encounter, of light replacing darkness, hope replacing despair and the new replacing the old. As we consider the current situation in our community, our city and our country today, what kind of candles or lights should we be holding up today to show to the world the saving, the renewing power of faith in Christ? 

Every day we see around us the consequences of joblessness, of addiction. Across our city everyone suffers from crime fuelled by drug addiction, which might explain the smashing of a stained glass window and the theft from a collection box at St George's Cathedral a few nights ago. In neighbourhoods not too far from us, we hear and see evidence of extortion, gang violence and the tragic deaths of young people in the crossfire. And across the country, we read evidence nearly every day of nepotism and corruption, including within our police service, as those who are well-connected line their pockets. Abroad we read of the suffering of the people, just to take a few examples, of Sudan, of Gaza and the West Bank, of Ukraine and Burma/Myanmar, and in recent days of Minneapolis in the United States. 

One of the greatest temptations we face is to build walls or sanctuaries and withdraw from the world, especially when disillusionment prompts a desire to disengage from public life. I understand this feeling, as the prospect of speaking out can be overwhelming, particularly when we feel unheard or betrayed. However, as moral and spiritual leaders, we are called to resist this temptation and remain engaged in public discourse. If we retreat, the space will be filled by those motivated by self-interest rather than the common good.

About 18 months ago, during an interview with UCT's Graduate School of Business, I was asked how to navigate prophetic leadership in a disillusioned democracy. I responded that silence is not an option when corruption, violence, and inequality become the norm; moral voices must speak. But the leadership we provide as the church requires care. In choosing courage over caution, we need to provide moral clarity, not claim moral superiority.

Prophetic leadership cannot simply echo public anger or adopt an outrage-driven narrative. If we do that, we risk becoming just another voice in an already polarised environment. I have learned in my 18 years in this office that prophecy is not about being the loudest or positioning oneself as morally superior. Instead, prophetic public ministry emphasises both truth-telling and truth-seeking, recognizing my own frailty. We should not foster a theology that solely focuses on individual spirituality but rather one that encourages us to consider how we can interface with others and improve our world. Truth-telling must be rooted in the spiritual qualities of which St Paul speaks, those of love and humility, and of being in relationship with others and holding one another accountable. It requires carefully listening to the pain and frustrations people carry without allowing such pain to devolve into cynicism or despair.

In sum, our responses to the ills we see and experience in society must be rooted in a firm faith in God, in a loving God who cares equally for each one of us, of a God who says in Jesus that each of the hairs of our heads are numbered (Lk 12:7; Mt 10:30). Once we accept that, once we actually feel it and know it deeply in ourselves, it gives us the confidence, the energy and the certainty that in God no problem is insoluble, no challenge is too big for us. It empowers us to deploy the science and the expertise that God has gifted us with to come up with practical programmes to address our challenges.

So as we dedicate this hall, in the sentiments of the Collect we used in the introduction to our service, we thank God for all who worked to have this hall built, and pray that it will become a centre for the nourishment and renewal of parish and community life; a resource which enhances joyful relationships among all who use it; and a place which helps us to nurture moral clarity and courageous leadership as we prayerfully confront our current context.

People of St Andrew’s, as you gather and direct mission and ministry from this historic parish with its beautiful worship space and this new facility, know that Jesus lives, and because he lives, we shall live also. Believe this, and we shall see the glory of the Incarnate Christ. 

Now may the Holy Spirit that God’s people experienced like a rushing mighty wind on the Day of Pentecost, transform our lives to be living stones which provide a firm foundation for God’s church in this place.

May God bless each one of you, your loved ones and this whole community. 

God loves you and so do I. 

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