A Call for the Return of Police “Services”

This press release was issued on 25 April 2011

South Africa’s Police should be renamed as ‘Services’, and the word ‘Force’ should be dropped, the Archbishop of Cape Town said, in his Easter Sermon.

Preaching at St George’s Cathedral, Cape Town, at the Easter Vigil Service on Saturday night, Dr Thabo Makgoba called for the police to be consciously focussed on delivering ‘safety and security’, and other ‘life-affirming’ action. In contrast, to speak of ‘force’ was too often to ‘maim and kill’ and be ‘wrapped in brutality’.

The Archbishop challenged South Africans to consider what it means to ‘meet the risen Jesus in Galilee’, through following Jesus’ example in their own lives. He spoke of his discomfort at having ‘to walk alongside wealth-creators or others whom power has corrupted, in order to challenge them’ to live by Jesus’ standards, as well as being pastor to the poor and needy, and promoting care of God’s world.

Dr Makgoba highlighted Jesus’ call for reconciliation and forgiveness, even with those we consider our enemies, in the light of Andries Tatane’s killing, and his own subsequent visit to Ficksburg. He repeated his call for the President and senior Ministers to go and apologise publicly for the unjustifiable violence as well as for the appalling conditions against which residents had demonstrated, and to make concrete improvements in housing and service delivery. While insisting that those responsible for Andries Tatane’s death must face justice, he also called for a process of forgiveness, and, as part of this, encouraged South Africans to demand the change in name for the police.

The Archbishop said people should take to heart the risen Jesus’ call ‘Do not be afraid’, and should be ‘fearless’ in demanding proper service delivery, especially for ‘the needs of the needy and the poorest of the poor’, and in opposing corruption. Everyone should be courageous in using their vote to call elected representatives to meet their promises and obligations.

The full text of the Archbishop’s Sermon follows below. Please note that the Archbishop’s reflections on his visit to Ficksburg, his Easter letter, and other recent statements can be found on his blog at http://archbishop.anglicanchurchsa.org.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

May I speak in the name of God, who raised Jesus, His Son, from the dead. Amen. Dear Friends in Christ, dear sisters and brothers at St George’s Cathedral – the Peoples’ Cathedral – Jesus has been raised indeed. Alleluia! We gather on this most Holy Night to acclaim and affirm that Jesus the Son of God was crucified for the sake of the World, and rose to new life, to break the power of death and bring redemptive hope to all humanity and to all of God’s creation. This is the Easter message and story – a celebration of new life which is always awaiting us. A gift of eternal life won through His victory over the cross – a gift which is always there, ready for us to unwrap.

As St Paul writes, ‘Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his’ (Romans 6:4-5). Thus, Jesus, by his cross and resurrection, has freed us from the slavery of sin, broken the chains of death, and opened the way to heaven, where in the Lord’s presence, there is fullness of joy and delight for evermore (Psalm 16:11).

So, in St Matthew’s gospel, we read how Jesus says, ‘Do not be afraid, go and tell my brothers (sisters) to go to Galilee; there they will see me’ (Matthew 28:10). Galilee was the centre of his earthly activities and ministries, where people were healed, fed, taught and comforted, and where the marginalised were incorporated and the authorities challenged. He invites us also to go there – ‘there you will see me.’ We must ask ourselves, what might your Galilee be and mean to you today – Galilee, a place for Jesus’ context and ministry? Where might Jesus be inviting you to go to today?

Since being Archbishop, I have felt constantly called to be a pastor, to come alongside others in their pain or despair as they face the forces of death and destruction, to affirm them and sometimes challenge their learnt helplessness. I have been called as well, to care for God’s planet, as it grieves the loss of its integrity and respect through the insatiable appetites of a greedy few when the majority go hungry, and too many die due to lack of food, water and energy and basic needs such sanitation. I have also been called – though at times I feel uncomfortable about this – to walk alongside the wealth creators or others whom power has absolutely corrupted, in order to challenge them and mirror the demands of God in Jesus Christ unveiled in the Galilee. I have been constantly called to write and reflect on what might constitute the common good, human flourishing and human dignity and as well as the integrity of God’s creation – or the reign of God in the now and here.

Let me share one example of what reflected my Galilee, this Holy Week – a context and ministry where Christ may have said, tell my brother, the Archbishop, to go there and ‘there he will see me.’ The protest in which police turned water cannons on Ficksburg residents has been such a place – where the police bizarrely drenched locals with gallons of water when they could not get it from their taps. This behaviour should set alarm bells ringing in dysfunctional towns across South Africa.

The story is that of Andries Tatane, a teacher and community worker, and his fellow community members who were demanding simply that justice be done. They wanted to be treated with dignity, to have water and proper toilets instead of the bucket system. They went to present a petition to their elected representatives but were met with disproportionate police force. Andries Tatane had to pay with his life to get the attention of his elected leaders.

The resurrected Jesus says to the Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, ‘Do not be afraid’ (Matthew 28:1ff). Perhaps, He says to you and me and the residents of Meqheleng and others - fear not! Continue the work in this Galilee of challenging authorities, say to Minister Sicelo Shiceka, visit Ficksburg and see the appalling conditions under which God's people live. Minister Tokyo Sexwale visit, also and tell the community what you are doing about their housing. Minister Nathi Mthethwa and President Zuma, publicly apologise for the acts of aggression of the police, and say that the senior officers responsible for the police who killed Andries should face justice too.

Equally and more challenging for us as Christians, as Bishop Anthony said yesterday (and as echoed by Fr Terry and Fr Clive, in their informative and inspiring meditations during the Good Friday Three Hour Service), let us go to our Galilee and learn to forgive even our killers, those who persecute you, even the police who killed Andries. I want to add to their call of yesterday, today’s gospel injunction - do not be afraid! Do not be afraid to make forgiveness a process, wherein the wronged encounter the wrong-doer and together tell their part, and together discover the forgiving and restoring Christ waiting for them both. Forgiveness cannot be a one way process.

I therefore, encourage all of us, the Tatane family, the residents in Meqheleng, to affirm and call for a renaming of our police services back to ‘safety and security’ and not a police ‘force’, for this force seems to maim and kill rather than offer safety and security. Our Police Force is not life affirming. Nor is it wrapped in life giving behaviour – ready for us to unwrap and find abundant life. It seems to be wrapped with brutality and force which Christ overcame by his death on the Cross. Perhaps part of this forgiving process would be to urge their elected leaders to provide new, better homes and living conditions for the people of Ficksburg and also for the poorest of the poor across our country. But to expect the poor to yet again understand whilst the political elite kill and enrich themselves at the poor’s expense, will betray the true forgiveness Christ calls for.

The point of Easter is that Jesus, the Son of God, was crucified for the sake of the world, and rose to new life, to break the power of death, oppression, deceit, tyranny and to bring abundant life, redemptive hope to all humanity and to God’s creation. By his death and resurrection, Jesus unveils for us a Living Hope and fearlessness in demanding that we be served by our elected leaders as we too serve others. I pray we too may come to know our responsibilities to one another. Perhaps this murder may be a positive outcome of the very public nature of this violent tragedy – that we may turn our outrage into actions – actions which will lead to better lives for all our sisters and brothers who still suffer from the indignities which failed delivery of basic services imposes on their lives.

We can all begin by taking our upcoming local elections seriously. In our voting may we prayerfully consider - who will get the job done? And once the elections have taken place and our elected leaders are in place, let us demand leadership with results – especially for the poorest of the poor. They have listened to promises for too long. And those of us who are privileged to have basic services and more - we cannot be silent any longer. We are one family – God’s family – and we have responsibilities to one another.

In my Easter monthly letter, I said, ‘People’s lives are at stake, as we face local elections in May, we must never forget this, especially as we decide how to vote. Will we choose life for all, or opulence for some at the expense of others? We are not a rich country, but what we have should be enough to go round. Everyone should have proper food, shelter, fresh drinking water and sanitation. Every child should have access to a decent education. Affordable, adequate health care should be available to everyone.’ We also need to care for our planet, our earthly home, for it does not have limitless resources of water, food and energy.

This is the Galilee which Jesus calls us to be fearless in standing for, both in words and action. Go and spread this Easter message and do likewise. God calls on all of us, on political parties, politicians, business people, to go to our Galilee and to serve him, and to serve the people of this nation and his broken world: to put the needs of the needy first, especially the poorest of the poor. To bring good news to the poor, loving our neighbours as ourselves, and treating others as we would like to be treated. To have time for the outcasts – the excluded and unimportant people of our day – remembering that every human being is made in the image of God, and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.

As we join in acclamations, saying He is risen indeed, let us ensure that God’s good purposes for humanity find expression and fulfilment through us – that the Easter promise of abundant life that Jesus won for us on the cross may be known by all and felt by his creation too. Happy Easter!

Reference: Matthew 28:1-10

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

Sermon at the Service for the Renewal of Vows

The following sermon was preached at the Service for the Renewal of Priestly and Diaconal Vows of the Clergy of the Diocese of Cape Town on Maundy Thursday, 21 April 2011.

Isaiah 61:1-9; Psalm 89:21-27; Revelation 1:4b–8; Luke 4:16-21

May I speak in the name of God, who anointed His Son High Priest of the New Covenant. Amen! Dear colleagues, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, our Collect boldly claims that “we are consecrated to share as faithful witnesses to Christ’s saving work”. What might this mean, as we renew our vows today?

Before I turn to this, let me first say what a delight it is to be here, and to see almost all the clergy of this diocese and some retired clergy as well. Thank you all, for your ministry and our partnership in what God is up to in the various communities that we serve and in the world. A special thanks to Bishop Garth for his leadership among us – to Chapter and all the various bodies and ministries within the diocese. Archdeacon Karl Groepe, Fr Isaac Haynes and your parishioners, thank you for opening St James’ parish for us today and for all the preparatory work for this service. On the 22nd May 2011 at 15h00, we will be instituting Moruti Michael Weeder as Dean of our cathedral of St George. You are all invited. Pray for Michael, Bonita, and their children Chiara, Andile and Khanyisa, as they assume this specialized ministry. Please pray for us as we prepare for our diocesan Synod, to be held from 25 to 27 August at St Cyprian’s Retreat. The Summons for Synod has been sent and I hope you have elected or soon will elect your representatives to synod.

What might it mean being consecrated to share as faithful martyrs to Christ’s saving work, as we renew our vows today? It might mean that we are renewing our commitment to serving: renewing our identity in serving, as well as deepening our understanding of why we are serving. We serve for Christological reasons, because Scripture says “the Son of man came to serve and not to be served”; and our ecclesiological understanding is to build the body. The Anglican Prayer Book and the introduction in today’s liturgy, just before we renew our vows both say that the body is built when we show forth in his name the sacrifice of our redemption, as we set the Eucharist before God’s family – that is, through the paschal meal; as we lead His Holy people in love, nourishing them with His Word; and as we help strengthen them with the sacraments. This is an enormous responsibility that gives us a new self-understanding: an understanding that our (human and often feeble) work and will, through the grace of God can and do mediate the work and will of God. We, thus, are rededicating ourselves anew to the continuation of the mystery of the Incarnation, and our role in these mysteries. We gather as those “consecrated” or set apart to share as faithful disciples of his saving acts and as priests of the New Covenant. St John Chrysostom says “if you are renewed, you can’t remain the same.” We too cannot remain the same.

Anglican Archbishops Ramsey, Fischer, and Williams, as well as our own Archbishops Tutu and Ndungane, in their writings and ministries provide a helpful context within which we can understand ourselves as we continue this faithful work of service, worship and witness. Their work and theological understanding of God in the public space, endow us with sound biblical, ecclesiological and Christological bases for self understanding as we renew our vows. Their work is aptly summed up in a very readable book by Ramsey – The Christian Priest Today – when he refers to the ‘4 in 1’ unchangeable marks of a priest. That is, a priest is: a minister in teaching; a minister for reconciliation; a minister for prayer; and a minister of the Eucharist. Put in missiological terms, in these tasks we recognize what Bosch described as the three dimensions of the Church, the body of Christ, namely the ministries of kerygma – proclamation, preaching and teaching; of diakonia – serving; and of koinonia – communion with God and the rest of God’s community.

With this understanding, it makes theological sense to combine the renewal of the priestly vows and the vows of those called to the diaconate. By doing so, we are affirming that all of us are able to exercise the ordained ministry because, through our baptism, God befriended us. We too befriended God. Through his Son’s atoning and redeeming work, we continue as His disciples in spite of ourselves and who we are, and of what we may want to become. Through his saving grace and his Holy Spirit, our dismembered body (that is, our identity) is healed, formed into His likeness and made whole.

However, today, I want to focus on our role as ministers of the Eucharist: those who show forth in his name the sacrifice of our redemption, as we stand before God’s family; and on our role as ministers of reconciliation. Of course both of these roles are undergirded by prayer and scripture. As ministers of the Eucharist, each time bread and wine are sanctified, we too are sanctified. We are made one body with Him and, as we always pray, we are one with his people of this and every age. Thus, in celebrating the Holy Mysteries, the Mass, the historical – with its anamnetic and epicleptic realities – is renewed and turned into the “now”, into how we are called to be and ought to be. As someone said, a human being is a human being and must be a human being; and so we catch a glimpse of what is “to come”, that is, the eschatological perspectives. Together with those that the Eucharist is offered for, present and not present, we become incorporated into this mystical union and catch a glimpse of the “grace and peace from Him who is and who was and is to come ...” Rev 1:4b

As we receive the Word and Sacrament, the incarnate God – in the Father’s incarnate Son – dwells in us. The Holy Spirit gives us a new identity, in their likeness. In this way, we cannot and dare not privatise faith. When God, who is community, dwells in us or when the Spirit of the Lord God is upon us, (Luke 4:16ff / Isa 61:1), as the Spirit was also upon Jesus, the impact is felt beyond us. Our neighbours feel it too.

What impact does our neighbour feel when the “unrestricted presence of God, the creative and life giving Spirit” is upon us? Our hymn today reminds us, the hands that Holy Things have taken are “strengthened for service”. For where the incarnate word of God – the incarnate Christ – is, there is His scarred and wounded body: healing the sick, comforting the sad, accepting the excluded and marginalised, and driving demons out through his Word and his closeness to God the Father. Surely, this is what we are renewing ourselves for! We are recommitting ourselves to peace-building in his steps; to reconciling others after his example; to bringing hope and dispelling fear following the demands of his Word; to renewing the face of the world; and to building His body.

When we preside over the paschal meal, God’s family meal, the meal for all, we are showing forth the sacrifice of our redemption. We are made in harmony with a God who transcends race, sex, class and all artificial man-made divisions. We are renewed by the Spirit of the Lord God, sparing (or empowering?) us to continue to challenge individualism, arrogance, corruption, greed, self-serving or serving only friends and family at the expense of the poor. When the Spirit of the Lord God is upon us, we are called and sent, over and over again, to make Christ’s being real in our world and to share the implications of the paschal meal in our world. Being fed and nurtured by this meal in transformative worship constantly sends us into the world to build communities of love, compassion, and fearlessness, because we are not doing our will and work, but continuing in the will and work of God.

After celebrating a lunch-hour Eucharist on Monday at the Cathedral, I confirmed the invitation to go to Ficksburg on Tuesday. I went there to visit the Tatane family, following the brutal murder of their loved one, Andries, by our police. I went as the Anglican Archbishop, but also as patron of the Election Monitoring Network and chair of the Eminent Persons’ Group. Please join me in praying for our poor communities like Meqheleng, and Khayalitsha and our informal settlements in particular, and support them in their call to have their human dignity respected and their basic needs met. Join me in loving our neighbour as ourselves, including the police who killed Andries, even as we challenge their disproportionate use of force and their militarized approach that ‘shoots to kill’ even an unarmed Ficksburg civilian. Let us affirm and call for a renaming of our police services back to ‘safety and security’ and not a police ‘force’, for this force seems to maim and kill rather than offer safety and security.

St John Chrysostom says “what plunges us into disorder is not so much our sins as our despair”. Therefore, as those set apart and consecrated to witness to His saving acts, and strengthened for service, we cannot shy away from becoming signs of the divine, of the hope we find in the broken and risen body of Christ in the world. As ministers of the Word and Sacrament who “take, bless, break, and give” in remembrance of his saving act, we must will and work for Christ’s atoning and redeeming work; remembering that when one suffers, we all hurt. We thus cannot afford to leave any area without witnessing to Christ’s liberating presence.

The list is long but let me mention a few examples as I end. We cannot allow Julius Malema, and his gun-wielding theatrics, to compromise the space where justice is perceived to be uncorrupted. We cannot fear to raise the ethical/moral dilemmas of our day, even as unworthy servants: issues such as drug abuse and related crimes; abuse of power and state resources; and the cancerous greed of the elite in South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, to mention but a few. We cannot remain silent in the face of wars and killings in Libya, Afghanistan, and elsewhere; or the illegitimate development and use of power; or the post-election burning of Churches in Nigeria. We can’t be indifferent in the face of inequality; or at the marginalisation of religion and morality in schools; or where the environment continues to be polluted and energy wasted by a few in the world.

The Spirit of Lord God is upon us, refreshing our tired bodies and restoring our true identity in Christ; in alleviating the hurt, pain and suffering among His people through us; and in continuously consecrating us as faithful martyrs of His saving acts. May you be blessed this Good Friday and have a good, and joyous Easter. And please don’t forget to vote – and vote responsibly! Amen.

Prayers in Ficksburg at the Place of Andries Tatane's Death

Prayers with the Family of Andries Tatane

Visit to Ficksburg and Tatane Family

Tuesday in Holy Week this year was a very long day. As I sat in the Bloemfontein airport lounge, preparing to board the 6:05pm plane to Cape Town I realised that my emotions were very raw as I reflected on the day. I had left Cape Town at 6:00am to fly to Bloemfontein and then to be driven to Meqheleng, outside Ficksburg. It had been a very long Journey - long in kilometres but also long in terms of feeling the longing for justice to be done and for the poorest of the poor to receive even the most basic services as guaranteed them in our Constitution.

The occasion was a very sad one. Most South Africans would have read about it - the tragic death of Andries Tatane, aged 33, of Ficksburg and the injuries to his fellow community members. Andries and his community members were demanding justice to be done. They wanted to be treated with dignity, to have safe drinking water and proper sanitation - not the bucket system toilets.

They went to present their petition to their elected representative, their Mayor, but were met with water cannons, ironically being attacked with the very thing they don’t have the pleasure of in their daily lives. And if that were not enough, then came a disproportionate police force which claimed Andries’ young life. A dedicated teacher and community worker, he paid with his life to get the attention of his elected leaders.

Minister Shiceka should visit and see the appalling conditions under which God’s people live. Minister Tokyo Sexwale should visit too and provide houses. Minister Nathi Mthethwa and President Zuma should publicly apologise for this embarrassing act of aggression by police. And the commander who issued the instruction to shoot must be arrested too. I hope this is not to be accepted as a tacit demonstration of the police policy ‘shoot to kill’.

As we approach Easter, a season of life and hope, I want to send my condolences again to the Tatane family, as I did verbally on Tuesday. I pray that they may have the strength and courage and faith to get through this terrible time in their lives. In addition to the tragedy of Andries’ death, which was ‘shared’ with South Africans and the world through the media, I also pray that the family will have adequate compensation to build a new home and an opportunity to rebuild their lives, and that Andries’s death will ensure that all the Meqheleng residents will also have better houses and adequate services.

I pray for hope and fearlessness in demanding that we be served by our elected leaders. I pray we too may come to know our responsibilities to one another. Perhaps this may be a positive outcome of the very public nature of this violent tragedy – that we may turn our outrage into actions – actions which will lead to better lives for all our sisters and brothers who still suffer from the indignities which failed delivery of basic services imposes on their lives. We can all begin by taking our upcoming local elections seriously. In our voting may we prayerfully consider - who will get the job done? And once the elections have taken place and our elected leaders are in place, let us demand leadership with results – especially for the poorest of the poor. They have listened to promises for too long. And those of us who are privileged to have basic services and more, we cannot be silent any longer. We are one family – God’s family – and we have responsibilities to one another.

NOTE: Archbishop went to Ficksburg in his capacity as Patron of the EMN and chair of the Eminent Persons’ Group of the EMN. The Anglican Bishop of the Free State is the local Bishop and All Saints Anglican Church is located in the town of Ficksburg.

For more information, contact Siya Gidi (EMN) at 0729350892 or Wendy Tokata (Office of the Archbishop) at 021 763 1320. This statement is being released jointly by the EMN Office in Cape Town and the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town.

To the Laos - To the People of God, Easter 2011

Dear People of God

Alleluia! Christ is risen! As St Paul writes, ‘We have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection life like his’ (Rom 6:4,5). Jesus, by his cross and resurrection, has freed us from the slavery of sin, broken the chains of death, and opened the way to heaven, where, in the Lord’s presence, there is fullness of joy and delight for evermore (Ps 16:11).

This Lent I have been pondering what it means to say ‘Yes’ to God as Mary did when the angel Gabriel announced she had been chosen to be the mother of our Lord. What does it mean for us to say, with her, ‘Here I am, the Servant of the Lord’? Writing this as Holy Week approaches, I am reflecting also on Jesus’ obedience to the will of the Father, as he prayed ‘Not my will but yours be done’ in the garden of Gethsemane – which I was privileged to visit earlier this year.

In the past, too many people were forced into servant-hood – but thank God, today we have freedom and choice. We can willingly choose to say ‘I am a servant of the Lord.’ The God of love, care and compassion, seeks only our best. He does not exploit or oppress. Being his servant means liberty, not servitude. We put our hand in the hand of the living God, our Saviour Jesus Christ, who leads us in the ways that bring his promise of abundant life for ourselves and others around us.

By abundant life I mean that God desires no human being should be in want. No one should be hungry, or without clothing and shelter when it is cold and wet. God calls on his servants to use the hearts, brains, and will-power he gives us, to do what is right, to care for one another so that none are wanting. We also ask that our politicians should know how to be servant leaders. But too often we see tolerance of corruption, dysfunctional government, and neglect of the poor. God desires no-one to have too little, and so no one should have too much. No-one should profit at another’s expense or wellbeing. God calls us to remove the yoke of servitude. Yet to exploit, or merely neglect, others is to promote servitude, which diminishes all of society. Scripture warns that this is the path to condemnation and destruction.

People’s lives are at stake, and South Africans, who face local elections in May, must never forget this, as we decide how to vote. Will we choose life for all, or opulence for some at the expense of others? We are not a rich country, but what we have should be enough to go round. Everyone should have proper food, shelter, fresh drinking water and sanitation. Every child should have access to a decent education. Affordable, adequate health care should be available to everyone.

South Africa has achieved much since 1994, but I still ask, Where is the urgency among politicians to ensure basic services for all? Have those who seek elected office not understood that to lead is also to serve? They should remember that Jesus said ‘The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life’ – to give his life so that those in need might also know life (Matthew 20:28). Is this the model our politicians follow, in both words and action?

In their campaigning, they must also remember that in a democracy, God is not for or against any particular political party. God is the servant of no party and its manifesto. Rather, God calls on all the parties and all the politicians to serve him, and to serve the people of this nation: to put the needs of the needy before their own ambitions, interests, and desires for power and status. They should be judged by Jesus’ own ‘manifesto promises and policies’. This means bringing good news to the poor, loving our neighbours as ourselves, and treating others as we would like to be treated. Jesus had time for the outcasts, excluded and unimportant people of his day – reminding us that every human being is made in the image of God, and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.

These are the standards we expect of our politicians as elections draw near. I am proud to be part of the Election Monitoring Network and to chair the Electoral Code of Conduct Observer Commission that holds political parties to a Code of good behaviour, that all sign. It is a commitment to the right to free speech; to tolerance; to promoting open and fair debate between parties, and among candidates and those who support them. It is about behaving with decency and good manners in the little things – not defacing or destroying the posters of others; not shouting people down; not making threats; not spreading false rumours or telling half truths. EMN has set up a national SMS number – 33830 – for reporting any form of violence or other contravention of the Electoral Code. Do use it!

For all the Code of Conduct does is to require the behaviour of any decent democratic society – the sort of society in which we want to live and raise our children. All of us, in all the countries of ACSA, are the building blocks of democracy, and when standards fall short, we can raise our voices to say ‘Enough is enough! We will not accept intolerance. We will not accept the demonising of others. We will not accept the abuse of God’s name in support of narrow party or sectarian interests.’ Instead, in our lives, our words, our actions, we will show others what it means truly to live as servants of the living God – to say Yes, as Mary did, so that God’s good purposes for humanity might find expression and fulfilment through us. And we invite others to join us, and do the same – so that the Easter promise of abundant life that Jesus won for us on the cross may be known by all.

I am delighted to report that this month the land ownership questions around Modderpoort were finalised in a 'win-win' outcome that benefits all concerned. The Bautang community, who dropped their claim against the church, will pursue compensation with the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights. The Diocese of the Free State retain now-uncontested ownership of the land and will continue as stewards of this sacred site. Please join us in thanking God for a solution that promotes social cohesion and national reconciliation, and praying that it may be an encouragement in other difficult questions around land ownership and use.

Finally, on 7 May we consecrate new Bishops for the Dioceses of George and St Helena. Please keep the Ven Brian Marajh, and the Very Revd Richard Fenwick in your prayers. Richard joins us from Wales, and we welcome him, and his wife Jane, to our Province.

Yours in the service of Christ

+Thabo Cape Town