This is an edited version of the sermon, originally preached largely in Sesotho, at the Memorial Service held at the Marikana Mine on 23 August 2012.
Matthew 5:1-10
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'
Today, we are here to mourn - or, to use another word from the Bible, we are here to lament.
We are here to cry out to God, and pour out our tears, pour out our hearts. We are here to ask God – knowing that he hears and knows our pain – to ask God, ‘Where were you when we were shot at, killed, exploited by less than adequate salaries? God, where are you when we are denied education access to basic services and we live in sub-standard places? We dare to ask God, because we know he can handle our asking. And if we can ask God these questions, we can ask anybody these questions without fear.
Yet as we ask these questions, we do so knowing that today is not a day of stirring up. God knows our emotions have been more than stirred up in the last weeks. Rather, today is a day of wresting with God about our pains; today is a day of laying down: laying down the burdens of our brokenness, our pain, our sorrow – laying them down before the cross of Jesus Christ – the eternal Son of God who became fully human and knows what it is to suffer pain and grief and to face death.
We bring our sufferings to Jesus, who suffers with us; who shares our battling. We bring to him our anger, our frustrations, our feelings of desperation, our heartfelt wish that things could have been different – so very different. We come before the God who listens, and we say to him all that we wish could have been different.
And so we mourn, and we lament. We lament the lives that have been lost – lives on all sides. We remember those whom we have loved. We thank God for them, for all the love we shared with them, for all the good we saw in them. We resolve that no revenge can return them to us; and in their memory, we recommit to solving our current challenges through negotiating, through dialogue, through talking with those in charge – management, government and amongst ourselves.
We dare to tell this listening God how sore our hearts are at the deaths of those we loved. We speak to our Father in heaven who watched his own Son die – and know that he understands.
We grieve for all who have lost fathers, husbands, brothers, sons, friends, colleagues. We cry out for families who have lost their breadwinners. We pour out our tears in the face of death – and we ask God for the comfort he alone can bring. We open our hearts to God, and ask him to write in them his consoling truths. We also lament for all who have been injured. We weep for all who have been traumatised.
We mourn because we were not wise enough, not brave enough, to insist that violence solves nothing, and is never the best way to a better future. We weep for the mistakes that were made, for the poor judgments reached, for the wrong decisions taken. We grieve for all who bear some responsibility, even in a small way, for how events unfolded, and now carry the burden of wishing they could have said or done differently. We mourn for broken relationships, broken trust, among those who work or live together – whether in the mine, or in the communities around. And as we lament all that happened, we also weep for the circumstances that led to these terrible events.
This week, we not only mourn and lament as individuals, but the whole nation of South Africa is also called to mourning. What does it mean that we should lament, not only as individuals but as a nation?
The whole country needs to be courageous in finding words to cry out honestly to God. We need to name our pain. We need to speak it out – without pretence – for the sake of South Africa.
The levels of inequality in our country are unjust and unsustainable. Of course, some will always be richer than others – but it is not right that a few should pursue such high levels of luxury when so many have so little. This is true far beyond the mining sector.
We come to the God of compassion, and ask, where is the compassion in our society? We mourn that we are so complacent, so lacking in godly love and compassion, that we can look on those with inadequate housing, and not do something about it. We mourn that, as a nation, we have let slip the Vision that guided us to freedom and democracy; that we have taken our eyes off our commitment to mutual respect and generosity of spirit, to creating a caring society in which all may have enough to live on with dignity and hope.
Today we mourn – we mourn for all who have died; and we mourn for all else that grieves us. We bring it all before God with a purpose – we come to ask him to take it all, and redeem it, to change it, and to change us, and give us a fresh start, so we may make a good and godly difference. This is the blessing of comfort that we seek. We ask him to bring:
• consolation for sorrow;
• hope for despair;
• healing for pain;
• wholeness for brokenness;
• forgiveness for wrong-doing;
• trust for suspicion;
• reconciliation for enmity and division;
• and a new beginning wherever it is needed.
We know that this will ask a lot of us, so we also ask for:
• strength in our weakness;
• wisdom in our ignorance;
• courage in our fearfulness
so that we might dare to see what it is that we need to do, and have the commitment to carry it out.
We are thus grateful that President Zuma has put together an Inquiry into this massacre and we hope it will get to the bottom of this disaster and reveal the truth. It is not enough to pray for wounds to be bandaged and pain healed, and to demand that conflict ends, unless we are prepared to address the wider context and the underlying issues on which conflict feeds. We have brought to God our lament over the anger, the inequality, the poverty, the death, the suffering, the injury, the hopelessness: and now we must listen to what is God asking us to do.
In the Bible, the Prophet Isaiah records this promise of God:
‘I will appoint Peace as your overseer, and Righteousness as your taskmaster: violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders …’ (Isaiah 60:17-18).
God’s word to us is that devastation and destruction end only when there is true peace and righteousness. This is a clear message of common sense to everyone, whether religious or not. The plain truth is that our greatest need lies in ensuring true justice and real fairness prevail in all sectors of our country’s life, and so bring genuine peace.
This is not merely about justice in terms of answering legal questions of who did what in the events of last week; nor of peace that is only the absence of conflict. It is the question of wider justice, across all of society, across the whole nation. It is about the justice and fairness and equity that are marked:
• by true economic emancipation of all,
• by good governance, honesty and truth,
• by mutual respect regardless of status,
• by flourishing democratic systems,
• by free but constructive speech.
It is about creating a country where every human person lives in dignity, with adequate housing, food, water, sanitation, health-care, education, and all the basic necessities of life.
God wants what is best for all his children, and will help us, if we strive for all that is good and right. This is the promise of the words of Jesus that we heard read to us. We should not be afraid to hold fast to his promises of hope – to strive for righteousness, for true justice; and to seek for genuine peace and true reconciliation.
to be, rather than any of the difficulties, challenges, setbacks that we experience.
Even as we mourn, let us ask God to bring his light into our darkness, and guide our feet into his life-giving pathways. That is why I want to make an appeal to our politicians, to respect the sanctity and dignity of those who died and all God’s people; and not to try to gain cheap political points out of this massacre. These are God’s people and we must respect the sanctity of their lives lost, their blood shed, especially as we mourn.
So, may God in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit bring comfort and blessing to all who mourn, and fresh courage and hope for tomorrow. Amen
Sunday, 26 August 2012
Marikana Mine Tragedy - Address at St George's Cathedral, Cape Town
This address was delivered at the inter-faith service held at St George's Cathedral Cape Town, on 22 August 2012.
Let me begin with my own welcome to everyone here today. Thank you, Madam Mayor, for your presence. I also acknowledge Tony Ehrenreich, along with many clergy and religious leaders, and all who have come to join in this service.
We are here today in what has been declared a week of national mourning. What does national mourning mean for us in Cape Town, who are so far away – and not only geographically – from Marikana? How do we avoid voicing platitudes, or falling into blaming and condemning at a distance? Yes, there must be investigation, yes there must be justice – and justice in its widest possible sense – but this is not part of mourning. And this week, today, mourning is most definitely our task, the task of the whole nation.
To use another word from Holy Scripture, our task is to lament. We are to cry out to God, for all that has gone wrong – not just last week in Marikana, but for all that is wrong in our country, our nation, which contributed to this terrible, heart-breaking tragedy. We cry out because it is a tragedy for all those individuals caught up in it, in whatever capacity. It is a tragedy for our nation, which thought – which hoped and believed – that we should never again witness such scenes.
We lament because things have gone wrong, terribly wrong. Whatever the merits of the various disputes, things have gone horribly, awfully, wrong:
• between mining companies and their employees,
• between unions,
• between union leaders and workers,
• and between miners and police.
Yet all these things did not go wrong by themselves. They point to a wider ‘going wrong’ – a going wrong:
• around law-enforcement policy and its implementation
• around policy-making, in the public and private sectors
• around economic inequalities between employers and employees, between rich and poor
• around attitudes that allow all these gulfs to emerge and widen
• even, around the relationship between government and citizens, politicians and people.
We cry out to God in lament for all of this. We cry out because we know – and this is the most important point of all – we know that God hears our lament, because God also laments with us. The God who is love, the God of mercy and compassion, grieves for all that harms even the hair of one human head; and grieves most of all when we are our own worst enemies, the cause of one another’s hurts and pains.
Heard by God, held by God, it is safe to lament: safe to speak out in honesty about all that pains us.
And so today, as a nation, we mourn. We mourn for every life lost, knowing it is one life too many. We mourn for the bereaved: for everyone who has lost a father, a husband, a brother, a son, a friend, a colleague. We mourn for every family left without a breadwinner. We mourn for all those who have been wounded. We mourn for all those who have been traumatised. We mourn for all those who have been arrested, and for all who seek justice. We mourn for all those who wielded weapons, for all those who pulled triggers, for all who contributed to the escalating violence – and who are all inevitably themselves harmed in spirit if not in body. We mourn for the mistakes that were made, for the poor judgments reached, for the wrong decisions taken. We mourn for all who bear some responsibility, even in a small way, for how events unfolded, and now carry the burden of wishing they could have said or done differently.
And we mourn for the failings of our country, our government, our societies – which made it possible for so much to go so badly wrong. We mourn for how we have become selfish and greedy, or merely complacent, and failed to hold fast to the vision that brought us freedom; and failed to strive to make it a concrete reality for every son and daughter of our soil. Today we mourn – because we are not a country where every human person lives in dignity, with adequate housing, food, water, sanitation, health-care, education, and all the basic necessities of life – and because we do not tackle these shortcomings with the greatest possible urgency.
We mourn for ourselves, because, when things go wrong, we do not always speak truth to power as we ought – though this morning in Khayelitsha, as religious leaders we pledged ourselves to move from witness to action, signing a pledge to ensure our faith communities and all our people truly do stand up against all forms of corruption, which exacerbates injustice and inequality.
Of course, some will always be richer than others – but it is not right that a few should pursue such high levels of luxury when so many have so little. And this is true far beyond the mining sector. But we mourn for our lack of compassion, asking: where is the love that each should have for their neighbour, no matter whether their neighbour is in a mansion or a tin shack?
And how can we look on those with inadequate housing, and not do something about it? Can we not see as God sees – that every human being on our TV screen is a beloved child of God, a precious individual, treasured and cared for. Each one, each worker, each police officer, each family member, each journalist, , each representative of management, of unions, of law-enforcement, of government, each individual caught up in events: every single one is known by name – their hopes, their fears, the circumstances and struggles felt in the heart of God.
Not one is insignificant. And nobody should be an anonymous marble in the invisible hand of the powerful – whether employers, unions, politicians, whoever, as they play their larger strategic games. Surely we know all this – but we have failed to live it out.
And so today is a day of mourning: it is not a day of stirring up. God knows our emotions have been more than stirred up in the last weeks. Today is a day of laying down. It is a day of laying down the burdens of our brokenness, our pain, our sorrow – of laying them down before the throne of God. It is a day of bringing to him our anger, our frustrations, our feelings of desperation, as well as our lamentation.
And we bring all this to God with a purpose – we come to ask him to take it all, and redeem it, to change it, and to change us so we may make a good and godly difference. We ask him to bring:
• comfort for sorrow;
• hope for despair;
• healing for pain;
• wholeness for brokenness;
• forgiveness for wrong-doing;
• reconciliation for division;
• and a new beginning wherever it is needed.
We know that this will ask a lot of us, so we also ask for:
• strength in our weakness;
• wisdom in our ignorance;
• courage in our fearfulness;
so that we might dare to see what it is that we need to do, and have the commitment to carry it out.
For we know that it is not enough only to mourn – though we must mourn. It is not enough to pray for wounds to be bandaged and pain healed, and to demand that conflict ends, unless we are prepared to address the wider context and the underlying issues on which conflict feeds.
We need to ask ourselves: why are so many hurting? Why are so many weeping? We need to be honest about what is fuelling this level of anger and desperation. We must also ask how we will handle it, if it spills over and spreads to other situations, other places.
We have brought to God our lament over the anger, the inequality, the poverty, the death, the suffering, the injury, the hopelessness: and now we must listen to what is he asking us to do. In the Bible, the Prophet Isaiah records this promise of God:
‘I will appoint Peace as your overseer, and Righteousness as your taskmaster: violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders …’ (Isaiah 60:17-18).
God’s word to us is that devastation and destruction end only when there is true peace and righteousness. This is a clear message to all – a message of common sense to everyone, whether religious or not. The plain truth is that our greatest need lies in ensuring true justice and genuine fairness prevail in all sectors of our country’s life.
This is not merely about justice in terms of answering legal questions of who did what in the events of last week. It is the question of wider justice, across all of society, across the whole nation. It is about the justice and fairness and equity that are marked:
• by true economic emancipation of all,
• by good governance, honesty and truth,
• by mutual respect regardless of status,
• by flourishing democratic systems,
• by free but constructive speech.
This is the vision encapsulated in 1994 and in our Constitution. Its achievement lies in our hands, if we recommit ourselves positively, and work hard, rejecting complacency and hopelessness in the face of the country’s challenges. God wants what is best for all his children, and will help us, if we strive for all that is good and right.
We should not be afraid to hold fast to his promises of hope. For when his vision for good is at the centre of our lives, it will shape us and our society. This – this ideal of human dignity and flourishing, at the heart of our Constitution – defines who we are, who we truly aspire to be, rather than any of the difficulties, challenges, setbacks that we experience.
So, even as we mourn, let us ask God to bring his light into our darkness, and guide our feet into his life-giving pathways. May he bring comfort and blessing to all who mourn, and fresh courage and hope for tomorrow. Amen
Let me begin with my own welcome to everyone here today. Thank you, Madam Mayor, for your presence. I also acknowledge Tony Ehrenreich, along with many clergy and religious leaders, and all who have come to join in this service.
We are here today in what has been declared a week of national mourning. What does national mourning mean for us in Cape Town, who are so far away – and not only geographically – from Marikana? How do we avoid voicing platitudes, or falling into blaming and condemning at a distance? Yes, there must be investigation, yes there must be justice – and justice in its widest possible sense – but this is not part of mourning. And this week, today, mourning is most definitely our task, the task of the whole nation.
To use another word from Holy Scripture, our task is to lament. We are to cry out to God, for all that has gone wrong – not just last week in Marikana, but for all that is wrong in our country, our nation, which contributed to this terrible, heart-breaking tragedy. We cry out because it is a tragedy for all those individuals caught up in it, in whatever capacity. It is a tragedy for our nation, which thought – which hoped and believed – that we should never again witness such scenes.
We lament because things have gone wrong, terribly wrong. Whatever the merits of the various disputes, things have gone horribly, awfully, wrong:
• between mining companies and their employees,
• between unions,
• between union leaders and workers,
• and between miners and police.
Yet all these things did not go wrong by themselves. They point to a wider ‘going wrong’ – a going wrong:
• around law-enforcement policy and its implementation
• around policy-making, in the public and private sectors
• around economic inequalities between employers and employees, between rich and poor
• around attitudes that allow all these gulfs to emerge and widen
• even, around the relationship between government and citizens, politicians and people.
We cry out to God in lament for all of this. We cry out because we know – and this is the most important point of all – we know that God hears our lament, because God also laments with us. The God who is love, the God of mercy and compassion, grieves for all that harms even the hair of one human head; and grieves most of all when we are our own worst enemies, the cause of one another’s hurts and pains.
Heard by God, held by God, it is safe to lament: safe to speak out in honesty about all that pains us.
And so today, as a nation, we mourn. We mourn for every life lost, knowing it is one life too many. We mourn for the bereaved: for everyone who has lost a father, a husband, a brother, a son, a friend, a colleague. We mourn for every family left without a breadwinner. We mourn for all those who have been wounded. We mourn for all those who have been traumatised. We mourn for all those who have been arrested, and for all who seek justice. We mourn for all those who wielded weapons, for all those who pulled triggers, for all who contributed to the escalating violence – and who are all inevitably themselves harmed in spirit if not in body. We mourn for the mistakes that were made, for the poor judgments reached, for the wrong decisions taken. We mourn for all who bear some responsibility, even in a small way, for how events unfolded, and now carry the burden of wishing they could have said or done differently.
And we mourn for the failings of our country, our government, our societies – which made it possible for so much to go so badly wrong. We mourn for how we have become selfish and greedy, or merely complacent, and failed to hold fast to the vision that brought us freedom; and failed to strive to make it a concrete reality for every son and daughter of our soil. Today we mourn – because we are not a country where every human person lives in dignity, with adequate housing, food, water, sanitation, health-care, education, and all the basic necessities of life – and because we do not tackle these shortcomings with the greatest possible urgency.
We mourn for ourselves, because, when things go wrong, we do not always speak truth to power as we ought – though this morning in Khayelitsha, as religious leaders we pledged ourselves to move from witness to action, signing a pledge to ensure our faith communities and all our people truly do stand up against all forms of corruption, which exacerbates injustice and inequality.
Of course, some will always be richer than others – but it is not right that a few should pursue such high levels of luxury when so many have so little. And this is true far beyond the mining sector. But we mourn for our lack of compassion, asking: where is the love that each should have for their neighbour, no matter whether their neighbour is in a mansion or a tin shack?
And how can we look on those with inadequate housing, and not do something about it? Can we not see as God sees – that every human being on our TV screen is a beloved child of God, a precious individual, treasured and cared for. Each one, each worker, each police officer, each family member, each journalist, , each representative of management, of unions, of law-enforcement, of government, each individual caught up in events: every single one is known by name – their hopes, their fears, the circumstances and struggles felt in the heart of God.
Not one is insignificant. And nobody should be an anonymous marble in the invisible hand of the powerful – whether employers, unions, politicians, whoever, as they play their larger strategic games. Surely we know all this – but we have failed to live it out.
And so today is a day of mourning: it is not a day of stirring up. God knows our emotions have been more than stirred up in the last weeks. Today is a day of laying down. It is a day of laying down the burdens of our brokenness, our pain, our sorrow – of laying them down before the throne of God. It is a day of bringing to him our anger, our frustrations, our feelings of desperation, as well as our lamentation.
And we bring all this to God with a purpose – we come to ask him to take it all, and redeem it, to change it, and to change us so we may make a good and godly difference. We ask him to bring:
• comfort for sorrow;
• hope for despair;
• healing for pain;
• wholeness for brokenness;
• forgiveness for wrong-doing;
• reconciliation for division;
• and a new beginning wherever it is needed.
We know that this will ask a lot of us, so we also ask for:
• strength in our weakness;
• wisdom in our ignorance;
• courage in our fearfulness;
so that we might dare to see what it is that we need to do, and have the commitment to carry it out.
For we know that it is not enough only to mourn – though we must mourn. It is not enough to pray for wounds to be bandaged and pain healed, and to demand that conflict ends, unless we are prepared to address the wider context and the underlying issues on which conflict feeds.
We need to ask ourselves: why are so many hurting? Why are so many weeping? We need to be honest about what is fuelling this level of anger and desperation. We must also ask how we will handle it, if it spills over and spreads to other situations, other places.
We have brought to God our lament over the anger, the inequality, the poverty, the death, the suffering, the injury, the hopelessness: and now we must listen to what is he asking us to do. In the Bible, the Prophet Isaiah records this promise of God:
‘I will appoint Peace as your overseer, and Righteousness as your taskmaster: violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders …’ (Isaiah 60:17-18).
God’s word to us is that devastation and destruction end only when there is true peace and righteousness. This is a clear message to all – a message of common sense to everyone, whether religious or not. The plain truth is that our greatest need lies in ensuring true justice and genuine fairness prevail in all sectors of our country’s life.
This is not merely about justice in terms of answering legal questions of who did what in the events of last week. It is the question of wider justice, across all of society, across the whole nation. It is about the justice and fairness and equity that are marked:
• by true economic emancipation of all,
• by good governance, honesty and truth,
• by mutual respect regardless of status,
• by flourishing democratic systems,
• by free but constructive speech.
This is the vision encapsulated in 1994 and in our Constitution. Its achievement lies in our hands, if we recommit ourselves positively, and work hard, rejecting complacency and hopelessness in the face of the country’s challenges. God wants what is best for all his children, and will help us, if we strive for all that is good and right.
We should not be afraid to hold fast to his promises of hope. For when his vision for good is at the centre of our lives, it will shape us and our society. This – this ideal of human dignity and flourishing, at the heart of our Constitution – defines who we are, who we truly aspire to be, rather than any of the difficulties, challenges, setbacks that we experience.
So, even as we mourn, let us ask God to bring his light into our darkness, and guide our feet into his life-giving pathways. May he bring comfort and blessing to all who mourn, and fresh courage and hope for tomorrow. Amen
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
Religious Leaders Call to End Corruption
The Welcoming Speech given at the launch of ‘From Witness to Action: A Call to End Corruption’ launched by Religious Leaders in Cape Town on 22 August 2012. The Call is a response to the first Religious Leaders Anti-Corruption Summit, which was held on 13 June, and at which Faith Leaders heard testimonies from community witnesses, social justice activists, and the CEO of the Public Protector's Office on the mounting cost of corruption, and pledged to join the fight against corruption on behalf of all South Africans. The Call itself, and individual statements from Faith Community leaders and from witnesses at the 13 June Summit, are carried below.
I am delighted to welcome everyone today – especially my colleagues of the Western Cape Religious Leaders’ Forum and members of community organisations. I also want to say a few ‘thank you’s. Thank you to the Institute of Security Studies, who first challenged us as religious leaders to focus together on corruption, and how we overcome it. Second, thank you to The Money and Politics Project of the Open Society Foundation of South Africa – who picked up the idea and facilitated our June summit. Special gratitude goes to Gary Pienaar, Daniel Weeks, and Mandisa Dyantyi; and everyone on the planning committee, for all your hard work.
Today’s call, from witness to action – this call to end corruption – cannot happen in isolation from our day-to-day lives; or we will have failed miserably in our intentions. A well-known saying sums up the challenge we face: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men (and women) to do nothing.”
Corruption is evil – a corrosive cancer at the heart of our nation, infecting and affecting every part of society. It seriously damages how society operates – especially government and the public sector, at every level from national to local. It threatens to undermine, even destroy, our efforts to create a nation based on the ideals of the Freedom Charter; and one of the best Constitutions in the world.
These high aspirations, for which so many struggled for so long, even at the cost of their lives, are tossed aside and trashed whenever a bribe is offered, a backhander taken, a corner cut for gain, or positions given to the unqualified and undeserving. Those who care only for the unearned quick and easy buck are showing contempt to past heroes; today’s needy; and to our children and our children’s children.
The burden of corruption is vast. The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution has estimated perhaps 20% of GDP is lost to corruption. This means that for every R100 that should be spent on health, education, housing, social development, clean water and sanitation, R20 is lost. Imagine how your life would be diminished and derailed, if, for every R1000 you earn, you instead got only R800. But imagine too, how much more hospitals and schools could do, if, for every R80 they get now, they got an extra R20. The same is true for every area of national economic activity, from electricity generation to mending potholes.
This is what they ought to be receiving. This is what corruption is stealing from every man, woman, and child, in South Africa. No wonder service delivery is in disarray! This is why we are in Khayelitsha today: to stand in solidarity with such communities all over our country – who bear disproportionally the burden of corruption.
Our ‘call to end corruption’ is not merely to challenge government at all levels. It isn’t only about tenderpreneurs and fat cats, who we see on the television but never meet in real life. It is also to say no to corruption, and rule-bending, in all our lives.
When traffic fines disappear for a small payment, or road-worthy certificates are issued for vehicles that were never seen – well, this is corruption. When queues are jumped and strings pulled – even if no money changes hands – this too is generally corruption, or little different. So too is doing shoddy work; using inferior materials; leaving jobs unfinished; or otherwise not fully delivering what we have contracted and been paid to do.
At every level, the time has come to say ‘enough is enough’, and draw a line, and say we will not stand for it any more – not from government, nor from ourselves. In today’s call, we pledge ourselves, and our own communities (which embrace the majority of South Africans), to be part of the solution.
• In our teaching and preaching, prayer and worship, we will clearly and unashamedly declare that corruption, in whatever form, is always wrong.
• We will highlight its destructive impact, on communities, families, and individuals, so no-one fails to understand its effects.
• We will stand in solidarity with, and advocate for, communities who are most affected by corruption.
• We will partner civil society groups who share our goals.
• We will ensure our own institutions are vigilant in staying free of corruption.
• We will commend and encourage good and honest people and practices; and we will support and protect whistle-blowers.
We will challenge other Provinces and their faith communities to make similar commitments. And we promise to be unrelenting in proclaiming this call and in speaking truth to power – and, indeed, we must not be shy of speaking truth to friends, including those in power, when also required.
Dear friends, our country has too much potential and promise to allow corruption to deface and derail the vision for which so many struggled and died. Please join us in making our nation a place where leaders and citizens strive together for a more just and caring society for all.
Let us set out eyes, our hearts, our wills upon this vision, this goal; and let us overcome all that stands in the way of this glorious future that can lie before us. And may God bless us as we work to make this vision concrete in our time. Amen
FROM WITNESS TO ACTION: A CALL TO END CORRUPTION
Statement following the 2012 Religious Leaders Anti-Corruption Summit in Cape Town
As members of the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Baha’i, Brahma Kumari, and African Traditional religious communities represented in the Western Cape, we came together on 13 June 2012, at the invitation of Archbishop Thabo Makgoba and the Western Cape Religious Leaders Forum, to look at corruption and its effects. This statement and programme of action comprise our response.
We recognise the threat posed by corruption
The corrupt pursuit of money and power is threatening our young democracy and robbing the poor of their basic needs and opportunities. Each year, corruption costs the South African economy hundreds of billions of rands. With half the population living in poverty and millions still without jobs, housing, electricity, adequate sanitation and medical care, the human cost of corruption is widely felt. Left unchecked, it poses a grave threat to South African democracy itself.
Corruption is not merely a material challenge affecting the political economy of South Africa (and the world), but also a spiritual, moral, and social concern. As the abuse of entrusted power arising from human weakness, it affects the way in which we organise our lives. Corruption, often based on greed, manifests itself horizontally across public and private sectors and vertically from the state and corporate elite on down to everyday citizens. It includes bribery, patronage, nepotism, embezzlement, influence peddling, partiality, absenteeism, late coming to work and abuse of public property.
Greed cuts through cultural, religious, and linguistic divisions, and is not limited to race, gender or age. Sound moral and ethical standards found in our Constitution are being compromised and abused. There is a growing sense of entitlement among rich and poor alike. Those who offer and receive a bribe are equally at fault. Indeed, we are all affected and we must all respond, inspired and guided by our faith traditions and by our common longing for compassionate community and fullness of life for all our sisters and brothers.
What we heard at the Summit shocked and inspired us
We came together to listen. We heard testimonies from community witnesses on corruption and its effects, especially on the poor. Again and again we were reminded of our responsibilities as religious leaders to give voice to the pain and suffering of our communities and offer hope.
Witnesses spoke of how corruption fuels the frustrations of many poor communities. We heard of the ways in which our common rules are unevenly applied and of shameful levels of service delivery due to incompetence and misuse of public resources. We heard of growing levels of despair in communities, which weaken social cohesion and destroy public trust, frequently leading to violence and lawlessness. We were reminded that the seeds of present-day corruption were planted in our colonial and apartheid past.
We were inspired by the efforts of many to root out corruption, ranging from state institutions such as the Public Protector to NGO’s, faith communities, and civil society, as well as international initiatives. We were encouraged by continuing efforts to demand public accountability, such as the call for an independent Commission of Inquiry into the Arms Deal, and the Right2Know Campaign. We took heart from seeing young people of good will who, in spite of their suffering, reach for the moral high ground and work for real change.
Context of corruption in South Africa
Corruption is a moral and spiritual issue which has its foundations in greed – personal and corporate.
Corruption is not limited to government; the private sector, civil society and our own religious bodies can and do experience corruption.
Corruption is not a new phenomenon; we inherited a legacy of corruption from colonialism and apartheid.
Corruption is global and is not confined to a certain political or economic system.
Corruption serves to compound inequality and injustice in almost every way.
Consequences of corruption in South Africa
Corruption undermines public trust and threatens the moral fabric of individuals and communities.
Corruption compromises our democratic rights and the ability of government to build a more just and equal society – we need only look at our education and health sectors at the moment. Mismanagement and incompetence, left unaddressed, become forms of corruption.
Corruption disproportionately affects the poorest and neediest communities, deepening their suffering and widening the divide between rich and poor.
Corruption causes communities to lose faith in the democratic system and leads some to violence (burning schools, clinics, libraries, etc), which only compounds their suffering and delays service delivery. While their anger are understandable, such violence is counterproductive and wrong.
Corruption enables people in leadership to profit from bad behaviour and to evade responsibility, thereby justifying “petty” corruption at all levels of society and creating a culture of impunity.
Corruption undermines the democratic will when political parties and public officials accept money or advantage in exchange for special favours and benefits.
Our response to corruption
We will not remain silent. We will raise our voices in unison: “Stop this theft from our people!”
We will, as a means to reconciliation, seek effective methods to rectify historical theft and corruption.
We will stand in solidarity with communities that suffer most and advocate on their behalf, so that none see the need to destroy what little they have to draw the attention of government to their plight.
We will partner with civil society groups who are doing similar work, supporting them and the communities they serve. If necessary, we will ‘march’ together again!
We will ensure that our own institutions are free of corruption and its insidious effects.
We will preach and teach in our own congregations the tenets of our faith traditions, all of which call us to be honest and just and to work to eliminate poverty, injustice and oppression of all forms.
We will highlight the effects of corruption in our communities, families and individual lives when we preach and teach, thereby developing the consciences of our members.
We will commend the many good and honest people, serving in government and elsewhere, who work with integrity and compassion – they deserve our encouragement and support.
We will join in protecting the rights of ‘whistle blowers’ who seek to uncover dishonesty and corruption wherever they exist, and we will celebrate small victories in the fight against corruption.
We will share this call with our local faith communities and encourage them to develop local inter-faith networks to advocate and mobilise against the scourge of corruption.
We will call on other provinces to host similar anti-corruption events so that this crisis can be addressed on a national level by all our faith communities.
STATEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS
Religious Leaders Anti-Corruption Summit, 13th June 2012 in Cape Town
Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, Anglican Church of Southern Africa:
“Corruption, by its very nature, is always wrong… It is not only criminal, it is wicked. It is not only illegal, it is immoral… We must stand up and declare this, loud and clear. We must educate our own people.
“ If we are not part of the solution, then the likelihood its hat we are part of the problem.”
Archbishop Stephen Brislin, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cape Town:
“It is clear that Faith Communities need to work together. We share core values and together we have a spiritual wealth that can overcome this great evil. Also, we should work with organisations which, even though their motivation may not be faith, are based on the same values and share similar goals”
Imam Dr Rashied Omar, Claremont Main Road Mosque:
“Unless the moral values and behavioral patterns that define a society are altruistic and caring, [our] Constitution and Bill of Rights will remain an unrealized dream. Our challenge is to make concrete and practical suggestions as to how we can undertake this challenging task of social reform.”
Mr Mickey Glass, Union of Orthodox Synagogues of South Africa:
“In a decent society, people work to redress deprivation, especially on behalf of marginalised groups… We have been found wanting.
“God who gave us the gift of freedom challenges us to enhance the freedom of others.”
Pst Xola Skosana, Way of Life Church:
“Religious people must not just point the finger at others but also at ourselves. We all participate in this society that is corrupt at its core.
“Separate development in the form of townships is corruption; it cannot be called anything else.”
Rev Alan Storey, Central Methodist Church:
“Corruption is about acquiring that which is not yours. The scriptures tell us that the earth and everything in it belongs to God… If our religious communities cannot confess that it is wrong to have [much when others have nothing], we have no hope for this country.”
Rev Siyabulela Gidi, South African Council of Churches:
“We declare apartheid to be a sin and evil; it is time for us to declare corruption a sin and evil…
“This is the one enemy that can lead the country to be united. We call for a united liberation front against this scourge!”
Dr Kobus Gerber, General Secretary, Dutch Reformed Church:
”As faith communities, we need to take hands and form a common public theology, a common faith perspective to address [corruption]… Moral regeneration is not the job of the state, it’s our job…
“We are faced with a second liberation struggle, a struggle for the soul of this nation.”
STATEMENTS OF WITNESSES
Religious Leaders Anti-Corruption Summit, 13th June 2012 in Cape Town
Themba Mthethwa, Chief Executive Officer, Office of the Public Protector:
“The power to turn the tide against maladministration and corruption lies in our collective hands. We must stop criticizing and take responsibility for corruption.
“Together we are more powerful than the forces of corruption and maladministration, which are evil.”
Hennie van Vuuren, Institute for Security Studies:
“Corruption is a gross violation of human rights; it steals from the poor, entrenches the rich, robs people of opportunities... Only if we look at corruption as a system, as a whole, will we be able to deal with it effectively. We must understand the systemic nature of corruption and develop an appetite for action.”
Lawson Naidoo, Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution:
“Service delivery is distorted [by corruption]. A few benefit at the expense of many, reinforcing existing socioeconomic inequality… The South African Constitution says that human rights must be protected, but pervasive corruption leads to systemic human rights violations.”
Nkwame Cedile, Right2Know Campaign:
“It is only in hell where people burn one another, and I am living in hell, in the townships. Our indifference to what is happening in the townships, our silence is corruption and fraud.
“This is a direct indictment of the Freedom Charter.”
Kate Lefko-Everett, Institute for Justice and Reconciliation:
“People’s perceptions of the extent of corruption…have the potential to erode citizen confidence in the fairness and rightness of government. When people are living in conditions of poverty, inequality, and injustice corruption can become a self-fulfilling prophesy.”
Angy Peter and Joel Bregman, Social Justice Coalition:
“The Social Justice Coalition encounters corruption daily in our fight for basic sanitation in Khayelitsha.”
“Corruption is like we are in a cell. You can't go anywhere and not see it… There is no way out.”
“We get many promises but no answers… How can you fight corruption if you are corrupt?”
I am delighted to welcome everyone today – especially my colleagues of the Western Cape Religious Leaders’ Forum and members of community organisations. I also want to say a few ‘thank you’s. Thank you to the Institute of Security Studies, who first challenged us as religious leaders to focus together on corruption, and how we overcome it. Second, thank you to The Money and Politics Project of the Open Society Foundation of South Africa – who picked up the idea and facilitated our June summit. Special gratitude goes to Gary Pienaar, Daniel Weeks, and Mandisa Dyantyi; and everyone on the planning committee, for all your hard work.
Today’s call, from witness to action – this call to end corruption – cannot happen in isolation from our day-to-day lives; or we will have failed miserably in our intentions. A well-known saying sums up the challenge we face: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men (and women) to do nothing.”
Corruption is evil – a corrosive cancer at the heart of our nation, infecting and affecting every part of society. It seriously damages how society operates – especially government and the public sector, at every level from national to local. It threatens to undermine, even destroy, our efforts to create a nation based on the ideals of the Freedom Charter; and one of the best Constitutions in the world.
These high aspirations, for which so many struggled for so long, even at the cost of their lives, are tossed aside and trashed whenever a bribe is offered, a backhander taken, a corner cut for gain, or positions given to the unqualified and undeserving. Those who care only for the unearned quick and easy buck are showing contempt to past heroes; today’s needy; and to our children and our children’s children.
The burden of corruption is vast. The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution has estimated perhaps 20% of GDP is lost to corruption. This means that for every R100 that should be spent on health, education, housing, social development, clean water and sanitation, R20 is lost. Imagine how your life would be diminished and derailed, if, for every R1000 you earn, you instead got only R800. But imagine too, how much more hospitals and schools could do, if, for every R80 they get now, they got an extra R20. The same is true for every area of national economic activity, from electricity generation to mending potholes.
This is what they ought to be receiving. This is what corruption is stealing from every man, woman, and child, in South Africa. No wonder service delivery is in disarray! This is why we are in Khayelitsha today: to stand in solidarity with such communities all over our country – who bear disproportionally the burden of corruption.
Our ‘call to end corruption’ is not merely to challenge government at all levels. It isn’t only about tenderpreneurs and fat cats, who we see on the television but never meet in real life. It is also to say no to corruption, and rule-bending, in all our lives.
When traffic fines disappear for a small payment, or road-worthy certificates are issued for vehicles that were never seen – well, this is corruption. When queues are jumped and strings pulled – even if no money changes hands – this too is generally corruption, or little different. So too is doing shoddy work; using inferior materials; leaving jobs unfinished; or otherwise not fully delivering what we have contracted and been paid to do.
At every level, the time has come to say ‘enough is enough’, and draw a line, and say we will not stand for it any more – not from government, nor from ourselves. In today’s call, we pledge ourselves, and our own communities (which embrace the majority of South Africans), to be part of the solution.
• In our teaching and preaching, prayer and worship, we will clearly and unashamedly declare that corruption, in whatever form, is always wrong.
• We will highlight its destructive impact, on communities, families, and individuals, so no-one fails to understand its effects.
• We will stand in solidarity with, and advocate for, communities who are most affected by corruption.
• We will partner civil society groups who share our goals.
• We will ensure our own institutions are vigilant in staying free of corruption.
• We will commend and encourage good and honest people and practices; and we will support and protect whistle-blowers.
We will challenge other Provinces and their faith communities to make similar commitments. And we promise to be unrelenting in proclaiming this call and in speaking truth to power – and, indeed, we must not be shy of speaking truth to friends, including those in power, when also required.
Dear friends, our country has too much potential and promise to allow corruption to deface and derail the vision for which so many struggled and died. Please join us in making our nation a place where leaders and citizens strive together for a more just and caring society for all.
Let us set out eyes, our hearts, our wills upon this vision, this goal; and let us overcome all that stands in the way of this glorious future that can lie before us. And may God bless us as we work to make this vision concrete in our time. Amen
FROM WITNESS TO ACTION: A CALL TO END CORRUPTION
Statement following the 2012 Religious Leaders Anti-Corruption Summit in Cape Town
As members of the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Baha’i, Brahma Kumari, and African Traditional religious communities represented in the Western Cape, we came together on 13 June 2012, at the invitation of Archbishop Thabo Makgoba and the Western Cape Religious Leaders Forum, to look at corruption and its effects. This statement and programme of action comprise our response.
We recognise the threat posed by corruption
The corrupt pursuit of money and power is threatening our young democracy and robbing the poor of their basic needs and opportunities. Each year, corruption costs the South African economy hundreds of billions of rands. With half the population living in poverty and millions still without jobs, housing, electricity, adequate sanitation and medical care, the human cost of corruption is widely felt. Left unchecked, it poses a grave threat to South African democracy itself.
Corruption is not merely a material challenge affecting the political economy of South Africa (and the world), but also a spiritual, moral, and social concern. As the abuse of entrusted power arising from human weakness, it affects the way in which we organise our lives. Corruption, often based on greed, manifests itself horizontally across public and private sectors and vertically from the state and corporate elite on down to everyday citizens. It includes bribery, patronage, nepotism, embezzlement, influence peddling, partiality, absenteeism, late coming to work and abuse of public property.
Greed cuts through cultural, religious, and linguistic divisions, and is not limited to race, gender or age. Sound moral and ethical standards found in our Constitution are being compromised and abused. There is a growing sense of entitlement among rich and poor alike. Those who offer and receive a bribe are equally at fault. Indeed, we are all affected and we must all respond, inspired and guided by our faith traditions and by our common longing for compassionate community and fullness of life for all our sisters and brothers.
What we heard at the Summit shocked and inspired us
We came together to listen. We heard testimonies from community witnesses on corruption and its effects, especially on the poor. Again and again we were reminded of our responsibilities as religious leaders to give voice to the pain and suffering of our communities and offer hope.
Witnesses spoke of how corruption fuels the frustrations of many poor communities. We heard of the ways in which our common rules are unevenly applied and of shameful levels of service delivery due to incompetence and misuse of public resources. We heard of growing levels of despair in communities, which weaken social cohesion and destroy public trust, frequently leading to violence and lawlessness. We were reminded that the seeds of present-day corruption were planted in our colonial and apartheid past.
We were inspired by the efforts of many to root out corruption, ranging from state institutions such as the Public Protector to NGO’s, faith communities, and civil society, as well as international initiatives. We were encouraged by continuing efforts to demand public accountability, such as the call for an independent Commission of Inquiry into the Arms Deal, and the Right2Know Campaign. We took heart from seeing young people of good will who, in spite of their suffering, reach for the moral high ground and work for real change.
Context of corruption in South Africa
Corruption is a moral and spiritual issue which has its foundations in greed – personal and corporate.
Corruption is not limited to government; the private sector, civil society and our own religious bodies can and do experience corruption.
Corruption is not a new phenomenon; we inherited a legacy of corruption from colonialism and apartheid.
Corruption is global and is not confined to a certain political or economic system.
Corruption serves to compound inequality and injustice in almost every way.
Consequences of corruption in South Africa
Corruption undermines public trust and threatens the moral fabric of individuals and communities.
Corruption compromises our democratic rights and the ability of government to build a more just and equal society – we need only look at our education and health sectors at the moment. Mismanagement and incompetence, left unaddressed, become forms of corruption.
Corruption disproportionately affects the poorest and neediest communities, deepening their suffering and widening the divide between rich and poor.
Corruption causes communities to lose faith in the democratic system and leads some to violence (burning schools, clinics, libraries, etc), which only compounds their suffering and delays service delivery. While their anger are understandable, such violence is counterproductive and wrong.
Corruption enables people in leadership to profit from bad behaviour and to evade responsibility, thereby justifying “petty” corruption at all levels of society and creating a culture of impunity.
Corruption undermines the democratic will when political parties and public officials accept money or advantage in exchange for special favours and benefits.
Our response to corruption
We will not remain silent. We will raise our voices in unison: “Stop this theft from our people!”
We will, as a means to reconciliation, seek effective methods to rectify historical theft and corruption.
We will stand in solidarity with communities that suffer most and advocate on their behalf, so that none see the need to destroy what little they have to draw the attention of government to their plight.
We will partner with civil society groups who are doing similar work, supporting them and the communities they serve. If necessary, we will ‘march’ together again!
We will ensure that our own institutions are free of corruption and its insidious effects.
We will preach and teach in our own congregations the tenets of our faith traditions, all of which call us to be honest and just and to work to eliminate poverty, injustice and oppression of all forms.
We will highlight the effects of corruption in our communities, families and individual lives when we preach and teach, thereby developing the consciences of our members.
We will commend the many good and honest people, serving in government and elsewhere, who work with integrity and compassion – they deserve our encouragement and support.
We will join in protecting the rights of ‘whistle blowers’ who seek to uncover dishonesty and corruption wherever they exist, and we will celebrate small victories in the fight against corruption.
We will share this call with our local faith communities and encourage them to develop local inter-faith networks to advocate and mobilise against the scourge of corruption.
We will call on other provinces to host similar anti-corruption events so that this crisis can be addressed on a national level by all our faith communities.
STATEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS
Religious Leaders Anti-Corruption Summit, 13th June 2012 in Cape Town
Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, Anglican Church of Southern Africa:
“Corruption, by its very nature, is always wrong… It is not only criminal, it is wicked. It is not only illegal, it is immoral… We must stand up and declare this, loud and clear. We must educate our own people.
“ If we are not part of the solution, then the likelihood its hat we are part of the problem.”
Archbishop Stephen Brislin, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cape Town:
“It is clear that Faith Communities need to work together. We share core values and together we have a spiritual wealth that can overcome this great evil. Also, we should work with organisations which, even though their motivation may not be faith, are based on the same values and share similar goals”
Imam Dr Rashied Omar, Claremont Main Road Mosque:
“Unless the moral values and behavioral patterns that define a society are altruistic and caring, [our] Constitution and Bill of Rights will remain an unrealized dream. Our challenge is to make concrete and practical suggestions as to how we can undertake this challenging task of social reform.”
Mr Mickey Glass, Union of Orthodox Synagogues of South Africa:
“In a decent society, people work to redress deprivation, especially on behalf of marginalised groups… We have been found wanting.
“God who gave us the gift of freedom challenges us to enhance the freedom of others.”
Pst Xola Skosana, Way of Life Church:
“Religious people must not just point the finger at others but also at ourselves. We all participate in this society that is corrupt at its core.
“Separate development in the form of townships is corruption; it cannot be called anything else.”
Rev Alan Storey, Central Methodist Church:
“Corruption is about acquiring that which is not yours. The scriptures tell us that the earth and everything in it belongs to God… If our religious communities cannot confess that it is wrong to have [much when others have nothing], we have no hope for this country.”
Rev Siyabulela Gidi, South African Council of Churches:
“We declare apartheid to be a sin and evil; it is time for us to declare corruption a sin and evil…
“This is the one enemy that can lead the country to be united. We call for a united liberation front against this scourge!”
Dr Kobus Gerber, General Secretary, Dutch Reformed Church:
”As faith communities, we need to take hands and form a common public theology, a common faith perspective to address [corruption]… Moral regeneration is not the job of the state, it’s our job…
“We are faced with a second liberation struggle, a struggle for the soul of this nation.”
STATEMENTS OF WITNESSES
Religious Leaders Anti-Corruption Summit, 13th June 2012 in Cape Town
Themba Mthethwa, Chief Executive Officer, Office of the Public Protector:
“The power to turn the tide against maladministration and corruption lies in our collective hands. We must stop criticizing and take responsibility for corruption.
“Together we are more powerful than the forces of corruption and maladministration, which are evil.”
Hennie van Vuuren, Institute for Security Studies:
“Corruption is a gross violation of human rights; it steals from the poor, entrenches the rich, robs people of opportunities... Only if we look at corruption as a system, as a whole, will we be able to deal with it effectively. We must understand the systemic nature of corruption and develop an appetite for action.”
Lawson Naidoo, Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution:
“Service delivery is distorted [by corruption]. A few benefit at the expense of many, reinforcing existing socioeconomic inequality… The South African Constitution says that human rights must be protected, but pervasive corruption leads to systemic human rights violations.”
Nkwame Cedile, Right2Know Campaign:
“It is only in hell where people burn one another, and I am living in hell, in the townships. Our indifference to what is happening in the townships, our silence is corruption and fraud.
“This is a direct indictment of the Freedom Charter.”
Kate Lefko-Everett, Institute for Justice and Reconciliation:
“People’s perceptions of the extent of corruption…have the potential to erode citizen confidence in the fairness and rightness of government. When people are living in conditions of poverty, inequality, and injustice corruption can become a self-fulfilling prophesy.”
Angy Peter and Joel Bregman, Social Justice Coalition:
“The Social Justice Coalition encounters corruption daily in our fight for basic sanitation in Khayelitsha.”
“Corruption is like we are in a cell. You can't go anywhere and not see it… There is no way out.”
“We get many promises but no answers… How can you fight corruption if you are corrupt?”
Friday, 17 August 2012
To the Laos - To the People of God, August 2012
Dear People of God
In the Collect of the nineteenth Sunday of the year, which falls in the second week of August, we pray to God ‘teach us to discern your hand in all your works’. These words have been resonating with me since I returned from celebrating the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Angola as a Missionary Diocese. Reflecting on their remarkable journey under the leadership of Bishop André not only challenged me to see God’s hand at work in all they have achieved in the last decade, but also stirred me to realise God has profound spiritual lessons for us all to learn from the newest, and, in some respects, most struggling, ‘territory’ within our Province.
Let me describe our visit first, before saying more about how this Collect has shaped my reflections. Lungi came with me, and so too did the Provincial Executive Officer, Revd Allan Kannemeyer, and the President and Chairman of the St Bernard Mizeki Men’s Guild, Revd Elliot Masoka and Bro Siphiwe Mncube. We travelled to Uige, in the north, and to the capital, Luanda. We saw how Bishop André and his team have steadily worked hard to establish solid foundations for this pastoral area, despite the ravages of war. We found vibrant worship and godly optimism – such as in laying the foundations and starting to build churches that may take years to complete. They need our help. Partners such as UPSG, ERD, ALMA and MANNA, deserve our deep gratitude for their assistance across a wide range of activities and needs. But within this Province we too can assist – for example, in helping raise the R1.5million necessary to complete church building projects. Love gifts can be made via the Provincial Treasurer (mark your donation ‘Angola Mission and Ministry Love Gift’ or contact Rob Rogerson: rogerson@anglicanchurchsa.org.za). Even a small amount will go a very long way.
You may recall that when I went to Namibia last year, I publicly apologised for the atrocities committed by South Africa within Namibia and over the border into Angola. I spoke about how knowing and making known the truth of this terrible past can become, through Christ’s redemptive power, a means for us to find healing, and also to become channels of reconciliation and peace-building (see my Christmas 2011 ‘To the Laos’ letter). Now, in Angola, I had the opportunity to share in prayer at Quibaxe, site of an Umkhonto we Sizwe camp. I asked for pardon for all those who had lost their moral compass there, or otherwise failed and fallen short. I prayed for all who had been killed, bereaved, injured and maimed as a result of the civil war and other violence.
Returning home, I felt a fresh energy to strive for peace and justice. As each of us is made in God’s likeness, not only does every human being deserve respect, but we should see that to harm any person is an act of desecration against a holy image, against God-bearers, even against God himself. This is true both of the violence of war, and in peace-time also. While war, which turns people into objects for domination by those who want power at any price, may be over in our part of the world, we also need a peace that is rooted in justice, fairness, and the refusal to allow the creation of political and economic structures that also reduce people to objects for exploitation.
The ten years the Diocese has existed coincides with the decade of peace Angola has experienced after a quarter of a century of civil war. Much has been done to move forward from that violent and tragic past, yet the country remains one of the most heavily mined in the world. No-one knows how many mines are there, perhaps millions; and they can continue to wreak devastation for up to 50 years. Pondering this, it then struck me forcefully that the task of removing mines is both a literal and a figurative one, if both country and church are to grow. If one merely avoids the mine-fields, the problem remains, and great tracts of lands are unavailable for production. It takes great bravery, even with the necessary training or outside help, to take on the mine-fields. Reflecting on this, it seems to me that God is challenging all of us to take on the mine-fields within our churches, and within our societies. There are unspoken issues among and between us that lie like unexploded mines in our midst, and too often we are afraid to tackle them, in case they ‘go off’. Yet God not only promises to lead us in safe pathways (Ps 23), but has in Christ overcome all that can harm his people and his church (Rev 3:21) and gives us authority to take on all that threaten us (Luke 10:19).
In other words, I have been challenged to see God’s hand at work as the ‘clearer of land-mines’ of any and every sort: challenged to dare to put my hand in his and tackle the ‘unexploded bombs’ that otherwise threaten the ability of Christians and the church to plough and plant and reap a harvest in every area of our lives, in every area of God’s world. I invite you to consider how you too may discern God’s work as ‘clearer of land-mines’ in your own life, in your own congregation and church and diocese!
Please pray for Provincial Standing Committee, as we prepare to meet in September. May we also discern God’s hand at work through the structures of our Province, and to respond to his leading. May we have courage to tackle the difficult issues, and above all, to be faithful and obedient to the calling he has put before us. We have distilled what we believe is this calling into the Vision that ‘Anglicans ACT’ – that we should be a community ‘Anchored in the love of Christ, Committed to God’s Mission, and Transformed by the Holy Spirit.’ The Vision will be at the heart of PSC, a touchstone to help guide and shape our responses to all that we face. May I remind you of the Bible Study and Sermon resources produced to help us engage more deeply with the Vision and Mission Statement, available at www.anglicansablaze.org, and from Revd Canon Cynthia Botha of the publishing committee.
PSC’s agenda includes a special service of celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Ordination of Women. We give thanks to God for how this has enriched our church – and for the growing recognition of women’s ministry in every area of our life. We shall also have a presentation on ‘Fresh Expressions of Mission-shaped Church’ from Bishop Graham Cray of the Church of England; on the Spirituality of the Environment from Bishop Geoff Davies; on South Africa’s National Development Plan, from Minister Trevor Manuel; and a breadth of other topics including education and finance.
Finally, the Diocese of the Free State have elected the Revd Dintoe Stephen Letloenyane, of St Margaret’s parish, Bloemfontein, to be their next Bishop, in succession to Bishop Paddy Glover. Please pray for Revd Stephen, his wife Zanele, and their children Dintle, Dimpho and Amanda at this time as they prepare for this new chapter in their lives.
Yours in the Service of Christ,
+Thabo Cape Town
In the Collect of the nineteenth Sunday of the year, which falls in the second week of August, we pray to God ‘teach us to discern your hand in all your works’. These words have been resonating with me since I returned from celebrating the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Angola as a Missionary Diocese. Reflecting on their remarkable journey under the leadership of Bishop André not only challenged me to see God’s hand at work in all they have achieved in the last decade, but also stirred me to realise God has profound spiritual lessons for us all to learn from the newest, and, in some respects, most struggling, ‘territory’ within our Province.
Let me describe our visit first, before saying more about how this Collect has shaped my reflections. Lungi came with me, and so too did the Provincial Executive Officer, Revd Allan Kannemeyer, and the President and Chairman of the St Bernard Mizeki Men’s Guild, Revd Elliot Masoka and Bro Siphiwe Mncube. We travelled to Uige, in the north, and to the capital, Luanda. We saw how Bishop André and his team have steadily worked hard to establish solid foundations for this pastoral area, despite the ravages of war. We found vibrant worship and godly optimism – such as in laying the foundations and starting to build churches that may take years to complete. They need our help. Partners such as UPSG, ERD, ALMA and MANNA, deserve our deep gratitude for their assistance across a wide range of activities and needs. But within this Province we too can assist – for example, in helping raise the R1.5million necessary to complete church building projects. Love gifts can be made via the Provincial Treasurer (mark your donation ‘Angola Mission and Ministry Love Gift’ or contact Rob Rogerson: rogerson@anglicanchurchsa.org.za). Even a small amount will go a very long way.
You may recall that when I went to Namibia last year, I publicly apologised for the atrocities committed by South Africa within Namibia and over the border into Angola. I spoke about how knowing and making known the truth of this terrible past can become, through Christ’s redemptive power, a means for us to find healing, and also to become channels of reconciliation and peace-building (see my Christmas 2011 ‘To the Laos’ letter). Now, in Angola, I had the opportunity to share in prayer at Quibaxe, site of an Umkhonto we Sizwe camp. I asked for pardon for all those who had lost their moral compass there, or otherwise failed and fallen short. I prayed for all who had been killed, bereaved, injured and maimed as a result of the civil war and other violence.
Returning home, I felt a fresh energy to strive for peace and justice. As each of us is made in God’s likeness, not only does every human being deserve respect, but we should see that to harm any person is an act of desecration against a holy image, against God-bearers, even against God himself. This is true both of the violence of war, and in peace-time also. While war, which turns people into objects for domination by those who want power at any price, may be over in our part of the world, we also need a peace that is rooted in justice, fairness, and the refusal to allow the creation of political and economic structures that also reduce people to objects for exploitation.
The ten years the Diocese has existed coincides with the decade of peace Angola has experienced after a quarter of a century of civil war. Much has been done to move forward from that violent and tragic past, yet the country remains one of the most heavily mined in the world. No-one knows how many mines are there, perhaps millions; and they can continue to wreak devastation for up to 50 years. Pondering this, it then struck me forcefully that the task of removing mines is both a literal and a figurative one, if both country and church are to grow. If one merely avoids the mine-fields, the problem remains, and great tracts of lands are unavailable for production. It takes great bravery, even with the necessary training or outside help, to take on the mine-fields. Reflecting on this, it seems to me that God is challenging all of us to take on the mine-fields within our churches, and within our societies. There are unspoken issues among and between us that lie like unexploded mines in our midst, and too often we are afraid to tackle them, in case they ‘go off’. Yet God not only promises to lead us in safe pathways (Ps 23), but has in Christ overcome all that can harm his people and his church (Rev 3:21) and gives us authority to take on all that threaten us (Luke 10:19).
In other words, I have been challenged to see God’s hand at work as the ‘clearer of land-mines’ of any and every sort: challenged to dare to put my hand in his and tackle the ‘unexploded bombs’ that otherwise threaten the ability of Christians and the church to plough and plant and reap a harvest in every area of our lives, in every area of God’s world. I invite you to consider how you too may discern God’s work as ‘clearer of land-mines’ in your own life, in your own congregation and church and diocese!
Please pray for Provincial Standing Committee, as we prepare to meet in September. May we also discern God’s hand at work through the structures of our Province, and to respond to his leading. May we have courage to tackle the difficult issues, and above all, to be faithful and obedient to the calling he has put before us. We have distilled what we believe is this calling into the Vision that ‘Anglicans ACT’ – that we should be a community ‘Anchored in the love of Christ, Committed to God’s Mission, and Transformed by the Holy Spirit.’ The Vision will be at the heart of PSC, a touchstone to help guide and shape our responses to all that we face. May I remind you of the Bible Study and Sermon resources produced to help us engage more deeply with the Vision and Mission Statement, available at www.anglicansablaze.org, and from Revd Canon Cynthia Botha of the publishing committee.
PSC’s agenda includes a special service of celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Ordination of Women. We give thanks to God for how this has enriched our church – and for the growing recognition of women’s ministry in every area of our life. We shall also have a presentation on ‘Fresh Expressions of Mission-shaped Church’ from Bishop Graham Cray of the Church of England; on the Spirituality of the Environment from Bishop Geoff Davies; on South Africa’s National Development Plan, from Minister Trevor Manuel; and a breadth of other topics including education and finance.
Finally, the Diocese of the Free State have elected the Revd Dintoe Stephen Letloenyane, of St Margaret’s parish, Bloemfontein, to be their next Bishop, in succession to Bishop Paddy Glover. Please pray for Revd Stephen, his wife Zanele, and their children Dintle, Dimpho and Amanda at this time as they prepare for this new chapter in their lives.
Yours in the Service of Christ,
+Thabo Cape Town
Lonmin deaths need strong, measured, intervention
This media Statement was issued on 17 August 2012
Archbishop condemns Lonmin deaths, calls for strong, measured, intervention.
Condemning the rising violence and deaths at Lonmin’s Mine, the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town has called for ‘strong, but measured and proportionate’ interventions from Government, police and unions, to end the ‘senseless loss of life’.
‘Our fervent prayers are with all the bereaved and injured’ said Dr Thabo Makgoba, while warning that one could not bandage wounds or demand an end to conflict without addressing the issues on which conflict feeds. He said that God’s promise of true peace could only be realised when there was true justice and equity, and that all sectors of society must strive for this. The Archbishop called for hard work, and positive recommitment to the vision of 1994, rather than complacency or hopelessness in the face of the country’s challenges.
The full text of the Archbishop’s Statement follows below:
Like so many South Africans, I have been watching with growing alarm the escalating violence at Lonmin’s Marikana Mine over the last week, and am now stunned and appalled by yesterday’s events which left so many more dead or injured. It is a terrible, heart-breaking, tragedy, for the individuals concerned and for our nation. Our fervent prayers are with all the bereaved, and the hurt and wounded.
Whatever the merits of the various disputes – whether between employees and employers, between unions, between workers and union leaders, between miners and police – whatever the legality of the strikes or the responses to them, this death toll is unacceptable. Even one death is one too many, and there must be an end to this senseless loss of life.
There must be strong, but measured and proportionate, interventions to end this warpath and stop the killings. I call on the Ministers of Justice, and of Mining and Mineral Resources, to engage fully. Police and union leaders must also strive to reverse the spirals of mistrust and violence. Further, the whole country must register our utter frustration at the unacceptable handling of the dispute. We must also make resoundingly clear that common sense must prevail, and that sincere, mature, negotiation must always be the route to solving our differences. Violence is never the answer.
Yet we cannot just pray for wounds to be bandaged and pain healed, and demand that conflict ends, without addressing the wider context and the underlying issues on which conflict feeds. In the Bible, the Prophet Isaiah records the promise of God that ‘I will appoint Peace as your overseer, and Righteousness as your taskmaster: violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders …’ (Isaiah 60:17-18). Devastation and destruction end only when there is true peace and righteousness. In other words, our greatest need is to ensure that genuine justice and fairness prevail in all sectors of our country’s life. These are marked by true economic emancipation of all, good governance, honesty and truth, mutual respect regardless of status, flourishing democratic systems, free but constructive speech. We must not lose sight of this vision, encapsulated in 1994 and in our Constitution. Its achievement lies in our hands, if we recommit ourselves positively, and work hard, rejecting complacency and hopelessness in the face of the country’s challenges. God wants what is best for all his children, and will help us, if we strive for all that is good and right.
Issued by the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town
Inquiries: Ms Wendy Kelderman 021-763-1320 (office hours)
Archbishop condemns Lonmin deaths, calls for strong, measured, intervention.
Condemning the rising violence and deaths at Lonmin’s Mine, the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town has called for ‘strong, but measured and proportionate’ interventions from Government, police and unions, to end the ‘senseless loss of life’.
‘Our fervent prayers are with all the bereaved and injured’ said Dr Thabo Makgoba, while warning that one could not bandage wounds or demand an end to conflict without addressing the issues on which conflict feeds. He said that God’s promise of true peace could only be realised when there was true justice and equity, and that all sectors of society must strive for this. The Archbishop called for hard work, and positive recommitment to the vision of 1994, rather than complacency or hopelessness in the face of the country’s challenges.
The full text of the Archbishop’s Statement follows below:
Like so many South Africans, I have been watching with growing alarm the escalating violence at Lonmin’s Marikana Mine over the last week, and am now stunned and appalled by yesterday’s events which left so many more dead or injured. It is a terrible, heart-breaking, tragedy, for the individuals concerned and for our nation. Our fervent prayers are with all the bereaved, and the hurt and wounded.
Whatever the merits of the various disputes – whether between employees and employers, between unions, between workers and union leaders, between miners and police – whatever the legality of the strikes or the responses to them, this death toll is unacceptable. Even one death is one too many, and there must be an end to this senseless loss of life.
There must be strong, but measured and proportionate, interventions to end this warpath and stop the killings. I call on the Ministers of Justice, and of Mining and Mineral Resources, to engage fully. Police and union leaders must also strive to reverse the spirals of mistrust and violence. Further, the whole country must register our utter frustration at the unacceptable handling of the dispute. We must also make resoundingly clear that common sense must prevail, and that sincere, mature, negotiation must always be the route to solving our differences. Violence is never the answer.
Yet we cannot just pray for wounds to be bandaged and pain healed, and demand that conflict ends, without addressing the wider context and the underlying issues on which conflict feeds. In the Bible, the Prophet Isaiah records the promise of God that ‘I will appoint Peace as your overseer, and Righteousness as your taskmaster: violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders …’ (Isaiah 60:17-18). Devastation and destruction end only when there is true peace and righteousness. In other words, our greatest need is to ensure that genuine justice and fairness prevail in all sectors of our country’s life. These are marked by true economic emancipation of all, good governance, honesty and truth, mutual respect regardless of status, flourishing democratic systems, free but constructive speech. We must not lose sight of this vision, encapsulated in 1994 and in our Constitution. Its achievement lies in our hands, if we recommit ourselves positively, and work hard, rejecting complacency and hopelessness in the face of the country’s challenges. God wants what is best for all his children, and will help us, if we strive for all that is good and right.
Issued by the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town
Inquiries: Ms Wendy Kelderman 021-763-1320 (office hours)
Thursday, 16 August 2012
Hillary Clinton at the University of the Western Cape
Introduction to the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, before her public speech on 'The United States - South Africa Partnership: Going Global' at the University of the Western Cape, on 8 August 2012
Secretary of State, Your Excellencies, Honourable Guests, Members of the University of the Western Cape community, Ladies and Gentlemen, friends, it is my great honour, and greater pleasure, to welcome you here, on behalf of the Rector of UWC, Prof Brian O’Connell – who cannot be with us today – and on behalf of the whole UWC family: faculty, learners, alumni, and all who work or study here.
Secretary of State, we are delighted to have you with us, and that you have come to a place of learning in order to give this public speech. As Nelson Mandela – with whom, Madam Secretary, you have just been visiting – has said ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.’
What he did not address then – but has communicated so eloquently through the example of his life – was the question of how we should use this powerful weapon to change the world. When I was inaugurated as Chancellor, earlier this year, I spoke of how true wisdom lies in harnessing the power of learning in the service of liberation and emancipation. Promoting good governance in all its forms is intrinsic to this – and, I understand, is equally high on the agenda of your visit to our continent and country.
Though the language has changed over the years, this sentiment has a pedigree that goes back to the first President of the United States, George Washington himself, who said: ‘A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty more pressing than communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country?’
We, who are such a young democratic republic, know well the importance – and the challenge – of providing education that fosters such liberties and offers a context where all may flourish. I am glad to say that here we also agree, with your Embassy spokesperson describing your other goals as ‘to strengthen democratic institutions, spur economic growth, advance peace and security, as well as promote opportunity and development for all citizens’.
Yet here we must be careful.
Prosperity of the few at the expense of the many, or economic growth for its own sake, regardless of its impact on planet and people, are unsustainable, and in the long term only serve to undermine peace and stability. Secretary of State, the power of education – indeed, all power (and we know that the US is not short of this!) – must be directed to ensuring that liberty and justice always go hand in hand, if we are to safeguard the weakest, and preserve our world.
Another former US President, Theodore Roosevelt, hit the nail on the head when he said ‘To educate a person in the mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society.’ Such wise words. It is fitting to recall them in a University whose motto is ‘Respice Prospice’ – which means ‘Learn from the past; look to the future.’
So Madam Secretary – I invite you now to speak to us of your vision for our future. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege to introduce the Secretary of State of the United States of America, the Honourable Hillary Rodham Clinton...
Note: Hillary Clinton's speech is available at http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/08/196184.htm
Secretary of State, Your Excellencies, Honourable Guests, Members of the University of the Western Cape community, Ladies and Gentlemen, friends, it is my great honour, and greater pleasure, to welcome you here, on behalf of the Rector of UWC, Prof Brian O’Connell – who cannot be with us today – and on behalf of the whole UWC family: faculty, learners, alumni, and all who work or study here.
Secretary of State, we are delighted to have you with us, and that you have come to a place of learning in order to give this public speech. As Nelson Mandela – with whom, Madam Secretary, you have just been visiting – has said ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.’
What he did not address then – but has communicated so eloquently through the example of his life – was the question of how we should use this powerful weapon to change the world. When I was inaugurated as Chancellor, earlier this year, I spoke of how true wisdom lies in harnessing the power of learning in the service of liberation and emancipation. Promoting good governance in all its forms is intrinsic to this – and, I understand, is equally high on the agenda of your visit to our continent and country.
Though the language has changed over the years, this sentiment has a pedigree that goes back to the first President of the United States, George Washington himself, who said: ‘A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty more pressing than communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country?’
We, who are such a young democratic republic, know well the importance – and the challenge – of providing education that fosters such liberties and offers a context where all may flourish. I am glad to say that here we also agree, with your Embassy spokesperson describing your other goals as ‘to strengthen democratic institutions, spur economic growth, advance peace and security, as well as promote opportunity and development for all citizens’.
Yet here we must be careful.
Prosperity of the few at the expense of the many, or economic growth for its own sake, regardless of its impact on planet and people, are unsustainable, and in the long term only serve to undermine peace and stability. Secretary of State, the power of education – indeed, all power (and we know that the US is not short of this!) – must be directed to ensuring that liberty and justice always go hand in hand, if we are to safeguard the weakest, and preserve our world.
Another former US President, Theodore Roosevelt, hit the nail on the head when he said ‘To educate a person in the mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society.’ Such wise words. It is fitting to recall them in a University whose motto is ‘Respice Prospice’ – which means ‘Learn from the past; look to the future.’
So Madam Secretary – I invite you now to speak to us of your vision for our future. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege to introduce the Secretary of State of the United States of America, the Honourable Hillary Rodham Clinton...
Note: Hillary Clinton's speech is available at http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/08/196184.htm
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