Discussing 'Faith and Courage" with the BBC

Sunday the weekly religious news and current affairs programme on BBC Four, one of the British broadcaster's domestic radio channels, has interviewed Archbishop Thabo Makgoba on the publication of the UK edition of his book, Faith and Courage: Praying with Mandela.

The full interview, conducted by one of the programme's hosts, William Crawley, can be found on the BBC Sounds website (click past the sign-in request if you don't want to visit regularly, and use the "Try again" button if you initially can't access the page):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07gqfvp

A shorter edit of the interview was carried in the live broadcast of the programme on Sunday July 14, halfway through the programme:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qnbd/episodes/player

'Lambeth 2020 boycotts will not help anyone'

From the Church Times, London, of June 28, 2010

The Archbishop of Capetown speaks to Anli Serfontein

THE Archbishop of Cape Town, Dr Thabo Makgoba, has urged bishops and Provinces in the Anglican Communion — including members of GAFCON — not to boycott the Lambeth Conference in 2020. Instead, he has said that they should “all come around the table”.

You can read the full report on the Church Times website at: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2019/28-june/news/world/makgoba-lambeth-2020-boycotts-will-not-help-anyone

Archbishop defends Mandela's legacy

The Archbishop's column in the July issue of Good Hope, the newsletter of the Diocese of Cape Town. July 18 marks the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela.


This month we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Madiba's birth. As Christians, we know that our God in Jesus Christ, is the God of the living and the dead. In that spirit, we give thanks for Madiba's life. 

Destiny is not a Matter of Chance… But a Decision of Choice

Archbishop Thabo's reflection on the 28th anniversary of the day Nelson Mandela woke up a free man at Bishopscourt, on February 12, 1990:

Today, February 12, marks the anniversary of the day in 1990 on which Nelson Mandela woke up a free man for the first time in 27 years, after spending the night following his release at Bishopscourt, the Archbishop's residence in Cape Town. I have today blessed a plaque on a terrace in front of the house, marking the spot from which Madiba greeted the world's media that morning before conducting his first news conference.

Archbishop Thabo after blessing the plaque. 

I remember Madiba's long walk to freedom, as we all do, on many emotional levels. I have often celebrated his release on February 11 by visiting the gates of the former Victor Verster Prison near Paarl. On other occasions I have sat and meditated in the apartment at Bishopscourt which Archbishop Tutu made available to him for his first night away from prison.

Among the volumes of words written about or used by Nelson Mandela, the 13 that I most often remember are those from the poem by W.E. Henley which sustained him in prison:

“I AM THE MASTER OF MY FATE AND THE CAPTAIN OF MY SOUL.”

Those words are as true for us as when they first inspired Madiba. The emotional vertigo of the Zuma decade that has left each of us, our families, our friends, our communities and our nation feeling like we have been on the deck of a ship in the middle of the fiercest storm, is close to ending. South Africa’s destiny now is a choice that we all have in our hands: black hands, white hands, brown hands, yellow hands… rainbow hands.

At the same time, I am a realist. Unquestionably, I believe in South Africans and in South Africa. But as the boxer portrayed in the film Rocky Balboa says, let me remind you of something you already know: the world is not all sunshine and rainbows. It can be a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.

Despite the progress made since Madiba's release, South Africans have been hit hard by many things over the past 20 years. We have been slowed down, we have been diverted, and we at times have been stopped by barriers thrown up by morally corrupt leaders who have created a most unequal society in terms of service delivery, education and healthcare. My principal concern is the way in which inequality has remained pervasive, hitting the poor again and again. But, to invoke Rocky Balboa again, the key to winning, surviving and thriving is, in the end, how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!

The 11th of February 1990 was a moment of destiny. Seeing Nelson Mandela elected president of a free South Africa was another. Now, in 2018, we stand at the dawn of a new age where the dizziness of uncertainty can be replaced by the equilibrium of equality. We are again witnesses to a moment of destiny in which a decade of corruption can be replaced with the birth of a South Africa which, despite its many challenges, has a chance to unite, not as a political party but rather as a society committed to becoming a nation of extraordinary achievers of equality.

Let me ask: What do you and Nelson Mandela have in common? We are a nation of bridge builders. We will bridge the barriers of bigotry, bridge the chasms of inequality and bridge the barricades which block everyone from having equal opportunities. So, my countrymen and women: start cleaning the tools which we will use to build prosperity, start finding trust again in your hearts, and most importantly, start asking not what South Africa can do for me, but what I can do for South Africa.

Please pray for all our leaders, but in particular for the National Executive Committee of the ANC, for Cyril Ramaphosa, the party's president, and for all members of Parliament as they chart the way forward in the coming days.

ABOVE: Bishopscourt staff, from left, the Revd Mcebisi Pinyana, the Revd Nobuntu Mageza, Ms Wendy Kelderman, the Archbishop and the Revd Canon Desmond Lambrechts.
BELOW: The plaque commemorating Madiba's visit to Bishopscourt.

CapeTalk interview on 'Faith & Courage'

Cape Town radio host Pippa Hudson interviews Archbishop Thabo on his memoir.

St George's Cathedral, Cape Town - Nelson Mandela Commemoration Service

The full recording of Evensong at St George's Cathedral, Cape Town, on December 6, the Second Sunday in Advent and the day after the second anniversary of the death of Nelson Mandela. 

Preacher: Archbishop Thabo Makgoba. (Scroll down to read the text of the sermon.) Prayers led by: Dean Michael Weeder. Soloist: Titilayo Adedokun-Helm

What would Madiba think of South Africa today?

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, on the second anniversary of the death of Nelson Mandela, St George's Cathedral, Cape Town on 6th December, 2015:

In the Name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,  Amen.

We meet today as people of faith, joining with brothers and sisters around the world, to pause and remember Madiba on the second anniversary of his death.  It is fitting that we should do this at the Cathedral because it is here that we, people of faith and of none, have over the past half century proclaimed a message of justice -- from this pulpit, from the platform below and from the steps outside.

Archbishop calls for commemorations of anniversary of Nelson Mandela's release

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of Cape Town has called on people of faith to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of Nelson Mandela by committing to “a new struggle... for social cohesion and the end of inequality.”

He called for events to be arranged at 4.14 pm next Wednesday, February 11, at High Courts or prisons around the country.

In a statement issued from a meeting of the Synod of Bishops in Durban, Archbishop Makgoba said:

“In my capacity as chair of the National Church Leaders' Consultation and after discussion with the General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, I am calling on church leaders and their faithful to honour and mark the 25th anniversary of the release of Madiba, our icon and the father of our democracy, at 4.14 pm on February 11.

“I request interfaith groups around the country to spend 67 minutes converging on either their local High Court or a major prison, conducting a short march and holding prayers.

“I appeal to people of faith to celebrate Madiba's release by committing themselves to a new struggle, a struggle for social cohesion and the end of inequality.

“Whether it's a few of you, or hundreds of you, be as creative as you like in what you do – just mark the day and the moment, and commit to the new struggle.”

Welcome the Season of Light by Becoming a Society of Long Spoons

A sermon for Christmas 2014, St George's Cathedral, Cape Town:

Luke 2:1-20

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

A couple of days after my birthday earlier this month, our children drove me up Signal Hill. As usual there were a lot of people up there and, as the children wandered around the hill, I stood watching the sea. It was dusk, the sea was calm and it seemed to be enveloping us. As I looked out, the intermittent flashing of the Robben Island lighthouse could not be missed, and I could not resist the temptation to recall that the island from which that tiny light was flashing was where Madiba and his compatriots languished in darkness for years. Yet this is where the hope of our country was ignited. And as the sun set and it grew darker, the tiny light became even more visible than before.

Our Gospel reading evokes an image of how in the midst of crowds readying themselves for the Roman census, the light of the world, the hope of the world, Jesus is born. God becomes vulnerable, human to illumine our world. God is to be “numbered” or counted, unknown to those who will take the census. We now know the barriers that these lights broke, the tiny light flashing from the island but reaching the top of Signal Hill, and the light and hope born in a stable reflecting God's glory.

And that is where I would like to begin tonight, by welcoming the hope that Christmas brings. The American poet Maya Angelou, who died this past year, once wrote a description of love on her Facebook page which we can appropriate as a perfect metaphor for the advent of the Christ child in our world. Substituting the word “Christmas” for the word “love”, we can read it like this: “Christmas recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” And hope, as Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu once said, “is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”

But hope, as the South African theologian, Denise Ackermann, says, “is not that blithe sense that all will end well (or alles sal regkom) because human progress is guaranteed.” To say as Christians that we must live in hope does not imply that we should sit by passively and indulge in wishful thinking for that which has no prospect of being realized to come about. As Denise Ackermann says, “The way I hope should be the way I live. To live out my hope is to try to make that which I hope for come about – sooner rather than later.” It is “a lived reality in the life of faith, here and now.” It is “never to surrender our power to imagine a better world”. Hope confronts wrong and the abuse of power; it is risky and requires patience and endurance.

In our national life, it’s been a difficult year for South Africa. Many times in our daily lives we seem to have been living in a country whose leaders, despite the emancipation of democracy, do not look after the needs of their people.  Much of the time those leaders don't seem to have a vision, or any sense of destiny – or even a practical plan they are truly committed to implementing. In what I call the “old” struggle – the struggle for democracy – it was the ability of our leaders to see “the light” ahead that drove them. Nowadays, the new generation of leaders seems to govern without any sense of being guided by that light, or for that matter any light at all. In fact, I get confused by the darkness that our leaders bring as the sun rises every morning.

But did Madiba ever lose a sense of hope in the way I have just described it? Did Robert Sobukwe lose hope? Did Oliver Tambo lose hope? Did Steve Biko? Or Beyers Naude, or Trevor Huddleston? Did my ancestor, Kgoši Mamphoku Makgoba, who was killed while resisting settler incursions on our land, lose hope? We can look and learn from the lives of all of our anti-apartheid heroes and say none of them ever, ever lost hope.

But there is another characteristic they shared that is particularly powerful in converting hope to reality, and that is courage. Courage is like fire. It was courage which ignited the old struggle and kept it burning until we emerged from the darkness of apartheid. Courage enables us to set ourselves, our community and our nation on fire. And it's the light of courage that we need to rekindle this Christmas.

The South Africa that I have been living in these last years has forgotten how to be courageous. We have allowed ourselves to live in and accept a society that is punished, penalized and severely disciplined for being courageous. I had the privilege of being asked by Mama Graça Machel over the last few years of Madiba's life to visit them every now and then in Bishopscourt, in Houghton and in Qunu, and to pray with them. My time with him reminded me of so many of the lessons which he tried to share with us, but none was more important than that encapsulated in these words, which have inspired so many:

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

He also reminded me that it also takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. So with his wisdom as guidance, I want to share with you some thoughts for the holidays on this Christmas Eve.

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that “Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that.” And I might add, courage. Courage and light can break the cycle of poverty, crime and the growing underclass of young people ill equipped to be productive citizens. Only light will enable to us to be repulsed enough by what we see around us to say, “My children and grandchildren deserve better.”  Only by being pro-courage can we really be anti-corruption. We truly begin living when we say, “Enough is enough and I want more for my family, my community and my country!” It's at that moment that we step up and take responsibility for not only ourselves but for our country's destiny. It's at that moment that, as I have been saying recently, that we stop being a country of “me” and become a country of “we”.

Our purpose on earth is for all of us to become part of something bigger than ourselves. But we are not living as if we believe that. We become so discouraged about the injustices we see everywhere that we give up and say, “That’s their problem.” We have become a “me”-driven society which accepts and perpetuates the cruel weight of the massive inequalities we have inherited; a “me” society which accepts economic inequality, the service delivery inequality, the healthcare inequality, the education inequality and most seriously, the inequality of opportunity.

At this time of the year, as we celebrate the birth of Christ, how do we channel the joyousness, the spirit of feeling connected with one another into a spirit of reflection which empowers us to focus not on the “me” but rather on the “we”- the body of Christ?  How can we use the model of this month's behaviours, attitudes and convictions to define how we live the other 11 months of the year?

The fundamental question being asked of us in South Africa today is: What is the difference between an open-hearted, giving society and an open-handed, taking society? I’d like to ask the question a little differently: What is the difference between an open-hearted life where we see ourselves part of a greater collective community (which I will call heaven on earth) and an open-handed life in which we accept social income without accepting the responsibility for our decisions (which I will describe as hell)?

The answer lies in the Parable of the Long Spoons. It is said that both in heaven and in hell, people are forced to eat with long spoons. In hell, people starve because they are unable to lift food to their mouths using such unwieldy cutlery. But in heaven, each person takes the long spoon and feeds another across the table. And that's how in heaven God ensures, through the actions of those there with him, that everyone has plenty to eat.

In the end, the message is that we should feed, respect and care for each other, both in a practical and collective sense. That is what a genuine community of communities does. Because that is what we are: a community of communities, the baptised – the body of Christ as Paul says. Another word for it is a nation; a “we” society. This is our challenge if we are to channel the joy of this birth as recorded in Luke’s gospel, into the joy of a lifetime.

Many feel that for our nation to have survived under apartheid and to have been reborn was a once-in-a-lifetime miracle. I used to believe that. But not anymore. Our achievements have been gained through struggle, guided by hope and following the light. In our faith, that light is Jesus, who at this time breaks into our lives and gives us courage to break all barriers.

So this Christmas let us commit ourselves to a new struggle; a new struggle for a new generation; a struggle to end the economic inequities and related consumerism, to end the inequalities of service delivery, health care and education – but most of all a struggle to bring about equality of opportunity. Human progress is never guaranteed unless there is struggle. Every step we take towards the goal of ending inequality requires sacrifice, requires suffering, and most of all requires struggle. If there is no struggle, there is no progress. The good news is, as Christians we struggle with a firm hope, that Christ our light and our hope, has already triumphed and broken all barriers.

So whether “in this Roman census”, you are recorded as being 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 or 70 years old, the question is, do you have the courage to take up this challenge? Are you ready to define your children's destinies? Then, metaphorically speaking, light up your lamps and become bearers of hope this Christmas season.

God bless you, your family and South Africa, and may you have a blessed Christmas.

Call to prayer on year's mind of Madiba's burial

As we commemorate the day we brought Madiba's body to its final resting place, we continue to pray for both his immediate family and those in the broader human family who were inspired by the example of his self-sacrifice in the pursuit of human freedom and his values of hope and reconciliation in building a better world.

May we strive to fashion our responses to pain and inequality with courage and determination to change these, even as Christ our Lord.

Amen

+Thabo Cape Town 

To the Laos – To the People of God, Christmas 2014

Dear People of God

We have an exciting innovation from Bishopscourt this Advent, in which I am sharing with you, the laos (or laity), reflections on the Advent readings which you can listen to online or by podcast. This is a fascinating process, and for the first Sunday in Advent, I reflected on the fact that in spite of the challenges we have in our different walks of life, God has a plan for each of us. We dare not despair. We need to face some of those principalities, some of the things that wear us down, with that strong sense of hope conveyed by the literal meaning of the word “advent”, which is “arrival”. Ultimately, the Son of the living God through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ does triumph over all.

I have recently returned from a busy and inspirational pastoral visit to the Diocese of Port Elizabeth, where I saw in various ways what God is up to in the diocese. (I recommend that you look at the special issue of their newsletter, iindaba.) What impressed me was to see how Port Elizabeth – like many dioceses, but I am referring here specifically here to Port Elizabeth – is wrestling with the implications of what God is up to in their part of the country. They are working ecumenically with other churches and with the city to make the Nelson Mandela Metro a place where God is really found, in spite of the many problems they share in common with the rest of South Africa. I was especially touched by the hope I encountered among HIV positive people at the House of Resurrection Children’s Home, a haven for children who have been affected in some way by HIV and Aids or abandoned.

Back in Cape Town, I was intrigued by a visit to The Warehouse – an outreach ministry of St. John’s Parish in Wynberg – for an exhibition focussing on art, poetry and stories around the theology of water and sanitation. It really demonstrated strongly the need for us to be visible, particularly among those who are living without running water or proper sanitation. The exhibition may have concentrated on the Western Cape, but when I go to Angola, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia I see that the same deficiencies are prevalent across Southern Africa. And we know the related ills that arise from the problem, among them illnesses and women and girl children being raped while fetching water.

I am writing this as we observe our 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence and following the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. I want to echo the message of Tearfund, Anglican Alliance, Hope Africa and our Province that we should encourage everyone not to be silent but to speak out when women and children are being abused, and I encourage all our churches to work actively to create safe spaces for victims of gender-based violence and human trafficking.

I was particularly moved by one of the events I attended this year, when I heard the story of a girl, Nadia, who is a survivor of human trafficking. She was abducted from her home at the age of 14. By the age of 16, she had had two children as a result of the abuse she suffered. As she told her story and read a “survivor’s poem” we were all reduced to tears. Her story was painful in itself but what was more piercing was when she said:

“Please do me a favour – smile with me. Because your smile and your hope and your determination make me stronger. If you collapse and cry with me, you make my wounds too deep.”

And so Nadia’s story will remain with me as I continue to reflect on the Incarnate Christ in our lives, and His redemptive love, shared by Nadia, who has all the reason in the world to be angry but who challenged us to smile with her. I think that is in Nadia that our Christmas message lies this year: that despite being raped, exiled, abducted, trafficked and abused, the Christ Child emerges and offers us that hope which supersedes all human understanding.

My prayer this Advent and Christmas is that we will look at some of the seemingly hopeless situations in our world, for example situations that marginalize the other or destroy the environment. We might focus on water and sanitation as highlighted by The Warehouse in Wynberg, or by the international conference that I’ve just attended in India on the need for global intervention on the same issue; or on women and girl children who are abused in families or live in areas where toilets and water are far from their homes. Let’s think on these things, then choose just one and offer it to God in prayer this Christmas, asking the Christ Child to surround us with his peace and justice as we take action to eliminate the problem.

By the time most of you read this, we will have commemorated the first anniversary of the death of Madiba and again celebrated his life. May his belief and determination that individual or collective acts of goodwill actually do bring about change, inspire us to work for peace and justice in our time. For this is also the Gospel imperative.

May you have a blessed Christmas !

God bless you,
+Thabo Cape Town

‘Ad Laos’ – To the People of God - December 2013

My dear People of God

A blessed and joyful Christmas to you all! I am writing this letter in Advent, mindful that most of you will read it now, some of you around Christmas and some, perhaps, after Epiphany. My message will attempt to straddle these seasons in our church’s calendar.

Advent and Christmas, and Epiphany to some extent, are opportune times to look back, and also to look forward – to Christ’s first coming, as a precious and vulnerable baby, and to his coming again, as saviour and liberator, when God’s glory shall be manifested and all his purposes fulfilled.

Of course, there is the “here and now”, coupled with looking back and looking forward in order to complete the “gestalt”. How are we then to respond to Emmanuel – God with us (now), to God’s gift of himself in our earthly pilgrimage?

The celebration of Christmas offers part of an answer to his holy longing – for Christmas is not about wasteful consumerism. It is an echoing of God’s declaration that he loves us so much, our fallibility, warts and all, that he willingly sacrifices himself for us; he forgives our failings, heals our despairing souls, comforts us in our grief, and ushers fresh hope, Jesus Christ, the hope of Glory (Col 1:27).

Christmas then is God’s billboard that declares that we are never alone – God in Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit knows what it is to be human, to laugh, to dream, to hurt, to be disappointed, to be betrayed, to be tended to, to be scolded by parents and even to face murder. God the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us and helps us grow in faith, love and peace. Past every milestone until we find rest in our heavenly home, he carries us in the palm of his hand.

As we ponder on the mystery of this vulnerable Christ-child, the incarnate Son of God, let our hearts be touched and transformed by the love of children, and also by the plight of those who suffer: women in abusive relationships, those who suffer as a result of xenophobia and those who are refugees because of war. Let our love and our deep yearning for peace, especially for those in Syria and South Sudan, lead us to commit to action to do all that we can to bring an end to militarisation.

I want to thank God for the outpouring of love and condolences from across our Anglican Communion after the death of Nelson Mandela. I was humbled to receive messages of love and support from the Archbishop of Canterbury, individual parishioners, many bishops and primates from around the Anglican Communion. Your love, prayers and messages of support showed how caring we as Anglicans are and that when one is ailing, we all feel the pain together. Thank you on behalf of ACSA and the Mandela family. (See on my blog the prayers that I shared with the nation and at the Valedictory Service that I led with his family in Mr Mandela’s home just before the public funeral service.)

Looking forward, I commend the Lenten Bible Studies produced by Prof Gerald West, which will be posted both on our Province’s website and on my blog. It is my hope that every diocese and parish will use these Bible studies in 2014, allowing God to speak to us afresh as a Province through these scriptures.

Congratulations to Prof Barney Pityana and the staff and Council of the College of the Transfiguration (Cott) for successfully registering Cott as a Private Higher Education Institution in terms of South Africa’s Higher Education Act of 1997, and for the accreditation of its Diploma in Theology. This is the greatest good news of my archiepiscopacy so far, for which I give thanks to God.

As we ponder this Christmas on the awesome and precious gift of God himself, may the love of God overflow in you and in all those you love; may this love transform all that is unloving in us, in our community and the world over – even as we bring God’s peace to reign in all.

May you have a blessed Christmas as you also find your deepest wants and needs are met in Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate.

Yours in the service of Christ,

+Thabo Cape Town

Valedictory Service for President Mandela at Qunu Homestead

The following is the liturgy used by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba at Madiba's home for a service conducted before his remains were handed over to the military for the public funeral at Qunu on Sunday December 15, 2013.

Silence

The steadfast love of The Lord never ceases,
His mercies never come to an end,
They are new every morning.

The Kyrie (isiXhosa)

Nkosi, senzele inceba.
Kristu, senzele inceba.
Nkosi, senzele inceba.

The Lord's Prayer

Collect for the Day

Almighty God, neither death, nor life can separate us from your love: with the whole company of the redeemed is heaven and earth; we praise and magnify your glorious Name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, blessed for ever.

Matthew 5: 3-10

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 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 children of God
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven

Homily

Madiba is dead.

Bathembu, Mr President and Deputy and all gathered in this centre of Madiba's home, the Gospel passage we have just heard assures us that “you are there” when you mourn, for God will comfort you. So I ask God's comfort and strength upon you all as you grieve the death of Madiba even as we gather for this family valedictory service to celebrate this remarkable man.

Many profound tributes have been paid to this outstanding man, who dedicated his life to the service of humanity, the cause of justice and care of creation.

Using today's gospel passage, he thirsted and hungered for righteousness and he is now fulfilled.

BaThembu, Masimkhulule, (Let us release him) to the merciful keeping of God – let us forgive each other where we have erred, or where the nation and world have erred.

Masimkhulule, by pursuing all that makes for peace. Let us never forget the price that he and his friends paid for peace and to get South Africa and the world to be where we are.

He remains a symbol of blessedness, hope, peace, admiration, wisdom, love and goodness. How do we or will we measure up to these qualities?

Ma Graca, Bathembu and all gathered here, may God fill you with his warmth and consolation, may he hold you together and sow love in you. May he strengthen you to grieve and mourn Madiba.

God bless you Ma Machel, Ma Winnie and all gathered here as we move to the final service for Madiba's burial. God bless South Africa and Africa. Amen.

Prayers

Let us now pray before the military takes over.

We give thanks for those who nurtured Madiba, including his father, his mother, the people of Mvezo, and the people of this community of Qunu, including the boys and girls with whom he ran through this beautiful countryside;

We give thanks for those who helped form him in his early days in Johannesburg, for his mentor, Walter Sisulu, and Albertina, for OR Tambo and Adelaide, for the attorneys who gave him his first job in the law, and those who studied with him, such as George Bizos, going on to become lifelong friends.

We give thanks for those, not all of whom shared his politics, who supported him and the cause of liberation while he was on trial and then incarcerated on Robben Island and in Pollsmoor.

The list, Lord, is too long to name all the names, but in a representative capacity we give thanks for:

• The chaplains from the churches who visited him and those with him in prison,

• The chaplains and clergy present here and not who prayed for the family and Madiba throughout his life,

• The lawyers, such as Arthur Chaskalson, Issy Maisels and Duma Nokwe, who defended the leaders of his generation,

• Those such as Helen Suzman and Jacques Moreillon of the International Committee of the Red Cross,who campaigned to ameliorate conditions for him and his fellow prisoners,

• The artists, such as Nadine Gordimer, Hugh Masekela, Caiphas Simenya, Letta Mbulu, Jonas Gwangwa and others, who used their international reputations to support him and our struggle,

• The church leaders who held the torch high while our leaders were imprisoned; people such as Trevor Huddleston, Beyers Naude, Stanley Mogoba and Archbishop Desmond Tutu,

• His friends from the Rivonia trial to his last days, such as Ahmed Kathrada, Andrew Mlangeni and Denis Goldberg,

• For those who cared for him in his last years: the medical professionals, the bodyguards, the drivers, the household staff and the staff of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, from Jakes Gerwel to his dedicated assistant Zelda le Grange;

• Those in the planning committee for this mourning and funeral service, family members, government and others unknown to us, you know them, Lord.

• For all the members of his family, who loved and cared for him, for his spouses, their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren: for his first wife, Evelyn; for Winnie - whose defiance constituted an anti-apartheid struggle all of its own; and for Graca, who brought him happiness in his last years and kept faithful vigil to the end.

Finally,

O lord, support us all the day long of this troubled life, until the shadows lengthen,
And the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, the fever of life is over,
And our work is done.
Then, Lord, in your mercy grant us safe lodging, a holy rest,
And peace at the last, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We now hand over to the military, Bathembu, in the peace of Christ.

Amen

Prayer at the Memorial Service for Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, Johannesburg, 10 December 2013

Let us pray.

Masithandaze.

Are rapeleng.

Laat ons bid.


Creator God, Lord of Life and Love

You hold the whole universe in your hands and

Yet you also number the hairs on all our heads

You know the fates of the nations, and

The hopes and fears of each individual.


On this day of Madiba’s memorial service

We pray for the peace of the world –

for peace without and for peace within.


Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace,

May your Shalom touch every place of conflict, division, brokenness or fear,

May it fill our communities, families and lives.


From the horrors and turmoil of nations in conflict,

to the fractured relationships and

violence of too many homes, bring your reconciling love.


We pray for South Africa in particular on this Memorial Day.

Help us to draw on the best lessons of our past and

build on the firm foundations, that by your grace, Madiba laid for us.


Give us courage to hold fast to his values, to follow the example of his praxis and to share them with the world.


We lift our hearts, with gratitude for your loving care that you have called Madiba home, to his eternal post, where pain and suffering are no more.


We commend his soul to your merciful keeping and his family to your continuous love,


As we pray:

Go forth, revolutionary and loving soul, on your journey out of this world, in the name of God, who created you, suffered with you and liberated you.

Go home Madiba, you have selflessly done all that is good, noble and honourable for God’s people.

We will continue where you have left off, the Lord being our helper.

We now turn to you, Lord, in this hour of darkness, sadness, pain and death, in tears and mourning,

We wail, yet we believe that you will console us, that you will give us the strength to hold in our hearts and minds, and the courage to enact in our lives, the values Madiba fought and stood for.

We turn to you, Lord, and entrust Madiba‘s soul to your eternal rest and loving arms as he re-joins the Madiba clan, his comrades and all the faithful departed.

We pray particularly for his closest and dearest, for Ma Graça Machel, for his children, grandchildren and all his relatives; may you surround them with your loving arms, your fatherly embrace and comfort.

At this dark time of mourning, at this perfect time when you have called him to rest and a perfect end, accept his soul and number him among the company of the redeemed in Heaven.

Console and comfort his family, South Africa, Africa and the world.

May his long walk to freedom be enjoyed and realised in our time by all of us.

MAY HE REST IN PEACE AND RISE IN GLORY!

Amen

+Thabo Cape Town

Celebrating Madiba’s legacy and its lasting impact around the globe

An excerpt from a homily delivered by the Most Revd. Thabo Makgoba, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, at Holy Cross Church, Nyanga, Cape Town on the Day of Prayer and Reflection for Nelson Mandela on Sunday the 8th December 2013.

On the international stage, the name Nelson Mandela is synonymous with the universal struggle for human rights, freedom and the fight for democracy, issues that resonate just as strongly today as they did when he himself walked free from prison 23 years ago. Today, this Nobel Peace laureate is revered around the world as an inspirational symbol of peace and forgiveness. He acts as a powerful and continuing reminder that individuals do have the power to make change happen in the world, no matter how mighty the obstacles might be. The vision of hope I am talking about from the Romans and Isaiah’s passage read today.

So, how do we celebrate Madiba’s lasting legacy to the world? To some, he is one of the world’s most revered statesmen, who has inspired generations of global citizens through his leadership in the struggle to replace the apartheid regime of South Africa with a multi-racial democracy. This legacy will undoubtedly be one of continuing inspiration. To many, Nelson Mandela is regarded as the greatest statesman in the world. His political leadership steered South Africa through the most difficult time in its history, all the while never succumbing to political pressure, never compromising his ideals or principles, and never pandering to the world’s media. He will go down in history as one of the world’s greatest leaders because of the impact he had, not just on the lives of South Africans, but on the lives of countless people around the world; he has made an irreversible difference to the global fight for democracy and human rights – or put differently the values of the Kingdom or radical hospitality that today’s bible lessons say we must usher in during our time, in the likeness of Christ for God’s glory and for the good of his people and creation.

Since leaving public office, Nelson Mandela has continued to be an inspirational advocate and champion for peace and social justice, both in South Africa and around the world, inspiring change where conflict and human rights abuses still exist. His establishment of highly respected and influential organizations such as the Nelson Mandela Foundation and The Elders, an independent group of public figures committed to addressing global problems and easing human suffering, continue to make a difference. Perhaps one of his greatest legacies to both South Africa and the world is his vocal advocacy of AIDS awareness. As far back as 2002, Mandela became a highly vocal campaigner for AIDS awareness and treatment programmes in the country, confronting a culture where the epidemic had for many years been fuelled by a combination of stigma and ignorance. On a personal level, the impact of HIV/Aids was deeply felt as the disease later claimed the life of his son Makgatho in 2005, just as it did the lives of thousands of South African citizens during that period. His inspirational and passionate voice on the subject of AIDS awareness, contributed to the change in attitudes and behaviours being experienced today in the country as South Africa sets its sights on working for an AIDS-free generation.

Over the years, Nelson Mandela’s contribution to the betterment of the world and humanity as a whole has been recognised through the highest accolades, awards and recognition being bestowed upon him, the legacy of which continues today. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts on behalf of his country and his people, sharing the 1993 prize with F.W. de Klerk, the last president of the apartheid era who worked with Mandela to end the scourge of apartheid. He was the recipient of the prestigious U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Order of Canada, becoming the first living person to be made an honorary Canadian citizen. Nelson Mandela is also the last person to have been awarded the rare Lenin Peace Prize from the Soviet Union, and the Bailiff Grand Cross of the Order of St. John and the Order of Merit, awarded to him by Britain’s Elizabeth II. There are many more prestigious awards that would take too much to mention during this service – we are grateful to God that the human family saw it fit to these honours bestow upon this son of our soil, Madiba.

Perhaps his greatest legacy can be summed up as the continual inspiration he has provided – as the one leader who has worked tirelessly to make change happen by appealing to people’s common humanity, and by leading by example – to many other leaders around the world who are still trying to achieve such change in their own political and social environments. Past US President, Bill Clinton, has said of the impact Madiba has had on him personally over the years: “More than any human being, Madiba has been the great inspiration for the life I lead and the work I do, especially in the area of HIV/AIDS... In return for everything Madiba has taught us, we each owe it to him to support his work and legacy by doing and living our own as best we can... throughout our entire lives."

The current US President, Barack Obama, recognises the impact that Nelson Mandela has had on the world, calling him as an inspiration who has given everything to his people. Speaking on Nelson Mandela International Day on 18 July last year, he said: “Madiba continues to be a beacon for the global community, and for all who work for democracy, justice and reconciliation. On behalf of the people of the United States, we congratulate Nelson Mandela, and honor his vision for a better world”.

Ultimately, Mandela’s legacy exemplifies wisdom, strength and grace in the face of adversity and great challenge, and demonstrates to all citizens of the world that there is a viable path to follow towards achieving justice, reconciliation and democracy, and that change can happen through individual and collective acts of service. Through his example, he has set the standard for service to country and mankind worldwide, whether we are individual citizens, cabinet ministers or presidents, and continues to call on us all to better serve our fellow human beings and contribute to the betterment of our communities.

Today, Madiba is thought of as Father or Tata to all South Africans but, to the rest of the world, he is undoubtedly thought of as one of the outstanding heroes of the last century, alongside other inspirational global leaders such as Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi. Each of these individuals was committed to the global struggle for human dignity, equality and democracy, and Madiba still remains a beacon of hope and an inspiration for those around the world who are still fighting for their freedom and for justice. As we look back and learn from Nelson Mandela’s own long walk to freedom and reflect on his life-long dedication to instilling the values of Ubuntu, integrity and learning, his legacy is an inspiring one. It will continue to inspire generations of people to come who themselves want to change the world and make it a better place in which all citizens can live and thrive.

May Madiba’s soul rest in peace. May his nearest and dearest be comforted and consoled and may we continue where he has left, the LORD being our helper.

And may this account of this fallible one man, not a saint but a hopeful and whole person, loving person and dare I say a holy man, inspire us to serve God in others and God’s creation till we too are called to God’s rest and are given a perfect end.

Mbeki Calls on Churches to Raise Voices and Act

This media release was issued on 3 October 2013

Thabo Mbeki Calls on Churches to Raise their Voices and Act

Former South African president Thabo Mbeki today criticised the country's churches for ‘demobilising’ after the end of apartheid and called on them to become more active in responding to the challenges faced by society.

He was addressing the three-yearly Provincial Synod of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, which is being held in Benoni, South Africa.

Before his address, he lit a candle in memory of a lay representative to the Synod, James Thomas, who was killed in the al-Shabaab attack on Westgate Mall in Nairobi on September 21.

He also joined in lighting two further candles with the Archbishop of Cape Town, Dr Thabo Makgoba, who also offered prayers, for Nelson Mandela’s continuing well-being, and for the continent of Africa in which Mr Mbeki has been involved in various mediation and diplomatic initiatives.

Mr Mbeki said that during apartheid, ‘one of our principal fighters for liberation here was the church.’ But since liberation, ‘one of the things that has happened here is that the church has become demobilised ... It has distanced itself in a way from responding as it used to respond to national challenges and has disappeared somewhere over the horizon.

‘My sense is that the voice of the church is not as strong now as it used to be at a time when we need that strong voice.’

He said that not only churches but civil society had tended to say in effect: ‘We have now elected our government... and the government must deliver.’ But, he added, ‘The idea that the government will deliver and we do nothing is wrong.’

Asked for an example of how the churches should act, Mr Mbeki said many crimes of violence against persons in South Africa were committed between Friday and Sunday evenings, were clearly linked with alcohol, and the ‘overwhelming majority’ of victims were people who lived in black townships.

There were churches in all these communities: ‘What intervention does it (the church as a whole) make?’

Saying that ‘The leadership of the church is sorely missed’ he expressed gladness that the Synod had been reflecting on this, and on how to contribute to tackling the particular challenges of the education sector.

Extending his criticism to churches on the rest of the continent, he asked what the continent's principal ecumenical body, the All Africa Conference of Churches, was doing.

‘I don't know where it is. It was one of your major African voices which is no longer heard... in a situation in which in reality Africa needs to speak louder about itself and its concerns than ever before.

‘It is clear that because of the reduction of that voice, that African voice on African issues, there are others in the world who have designs on our continent and who will no doubt carry out their programs whatever we think.’

Criticising ‘weak leadership’ in Africa, he added that ‘there used to be a time when the rest of the world had an African agenda, at least they said they tried to address an African agenda, which agenda had been verified by Africans.’

Now, however, forces outside Africa ‘no longer have an African agenda’ but one ‘they have set themselves.’ He cited the United Nations Security Council's authorisation of the use of force in Libya as an example.

In response to a question, Mr Mbeki confirmed that he was engaged with Swaziland, though doing so ‘without calling press conferences’.

Agreeing with a comment that South Africans, through the media and through other channels, were not well informed about the rest of the continent, he spoke about his own role in Sudan and South Sudan.

He and his fellow panel-members were optimistic that both countries were moving further away from the possibility of renewed conflict, even if there were complex outstanding issues to resolve.

He warned that South Africans must ‘learn the lesson of South Sudan’, and not ‘retreat to tribalism … We should look at South Sudan and see that we must not sacrifice the national cohesion we have built over a long time, just because it might bring something to my pocket.’

He commended the initiative for reconciliation and nation building among South Sudan’s many strong tribal identities that is being spearheaded by the Archbishop of Sudan, a guest at Provincial Synod.

Issued by the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town
Inquiries: Ms Wendy Kelderman, 021 763 1320 (office hours)
The Revd Canon Dr Sarah Rowland Jones, 082 856 2082 (during Synod)

Praying for Madiba

Below is the prayer I was privileged to pray today at Nelson Mandela's home in Houghton, Johannesburg.

I share it on this, the International Day of Prayer for Peace, and the day after so many of us joined in a Human Chain in Pretoria to stand up for the values for which Madiba has dedicated his life – values of unity, non-racialism, democracy, and a nation free from poverty (see http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/607ffb00412aeb6ba3c8af9aacc0ad31/South-Africans-urged-to-make-rainbow-nation-a-reality---20130920). I ask Anglicans in Southern Africa and around the world, and everyone else who feels able, to join me in continuing to pray for Madiba, for his legacy to bear a rich harvest, and for the peace of the world.

Let us pray:
Creator God, Lord of Life and Love, you hold the whole universe in your hands
and yet you also number the hairs on all our heads.
You know the fates of the nations, and the hopes and fears of each individual.

On this, the International Day of Prayer for Peace, we pray for the peace of the world –
for peace without, and for peace within.
Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace,
may your shalom touch every place of conflict, division, brokenness, or fear.
May it fill our communities, families, and lives.
From the horrors of Syria and the turmoil of South Sudan,
to the fractured relationships and violence of too many homes,
bring your reconciling love.

We pray also for South Africa on the eve of Heritage Day.
Help us to draw on the best lessons of our past,
and build on the firm foundations that, by your grace, Madiba laid for us.
Give us courage to hold fast to his values, to follow the example of his praxis,
and to share them with the world.
We thank you that, in human chains, we can stand together for the united,
non-racial, democratic nation, free from poverty, for which he strove.

We lift our hearts, with gratitude for your loving care,
giving thanks that Madiba has been able to come home.
We thank you for all who have tended him, and who continue to do so,
and that he now is stronger and more comfortable.
We especially pray for courage and strength for Ma Machel at such a time as this.

Hold him in the palm of your hand, surround him with your love,
and give him – and all who love him – that deep sense of assurance and inner peace
that we are all kept safely in your infinite merciful care, that never lets us go.

Draw him ever closer to your heart, so that when your perfect time comes
he may make that final journey home to you, without fear and without pain.
Give all who love him the courage to entrust him to your never-failing care,
knowing you are doing for him things beyond all we can think or ask.

Come, Holy Spirit, renew the face of the earth with your breath of life,
so that even as we walk in the valley of the shadow of death,
we may know that Jesus Christ has opened for us the gates to everlasting life.
This we pray in his holy, precious name. Amen

Ubuntu: more than a braai

This is the Sunday Independent opinion column from 1 September 2013

On the first day of Heritage Month, I wonder if I dare admit that I am only a limited fan of braaing, especially as I largely gave up red meat a couple of years back for health reasons, and have since felt all the better for it.

Heritage Month is about celebrating the best of what it means to be South African, in this beautiful land which we share, and across the whole breadth of our diversity. I’m sympathetic to the view that we should give greater prominence to ubuntu as the keystone of our common heritage. This is a distinctly southern African understanding of what it is to be truly human, through our participation in the humanity of others.

Beginning with ubuntu, rather than the braai, puts a completely different spin on how we approach this month. It’s not that I’m against braaing. Far from it! But I’d like us to move beyond focussing on lowest common denominators to which we can all sign up. For this can be seen as implying that our differences must otherwise dominate the way we view one another.

In contrast, ubuntu invites us to assume that our starting point, our real context, is what we have in common. We are all flesh and blood human beings who desire to live in peace, security and relative comfort with our nearest and dearest, able to bring up children in safety so they too may go on to lead lives that are, to a realistic degree, happy and fulfilling. When we recognise this in one another, differences such as race, language, culture and religion inevitably become secondary, and less significant.

On this basis, we can far more easily stand together, as we must, in tackling the divisions that ought to be opposed, such as the shocking economic disparities, because those who are on the wrong end of such differences are no longer seen as “them” but as “us”.
Of course this is a big ask, but we have to start where we are, and take what steps we can.

This week has been a good one for me in encountering ways in which ubuntu is alive and well, if only we have eyes to see. On Monday I was in Ulundi, where celebrations for Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s 85th birthday included unveiling a statue and a service of thanksgiving, at which I was privileged to preach. He, like his mother Princess Magogo, is a life-long Anglican, and has let his faith nurture his family and public life. However, one views the life he has devoted to politics, few can have been left untouched by the courageous and heart-breaking honesty with which he spoke about the death of two adult children from Aids. At a time of denialism, he spoke out, and gave a voice to the tens, even hundreds of thousands of South Africans who had lost a loved one to this pandemic, but who were trapped in the conspiracy of silence. He stood in solidarity with them all, and helped break the stigma and change how we dealt with this scourge.

Tuesday morning found me at the Constitutional Court ceremonial sitting to honour the late Judge Pius Langa, a former chief justice of our new democracy. I was privileged to call this outstanding man a friend. He was an amazing intellectual, yet always ensured his mind was informed by his heart and his soul. He understood, perhaps better than anyone I have ever met, the true meaning of the rule of law, and how the letter of the law must deliver the spirit of the law, in the service of constitution, country, and all its citizens. This also is the mark of authentic ubuntu.

I felt proud to be a South African, listening to speeches that praised all Judge Langa had achieved, yet also acknowledged there was still so much to be done to bring about a united, reconciled, non-racial society, free from the scourge of poverty. To walk this path, as many have said, requires selflessness and commitment to the public good – commitment to the realisation in practice of all that ubuntu stands for.

How to encourage a more stable and sustainable environment, in which workers also flourish, was at the heart of Tuesday’s mining lekgotla in Sandton. In the margins, I had a “mini-lekgotla” with top executives of Anglo American, and in genuine dialogue we brought the perspectives of faith and ethics into vigorous engagement with those of business and economics. How to promote better human flourishing of all, in whatever contexts we are part of, is a topic that should engage us all, particularly through holding conversations that bridge our differences – and here I also include age and political partisanship alongside the old familiar labels.

Within the context ubuntu provides, we can dare to pursue the robust honesty that is necessary if we are to get beyond superficial words and break down the barriers we have allowed to stand between us. Especially as we approach next year’s elections, we need to know, and make explicit, that we truly are all on the same side, and it is from this stance that we engage over differences.

Pope Francis recently lamented those who have “good manners and bad habits”, who say the right thing, and even argue for it publicly, but whose actions show a preference for staying within their own comfortable space, reluctant to take risks, and preferring the company of those like themselves. Bad manners also come in the “othering” of those who are not like us, and mentally placing them at a distance where they can conveniently be left, largely ignored. Cowardice, thuggery, corruption and worse can all hide behind the appearance of “good manners”.

So I want the fine words of public tributes, lekgotlas, and popular debate to be matched by action that goes the extra mile which ubuntu demands from us, and that grasps restorative opportunities. For example, I’d like to see those in the construction cartel not merely accepting their legal penalty, but making practical amends such as through delivering sanitation, toilets, schools and other necessary amenities in our neediest communities.

Taking that further, those who benefited from apartheid, and those who enjoy the legacies of those ill-gotten benefits, must consider this month the time to set in motion concrete steps to redress the balance. We must not be shy of talking about making financial reparations, and channelling these into areas like education where we can make the greatest difference. I’m already engaged in dialogue around such possibilities at Wits Business School. Heritage Month, and the moral imperatives of ubuntu call on us to intensify our focus and commitment.

And what about the rest of us? At the very least, I hope that at least once this month, when you fire up your braai, you will make sure that your invitations go beyond “the usual suspects” to embrace the new friends that ubuntu brings you.

Happy Heritage Month.

http://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/ubuntu-more-than-a-braai-1.1571257#.UiMgW-UaLIU

To the Laos - To the People of God, August 2013 - and July 2013

Here is this month's To the Laos letter, and below it follows the letter for July 2013, which, though sent out, did not make it onto the blog, in what was a very busy month.

Dear People of God

As August comes to an end, many of us have been reflecting on the fiftieth anniversary of Martin Luther King’s famous speech, ‘I have a dream’.

On 28 August 1963, he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and addressed over a quarter of a million civil rights supporters who had joined in the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom’. He was the last speaker at the end of a long rally, and the crowd was tired. Prompted by gospel singer Mahalia Jackson saying ‘Tell them about the dream, Martin!’ he departed from his prepared text and launched into the passionate words that are now so well remembered. I do encourage you to read them again, as he speaks of the self-evident truth that everyone is created equal, of the call to sit together at one table of fellowship, of freedom – God’s freedom – ringing loud and clear. Many churches, in the USA and around the world, commemorated the day with peals of bells.

Martin Luther King stirred the crowds as he said, ‘Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream.’

These words are an inspiration for all of us, when we look at all the challenges and problems that face our societies and our churches. They are also inspiring words to direct us towards Provincial Synod, in the first week of October. Every three years, the full representative body of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa meets – and this year, now with 28 Dioceses, will be our largest Synod ever, with some 180 episcopal, clerical and lay delegates, as well as representatives of the Youth and various Provincial organisations, invited guests and staff.

Our theme is ‘A Vision for Education – Education for a Vision’. When we met three years ago, we affirmed and celebrated our new Vision and Mission Statement – that Anglicans ACT, Anchored in the love of Christ, Committed to God’s Mission, and Transformed by the Holy Spirit’. Our work now to take forward our Vision, including through the priority areas for action at Provincial level, inevitably must include an educative element, in order to ensure that all we do is communicated across our Province, so it can be accessed as ‘user friendly resources’ for dioceses, parishes and people.

Anyone who has been reading my recent letters will know that we have been prioritising Theological Education this year, as we establish an endowment fund for the College of the Transfiguration. Ensuring we can produce, and keep producing, well-trained ordained and lay leaders, is an essential foundation stone for the church’s future. I want to say a huge ‘thank you’ to everyone who has made donations, including on Theological Education Sunday. We have received some remarkably generous gifts – though, as I write, the money is still coming in so I cannot tell you yet how much we have raised. At Synod, we will hear a keynote address from Revd Canon Professor Barney Pityana, Rector of COTT.

Education is also a vital part of moving forward in all other areas. Therefore, looking at what needs to be done from this perspective will be a major task of our group discussions around our Vision and how we support the whole life of ACSA. This is part of the leadership that we, as Synod members, are called upon to offer to the rest of our Province. Another of our keynote speakers, Revd Professor Bev Haddad, will address us about leadership – both within the church, and in how we encourage and equip Anglicans to be good and confident leaders in whatever walks of life God calls each one to serve.

Education should be a life-long task. None of us ever reach a point where we can stop learning! That said, education is especially rooted in how we bring up our children, nurturing them in mind, heart, soul, and body. Professor Mary Metcalfe will be our third keynote speaker, helping us get to grips better with this vital theme. Since we last met, we have made great strides in taking forward the Archbishop’s Initiative in Education, including through the registration of the Anglican Board of Education in Southern Africa as an NPO, thanks particularly to the hard work of Bishop Peter Lee and his team – and, as I have written about in previous letters, there are many other exciting initiatives developing across the Province.

Another important area of our work relates to the rejuvenation of the Canon Law Society, and the work we are doing particularly to update our disciplinary canons. Though at first glance this might appear to indicate that we are becoming more ‘legalistic’, in fact the reverse is our true aim! We live in a world where increasingly people rush to litigation as the first solution in any disagreement – whereas we want to show that our rules and regulations, properly understood, can provide far more effective frameworks for handling differences and disagreements among us. This is the same approach that underlay our Pastoral Standards: having clear, well-understood, guidelines actually gives us greater freedom in living as the people of God in this area. Without such education in how canon law can be such a good servant, but poor master, we risk going further down the road of spending far too much of our parishioners’ generous giving on legal action over issues that should have been handled in far more godly, Christian, ways.

Alongside this, we shall conduct our usual business, from looking at the place of the church in the wider world, through to the details of our own administration and finances. The Second Agenda book also gives notice of a wide range of motions, on everything from the alcohol and drug abuse through to eco-congregations and sustainable energy, from the structure of Synod to the election and retirement age of Bishops, from a provincial conference centre to the Anglican Covenant, and more besides. If you can, I encourage you to find out who your Diocesan representatives are, and to engage with them on these issues.

And whatever else, please pray for them, and for all of us as we prepare to meet in Kopanong in October. Below you will find the Collect, written to guide us.

Meanwhile, I am sure you are keeping the traumas of the world in your prayers – especially Syria and Egypt. At home we continue to hold Madiba before the throne of grace. May God’s peace flow like a mighty river, wherever it is needed.

Yours in the service of Christ

+Thabo Cape Town

Lord of all wisdom, you led your people through the wilderness
in the cloud by day and the fire by night:
grant to all who gather in Provincial Synod
the grace to listen to your direction
the assurance of the inspiration of your Spirit,
and the joy to celebrate your presence in prayer and praise
that all may be done to your honour and glory;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour
who reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever. Amen


To the Laos – July 2013

Dear People of God

Last week, Nelson Mandela celebrated his 95th birthday – to the great relief of so very many of us. We thank God for the continuing life of South Africa’s former President, and pray that in his frailty he may know God’s strength and comfort, in body, mind, heart and soul.

And we also dare to ask, in the ancient words of those prayers used as evening falls, that God will grant dear Madiba ‘a peaceful night and a perfect end’, in God’s own perfect timing. At the end of this long life of faithful service, we pray that he may know the assurance of God’s compassionate presence, and know that Jesus Christ, who is the Resurrection and the Life, has opened the gates of paradise to all who hear his voice and follow his call. We pray also that Me Graça, Madiba’s children and grandchildren, and all who love him, may know God’s strengthening in this long time of watching and waiting – that his peace may enfold them, and help them to find a good and holy way forward, through all the struggles with which they have battled in recent weeks.

This year, more than most, as Madiba’s birthday approached, I found myself giving thought to how best to celebrate this remarkable man and most appropriately honour his legacy. How should I spend 67 minutes serving others, in order to honour the 67 years of service of his life?

What I did was to join in a ‘human chain’ stretching along the Klipfontein Road, through the Rondebosch, Athlone and Gugulethu areas of Cape Town – several thousand of us waving flags and singing joyfully, despite drizzle! Yet I must admit that when I first heard the idea, I thought twice. Was this just ‘gesture politics’ and an easy way out of doing something more tangible with my 67 minutes?

But when I thought about it, I reached a different conclusion. For on Mandela Day we are asked to spend some time taking action that will help change the world, in ways that honour Nelson Mandela’s own example, in his life of service for the good of South Africa and its people. And Madiba’s example is that of a man with a servant heart, whose words and actions were driven by his dream – the dream of a united, democratic, non-racial, South Africa.

It struck me that if we do not make this dream our own vision, if this is not the foundation stone on which we base our lives and build our future, then all our other 67 minutes of service risk being undermined or diminished. For we need to tackle not only the symptoms of our wounded society, but their causes. And the persistence of past divisions – exacerbated now by growing new economic fault-lines – are amongst our most fundamental problems.

The Klipfontein Road in many ways illustrates the core issue: three distinct, separate communities were positioned at a distance from each other along its length. In contrast, our Human Chain was a living demonstration of our commitment to breaking down past divisions and building up a new reality in which we are all connected, all belonging to one another, and joined in the common life of our city and in the shared future which we create together in Cape Town and South Africa.

All this is ‘gospel-shaped work’. For, St Paul wrote, ‘God … has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and given us the ministry of reconciliation’ (2 Cor 5:18). And through Christ ‘God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross’ (Col 1:20).

Wherever there is division, mistrust and suspicion, evil can find a foothold. The spiritual cracks between us become fertile soil for other divisions to flourish, bearing destructive fruit in every part of life. When we dare to step into these breaches with prayer, God will pour in his healing compassion, reaching out and drawing others closer to himself in redeeming love. We are called to be channels of this love, so others may come to know God in Jesus Christ by his Spirit, for themselves.

Sometimes people ask me if I think Madiba is a saint. Well, it depends on what you mean by saint! I don’t agree, if it means we consider his life so miraculous that it is impossible for anyone to follow his example. But the New Testament calls all God’s people ‘saints’, with some translations clearly reflecting this Greek word, as St Paul’s begins his letters with ‘greetings to the saints’ or ‘to those called to be saints’, in Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae … Indeed, God calls each one of us – Nelson Mandela, you, me, whoever we are – to let ourselves be used by him, for his purposes in his world. This is the true meaning of being a saint. And while he may not use us in spectacular ways, he will certainly use us in ways that are significant for the building of his kingdom.

So then, let us honour Madiba, not only for 67 minutes once a year, but throughout our lives, by following God’s call, to be his ministers of reconciliation, his channels of love, his saints in his world. We can make every day a Mandela day! We are now looking at whether we can form human chains on some other specific day of the year – perhaps on Heritage Day, with the chain marking our links with the past and our determination to forge a better future, in the way we commit ourselves to breaking down old divisions and building new relationships, which uphold Madiba’s vision of a united, non-racial, equal society.

Human chains can be used as a powerful sign and symbol of commitment to transcend any divisions, past or present. And those who come together can sing, pray, and even dance a little! Then you might do as we did – pray specifically for Madiba, with thanksgiving for all he has achieved, and all he has challenged us to become, as well as praying for his comfort now. Then, after a little silent reflection, we said the pledge together. You will find the text at the end of this letter – please do use it wherever it can help us go forward in reconciliation, hope, and commitment to the shared good, that echoes all that God desires for people everywhere. Then we sang the national anthem.

And please do send in photos of your chains – or post them on Facebook (you can see many photos of what we did on the Klipfontein Road, on the ‘Human Chain - Mandela Day’ FB page). I hope that we might be able to gather some of these pictures together, and send them through to Madiba

In my last letter, I wrote at length about ensuring firm foundations for future training and formation of ordained and lay leaders, including through the Theological Endowment Fund for supporting the College of the Transfiguration. As part of this, I am asking every member of ACSA to make a special donation, on Theological Education Sunday, 18 August, of R10, or R100, or whatever you can manage.

You will be glad to know that I believe that Bishops should offer leadership in this as in all other matters – and therefore I have pledged R1000 out of my own pocket, for the Fund, and am challenging all the other ACSA bishops to match me, or even do better!

This month we congratulate Revd Canon Cynthia Botha, who heads the Publications Committee, on achieving 30 years on the staff of the Province. She started out as secretary to the Provincial Liaison Officer, who was then the future Archbishop, Njongonkulu Ndungane, and then to his successor Bishop John Carter. When he retired, she became secretary part time to both Emma Mashinini, who headed the CPSA’s Department of Justice and Reconciliation and to Publishing, taking on Publishing full time when the departments closed down. We thank you, Cynthia, and we thank God, for your long years of dedicated service!

This month was also the tenth anniversary of the consecrations of Bishops André Soares of Angola and Mark van Koevering of Niassa. There were rather more celebrations in Niassa, where they held their once-every-three-years Diocesan Synod. At the end of this they held a Diocesan Family Day, inaugurated a church dedicated to the first ever Mozambican priest, Yohannah Abdallah, and, as if that were not enough, compounded the joyful celebrations with the ordination of the first two Mozambican women to the diaconate, alongside four other deacons! We thank God for them all, with particular prayers for Reverends Claudina Cabral and Albertina Mucona as they begin this new ministry.

Yours in the service of Christ

+Thabo Cape Town

PLEDGE AT THE HUMAN CHAIN ON MANDELA DAY, THURSDAY 18 JULY, 2013

See http://archbishop.anglicanchurchsa.org/2013/07/more-on-human-chain-for-mandela-day-and.html

Celebrating Madiba’s vision of unity

Celebrating Madiba’s vision of unity

This opinion piece was published in the Sunday Independent on July 21 2013

Happy Birthday Madiba. I could almost feel the whole country breathe a collective great sigh of relief – and joy – as Nelson Mandela reached his landmark 95th birthday on Thursday.

How did you celebrate Mandela Day? What did you do for your 67 minutes?

I spent Thursday lunchtime as part of a human chain along the Klipfontein Road in Cape Town. This runs from just under Table Mountain, eastwards across the Cape Flats. In the bad old days it was like a thread, on which sat three separate beads, of white Rondebosch, coloured Athlone, and black Gugulethu. Three different communities, each at a distinct distance from one another.

On Mandela Day, Klipfontein Road became something else – an artery that connects our lives with our neighbours, as we stood together, hand in hand and arm in arm, united in our diversity. Waving our South African flags and singing, despite the slight rain, we made our stand as a way of pledging to break down the old divisions and build up a new connectedness that transcends the gulfs of the past.

When the idea was first put to me, I admit that I thought twice. Was this just “gesture politics”, and a soft way out of spending my 67 minutes on more tangible acts of service? But on reflection, I came to a different conclusion. On Mandela Day we are supposed to take some action that will help change the world, in ways that honour Nelson Mandela’s own example in his life of service for the good of the nation and its people. And what drove Madiba’s servant heart was his dream of a united, democratic, non-racial, South Africa. We must never lose this vision. If we can share his perspective, his motivation, then we can each walk our own journeys, however long, towards freedom, and encourage others along the way.

If we don’t pursue his dream, and uphold the values of the constitution, we risk undermining all our good deeds and acts of service. For we need to be wary of “sticking plaster” charity that provides superficial panaceas without tackling the underlying issues on which our problems thrive.

Our greatest priority still remains overcoming divisions of economic class and race and community, and forging a greater sense of common life – even of shared vulnerability to the fate that awaits us all if we fail to create a single nation. Standing together affirmed our belief in the tangible hope of newness of life – a hope shared by people of all faiths and of none. There truly was a sense of celebration as we held hands along Klipfontein Road.

And I was delighted that all around the country, from country towns to university campuses, others also formed human chains and committed to a common future. We all need to keep on investing in our future in this way, and stick with it for the long haul. There are few quick fixes for the profound wounds of the past – but courage to keep on persevering, and not to lose heart, just as Nelson Mandela stuck to his own principles, will help us get there.

Even if I have to make my apologies for encouraging children out of their classrooms, I was particularly glad that schools along the road brought their pupils to join our human chain. For I hope that they will have learnt this deeper lesson of directing their lives towards the values, now enshrined in our constitution, for which Madiba strove. Madiba himself said, “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world”, and it is so important that our younger generations are equipped with the ethical foundations, as well as the factual knowledge, that they will need for taking our country into a better future.

Madiba’s life reflected the lasting legacy of his own solid education at Healdtown, the Methodist-established college. Another exemplary student of those excellent historic mission schools is Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, our country’s only woman deputy president, and recently appointed executive director for UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women. She too has followed Madiba’s footsteps in demonstrating what it means to serve others and dedicating one’s life to making a positive contribution within the world.

Following his example in our own lives is surely the best way to show our love and appreciation of Madiba, especially now in his frailty. May he know that all he has stood for, all he has done, will not be wasted or forgotten. Let us commit ourselves to making his vision our own, as we continue to pray for him, for his physical comfort, for peace in his soul, and for, in God’s own time, a “perfect end” – and pray also for all who love and care for him.

On Mandela Day we pledged to do this, in the words below. Will you make this your pledge, too?

Mandela Day Pledge at the Human Chain

I, one link in this human chain, pledge to do all I can to build an undivided South Africa, free from poverty as envisioned by Nelson Mandela. I will observe and study his conduct and seek to emulate his actions that have helped to bring peace to our country.
A simple smile, a handshake, kindness, a listening ear, encouragement, spreading hope, giving a helping hand, taking action, not tearing down another – that is the Madiba way.
I reject anything or anyone who sets to demean or divide us and place our focus only on the ugliness that forms part of our lives.
Instead of focusing on ugliness and hatred, I choose to focus on beauty and love.
By doing this, I will have the strength to deal with the difficult challenges that I face to make Madiba’s dream a reality.
I am committed to being the best person I can possibly be. The stronger I am, the more I can help heal my family and my neighbourhood.
I am committed to the values of our constitution, which says that our country belongs to all who live in it. We have in Madiba one of the world’s greatest leaders. It is not always in the life of a people that they are so blessed with inspirational and visionary leadership.
Madiba’s maternal side is Khoisan, the earliest people who lived at the Cape, at least 2000 years ago. His paternal side is Xhosa, whose people intermingled with the khoisan over many centuries.
The merging of these two strong human strands has given us a man who has not flinched in his resolve to set his people free.
I commit to encourage all of those I come into contact with to study and emulate his conduct so that we draw on the positive example he has set for us and never forget that our fragile psyches need nurturing and tenderness to bring healing to this tortured nation.
I am proud of how far we have journeyed on the road to self-determination as a people and will continue always to be inspired by his example.
* Thabo Makgoba is the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town.

http://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/celebrating-madiba-s-vision-of-unity-1.1550062