A Letter for Pentecost - Archbishop Thabo Makgoba

A Letter for Pentecost

“.... that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” – 1 Cor 1:10

“That SACC-affiliated churches be granted the opportunity to self-regulate for COVID-19 compliance... This we would ask for any other formation of religious communities (of any faith tradition) that can satisfy appropriate COVID self-regulation measures...” – From the representations by church leaders to President Cyril Ramaphosa

“It’s an important shift, from control to collaboration.” – Comment on South Africa’s Level 3 lockdown regulations by Marianne Merten, Daily Maverick.

Dear Parishioners, Clergy and Bishops

I love the words of the 2^nd century bishop, Iranaeus, when he said: “In every language they sing a hymn to God in unison, for the Spirit brought the scattered people together in unity and offered to God the first fruits of the nations.” It has always struck me that it is only when the hard work of unity, of solidarity, is accomplished that we can truly offer a hymn to God, and there is no greater need for building unity and solidarity than at this uncertain, confusing and contested time in which the world struggles to comprehend the challenges of the coronavirus.

Since before South Africa's first lockdown came into effect, leaders of member churches of the SA Council of Churches have met regularly to discuss our role in the pandemic. As we worked through the issues and listened to the medical scientists, we heard that we will have to live with this virus for months, even years, and that it might return again and again to disrupt our lives. Moreover, it became clear that the question we faced was not whether worship would be resumed – we will not be closed in perpetuity, the question is rather when and how we will re-open. It also became clear that we cannot expect the Government to legislate in all the detail needed as to how to re-open, neither is it desirable to allow them to do so.

As a result, a sub-committee of church leaders that I led compiled detailed representations, based on the principle that we should regulate the re-opening of worship and other activities ourselves. (An excerpt from the representations which outlines steps to be taken before worship can resume can be found here. Later, the SACC released a comprehensive report, including some amendments, which can be found here. See pages 3-8.)

We held a number of discussions with Government, at the end of which President Ramaphosa announced publicly that they had accepted our representations. It has to be said that he acted unexpectedly quickly, and it is a pity that we were unable to co-ordinate our communications because his announcement led to unnecessary panic. But we welcomed the trust which the Government had placed in us, albeit in trepidation at the enormous responsibility placed on our shoulders.

Now we need to decide the when and the how. But we must be cautious and act prudently. The Spirit of Pentecost is also one of wisdom. Paul, who rejoiced always in the Spirit alive in him after years of ministering and exercising oversight of the churches, had to remind the Galatians that a fruit of the Spirit was also self-control.

As I said in my first response to President Ramaphosa's annnouncement, the conditions we have proposed for resuming worship are comprehensive and detailed. The detail, laid out in the documents I referred to above, needs to be studied carefully, but they require, for example, a limit of 50 people in services, disinfecting surfaces between services, physical distancing in churches, the avoidance of shared hymnals and prayer books, the wearing of masks during services, restrictions on singing, avoidance of the common chalice at Eucharist, no gatherings after services and rigorous hygiene in toilets and elsewhere.

Among those within ACSA whom I consulted on the SACC representations were members of the Provincial COVID-19 Advisory Team, which comprises medical, legal and theological experts, and is co-ordinated by Dr Arthur Manning assisted by the Deputy Provincial Registrar, Rosalie Manning. In response to South Africa's Level 3 lockdown, I asked the team to come up with a consenus view on how to move ahead. A number of Bishops have also consulted with their Dioceses and taken preliminary decisions themselves.

The COVID-19 Advisory Team gave me a preliminary report yesterday. From that, and the reports from Dioceses, the following main points have emerged:

• The Advisory Team reports a consensus that it is not yet time to resume worship.

• No Diocese so far has pronounced that it is ready to resume worship;

• Most reports suggest that it will take a month or two – or longer – to gather the data needed before a decision can be made.

• There is no one-size-fits-all approach to re-opening for worship. Dioceses outside South Africa have differing lockdown regimens. Within South Africa, different Dioceses face differing levels of infection and will have to adjust their strategies according to data on the level of risk in their areas (just as Government is doing).

• The Advisory Team suggests that Dioceses should show solidarity by agreeing that either all parishes within a Diocese should resume worship, or none should. Since parishes with fewer material resources will find it more difficult to be ready for worship, this would encourage those with more resources to partner and share with others.

• There is a need for legal clarity on levels of approval for coronavirus readiness plans and the legal liability of Dioceses and parishes in the event of infections contracted in church. Some Dioceses suggest that parishes need to be accountable to Dioceses for meeting conditions enabling them to return to worship, with designated Coronavirus Compliance Officers ensuring that safe conditions are met.

Apart from the steps to be taken to prepare for a return to worship, once services resume there will be other challenges. For example:

• How should leaders in a parish respond if more than 50 worshippers arrive for a service?

• How should they respond if congregants begin singing or mingling spontaneously?

• There is very serious concern about the return of parishioners and clergy who are over 60 years old. In a consultation church leaders held last weekend with Professor Salim Abdool Karim, who chairs South Africa's Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19, he warned us that the death rate for COVID-19 patients between 60 and 70 is three times higher than for others, and the risk is particularly big if conditions such as diabetes and hypertension are not well managed. For those above 70 with pre-existing conditions, the risks of having COVID-19 are very high, and they should self-isolate and stay at home until a vaccine is found.

All these issues, and others in the SACC guidelines, need to be addressed before we can return to worship. My hope is that we can develop a phased process of planning and return to worship, linked to significant festivals in the calendar, such as:

• Trinity Sunday

• Corpus Christi

• The Feast of the Transfiguration, and

• The Commemoration of Robert Gray.

There are also matters other than worship to address. Churches can be open for private prayer, for feeding the hungry, for helping with the overflow from schools and for testing where this is possible. Clergy who are teachers, school chaplains and professors will be walking alongside pupils as schools open, hospital chaplains will continue their ministry under guidelines laid down by hospitals, and police and military chaplains should continue supporting these men and women who ensure our safety and security. The National Church Leaders' Forum of the SACC continues to meet to review and study together all the areas which call for mutual action and joint articulation.

New, shared leadership and energy is emerging amidst the uncertainties of the pandemic. This is truly Pentecostal for it is what the Spirit always does; it calls to newness and to transforming power. Together, let us seize the opportunity to work with the challenge and come out of this time a better church and better Christians. As President Ramaphosa has reminded us, let us also remember Madiba's exhortation: “It is in our hands.”

God bless you.

††Thabo Cape Town

Courageous Conversations as Public Theology: In Search of New Partnerships for Justice

A keynote address to the Together for Justice Conference at the University of the Western Cape:

Friends, colleagues, sisters and brothers in Christ: I greet you all in the name of God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of our lives.

SACC CALLS FOR MOMENTS OF PRAYER FOR SOUTH AFRICA

SACC CALLS FOR MOMENTS OF PRAYER FOR SOUTH AFRICA

On Tuesday March 24 2015, the National Church Leaders Forum – which was recently launched as part of the South African Council of Churches renewal program – announced its intention to address the increasing dissonance within the South African socio-political space.

As a body of church leaders across the broader South African spectrum, the Forum is alarmed at the perceived "cancer of corruption" rapidly chipping away at the core of the South African moral fibre from every angle of our society; the creeping disregard for the Constitution as well as the debilitating instability playing itself out at key government and parastatal institutions. These all reflect a worrying trend that, if left unchecked, could prove dire for the future stability of this country.

The church leaders are calling on South African churches to commit themselves to pray and act for the advancement of the South African post-apartheid promise. This call is extended to all South Africans. The goal is to realise a just, reconciled, prosperous and equitable society; free of hunger and want, free of racial, tribal and gender prejudices, free of corruption and deprivation, and with enough food and shelter for every citizen.

The SACC will shortly be announcing its participation in the War of Poverty, in collaboration with all three tiers of government, building on existing pilot programs with proven success.

Platinum miners made "real gains" in strike

Platinum miners have achieved "real gains" in the settlement signed yesterday, says Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of Cape Town.

Archbishop Makgoba, who joined other church leaders in maintaing contact with both parties during the strike, issued the following statement today:

"I want to congratulate AMCU and the platinum mining companies on settling the strike.

"The negotiations and the strike have been tough and drawn out, but negotiation has triumphed. Although democracy is messy and complex, it creates a more secure atmosphere for harmony and collaboration in the longer term.

"The union and its members can feel satisfied they have achieved real gains - for now and the future - on the best terms available. The managements can feel that a more equitable deal for their workers will help to secure labour peace in the future."

Church of the Province of Africa - ‘Ad Laos’ – To the People of God – February 2014

As has become my practice over the last six years, this February letter is the first for the year, so let me start by wishing you all a blessed New Year.

Some of you may have read the latest Synod of Bishops' statement in which the Bishops share briefly the salient points of their February meeting. These meetings form the cornerstone of governance in faith and doctrine matters in our Province, over and above meetings of the Provincial Synod, the Provincial Standing Committee, the Provincial Trusts' Board and of course Diocesan structures. Of particular note was that the Synod expressed its joy at the approval by the South African Qualifications Authority of the Diploma of Theology offered by the College of the Transfiguration in Grahamstown, as well as at the provisional accreditation of the College as a private higher education institution.

Following the meeting of the Synod of Bishops, Lungi and I travelled to Lagos, Nigeria for a meeting of Anglican Primates and their spouses organised by the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA). This was my first CAPA meeting as Archbishop, as Bishop Jo Seoka of Pretoria is our episcopal representative to CAPA and has previously attended meetings on my behalf.

In our time together in Lagos, we as Archbishops from the different Anglican Provinces around the continent shared both our common and our differing contextual challenges. We shall continue to have different understandings on matters of human sexuality, whether legally, theologically or because of our different experiences, so we cannot paint everyone with the same brush. This applies even within provinces, as we see within our own Province, where only South Africa has legalised same-sex unions. For me, love and respect for all who are created in the image of God remain key. The Synod of Bishops affirmed this, as well as the importance of seeking justice and reconciliation on this issue – the differences over which we do not regard as being so serious as to be church-dividing.

Human sexuality was not, however, the central matter in our deliberations in Lagos. We were deeply concerned at tensions and conflict in places as varied as South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho and Mozambique, as well as the conflict between Muslims and Christians and the terror created by the followers of Boko Haram in Nigeria. Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State and his deputy welcomed us, and stressed the need for a critical solidarity by the Church with those called to serve through a vocation to politics.

Immediately after Lagos, Lungi and I were joined by our daughter, Paballo, to travel to Xai-Xai in Mozambique where I was blessing a new church, Salvador do Mundo (Saviour of the World). This was a wonderful occasion, with the Diocese’s largest parish packed to capacity. The worship was so joyful and moving as Bishop Dinis Sengulane and I moved around the church, sprinkling water amid clouds of incense, accompanied by the choir all singing in unison in Mozambique's unique alto voices. The choirmaster had a small school bell and rang it harder and harder the more we sprinkled holy water around the building! Coming from an urban diocese, dedicating new churches is not what one does frequently, especially in Shangaan and Portuguese and wearing full vestments when the temperature is 30 degrees. We are grateful for Bishop Dinis, who will retire soon after four Lambeth conferences and 38 years as a bishop in the Church of God. We are grateful for his ministry not only in the Church but in highlighting the scourge of malaria and the need for peace in the world, particularly in Mozambique. We can only say, while +Dinis is still alive, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

After Mozambique I chaired an ecumenical meeting at the Wits Business School. Ecumenical witness has seen many challenges and changes in post-apartheid South Africa, where we are experiencing the declining influence and identity of previously-strong ecumenical bodies and the rise of new ones which readily support state theology and loathe prophetic and liberation theology. It is as if we are regressing into what the apartheid government achieved through its grip on the Dutch Reformed Church, only this time it is South Africa’s current ruling party which is coercing interfaith and ecumenical bodies to align with it and thereby benefit materially or from their proximity to power and influence. However, in South Africa today the Church is called upon to support the State in this democratic dispensation when it does what is godly and serves the needs of all God’s people, but to be critical if it does not. And we cannot just sit back and point at what is wrong, we need too to work to bring about justice, equity and a sharing of God’s abundant resources. The meeting in Johannesburg highlighted these issues and reminded me of how easy it is to forget our primary vocation because we want government resources even to the point of compromising the prophetic word.

Finally, I attended a church leaders’ consultation with the South African Christian Leaders’ Initiative (SACLI), where we looked at how to strengthen the unity of the ecumenical voice in being courageous and prophetic. We looked at organisational as well as moral issues in our country, we planned for the forthcoming SACC triennial meeting and we considered how we could encourage SACC member churches to adopt education as a priority missional issue. We also noted that, welcome as the birth of SACLI is, it has created confusion and tensions at a time during which the SACC is ailing. Bishop Zipho Siwa, Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, has been asked to chair a subcommittee to look at aligning the ecumenical bodies in our country so that we can all act together in tackling the challenges faced by our country, especially in the upcoming elections. As chair of the church leaders’ consultation, I find these meetings edifying – stretching but fulfilling too as we face the challenge: How do we maintain our prophetic voice in a constitutional democracy when legitimate leaders are robbing the land and ignoring the cause of justice?

I have headed this letter the Church of the Province of Africa, to highlight the need for us to strive, whether in our Anglican Communion in Africa or ecumenically, to bring God’s real shalom, peace, justice and equity to the continent. There will be differences in theology, in matters of sexuality and in politics – let us face these and deal with them, and not pretend we don’t encounter them. Let us adopt a Pauline understanding of our vocation and build the body of Christ, recognising that it has different parts and abilities, but that they can all work together towards a common purpose. In this way we will have a deeper appreciation of the presence of the incarnate Christ at work within the body, pointing us to the realised Eschaton which at the same time is yet to be realised. This tension should not divide us, instead it should help us appreciate that we are of the same coin, bringing quality and equality to all.

This year, God willing, we will see the election of two new bishops suffragan, of Niassa and Mthatha. We are thankful to God that in spite of the challenges we have in a few dioceses, our Province is healthy and continues to witness to what God is up to in this part of God's vineyard. As we prepare to observe Lent, let me once again encourage you all to use the Bible study material that Professor Gerald West and his team have prepared for our Province.

I end on a note of thanksgiving – even if it is tinged with sadness. The “Masite Sisters” – the members of the Society of the Precious Blood in Lesotho – who provided a home away from home for South African political refugees as well as spiritual refugees over many years, will close their house in Maseru at the end of this month. The sisters have planted the seeds of faith for many but the remaining sisters are ageing, so although their Chapter says they may resurrect their ministry differently one day, for now we wish them well and give God deep thanks for their ministry in building the body of Christ in our Province.

As we enter this Lent, let us continue to build the body of Christ, in our relationships with one another, in our places of worship and in our different nations in this Province.

God bless you all in your Lenten observances,
+Thabo Cape Town

Remembering Marikana with Prayer, Hope and Action

This statement was issued on 15 August 2013, the eve of the first anniversary of the Marikana shootings.

Twelve months on from the Marikana shootings, we must acknowledge too little has been done in response to the terrible tragedy, both for those concerned, and for the life of the nation and our sense of who we are and who we want to become.

The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, through the South African Council of Churches, and with other partners, has offered assistance, especially spiritually, wherever we can, to the bereaved, injured and traumatised. We’ve distributed food-parcels, clothing and other physical help – some of it donated from beyond the Christian family. We have aimed to walk with all those affected, and to support whatever processes can promote healing and wholeness, further justice, and create new and better realities for going forward.

But, despite the hard work, dedication and perseverance of many, we are a long way short of where we would like to be. We could also have worked harder to promote a national climate in which others too would have been encouraged to do more and act with greater urgency, and not only in Marikana.

Yes, we must await the findings of the Farlam Commission. But this does not mean we do nothing as we wait.

Within the wider mining sector and across other industries there are a range of longstanding, underlying problems which time only exacerbates. There are lessons from Marikana all can learn, and actions to take which would benefit all stakeholders, who must cooperate.

All employers must put their own houses in order, ensuring decent, living wages and working conditions, as a higher priority than social responsibility programmes that tend to address symptoms not causes. Employers and unions should also find common ground in taking steps to uplift workers in other ways. What is being done to educate workers in managing their finances, the dangers of loan sharks, and sensible alternatives? How are we promoting honest, open debate about perhaps outdated employment practices for both migrant and local workers? How are we overcoming the vast skewedness of inequalities in wages?

Yes, there are complexities, yes there are difficult histories – but we cannot let these become excuses for minimal action. If I sound naïve, it is because we can no longer play games. People’s lives and their basic needs, must be put first – before profits, before politics, before power, before inter-union rivalries – and I’m not afraid to say so.

Yet I’m not without hope. The shockwaves which ran through the nation arose from our conviction that such things should never happen, and our certainty that the life of our country should be better. 1994’s vision still burns within us – let us keep fanning the flame.

And let us persevere in prayer, for those affected by the tragic events of last year – the bereaved, the injured, all who have been traumatised. I call on all South Africans to pray persistently for the situation in Marikana from Friday until Sunday. Let us seek God’s guidance and strength to do more, to do better, in building a better country for all. And may God bless us in these endeavours.

Death of Archbishop Emeritus Philip Russell

Statement by the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town on the death of Archbishop Emeritus Philip Russell

25 July 2013

The Most Revd Thabo Makgoba, Archbishop of Cape Town, issued the following statement on 25 July 2013, on learning of the death of his predecessor, in Australia earlier in the day.

Today the whole Anglican Church of Southern Africa gives joyful thanks to God for the life and ministry of one of the unsung heroes of our Church – my one-time predecessor as Archbishop of Cape Town, Archbishop Emeritus Philip Russell, who died earlier today.

We remember Philip Russell as parish priest, Suffragan Bishop in the Diocese of Cape Town, the first Bishop of the new Diocese of Port Elizabeth, and later Bishop of Natal. Then, in 1980, it was clear that the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (as we were known) was moving towards electing its first black Archbishop, but not yet quite ready to take that step. After the electoral assembly failed to reach agreement, he allowed himself to be nominated by the Synod of Bishops to become what was clearly an ‘interim Archbishop’, and was enthroned the following year.

Yet he filled this ministry with great graciousness, and was clearly God’s man for those difficult times between 1980 and 1986. Having long preached and campaigned against apartheid, he brought to Bishopscourt a passion for both human rights, and ecumenical relations, with strong ties to the South African Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.

I remember him having a sharp pen, on paper – but a warm heart in personal encounters. Even in old age, retired in Australia following the death of his wife, he has kept in contact with his former fellow-bishops and priests, personally writing letters and Christmas cards. I feel privileged that after I was elected Archbishop, he has also been in frequent touch with me, including phoning from time to time, with wise words of encouragement.

I offer my own condolences, and those of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, to his children, grandchildren, and wider family, in South Africa and Australia, in the loss that his death brings – even as we commit him with confidence into the loving arms of God, who has in Christ broken the chains of sin and death and opened the gate to eternal life.

Now, at the great age of 93, he has completed his long race, which he ran with such faithfulness and godly perseverance. He has fought the good fight, and now the victor’s crown can be his, as he is welcomed home by his Lord, his Saviour, his Friend.

Hamba kahle, dear elder brother in Christ. May you rest in peace, and rise in glory.

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

Death of Revd Dr Khoza Elliot Mgojo

Media Release

Death of Revd Dr Khoza Elliot Mgojo, Struggle Stalwart and Man of God

On behalf of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, I extend condolences to the family of Revd Dr Khoza Elliot Mgojo, our dear brother in Christ of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. He has been a great friend of our church, and a much loved partner in the gospel, over many years, particularly in his terms of office as Presiding Bishop in those troubled years during the 1980s, and as President of the South African Council of Churches from 1990 to 1996, as our country faced the profound challenges of transition to democracy. His was always a wise voice of leadership, and a steady hand on the tiller. In his subsequent service on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he brought all the wisdom and insight of his years of servant leadership, for the sake of the healing of our nation.

We thank God for his life, witness and ministry over long years, and his steadfast commitment to the gospel imperatives of good news to the poor, through pursuit of justice, equality, and dignity for all God’s children. He will be sorely missed. Our prayers are with his family, and all who loved him and mourn his passing. Well done, good and faithful servant of God! May he rest in peace, and rise in glory.

+Thabo Cape Town

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

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba's Charge to the Provincial Synod of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa

‘Anchored in the Love of Christ, Committed to God’s Mission, Transformed by the Holy Spirit’

Habakkuk 2:1-4, ^*Gal 6:1-10, Luke 4:1-13

Introduction

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, members of Synod, distinguished guests

– I greet you in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and welcome you to the thirty-second session of the Provincial Synod of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.

I extend a particular welcome to our invited guests – and especially to you, my dear brother from Haiti, Bishop Jean-Zaché Duracin. May your time with us be a time of growing and deepening partnership in the gospel.

A special welcome also to you, who are at Synod for the first time. I hope you will quickly feel at home among our processes and procedures, and able to make a full contribution.

We also greet Dr Mamphela Ramphele, thanking God for her years of faithful service, for which it is our privilege to honour her today with the Order of St Simon of Cyrene.

On the Feast of St Michael and All Angels, we ask God to send his holy angels to watch over us, and keep us safe in the centre of his will, throughout our time together.

May he bless and guide us, may he strengthen and inspire us with his vision, so that we may be his faithful instruments in the building up of his Church, and in his mission to his world.

God’s Vision for God’s Church in God’s World

Let me begin by thanking all those who have helped in preparing this Charge – first, as always, Lungi and my children, who have put up with weeks of inattention!

I also thank the Bishopscourt staff, my brother Bishops, and everyone who has contributed reflections, reports and other input.

This Charge is a collegial effort intended to reflect the perspectives, concerns and activities, of our whole Province.

The theme of both Charge and Synod, is the Vision offered by Provincial Standing Committee: that we, as the Anglican community in Southern Africa, seek to be:

• Anchored – in the love of Christ
• Committed – to God’s mission
• Transformed – by the Holy Spirit.

The context for our response to God’s vision, is provided by the prophet Habakkuk:

‘I will stand at my watch-post, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me’.

Jesus similarly began his ministry with prayer and fasting in the wilderness.

Now we in turn come away together to seek the Lord, following our own forebears’ example.

Exactly 140 years ago, in 1870, our first Provincial Synod met, and laid the foundations of our Constitution and Canons, on which all subsequent generations have built.

Let me pay specific tribute to the legacy of my two immediate predecessors.

We wish ‘Arch Desmond’, and Ma Leah, many peaceful, joyful, restful, years ahead as he retires from public life.

We also thank God for Archbishop Njongo, for it was on his watch that the 2002 and 2005 Provincial Synods affirmed a commitment to developing a Vision Statement: a renewed expression of our identity and calling in the new era before us.

In my Installation Charge, I spoke of our need to

quote ‘seek afresh to discover what it is to be the body of Christ in our time, and who God is in Jesus Christ, for us here and now’ unquote.

Since June 2008 Ms Glenda Wildschut has chaired this process. Thank you, Glenda, and everyone who has worked with you.

Now PSC has challenged us to be:

· Anchored – in the love of Christ,

· Committed – to God’s mission,

· Transformed – by the Holy Spirit.

This call from God echoes throughout Scripture.

First, being anchored in the love of God, made manifest in Jesus Christ:

• Habakkuk tells us to wait on the Lord;
• St Paul speaks of ensuring we fulfil the law of Christ, of loving one another as he has loved us;
• Jesus declares that we live not by bread alone (but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord as in Deuteronomy 8:3).

Second, being committed to God, and to his mission:

• so we persevere, waiting on the Lord for his appointed time [says Habbakuk];
• we do not grow tired of doing good [St Paul];
• [and, as Jesus says,] we worship the Lord and serve only him, who alone has authority over all the kingdoms, all the nations, every part, of the whole world.

Third, being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us, so others, too, may be transformed:

• we must not be like the proud, who do not have a right spirit within them, says Habakkuk;
• we must follow St Paul, sowing the Spirit so that we reap eternal life, for ourselves and others;
• like Jesus, we must let the Spirit inspire us, so our words and our actions may have eternal significance – so we bear the fruit that truly lasts (John 15:16).

Upon this basis of being Anchored, Committed, Transformed, we have developed this Mission Statement:

Across the diverse countries and cultures of our region, we seek:

• To honour God in worship that feeds and empowers us for faithful witness and service
• To embody and proclaim the message of God’s redemptive hope and healing for people and creation
• To grow communities of faith that form, inform, and transform those who follow Christ

Believing this is the task to which we are called, we seek God’s guidance on how we put flesh upon these bones and make them live – asking him to breathe into them the life of his Spirit (as we read in Chapter 37 of the book of the prophet Ezekiel).

Like Habakkuk, we await the Lord’s answer – an answer for us to make plain, quote ‘so a runner can read it’ unquote, for sharing clearly across this Province.

So we identified eight priority areas, and asked task teams to look at how the Province can support Diocesan life.

As you discuss their reports, do not lose sight of the overarching context – that it is God’s vision for God’s church that we are trying to implement through them.

This is very different from the way that the world around us does so much of its planning – which reflects Jesus’ temptations remarkably closely.

For we are not seeking the vision of business, investors and economists: trying to maximise material gain – turning stones into bread.

Nor are we seeking the vision of politicians: focussing on power – the status and authority of the kingdoms of this world.

Nor are we seeking the vision of celebrity, of fame and popularity – preaching whatever so-called gospel best pulls in the crowds.

No. We trust ourselves to the God whose strength is made perfect in weakness; and worship him alone, who provides the bread of life with which we feed the hungry.

Being truly Anchored, Committed, Transformed, means holding fast to Christ’s love, the Father’s mission and the Spirit’s powerful directing.

This is the heart of the agenda for this Synod.

But we must also look beyond our own walls.

A self-absorbed, self-sufficient, church is soon a dead church, as the Church in Laodicea is warned in the Revelation to St John.

So, after addressing our common life and priority themes, I will consider our role:

· within broader Christian and faith communities;

· within the Anglican Communion;

· and within the nations of our Province and the wider world.

ACSA Priorities

Our eight priority areas are:

• Liturgical renewal for transformative development
• Theological education
• Leadership formation
• Health, including HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria
• The environment
• Women and gender
• Protection and nurture of children and young people
• Public advocacy

Two further themes – transformation, and holistic mission rooted in a full commitment to evangelism – run through and undergird all these, rather than being matters to address separately.

We must also keep in mind the imperatives of justice and reconciliation, gender equality, poverty, and youth.

Many of these themes relate to the daily bread-and-butter of Christian life and Christian leadership.

These include urgent needs to nurture young Christians and to encourage vocations – especially to the ordained and religious life, and particularly among our young people.

We must also train clergy and lay leaders; and develop a new generation of theological educators for the future.

But:

· unless we faithfully uphold daily Morning and Evening prayer,

· unless we root ourselves in Scripture,

· unless we feed regularly on the body and blood of Christ,

· unless we rely only and always upon God’s leading and God’s strengthening,

we are no better than any secular organisation.

For our calling is to be channels of the transcendent power of God: his healing, his hope, his redemption, to his world.

Only those who are truly Anchored in his love, and Committed to his mission, can be agents of his Transforming promises.

Our Spiritual Calling

Liturgical renewal is therefore vital.

Worship brings us close to God. We grow as Christians, and find our identity as Anglicans, through our relationship with him, more than anything else.

All of us, laity and clergy alike, must grow in discipleship if we are to respond faithfully to God’s call.

The disciplines of spiritual formation are not an option.

Therefore we need residential training alongside diocesan schemes.

I thank Revd Canon Dr Bill Domeris, and Revd Canon Dr Peter Wyngaard, for all they have done, at the College of the Transfiguration, and the Anglican House of Studies.

We also wish Bill and Shona every blessing as he retires at the end of the year.

I am glad to announce that Revd Prof Barney Pityana has been appointed interim Rector of COTT from 1 January 2011; with a specific mandate to oversee COTT’s registration with the Council of Higher Education.

We must also help laity to apply a mature faith in every walk of life – especially those in positions of responsibility, whether

• in government and public service;
• in the judiciary, or the media;
• in the education and health sectors;
• in business and wealth creation;
• or in local community organisations

– so all can truly be salt and light.

Church Leadership

While, within the church, we are not called to operate in the same way as secular leadership, we must certainly draw on the best examples, the highest standards, of the world around.

Everyone to whom responsibility is trusted – clergy, wardens, diocesan staff, members of boards at every level, and especially where financial matters are concerned – must combine the highest ethical codes with the best of professional expertise.

We cannot afford – literally, as well as metaphorically – to be well-intentioned amateurs.

So we must, for example, follow the advice of King-III, in respect of good governance, accountability, transparency and honesty – as well as upholding all canonical obligations.

In this light, the Provincial Treasurer, Mr Rob Rogerson, reports that the Provincial Finance Sub-committee has been looking at the structures of our accounts, at better disclosure, and increasing transparency and understanding.

This is vital for examining whether we have value for money in our spending – and also ensuring our spending patterns reflect our real priorities, and are geared towards our mission and ministry goals, including our Vision.

Travel is one area requiring particular attention.

Budgets are set through juggling Provincial needs against Diocesan abilities to contribute.

In the last five years, meetings and associated travel, especially by air, have cost significantly more than planned, and overruns carry forward with a ripple effect.

In part, this is as a result of our successes – such as the birth of new dioceses, for which we thank God.

But each new Diocese means extra delegates, which is expensive.

We must also be mindful when electing members to various in-house and ecumenical bodies: that we are sensitive to the geographical location of meetings, to minimise costs.

We thank Rob and his staff for their hard work – not least in seeing the Pension Funds safely through the credit crunch.

Upholding God’s Best

Sometimes in church life we fall short of what is expected of us.

When this happens, we must also follow best practice.

Therefore I am particularly grateful to Bishop Peter Lee – with the Provincial Registrar and the Deputy Registrar – for bringing to Synod draft measures to update and improve our canons on the Tenure of Clergy, and Ecclesiastical Tribunals.

The Church has a very special relationship with its clergy, as well as all those entrusted to their care. We therefore need structures and practices that safeguard both, as far as possible.

In my August letter ‘To the Laos – to the People of God’, I set out more fully what this means.

Ours is a God of infinite mercy and infinite justice – but not of ‘cheap grace’. While God’s offer of forgiveness is without limit, we must also take responsibility for our actions where this is appropriate.

So we must always act with honesty and transparency; promoting fairness and restorative justice; not brushing things under the carpet but ensuring proper procedures take their course.

We have a weighty responsibility to be God’s salt, God’s light, in his world.

To this end, we hold the Diocese of George in our particular prayers, as legal and civil procedures are pursued. These are very painful, but we must face them honesty and openly.

Growth and Development

But, thanks be to God, the great majority of our clergy are deeply faithful, doing so very much, for such little reward.

Thanks to your dedication, we enjoy many signs of growth – both in numbers, and in spiritual depth – around our Province.

We thank God for the building of his kingdom in this way. I have already mentioned new Dioceses – False Bay, Saldanha Bay, Ukhahlamba and Mbhashe since our 2005 Synod. I am sure they will not be the last.

Earlier this year, I enjoyed attending the Anglican Students’ Federation’s 50th anniversary celebrations, and earlier this month the Provincial Youth Council Consultation.

No-one meeting our young people could ever believe the accusation that Anglicans are dead, and don’t know the vibrant life of the Holy Spirit!

We must listen to God speaking through them, taking to heart St Paul’s words to Timothy that he should not let those who are older look down on him (1 Timothy 4:12).

Children and Young People

Did you know that about a quarter, 27%, of the world’s population is aged 15 or under?

Within ACSA, though that figure is only 19% in St Helena, elsewhere it ranges from 32%, about a third, in South Africa, rising to 46%, close to a half, in Angola.

Children are not merely the church of tomorrow, they are the church of today. Nurturing our young people, not only spiritually, is therefore a vital priority.

This goal must inform every debate we have. Frankly, Synod is appallingly unrepresentative on this score!

Gender

We are also hugely unrepresentative in relation to gender.

As one motion notes, women constitute the majority in our pews, but the reverse is true at every level of leadership, lay and ordained. And I must admit that one of my dreams is to consecrate a woman bishop for our Province!

We are particularly blessed that so many women make a disproportionate contribution, as individuals, lay and ordained, and through bodies like the Mothers’ Union and Anglican Women’s Fellowship. Thank you, to all of you.

I am very glad that we have now established the Gender Desk, and we welcome Revd Cheryl Bird.

Please note that it is a Gender desk, not a Women’s desk.

The roles of men and women alike, of every culture, were distorted by apartheid.

We need to develop appropriate spiritualities for us all, for contemporary living – that are also channels of healing for the legacies of our brutalising history.

I want to name one unmentionable area that we must dare to tackle: the dehumanising effect of conscription on a generation of young men – barely more than boys.

Many are still wounded from that time, and need to be able to speak and find healing.

Our society makes this almost impossible. But before Jesus there are no taboo subjects.

I also want to challenge the St Bernard Mizeki Guild and the Church Men’s Society to fresh reflection on what it means to be a Christian man in today’s world – especially in being actively part of the solution, to the unacceptably high levels of violence, against women and children.

Let me briefly mention the request to the Synod of Bishops, from three dioceses, to consider our pastoral care of those in same-gender Civil Unions, now legal under South African law, and those in polygamous relationships.

A working group prepared papers for an initial discussion in the Synod of Bishops.

This is a very sensitive matter, with wide-ranging implications (ranging from baptism policies to legal obligations), and we are going to proceed slowly, ‘on our knees’. Please keep us in your prayers.

Health and Social Development

Let me now turn to the remarkable work we are doing as a Province in areas of social development and health, especially HIV and AIDS, malaria and TB.

I must pay considerable tribute to Bishop David Beetge for his dedication here, as in so many other areas. During Synod we shall miss his wisdom, experience, deep spirituality, and his generous humour keenly. We thank God for his life, and send Carol our love and prayers.

We also thank God for Bishop Les Walker, and send Marian our love and prayers.

We send heartfelt condolences to the family of Judge Tholakele Madala, giving thanks for his wise counsel as Deputy Chancellor of the Province, and within the Diocese of Mthatha.

Names of other members of Synod who have died since our last meeting will appear in the record.

Both the Anglican AIDS and Healthcare Trust, and Hope Africa have had to weather the global economic storms and face reductions in funding.

I thank Bishops Jo Seoka and Merwyn Castle, as well as Mr Sabelo Mashwama and Canon Delene Mark, and their teams, for all they continue to achieve, in partnership with our Dioceses.

Hope Africa’s move to the same site as the Trust will, I hope, enable synergies that help maximise the efficient use of resources.

Yet the church’s greatest resource, and its greatest treasure, will always remains its people: so developing capacity, and empowering volunteers, remains central to our strategy.

This will be at the heart of next month’s South African National Conference on Religion and Public Health, of which the Minister of Health and I are joint patrons.

Our focus is ‘Comprehensive Educational Role in Primary Health Care – Strengthening Responses to Preventable Diseases’.

I also encourage our private sectors to fill gaps left by withdrawing international donors.

Companies should look beyond using social responsibility programmes to leverage advertising opportunities, and focus where needs are greatest.

The World Around Us

This brings me to the Church’s role beyond our walls, and our need to speak truth to power, and to pursue social justice and good governance in every form.

Let me mention two particular concerns within our Province, where we cannot remain silent.

The first is democracy within Swaziland, where power and wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few, and political debate is hardly permitted.

Bishop Meshack, our whole Province stands in solidarity with you, as you declare Christ’s gospel of good news to the poor and liberty to the oppressed.

The second is the freedom of the press within South Africa, where the Protection of Information Bill actually threatens to undermine a range of Constitutional rights.

Raising our voices so our message is heard, is often best done in partnership with others, especially Christians, and those of other faiths.

One such body is the South African Council of Churches. We congratulate Bishop Jo on his recent election as President.

This is a big task, as the SACC works on re-finding its focus and voice, which is so vital within South Africa’s public life.

We thank Bishops Jo and Peter, and everyone else who represents our Province, in ecumenical and other bodies – including the Church Unity Commission, with whom we are challenged to consider how we can deepen our common life.

We also look forward to the 3rd Lausanne Congress in Cape Town later this month; and particularly the pre-conference meeting of Anglican participants, which is being jointly run by the Anglican Communion’s Evangelism and Church Growth Initiative, and our own Growing the Church team.

There is time only to speak briefly of other events around our world.

Christ called us to love our neighbours as ourselves, and we must continue to hold Zimbabwe, and the Anglican church there, in our particular prayers.

I remain in close touch with the Bishop of Harare, offering what support we can; and am thankful for Bishop Rubin’s pastoral care and support for Zimbabweans.

The presence of Bishop Duracin reminds us we must not forget the plight of Haiti.

Following the accounts that I and Revd Canon Robert Butterworth wrote of our visit following the devastating earthquake, I am glad to report that we are establishing partnership links between schools; and have agreed to train a Haitian cleric for 3 years at COTT and a further year at the Anglican House of Studies.

We must also ‘think global and act local’ in relation to safeguarding our planet; doing what we can within our homes and churches, our communities, and our work-places.

We must also press for a comprehensive and just outcome at COP17 – the UN’s 17th Conference of the Parties, on Climate Change – being held in South Africa next year.

The Anglican Communion

In his Pentecost letter to the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, speaks of us as having ‘not fully received the Pentecostal gift of mutual understanding for common mission’.

The differences that focus around questions of human sexuality continue to be very real, very difficult.

ACSA must contribute what we can to the painful debate, not least from our own experiences of dealing with vast diversity.

I am therefore glad that ACSA was effectively represented at the Global South 4th Encounter earlier this year, and that 10 Bishops attended the All African Anglican Bishops Conference in Uganda last month.

For us, what has mattered most is:

· being centred on Christ;

· agreeing on the central matters of who Jesus is and the salvation he brings;

· and therefore recognising one another as being united in him, and, in consequence, with each other.

In consequence, as we have found within the Synod of Bishops, when differences arise, none of us feels called to say to another ‘I no longer consider you a Christian, a brother in Christ, a member of the body of Christ – I am no longer in communion with you.’

It is as if we see the marks of the living Christ, who is also the suffering Christ, in one another and in our common life.

We find ourselves more closely bound together in our soreness, as we await the power of the resurrection within our painful circumstances.

My prayer is that the Covenant can help the whole Communion rediscover one another in Christ, encountering him at the foot of the cross in this way.

We must not expect the Covenant to be perfect, or deliver instant solutions to shattered relationships.

But it certainly offers a way of affirming our desire to live together as Provinces, within our global family: through an autonomy that is neither imposed uniformity, nor unbounded independence.

Rather, we seek appropriate interdependence, lived in ‘bonds of affection’.

It is, you might say, a framework for expressing St Paul’s apparent paradox of both bearing one another’s burdens, and carrying our own loads!

We need to share our unique experiences of letting Christ hold us together in difference, within the life of the Covenant, and help it to work as well as possible.

Meanwhile, we must not divert time and energy from the core mission and ministry of the Anglican Communion, including the functioning of its Instruments of Communion, commissions, networks and other bodies.

This includes, for example, the Mission to Seamen, where we should take greater ownership of the opportunities afforded us.

Here let me thank Bishop Paddy Glover, liaison Bishop for the Mission to Seaman, for all he does as Dean of the Province, especially in supporting me.

We look forward to welcoming to Cape Town the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order in November, and congratulate the Revd Sarah Rowland Jones – our Synod preacher, and my researcher – on her appointment to the Communion’s highest ‘theological think tank’.

[Sarah is also the widow of Justus Marcus, whom old Synod and PSC hands will remember fondly for his years of service, as Dean of Kimberley then Bishop of Saldanha Bay.]

We thank Revd Canon Janet Trisk, Ms Nomfundo Walaza and her successor Mrs Louisa Mojela for representing us in the Anglican Consultative Council, and pray for Janet in her weighty responsibilities on the Communion’s Standing Committee.

Conclusion

Let me sum up this wide-ranging review of the life of our Province with a question:

What is my hope for this Synod, and the outcome of our time together?

Well, I long to see our Vision embraced enthusiastically, and for us to work hard together to breathe life into it – so that in responding to God’s call to mission, we can enhance a comprehensive response, within our Dioceses, to the many serious inter-relating spiritual and socio-economic challenges that we each face, across our vast and varied Province.

Finally, let me end with some personal reflections.

I was recently walking in the garden with my two dogs, pondering the vocation to Christian leadership.

When I sat down near the stream, two Egyptian geese rushed at me, squawking furiously. They would not stop. One even flew at my head.

Then I realised that the younger dog had a baby goose in his mouth.

Fortunately he released it unhurt, and it rejoined its brothers and sisters in the stream. We moved away and the family was reunited.

The two parent geese had fearlessly taken on what must have seemed like three giants who had come between them and their family, but they were determined to care for their children at all costs.

Since moving to Bishopscourt, I have often felt faced by giants – difficult challenges I never expected; heavy expectations laid upon me; travel to everywhere from Haiti’s devastation to the presence of Kings and Presidents.

Yet this is not because I am Thabo, but because I am God’s child, called by him to a particular task for the sake of his church, his world.

He has put around me people – family, colleagues, staff, friends – and structures (of which Morning and Evening Prayer and the daily Eucharist are central) to remind me continually that this is God’s business.

So I rely on him for courage to face the giants, and to guide me in what I say and do.

Indeed, I have become grateful that often, when I feel stretched too far, and inadequate for the task, in this way he forces me to keep depending on him.

I have found that his grace is indeed sufficient in my weakness.

He is my Anchor. To him I am Committed. And in his love, I find the Transformation I need for living out the vision he puts before me.

Let us dare to do the same, as a Province – to be Anchored, Committed and Transformed, so we may be, in Habakkuk’s words, ‘the righteous, who live by their faith.’^*

Amen