To the Laos - To the People of God - Appeal for the people of South Sudan

Dear People of God

The suffering and challenges of the church elsewhere in Africa turned my schedule upside down for a week last month. Returning from a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council in London, I had to urgently fly to Nairobi at the request of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA).

There I joined other church leaders at the headquarters of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) for an emergency meeting on the situations in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. Both countries have been plagued by instability and strife in recent years, and both face huge challenges in the coming months. In the DR Congo, President Kabila has at last agreed to step down and hold elections in December, and now unity and reconciliation are an important priority of the church.

When I first became a bishop, I did my month-long “baby bishop” training course in Malawi with the person who now leads the church in South Sudan, Archbishop Justin Badi Arama. Ever since, I have prayed for him, his church and for the freedom of his country. I rejoiced when they attained independence in 2011, but the promise soon evaporated. Two years later, after they had only tasted freedom and independence, two factions of the ruling alliance fell out, and I have previously mentioned the civil war which broke out as a result.

Anglicans in South Sudan (Photo: Jesse Zink, Montreal Diocesan Theological College) 

A few days before we gathered in Nairobi, the national youth coordinator for the Episcopal Church of South Sudan was shot and killed when his vehicle was sprayed with bullets. At the meeting I listened to stories of interventions by local dioceses to try to end the conflict in this resource-rich country. The refrain was that all those born after 1955, when the first of the civil wars started, are children of war, that they have lived in war but they are determined not to die in war. As we met, peace talks had resumed in Addis Ababa and there was great expectation that a new agreement would be signed. This indeed happened soon after we wrapped up our meeting but in the past agreements have come unstuck so there is still great trepidation – there are international, regional and local actors who do not want peace, because conflict has better dividends for them. At our meeting in Nairobi, we looked at ways in which the region could accompany the church in South Sudan and how the AACC can help the county understand and live in freedom. 

Upon my return to Cape Town, I asked clergy – and now through this Ad Laos I ask you as parishioners: please help me put together prayers, Bible verses and pictures as a resource for daily prayer for peace and freedom in South Sudan, beginning at Advent and running for a full year through to Advent 2019. You don’t need to be a professional, or ordained, or a leader in your parish to contribute: whether it's a line, a poem, a sentence, a song or a picture, just write it down and help your archbishop to pray effectively for this country.

The Ven Terry Lester is ACSA's official representative on South Sudan, so you may want to arrange a special meeting or day of prayer with him or others. Since I arrived at Bishopscourt, I have had a group of intercessors who join us regularly for worship – you may also want to also explore having a group of intercessors from the Diocese to pray for peace, justice and progress in South Sudan in their and our lifetimes. Yes, we have our own unresolved social issues of poverty, land, racism, unemployment, inequality of opportunity, crime and others, but I am asking that we also focus on and include these children of God in our prayers. Prayer enables peace within and then we can share this with South Sudan.

At a personal level, I am happy to have Manala, my wife Lungi, back after she did a 30-day individually guided retreat with the Jesuits at their retreat centre at St Lucia in KwaZulu-Natal. I have burnt a couple of her pots as I attempted to cook whilst focused on reading, answering emails etc at the same time. I now appreciate her ability to multi-task without burning things!

Please continue to pray for our church and its response to what God is up to in his world. Also pray not only for South Sudan and the DR Congo, but for other conflict areas as well, and especially Syria.

†Thabo Cape Town

[As published in the October issue of Good Hope, newsletter of the Diocese of Cape Town]

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. 

Appeal for prayer for South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo

Dear Fellow Anglican

Friday February 23: Pray for South Sudan and the DR Congo

After Sudan became independent in 1956, it suffered decades of civil war. Just over six years ago, South Sudan broke away from the north amid great hopes that at last it would find peace. But a little over two years later, South Sudan suffered a new outbreak of civil war and it has not known true peace since. Under pressure from their neighbours, the opposing sides began new peace talks earlier this month, but at present they stand adjourned for an undetermined period.


The Democratic Republic of Congo has also not known permanent peace, in their case for the past 20 years. Armed rebel groups proliferate in the east. More than four million people are displaced from their homes. The President has served his two terms but has delayed a new election for two years. A former United Nations humanitarian chief, Jan Egeland, said a few days ago that right now the country faces one of the worst crises on earth, yet no one seems to care.

Pope Francis and a number of Anglican leaders, including Archbishop Peter Munde Yacoub in South Sudan, have issued a call to prayer for the people of both nations on Friday February 23. In his appeal the Archbishop said:

“Jesus says if we pray faithfully, the mountains can fall into the sea. We have mountains in front of us: the evil war and the killing of innocent people. Pray that Almighty God will remove this evil war and bring us peace, and remove the suffering of South Sudanese people.”

Friday is an Ember Day in our Province. Please add to your prayers for that day the following prayer as well. You might also use it on the Second Sunday in Lent too:


Loving God, Prince of Peace, we pray today for our sisters and brothers in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo;

We pray for the victims and survivors of violence in those nations,
We pray for refugees who have fled to neighbouring countries, and for the millions of people crowded into camps for displaced people,
We pray for their politicians, that they will learn how to become servant leaders, dedicated to the interests of their people.

Lord Jesus, you are our hope,
Our faith in you grounds us in hope,
It gives us certainty that peace can be made,
It strengthens our resolve that peace must be made,
And hope helps us to triumph over all.

We pray that the people of the DR Congo and South Sudan,
Will focus on the hope that you inspire,
Hold one another's hands,
Look upon one another, eyeball to eyeball,
And resolve to build united, peaceful nations.

This we pray in your precious name,

Amen

†Thabo Cape Town

“Glad Tidings of Peace Demand Courage and Action”

A homily for Christmas Eve 2015, preached at St George's Cathedral, Cape Town:

Isaiah 62: 6-12, Psalm 97, Titus 3: 4-7, Luke 2: 8-20

Thank you, Dean Michael and your staff, who always make this Christmas Eve Mass such a great occasion. As the hymn says of this night of the year, “O Holy Night, the Stars are brightly shining, it is the Night of our dear Saviour’s Birth.” It is a night on which we experience God’s love for us, a love so great that God, in his pursuit of us, becomes one like us, risking all so that we might receive God’s boundless mercy.

    And God does indeed pursue us. The English poet Francis Thompson reminds us of this in the poem in which he describes God as a “Hound of Heaven” who pursues us “down the nights and down the days.” C S Lewis says that thinking that we are pursuing God is like imagining a mouse chasing a cat. Both make the Advent point: that God will never stop seeking us out and loving us into fuller life.

    Not only that: we don’t have to earn God’s love. As Paul says in his letter to Titus, “...when the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Our archbishop emeritus says it more colourfully. One of his favourite Bible verses is that in Paul’s letter to the Romans which reads: “Whilst we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” In typically vivid language, Desmond Tutu adds: “If Jesus had waited until we were die-able for, then he would have waited until the cows came home.”

    The constant prayer of that great African saint, Augustine of Hippo, was this: “Because you have loved me O Lord, you have made me lovable.” Christmas is the reminder that all of us are lovable because, by coming amongst us, God has made us lovable. In a world in which so many harbour poor self-images, one of the greatest Christmas reassurances lies in the reminder that we are loved by God without reservation. The shepherds of Jesus’s time were despised by the religious and social elites because their calling demanded that they respond all the time to the needs of the sheep, and thus they could not comply with religious rituals. Yet it was to them that the angels made known the wonderful message. We might well conclude from this that God delighted more in their response to the needs of the sheep than in their ritual purity. It might well be that this Christmas too, God will manifest Godself and rejoice more in our responses to the cries of the world, to the pain of the poor and lonely, than in any rituals.

    Tonight we live in a world and a country in which cries are rising from many quarters. Our Anglican sisters and brothers are among those in South Sudan and Burundi who cry out for peace. Our sisters and brothers, Christian and Muslim alike, in northern Nigeria, the Central African Republic, Mali and Burundi, cry out for peace. The peoples of Syria, Palestine and Israel cry out for peace and justice. We cry out for climate justice – and have been encouraged by the milestone agreement reached in Paris, which gives us hope for a climate-friendly, resilient and more equitable future.

    In South Africa, after the events of the last few weeks, our cry is that the sacrifices which we and our forebears made for our liberation will not be squandered in the pursuit of false gods and in our worship at the altar of greed and corruption. It is not easy tonight to bring good news of great joy or say, without inhibition, “Happy Christmas”. Many are asking: Where is the joy? How can we put aside our daily cares to celebrate the birth of Christ? Growing, deepening discontent is palpable in South Africa, a discontent that is causing even the most beautiful of days to be invaded by the pervasive smell of the rot which is being spread by the moral pollution of our public life.

    The #FeesMustFall campaign reflected the dark clouds of restless unhappiness, frustration and rebelliousness against the increasing inequalities that contaminate our daily lives. But whether or not you agree with the government’s response to that, at least it was rational. The sheer recklessness of the firing of Nhlanhla Nene, the failure to consider the needs of the nation, and particularly the needs of the poor, was staggering. Since then, we have seen the shocking revelations by City Press of how corrupt leaders and members of a teachers’ union have captured large parts of our educational system for personal gain rather than our children’s welfare. Frighteningly, our nation’s moral pollution has infected sections of our government in epidemic proportions. If not purposefully and vigorously addressed, this pollution will disorient us, engulf us and eventually overwhelm us, and will deny us the possibility of achieving our unique potential as a nation.

    It sometimes feels as if some of our leaders stopped their fight for a new South Africa at the point at which they joined the ranks of those who corruptly and immorally amassed wealth under colonialism and apartheid. Our struggle now should not be for the new, multiracial middle class to live as the white elite lived under apartheid: it should be for a new society, a more equal society, a society of equality of opportunity in which the wealth that comes from new economic growth is shared equitably among all. And let us not make the mistake of thinking that the solution to our problems lies simply in replacing one leader with another. The new struggle is about values and institutions rather than about personalities, which is why, when church leaders went last week to see President Zuma, we said we agreed to work with the Presidency to restore trust in government. Working with the Presidency means working with the institution, no matter who the incumbent happens to be. We know that the abuse of our institutions for political reasons did not begin with President Zuma’s incumbency, so whether or not he is replaced before his term ends, we need to build strong systems and institutions which cannot be undermined by one party or person’s whim.

    Some of our readings for this season allude to frightening signs and apocalyptic visions - signs and visions which have seduced many followers down the centuries into strange doctrines, unusual expectations and relentless fear. Yet a close reading of the scriptures reveal a comforting truth, that no matter what the circumstances, no matter how dismal the outlook or how bleak the diagnosis, we are heirs to the unshakeable promise that God is always with us. In the midst of our trials and tribulations, God is waiting to be born, or waiting to be discovered again no matter where we are in our lives.

     So as we face 2016 with all its uncertainties, with its governance challenges, and with its threats to our well-being as a nation, we must hold onto the belief that we can overcome them. And then let us act on that belief: join together, organise, lobby and embark on what I call the New Struggle, the struggle to ensure that the sacrifices that so many made for our liberation are not wasted, the struggle against greed, corruption and nepotism, the struggle for true justice, including economic justice, and the peace from God that flows from justice.

    That New Struggle began in 2015, when we saw a national mobilisation of young and old alike against the failures of leaders who are allowing the corruption epidemic to rob the people of South Africa of the fruits of their hard-won freedom, gained over many decades by the old struggle against apartheid. We must use our words and our actions against those who put their own personal interests ahead of those of the people, promoting a culture of “Me” instead of a culture of “We”. We must oppose those who take and don’t give, those who use hateful racist and xenophobic language, those who ignore the needs of our students, our neighbours and communities. Against all of this, we must rise up. If we learned anything from the courage of our students who said “enough is enough”, it is that we are able to create a society rooted in human love and in God’s care for us and all people everywhere.

    In that spirit, let us light candles of hope across the country -- mindful that there are those who cannot afford even a candle. This Christmas, let us recognise that if we are to be signs of the new dawning Kingdom, it will involve a journey away from all that blinds us to the suffering and misery of others, from inherited forms of privilege and wealth, and from a world view that is comfortable with excluding from the resources of the world the other who is different to us. It will involve, instead, a commitment to works of justice and peace, to building relationships that are gentle and nurturing, and to doing that which the Angels did, bringing good news of great joy for all people.

    And let us draw hope from the prophet Isaiah. Addressing circumstances in which the Israelites had been feeling despondent after their return from exile, and Jerusalem was in shambles, the prophet reminds the people that they needed to be persistent in their faith, and adds:

   You who remind the Lord,
   take no rest,
   and give him no rest
   until he establishes Jerusalem
   and makes it renowned throughout the earth. 

    God will not take rest until South Africa is again renowned throughout the earth. May that day come soon. God bless you, your family and South Africa, and have a happy, hopeful and blessed Christmas.                         AMEN

Prayer for Refugees and Migrants - by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba

On the feast of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2015

O God, give us tender hearts and restless minds,

to pray and act with open hearts and discerning minds.

O Christ, move us to ask profound questions,

about the plight of your people.

You know each one of them by name,

they are all yours.

Our hearts are torn Lord, because

some are running from fighting and violence,

some are running from hunger,

some are running from political persecution.

Why do you seem far off from them?

Holy Spirit of God,

help us to pray and act for refugees and migrants everywhere.

You know each of their situations,

whether forced to flee their homelands,

or displaced within the countries of their birth,

You care equally for every one of them,

whether from Syria or South Sudan,

Afghanistan or Zimbabwe,

Eritrea or Nigeria,

Burundi or the Central African Republic

You call upon us to extend Your embrace to all people,

Guide us, Lord, in opening ourselves to their plight in practical ways,

without fear or prejudice.

For your tender mercy's sake.

Amen

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

Dear People of God

This month I am thrilled to announce the appointment of the Revd Dr Vicencia Kgabe as the new Rector of the College of the Transfiguration (COTT) from January next year. She will succeed Dr Barney Pityana, whom we thank for his sterling service in establishing the college as a provider of accredited qualifications.

Born and educated in Soweto, Dr Kgabe, left, trained at COTT and has served at parishes in the Diocese of Johannesburg since her ordination in 2002. She has been responsible for the promotion and discernment of vocations to the ordained ministry in the Diocese, and has served in the Bishop’s Executive as Archdeacon. Her doctoral degree was earned (in Practical Theology) at the University of Pretoria. She has also taken part in a leadership programme at the university's Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and served on the boards of both COTT and Hope Africa.

The Church is proud and grateful to announce Dr Kgabe's appointment as we enter Women's Month, and in similar vein, we congratulate the Church of England on its General Synod vote giving final approval for women to become bishops in the church.

We are also entering the Month of Compassion, which we observe every year as part of the ecumenical community. I urge you not to let up in your efforts to help your parish find new and creative ways of observing the month. Just google the search phrase "Month of Compassion org.za" and you'll find ideas from other parishes and churches: near the top of the list, for example, you will see that St Stephen's Church in Pinelands, Cape Town, holds Month of Compassion "Hunger Suppers", at which parishioners eat simply and donate the savings to a ministry chosen by the evening's host.

I am pleased to announce as well the appointment of Marupeng Moholoa as co-ordinator of the E-Reader Project at Bishopscourt. I am very excited about this electronic communication and e-learning initiative. Maropeng is working on "switching on" the service so that you can all have access to a wide range of resources. We are also in the infancy stage of establishing an internet "radio station", linked to the E-reader Project, to beef up our communication, which we will begin by making podcasts available on the internet. If you have parishioners with expertise in audio production who can volunteer advice and training, especially in Cape Town, please send details to Marupeng at e-reader[at]anglicanchurchsa.org.za or to John Allen (at media[at]anglicanchurchsa.org.za), who is advising us on setting up these key communications channels for the Province.

Looking back, congratulations to Anglicans Ablaze for a successful conference in Johannesburg earlier this month. In due course, you will find conference highlights, summaries and feedback on their website. You can hear Archbishop Justin Welby's address on the Lambeth Palace website and read my Charge to the conference on this blog.

This will be my last Ad Laos for some months, since I will be on sabbatical until October, interrupted only by a few prior commitments: the Elective Assembly of the Diocese of Lebombo, for which I ask for your prayer, and the Synod of the Diocese of Cape Town. Please also pray for this gathering of the very special family which nurtures me and my family, helping to sustain and empower me to do ministry in our Province. If urgent issues arise, I will post them here.

I cannot sign off without referring to the resurgence of conflict and war in our world - in Gaza and Israel, in Ukraine, in Nigeria and elsewhere - and to the horrific kidnapping of children in our communities. War is an indication of our failure to meet one another in indaba and look each other in the face. Let your voices be heard in protest and seen in actions for justice. Pray for the families of those killed in our own communities, in the recent airline bombing, and in the Middle East, Nigeria, Ukraine and the conflicts in the Central African Republic and South Sudan.

God bless you,

+Thabo Cape Town

[UPDATED] Sermon at Midnight Mass, George's Cathedral, Cape Town, December 25, 2013

Isaiah 9:2-7; Titus 2:11-14 and Luke 2:1-20

May I speak in the name of God, the everlasting Father, and the Prince of endless Peace, whose authority grows continually in His world! Amen.

What a joy and privilege it is to be here and share this Christmas Eve service with you all! Thanks to the Dean and his staff, all who make our fellowship and worship in this Cathedral Church such a great occasion for peace and joy! Congratulations too, Mr Dean and Bonita, on your 29th wedding anniversary.

We join you in thanking God for the gift and sacrament of marriage and of family life, all the more so today, for tonight we ponder on the news of the holy family starting their family life with a child born in a manger.

Wow, what an end to the year – especially with regard to the passing on of Madiba our icon. Let us be silent for a while as we further acknowledge the 9th day since his burial in Qunu and especially as we lift Ma Graca Machel and Madiba’s broader family in our prayers. [Silence]

Let me continue, for in the midst of death we have life in Jesus Christ our Lord and believe that both the living and the dead are in his hands, and are comforted with these words.

So, a happy and blessed Christmas to all of you who are present in this service, for you too are part of the broader family of God through the birth of Jesus Christ, which we are celebrating tonight. To our regular cathedral family members – even if for some, “regular” means attending midnight Mass regularly every year – welcome, we appreciate your presence tonight.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, now Lord Rowan Williams, used to tell a story which I am paraphrasing – and which my wife says I have told you too many times. Rowan would say, if someone rushed hurriedly into this cathedral, and yelled “Shut the door, run for cover, or dash out," very few would remain seated.

Today’s Gospel passage speaks into this situation, to our fear of the unknown, or a fear of the known which we have kept closely guarded. The Lucan gospel announces boldly tonight: "Do not be afraid."

In modern IT language - which of course is not apt theological language, but as an archbishop in a family raising two teenagers at the moment, I can use colloquial language - God is declaring, through his billboard, or his App, for the the whole world to see and hear, "I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people” – not just some people.

God declares, in the company of his heavenly host that he has seen in our world religion being politicised and the persecution of Christians globally escalated;

He has smelt the rot and pain of inequality in our midst and the resultant humiliation and exclusion of many from the economic order in his world of plenty;

God declares that he has sensed our anxiety and fear, our shame and disgrace when we cannot afford a maternity ward and have to give birth in a shack or a taxi after being sent off home from a local clinic;

God puts his feelings on his sleeve and opens up his heart, and his heart is as heavy and broken as are ours by our personal struggles and the global systemic problems of this mortal life. God sends us his heavenly host to call us back from our straying away from what creation was intended to be; to unveil a road back home.

Throughout our lessons, the consistent theme for today is: I am intervening, I am not an aloof God who is untouchable, distant and unresponsive to your longing.

As the Psalmist says elsewhere in the Bible, God says to us, "I will unloose your bonds." Today's passage from Isaiah puts this declaration succinctly, God declares: I will break the bar across your shoulder, lift your burdens and cast off darkness and fear and illumine you with Christ our light!

Christmas can thus be understood as the birth of good news. It is appropriately celebrated when we proclaim, in words and action, this good news, that God who is love, has pitched his shack in our midst for all people and his creation.

God loved us so much that his son, Jesus Christ, is born of human flesh and blood and encounters the joys and also the angst of human life.

In entering this world of time and space, he holds before us a mirror so that we catch a glimpse of both the divine and a true and full humanity. His birth as one of us transforms and offers us an opportunity to be moulded into the image of his holiness.

That is why we have reason to celebrate this day, this good news, even if life has dealt us a blow in one way or the other in human terms.

God, in this birth that we are celebrating tonight, declares that we can never be alone in our anguish or want, nor will we be left to our own devices, to discriminate against or to lord over the other, until we are wiped off the face of this earth. He is Emmanuel. He is with us. He is the one to whom we sing throughout Advent, “O come, o come Emmanuel!” and frees us from all that keeps us in captivity. In Christmas it is as if he says, "I am he! I am cometh!"

How should we respond to this Revelation, to this good news? Luke's passage from today gives us a way: the heavenly host responded to the news by breaking into worship and praise, saying (Luke 2:12 ff), “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!" The shepherds too in (Luke 2:20) “returned, glorifying and praising God..."

Our faith response to this good news of great joy should thus be to worship God, as we are doing right now, with awe, joy and reverence. In fact our ACSA vision statement has as one of its priorities “transformative worship”.

Yes, our faith response should be to worship God and use liturgies, hymns and prayers that transcend our everyday-ness into a realm in which God in Jesus Christ, through the quiet whisper of the Holy Spirit, reigns and utters the words, “Do not be afraid, for I bring you good news of your liberation.”

The shepherds in our Gospel passage (Luke 2:17), we are told, "Made known (proclaimed) what they had been told and seen, about this child.”

We too are urged to proclaim anew and afresh, in our time and context for all to hear, this good news, this loving and saving act of God in Jesus Christ. This good news cannot be for private consumption only. We need to go out and tell, as we sing occasionally in this cathedral at the top of our voices, the good news that God's kingdom has come!!!

So first, let us in unison create melody as we sing to God, joining the beautiful voices of our choir and the organ accompaniment - as well as those who have worshipped here and are now at rest, and indeed the heavenly host, angels and shepherds - in thanksgiving and praise.

We cannot end here in this safe worship space, we can always start here, old or young, healthy or sickly, poor or rich, and by word as in the letter to Titus, we should also clothe ourselves with all that is more loving and peace-giving towards humanity and the whole of creation. We should, as I have said in the secular media, "peel off those scales in our lives that are old, cynical, tired and negative," and even fearful, and be ready to be light-bearers in God's broken but hopeful world.

In our Gospel reading tonight, the shepherds never sought permission from Emperor Augustus or Governor Quirinius to tell the good news, nor should we in times such as these. The shepherds became new persons, transformed and touched by the news and sight of Jesus Christ.

We too are constantly touched by the mystery of his birth each time we eat his bread and drink his cup until he manifests himself again. So like the shepherds, let this transformative encounter with Jesus Christ in Word, Worship and Sacrament, "compel you to go out and tell the good news."

Go and proclaim the demands for peace with justice and uphold these demands in your lives and community; go and proclaim in loving service the demands for equality, fairness and dignity for all, where the “emperors and governors” in church or state, in business or labour, are corrupt and abusing their power instead of serving God in his people.

As those whose plight God has seen and heard, and also as those fed by the body and blood of our Lord and Saviour, as those who are hearers of the good news tonight, and as those who are empowered for witness and service, we are sent to go and ask God's transformative questions and demand answers for God's sake in his created world.

What shall we ask?

Ask, who is benefitting from the new conflict in South Sudan, from the discord in the Central African Republic, from the killings of Syria, the bombings in Egypt, the xenophobic violence inflicted on economic refugees in our country and continent?

Ask deeper and piercing questions, without fear: about the extent and level of poverty, militarisation and corruption – for when you encounter Jesus Christ, the Comforter, Prince of Peace, the liberator who transforms us, you can never be superficial, nor be the same again.

My message to you is our gift on this special birthday, that we are all being sent to go out then and plead for the cause of the poor, of those without proper sanitation, of those learning in mud schools, the cause of the abused and those affected and infected by HIV and AIDS; for those suffering the pain and humiliation of economic inequality, or those exploited by economic practices. We have to ask, who are the investors and shareholders in exploitative companies, especially in the extractive industries, following the Marikana massacre?

Do not be afraid, for the zeal of the Lord will do this. Good news indeed! You are not alone and so go out, proclaim this celebration of God's utter and unreserved self-giving, the divine Word, mysteriously both human and divine, as the Word transforms your fears and makes you ready to be his salt and light in the here and now.

This birthday gift is a God who transforms us by his presence in our midst and calls us to imitate his holiness.

So let me end by going back to where I started:

Do not be afraid, for the zeal of the Lord will do this; it will enable you to speak for those like the holy family upon whom we are pondering tonight; for those who have no homes, those whose tin and plastic shacks have burnt down today in Valhalla Park, Cape Town, or those who have failed to pay their mortgage instalments and whose only homes the banks have repossessed.

May renewed courage be your gift and special grace this Christmas.

May you yearn earnestly for justice and peace, holiness of life and joy, as you bring his light to this created world.

Finally, may His conception, birth, life, teaching, passion, death, resurrection and ascension transform you and us this day and for evermore.

Amen

+Thabo Cape Town

This text has been updated since first published to reflect the sermon as preached, with minor changes for readability in written form.

Anglicans in Southern Africa Express Concern at Civil Strife in South Sudan

A letter to the Most Revd Daniel Deng Bul, Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan:

My dear Archbishop Deng

I have read with a heavy heart the news of the outbreaks of fighting in your dearly beloved country, the newest country in the world, and of the appalling loss of life among your people.

It is only recently at our synods that you addressed the people of Southern Africa within the Anglican family and those gathered at my home in Bishopscourt, warning us of the possibility of looming conflict. You urged us to pray and to use whatever diplomatic means we have to ensure peace prevails in your country. You invited us to join the retreat for your peace and reconciliation team, but unfortunately we could not attend. Our Province took a synodical resolution to work with your Province and this we are committed to.

I write today, the Sunday before Christmas, to wish you God's strength and to encourage you as you lead your people at this time, and also to assure you of our prayers for an end to this new conflict. We know too well in South Africa that when conflict assumes ethnic dimensions, it takes on the nature of a ticking bomb which, if it explodes, can wipe huge numbers of God's people off the face of the earth. We have seen ethnic conflict descend into genocide south of your country, where our colleague, Bernard, in Burundi has had to minister in similar situations. We hope that after years of war, your country and people will step back from the brink at this time, mindful of the immense suffering that war has already wrought over the last half century.

We pray for a quick and permanent ceasefire, and that South Sudan will be given an opportunity to grow and to use its God-given oil and other resources for the common good, and not for the benefit of those in power as they seek to manipulate others for their own gain.

May the joy and certainty offered to us at Christmas by the advent of the Prince of Peace surround you and your people even as we strive for an end to war and conflict.

God bless you and your people

+Thabo Cape Town

Photo: Displaced people in the grounds of the Episcopal Cathedral in Juba, South Sudan. (Andrew Green/IRIN)

‘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

Synod of Bishops' Statement - With Angels and Saints

Here is a media release following the meeting of the Synod of Bishops - the full Statement from the Synod of Bishops follows below.

Media Release: 1 October 2013

Statement from the Synod of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa

The Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA) this week committed themselves to support reconciliation and nation-building in Southern Sudan, approved an agreement with the South African National Defence Force, and expressed delight at the forthcoming visit of the new Archbishop of Canterbury.

Meeting on 30 September and 1 October at the Kopanong Conference centre in Benoni, Johannesburg, the 31 Bishops reflected on a wide range of subjects from the revision of the church’s prayer book through to next year’s South African elections, on which they called for tolerance and a rejection of political violence and inflammatory language.

The twice-yearly meeting welcomed as guest the Archbishop of Sudan, Dr Daniel Deng Bul Yak, who briefed them on the situation in Sudan and South Sudan, and the South Sudan Committee for National Reconciliation which he chairs. He invited reflections on reconciliation processes within Southern Africa, and, accompanied by the Bishops of Natal and Johannesburg, held a fruitful meeting with former President Thabo Mbeki, the African Union Mediator between Sudan and South Sudan.

The Bishops discussed conflict in other parts of the world, including the recent terrorist attack in Nairobi in which James Thomas, a Cape Town church warden, was killed, and what seems to be a growing trend of violence against Christians around the world.

Closer to home, they affirmed an agreement with the SANDF on the appointment and deployment of military chaplains, after several years of negotiation.

On church affairs, the Bishops agreed to an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Niassa in northern Mozambique in response to strong church growth, and took decisions on problematic issues within the Dioceses of Pretoria and Umzimvubu. Provisional accreditation of courses at the church’s seminary, the College of the Transfiguration in Grahamstown was welcomed.

They also warmly welcomed the announcement that the new Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Justin Welby, with his wife, will attend their second ‘Anglicans Ablaze’ conference in July 2014.

Speaking after the meeting, the Archbishop of Cape Town, Dr Thabo Makgoba, said ‘this was a very encouraging time. Within a deeply prayerful context, we tackled a very broad agenda, from church governance through to global faith and political issues. In a short time we made significant progress on a number of matters. God is God of the whole world – and he will guide us in our calling to lead his people in every walk of life, and follow the example of all the saints who have gone before us.’

Note for editors: The Anglican Church of Southern Africa comprises Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and the island of St Helena.

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 ACSA’s Provincial Synod – to 4 October)


The full text of the Synod of Bishops’ Statement follows below:

"With Angels and Saints…"

The Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA) met in Synod at the Kopanong Hotel and Conference Centre in Benoni from 30 September to 1 October 2013. We enjoyed strong fellowship and also wrestled with some deep and challenging issues.

As always our time was spent in an alternating rhythm of worship (both the Eucharist and Daily Offices) and work, with each informing and being informed by the other. In his sermon during the opening Eucharist, the Bishop of the Highveld reminded us of the broader context, the spiritual dimension of our life, mission and ministry. We join the angels and saints in proclaiming God’s praises – we are aware of their support and the power of the Holy Spirit in everything we do. The angels announced the birth of Jesus our Lord and Saviour when he came to us in weakness and vulnerability. Jesus also calls us to stand with those who are considered weak or unimportant.

In his address to us on our second morning, the Bishop of Matlosane reminded us that God is the ultimate judge, although he does not always act when or how we want him to! God calls us to be ministers of forgiveness and reconciliation instead of judgement and revenge. We must work for justice and peace and be magnanimous in our treatment of others at all times.

In this light we addressed a wide range of subjects. With joy in our hearts we considered areas of growth and fresh life among God’s people in our own church, with our ecumenical partners and in the global church. And we also reflected in sorrow on areas of conflict and violence at home and around the world. We were enriched by the presence of the Archbishop of Sudan, and above all we gave thanks for the God who is faithful, and who guides and leads us in the ways of justice and truth.

The Life of our Church

We welcomed three Bishops who were attending their first Synod of Bishops since their consecrations: Bishops Richard Fenwick (St Helena), Dintoe Letloelyane (Free State) and Stephen Moreo (Johannesburg).

The Synod of Bishops affirmed and endorsed plans to hold a second ‘Anglicans Ablaze’ Conference in Johannesburg from 2 to 5 July 2014. The first conference in 2012, the largest of its kind, attracted about 1400 Anglicans of all races, ages, theological persuasions and preferences. We expect more than 3000 people in 2014, and were delighted to hear that Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has accepted our invitation to visit Southern Africa and address the conference. During this time he and his wife Caroline will also meet with ACSA Bishops and their spouses.

Another encouraging development was that the Diocese of Niassa in Northern Mozambique was given the go-ahead to elect a Suffragan Bishop for the Area of Lúrio and Zambézia. This is necessary because of the rapid growth of the church in that area and the vast distances involved.

We addressed with rigour and love the situations of conflict in the Dioceses of Umzimvubu and Pretoria and took firm decisions about the way forward in each case.

We received with joy the report of the Liturgical Committee that the process of Revising the Anglican Prayer Book, to which we agreed in February this year, has begun. This is a mammoth undertaking and the first phase is expected to take about three years.

Theological Education

We were encouraged by the report from the College of the Transfiguration (COTT) in Grahamstown, which has received Provisional Accreditation at Diploma and BTh level from the Higher Education Quality Committee. The process of registration with the Department of Higher Education and Training as a site of higher education is underway. We also approved the proposal to develop a School of Ministry for distance Theological Education. Noting the number of students who will be graduating from COTT at the end of 2013, Bishops were encouraged to send new students at the beginning of 2014. We also gave thanks for the excellent Colloquium in Theological Education held at COTT in August.

We also noted positive developments in the Theological Education by Extension College (TEEC) where over 600 Anglicans are registered at present. Although the College has a new structure as a Non Profit Company, it continues to exist to serve its Supporting Churches. With this in mind a new Memorandum of Understanding between ACSA and TEEC was accepted and signed.

Our World-wide Anglican Family

The Synod of Bishops took note of plans to hold a second Global Anglican Futures Conference (GAFCON) in Nairobi later this month. We agreed that Bishops are free to attend if they feel so called.

We also noted with joy that Archbishop Thabo Makgoba has been elected an alternate member of the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) – the body that leads the process of selecting the Archbishop of Canterbury when that position becomes vacant.

Our Brothers and Sisters in Christ – our Ecumenical Partnerships

The Synod of Bishops received a full report on recent progress in the Church Unity Commission (CUC). Although the emphases have changed since the establishment of the CUC over 40 years ago, our commitment to finding unity in our diversity remains strong.

We were delighted to learn that Archbishop Thabo will be moderating the Plenary Group on Global Peace at the World Council of Churches gathering in Korea between 29 October and 7 November 2013. Other Southern African participants will be Bishop Johannes Seoka (Diocese of Pretoria and President of the South African Council of Churches) and Fr Michael Lapsley, as well as Ms Louisa Mojela, our Anglican Consultative Council lay representative.

Southern Africa and the World

We welcomed among us Archbishop Dr Daniel Deng Bul Yak of the Province of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan. He shared the challenges facing the two countries of Sudan and Southern Sudan, which are recovering after war. Many tensions still exist, for example between cultures and religions. Archbishop Daniel was concerned about the on-going danger of war breaking out, especially where there are border disputes and clashes in oil-rich areas. He spoke of the need to rebuild the economy and infrastructure, particularly in the South – with special reference to health, education and agriculture.

During his time in South Africa, Archbishop Daniel and his delegation explored ways of dealing with their issues of healing, peace and reconciliation. They made contact with the Institute of Peace and Justice, and with Fr Michael Lapsley and the Institute for the Healing of Memories. Together with the Dean of the Province Bishop Rubin Phillip, the Bishop of Johannesburg and the Provincial Executive Officer, Archbishop Daniel also had a fruitful meeting with former President Thabo Mbeki, who is the African Union Mediator between Sudan and South Sudan.

More broadly, the Synod of Bishops reflected on many parts of the world which are suffering from violence and conflict. We grieved the death of James Thomas in the Nairobi Mall attack of 21 September and prayed especially for his wife Colleen and their family. James was Churchwarden of St Peter’s Church in Mowbray, and was due to represent the Diocese of Cape Town at our Provincial Synod this week. We reflected on the conflicts in Syria and Egypt among others; and noted what seems to be a trend of increasing violence directed against Christians, for example, in Nigeria and Peshawar in Pakistan.

In the Southern African context we call upon our leaders and people to act responsibly and with magnanimity as South Africa approaches national elections next year. We call on all our people to reject all forms of political violence and to avoid making reckless or inflammatory statements.

After several years of negotiation, the Synod of Bishops approved an agreement between ACSA and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) which governs the appointment and deployment of Anglican Chaplains in the SANDF.

Conclusion

Giving thanks for all that God has done, is doing and will continue to do, we join the angels and saints in singing:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!” Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (Revelation 5:12-13)

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)

Welcome to Archbishop of Sudan

This media release from the meeting of Provincial Synod was issued on 2 October, 2013.

Anglican Church Welcomes Archbishop of Sudan

The Most Revd Daniel Deng Bul, Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan (ECS), has appealed to Anglicans in southern Africa to help his "traumatised" people to overcome the effects of decades of war.

Addressing the Provincial Synod of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA) on Wednesday, Archbishop Deng also appealed to ACSA to lobby the South African government to help resolve outstanding conflicts between Sudan and the new state of South Sudan.

The Archbishop, who is also Bishop of Juba, is a guest of the Synod, which is meeting this week in Benoni, near Johannesburg.

Sharing the mission challenges of his church, Archbishop Deng told of how South Sudan had been founded as a new, separate nation two years ago in the wake of a “bitter war” which had been waged between the north and the south for the best part of 45 years.

“Because Jesus is with us, the church has become stronger and stronger,” he said. About four million of the 12 million people of South Sudan were Anglicans. But because of the war, the ECS was still “an infant church” and its people were traumatised.

“They are wounded spiritually. They need care. They need help,” Archbishop Deng said.

He told the Synod that he had been appointed by President Salva Kiir of South Sudan to chair a committee to promote healing and reconciliation in the country, which was still beset by ethnic tensions and the difficulty of reintegrating people returning home after long periods living abroad.

Southern Africa could bring to South Sudan its experience with education and reconciliation: “We have no tools. We have no capacity. We look to... Southern Africa for help.”

The Archbishop also told the Synod of the continuing tensions between South Sudan and the government of Sudan, based in Khartoum in the north, over the delineation of the border between the two states and over the control of oil fields and exports.

He pointed out that the issue of whether the Abyei region, which lies on the border, should be part of South Sudan or Sudan had still to be decided in a plebiscite.

He noted that former South African president Thabo Mbeki was helping to lead an African Union panel which was mediating between Khartoum and Juba. He appealed to ACSA to support the mediation, and also invited the Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Thabo Makgoba, to visit South Sudan.

Synod of Bishops and Provincial Synod

Please pray for Synod of Bishops and Provincial Synod, meeting this week

Media Advisory - Anglican Church of Southern Africa's Provincial Synod to Meet October 1 to 4

25 September 2013

The highest decision-making body of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA), its Provincial Synod, will meet at the Kopanong Conference Centre, Benoni from Tuesday October 1 to Friday October 4.

During the opening service of the Synod on Tuesday afternoon, the Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba will deliver his Charge, the address in which he summarises the life of the Church and the challenges before it.

The theme of the Synod will be "A Vision for Education - Education for a Vision". Prof Mary Metcalfe, formerly of the University of the Witwatersrand and now with the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), will make a presentation on Education to the Synod.

A special guest at the Synod will be the Most Revd Dr Daniel Deng Bul Yak, Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan and Bishop of Juba. The Revd Dr J Cooper of Trinity Wall Street, Washington, a long time partner of ACSA, will also join part of Synod.

Other items on the agenda include:
1. Matters of Canon Law (the rules by which the Church lives);
2. A presentation on transformational leadership by Prof Bev Haddad of the University of Kwazulu-Natal;
3. A presentation on human sexuality by Bishop Martin Breytenbach of the Diocese of St Mark the Evangelist.
4. A presentation on theological education by Prof Barney Pityana, Rector of the College of the Transfiguration.
5. The consideration of resolutions on matters including Church action on alcohol and drug abuse, the protection of the environment and pastoral guidelines for ministry to couples who enter same-sex civil unions.

Dioceses in Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, the island of St. Helena and Swaziland will be represented by their bishops as well as clergy and lay members of the Church.

The meeting will be preceded by a closed meeting of the Church's Synod of Bishops.

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

Prayers and Assistance Urged for Sudan and South Sudan

The following statement was issued on 25 April 2012

The Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba, has urged support for the Archbishop of Sudan’s appeal for peace, as tensions rise between Sudan and South Sudan. Encouraging prayer and material assistance from his church, he also calls for the international community, through the various channels open to it, to take steps to promote an immediate cessation of hostilities and encourage progress in establishing a just and lasting settlement.

Writing to the Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA), Dr Makgoba said,

‘Dear Brothers in Christ, I commend to your urgent prayers, and those of our whole church, the appeal from Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul Yak, for peace, as tensions and violence mount between Sudan and South Sudan (see the Anglican Communion News Service release below). We pray for wisdom to prevail, so that full blown war may be averted, and a just and lasting settlement become more fully established between the two countries. We ask God to lead the two Presidents to continue pursuing peace, despite the challenges, and for the whole international community, including through such bodies as the African Union and United Nations, to take all appropriate steps to support and promote this process.

‘Let us also encourage giving what material support we are able to provide, towards those suffering as a result of this unrest and conflict. This can be given to Archbishop Daniel through the ACSA bank account.’

‘Yours in the Service of Christ

+Thabo Cape Town’

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


Banking Details:

Standard Bank;
Cape Town Branch No 020 009;
Account No 07 056 2423;
Account Name: ACSA - Provincial Trusts’ Board
Reference: Sudan

Anglican Communion News Service Release: Archbishop of Sudan appeals for peace as tensions rise between neighbouring countries

April 24, 2012 - ACNS: http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/4/24/ACNS5092

By Anglican Alliance staff

The Anglican archbishop who was instrumental in delivering peace to Sudan has raised the spectre of full-blown war and appealed for restraint from the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan.
Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul Yak, leader of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, urged the two presidents to pursue peace in spite of the difficulties following the major clashes threatening the fragile peace that churches helped to broker in 2005.
In a statement released Monday, he wrote that he was deeply concerned that the conflict between the two countries has escalated close to full blown war. The current civil war began in 1983 and is one of the longest running conflicts in the world, costing nearly two million lives.
After a long history of violence and war since independence, a second major conflict broke out in 1983 between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and the Government of Sudan.
Archbishop Daniel’s statement comes at a low moment in the peace process. The signatories of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the agreement which provided the path for the countries to separate last year, have lost momentum to follow through with their commitments.
Archbishop Daniel urged presidents Salva Kiir Mayardit and Omar Al Bashir not to lose the great amount of goodwill from their peoples shown during the process that led to the independence of South Sudan. He appealed to the people of both countries to refuse to be incited to return to war by their leaderships.
‘We should learn from the 55 years of war not to return to it so hastily. The blood of those who fought for peace should not have been poured in vain. We call on all sides to exercise restraint and pursue peace at all costs. God is on the side of those who seek peace.’
Unusually this week, as tensions both side of the border have reached a high, there have been attacks against Christian churches in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital. Christians and Muslims across the usually tolerant city have joined together in condemning the violence.