Dear People of God
I am writing this letter after a prayer vigil on the steps of St George’s Cathedral, Cape Town, where a number of clergy, laity and bishops, including Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, retired Bishop Geoff Quinlan and Bishop Garth Counsell of Table Bay, joined us for a memorable occasion.
We stood in silence for 30 minutes, the clergy among us wearing our cassocks, holding flowers and posters. This was because the Cathedral had advertised the vigil under the banner, “A Flower for Thuli, A Message for the President”, referring to the South African Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, and her recently-released report on the upgrades to President Jacob Zuma’s private residence at Nkandla.
Our placards called on the President to respond to the Public Protector’s report, and on the public to defend our “Chapter 9” institutions, the independent institutions set up under the South African Constitution to guard democracy.
Following this quiet demonstration, we all went into the cathedral to pray. This is what I shared with those gathered in the Cathedral:
Ladies and gentleman, bishops here present, including Emeritus Arch and clergy from the dioceses of the Western Cape,
We have gathered again on the steps of St George’s Cathedral in the footsteps of our predecessors who stood here in the apartheid era. We gather to say that some things are pulling us apart as a nation and we are pained.
In my letter of invitation to come to this prayer vigil, I said let us gather as Church in its broadest sense for a vigil, to pray that the Public Protector be herself protected by all progressives in the religious and NGO sectors and by all freedom-loving citizens; and also that the President, Parliament and the executive should implement in full all the steps which Adv. Madonsela has recommended in her report.
I requested that we gather in vigil and prayer to ask – in the spirit of Lent, in deep prayer and reflective concern – for the President and Parliament to report in full to the nation on precisely how they will give effect to the Public Protector’s recommendations.
Now as we reflect in vigil and prayer, I want to aid your reflections and actions by posing just a few questions instead of a long speech,especially as it is lunch time and some of you need to go back to work:
1. Acknowledging all the political, social and moral conversations and judgments that have taken place inside and outside the country, what can we as a society in South Africa learn from the Public Protector’s courage?
2. How has the Public Protector’s report helped ring a bell to the importance of our national values?
3. Since our values should guide every decision made by our Government leaders, and our historic Constitution clearly articulates our national values, what can our Government leaders learn from the flawed decisions that apparently didn’t consider our national values?
4. And lastly, when so many in our communities around our country are asking me, “Archbishop, what should the President do?” I tell them that our President must ask himself, “From the perspective of the 50 million South Africans that I lead, what do our national values suggest for me? What have I learned from the Public Protector’s exceptionally thorough and historic work? How can I more effectively model the values-based decisions that our Constitution clearly and unmistakably tells us?”
The President must do what is in our nation’s best interests.
As a spiritual leader, putting my hand on President Zuma’s shoulder, I say, “What do you have to do to bring our country together at this critical point in our democratic history? What do you have to do to create a renaissance in trust?”
So, dear friends, we have seen the swimming pool, the amphitheatre, chicken runs and cattle culvert – now my appeal is that those that surround the President, as a collective, must take responsibility and tell us they will lead us to the truth.
Also my yearning is for a more concerted effort by the entire faith-based and non-governmental organization community not so much to defend the Public Protector as an individual as to defend the rights of the public – which rights are in fact being protected by the Public Protector – and the integrity of the office of the Public Protector.
Furthermore, South Africans cannot be hoaxed into believing that a Government which erred so seriously can investigate itself. Let us then have the moral courage required at this moment to rise up and support the call for the public’s right to know and take responsibility for making our democracy work.
In that spirit and with renewed courage, I now pray:
Lord, God of Hope,
Restore our brokenness and torn fabric
Heal our divisions and our land
But please begin with me.
Amen
Turning to other matters this month, our Province’s Media Committee has reported that the number of subscriptions to our colour magazine, Southern Anglican, is down, raising the gloomy prospect of having to close the publication if we cannot reverse this trend. I encourage all Anglicans to subscribe to the magazine, which – as a place for sharing news and views – is the only general print publication we still have which reflects our identity as a Province.
And now let me end this letter to you by thanking Bishop Dinis Sengulane of Lebombo for his ministry in our Province and Communion, over 38 years as a bishop and 40 as a priest. Bishop Dinis epitomizes the moral courage and great humility that is missing in most of our leaders. May you have a blessed retirement, Bishop Dinis, and be freed to do the things which you would love to do most in service to the world and your country, Mozambique. Thank you for your courage and belief that God in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit is always ahead of us, whatever we face. May this message resonate in all our faithful this Easter and for evermore.
As we continue to be conduits of peace with justice, I pray that the Risen Lord, whose passion, death and resurrection we will celebrate at this time and always, will renew our strength and make us fly on wings like an eagle even as we offer ourselves in service for the common good.
I send you all season’s greetings, proclaiming that we can move from the passion of an Nkandla to the glorious resurrection of Easter by declaring: Christ is Risen!
God bless you,
+Thabo
Showing posts with label Southern Anglican. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Southern Anglican. Show all posts
Monday, 31 March 2014
Friday, 18 May 2012
To the Laos - To the People of God, May 2012
Dear People of God
This year is my fifth as Archbishop of Cape Town, and also sees the tenth anniversary of my consecration. All who are able are invited to share in celebrating this decade at a special service in St George’s Cathedral, Cape Town, at noon on 26 May!
Since becoming Metropolitan, I have continually been struck by the wonderful sense of common life shared across the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, and the great distances between us – not just in geography, but in some of the human realities that we experience. I pray we can sustain this sense of togetherness by sharing news from around our church and praying for one another. St Paul wrote in his first letter to the Thessalonians, ‘We always give thanks to God for all of you, and mention you in our prayers …’ (1 Thess 1:2). Let us bear each other up in the same way!
A particularly urgent and important prayer request come from Bishop Adam Taaso, who asks for our intercessions for Lesotho’s elections on 26 May. In recent weeks, there has been a lot of tension within and between different parties, with outbreaks of violence, even murder. The churches are working with others to promote peaceful, free elections, and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu – himself Bishop of Lesotho from 1976 to 1978 – visited at the end of April. He appealed for an end to violence, and invited all the political parties to sign a pledge to pursue peaceful elections and to respect the results in due course. Please pray that these promises may be kept.
Another topic for prayer is the diocesan synods of Namibia and Port Elizabeth, on 24-26 May. May they be times of fellowship, planning and renewing diocesan vision and mission, and also of commitment to mutual accountability in the things of God.
Our most distant Diocese is the mid-Atlantic Island of St Helena. Last month Bishop Richard Fenwick and his wife Jane spent a morning at Bishopscourt. They were on their way to the UK, for well-earned holiday, as well as a busy programme of visits to congregations and others who support the Diocese. Jane – whose birthday it was – showed us a wonderful slide show of Island life, and Bishop Richard spoke about the church’s priorities. Work is due to begin soon on St Helena’s first airport, and this will mean major changes to nearly every aspect of Island life. Building work will bring a large influx of workers, and further challenges will follow when it opens, making travel and tourism to and from St Helena far easier. Please keep ‘the Saints’ in your prayers.
One of the joys of travelling around the Province and meeting Anglicans is that again and again I feel my heart lifting, as we recognise one another not only as brothers and sisters in Christ, but as sharing something very special within the family of ACSA. It is a precious, holy, gift, to know that we belong together, held in the embrace of God’s steadfast love. It is as if well-springs of joyful encouragement overflow when we meet – an encouragement that strengthens and inspires us, whatever challenges we face.
Yet meeting together over such big distances is difficult and expensive. This is why Provincial Synod is held every three years, with Provincial Standing Committee in intervening years; and though all Dioceses are represented, only relatively few people participate. So we must ensure ACSA ‘meets’ in other, more comprehensive, ways, and nurture our fellowship in Christ, and partnership in the gospel. These letters are one way of contributing to this goal. Social media can also help, like my Facebook page (‘Archbishop Thabo Makgoba’) and blog (http://archbishop.anglicanchurchsa.org) and there are other FB pages for Provincial organisations, as well as Dioceses, Parishes and other groups. Please use what you can, and, whatever else, do pray!
But while all these are great for sharing news, they are not so good for in-depth reflection or debate. So let me first commend Southern Anglican: through its pages ACSA members can offer views on important questions that face the church, or face us as Christians engaging with the world around. Please do take the initiative to contact to the editor, Revd Loraine Tulleken, offering pieces for publication. This is our magazine, open to all, so let’s make it work by addressing what matters to us most, in its pages.
Second, I invite you all to join me at the Anglicans Ablaze Conference, ‘A Generation Rising Up’, from 3 to 6 October, in Johannesburg. With the backing of the Synod of Bishops, and supported by Growing the Church, this conference will help us celebrate together and explore more deeply our Provincial Vision – that we are ‘Anglicans who ACT: Anchored in the love of Christ, Committed to God’s mission, Transformed by the Holy Spirit’. For more information, contact GtC on office@growingthechurch.org.za or 021 712 0408, or see www.anglicansablaze.org. I look forward to meeting many of you there. If you cannot come in person, please ‘be present’ by praying. And whether you can come or not, I encourage your parish to follow the 6-week sermon series, with material for Bible studies, on the Vision and Mission Statement. Download this at www.growingthechurch.org.za/events.aspx.
Last month Lungi and I and our daughter Pabi were in London, where I preached at St Martin in the Fields at a service celebrating the silver wedding of Pabi’s godmother, Tricia Sibbons and her husband Douglas Board. We got to know Tricia when she was a warden at St Martins, which has historic links with St Marys’ in the City Cathedral, Johannesburg, where I was curate. Tricia was the first Director of the Trevor Huddleston Memorial Centre, and now chairs its Board. She and Douglas arranged for me to address a group of London lawyers and business people, challenging them not just to help such initiatives by donations, but to use their influence to change the politico-economic systems that continue to place politics and profits before people and planet.
I was able to pursue the same argument a fortnight later at the World Economic Forum Africa Summit in Addis Ababa, where I was a panel speaker in sessions on ‘Fostering Political Stability’ and ‘The Future Role of Civil Society’. Please keep praying that such opportunities continue to arise for me to make the voice of the church heard, promoting gospel values, moral living, and priorities that reflect God’s justice, among those who shape how our world is run. They need to hear the clear message that the current world order creates poverty, damages the planet, and puts all our futures in jeopardy. I have asked Prof Gerald West to compile Bible studies for 2013 to help us reflect theologically on economics. I am also working to promote initiatives that particularly help tackle youth unemployment – I shall say more about these next month.
Scripture says, ‘Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another … ’ (Heb 10:24-5). Let us work hard at doing this, in person, and in prayer.
Yours in the Service of Christ,
+Thabo Cape Town
This year is my fifth as Archbishop of Cape Town, and also sees the tenth anniversary of my consecration. All who are able are invited to share in celebrating this decade at a special service in St George’s Cathedral, Cape Town, at noon on 26 May!
Since becoming Metropolitan, I have continually been struck by the wonderful sense of common life shared across the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, and the great distances between us – not just in geography, but in some of the human realities that we experience. I pray we can sustain this sense of togetherness by sharing news from around our church and praying for one another. St Paul wrote in his first letter to the Thessalonians, ‘We always give thanks to God for all of you, and mention you in our prayers …’ (1 Thess 1:2). Let us bear each other up in the same way!
A particularly urgent and important prayer request come from Bishop Adam Taaso, who asks for our intercessions for Lesotho’s elections on 26 May. In recent weeks, there has been a lot of tension within and between different parties, with outbreaks of violence, even murder. The churches are working with others to promote peaceful, free elections, and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu – himself Bishop of Lesotho from 1976 to 1978 – visited at the end of April. He appealed for an end to violence, and invited all the political parties to sign a pledge to pursue peaceful elections and to respect the results in due course. Please pray that these promises may be kept.
Another topic for prayer is the diocesan synods of Namibia and Port Elizabeth, on 24-26 May. May they be times of fellowship, planning and renewing diocesan vision and mission, and also of commitment to mutual accountability in the things of God.
Our most distant Diocese is the mid-Atlantic Island of St Helena. Last month Bishop Richard Fenwick and his wife Jane spent a morning at Bishopscourt. They were on their way to the UK, for well-earned holiday, as well as a busy programme of visits to congregations and others who support the Diocese. Jane – whose birthday it was – showed us a wonderful slide show of Island life, and Bishop Richard spoke about the church’s priorities. Work is due to begin soon on St Helena’s first airport, and this will mean major changes to nearly every aspect of Island life. Building work will bring a large influx of workers, and further challenges will follow when it opens, making travel and tourism to and from St Helena far easier. Please keep ‘the Saints’ in your prayers.
One of the joys of travelling around the Province and meeting Anglicans is that again and again I feel my heart lifting, as we recognise one another not only as brothers and sisters in Christ, but as sharing something very special within the family of ACSA. It is a precious, holy, gift, to know that we belong together, held in the embrace of God’s steadfast love. It is as if well-springs of joyful encouragement overflow when we meet – an encouragement that strengthens and inspires us, whatever challenges we face.
Yet meeting together over such big distances is difficult and expensive. This is why Provincial Synod is held every three years, with Provincial Standing Committee in intervening years; and though all Dioceses are represented, only relatively few people participate. So we must ensure ACSA ‘meets’ in other, more comprehensive, ways, and nurture our fellowship in Christ, and partnership in the gospel. These letters are one way of contributing to this goal. Social media can also help, like my Facebook page (‘Archbishop Thabo Makgoba’) and blog (http://archbishop.anglicanchurchsa.org) and there are other FB pages for Provincial organisations, as well as Dioceses, Parishes and other groups. Please use what you can, and, whatever else, do pray!
But while all these are great for sharing news, they are not so good for in-depth reflection or debate. So let me first commend Southern Anglican: through its pages ACSA members can offer views on important questions that face the church, or face us as Christians engaging with the world around. Please do take the initiative to contact to the editor, Revd Loraine Tulleken, offering pieces for publication. This is our magazine, open to all, so let’s make it work by addressing what matters to us most, in its pages.
Second, I invite you all to join me at the Anglicans Ablaze Conference, ‘A Generation Rising Up’, from 3 to 6 October, in Johannesburg. With the backing of the Synod of Bishops, and supported by Growing the Church, this conference will help us celebrate together and explore more deeply our Provincial Vision – that we are ‘Anglicans who ACT: Anchored in the love of Christ, Committed to God’s mission, Transformed by the Holy Spirit’. For more information, contact GtC on office@growingthechurch.org.za or 021 712 0408, or see www.anglicansablaze.org. I look forward to meeting many of you there. If you cannot come in person, please ‘be present’ by praying. And whether you can come or not, I encourage your parish to follow the 6-week sermon series, with material for Bible studies, on the Vision and Mission Statement. Download this at www.growingthechurch.org.za/events.aspx.
Last month Lungi and I and our daughter Pabi were in London, where I preached at St Martin in the Fields at a service celebrating the silver wedding of Pabi’s godmother, Tricia Sibbons and her husband Douglas Board. We got to know Tricia when she was a warden at St Martins, which has historic links with St Marys’ in the City Cathedral, Johannesburg, where I was curate. Tricia was the first Director of the Trevor Huddleston Memorial Centre, and now chairs its Board. She and Douglas arranged for me to address a group of London lawyers and business people, challenging them not just to help such initiatives by donations, but to use their influence to change the politico-economic systems that continue to place politics and profits before people and planet.
I was able to pursue the same argument a fortnight later at the World Economic Forum Africa Summit in Addis Ababa, where I was a panel speaker in sessions on ‘Fostering Political Stability’ and ‘The Future Role of Civil Society’. Please keep praying that such opportunities continue to arise for me to make the voice of the church heard, promoting gospel values, moral living, and priorities that reflect God’s justice, among those who shape how our world is run. They need to hear the clear message that the current world order creates poverty, damages the planet, and puts all our futures in jeopardy. I have asked Prof Gerald West to compile Bible studies for 2013 to help us reflect theologically on economics. I am also working to promote initiatives that particularly help tackle youth unemployment – I shall say more about these next month.
Scripture says, ‘Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another … ’ (Heb 10:24-5). Let us work hard at doing this, in person, and in prayer.
Yours in the Service of Christ,
+Thabo Cape Town
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