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)

Revd Ellinah Wamukoya - Bishop Elect of Swaziland

The following media release was issued on 20 July 2012

‘The election of Revd Ellinah Wamukoya as Bishop of Swaziland, the first woman to be a Bishop in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, is a great joy’ said Archbishop Thabo Makgoba. ‘When it was announced that she had received the necessary votes, there was great rejoicing both that a person of undeniable skills and personal qualities had been chosen, and that it was Ellinah herself, who obviously commands considerable respect and affection across the Diocese of Swaziland.’

Revd Wamukoya was one of five nominated candidates. She obtained the necessary two-thirds majority among both clergy and laity in the twelfth ballot, as the electoral assembly met late into the evening of 18 July. ‘It is rather fitting that the Diocese of Swaziland should elect our first woman to be a Bishop, since it was here, 20 years ago, that, amidst both tears and joy, our Provincial Synod agreed that both the priesthood and episcopate should be open to both men and women’ the Archbishop noted. ‘We have waited a long time for this moment!’

With a Master’s degree in Town and Regional Planning, Revd Wamukoya, aged 61, was until recently the Town Clerk of Manzini Municipal Council, overseeing an organisation with some 380 employees, having previously served as the City Planner. She returned to Swaziland in 1990, having worked as a Planning Officer for the Government of Kenya from 1978 to 1990. She met her Kenyan husband, Okwaro Henry Wamukoya when, after completing a BA in Geography and African Languages at the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, she furthered her studies in the Netherlands. The couple have three married adult children, and a fourth younger child.

Having long been active in the Anglican church, she was ordained in 2005, and has served as assistant priest, then priest-in-charge, at UNISWA (the University of Swaziland). Bringing her planning and people skills to bear, in the difficult financial situation of a country where so many live in considerable poverty, she helped her congregation develop a strategic plan, which has led to their numbers growing beyond staff and students to include also members of the surrounding community. In this, she has been a firm believer in developing lay ministry across the life of the church. ‘She is someone who will set a direction, both operational and spiritual, and develop a vision for the future’ said a friend, of her potential to provide leadership as a Bishop. ‘She is a restorer of hope, faith and love in the hearts of God’s followers, who has helped believers to connect to Christ, the church and their communities.’

Her election must now be confirmed by the Synod of Bishops. With further episcopal elections within the Anglican Church of Southern Africa due before the end of the year, it is expected that all the new bishops will be consecrated at a service early in 2013.

Revd Wamukoya is set to succeed the Rt Revd Meshak Mabuza, who retired at the end of 2011, as the fifth Bishop of Swaziland, the Diocese having been created in 1968. Both Diocese and country have faced difficult times recently, with the Synod of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa frequently calling for political reform, and for open dialogue between government and civil society to decide the nation’s future. ‘We ask for the prayers of all for Revd Ellinah and her family, as she prepares to take on this new and particularly challenging calling, to lead the Diocese of Swaziland into a new chapter’ said Dr Makgoba, ‘yet we are confident that wherever God calls, he also equips and provides.’

‘I am humbled by the trust and confidence placed on me by the people of Swaziland, a person like me of humble beginnings’ said Revd Wamukoya after the election. ‘My prayer is to be able to listen and be guided by the Holy Spirit in everything I do. My vision is to see that the people of God are restored and transformed, in order for them to be a church in mission, for, as it is said, “a church that does not reach out, passes out”.’

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

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

Diocese of Swaziland News

The following letter was sent to Bishop Paddy Glover, Dean of the Province, on 16 January. After it follows a corrected version of a press report on my visit to Swaziland that was carried in the Times of Swaziland.

My dear Paddy

I have just returned from the Diocese of Swaziland where I spent a weekend accompanied by Bishops Anthony Mdletshe and Funginkosi Mbhele.

I have had separate meetings with the Diocesan Council, Diocesan Finance Committee, the clergy of the Diocese and the Diocesan Chapter. I have also met with Bishop Mabuza, the auditors and the external partners of the Diocese of Swaziland. On Saturday we ordained two priests and six members of the laity were made deacon. On Sunday Bishop Mbhele, Bishop Mdletshe and I did three Confirmation services.

Bishop Mabuza has resigned and retired. I have appointed the Provost as Vicar-General after consultation with Chapter. I have also asked Bishops Mbhele and Mdletshe to take three months in turn to offer episcopal ministry, beginning on February 1 until the Elective Assembly in July this year. The Diocesan Finance Committee, Vicar-General, and Diocesan Administrator will work on the renumeration of Bishops Mbhele and Mdletshe during this six month period. Mr Rob Rogerson will assist if necessary in drawing up a budget.

The Diocese of Swaziland is in a healthy state in spite of all the challenges it went through. Bishop Mabuza must be congratulated and complimented for his effective leadership. We wish him a happy and blessed retirement.

I will issue a mandate for the Elective Assembly at an appropriate time.

Yours in the service of Christ

+Thabo Cape Town

From The Times of Swaziland (http://www.times.co.sz/) - Corrected Version

MBABANE – Anglican Church Archbishop Thabo Makgoba was in the country at the All Saints Cathedral Church Hall in Mbabane this weekend. He ordained two priests and six deacons on Saturday.

Archbishop Makgoba is the leader of all Anglican Churches in the Southern African region and is based in South Africa. Some of the notable figures who attended the event included High Court Judge Justice Qinisile Mabuza, Reverend Percy Mngomezulu and Director of Public Prosecutions Mumcy Dlamini.

The Archbishop also announced two South African Bishops who will become overseers of the local church after the retirement of Bishop Meshack Mabuza. The two are Funginkosi Mbhele and Anthony Mdletshe.

The event, which lasted for the whole day, was also attended by close friends and relatives of the new priests. The new priests will be stationed at the various Anglican Churches around the kingdom. After they were ordained, the priests and deacons took canonical vows in which they promised to uphold the values of the gospel, respect the leadership of the church and not discriminate in their ministry. They were congratulated by close family members and some of the congregants. They were, however, strictly warned not to abuse their offices by doing things that would be against the will of God.

Thabo Makgoba is the Archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa

Synod of Bishops Statement - Leadership in our Times

The following statement from the Synod of Bishops was issued on 15 February 2011

Leadership in our Times

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.” (Mark 10:42-45)

We, the Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, meeting at Mariannhill in the Diocese of Natal between 7 and 12 February 2011, greet our people throughout Southern Africa in the Name of the Lord – all of you in that great sweep from the north of Angola on the west coast of Africa, to Tristan da Cunha in the south, and from there to the border between Mozambique and Tanzania in the east.

Leadership

Our theme for this week has been leadership, as we took time to reflect on our own roles and ministries as bishops, and our need to be effective in these days of rapid change.

We have also discussed the leadership required of our clergy, and the spiritual formation and theological and pastoral education required for their work. We heard an assessment of the College of the Transfiguration in Grahamstown from the Revd Professor Barney Pityana, the College’s new Rector, and we are considering the consequences of his report as we plan for the future of the College.

We are sharply conscious too that leadership in the Church is not exercised only by the ordained. Training in good leadership and stewardship is required at every level, from the trustees of the Province to the chapelry council of the most remote congregation. We commit ourselves afresh to be, as bishops, the trainers of the trainers of the people of God.

Governance and Public Policy in South Africa

We were privileged on Wednesday 9 February to receive for dinner a prominent Anglican in the person of King Zwelithini, together with Queen Thandi, herself a member of the Mothers’ Union. The King is well known for his leadership on key issues especially that of HIV and AIDS, and we appreciated hearing him speak in person about these matters. We congratulate the King on entering the 40th anniversary year of his accession and we commend him, with the royal family and the Zulu people, to the grace of God.

On Thursday 10 February many of us watched President Jacob Zuma of South Africa giving his State of the Nation address. We wish to assure the President and his government of our support in the work of governing South Africa and of providing for the needs of all our people, without lining the pockets of the few. We therefore welcome the President’s commitment to combat corruption – what is often now known as ‘systematised and structuralised corruption’.

We also welcome the President’s many undertakings for the future while sharing the widespread concern across the nation about the ongoing gap between promise and delivery. The words of Bongokuhle Miya which the President quoted should haunt every public employee in South Africa: ‘If the government, which is doing very well, could just pay more attention, with a bit of urgency to such areas.’ The poor are all too evidently still with us, and, after years of principled struggle for justice and the common good, we do not accept that their lives must remain forever as they are.

As we see local elections looming in South Africa, we reiterate our commitment to peace and to the democratic process at the local level. We are disturbed at reports of running fights in some of our communities, between the supporters of competing political candidates, even within the same parties. We dread what may happen when the parties start to face each other, unless restraint prevails. We call on political parties to campaign with dignity and discipline, and with due regard for the constitutional rights of all our citizens, including the right to hold differing opinions. No politician should demonise another. No political organisation has a divine right to public support.

Climate Change

The 17th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 17) will take place in Durban later this year. This affords another dimension to the search for the good of all; and we implore world leaders not to miss another opportunity to address climate change and its impact on livelihoods.

The Nations of Southern Africa

Once again we wish to urge high standards of ethical conduct and principled leadership upon all public leaders in all the countries which make up our Province of Southern Africa. We continue to be concerned, for example, at repressive conditions in Swaziland, and we call for open dialogue between the government and civil society to decide the future of that country.

Africa and the Middle East

Further afield we pray that leaders in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and the Sudan may offer servant leadership in the crises in their respective countries. We have written fraternal letters to Archbishop Mouneer Anis of Egypt and Archbishop Deng of the Sudan and have held them steadily in our prayers together during our meeting.

Our Archbishop’s Role

Reverting to the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we wish to affirm the developing leadership of our Metropolitan, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba. In addition to visiting many dioceses and fielding a multitude of issues, Archbishop Thabo travels internationally to speak on faith in the public sphere and to promote dialogue and bridge-building, even now in Israel-Palestine.

We are in unanimous support of the Archbishop’s attendance at Anglican Communion meetings. We urge the leaders of the Anglican Church in Africa not to abdicate leadership of the Communion to the First World.

Human Sexuality and Civil Unions

At home Archbishop Thabo has taken a lead in bringing concerns to us from the dioceses in the Western Cape with regard to the pastoral care of those who have entered into civil unions with a person of the same gender or who are considering doing so. This is not a matter of us legitimising same-sex unions but of our care for these worshippers and also for their wider families. Our Church does not consider any relationship to be marriage unless it is the historic relationship of a man and a woman uniting, ideally, for life.

We will continue to work towards creating guidelines in several areas of difficulty which are raised by the issue of civil unions. It is difficult to give blanket guidelines because the position is starkly at variance in the legal systems of the seven countries in which our Church is found. A draft for discussion in dioceses is in development. However we note that guidelines in other areas could also be useful – for example, in supporting and affirming those who choose celibate singleness in their Christian discipleship, whether pending future marriage or for life.

We reiterate that we do not regard differences over human sexuality as a church-dividing issue. We continue to draw upon our experience of holding together by the grace of Christ in times of acute tension and disagreement in this subcontinent, as a basis for our work and for a possible bridging role in the tensions in the Anglican Communion.

Lausanne III Congress

On a wider front we rejoice in having had the 3rd Lausanne Congress in Cape Town recently: a body which has long – since at least 1974 – exercised leadership for good in the broadly evangelical Christian community worldwide. We rejoice too that Anglicans from Southern Africa and elsewhere played key leadership roles in the Congress and that Archbishop Thabo was able to attend some of the Congress events.

The Church in Mozambique

One of the greatest but least known stories of leadership over many years has been the heroic ministry of our Church in Mozambique, embodied supremely in the person of Bishop Dinis Sengulane. In times of war, of disease, and of postwar reconstruction – and now in the face of new challenges such as human trafficking – our church across Mozambique has played a sacrificial role in ministry and in church expansion. Now the Dioceses of both Lebombo and Niassa are raising the possibility of reconstituting themselves into several new dioceses and we are considering how best to enable this to happen.

Internal Disputes in the Church

We are deeply grieved at the breakdown in pastoral leadership in, and of loyalty to, our Church, reflected in isolated disputes reported from a number of places in the Province. Some of these have borne ugly fruit in inappropriate and costly court actions and, in one case, in a series of disgraceful electronic mails. All this is utterly beyond the framework of godly dispute resolution within the Church, especially given the extensive work invested in recent years to reinforce due process and fairness in all our procedures. We must take account of this in our leadership training.

Conclusion

We also join in the prayers and petitions of all and wish Madiba, our beloved former President, and his family, God’s peace at this time.

With these concerns and words of encouragement, and always seeking to follow the light and example of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, we commend you to the grace of God.

The Bishops of the Province

To the Laos - To The People of God, October 2010

Dear People of God

At the end of September over two hundred Anglicans gathered in the spring sunshine in Benoni for our triennial Provincial Synod. The shortened mid-term school break meant finding a new venue for our gathering, and we were certainly not disappointed by the generous hospitality (though well within budget, which pleased our Treasurer!) offered by the Kopanong Conference Centre. Its name means ‘place of meeting’ in seSotho, and it lived up to its billing as a wonderful spot to ‘come away together’ to seek the Lord’s will for our Church.

The tone was set for our meeting with our first reading at the opening Eucharist. This was taken from Habakkuk, 2:1-4, and included these words:

I will keep watch to see what the Lord will say to me … Then the LORD answered and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets ... for there is still a vision for the appointed time.

Thanks be to God, who indeed gave us a strong sense that the time had come to take forward the Vision towards which we have been working, during the last two years. After discussions in Conference working groups and debate in Synod plenary, the Vision and Mission Statement were endorsed, together with outline strategies for the eight priority themes (liturgical renewal; theological education; leadership formation; health, including HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria; the environment; women and gender; protection and nurture of children and young people; public advocacy). As we take these forward, one key tasks is to ‘make it plain’, communicating clearly how initiatives by the Province can support and encourage the priorities of Dioceses and Parishes. Synod invited us to give particular focus to the Vision on 30 November, the Feast of St Andrew, Patron Saint of Mission. Watch this space!

Of course, many other issues were discussed and motions passed. Reports of these have been posted on the ACSA website, where you will also find the statement from the Synod of Bishops meeting that preceded Provincial Synod, the full text of my Charge, and also the sermons that the Revd Sarah Rowland Jones preached at our morning Eucharists, which helped set the tone for each day’s agenda (see www.anglicanchurchsa.org). The full motions will also shortly be posted there.

These ranged from long-standing concerns for greater equality for women in the Church (there was enthusiastic support when the hope was expressed that we might see our first women bishops by the time we next meet in three years time – and disappointment that this has not yet happened, though we passed enabling legislation in 1992), through to urgent issues, including political reform in Swaziland; the long border delays for people from Lesotho entering South Africa; and the housing situation and apparent excessive violence at Hangberg in Cape Town – where we called for a judicial commission of enquiry. We also called for members of the South African parliament to vote with their consciences, should the Protection of Information Bill be brought before them, noting that free access to information is a vital foundation of democracy.

One important decision was the initial adoption of the Anglican Covenant, though this will require ratification at our next Provincial Synod for the process to be completed. As I said in my Charge, this is not a perfect document, but it certainly offers a way of affirming our desire to live together as Provinces, within our global family; a means of getting the balance right through an autonomy that is neither imposed uniformity, nor unbounded independence. My prayer is that we will now be able 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.

Reflecting the ‘bonds of affection’ that bind Anglicans together, we offered our support and prayers to Anglicans in Zimbabwe, and sent congratulations to the Anglican Church in Nigeria on their country’s 50th anniversary of independence as well as expressing shock at the bomb blasts there.

It was a great joy to have Bishop Jean-Zaché Duracin of Haiti join us both for the meeting of the Synod of Bishops and Provincial Synod. I hope that we can build on our links with his Diocese in the long, long journey of reconstruction that lies ahead of them. 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.

It was also my privilege to invest Dr Mamphela Ramphele as a Member of the Order of Simon of Cyrene. Addressing Synod, she spoke of the radical brokenness which still characterises much of South African society – words that resonated with my own Charge reference to the brutalising effect of apartheid, including on those who were conscripted. This led to a very moving debate and Synod motion on tackling the effects, and bringing healing, to all who were involved or impacted in any way by conscription. We shall be looking carefully at how we address the emotional scars of having to bear arms, which so many people of every background across our churches, across our Province, still carry.

While we were not afraid to tackle some of the taboos of today’s society, we also took time to relax and get to know one another better across the rich diversity of our Province. We did more than just ‘break bread’ together in the Moshate Restaurant – its name means ‘royal house’ in sePedi, and we dined like minor kings and queens at the excellent buffets. And after long days of work, almost equally long discussions into the night were held, by some at least, in the Imbizo Bar! It was a time of great joy and laughter, sharing in our common life.

Our heartfelt thanks go to Bishop David Bannerman and to the Diocese of the Highveld for their warm and generous hospitality; to all of the Administrative Team and everyone else who worked unstintingly behind the scenes; and especially to our Kopanong hosts.

Most of all, we thank God for his blessing upon us, and his promises to prosper our work, as we seek to follow his will in his world. To him be the praise and the glory!

Yours in the Service of Christ

+Thabo Cape Town

Anglican Church backs political reform in Swaziland

The Anglican Church of Southern Africa has given its backing to political reform in Swaziland.

In a resolution adopted on Friday, the church’s three-yearly Provincial Synod asked Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of Cape Town to “constructively engage” Swazi civil society and political leaders with a view to “contributing towards peaceful change in Swaziland.”

The church includes a diocese in Swaziland. The synod was meeting in Benoni, South Africa.

The full text of the synod resolution read:

THAT THIS SYNOD,

NOTING

1.1 The support the Diocese of Swaziland receives from PSC, Provincial Synod, and the Synod of Bishops in the effort to advocate for political reforms in Swaziland;

1.2 The continuous involvement of the Anglican Church under Bishop Meshack Mabuza to engage with other civil society organisations and the leadership of that country;

1.3 The relevant courtesy visit by the Metropolitan to meet with King Mswati III;

GIVES THANKS to God for the Archbishop and his leadership and evident concern for:

• the poor and disadvantaged of our societies;

• the lack of democracy and good governance;

• the lack of respect for human rights, especially in Swaziland as evidenced in his charge.

RESOLVES

1. Respectfully to request the Metropolitan to continue building relations with the political leadership of Swaziland with the aim of engaging them on these important issues:

2. To respectfully request the Metropolitan to include in his visits a listening and consultation process with:

• other civil society groups in Swaziland,

• political and civil leadership of South Africa

• other countries in the Province

and thereby constructively engage them in contributing towards peaceful change in Swaziland;

3. That the Swaziland issue remains a permanent, important and priority agenda item for discussion and feedback at all Synods of Bishops, Provincial Synods and PSCs.

A statement by the Synod of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa

We, the Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, have met in Synod at the Kopanong Conference Centre, Benoni, Gauteng East Rand from 27 to 29 September 2010. In prayer and fellowship - the hallmarks of our Synod - we deliberated over many matters affecting the life of the Church: our own Church, the wider Anglican Communion and the ecumenical Church of Southern Africa. In this time we heard the stories of achievements and pain from the Bishops of Swaziland, Namibia, Mozambique and St Helena.

The presence of Bishop Zaché Duracin, Bishop of Haiti, among us reminded us of the devastation that his country had recently experienced and of the long road that still has to be travelled towards full restoration. We are grateful for Archbishop Thabo Makgoba’s pastoral visit to Haiti and for the many Anglicans of our Province who contributed towards the rebuilding efforts.

The Bishops who attended the recent meeting of African Bishops in Uganda, gave mainly positive reports. However, while not able to endorse all that was said and done at that meeting, we state our full commitment to the Anglican Church in Africa, of which we are a part.

We, the Bishops, were deeply disturbed to hear from the Bishop of Swaziland of the growing human rights abuses in his country. He also challenged the Church to become more involved in the urgent quest for democracy; we agreed.

The Bishops of St Helena, Namibia and Lebombo (Mozambique) reminded us of the many missional challenges facing their countries.

We noted with joy the creation of the new Diocese of Mbhashe. And we received a request from Bishop Dinis Sengulane for the multiplication of his diocese – all signs of the growth of the Anglican Church in Southern Africa.

We reflected on other ways of growing our Church, and in this regard encouraged the use of “Rooted in Jesus”, a Church growth programme.

The draft document entitled “Pastoral Guidelines in Response to Civil Unions” was given careful consideration. It has been drafted in response to pastoral situations that are arising within parishes as a consequence of South Africa’s Civil Union legislation. An amended document has been referred back to the Diocese for comment and will be discussed by us again at the February Synod of Bishops. As Bishops all are acutely aware of the need to act pastorally and prudently on this sensitive matter, while at the same time committed to remaining within the accepted teachings of our Church on marriage and the ongoing dialogue within the Anglican Communion.

The important subject of “African Spirituality, Traditional Practice, Orthodoxy and Traditional Healing” received attention once again. At the heart of our discussions was the question: What does it mean to be a Church in Africa, in terms of liturgy, pastoral practices, such as healing, Christology, etc.

We re-stated our support for the “Anglican Covenant”, a document which was issued for consideration by the Churches of the Anglican Communion in response to the difficulties currently facing our church. It can be a tool for healing and for helping the Communion move forward. We noted that this matter will be raised at Provincial Synod.

The Bishops were mindful of meeting at a time when many pressing problems are facing our countries, especially poverty and rising unemployment. We therefore call on all our political leaders to put aside its internal divisions and to focus on addressing these and other problems.

However, in the midst of all the pain and problems within our region, we rejoice at what God is doing in our church and the peoples of all our lands. As we walk in the faith so God will be glorified. To God be all the glory.

Archbishop Hopes for Woman Bishops

The Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd. Thabo Makgoba, said today that one of his dreams during his term of office was to consecrate the Church's first woman bishop.

Archbishop Makgoba was delivering his Charge to the three-yearly Provincial Synod of the church in Benoni. The synod is his first as Archbishop and Metropolitan of the church.

Opening the synod, the Archbishop said the church was “hugely unrepresentative in relation to gender... Women constitute the majority in our pews, but the reverse is true at every level of leadership, lay and ordained.”

The Anglican Church resolved in 1992 to ordain women as priests, but as yet has not elected a woman as a bishop. Unlike some churches in the worldwide Anglican Communion, no separate decision is needed to admit women as bishops.

Archbishop Makgoba told the synod that, in South Africa, “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.”

Continuing on this theme, the Archbishop added: “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, from their time in Namibia and Angola, and need to be able to speak and find healing. Our society makes this almost impossible. But before Jesus there are no taboo subjects.”

Archbishop Makgoba also expressed his solidarity with Anglicans in Swaziland, saying he could not remain silent on the issue of democracy in the country, “where power and wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few, and political debate is hardly permitted.”

The Anglican Church in Southern Africa comprises dioceses in Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and the islands of St Helena and Tristan da Cunha.

Referring to divisions in the worldwide Anglican Communion over the position of gays and lesbians in the church, the Archbishop said the church in Southern Africa refused to allow disagreements to split it. He said:

“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.’”

Read the full text of the Archbishop's Charge >>

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