Archbishop preaches at service for Prince Buthelezi's 90th birthday

A homily preached by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba at an Ecumenical Service of thanksgiving for the 90th birthday of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Durban, on 19 August 2018:

Readings: 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14, Ps 111, Eph.5:15-20, John 6:51-58

May I speak in the name of God, our Redeemer and our Sustainer. Amen.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, dear people of God; it is a great honour for me to celebrate with you in this service today.

Archbishop gives thanks for lives of a selfless generation of leaders

This weekend we have reason to thank God for the contributions to the good of humanity of a great, selfless generation of leaders.

In South Africa, we give thanks for the life of Mama Zondeni Veronica Sobukwe, widow of Robert Sobukwe, who died in Graaff-Reinet weeks after her 91st birthday.

Abroad, we received with shock the news that Kofi Annan, a great African and a Nobel peace laureate who gave new energy to the United Nations to intervene to prevent conflict, has died in Geneva after a short illness.

And at home we celebrate the long lives of leaders who are still with us: the 93rd birthday of Mama Gertrude Shope, a former trade unionist and the first leader of the ANC Women's League, and the 90th birthday of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi.

I am pleased to be preaching at a thanksgiving service for the Prince in Durban today, of which we will write more later.

Our prayers go to the families of those who have died, and our best birthday wishes to those veterans celebrating milestone birthdays.

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba 

'The poor pay the price for climate change'

Archbishop Thabo was one of three speakers who addressed the General Convention of The Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas, on the "Care of Creation" on Tuesday. An excerpt from an Episcopal News Service report on the session:

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. 

Church welcomes ConCourt judgement on sexual assault cases

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba has welcomed today's Constitutional Court judgement making it easier to bring to justice the perpetrators of sexual assault. He has also urged South Africa's parliament to act quickly to end the bar on pressing charges if offences were committed more than 20 years earlier.

He said in a statement issued in Cape Town:

Dedication of Emmanuel Church, Umlazi

Sermon preached by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba at the dedication of Emmanuel Church, Umlazi, on Saturday May 19 in the Diocese of Natal:

Readings: 1 Kings 8: 22 -30, Ps 122, 1 Pet 2:4-10, Luke 19:1-10

May I speak in the name of God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of our lives, Amen.
Bishop Dino, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, dear people of God: it is a great joy for me to be here with you as we give thanks to God for this place of worship.
Let me also acknowledge Prince Buthelezi and Fr Ncaca, who presided at Lungi and my wedding 28 years ago.

Emmanuel Church, Umlazi.

It is an honour and privilege to have been asked to celebrate with you at this historic moment in the life of this community and the Diocese. Thank you, Bishop Dino and your entire team for inviting me. Thank you everyone for the wonderful and warm welcome we received on our arrival here. Thank you also to those who gave of their time and were involved in the preparation for today.
I thank God for the unsung heroes and heroines who have kept the gospel light burning here through their lives, their zeal, their prayers and their service and witness.