Ad Laos - To the People of God – July 2023

The text of Archbishop Thabo's July Ad Laos, published in the Cape Town diocesan newsletter, Good Hope:

This past month has forced me to pause and spend a disproportionate amount of time absorbing God’s mercies, which the Bible says are new every morning because of God’s unceasing and steadfast love for each of us. I can only respond by saying “Praise ye the Lord and the Lord’s name be praised!”

The world and global ecumenical family have recognized a number of South Africans who have “wallowed” in such mercies, becoming part of the cloud of witnesses as we serve God together and on behalf of the faithful in society and God’s world. I praise God as we congratulate one of our own, the Revd Courtney Sampson, for receiving the Hubert Walter Award from the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace.  

In the broader ecumenical family, we congratulate Archbishop Stephen Brislin, my Roman Catholic counterpart in Cape Town on being named as Cardinal-elect. On your behalf, I issued a public statement saying how privileged I am to work with him, and how thrilled I was to learn of a well-deserved appointment. The Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Town and the Catholic Church in South Africa are also to be congratulated on producing yet another Cardinal of the Church.

Upon receiving the Lion of Tutzing Award in Germany recently, for which I am grateful, I responded with this acknowledgement:

“I receive the award on behalf of the many who, in Johannine words, have said, 'Come and see, Thabo, we have found Jesus,' for the many from all walks of life who are marginalised, for the poorest of the poor without running water or proper sanitation, and for those who support my ministry. They are, as my co-recipient, Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, said, the 'tailwinds' which sustain us in doing justice.”

Following the visit to the Tutzing Protestant Academy in Bavaria, I spent some time in Leck, also in Germany, for a time of retreat and contemplation on what I have described as my “the sacred lone search for King Mamphoku’s skull”. (King Mamphoku was my great-grandfather, who was beheaded by forces of the Transvaal Republic in 1895, and whose skull went missing.)

I am grateful for my physical and spiritual journey in Germany, one which brought hope and healing. I would ask of you, my readers: what journeys and pilgrimages of gratitude are you taking or are able to take with a view to seeking healing and planting seeds of hope for yourself, others and all of creation? Please consider doing so if you are not already.

Talking of kings, Lungi and I joined the Bishop of Lesotho at the festivities to mark King Letsie III’s 60^th birthday last weekend. We are grateful for our friendship with the King and give thanks to God for his life and this milestone in it. Blessings, Ntate.

Thank you all for your support of the 30^th anniversary of the College of the Transfiguration, and for your generous gifts to this, our only residential theological college. If you have not already given, contact the College for details of where to send your donations: You can use admin@ or registrar@ with the College's email host address, which can be found here>>

Thank you too for your donations in response to the Eluvukweni Lenten Appeal donations. Even though we are long past Easter, please do continue to send gifts – I have a dream that one day, sooner rather than later, the people of Eluvukweni in our Diocese will not worship in a tin structure but that their church and Early Childhood Development Centre will be a reality. Give thanks to the Lord for the Lord is gracious, for God’s mercy endures forever.

As Good Hope went to press, we received news of the devastating explosion in a central Johannesburg street, killing at least one person and injuring dozens of others, some seriously. We pray for the victims and that the cause will be found and the conditions which caused the explosion rectified.

On a final note, please pray for the election of a new bishop for the Diocese of Christ the King in southern Gauteng. Their Elective Assembly takes place on July 26 and 27.

God bless you

†† Thabo Cape Town

Congratulations to Cardinal-elect Stephen Brislin and the Catholic Church in South Africa!

 On behalf of the Anglican Diocese of Cape Town, the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and on my own and my wife, Lungi's behalf, our warmest congratulations go to Archbishop Stephen Brislin on being named a Cardinal-elect of the Catholic Church. 

Pope Francis has announced that he will hold a Consistory at the Vatican on September 30, where 21 new cardinals will be created, including three from Africa. 

I have been privileged to work with Cardinal-elect Brislin, who is my counterpart in Cape Town, and am thrilled at this well-deserved appointment. 

The Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Town and the Catholic Church in South Africa are also to be congratulated on producing yet another Cardinal of the Church. 

The Most Revd Thabo Makgoba

Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town

Sermon preached at the funeral of the Revd Canon Karl Groepe

 Funeral of the Revd Canon Thomas Matthew Karl Groepe

Cathedral of St George the Martyr

Preacher and President

The Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba

Archbishop of Cape Town

24^th June 2023

Ad Laos - To the People of God – June 2023

The text of Archbishop Thabo's June Ad Laos, published in the Cape Town diocesan newsletter, Good Hope:

June is Youth Month in South Africa, and the youth uprising of June 16, 1976, is a painful reminder that if we are determined enough, we can use our agency and the Holy Spirit to take practical action to address the ills of our society and turn around the lives of our young people, many of whom face very bleak prospects at present.

In our national life, the prospects of big business coming alongside the government to help revive our transport and crime fighting agencies – in the form of Transnet, the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority – is a good sign, both in addressing the desperate need to grow the economy and create jobs, and in ensuring that the corrupt do not undermine the prospects of fixing our nation.

But as we address corruption and growing our economy, we must urgently find practical ways of addressing youth unemployment in Southern Africa. Youth Day is of course followed by Mandela Day on July 18th, when the Nelson Mandela Foundation urges us to volunteer for the good of our communities. This year, I encourage you to follow how God leads your heart in deciding how to observe both days, but please spare a thought and take some practical action to improve the employability of our youth.

In your parishes and dioceses, I strongly urge you to look at implementing the suggestions made by the report of the church's Commission on Youth Unemployment, which included the following recommendations:
    • Establishing a database recording the personnel resources available among church members:
    • Using the database to set up mentors to provide guidance to young people needing work;
    • Budgetting to employ more young people in parishes and dioceses;
    • Organising workshops to help young people write their C. V.s and develop their skills; and
    • Making church-owned land available for business ventures.
You can read the full report here >>
 

At Easter and in last month's Ad Laos I challenged you to adopt the “Archbishop's Ballot Challenge (ABC)”, the aim of which is to persuade young people to take their futures in their hands, to end the understandable scepticism they have about the political process in South Africa, and to register to vote. This month I am pleased to say that the SA Council of Churches' Youth Desk, as well as their Gauteng and Western Cape branches, have taken seriously the ABC and its invitation to the youth. We will be having a webinar on June 24th to explore ways of engaging this initiative further.

I also want to repeat my appeal of last month for generous donations to the College of the Transfiguration in Makhanda as it celebrates its 30th anniversary in August. Pray too for the College, and if you feel called, consider joining a preaching course, or devoting a year of your life to teaching there.

In a year’s time, from June 13th to 15th 2024, we will hold our Diocesan Synod. Please do start planning and reflecting on what missional and ministry matters are vital for you for the extension of God’s reign, especially post Covid, so that we can plan appropriately for the future.

Finally, winter in Cape Town is wet and cold, and especially so this winter. Please continue and if possible step up your pastoral work of feeding and clothing those without shelter and food. Your action and presence in their struggle for human dignity is a vital and real prophetic witness which is desperately needed.

Once again thank you for your prayers for my cataract procedures on both eyes. They have been successful, so now I can chuckle and sing along with Johnny Nash or Jimmy Cliff, “I can see clearly now the rain is gone” (though not yet in Cape Town!).

Keep warm, stay safe and God bless you.

†† Thabo Cape Town

Sermon preached in the Diocese of George at the Chrism Eucharist

 DIOCESE OF GEORGE

The Chrism Eucharist and Renewal of Ordination Vows

The Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba, Archbishop and Metropolitan of ACSA

The Cathedral Church of Saint Mark the Evangelist

Thursday, 8th June 2023, 10:00

Ad Laos - to the People of God - May 2023

 As published in the May issue of Good Hope, the newsletter of the Diocese of Cape Town:

As we look ahead to Youth Day on June 16, when we celebrate the contributions of young people to winning freedom in our country, I want to extend the “Archbishop's Ballot Challenge” which I issued to the youth at Easter, and urge Rectors, all our clergy and Parish Councils to take a lead in this campaign.

Please make our houses of worship “voting sanctuaries”, where young people can be inspired to follow the example of previous generations, and use the freedom denied to their forebears to transform South Africa into the country we want.

As I said at Easter, I understand the attitudes of young people who are disillusioned with politics and public life, and scornful of the self-dealing and corruption of some of our politicians. But most of us neither can nor want to leave the country, and the only way to turn the situation around is to do something about it ourselves.

So in the lead-up to next year's national and provincial elections, I urge parishes to adopt your Archbishop's Ballot Challenge (ABC) and to provide voter education for young people. Perhaps using the slogan, “Registering to vote is as simple as ABC”, you could facilitate voter registration for both those who have become eligible to vote since 2019, as well as those who have not bothered to register in the past. You could also host workshops on voter education and provide instruction on our electoral system, if necessary partnering with local businesses to finance such an effort.

Then encourage young people to campaign for the parties, the candidates and the policies of their choice, and help them get to polling stations. In that way we can bring about a peaceful revolution in which we eliminate corruption, ensure good and efficient governance and save our country.

This month I also urge clergy to take care of themselves by joining “Caring for the Shepherd”, clergy wellness meetings being organised by our Safe and Inclusive Church initiative on May 20th. After the devastation and intense pastoral pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic, we need to say to our clergy in particular, “Sawubona! We see you and we are anxious for your welfare.”

And of course, load-shedding now brings its own pressure to bear on clergy, causing serious disruption and emotional distress to many of us. At Bishopscourt, we have assumed our Sawubona Archdeaconry teas, to which we invite the clergy of the Diocese to meet and share tea with one another and their archbishop. Please come and be welcomed when you receive the date for your Archdeaconry tea. I look forward to seeing you.

Looking ahead to an important Provincial event, the College of the Transfiguration in Makhanda celebrates its 30th anniversary from August 2nd to 6th this year. Please pray for the College, and visit them if you can make it. If you are a New Testament scholar and feel called to share your expertise, there is a vacancy for a lecturer there, so you might offer yourself to teach.

But whoever you are, clergy or lay, please donate generously to CoTT for their 30th anniversary – residential theological education is a powerful instrument of our church, and the College needs your financial support.

As we celebrate our Lord's Ascension and look forward to the celebration of the empowering of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, please keep in your prayers those who have been bereaved this Eastertide, including the family of Dean Michael Weeder, who lost their mother, Sheila (Sarah) Weeder at the age of 90 on May 6th. May the souls of the departed rest in peace and rise in glory.

God bless you.

†† Thabo Cape Town