Umbuliso/ The Greeting
Newsletter
of the Diocese of
Grahamstown Lent
2006 Vol 29 No 1
Personal
delivery: Mosquito net gift
taken to Mozambique
Reg Morgan
with his wife Helen and daughter Jennie,
travelled to
Mozambique in November to deliver in person a gift of mosquito nets to
the
Diocese of Lebombo. Archdeacon Morgan, who
has
recently left St Saviour's East London to
move to Queenstown,
had been given R2,000 collected by St Saviour's. Bishop Thabo
had added R1,500,
and the Diocese of Mpumalanga sent a further R800, making up R4,300 in
all. The
mosquito nets, bought in Mozambique where they are cheaper, cost R37.00
each.
The Mozambique government's campaign to roll
back malaria,
driven from Maputo, involves the distribution of treated nets to the
most
vulnerable: under‑fives and pregnant mothers.
Arriving in Maputo on 22 November, the Morgans met Bishop Dinis
Sengulane of Lebombo
and Bishop
Mark van Koevering of Niassa.
Reg Morgan was embarrassed to tell his story in front of Bishop Mark as
the
Diocese of Niassa is considerably poorer
than Lebombo Diocese. However, Bishop Dinis
then shared that his Diocese had decided that for every net donated to
them
they would give one to Niassa. So the
offering wasdoubled, and when a missionary
from Connecticut in the States
who was present, committed his home parish to add to the gift as part
of their
Christmas project, the gift from here was trebled in five minutes! As a
result
of this, the Morgan family were able to transport 120 nets to Maxixe, 650 kms to
the north,
where they were met by Archdeacon Augustinho
Buque on his ancient 50 cc motorbike, and
led through the
sand tracks to the house where they stayed. In
the Rectory yard is a bakkie, which died
two years ago. There are no funds to
repair it and so the rectory family can not afford to go together on
holiday.
On Advent Sunday the nets were handed over to
the Archdeacon at a very moving and dynamic service. The Eucharist was
in BaTonga and some of the tunes were the
same as we use in isiXhosa.
Archdeacon Reg came away with
a vivid memories of the love of the people, their joy and
vitality in
worship, the large numbers of young people, the way people exist on a
few basic
essentials, and Aenriched in many
ways; I believe we
were the ones who gained most from the visit.@
Bishop
Thabo Makgoba ordained four women and two men priests at the ordination
service
on 17 December in the Cathedral. They were Simphiwe Magxwalisa, Anaida
Allwood,
Ingrid Andersen, Ruth Loots, Simphiwe Silwana and Mzikazi Mfenyana.
uMariya uMama weThemba Monastery and
Guesthouse
P O Box
6013, Grahamstown 6141, (046) 622 8111,
E‑mail:
guesthouse@umaria.co.za, www.umaria.co.za
3 ‑ 5
March, 2006
Begin this
Lent encountering different ways of praying though this practical and
experiential weekend. Explore for yourself the different kinds of
prayer. Led by the monks of the monastery.
Fee
:
R400 Deposit : R200
11 ‑
16 April, 2006: Holy Week and Easter
Journey
with the monks to Gethsemane, Calvary and to the exaltation of
the Great Vigil and Easter.
Join us for this prayerful and poignant time at uMariya uMama weThemba
Monastery. This week will include guidance and rehearsals led by the
monks on
these poignant liturgies.
Fees
:
R1000 (Tues‑Sun.); R800 (Wed.‑Sun.); R600 (Thurs.‑Sun); R400
(Fri.‑Sun.)
19‑21
May, 2006: Taste the Silence:
An
Introduction to Centring Prayer
Led by
Contemplative Outreach, Eastern Cape Region
God draws
us into an intimate and loving relationship that grows out of true
prayer,
finding fulfilment beyond words, thoughts or expectations. Centring
Prayer
fosters the development of this relationship and provides the means of
transformation. Come and learn the method,
and the
conceptual background of this ancient way of prayer and let the silence
speak
to you.
Fee
:
R400 Deposit : R200
Bishop Thabo writesY. Crossing to the other side
Dear People
of God
Mark 4:36: ALet us go across
to the other side@.
The three
Synoptic gospels have recorded this account of Jesus= invitation to his
followers to cross
(the Lake) over to the other side.
In this past year, some have crossed over from
life to death, some from death to life. We have moved (crossed) from
season to
season (Advent, Christmastide, now Epiphany and by the time you read
this
article it will be Lent). Some have Acrossed the floor@ politically, and
some have crossed
(moved) from one denomination, parish or religion to another. We have
all
crossed from 2005 to 2006.
The invitation to cross over to the other side
evoked fear and storm and an opportunity for Christ to intervene and
calm the
storm.
As this year begins, you may have crossed
storms at various levels: personal, social, physical, spiritual,
emotional,
theological, economic, geographical, political etc, and are now living
in fear.
Christ, who invited you to cross, and accompanies you as you cross, is
with you
always. Therefore, never fear change, with its resultant welter of
emotions.
As we begin 2006, Christ invites us to cross to
the other side, perhaps in some of the following ways:
If you have
much, share generously with those who do not have.
If you do
not know your HIV status, get tested and know it.
If you
prefer one style of worship, try a different one this year.
If you hold
a definite and particular theological standpoint on issues of
sexuality,
understand a different view this year.
If you are
unkind, and not content, be kind and try to be content this year.
If you only
know what is happening in your own town, village, suburb, read, listen,
learn
more about the world's pain, failures,
successes and joy.
If you have
registered for the local municipality elections for 1 March 2006, Ash
Wednesday, and were not intending to exercise your human right to vote,
reconsider and go and vote.
If you are
tribal, racist, sexist, xenophobic and insecure, try being a Areal Anglican@ this year:
inclusive, diverse and
able to cross to the other side.
Happy new year. May Christ calm your fears and storms.
Mark 4:39: APeace,
be still!....
and there was a great calm@. +Thabo
OBITUARIES
John
Cooper, priest, poet and painter, died on 1 December 2006 at the age of
58. He
will have been a familiar figure to many as the Apriest in a
wheelchair@
who continued to attend Synods and
retreats as long as his disability allowed him.
Born in Zambia (Northern Rhodesia as it then
was), John Cooper came to South Africa on leaving school. After
graduating at
Rhodes University, he was ordained deacon in 1970 in the diocese of
George, and
served at Graaff‑Reinet. The condition
which
eventually put him in a wheelchair, spino‑cerebellar
degeneration, began as early as 1971. Despite that he was ordained
priest at
Grahamstown in 1975, and served as assistant in a number of parishes:
the
Cathedral, St Michael's and St David's Queenstown, St
John's
and St Michael's
East London.
He married Vivien, a medical doctor, in 1983.
Despite increasing disability, John continued
to minister as far as he was able. He also wrote poetry and painted
pictures.
In 2002 the Coopers moved into Kennersley
Park, where
they lived until John's death.
Sister Jean
Mary CR, who died on 22 November at the age of 91, is remembered
affectionately
by clergy with whom she worked in East London and Port Elizabeth
parishes.
Jean was born and educated in England, one of
twin daughters in a family of six children. After working as a matron
at a
school where her brother was taught, she came out to South Africa to
test her
vocation in 1951, and took her Life Vows as a Community of the
Resurrection
Sister in 1957. After working at the Bethlehem Home in Grahamstown, she
went to
East London, to
Good Shepherd Church, then situated in multi‑racial North
End and a daughter church of St Saviour's. Sister Carol
described her as Aan indefatigable
visitor, walking
everywhere with vigour, and greatly loved by all the parishionersY She was a role
model to many of the
parish priests she worked with.@ Her work with the
Community also
took her to Port Elizabeth, back to Grahamstown, and in Aretirement@ to St Peter's Bourne in
London, where she
enjoyed weekly visits to her twin sister, before she returned to
Grahamstown to
live out her last years at St Luke's.
Sister Jean Mary was gifted with her hands and
loved to make greetings cards and little toys. Despite considerable
pain
towards the end of her life she was Aalways cheerful
and smiling, and cracking a joke with the staff@.
In 2006
there will be four ordinands at the College of the Transfiguration and
plus or
minus 20 ordinands training through TEEC. There will be 12 who are
doing
Vocational Deacons= training, and we
are hoping to have
at least 30 stipendiary clergy out of the 60 parishes and 202
congregations. We
are trying to look at the issue of ministry formation quite seriously,
and we
pray that with Train‑a‑Priest people will give as much as possible
this Lent. This will enable the diocese to continue to send people for
ministry
training, so that we could have not only a pool, but men and women who
are ably
trained to lead our parishes and the people of God into a deeper
relationship
with God.
St Andrew's
Burgersdorp
St Andrew's is a parish in
the northern part
of the diocese, initially moved by forced removals to another place.
The place
that they were allocated is on a swamp, and the parish church is
sinking. The
parishioners are raising money, in the very poor depressed part of our
diocese,
Burgersdorp, in order to rebuild St Andrew's on a firmer
piece of land. They
have done a lot to reclaim compensation for the land that was taken by
force,
and they need some assistance.
See the
leaflets in your church for more details.
Please use
the envelopes provided to give generously in your Parish to this year's Lent Project!
DIOCE$AN FINANCE$:
Tithing
and Offerings/giving
By Koot Dayimane, St
Mary's
Sterkspruit
A tithe is
the tenth part (10%) of every Christian's income, given to
support God's
work. As Christians we have been
called specially to demonstrate God's way of paying
tithes and offerings. The problem that causes Christians
not to give to God is the Spirit of Poverty.
The
Spirit of Poverty says...
If you give
you will have less
if you
sow you will decrease.
if you
hoard you will have more.
if you
bless you will have less.
giving
brings subtraction.
you are
too poor to give.
be
faithful only when you have more to give.
you are
blessed when you receive.
giving/sowing will bring hardship.
prosperity
comes by chance.
give
little.
God's Word
says...
If you give
you will have more (Luke 6:38)
if you
sow you will increase (Prov.11.24)
if you
hoard ... tends to poverty (Prov.11:24)
if you
bless I will bless you (Gen 22: 16‑18)
giving
brings multiplication. (2 Cor. 9:10)
you will
be cursed (poor) if you do not give (Mal.3:9‑l0)
be
faithful in the least (Luke 16:10)
you are
more blessed when you give (Acts 20:35)
he who
does not give/ sow will want in harvest (Pr 20:4)
prosperity
comes by obedience, diligence and faith (Pr l0:4, 2 1:5)
give
abundantly... be generous (2 Cor 9:6)
To give is
God's
command, not our choice!
For
reflection, ask yourself:
do I give
in order to learn to fear God? Malachi 1:6
do I give
to help preachers of the Gospel to live thereby? Luke 10:7, l Cor 9:14)
do I ever
realize all I possess is from God? Deut. 8:11‑18
do I see
any need to thank Him for giving me the power to work?
If the
answer to these questions is Ayes@, praise God! If
not, the next
question is how do you differ from the Jews of Malachi's time?
Let us repent before if is too late. My
prayer for 2006 is that every parish in the Diocese of Grahamstown
should pay
all of what it has been assessed.
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF SPIRITUALITY
Recollection
& reflection
By Graeme
Deas
My Grail
Version of the Psalter has a lovely turn to verse 2a of Psalm 131:
Truly I have set my soul
in
silence and peace.
Certainly
this encapsulates what the programme of the Department of Spirituality
for 2006
is all about: Retreats and Days of Recollection and Reflection.
As hopefully we make space for God in our quiet
time each day, so we also need to make a larger space for God in a
Quiet Day or
preferably a Retreat in the course of each year. We need to enter the
desert,
where in solitude we can hear God speaking to us. AI am listening,
speak Lord.@ We need the silence of solitude, to make
that space so as to hear God. In my book, there is no other way. It's the
biblical way. Think of Elijah's experience in
the wilderness at Horeb when
he heard the still small voice or, as the REB puts it a faint murmuring
sound
(1 Kings 9:12b). That whispering sound certainly changed Elijah's perspective and
lifted his spirits
in a time when he was weighed down.
So the clergy and their spouses are to be
encouraged to attend one of the two Retreats at Hillandale, the first
from 21‑24
February, conducted by the Dean of Bloemfontein, Fr Don Narraway.
His theme: the story of Jonah in the Old Testament. The second weekend
retreat
for clergy and spouses will be on 21‑23 April, conducted by the Core
Group of the Department.
During the year a Day of Recollection and Reflection
will be held on Saturdays 9.00 to 15.00 in each and every Archdeaconry
or
Region of the Diocese. Clergy and laity are encouraged to attend. Your
Archdeacon will fill you in on dates and details.
An Open Door Retreat Conductors= Workshop* is also
planned for
selected individuals to take place in March, led by Fr Andrew Norton
CR, so
that we may have trained persons to run Open Door Retreats in parishes
and
regions in the future (an ODR is a retreat taking place at a fixed
venue one
evening a week for nine weeks. Participants enrol and commit for that
period).
Pray these endeavours may make the desert
experience available to more persons in our Diocese, allowing us that
silence
and peace that we may hear the life‑changing faint murmuring sound.
*Stop
press: Due to the
illness of Fr Andrew Norton this workshop has been cancelled. The
Department
intends to reschedule the workshop later in the year with a new
conductor.
Teddy
bears bring joy: MU's
Teddy Bears=
Picnic on Children's
Day.
By Thoko
Mbekela
Mothers= Union members in
East London made
Children's
Day 2005 a day to remember for
over 400 children affected and infected by HIV/ AIDS, with a parade, a
picnic
and teddy bears to take home.
Maureen Dabula and
Thoko Mbekela, MU Co‑ordinator for Action Outreach and Social Issues,
had
been visiting in the parishes. They discovered that the number of HIV/
AIDS
orphans was increasing, and support group members were dying. The Daily
Dispatch recently reported that half of Newlands community is infected
with the
virus.
A good Samaritan, Mrs Zameka Matshaya, offered to donate teddy bears
to 100
children. Unfortunately there were about 400 affected children from
different
communities at the time. Finally after campaigning among her customers
she
managed to raise 400 teddies and 24 soccer balls. The response from
local
businesses, parishes, MU members and the Bishop was enormous.
Saturday 19 November, National Children's day, was a day
the kids will never
forget. Parading down Oxford Street East London, being entertained by
the brass
band, open bus and fire brigade, was an eye‑opener to the onlookers.
The
children were so colourful with their teddies and yellow T‑Shirts. Even
the rain could not stop them. The day ended at James Pearce Park with
party
packs, boerewors rolls and playing games.
On the Sunday, the Orthopaedic Children's Ward at Frere
Hospital was full of
smiles when members brought teddies and soccer balls to them. The last
visit
was to Fort Glamorgan Prison in West Bank where the MU are
ministering to the inmates, and six children were beneficiaries.
Mrs Mbekela thanked Beares
Furnishers warmly for their donation. Her message to communities and
Christians
is: A>Adopt= a child in your
nearby settlement
or township. Our children are the world's future. Let us
all make a
difference, and share our love and resources.@
The three
challenges that had been allocated to the MU in this diocese prompted
them to
stage this event with the help of Beares
Furnishers.
To raise
awareness of the need to expand the literacy and development programme
(Daniel
1:17)
To reach
out to the less fortunate (Luke 4: 18‑19)
To promote
family values (Luke 15:31‑32)
They added
a 4th objective B to promote
conditions in society
favourable to stable family life and the protection of children.
One
square metre gardens! East
London MU provides nutritional value to
communities
By Maureen Dabula
The focus
of this project is to kick‑start sustainable food production for all
people in our society. This will supplement income,
improve the health and nutritional status of people. In partnership
with Small
Project Foundation,
four women have been trained as trainers at Lilyfontein
Farm.
Networking has brought St Luke's Church Newlands
into the picture, hence their garden is
well fenced, through a
donation from Scripture Union East London. A follow up training was
conducted
at this parish on 19 0ctober 2005. Parishes involved were St David's, All Saints, St
Philip's
and St Luke's.
Facilitators for the 24 adult
learners were Mrs T Mbekela, Mrs T Tetani,
Ms M Dabula and Ms S Xhegwana.
Participants were trained to train a minimum of two people in their
communities. The day was graced by the presence of Archdeacon Reg
Morgan, Rev P
Mpumlwana, Rev T Makalima, Rev S Silwana,
Ms Theresa
representative from Scripture Union and Mr R Magida,
Land Affairs Officer for DSR. More plants and trees were brought by
Archdeacon
Reg Morgan and Mother's Union.
The last training of the year was conducted at Ncera Village by Mrs Mbekela on 7 December 2005,
reaching
the villages of Ncera, including Phumlani
Village.
All these activities are part of developing
people at grass‑roots level. This is an opportunity to share modern
agricultural skills, and can be managed with minimal strain by all age
groups.
Digging for
a better life, local villagers learn how to make food gardens with as
little as
one square metre of ground.
New
office for East London MU
By Maureen Dabula
East London
Archdeaconry Mother's Union office is
now located at St
Mark's
Church, No 7 Church Lane
Cambridge. The MU thanks Rev S Summers, the Church Wardens and
congregants for
their co‑operation, hoping that this bond will be strengthened by God.
Bringing
Hope to Rural Areas: Nikithemba Mobile VCT
By Jabu van Niekerk
A dream long held by the Diocesan AIDS Task
Team has finally come true. With
the help of the Raphael Centre and Anglican AIDS, a mobile voluntary
counselling and HIV testing project has now started.
This project is called Nikithemba (AGiving Hope@) and it will
bring hope and help to
people in rural areas who find it difficult to access clinics.
The Nikithemba team
will work with rural churches to establish support groups for people
living
with HIV and AIDS. Once the support
groups are up and running, the Nikithemba
vehicle and
crew, consisting of a nurse and two counsellors, will visit on a
regular basis
to provide HIV/AIDS education, counselling, and testing.
At present, this is a pilot project based at
the Raphael Centre and will serve rural communities around Grahamstown. However, if this model is as successful
as we think it will be, we hope to establish more mobile VCT units to
serve the
entire diocese.
THE
ILINGE CHILDREN's
PROJECT
By Heidi
Schmidt and Monica Vega
The Ilinge
Children's
Project continues to grow and
develop, slowly and steadily. Thanks to the generosity of many, we will
be open
four days a week from 1:30‑5:30 Tues‑Fri. We will continue to
provide a hot, nutritious meal as well as opportunities for games,
dance,
crafts and socialization to more than 65 children.
As we hear on a daily basis the stories
of so many grandmothers, we witness in awe their resilience and their
faith.
Thobeka*
lost three daughters to the
epidemic and looks after seven grandchildren. Nolinda
does not want to take her granddaughter to the eye specialist in
Frontier
Hospital because Awhen you go to the
hospital, you don=t come back@. Nosipho tells
the story of losing
a daughter to AIDS, having a second daughter who is infected, and a
newborn to
look after as well. So when we
asked her Awhat
will you do when you find
yourself with so many kids?@ she just
looked at us with eyes that have seen so much and gently said, Awe will keep on@.
*Names have
been changed to protect confidentiality.
Thanks
to:
Rotary,
Queenstown, for school kits, CD player, etc, and ongoing support.
Selbourne
College, for the Christmas party and donation
Staff of
the Representative, for collection of toys and clothing
St Alban's, Cathcart, for
steady support and
donations
The
many who share their gifts so the project can continue to serve the
children and their families.
Prayer
intentions:
Ilinge
community, especially for grandmothers, aunties and relatives who care
for
children orphaned or affected by HIV.
For
Nomapelo, Thabisa,
Nomaindia, Xoliswa, and other volunteers
who give
their time and care to the children.
For the
many donors who share their gifts so that the project continues to
serve the
children and the community.
For all
those who accompany the people of God in Ilinge, through their constant
prayers
and remembrance.
Clergy
moves
Umbuliso
greets Eric Kelly and his wife Jean, who have retired to Grahamstown
from
Bloemfontein.
St Saviour's East London
looks forward to
welcoming Mark Spyker, who has been appointed as Rector to succeed
Archdeacon
Reg Morgan. He comes from Pretoria Diocese.
Congratulations to Siyabulela Gidi, formerly
priest‑in‑charge of Holy Name Stutterheim, on his appointment as
Public Policy and Partnership Officer in the Archbishop's office in Cape
Town. He took up
this post from the beginning of January.
Jerry Gelant, military chaplain, has also left
the diocese, as the army has transferred him from Grahamstown to Langebaan. We wish them well in their new fields
of
ministry.
Hazel Goodfellow was instituted by Bishop Thabo
as Rector of St Bartholomew Grahamstown on 3 December. At the same
service she
was licensed as Rural Dean of the Archdeaconries of Albany and
Grahamstown, to
assist the Dean.
Two
clergy widows die
The death
of Rene Fielding on the last day of 2005 possibly brings to an end the
era of
missionaries who came out to this country from England, during World
War 2.
As a 28‑year‑old doctor she was _posted to St Barnabas Mission Hospital, in Ntlaza, Transkei, by USPG. There she met and
married
Ronald, a missionary priest. Together they served in a number of
parishes
around South Africa, mainly in the Diocese of Grahamstown, before
retiring to
East London. Rene's life was marked
by her obedience
to God's
calling and her belief_
that _every person was
important enough to
love. Her example of courage, commitment and humility, and her
compassion for
those who suffer, inspired change in many people. In love and in
service to
others, she found her meaning and reflected the love of God.
Mrs Regina
Gawe died on 11 January aged 100. She was the widow of the Revd Walker
Gawe,
who served in Zwelitsha from 1936‑1970, and died in 1980. We give
thanks
for her long life of service.
St Philip's EL Choir
records CD
By Immanuel
Ngubo
Congratulations
to St Philip's
choir in East London, who released
a CD Yesu Nkosi
Khumbula in December last year. The CD has
17 tracks from
our hymn book and the prayer book.
Interviewed by Umbuliso, one of the choir
members said the choir is thrilled in achieving this goal. She wanted
to thank
the choir master for taking his time to organise the recording, helped
by other
executive members. She also thanked the pianist/ organist for taking
his time
to be part of the recording.
CDs
available from: Mr Sityebi Qoshe
(choir master), 083 415 9368. R80.00 c.o.d.
R I P: Nandi Jack of AWF
Ms Nandi Jack of St Andrew's Church,
Mdantsane, a staunch_Anglican
Women's
Fellowship member who was the
second Diocesan Secretary of AWF, died on 3 January 2006, after
collapsing at
her home. The AWF ask for prayers as they begin this year with such sad
news.
Umbuliso
is your diocesan newspaper!
Contributions
welcome
Please send
news to:
P O Box
181, Grahamstown 6140
Tel: (046)
636 1996;
Fax (046)
622 5231
E‑mail:
umbuliso@diocesegrahamstown.co.za
Umbuliso is
published by the Diocese of Grahamstown, edited by Maggy Clarke, and
printed by
Dupli‑Print, Grahamstown.
Dead‑line
for next issue:
20 March
2006
Read Umbuliso online at www.diocesegrahamstown.co.za/umbuliso.php