Umbuliso/ The Greeting
Newsletter of the Diocese of
Grahamstown, Vol 28 No. 5: October-November 2005
- AIDS
- Appeals for hymn books, equipment for retreat centre
- AWF News
- Bishop
Thabo writes:
Spiritual Formation
- Book Review: Compromise and
Challenge by Bishop Peter Lee
- Book
Review: Connectedness by
Bishop Thabo Makgoba
- Brian
Stephen licensed
- Department
of
Social Responsibility
- Department of Spirituality
- Diocesan
Family Day
- Grahamstown
clergy in Canterbury
- Ilinge
Children’s Project
- MU News
- Nondumiso
Retreat Centre
opens its doors
- Umbuliso
uyakubulisa… (clergy
moves and short news items)
- Youth Indaba
Grahamstown clergy in Canterbury
Ebenezer Ntlali, Archdeacon of
King William’s Town, and Melany Adonis, Priest-in-Charge of St
Clement’s Grahamstown, were privileged to attend the
"Seminarians’ Course" in Canterbury, England. These three weeks
in August were unforgettable, as Melany Adonis writes below.
Ebenezer and I were happy
finally to arrive at
Joining the heartbeat of
Canterbury Cathedral through the offices and Eucharist encouraged us to
be
aware of the presence of God around us. The sharing around scripture
every
morning reminded us of the centrality of Christ in our individual
journeys as
well as this journey. So, although saying the Lord’s Prayer in our many
different languages showed our diversity, so clearly there was Jesus
Christ at
the centre of this diverse body.
The pilgrimage afforded many
different opportunities to see Jesus. There were many "light bulb"
moments from "Paul was changed from persecutor to persuader" to
standing inside the cathedral and looking up at the ceiling and
experiencing
the greatness of God. The challenge now is, to turn back to
More than 200 Youth from all
over the diocese met for an Indaba at Stutterheim on 24 September, and
looked
frankly at the Church and the Youth.
"Where is the Church
failing you, is it supporting you, and what are the principal
challenges facing
youth today?" the Bishop asked them.
Among their criticisms were:
Adults don’t practise what they preach and provide good role models.
Youth themselves would like the chance to
preach.
There was a feeling of being unsupported and discriminated against.
On the positive side, the youth
felt, the Church does provide support when bad things happen, spiritual
guidance and Scripture teaching as well as teaching about HIV/ AIDS.
AIDS was listed as one of the
greatest challenges facing youth, along with teenage pregnancy, drugs,
and
other symptoms of a lack of direction and morality.
Spiritual formation
Dear People of God
In the Charge to the Diocese, I
wrote: "Spiritual formation of all God’s people is not an optional
extra, but a must". These last couple of weeks I have been busy, but
with
a different type of busy-ness. I spent a
holiday with
family. I spent eight days of individual guided retreat, and some time
with the
SSM Brothers in
There is a thread running
through this "busy-ness": the Diocesan
Synod, retreat, encounter with the SSM and the Sisters in Masite,
and then the "Journeying Together" Workshop on Spiritual Direction at
Pallotti Farm, Queenstown, led by Fr Andrew Norton. The thread is an intentionality in wrestling with Scriptures,
prayer and
what should be the values of a Christian today, and how we can form
ourselves
and nurture ourselves spiritually. Spiritual formation and nurturance,
I
repeat, is not just for the contemplative or for those desert fathers,
or
mothers. It is for all of us, clergy and laity, who are on a pilgrimage
to God,
or to holiness; for holiness, Scripture testifies, belongs to God. As
the AWF
Conference recently reminded me, through their theme "Journey together
to
holiness", we are all on this pilgrimage. We need to be prepared, we
need
to be formed, for this journey to God, for this journey to holiness, or
for
this journey that reminds us that all of us are set apart for the
purposes of
God’ work.
So, as we embark on the
spiritual formation of every Christian in this diocese, from Junior
Church,
Bernard Mizeki, AWF, MU, Lay Ministers, Youth, young and old, as we
embark on
this journey to holiness, I once again remind you of some of the things
that
are important, or that have been important in my journey and spiritual
formation, as I continue also to be nurtured and formed.
Regular reading of the Bible,
engaging, soaking yourself in that wonderful
sea of
the stories of the people of God, and how God was involved in them and
with
them, and how God continues to nurture them spiritually.
Regular attendance at corporate
worship is also very important for spiritual formation.
Regular Bible studies in small
groups, and prayer together, is of utmost importance.
The Eucharist, for most people,
has become like yet another meeting, but I find that regular
contemplation on
the Eucharist, and offering oneself anew before God, to be used in the
community, is important.
Follow the example of Jesus in
our daily life.
I invite you all on this
journey "within", whose "outward fruits" are love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control.
These fruits do not just grow. They must be nurtured.
Brian
Stephen
licensed to assist at Port Alfred and
Man with a mission: Brian
Stephen, the new Assistant Priest in
Department
of
Spirituality: Masibambane Ngezandla*:
Women’ Day celebration 2005
Anglican women in the diocese
were encouraged to observe Women’ Day on 9 August by coming together to
worship in their various areas. A special form of liturgy was prepared
by the
Department of Spirituality. This was used with adaptations around the
diocese. Churches where services were held
included
Gloria
Smith of the Department describes a service which took place at St
Saviour’s
Although the weather was wet
and cold, there was a warm and expectant atmosphere at St Saviour’s
Church East London, as women began arriving for the service of
celebration for
Women’ Day on 9 August.
The material prepared for
Women’ Day had been adapted slightly, and various organizations and
individuals took part, with Helen Morgan acting as the
“anchor-woman”, ensuring that the different parts of the service
flowed into each other.
There were prayers of
thanksgiving, led by the Anglican Women’s Fellowship, for the role that
women have played in the life of faith throughout the ages, remembering
especially our foremothers who stood against oppression. A candle of
remembrance was lit by the oldest lady in the congregation.
After more singing and the
Scripture
readings, Helen led a time of reflection, which was followed by
animated
discussion in small groups. The Mothers’
Further discussion then took
place, in order to seek a path which would enable us to continue to
support
each other in the spirit of Masibambane ngezandla. Working in small groups, the ladies
were asked
to make written suggestions as to how the spirituality of the women in
our
Diocese could be enriched. These suggestions were collected and will be
collated and forwarded to the Director of the Department of
Spirituality. The
service ended with a blessing before the colourful procession left a
church
that was by now almost full, with approximately 200 ladies present. The
air of
joyful celebration that had been evident throughout the service was
continued
during the last hymn, which was followed by a bring
and share tea in the hall. The question on many lips was: “when can we
do
this again - do we have to wait until next year?”
The next "Masibambane
ngezandla" event
will be a QUIET MORNING in St Saviour’s Church East London. 10:00 on 26 November
2005. Please bring your own lunch!
*Masibambane
ngezandla means "let’s hold hands
together."
The AIDS epidemic:
Is it God’s judgment on sexual promiscuity?
By Velile Sono
Many Christians within our
church are of the opinion that AIDS is God’s punishment. I have this to
share with them.
It is hard to believe that God
could send "AIDS" to His people. I think, what people need to hear is
that the "Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding
in
love" (Ps 103:8)
If we say it is God’s
judgment on the sexual promiscuity, we need to consider that AIDS does
not mean
that one has been promiscuous. Let us think about those wives who had
contracted
AIDS. It is very possible that many of them were faithful to their
partners,
only to find that it was their husbands who had been sleeping around.
13% of
the people with AIDS in
If people feel that they are
being punished, it may be that they are carrying a burden of guilt and
need
help with that guilt.
In the New Testament (Jn 9:2-3), disciples question "Rabbi, who
sinned, this
man or his parents, that he was born blind?" That question demonstrates
the popular belief that suffering was the result of sin. In His answer
Jesus
denies this and shifts attention from cause to purpose.
Velile Sono was ordained Deacon
on 11 June 2005, and serves at St Michael’s parish, Sterkspruit.
St Andrew’s
Mdantsane MU adopts a Ward
By Maureen Dabula
A dream has been fulfilled by
the Mothers’ Union of St Andrew’s Anglican Church in Mdantsane
under the auspices of Archdeacon W Ntlola. A male ward at Cecilia Makiwane hospital has been adopted by this
parish, and it
is their baby.
On Sunday 31 July 2005, as
pre-arranged a group of about 50 Mothers’ Union members accompanied by
Archdeacon and Mrs Ntlola visited this ward. The gifts were "from
caring
mothers to their children with love". This was a variety of toiletries
like face cloths, soap, tooth-brush and packs of fruit for each patient.
The joyous singing that came up
from the Mothers’ Union group expressed love of God’s children. Mrs
Ntlola gave a short speech indicating the purpose of the visit, and
Archdeacon
Ntlola prayed. He went round the ward touching all the patients in
prayer.
The ward staff thanked the
members of this church for their practical ministry. It was remarkable
to find
that most of the patients had no visitors, but through the miracles of
God
every patient felt the love and care through this visit.
Diocesan MU Annual Conference
in Grahamstown
Action as well as talk: The
Mothers’ Union Annual Conference met over the last weekend of August at
St Andrew’s College Grahamstown. On Friday 26th they took to the
streets,
and presented a petition to the Chief Magistrate condemning women and
child
abuse and the legalisation of prostitution. MU President Noluthando
Lucas and
Chaplain Ebenezer Ntlali presented the petition to Chief Magistrate
Judith
Roberson.
AWF celebrates Mary
and Martha Day
By Kokela
Siqendu
Mary and Martha Day is based on the parable of Jesus in St Luke
10:38-42. On 30
July the Anglican Women’s Fellowship celebrated their day in style.
They
invited speakers on issues that are challenging to women of today. All
the
speakers highlighted determination, dedication and commitment as the
most
important aspects in serving God.
Chaplain Barry Wittstock urged
us not to become neutral, but be available. As you used by the Lord,
you will
realize your value to God, he said.
Other Archdeaconries collected
food parcels to be provided to the needy to mark AWF celebrations.
The Diocesan President, Nomonde Mankahla,
said that AWF
members need to adopt the "I CAN" attitude:
I = Initiate projects for your
parish, AWF, Diocese, etc
C = Committed (i.e. be
committed to your church, community, be involved, you are called to
serve, not
be a spectator)
A = Assume responsibility. Do
not blame circumstances
N = Never be a
quitter/spectator. Your duty is to give your best regardless of what
happened
or who you are.
AWF in action: South African
Women
in Dialogue Conference
By Kokela
Siqendu
Deputy President for AWF, Ms Nolizwi Zibi
attended the
"South African Women in Dialogue" (SWID) conference from 18-21 July,
responding to the invitation that was extended to Diocesan AWF. This
movement
was initiated by the first lady Mrs Zanele
Mbeki, and
seeks "to establish a common agenda for the development of women, and
to
ensure that women’s views are considered whenever decisions are taken
on
all issues that impact on [their] lives".
Among the speakers was the
South African Deputy President, Pumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. She said joint responsibility
should be our
story as Jesus shows that He wanted everybody to share the
responsibility.
Commissions were set up during
the conference and the AWF of Grahamstown representative was able to
participate in the following commissions: Peace in
There was also a presentation
from representatives who attended the Beijing Conference.
Nolizwi Zibi’s
full report on the SWID Conference is available to any interested
women,
whether or not AWF members. Phone her on 083 520 6910.
"New Babies" (AWF
branches)
The following parishes have
started AWF branches, and members were officially inducted in April
2005:
St Andrew Lady Frere
St Peter Ezibeleni
St Michael and All Angels,
Queenstown.
A further two branches, in
Stutterheim and Port Alfred were due to be inducted in September. Any
parish
that wants to start AWF should contact Diocesan President, Nomonde
Mankahla on 083 581 6104.
Invaluable history of
Bishop Peter Lee: Compromise
and Courage, Anglicans in
Reviewed by Bob Clarke
Bishop Peter makes an
invaluable contribution to historical writing about the Anglican Church
in
The author recalls some
particularly memorable experiences of his own, with moving descriptions
of
Importantly, the book reviews
and corrects the anachronistic mis-interpretation
of
Bishop Geoffrey Clayton’s episcopate by Michael Worsnip
in his Between the two fires (1991). Bishop
Reeves’s decision to proceed on long leave after Sharpeville occasions
another well-judged and scholarly re-interpretation of earlier
biographical
writing.
Where the book covers new
ground is to tell about the ministries of Bishops Karney,
Stradling and Bavin.
The
most notable discovery was that Colonel Stallard
had
been the Chancellor of the Diocese until he was fired by Bishop Karney in 1933 for supporting the United Party
government’s Native Bills "that were clean contrary to the expressed
views of the bishops." (p. 73)
The book is highly recommended
and offers a fascinating read.
Order from: Cluster
Publications,
Moving and
challenging: Bishop’s journey
Bishop Thabo Makgoba: Connectness.
Reviewed by Peter Mtuze
This is a moving and
challenging account of the journey of the young Thabo who was born in
Alexandra
amid all the poverty, the pain, the squalor and a constant fear of gangsterism. The whole story is rooted in an
endless quest
to make sense of the world and life as it presents itself very crudely
-
poverty, gangsterism, an errant father and
a
suffering mother.
The stark realities of black
people’s lives in the townships during the harsh years of apartheid are
contrasted with the heavenly experiences in the UK and USA where the
family
occasionally visited, always coming back with a thud and a bang to the
cruel
life in their own country. In all these
escapades one
feels the search for connectivity - with family, friends, ancestors,
God,
family roots going back to beheaded grandpa, and the self. The metaphor
of
almost total impotence contrasts with the greater fear of unconnectedness
as one faces a complete cut-off and alienation from later generations.
The overriding moral seems to
be, continually, that no person is an island. Alienation is another
sub-theme
neatly woven into the plot of the story as families are uprooted and
denied
basic rights to choose where they want to stay and die, Even sacred
symbols
suffer the same fate, as Christ the King Church has to be deconsecrated
and reconsecrated amid the pain and the
suffering of the
congregants.
If the text seems somewhat
jarring and disjointed in places, remember that these are the thoughts
of a
troubled soul jotted over a period of twelve years of agony and search
moving
from confusion, disconnectedness, alienation, frustration, and finally
connectedness to God, family and a strong will to serve. Bruised and scarred, the protagonist triumphs over all
adversity and
continues the strugg1e to remain connected until the end.
Copies may be ordered from
Tshwaranang, 045 838 2874, @ R50, or purchased from UPB, High Street, Grahamstown.
The
Phone
the Revd Carl Schultz 083 505 7321
Urgent appeal...
...to parishes - especially all
parishes concerned with youth work !
Our Rural Retreat Centre at
Bholothwa - an important new asset to our diocese - is now open for
bookings.
The first party of youth has
already spent a weekend at the Centre. But we are still seriously
restricted
through lack of adequate furniture and kitchenware.
To rectify this problem, we are
asking every parish and organisation as part of their mission and
outreach to
donate R450± towards the completion of this Centre. Can you
please help? Jesse
Sage
Donations (money, not goods!)
should be sent to: Diocese of Grahamstown,
By Heidi Schmidt and Monica
Vega
"Pure, true religion, in the
eyes of God our Father, is this: coming to the help of orphans and
widows in
their hardship" (James 1,27).
We have been blessed with the
incredible opportunity of witnessing the response to this call on a
daily
basis. There are so many hidden people, who in the silence of their
ordinary
lives, share the few gifts they have with the ones who have less,
especially
with many grandmothers and aunties who have found themselves in their
old age
taking care of toddlers and school aged children.
Bishop Thabo invited all of us:
"Let us go across to the other side"- well, we have met many women
that in a very unassuming way stretched the boundaries of the church to
include
everyone, especially the forgotten ones, the ones who have become a
statistic,
the ones who are invisible to our eyes.
Thank you Mama Klaaste, Thobisa, Nomaphelo, Nozuko,
Sister Baninzi!
Feel free to fill in the dots
with the names of those who you know, from Sada to Mdantsane, from elalini to the suburbs, from the kitchens to the
professional offices, who hear the cry of the poor and help them carry
the
weight of the day. May all of us have the courage to follow their example.
Many thanks to:
Rotary and Balmoral
School of Queenstown for the clothes drive
Karen Johanns,
Mothers’
DSR: a call to find
God’s "Yes" even in a mess!
By Tony Schnell, DSR Director
The Department of Social
Responsibility recognises the need to find new ways of working within
our
Diocese. Our theology (our inner reasonings
about how
God relates to us in our daily life) in the Diocese is slowly changing
from
saying "No!" to apartheid and injustice to saying "Let’s
find God’s “Yes” in this situation as we act together in
faith." The need to discover a development theology is starting to
inform
our growth at DSR. You will be hearing about Diocesan AIDS policy soon
as well
as an initiative to engage theologically with the whole land question
and a
number of paralegal and AIDS initiatives.
People are starting to ask how
they can get involved in practical faith. If you yearn to do the same,
please
contact Tony at DSR (the Diocesan Department of Social Responsibility).
This
may include giving towards the work (Thanks Penny!) or becoming part of
the
work (Thanks Claire, Bizo, Latiwe
and many others). You can become involved as an individual or even form
a group
within your parish or archdeaconry. Do you need special skills? Not at
all! You
will be surprised that God uses what you consider "everyday" and
"insignificant" to do wonderful works that restore justice and
dignity in your community. There has been some response to the need for
prayer,
but no-one has phoned the office yet to offer this very
needed service. We can only operate within the favour of our Lord.
Become part of the faith
action. Phone Tony at 043 7820 771.
If I’m not in, please
leave your name and the call will be returned.
Invited by: The Bishop
When? Saturday 5 Nov
Where?
Time? 09:00
A service of praise and
thanksgiving to God!
A chance to bring our offerings
for the work of God in the Diocese!
Come as a parish, or an
organisation (AWF, MU, Bernard Mizeki, Youth)!
Diocesan Family Day may also be
observed in your own parishes. Those parishes that wish to come to the
Diocesan
Family Service at St John & St Chad may bring their contributions (iingxowa) to Umjikelo.
Gifts may be sent to the
Diocesan Revenue Account, First National Bank Grahamstown (code
210717), a/c
No: 5232 1144 702, reference "Family Day".
For information contact
Archdeacon Ebenezer Ntlali, Convenor, Diocesan Forum of Guilds, Tel.
040 654
1428.
Nondumiso Retreat
Centre opens its doors
The first Youth Group to use
the new Nondumiso Retreat Centre at Bholothwa came from
Work is still continuing on
developing the Nondumiso Centre, but it can now be used for a maximum
of 13
youth with one or two adults. When the neighbouring Hermitage is
completed it
will be possible to accommodate more. The beautiful mountain landscape
and the
silence are an open invitation to spend time with the Lord.
For the time being, enquiries
and bookings can be made at the Diocesan Office: 046 636 1995.
St Matthew’s news
Umbuliso greets William Nkomo SSM, on his appointment as
Priest-in-Charge of St
Matthew’s Keiskammahoek from 1 November. Fr William has been assisting
at
St Mary’s Sterkspruit. Congratulations also to St Matthew’s on
their 150th anniversary, and well done to D S Mhlwatika, acting priest
in
charge, for organising a wonderful day of celebrations on 24 September.
Congratulations
Umbuliso greets John Fletcher,
long-time financial adviser to this diocese and now retired. For 16
years he
served as honorary British Consul in
Good wishes for recovery
Themba Mdedelwa, who is
spending a year studying full-time at the College of the
Transfiguration,
underwent a major operation to his lung in
Sympathy
Warm sympathy and
prayers for Sharon Summers, assistant priest at St Mark’s
Thanks to Synod hosts!
Heart-felt thanks from Bishop
Thabo to all those hosts in the
The Revd A Chaoana
has a new Cell No: 082 514 2024.