Umbuliso
The Greeting
Newsletter of the Diocese of Grahamstown
Volume 31 No 4; August-September 2008
Diocesan Council agrees on timetable for Multiplication of the Diocese
September launch for “Growing the Church”
Grahamstown Ministers support Povertyline programme
Wind robs woman of home: St Peter’s Ezibeleni to the rescue!
New reading skills for Grahamstown children
Church’s response to the food crisis
From the Department of Spirituality
Motherly love in action at Good Shepherd
AWF President leaves the diocese
Book Review: Anglicans against Apartheid 1936-1996
Lesotho venue for BMMG conference
News from the Isibindi Projects
Umbuliso uyakubulisa (short items of news and greetings)
Diocesan Council agrees on timetable for Multiplication of the Diocese
A special Diocesan Council meeting on 18 June
was held to continue the process of creating two dioceses out of the present
Grahamstown diocese. A time-frame was agreed, which will see a liturgical
celebration of our journey towards multiplication on 24 September, in the
context of a Family Day, with the launch of Growing the Church, and Imbizos in the two new dioceses in October.
Taking counsel
together: Peter Lenkoe, Louis Flint, Mark Spyker and
Rural Dean Elliot Masoka at the special Diocesan
Council.
|
Event |
Date & Venue |
|
Synod of Bishops: Proposals for
funding and time frames for Diocese of Ukhahlamba to be presented to the
Synod of Bishops |
Mon 15 – Tue 16 Sept 2008, |
|
Provincial Standing Committee |
Wed 17 – Fri 19 Sept 2008, |
|
Growing the Church Provincial
launch |
Fri 19 Sept 2008, |
|
Consecration and Enthronement of
Ebenezer St Mark Ntlali |
Sat 20 Sept 2008, 10:00,
Grahamstown Cathedral |
|
Growing the Church Diocesan
Launch, Family day for North and South together. Liturgical Celebration of
our journey towards two new Dioceses |
Wed 24 Sept 2008 (Public |
|
Imbizo for the South: Full time clergy,
Self Supporting Clergy, Leaders of Organisations & Archdeacons &
Parish lay Representatives |
Sat 18 Oct 2008 Time & venue to be confirmed |
|
Imbizo for the North |
Sat 25 Oct 2008, Time & venue
to be confirmed |
|
St Luke's land handover: (++Thabo
and others) |
November 2008 |
|
Northern Structures need to be formed
(Regional Chapter, Regional Trust Board and Regional Council) Legal authority
for the running of the Diocese continues to be vested in the current Bodies
but the leadership of the Northern Region can continue to vision and plan and
put these structures in place in preparation for the subdivision. |
Aug-Dec 2008 |
|
Possible date for financial and
legal subdivision, with the proviso that our financial planning and
commitment make this possible. |
Tue 1 Jan 2009 |
|
Possible date for appointment of
Vicar General for Ukhahlamba |
Tue 1 Jan 2009 |
|
Possible time frame for Ukhahlamba
Diocesan Synod, approval of the Acts of Diocese of Ukhahlamba, Advisory
Committee and Elective Assembly |
Jan-July 2009 |
September launch for “Growing the Church”
The Anglican Church of Southern
Africa (ACSA) under Archbishop Thabo Makgoba is about to embark on an exciting
province-wide programme of church renewal over the next five years called
“Growing the Church”. The vision is for “a vibrant church which is clearly
growing spiritually, numerically and holistically”.
Every diocese has a co-ordinator and an
Implementation Team. The Grahamstown Diocese Co-ordinator is Mark Spyker. Over
the weekend of 19-21 September the co-ordinators, plus at least four members of
their implementation teams, will meet in
The Vicar-General writes …..
The best of times, the worst of times
Dear people of God in the diocese of Grahamstown,
There are times in the life of a
community or in the history of the world when we see both the best and the
worst of human nature and life: times of great joy and delight and wonder and
creativity and magic and happiness, and times of immense sadness and desolation
and despair and cruelty and ugliness and brutality, tensions and divisions,
juxtaposed. These past few weeks have been such a time. In Grahamstown, we have
enjoyed the magic of another week of the National Arts Festival, with an
experience of human energy and creativity at its best. As a diocese, we are
looking forward with eagerness to the consecration and enthronement of our new
bishop in September, and to the ministry and leadership of our bishop in the
years ahead. In recent days I have had the privilege of visiting the week-long
Holy Cross Reading Camp for 18 learners from local schools; met the Bishop of
Lexington and his wife, Bishop Stacey and Ginger Sauls,
who were at the Reading Camp on their way to Lambeth, and whose diocese has
helped start the Camp; spent time in Queenstown to meet with people there;
grappled with the complexities and challenges that face us in our dreams for
the multiplication of our diocese; seen the outstanding work being done in our Isibindi projects; listened to the vision and energy of our
Diocesan Aids Ministry teams; read the statement issued by fellow Anglicans at
the Jerusalem Gafcon conference; been encouraged by
the Growing the Church initiatives; prayed for Lambeth and our bishops and
their spouses as they prepare to attend this great conference at a particularly
difficult time in the life of our Communion. What a time of energy and faith
and hope and vision this is! The church and the people of God
at their best, striving to be faithful to Jesus Christ and His call on our
lives. There is so much that is good and wonderful and a great gift.
What a privilege it is to be part of all that is happening.
But these weeks have also been weeks
of despair and even terror and horror, as we have watched the ongoing
disintegration of
Our challenge here in our diocese is
to be faithful to what God is calling us to do and to be: to be signs of
Christ, instruments of reconciliation, signs of hope, carriers of light,
beacons to show the way to life. Jesus said, "I came that they may have
life, and life in all its fullness" (John 10:10). Let us do our best, and
let us be the best we can: loving one another, praying regularly as we offer
all these issues to God – including our life as the Anglican Communion, doing
what we can to strengthen our life as the church of God, serving those in need,
supporting and encouraging one another, preaching the Gospel, ministering to
the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, setting free the oppressed (Luke
4:18). May the Lord of the church, Jesus Christ, bless and guide us as we seek
to be faithful to Him in all things.
Yours in the love and service of Christ
Andrew
Hunter, Vicar-General
ASF
meets in Bloemfontein
Recently the student organisation of the
Anglican Church in Southern Africa, the Anglican Students Federation (ASF) had
a powerful annual conference in
In good company: Masande Gonya (l)
and Maropeng Moholao, ASF Members,
met up with Archbishop Emeritus Njongonkulu Ndungane.
SUPPORT THE COLLEGE
OF THE TRANSFIGURATION
* Donate to the College of the
Transfiguration
* Pray for vocations
* Pray for our new rector
To donate now email us at enquiries@cott.co.za
or call on (+27) 046 622-3332
or donate online at our website!
Our web
site: http://www.cott.co.za
28 Servers admitted
Angels! 28 servers were admitted at
Stop Press: Deaths of Clergy
The Revd Howard Skomolo, a self-supporting priest in Tarkastad,
in the Queenstown Archdeaconry, died on Sunday 13 July. Prayers are asked for
his widow Tandi and the family.
The Revd Kholiwe
Sunners, a permanent deacon in the
diocese of Grahamstown, died on 20 July. She was ministering in the Southwell congregation. Please pray for her husband Peter
and son Mark.
Obituaries in next
issue.
Grahamstown Ministers support Povertyline programme
By Dumile Monakali
The South African
Department of Social Development Department has a new policy for Social Service
Agents called Povertyline. It inspired Deacon Dumile Monakali of
Grahamstown with a vision for community-based ministry.
The vision came about strongly only after his Ordination as a
Deacon in January 2007, as a challenging task for the Grahamstown community, Makana District and beyond.
Most communities are not familiar with this document, which is
a massive Government tool to alleviate poverty amongst the poorest of the poor.
This policy document includes the Child-Support grants programme
(0-14 years); Foster-Care grants, Social Relief of Distress (food parcels) and
other programmes. Government stakeholders include Home
Affairs, SAPS, Health, and the
Monakali lobbied the Ministers’ Fraternal of Grahamstown East
for their blessing to launch the Povertyline programme, on 28-29 May 2008, and was successful. Since
then 27 families have received Social Relief of Distress, (food parcels), ten
children were approved for Child-Support Grants, and two children received lost
Birth Certificates. The programme has been extended
to the western side of Grahamstown and Dean Andrew Hunter, and Suzanne Peterson
the Sub-Dean of the Cathedral have been appointed by
stakeholders to serve on the Committee. The Anglican Clergy of the Grahamstown/
Albany Archdeaconries, and the Ministers’ Fraternal have committed themselves
to fast-track service delivery.
“Travelling
along the
This volume by Fr Roy Snyman tssf is now available in the following new editions, at R50 per copy plus postage:
Revised and updated English edition
Afrikaans translation
A version in isiXhosa, translated by Sister Monica Mary CSJB, should be available by the end of the year.
Enquiries and orders to: Fr Roy Snyman tssf
Tel/ Fax 041 373 1283, email fr.roy@telkomsa.net
c/o P O Box 7109, Newton Park, Port Elizabeth 6055
Wind robs woman of home: St Peter’s Ezibeleni to the rescue!
"Blessed is the hand that giveth": Mrs Dideka Mavis Quza
of the Ethiopian Episcopal Church, receiving a donation cheque. She is
flanked by Churchwarden Mrs Nomihla Zepe and Deacon Themba Mdedelwa of St Peter's Ezibeleni.
The parish has made a donation of R2,000.00 to Mrs Quza whose house had recently been badly demolished by
strong wind. Mrs Quza is a neighbour to the
church and has always been very helpful to the church in many ways.
New reading skills for Grahamstown children
By Br John Forbis OHC
Eighteen children aged 9-11
years from Grahamstown now have greater confidence, feel themselves loved and
valued and have gained better reading skills and a greater enthusiasm for
reading thanks to the Holy Cross Reading Camp in July at Assegaai
Trails. The camp was run and managed by Kary McConachie, a teacher at
The
Diocese of Lexington began these camps in their own diocese and wanted to “pass
them on” to another country. Bishop Stacy Sauls of
the diocese approached Br. Timothy about the idea of having a camp in
Grahamstown. Planning meetings started over a year ago. Thanks to the
assistance of the Diocese of Lexington as well as Trinity Episcopal Church in
The children had a busy schedule, with
intensive instruction to improve their reading comprehension, reading
strategies, writing, phonics, pronunciation, spelling and they even
participated in just plain pleasure reading. Their afternoons were filled with
various activities, including trips to see a wild animals
at a farm and at Kariega. Pray for these children,
that what they have learned and gained at the camp will stay with them and that
reading will become an important and enjoyable part of their lives.
Tell me a story: The storyteller, Gcina
Mhlophe, came for a visit to meet the children. So
did Dean Andrew Hunter, and observers from the
dioceses of
Church’s response to the food
crisis
HOPE Africa, the social development programme of
the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, has issued the following appeal to
dioceses:
Across the world,
people are facing the challenges of unprecedented increases in food prices that
ultimately have a direct impact on a household’s quality of life. The poor are
hardest hit by this unfortunate phenomenon. While the leaders of this world are
called upon to address the matter we in civil society and communities of faith
need to explore potential programme that will seek to address the hardships for
the poorest in our society, while also advocating on behalf of the poor with
our government and the corporate sector. As a Church we should be ready to
galvanise all our energies and recourses and attempt to get ourselves and our
communities out of this quagmire. The church has the ability to provide a
progressive response that will benefit not only its members but the community
at large.
We therefore request the Bishop and the
Diocese to consider the following:
·
Encourage and motivate parishes to use their land to
plant vegetables to feed the elderly and poor in the parish.
·
Develop programmes that educate parishioners of the
benefits of creating home gardens.
·
Create enhanced awareness campaigns within our
parishes on responsible stewardship of the environment, including energy
savings and global warming.
·
Mandate clergy to engage local agricultural officers
to teach their congregations about good agricultural practices to ensure good
crops.
·
Mobilise resources to share with the community,
through sustainable livelihood programmes.
HOPE Africa believes that it is
important for the church to be a catalyst in social development, advocating
improved standards of living for all God’s people, especially those trapped in
poverty. In this area of our mission we achieve optimal results when embarking
on programmes in partnership with other civil society organisations, business
and government.
From the Department of Spirituality
Tumultuous times
A reflection by Graeme Deas
We are living through uncertain
and tumultuous times: In our country xenophobic violence; political and
economic uncertainty; and to our north a despot, Robert Mugabe clings to power,
and the repercussions of that ripple into our land. People are anxious, but for
me it is a time and an opportunity to learn to lean more deeply into God. Psalm
46 is such a comfort: “God is our refuge and strength: a very present help in
trouble.” These words assure me that God is always in control. We may not be
spared the trouble, but He will hold us and take us through the trouble.
There is a Chinese story (retold by Tony de
Mello S.J. in his book Sadhana – a way to
God) of “a farmer who used an old horse to till his fields. One day the
horse escaped into the hills and when the farmer's neighbours sympathized with
the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, ‘Bad luck? Good luck? Who
knows?’ A week later the horse returned with a herd of horses from the hills
and this time the neighbours congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His
reply was, "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?"
Then, when the farmer's son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he
fell off its back and broke his leg.
“Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not
the farmer, whose only reaction was, ‘Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?’
“Some weeks later the army marched into the
village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw
the farmer's son with his broken leg they let him off. Now was that good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”
De Mello concludes with these words:
“Everything that seems on the surface to be
an evil may be a good in disguise. And everything that seems good on the
surface may really be an evil. So we are wise to leave it to God to decide what
is good luck and what bad, and thank Him that all
things turn out for good with those who love Him. Then we will share something
of that marvellous mystical vision of Mother Julian of
Motherly love in action at Good Shepherd
The
Good Shepherd Mothers’ Union,
AWF President leaves the diocese:
Vice-President
Nolizwi Zibi takes over
Shortly after the AGM of the Anglican Women’s
Fellowship of the diocese on 10 May, the President Kokela
Siqendu received the news that she had been appointed
to a new post, as Senior Manager, Internal Audit, in the Department of Social
Development in the
Kokela Siqendu wrote: “I would
like to take this opportunity and express my gratitude for the opportunity
given and the experience gained in the process; It has been a great pleasure
being part of this big warm family of Grahamstown
Diocese. I will miss the environment. May God bless you.”
Book Review
Anglicans against Apartheid 1936-1996
Bob Clarke: Cluster Publications, Pietermaritzburg 2008
Available in the Diocesan Office, R200
Anglicans Against
Apartheid 1936-1996 is a major history of the role played by the Anglican
Church of Southern Africa in the fight against the notorious Apartheid regime
of yesteryear. It is a well researched account of the major encounters between
a number of Anglican bishops and Archbishops and other people and institutions
against the injustices of the past. Whilst the details tend to make reading the
book a daunting task, Dr Clarke’s commitment to reflecting the history of the
struggle as accurately as possible, far outweighs the effort to wade through so
many pages of fascinating history.
To hear about old stalwarts such as Canon
James Calata’s contribution to the struggle and his
daughter Nolutando’s dismissal from St Matthew’s for
supporting so-called political agitation takes one back to the old days when we
used to see Calata fly to Johannesburg and back for
what seemed to be endless trials against him and his comrades. Little did we
realise that
Nolutando who happily taught us how to play tennis at
St James almost ended up working as a domestic worker for her role in the
struggle against Apartheid.
The counterbalancing of great figures such
as Bishops and Archbishops with the experiences of ordinary people such as the
Calatas and Ncacas whom we knew intimately, makes the
book attractive to all and reflective of our history.
While the story is told in a frank and
scholarly manner, no attempt is made to conceal cases where the very same
Anglican stalwarts displayed pro-system tendencies such as when one or two
bishops contemplated debarring those who held office in political organisations
from continuing as priests in the church.
Dr Clarke should be complimented for
undertaking such an important task
and handling it so efficiently. As we move deeper into our democracy, people’s
memories are finite, and immediately they come to the end, the void is filled
by distortions and prejudices.
Peter Mtuze
Peter Mtuze is a priest of this
diocese, a member of Chapter and a former Professor of African Languages at
Lesotho
Members of the Bernard Mizeki
Men’s Guild are encouraged to write in their diaries 1-5 October 2008,
when their Provincial Conference is to take place in the National Convention
Centre,
The
Revd B B Mfenyana,
Secretary of the Guild, writes that the conference will take place from 1-3
October. Then “the Big Celebration (and fund-raising) starts on the
afternoon of Friday 3rd, to reach a heady climax on Sunday 5th, when the
members will celebrate Mass, and the new Provincial Exco
will be instituted. Walala wasala—you snooze, you lose!”
For further information contact the Secretary,
the Revd B B Mfenyana,
082 344 0000 (all hours),
OR the President, Canon Thato
Molipa, 082 938 7425,
OR The Media Officer, Brother Tobias Mkhize: 082 578 1998.
AIDS Ministries
“Come, see the man…” Bible reflection
By Noelene Arends (Diocesan HIV/AIDS Coordinator)
John 4:1—26 (Jesus
and the Samaritan woman).
The woman was astonished. She
was not expecting a male Jew to talk to her. The story of Jesus and the
Samaritan woman is a very familiar one. Here we see Jesus rejecting the Jewish
culture of male superiority.
Tired from the journey, Jesus sat by the
well, and then came this Samaritan woman. One was a male and the other a female
from
In
many places in the world, women are culturally relegated to the background.
They have no voice. People, especially women with physical or emotional
difficulties are treated as if they don’t belong to the “regular society.” They
are looked down upon.
It is even worse for those infected with
HIV/AIDS. They are treated as outcasts.
In this story of the encounter with the
Samaritan woman, Jesus teaches us how to reach out to someone outside our
circle, outside our status, outside our race, outside our tribe. Jesus, the
example whom we as Christians follow, embraced everybody including the
Samaritan woman. He was not put off by ethnic distinctions or gender
differences as some people are today. He chose to reveal himself to a simple
woman. This teaches us that God cares for everyone. He cares for simple folk,
even those we call “outsiders” and those rejected because of their HIV status.
What was the effect of such an encounter?
The woman went to the town telling people to “Come, see a man...” Today we are
challenged to go out and tell others to “Come, see a man who rejected cultural
boundaries.” We are challenged to “Come, preach the gospel...” and then “Go and
do likewise.”
Back to School: At a
News from the Isibindi
Projects
The Ministry of Visiting
By Monica Vega and Heidi Schmidt
After our three-month
sabbatical we jumped back into full swing. The three sites continue to
grow. In total we have over 1100
children. The three Safe Parks have been beautified by the Child and Youth Care
Workers (CYCW’s) with the help of Mike and Matt.
Trees and flowers have been planted, containers colourfully painted, books and
educational toys made accessible to the children.
The teen or Adolescent Development
Programme has been started in each site together with a special programme for
children with impairments. The CYCW’s remain full of life, love and passion.
The effects of the global economy are very
much felt here. Food prices have soared, and essentials like mealie meal, rice, and bread have become luxury items in
many households. All of this in a
province which has the dubious distinction of having the most ineffective and
corrupt government, with the highest rate of unemployment, paints a pretty
bleak picture. However, as we still linger on thoughts of the Feast of the
Visitation, it becomes more evident that our call to follow Jesus is summarized
in this Feast.
If someone asks us what we do, I will just
say, visit. If someone asks what we have
been doing these past months, I would say we visited. And if someone asks what
are our plans for the future? We will visit.
As we see Kosi
walking into the home of Nomhla who is very sick, and
whose ten-year-old son takes care of her, as we see Phumeza
walking into the Magistrate’s court advocating for a child whose estate was
kidnapped by the bank, as we see Pheliwe walk into
the home of Mandi, 13, who was raped repeatedly over
a period of years, consoling her… as we see Nomvuyo
walk into the shack of a severely impaired young girl who had no access to
proper care advocate for her first wheelchair…then we recognize in them
glimpses of Mary, and it’s in the sound of these very ordinary women’s voices
that God awakens in us the realization that God is in our midst.
We are very grateful to the many women and
men, Noxolo, Pumi, Andile, David, Lindiwe, Janet, Cikizwa, Mary, Fezeka, Gary, Nwabisa, Sindiswa…. who have
helped us to understand that the church is not a distribution centre of
whatever we want to distribute: rituals, prayers, power, social models but
rather an organic community, like the one that the simple girl from Nazareth
builds as she carries God to the dusty mountains.
A gift of blankets means more warm
kids at Isibindi Ezibeleni.
Umbuliso uyakubulisa ….
Diocesan Office staff
change
The friendly face which greets visitors to the
Diocesan Office in Grahamstown is no longer that of Feziwe Vulindlu
(right) but that of new receptionist Vuyokazi Mpambani (left). They were seen together at Feziwe’s farewell tea at the Diocesan Office at the end of
May.
Congratulations
to Cynthia Webbstock, self-supporting priest now looking after the
Sidbury parishes, on obtaining her Masters in Theology from the Graduate
Theological Foundation,
“SpiritFest”: churches witness in National Arts Festival
During the recent National
Festival of the Arts in Grahamstown, the Cathedral congregation in association
with the local Presbyterian and NGK churches once again exercised a ministry of
witness through the Arts: “SpiritFest”. There was drama, concerts, lectures,
and services of worship from several different traditions. On the Sunday there
was a Festival Eucharist in the morning, and a Gospel service in the evening in the
Presbyterian Church. This was part of a series “Gospel Africa” which included a
workshop led by well-known musician Concord Nkabinde.
There were Concerts in the Cathedral by the inVerse
Choir, two recitals by local organist Philip Burnett, and three by
members of the Cathedral's own marimba group, among whom were some
boys from the Eluxolweni Shelter for “street
children”.
The best attended event was a “Songs
of Praise” participatory concert. A young Cape Town actress, Lauren Bates,
premiered her own adaptation of the words of Julian of Norwich, “Revelations of
Divine Love”, and there were lectures on subjects ranging from “The Miracle of
1994” by Church historian Bob Clarke to an illustrated guide to Handel’s
Messiah by Cathedral Music Director Barbara Stout.
Practice makes perfect: The “in Verse Choir” from
For Prayer
Please pray for the family of our Bishop-Elect,
Ebenezer Ntlali, following the death, on Sunday 15
June 2008, of Noncedo’s mother, Eleanor Panjwa.
C of E approves Women Bishops
The Church of England, at its
General Synod meeting in
From the diocesan diary
August
12
Tue Chapter
19
Tue Meeting of Full-time Clergy, Southern
Region, Zwelitsha 10:30
23 Sat
Meeting of S-S Clergy,
Southern Region, Zwelitsha 14:00
September
2 Tue Diocesan Council
COTT Council
8 Mon Training for Ministries
15-16 Synod of Bishops, Jo’burg
17-18
PSC
19
Fri Provincial Launch of “Growing the
Church”
20
Sat Consecration and Installation of
Ebenezer Ntlali as Bishop of Grahamstown, 10:00,
Cathedral
21
Sun Installation of Canon Bill Domeris as
Rector of College of the Transfiguration
24 Wed Family
Day: Launch of new Dioceses and “Growing the Church”, Queenstown
October
18 Sat Imbizo for the South
20 Mon Diocesan Finance Committee
21
Tue Clergy & Dependents’ Benevolent
Fund Board
Umbuliso is your diocesan newspaper!
Contributions welcome
Deadline for next issue: 20 September 2008
Please send news to:
P O Box 181, Grahamstown 6140
Tel: 046 622 7803
Fax: 086 685 3968
E-mail: umbuliso@diocesegrahamstown.co.za
Umbuliso is published by the Diocese of Grahamstown, edited by Maggy Clarke