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Responding to the Challenge of Black Theology: Liberating Ministry to the White Community – 1988–1990

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Responding to the Challenge of Black Theology: Liberating Ministry to the White Community – 1988–1990 HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies ISSN: (Online) 2072-8050, (Print) 0259-9422 Page 1 of 9 Original Research Responding to the challenge of Black Theology: Liberating Ministry to the White Community – 1988–1990 Author: This article provides an initial overview of the Institute for Contextual Theology’s 1988–1990 George J. (Cobus) van Wyngaard1,2 project on A Liberating Ministry to the White Community, particularly exploring the main themes that emerged from national workshops during the 3 years. The project participants set out to Affiliation: think through the questions of a ministry to the white community in dialogue and in solidarity 1 Department of Philosophy, with Black Consciousness and Black Theology and the article seeks to explore the extent to which Practical and Systematic Theology, University of this initial focus was attended to in the main themes developed. Particular attention is given to South Africa, South Africa how the project developed the notion of the white church as a ‘site of struggle’ and the accompanying social analysis and understanding of the role of prophetic theology. 2Faculty of Theology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam Corresponding author: Introduction George J. (Cobus) van In 1987, the Institute for Contextual Theology (ICT)1 embarked on a programme of thinking Wyngaard, [email protected] through the implication of a conscious ministry to the white community within the context of white racism and apartheid. Called A Liberating Ministry to the White Community (LMWC), the Dates: project ended in 1990 and has been all but forgotten. Gerald West, a central committee member in Received: 20 Nov. 2015 the project, recently pointed out that, according to his knowledge, nothing has been published on Accepted: 17 Mar. 2016 Published: 05 Aug. 2016 this project and he recommended that a fuller account of the project should be undertaken (West 2012:70). This article is a first attempt at giving an account of this project and, in particular, How to cite this article: analysing the ecclesial and social analysis underpinning it. Van Wyngaard G.J., 2016, ‘Responding to the challenge of Black Theology: Liberating Beyond the mere historic value of shedding light on an aspect of the struggle against apartheid Ministry to the White that has received inadequate or almost no attention, this project also marks one of the few Community - 1988–1990’, examples of white Christians consciously attempting to think through the implications of Black HTS Teologiese Studies/ Theological Studies 72(1), Consciousness and Black Theology. It is even more important that a group of people, rather than a3264. http://dx.doi. an individual white theologican, attempted to think through grassroots programmes. Recently org/10.4102/hts.v72i1.3264 Klippies Kritzinger, another central committee member of the project, referred to this project as an example of the possible kind of work needed in contemporary South Africa: ‘a process of iterative Copyright: 2 © 2016. The Authors. withdrawal and reconnection on the basis of all the fault lines that separate us’ (Kritzinger 2015). Licensee: AOSIS. This work Against the background of contemporary debates on how white South Africans can participate in is licensed under the anti-racist work, the project discussed below represents an important earlier attempt by white Creative Commons South Africans to reflect from within the Christian churches on which challenges white people Attribution License. need to work on within a racist society. After an overview of the project, I start by introducing a debate between Albert Nolan’s God in South Africa (1988) and Kritzinger’s PhD thesis Black Theology: A Challenge to Mission (1988). These individuals played a key role in the project, published these works around the time the project started, and represent different analyses of the struggle and responses to Black Theology. Aspects of the debate also became visible in early references to Black Theology and later attempts at relating race and class together in the social analysis done. In the longest section of the article, I explore key aspects of the theological and social analysis found within LMWC. This is mainly focused on ‘the white church as a site of struggle’, which was the theme for two of the three annual workshops. The documents that contribute to this analysis are part of the collection of unpublished material, minutes, and handwritten notes on the project 1.The ICT was a nondenominational organization established in 1981 with the conscious aim of developing a contextual theology that could challenge apartheid. It played a key role in the publication of the 1985 Kairos Document (Kritzinger 2004:92). Read online: Scan this QR 2.This process refers to a practice in which people work in groups along and across the fault lines. For example, in work on gender, men code with your and women would need to work separately but also collectively, in an iterative process that allows them to address questions of gender smart phone or identity and relations of power. mobile device toto readread online.online. Note: Earlier versions of this article was presented at the 2015 meeting of the Transatlantic Roundtable on Religion and Race and submitted for the Centre of Public Theology at the University of Pretoria symposium ‘Black Theology of Liberation Twenty One Years Later’. http://www.hts.org.za Open Access Page 2 of 9 Original Research kindly made available by Klippies Kritzinger, Fiona Bulman, Papers would be commissioned on specific themes and then and Gerald West.3 made available to be presented regionally. Although the papers almost never indicate authorship, probably because they are Overview of A Liberating Ministry presented as the work of the group, authorship can be to the White Community gathered from minutes of meetings and other correspondence. I indicate individual authorship only if it is clear that a single The ICT AGM passed the following motion in 1987: author wrote a paper or letter. [that] the ICT takes up the matter of a positive ministry to the oppressor with particular attention paid to issues such as guilt, Meetings were held in September 1988, June 1989 and July fear and material interests in the white community. (Institute for 1990. Contextual Theology 1988a) The 1988 meeting focused on introductions to the white Alex Bhiman was acting general secretary at the time and community through a demographic overview indicating called the first meeting on 15 September 1987. It was attended white South Africans’ stance on various aspects of apartheid, by Willem Saayman, Denise Ackerman, Beyers Naudé, Nico members of the central committee presenting thoughts on Smith, Michael Worsnip, Nico Horn, Alex Bhiman, and possibilities for transformation among Afrikaners in Klippies Kritzinger (Institute for Contextual Theology 1987:1). particular, and presentations by extra-parliamentary groups Two key points from this meeting, which emerged repeatedly working to garner support for the democratic movement during the project, are that work on a LMWC must be done among white South Africans. The central committee next to and in dialogue with Black Theology and black evaluation of the 1988 workshop reveals quite a bit of theologians and that the project should focus on the grassroots discomfort around the approaches of groups working within and not be overly academic (Institute for Contextual Theology the white community that are not able to confront white 1987:2). At this meeting, Kritzinger was elected convener for complicity and call for white repentance, or that in their view the first one-day meeting planned for about 50 people at did not adequately address the depth of the problem (Institute which the project was to be explored further. for Contextual Theology 1988e:2). After further meetings of a smaller group (Kritzinger, Naudé, The June 1989 meeting was, in many ways, dominated by the Worsnip, and Bhiman) Kritzinger produced a draft position inputs of Albert Nolan and Chris Langeveldt on ‘skills for paper.4 The position paper placed a strong emphasis on the doing theology, social analysis and planning’ and ‘the church relationship between white liberation and Black Theology. as a site of struggle’, respectively. These also became the Since this overt commitment is key to my evaluation5 of the central part of the regional meetings, where these were held. project I quote it in full: Nolan and Langeveldt were both Catholic priests, part of a small group called together by Frank Chikane, then director There can be no sense in which the undertaking of such a 6 7 ministry to whites can be divorced from the insights and of the ICT , after the bombing in Botswana in 1985 , in order directions of Black and liberation theology. In fact, the whole to start mapping a theological response to the situation, and exercise is stimulated and called forth by Black Theology, and both closely involved with the writing of The Kairos proceeds by constant interaction with black theologians. It is document (Mabuza 2009:88). Their introductory papers are thus not an exclusively white enterprise, but a joint effort of discussed in detail below, since these had a substantive black and white Christians to develop a liberating ministry to influence on the process. white people. Since we recognise that oppressors are incapable of bringing about liberation, we affirm that the oppressed need In February 1990, F. W. de Klerk announced the unbanning of take the initiative and critically accompany this enterprise. the liberation movements, and the Rustenburg consultation (Institute for Contextual Theology 1988a) was held in November 1990. Consequently, 1990 represents a certain historic marker within both the history of South From 1988 until 1990, a yearly national conference was held. Africa and the church struggle against apartheid (Vosloo The intention was that the national conference would be 2013:16). The LMWC had their annual meeting in July 1990.
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