Sego Sa Meetse Sego Sa Meetseissue 3 • December 2009 the Living Waters of HOPE

Sego sa Meetse Sego sa MeetseIssue 3 • December 2009 The Living Waters of HOPE A newsletter of HOPE Africa – A Social Development Programme of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa Vessel of Peace, Justice and Reconciliation SEGO SA MEETSE he Anglican Church of Southern Africa is continuously producing amicable and “Jesus like” advocates for the poor and the marginalised. We pride ourselves with the likes of Archbishop Tutu, Archbishop Ndungane and Fr Michael Lapsley who have spoken, acted and suffered for being the voice for the voiceless. These men of God were once dubbed INSIDE T enemies of the state because of their just actions on behalf of the poor and the marginalised. Our theme for this edition of Sego sa Meetse is Peace, Justice and Reconciliation which were also key components of Jesus’ ministry. As HOPE Africa, we believe that the three complement each other, and one cannot exist without the other. I can not help but associate Tutu, Ndungane and Lapsley with these values. In his Charge to the Anglican Community, the Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, said “I believe myself to be called to be Sego Sa Meetse: a vessel for peace with justice and reconciliation, and for cultivating a ‘yeast’ for healing the bruised, crushed and broken in God’s world”. He further invited God’s Church regardless of denominational borders, those of other faiths and none to journey with him in his calling. It goes without saying that the Anglican Church has played a pivotal role in striving for peace, justice and reconciliation in our region and beyond. It was the Church that provided a safe space for the vulnerable and acted as centres of peace and justice ARCHBISHOPs’ MESSAGE 2 during difficult times. Who can forget the 1989 Peace March in Cape Town? An article about the 20th celebration of the Peace March has been included in this edition. As some of you may remember, during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) proceedings in South Africa, Archbishop Tutu was a figure of peace and even humor in that difficult time. The TRC would not have yielded the same results if it was not led by a leader rooted in faith. In his book “God has a dream”, Archbishop Tutu explains that “God’s dream is a place where laughter, love and peace reign and where we realise that we are all members of one family – God’s family.” The Church is called to respond to unjust situations which we witness in our communities, and to promote peace and reconciliation where conflict seems to be the order of the day. We are reminded by a well-known international author and an GRADUATE ALIVE Anglican priest, Stephen Sizer, that justice in the eyes of Jesus is relational, creative, liberating, vindicating and restorative 5 (Luke 4: 17 – 21). Jesus does not want us to live in fear, bewilderment, destruction, frustration, and worry; thus he leaves us with his peace in John 14: 27. All we are called to do is to share his peace with all God’s creation. On the 25th of November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) through to International Human Rights Day on December 10, South Africa marks the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign. We invite you to join HOPE Africa in prayer for peace, justice and reconciliation at our homes, schools and communities during the 16 Days. Our candles will be lit throughout and we will be part of a Red Light Campaign road show on human trafficking in the rural towns of the Western Cape in our quest to raise awareness on Modern Day Slavery. What will you be doing? In our AGM in June, we bid farewell to Rev. M. Fourie, Rev. Dr. T. Guma, Mrs H. Vember and Mrs N. Biko from HOPE Africa’s board of directors and we salute them for the invaluable contributions throughout the development of the organisation. In the GIVING HOPE same spirit, we welcome Mrs J. Fortuin, Mr. C. Sampson, Dr. S. Magona and Ms. P. Vilakazi on the board of directors. We are 8 looking forward to working with them and being guided by them. They bring with them extensive experience and expertise that will contribute to the growth and development of HOPE Africa. From all of us at HOPE Africa, we wish all our readers a pleasant Christmas filled with joy and love. May we all come back in the New Year rejuvenated and enthusiastic to minister to God’s people. With hope, peace and blessings SEGO SA MEETSE Nomzamo Landingwe ~ Programme Manager – HOPE Africa 1 The Archbishop’s Message Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, dear Friends Many of us find ourselves challenged by that well-known verse from the Hebrew Scriptures, ‘What does the Lord require Archbishop Thabo, former mayor Gordon Oliver, Dr Alan Boesak, Imam Ali Gierdien and Frank van der Velde of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with outside St George’s Cathedral your God’ (Micah 6:8). In whatever situation we find ourselves, we are called Celebration of Cape Town Peace upon to consider such questions as ‘What is the justice that is appropriate to this context? Where is it lacking? How can By The Revd Colin Jones we promote it?’ We can ask the same of mercy – perhaps March of 1989 understanding this old-fashioned word in terms of showing A service commemorating one of Cape Town’s most unified protests against Apartheid 20 years loving compassion and generous magnanimity in our attitudes ago, took place in St. George’s Cathedral on Sunday September 13th. A packed cathedral heard and in our actions towards others. God’s call to us applies from leaders of the march how it had been called by Archbishop Tutu in response to the deaths at every level of human living – from the decisions we take over whether to purchase organic and fair trade products when of some 23 citizens of Cape Town during protests against the national elections of that year. In we do our shopping, through to the governments we elect a recorded message of support, the Archbishop Emeritus spoke of how the city came together in and the way we lobby them on policies, and our preparedness an unprecedented display of unity. It was in reference to this concerted show of resistance and to participate in international efforts, such as the 350.org the sense of hope which emanated from the march that the term ‘rainbow people of God’ was campaign, to press for ambitious and courageous agreements at first coined by Archbishop Tutu. the UN Copenhagen Climate Change conference later this year. Jesus calls us to take up our cross as we follow after him – Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, using as his text the well-known passage from the third chapter and there can be an element of self-denial in spending a little of Ecclesiastes, preached eloquently on the period covering the late 1980s as being “the more by choosing to shop ‘justly’; or giving up time and effort to time for marching... for standing up to be counted... for saying enough is enough... for saying participate in community and civil society groups, and to lobby that the killing must stop... (and) for proclaiming Peace in our City”. A student at St. Paul’s in nationally and internationally for greater economic justice. Grahamstown at the time, the Archbishop recalled the Cape Town march and other marches Secular studies repeatedly show that to act in these ways actually brings lasting and wider-ranging benefits. Corruption which followed in cities and towns around the country and paid homage to people such as and inequality hamper human flourishing. Good governance at Lieutenant Gregory Rockman of the SA Police and the then Mayor of Cape its most comprehensive is the very best guarantee of significant Town, Alderman Gordon Oliver, for their courage in and sustainable growth, that benefits whole populations. God’s breaking rank with the institutions of Apartheid way is truly the best way – across social justice, agricultural society and standing with those who had committed reform, effective democracy, combating corruption, trade regimes and environmental considerations. their lives to the struggle against the system. We must also ask ourselves what it means to walk humbly Archbishop Thabo applauded the strength of as we pursue these sorts of responses to our questions on relationships between interfaith leaders during that justice and mercy. Right humility before God is reflected in period and encouraged the continuation of interfaith right humility before God’s beloved children – most of all, that cooperation in the face of the many challenges we cannot merely assume that ‘we know best’ and impose our solutions on those we intend to help. Justice and mercy require facing democratic South Africa today. “Democracy us to walk with one another, listening to one another, learning calls for new forms of engagement by the faith how life is from their side, and only then working together, in communities, and new forms of leadership from respectful partnership, to find better ways of going forward. bishops and other key figures,” he said. Continuing This is God’s way – but it is also the way that works, as people this theme, he exhorted the congregation, saying such as the Nobel-prize winning economist Amartya Sen have shown. True democratic engagement in the development and that “Always and everywhere, the faith communities – not only the implementation of programmes is the essential ingredient in leaders, but also very last child of God - must commit ourselves to being planters, making a tangible and lasting difference.

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