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PAGE 3 • The Bishop writes ...
•
The view from pulpit and pew
• Because I am fearfully and wonderfully made
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The Bishop writes ...
My dear people of God,
Greetings in the name of Christ, our Lord and Saviour, ever living to intercede for us!
Circumcision Rite.
Some
time, a little while ago, I wrote to you about the Rite of
Circumcision. The papers are still full of the abuse of this Passage
Rite of young men into adulthood. Young boys are not killed so much by
the wounds themselves, than abuse such as being starved, given diets
not good for their system, dehydration, maltreatment etc. This is done
by inexperienced nurses “amakhankatha”. The major cause is
the disintegration of community life, and greed for commercial gains.
The
Church is beginning to make interventions through the South African
Council of Churches, as well as Congress of Traditional Leaders of
South Africa (Contralesa). This aims at assisting the government to be
able to arrest the problem. It is a custom which is difficult to
discourage among Xhosa people, for sure. The boys themselves, through
peer pressure, compel the parents to adhere to their demands. Today the
custom seems to be spreading among all black races of South Africa,
even those who did not care, or undermined it. Our prayer is that we
shall be able to put the practice on a healthy footing. I call for your
prayers and comments to be sent to the bishop.
From Lambeth Palace.
While
on leave in July, a press release note from the Archbishop of
Canterbury was brought to my notice. The main thrust of the document is
the ECUSA General Convention. Subsequent to this was a media release
from the Metropolitan on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Proposal.
The third document was from the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa
(CAPA).
The Proposal is on “Challenge and Hope” for
the Anglican Communion. It is not my intention to go into any lengthy
discussion for now. I have sent the documents to theological educators
and the archdeacons to facilitate some studies on these, and send
comments to me. If you are interested ask your archdeacon for copies.
Two
things are of great interest to us in the documents for the Anglican
Communion to survive the homosexual controversy. These are Unity and
Covenant. The quest for Unity should cause us to stick together and
deal with one another inside, as sisters and brothers in Christ. The
Covenant will help us relate to one another, even if from different
Provinces with different Constitutions and Canons. There is a lot that
needs to be addressed in order for us “to be prepared to live
with certain tensions or even sacrifices” as Archbishop Rowan
seems to suggest.
The difficulty and pain is to live with a
difference that is deliberately in disobedience to Scripture and
tradition, and setting up ecclesiastical laws based on reason, and
possibly experience, influenced
by“follow-your-heart/feeling” liberalism. Canterbury is
right about the need to “wait for each other” (1Cor 11:33),
if at all we are serious about staying together in the Communion. The
Biblical Revelation should take precedence in all our deliberations, if
we take seriously the inheritance our forebears left us (Articles VI
and XX).
It is my wish that you will continue to pray that "God
the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth” (John 16:13). You
may be angry and foresee an imminent schism, but it is prayer that will
strengthen and bind us together for victory of Christ and the Gospel.
Continue to pray. The Anglican Communion will grow stronger. We shall
not be broken. We shall overcome.
A Prayer for the Anglican
Communion (to be said daily, esp. at this time in the history of our
church world-wide). ( From the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, 2006. p. 4.)
“Gracious
God, we give you thanks for the gift of this world-wide Anglican
Communion of churches: for our sense of belonging to all the ages, for
the gift of thoughtful prayer you have taught us, and for the task of
reverent study to which you call us. We thank you for the love of
worship you have stirred up in our hearts, and for the love of justice
you have implanted in our wills.
Be
with us in times of trouble as in times of joy; give us thankful hearts
when we stand together, and send your holy wisdom into all our
disagreements. In disputes may we be gentle and loving; in unity, may
we be humble; in poverty, give us hope; in wealth, make us responsible
and generous. Inflame us with prophetic vision so our fellowship will
be the likeness of your kingdom of righteousness, proclaimed for all by
Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.”
With all our love and best wishes.
Yours affectionately in the service of Christ,
Bishop Bethlehem Nopece
Port Elizabeth
The
view from pulpit and pew
- At the time of going to press, iindaba heard that
Nolan Damon, only son of Elroy and Lynn, is in the ICU of the
Mercantile Hospital after being involved in a motor accident in
Kempston Road. iindaba has been told that Nolan suffered serious
injuries, including an arm broken in four places, broken ribs and other
internal injuries. Elroy is the rector of St Francis Xavier in Kabega Park. iindaba wishes Nolan a speedy recovery.
- Jogra
Gallant, a self-supporting deacon, was recently licensed by the
Bishop as Prison Chaplain for the diocese. Jogra and her husband
Benjamin are now at St Mark and St John in Parkside. iindaba would like
to pay tribute to Charlie Newsham, who for many years fulfilled this
specialised ministry in the diocese, but decided to retire as he is in
his 80s. Bunny Seaford from St Katharine’s in Uitenhage is also
involved in this ministry.
- iindaba expresses thanks to Mike McCoy of WriteRight Editing for
proofreading iindaba over the past months. He followed in the steps of
Lionel Heath and Peter Hart. iindaba now welcomes Richard Burbidge onto
the team.
- At the recent special meeting of Diocesan Council
following Diocesan Synod, amongst those appointed to the General
Purposes Committee is Thembisa Hlwatika. Thembisa is the widow of
Madoda Hlwatika, who was rector of St Simon of Cyrene in Gambleville at
the time of his death.
- Recently some members from the diocese
graduated through TEE in Johannesburg, including Denise Rae, a
self-supporting deacon at St Hugh’s in Newton Park. What was omitted –
even at her graduation - is that she earned the Certificate of Theology
with Distinction! The Board is sending her new certificate which
correctly reflects her ‘distinctive’ status. Well done, Denise!
- iindaba congratulates Jenny van Graan from the Cathedral and Wendy
Wynne from Saint Hugh’s who were awarded Paul Harris Medals at a Rotary
Club function in June. The event had a special edge when the awards
were presented by the Premier of the Eastern Cape, Nosimo Balindlela,
herself a Paul Harris Fellow. The award is for exceptional Service
Above Self – which is the motto of Rotary International.
- It
would seem that there was a mass exodus from the Port Elizabeth Diocese
to the Grahamstown Diocese last month. Thank goodness this was a
temporary measure, as they were visiting the Grahamstown Festival.
Amongst locals there were Michael and Yo Timkoe with sons Greg and
Nicholas from St Francis Xavier, doing what they do best – providing
Chinese cuisine from caravans at Fiddlers’ Green (the Village Green)
and in Cathedral Square.
- On page 4 is the article of the
newly-appointed Provincial Officer, the Dean of Namibia, Nangula
Kathindi. Nangula was amongst those who visited our diocese for the
consecration of their new bishop. She is small in stature, but, as they
say, dynamite comes in small packages. iindaba wishes her well as she
takes on the responsibilities of this demanding post.
- By the
time this iinaba is in the parishes two of the eight HEARTLINES dramas
will have flighted on SABCTV. The series promotes the Godly values of
compassion, self-control, responsibility, grace, acceptance,
forgiveness, perseverance and honesty. iindaba hopes that readers will
create debate and encourage people to watch the series.
Because I am fearfully and wonderfully made Psalm
139 was one of the key scriptures referred to by many of the speakers
at the workshop on “Secret Power for Girls” held at St Nicholas Church
in Charlo on Saturday 24 June. Throughout the day young
people were affirmed, and reminded of being made in the image of God -
“fearfully and wonderfully made”. Most of the 140 young people who
attended were in their teens, and so were many of the speakers. A group
of 30 had travelled in from Uitenhage, while the others were from local
schools and churches. The workshop was facilitated by Ethel Pittaway of
the Gender Reconciliation Association. During the morning
session, the young women were challenged to look after their bodies by
eating and exercising correctly - they were also shown how to care for
their skin, and there was a modelling show. Minds and attitudes In
the afternoon they were helped to look at their minds and attitudes.
Mpho Williams, Laverne Gadiah and Charica Cowie spoke on the ‘Battle of
the Sexes’, looking at the preconceived ideas of certain jobs should
only be done by males and others by females. Laverne reminded the
listeners that Jesus broke down the walls and lifted women up, and
Charica spoke from the position of being a very young woman who has
just opened her second business. When she left her job of three years
in order to begin her own business, her boss told her she was ‘too
young, and a woman’, so she had no chance of succeeding! She has proved
him very wrong. Vicky Stroud, principal of the Helen O’Grady SA drama
schools, spoke on ‘Self Confidence and Self Image’ pointing out that
the dictionary gives the definition of self confidence as ‘a firm trust
in your abilities’. The final speakers, twins Zimkhitha and Zintle
Bilibana, kept everyone enthralled with their talk on ‘Celebrating our
Differences’. One teenager sitting behind the reporter said of the
talks, “This is so true ... it’s powerful!” Besides Psalm 139 other scriptures used included Prov 18:21 and Gal 5: 14-15.
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