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Vol 18 No 12 December 2007 ONLINE The official gazette of the Diocese of Port Elizabeth: Anglican Church of Southern Africa

Quick Links: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Top | Homepage PAGE 3  •  The Bishop writes ...  •  Anglican Mainstream meets in PE  •  The view from pulpit and pew  •  Tag lines  •  HOPE in Africa awards The Bishop writes ... My Dear People of God,  The peace of the elders We greet you in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace! Christmas is a time of peace. To those who have eyes to see, heaven and earth meet. As in the words of the psalmist “love and faithfulness will meet: righteousness and peace will embrace. Human loyalty will reach up from the earth: and God’s righteousness will look down from heaven. The Lord will make us prosperous: and our land will produce rich harvest” (Psalm 85). How I wish all South Africans would have eyes to see how great are the things that God has in store for those who believe. Not necessarily to enjoy in the “by-and-by”, but in this world now. During apartheid times, we thought the dream of being a true citizen in our motherland would be realized only after we were gone. Yet, our great God has freed us all, for his purposes, to be happy on earth.  I appreciate with great delight the effort our “elders” have put into seeking peace in Darfur. These include, inter alia, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Mama Graca Machel, former United States President Jimmy Carter and others. They are the elders not only of our land and nation, but of our world. The risks they have gone through, as I watched, with frustration, some of their engagements. I have been praying for their safety and effectiveness. The words of the Beatitudes came to mind, “Happy are those who work for peace; God will call them his children”. Indeed they are God’s children. They waived their retirement enjoyment for a little while in order to engage themselves in such a great task for as long as the Master of Peace enables them to do so. Let us continue to pray for peacemakers. Let us pray for the peace of the elders.  The frustrations will continue to abound for as long as Jesus, the Prince of Peace is not known. Wars have been declared and fought. Peace accords and pacts have been signed. Negotiations have been partially successful. Yet the anger of humans against one another has caused more unnecessary wanton destruction of life even on our roads. Maniacs have grabbed and usurped power, causing extreme pain in poverty, violence, oppression and disease. Bad governance, greed, selfishness, laxity, theft, dishonesty and disparity in the distribution of wealth and salary gaps continue to be great enemies of peace in our land and nation.  It is in the African philosophy of Ubuntu that we begin to realize that we do not exist for our individual selves only. We live so that others may live too. This is what Jesus, the Prince of Peace declares: “Do for others what you want them to do for you: this is the meaning of the Law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets”. (Matt 7:12). Jesus’ sacrificial love carries in it a compassionate heart which reaches out to people, especially the needy. He lives so that we may live. He gave sacrificially by not only becoming the Word made flesh, but also by laying down life in the agony of the cross “a ransom for many”. (Read John 14:19; 3:16 & Mark 10:45). We should receive Ubuntu in our own lives by inviting in prayer Jesus the Prince of Peace to take control of both our personal affairs and country. Prayer changes things. Prayer and action moves things and brings possibilities. Then we can all enjoy the peace of the Prince of Peace, which “The Elders” are making even in Darfur.  May the Prince of Peace bless you with the blessing of peace and prosperity, this Christmas and always,  Pic: Attending the Anglican Mainstream meeting in PE last month were (standing) Neville Lobb and his son Jeremy, Lawrie Wilmot and Mike Bailey. Seated are Robert Penrith, Nigel Jukes, Bishop Bethlehem and Gavin Mitchell. Anglican Mainstream meets in PE A consultation of the Southern African Branch of Mainstream met for two days in Port Elizabeth.  We gathered primarily to formulate a response to the ongoing crisis in the Communion about the response of The Episcopal Church to the Primates of the communion and the proposed Covenant.  In the course of the discussions, it became clear that the crisis has come about because of a lack of awareness of theological innovations creeping into the church through modern theological training, and the inability of bishops to act as the guardians of the faith 'as handed down'. Because of this, it was decided that members of AMSA be encouraged to participate in the requested debate about a covenant, and to urge the drafting of one according to the orthodox understanding of Anglicanism as a Church guided primarily by the 'plain reading' of scripture in doctrine and morals.  Attention was also given to the role that AMSA should take in the life of this province. It was felt that AMSA should actively seek to network those members of the province who share the Orthodox Biblical position, and seek ways to support the ministry of bishops and clergy in upholding that position.  We were supported in these plans by Bishop Bethlehem, and will be guided by him in much of are actions in the new year. It was also felt that AMSA continue to strengthen links with other parts of the Church in the unfolding crisis in our church worldwide. A very insightful and prophetic word was shared that "the battle for the bible in the English speaking world is going to be fought in the Anglican Church". It was decided that Bp Bethlehem, together with the convenor of AMSA, should attend a conference of the Anglican Mission in America in January 2008. This will allow contact and consultation with many of the leaders on the Anglican Church in Africa and keep us aware of the sacrifices many are prepared to make for the Biblical faith.  If you feel moved to contribute to the costs of Bp Bethlehem travelling to Dallas please contact Gavin Mitchell, rector@stgeorge.org.za.  Some of the concrete plans for the role of AMSA will be widely advertised and we seek to encourage and support the ministry of all those who have a desire for the Lord Jesus to reign in the hearts of our people, as the only WAY TO THE FATHER, as the Bible tells us so clearly. We plan to offer support both in biblical teaching and also pastoral ministry into some of the difficult areas of human sexuality facing the church.  The view from pulpit and pew Natalie Stear of Saint Cuthbert’s must be a very proud mum! Earlier in the year, her son Rory was chosen as one of CNN’s Voices of the Year. He now appears in 29 October edition of a special edition of TIME magazine called “Heroes of the Environment”, as he is honoured for his work with Freeplay Energy, a business he founded, which produces hand-powered and solar-powered torches, radios, lanterns. His Freeplay Foundation, directed by his wife Kristine Pearson, distributed 150 000 radios in the past 4 years, and is currently delivering 80 000 to southern Sudan through UNICEF. Rory says the radios help the poorest of the poor by giving them access to education programmes, as well as information about farming, health and raising siblings! Added to Natalie’s pride is that Rory appears in the same section as Sir Richard Branson and other famous entrepreneurs!  Lionel and Maureen Heath have been having a very busy time away from their parish of St Paul in Parsons Hill, where Lionel was a churchwarden. Lionel is the 2007/2008 District Governor for Rotary District 9320, which includes most of the Eastern Cape, the whole of the Free State and Lesotho, part of the Northern Cape and as far as Klerksdorp. This has entailed visiting over 50 clubs in the year, and hosting the District Conference which was held in Maseru last month, which included hosting Their Royal Highnesses, the King and Queen of Lesotho. iindaba congratulates Lionel and Maureen on being elected District Governor and his Ann (Rotary’s title for wives of Rotarians), and wishes them well for the rest of their incumbency, which ends in June 2008.  The diocese has been asked to continue to to ask God’s blessing of rain in the Karoo. Dudley Greenshields, the Archdeacon of Cradock, reports that there has been rain, but, more is needed.  iindaba is sad to report the death of Elizabeth Nel from St Cuthbert’s, who celebrated her 90th birthday earlier in the year. She was one of Sir Winston Churchill’s secretaries during WWII. Recently, when Churchill’s underground cabinet room was refurbished, the British government flew Elizabeth there as a special guest. She gave many very interesting talks of her experiences working for one of the icons of the 20th Century.  Ruth Burkinshaw, a member of the Order of the Diocese, had a spell in hospital last month after suffering a heart attack. Although rather frail, Ruth is making steady progress. Her daughter Kathy from New Zealand was able to fly over to give her and Dennis support, and their other daughter, Jenny from Grahamstown, took time off as well. iindaba prays for a full recovery for her.  Margaret Durham, wife of retired priest Ben, has undergone extensive surgery and treatment at St George’s Hospital, and at the time of going to print, was still in hospital. This has been a long-term situation, and iindaba prays for a full recovery for her.  iindaba also records with sadness the death of Bishop Graham Chadwick, former Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman. A Welshman, he was expelled from this country for standing out against injustice during the apartheid era. He was escorted to the Kimberley airport by security police, and 50 000 protesters voiced their contempt for his deportation. On returning to Wales, be became chaplain at St Asaph’s Cathedral and diocesan adviser in spirituality, teaching people about the spiritual life. Tag lines Life is drawing without an eraser.    HOPE in Africa awards Health • Opportunity • Partnership • Employment  The purpose of the award: HOPE Africa acknowledges and recognises that parishes within the Anglican Church of Southern Africa have been, and are currently implementing, projects that contribute to the social development of their communities. By recognising and awarding a parish, it not only encourages them but further seeks to highlight the developmental leadership role that the Church plays in the development of communities.  The objectives of the award are to: • Give recognition to parishes that are involved in outreach programmes which build bridges within their local communities. • Motivate parishes to enhance their social outreach programmes • Highlight and promote the sharing of lessons learned and challenges amongst and between parishes • Improve the profile and publicize good practices within the Anglican Church of Southern Africa • Promote commitment in seeking to transform and build the capacity of the Anglican Church  Eligibility Criteria: Any parish within the Anglican Church of Southern Africa can enter by sending the typewritten story of its community projects to Hope Africa. The deadline for all stories is the 31 December 2007. For full details contact:  Maropeng Moholoa Office: 021 674 5111 Mobile: 082 713 3366 moholoam@gmail.com   Holy Trinity happenings  Readers and friends are invited to the following:  2 December, at 18h00: Advent Celebration, mince pies and sherry  23 December, at 18h00: Picnic and Carols on Havelock Square.  Come and join us! Quick Links: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Top | Homepage