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Vol 16 No 4 May 2005 ONLINE The official gazette of the Diocese of Port Elizabeth: Church of the Province of Southern Africa

Quick Links: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Top | Homepage PAGE 3  • The Bishop writes ...  • The view from pulpit and pew  • Tag lines  • BI graduation makes me proud to be Anglican! The Bishop writes ... My Dear People of God, Greetings in the Name of the Risen Christ, Alleluia! 1. “This same Jesus ... " The Resurrection of Christ itself could be understood as a continual process into the glory of the Father. While the cross could be seen as the climax of the sacrificial giving of Christ in the understanding of the 'descending Christology', the resurrection marks the climax of the 'ascending Christology'. (‘Down to Earth and Up to Heaven’ Suggit, J). The post-resurrection appearances of Jesus in John imply some going to the Father immediately after resurrection (Jn 20:17) long before the actual ascension in Acts 1:1-11. At one of His post-resurrection appearances with Thomas, Jesus allows him to put his finger in His wounds on His hands, and his hand at His side, whereas, He had refused to allow Mary to touch Him earlier (Jn 20:27). Had He ascended to the Father? Keep exploring this. What is important is “that you may believe &ldots; and have eternal life” (Jn 20:31) Ascension could be looked at in three ways pertaining to faith, viz. i) Jesus ascended into heaven because He had finished His task of salvation for the human race. That salvation is for the whole person with everything surrounding the same. It is salvation from sin, especially sin of unbelief. But also it is salvation from poverty, disease, crime, abuse, racism, sexism etc., Christ needs our hands, eyes, brains, feet, mouths to continue serving, because His Spirit is with us (APB p 119. 59). ii) Just as the disciples saw Him drifting away (Greek Poreuomai) from the centre of the earth into heaven, we shall, in like manner, see Him descending towards earth to accomplish the “fullness of salvation” where sin shall be no more. This is the day of judgement (Greek Krinö lit. screening) when an account of all that we do, whether bad or good will be given (Mtt 25). 2. The Gift of the Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is the gift of Christ, to always bring us to commitment to Him to the glory of the Father. Commitment to Christ hinges around three things: i) The problem of sin, which causes us to drift away from God. Sin is transgression of the law of love, basically speaking. As I write this letter, many things are happening. The problem of corruption and fraud both in church and state is of great concern. In our young democracy people seek to enrich themselves quicker by taking even from the poorest of the poor, especially defrauding welfare grants and old age pensions. Let us continue to pray for Nosimo Balindlela and give her all the support we can together with her government. It was encouraging to hear from St John’s worshipping community that they pray for the premier and her government, specifically and regularly. You must all keep this up. Moral decline is a great concern. Pray for us as church leaders to set an example of good character, efficiency and professionalism for all people. Let the Bible speak as the word of God in all our situations, for good and acceptable life. ii) Righteousness is a garment we put on when Jesus takes us out of the life of sin by His blood through our repentance and faith in Him. When we pray: “Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness; And let Your servants shout for joy”, we ask him to hallow or sanctify our life through the example the priests lead. When priests follow righteousness, there is jubilation not only to themselves, but also to the Bride of Christ as a whole. After all, we all share in the general priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9-10). We are a Kingdom of priests, to stand and serve before our God (APB : Canticle 15.5, p 354). May God clothe us with righteousness always in our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 12.14). iii) I said earlier on, Judgement is separation. Truth and lie, righteousness and impurity, light and darkness etc., can never meet. The philosophies and modern trends of thought, like creative thought, power or self, follow your heart influences are enemies of the cross and obscure or take Christ out of our doings. We are called to be servants of Christ, not of movements, clubs and philosophies. We have a duty to build God’s Kingdom by telling others of the love of Jesus (Jn 3 :16ff). There must be a difference between the children of light, and those who still wilfully stay in darkness (2 Cor 6 : 14-18). Avoid social gospel which kills the love of God within us. May the Spirit of God preserve you for His service always, and equip you with Her gifts, Bishop Bethlehem Nopece The view from pulpit and pew Iindaba congratulates Nora Witham (née Wing King) who was recently awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Nora grew up as a member of St Francis Xavier, and emigrated to the UK many years ago. She is also a Lay Canon in the Church of England. Iindaba also congratulates, and bids farewell to Mario Hendricks, the rector of St Mark and St John in Parkside, as he goes on sabbatical. Far from a time of rest, Mario will be attending the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. He was accepted as a participant by the South African Council of Churches, and will be away for May, June and July. He will no doubt miss his wife, Hester, and their son Mark John, who is now mobile! A visit to the St Mark and St John Rectory will see that ornaments and suchlike have been raised a few feet from the ground! Still more congratulations are due - this time to Craig Dunsmuir, rector of St Katharine's, Uitenhage, who has been awarded a Masters Degree in Philosophy. Iindaba always thought he was rather a philosophical fellow ... so now we know. Iindaba is sad to record the sudden death of Bettie Cowdry, the widow of Bishop Roy. Her funeral, conducted by retired priest Eric Kleb, took place in St Cuthbert's in Westbourne Road. Bettie was the Evening Post and Herald television and radio critic for many years under the pseudonym of 'Leslie Lightfoot'. Iindaba heard from her son John that the 'Leslie' was in honour of the late Bishop Leslie Stradling (his Godfather), and the 'Lightfoot' the name of another bishop friend of theirs. John, who is unmarried, is a lawyer in Johannesburg, whilst Michael is the vice principal of a school in England where he lives with his wife Mary. Iindaba is also sad to record the death of Henry Daniels, who died after a long illness. His widow, Lillian, the Provincial President of the AWF and a faithful member of St Mary Magdalene, cared for him lovingly for many years. - Our condolences to these above and their families who have lost loved ones. Iindaba wishes Lynn Damon a full recovery from her recent surgery. Iindaba asks its readers to continue to pray for the Damons as Elroy, the rector of St Francis Xavier, waits for a donor kidney. New Zealand is growing! Richard and Cathy MacGregor are expecting another child - their third - in New Zealand where they moved some years ago. Richard, who formerly served in this diocese as a priest, is a son of David and Mary MacGregor. This column (not written by the editor) hears that our editor, Frankie Simpson, fell and broke an ankle when staying with Jean Underwood in Somerset East. It certainly sounds 'eina', and Iindaba wishes her a speedy recovery. Many of the clergy and their spouses gathered for a wonderful meal at St Matthew's, KwaMagxaki, last month. This meal was hosted by †Bethlehem and Mazoe (who was unable to attend), and was enjoyed by all. There was plenty of delicious food, fruit drinks and wines, and they were entertained by a group of male singers who held them spellbound with their rendition of opera music, made famous by Pavarotti. Iindaba hears it was a most pleasant relaxing evening. Full marks to the chefs and those young men with their golden voices! Tag Lines If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere. BI graduation makes me proud to be Anglican! The Bible Institute Eastern Cape (BIEC) held its annual Graduation Ceremony at St John’s Methodist Church on 12 March. BIEC is a college which trains men and women from all denominations for ministry. Andrew Symes, a full-time lecturer at the college, his wife Camilla, and Neville Lobb the BIEC Administrator, who all worship at St Nicholas Church in Charlo, were present at the graduation. Afterwards Andrew said, “These graduating students, from different churches, are taking the light of Christ into some of the most needy areas of our region. They represent what God is doing in and through His whole church, and we, as Anglicans, are proud to be fully involved and at the forefront of this movement.” The graduation was an occasion to present Certificates and Diplomas to those who have completed various stages in their studies, and also for the first time at BIEC, to honour those who have finished their degrees in Theology (to be awarded by Fort Hare University in May). Apart from the students receiving awards themselves (more than 40 of them), proud friends and family were present, as were lecturing staff and ministers from different denominations who attended as special guests. Bishop Bethlehem, who is a Board Member of BIEC, gave the main address, which was appreciated by all. It confirmed, once again, his vision of the Kingdom of God which goes beyond individual denominations, and his leadership role recognised within the whole people of God. His experience and wisdom as a bishop and pastor came out strongly as he spoke on being called to ministry, being commissioned for ministry, and the challenges of ministry. One student at the college, who is a pastor of an independent church in KwaNobuhle, said afterwards that he and others had been given real encouragement and new direction by the Bishop’s talk. Also speaking at the ceremony was Wezo Bloko, an Anglican ordinand from St Matthew’s, KwaMagxaki, who is training for ministry through BIEC. He was one of two students selected to give a short testimony of their faith in Christ. He spoke of his journey from being a “good boy who went to church”, to being found and transformed by the Lord, and now understanding that he is “a sinner saved by grace”. Picture: Triumphant worship at the BIEC graduation. Quick Links: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Top | Homepage