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PAGE 3 • The Church of the Province of Southern Africa Synod of Bishops - Statement on the Anglican Communion
• The view from pulpit and pew
• Tag Lines
• Visit the Seven Churches of the Revelation
• Slainte mhor
• New Head for COT
• Pilgrimage to Israel
The Church of the Province of Southern Africa
Synod of Bishops - Statement on the Anglican Communion
The
Synod of Bishops of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa,
during its recent meeting, reflected on the position of the Anglican
Communion and the present tensions within the Communion.
In
affirming their desire for the unity of the Anglican Communion to be
maintained, the Bishops want to extend to the Communion a message of
hope. St Paul in his first Letter to the Corinthians talks of faith,
hope and love, with faith and love being either side of hope. The
recent reflections by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the response to
those reflections by the Archbishop of Cape Town speak eloquently to
the concepts of our shared faith and tradition as Anglicans, and of our
need for a deep sacrificial love towards one another. Such love and
faith find their fullest expression in the grace and truth revealed in
Jesus Christ.
Our own journey as a Province within the Anglican
Communion tells of a desire for unity amidst the diversity of this
region as an essential part of the struggle for liberation of the six
countries, Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and
Mocambique, that with the island of St Helena, make up our Province. In
our life, worship and witness, we have learned, and will continue to
need to learn, how to live together with our differences and conflicts.
We know from experience that unity is a divine given, but requires
constant effort to be realised; a journey that requires tolerance and
grace so that no-one should be hurt, and all should feel that they
belong. Our own journey continues to remind us of the need for a
generosity of spirit and the respect for diversity. This life together
has resulted in our church showing considerable growth with a high
level of involvement by young people.
As Bishops, we remain
convinced that within the Anglican Communion what unites us far
outweighs what divides us. Our Spirituality and Worship with the daily
reading of Holy Scripture within the Eucharist and the Daily Office
unites us. Our experience has been that this has maintained and
deepened our unity with each other. The Lambeth Quadrilateral has
provided a framework for Anglicans for over a century, and the
Instruments of Unity as they have developed have played an important
role in the unity of the Communion. We believe that the role of the
Anglican Consultative Council ought to be strengthened, as it best
reflects the synodical governance of our churches. The Anglican
Communion continues to unite us through the Cycle of Prayer, the
networks it has established, as well as through its work in the fields
of Ecumenism, Theological Education, Mission and Canon Law. We look
forward to the consultation needed towards the proposed Covenant, and
believe that it will further strengthen our unity. We remember with
gratitude the support given by the Anglican Communion to the countries
within our Province during our struggle for liberation, and recognise
the positive effect the Communion can have in situations of conflict
and human need.
We urge the Anglican Communion to choose to
remain united in accordance with the will of the Triune God whom we
seek to serve. We understand that, given the situation in which we find
ourselves at present, there is no simple or quick solution to the
difficulties we face. We urge every part of the Anglican Communion to
recognise, in one another, our common sanctification in Christ, and to
seek steps that, in time, will lead to reconciliation and the unity and
peace that Christ wills for his Church. We pledge ourselves to continue
to pray and work with all concerned for such reconciliation and unity,
and are ready to assist in this process where appropriate.
The
view from pulpit and pew
- Nolan Damon, son of Elroy and Lynn, has been
discharged from hospital after being seriously injured in a motorcar
accident, and is now recuperating at his parents’ home. Elroy is the
rector of St Francis Xavier. iindaba wishes Nolan a speedy and steady
recovery.
- "HELP, HELP!" Our diocesan secretary/treasurer Keith
Rae was behind bars last month. No – he was not arrested by the SAPS,
but incarcerated himself one Saturday night when he found himself
between his front door and his security gate – both locked, but with
the wrong keys! His wife Denise would usually be there to help him, but
she was on retreat for the weekend. Fortunately in his tiny cell he had
his cell-phone (like Alan Boesak) and phoned Christopher Holmes who
contacted Houdini. After an agonising hour and a half, and one broken
lock, he was free.
- iindaba extends condolences to Welile
Kani, the rector of Christ the King in Gelvandale, on the death of his
uncle in Viljoenskroon last month. Welile travelled to Viljoenskroon
for the funeral.
- Our diocesan registrar, Roger Schärges, has
not been well, and was not able to attend the one day Provincial Synod
in Johannesburg last month. Michael Warren, from the Parish of St John
the Baptist, attended instead. We trust Roger is on the mend, and will
be fit for action before too long.
- One of the most important
decisions of the Provincial Synod was the ratification of the change of
our church from ‘The Church of the Province of Southern Africa’ to ‘The
Anglican Church of Southern Africa.’ We will be known as ACSA from now
on, not to be confused with the business that runs our airports in
South Africa!
- Sharon Nell, rector of the Zwartkops River Valley
Parish, has had a spell in hospital – not visiting Jacques this time,
but as a patient! Sharon was dehydrated after catching a bug, and spent
five days ‘on the drip’. At the time of printing, she was still feeling
a bit weak, and iindaba wishes her a complete recovery.
- Jacques
Nell, Sharon’s son, is a testimony to prayer and the healing power of
Jesus. He is now working as a waiter in a restaurant, is
‘body-boarding’ again, and plays a mean round of golf. When one
considers his condition this time last year, one can only but praise
God for His mercies.
- Ian Collett, son of retired priest Doreen,
recently underwent surgery to remove one of his kidneys. He is
recuperating well, and iindaba likewise wishes him a speedy recovery.
- Val
Heath, personal assistant to the Diocesan Secretary Keith Rae, was
recently the ‘Mother of the Bride’ at the wedding of her only daughter,
Lindsay. Valerie is the widow of the previous DS/T, Norman Heath.
Lindsay teaches at the Herbert Hurd Primary School in Newton Park.
iindaba wishes the newly-married couple every blessing in their lives
together!
- At the Church Secretaries’ Lunch which was held at
the Kwai Lok Chinese restaurant in Newton Park (see report on page 1)
the Bishop kept a close eye on Christopher Holmes as to the correct use
of chopsticks. Our Episcopal leader managed quite well, but one noticed
the use of his fork from time to time!
- The correct address for Peter and Maureen Evers is 4 Bela Framesby, Ivan Street Framesby Port Elizabeth 6045. Apologies!
 Slainte mhor
The
Scottish toast ‘slainte mhor’ rang out in St Agnes’s
hall, as about 30 parishioners and friends tasted double malt, single
malt, and grain whisky on Friday night 18 August.
Seven
is considered a very spiritual number in scripture, and the gathering
at St Agnes, in the Zwartkops River Valley Parish, had the group
‘travelling’ on a different spiritual journey. The journey
took them to seven areas of Scotland to taste the local whisky. Led by
Margie Diane Munroe-Cullen from the College of Whisky, they visited
mountain crags, lowlands and peat areas. It was a learning curve for
most of the group as Margie gave them the background history of
Scottish whisky. She introduced them to single malt, double malt and
grain whiskies. They learnt of the very strict laws controlling the
making of whisky, and that the spelling ‘whisky’ is a
registered trade mark for Scotland, and that whiskey made in other
countries has to be spelt ‘whiskey’. For those readers who
like statistics the world’s best selling whisky is Johhny Walker
Red Label, going at 10 cases every second.
It was a very
enjoyable evening with much banter and fun. The whisky drinkers in the
group are looking forward to another evening when they will visit
different areas, while the very few others in the group enjoyed
learning about whisky and tasting the difference from area to area ...
and, perhaps on their next trip they will find the one they can enjoy.
Pics: 1) Seven sips later - Martin Shepherd, Margie Cullen, Piet Nell at the
back, and Bishop Bethlehem, June Renwick (who had organised the
evening) and Sharon Nell in the front, raise their glasses to toast the
Scots; 2) Where did 'he' come from? - Nobody was too sure
when the mad Scotsman appeared, or where he came from. Some say he was
a Shepherd who had more then the seven sips, but if they knew, they
weren't saying!
Visit the Seven Churches of the Revelation
Leon
Foster, dean of the diocese, is putting together a very exciting tour
to the Seven Churches of the Revelation and some of the churches
established
by St Paul.He is planning the tour for the middle of next year and
says, "Although the tour is partly a pilgrimage, the intention is to
make it a fun event too. Athens, Istanbul and Patmos will be some of
the places we will visit, and to get the best value out of the air
fares. I hope to include about three of the major cities in Croatia."
Everyone who would like to hear more about this exciting tour is
invited to meet at St Margaret's in Summerstrand at 15h00 on Saturday
14 October. Leon can be contacted on: 041 583 2526
New Head for COT
The
College of Transfiguration in Grahamstown has a new Head in the person
of Dr Esther Mombo who will be moving to COT from a theological college
in Kenya.Many of our clergy did their training at COT (or St Paul's, as
it was known formerly) and where possible ordinands are encouraged to
do some of their training in a residential college. The reason for this
is to learn the 'art' of living together with people from other
cultures, as well as learning how other churches do things, instead of
only the way things are done in the parish where the ordinand worships.
Pilgrimage to Israel
Led by Pastor Rykie Steyn, and
Anglican priests Roy Snyman tssf with Mario Hendricks.
26 February to 7 March 2007
10 glorious days for R14 388 ex Johannesburg.
Enquiries: Roy at Phone/fax 041 373 1283 or fr.roy@telkomsa.net
Tag
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