August 2009 - An African Adventure

Photos of Botswana Trip

Dear friends

A Great African Adventure

I’ve just returned from a great adventure in Botswana and the Caprivi. Dawn’s dad, Glen, and I spent twelve days travelling through the length, breadth and depth of Botswana by 4x4. We were part of a group of 19 people in 9 vehicles all set up for the challenges of the bush, sand and mud. Our first destination was Lekhubu Island in the middle of the Kgalagadi Salt Pans with the main interest being a collection of Baobab trees. It took two days to get there, our second day taking nine hours to cover just under 50km’s due to lots of water and large amounts of mud: I learnt a great deal about vehicle recovery (including help winch a stranded twelve tonne Overlander vehicle out of thick mud), and our winches and snatch-ropes were put to extreme test. Thereafter the biggest challenge was soft sand: Botswana is in the main a big bowl of sand up to a kilometre deep in places!

We then headed through Maun to Lake Ngami, which was so full we couldn’t see it as water was right up into the bush, preventing us finding any good view points. We headed up the western side of the Delta, visiting Gcwihaba Caves (similar to Sterkfontein), and spending a few days at Drotsky’s Cabins on the Panhandle. This included some time on the water, and a moment of great excitement as my Father-in-Law managed to get a sighting of African Skimmers for the first time in twenty-five years (he’s a great “Birder”): he was heard to utter more than one uncharacteristic “Halleluia” in a moment of grand excitement!

Next stop was the Caprivi, where the major moments were being charged by an elephant, and meeting up with Kingsley Holgate and his entourage in Katima Mulilo. A poignant moment was driving through the old Buffalo Camp (32 Battalion), now peacefully “peopled” with Kudu. The cement foundations, collapsed prefabs and crumbling ablution blocks paid peaceful testimony to the violence of the past.

We headed back into Botswana through Chobe and spent an uncomfortable night in Kasane. We spent the next two days travelling an “Eco Route” down the Botswana/Zimbabwe Border, and a wonderful night at a waterhole in the middle of nowhere, listening to the sounds of elephant in the bush around us. Game was scarce as it was hunting season, and our human presence unsettled them. We found lion spoor, and felt the adrenaline-rush of being in the African Bush. All too soon it was time to set the GPS for home as we headed through Francistown for the Border at Martin’s Drift.

Wine Tasting

A very big thank you to Isobel Holden for organising last Saturday afternoon’s Wine Tasting. Katherine Simms presented us with some unusual wines from the Joostenberg Winery, increasing both our knowledge of different wine cultivars and the added value different cultivars bring to different foods. The snacks went down well, and a good afternoon was enjoyed by those who attended.

The only “sourness” experienced was that nearly half of those who bought tickets didn’t attend, resulting in Katherine addressing at least three empty tables, and valuable funds wasted on hiring glasses and preparing snacks that went uneaten, resulting in only R1,000 being raised towards the Equestria Building Fund. In South African society generally is seems increasingly acceptable to indicate attendance – either through a positive reply to an invitation or the purchase of a ticket – and then to not attend for whatever reason. This is certainly also most evident at Weddings. I suspect this has to do with the speed at which we live our lives, but also that we double-date and fail to keep a responsible diary. As Christians we need to set a better example in this regard, please!

With Church fundraising events it will be helpful in future if, when we know that we cannot attend but would like to contribute, that instead of purchasing a ticket we give a donation towards the function.

The Rector’s Birthday Bash

Thank you so much to everyone who attended our “Bring & Braai” on Sunday 5 July in the Church gardens. Dawn and my July Birthdays are really just an excuse for a mid-winter Parish get-together for fellowship and a relaxed time. However, thank you for all the good wishes, and the small gifts we received: in most cases the gifts have been much enjoyed, being edible and drinkable! We received a wonderful “African Mirror” from the Catering committee that now has pride of place on our lounge wall; however, it is strangely silent when I ask it if I am the most beautiful of them all!

Blessings

Mark

July 2009 - The Church Irrelevant

Dear friends

Irrelevance

As a priest “Church” occupies a large part of my landscape. My faith and my profession are deeply intertwined. I can’t imagine what it may be like to live life out of touch with the Church, but increasingly society is filling up with people who do, and who don’t perceive any loss in this disconnection. For centuries the Church has operated in an environment in the West and in Africa where a connection – even if tenuous – has been the norm; evangelism and mission have focused on strengthening this connection, or on reconnecting people who have wandered off; society nurtured it. Increasingly urbanised society sees no inherent added value in religious connection, and if anything, perceives religion to be a limiting life experience.

At the June Equestria Family Breakfast discussion meandered around family values, Church, and reaching out to our peers. It became clear that for many young people the Church is perceived to be an outmoded social construct proclaiming an outdated moral lifestyle. For instance the Church’s teaching that sex should only be celebrated within marriage is looked on with disdain, and seen as a sign that the Church is lost in a puritan past, and therefore irrelevant to life in the 21^st century.

As Church we believe that our moral outlook remains relevant, and yet our South African society – in which a majority of people still claim a Christian allegiance – demonstrates very little adherence to a Christian moral code. A recent survey conducted by the SA Medical Research Council (reported on www.time.com 20 June 2009) found that just over 1 in 4 South African men admit to having raped, and just under half of these to having done so more than once. Many of the men surveyed had obtained some level of education and income.

And so the relevance of the Church to our society comes into question. We no longer influence our wider society to any meaningful degree.

We have relied for centuries on being politically powerful, on being the official religion of society in the West and in Africa since Constantine. The French Revolution led to the first marked societal move away from religion, and France today still guards its secular political dispensation with fierce doggedness (now under threat perhaps more from Islam than Christianity).

Where do we find our response? The answers lie not so much in the monarchical narratives of David and Solomon – as they have done for centuries – but increasingly in the stories of Israel’s time in the desert after escaping slavery in Egypt, and in the experiences of a persecuted early Church. Our Christian faith, our existence as Church, needs radical review.

Family Life

Our response to the increasingly chaotic experience of family life in the 21^st century is one road that may lead us towards a renewed relevance. Our diocesan theme of “turning houses into homes” provides a handhold. The months of May and June have provided us with three important family related events: our parenting workshop where Dr Mary Anne Harrop-Allin dealt with temperament (personality), self-esteem and relationship; our Ladies Weekend led by Dawn Long, Sabine Verryn and Olga Nel, where over twenty of our wives, mothers, daughters and grandmothers had the opportunity to spend time away from family commitments in worship, self-discovery and creativity; our Patronal Breakfast where we were able to celebrate being part of our wider Parish family over a relaxed meal.

The people of God since the time of Abraham have found relevance in relationship: with God, with each other, with the world. This can be true for us, in our time, and to our generation.

Blessings

Mark

“Everything the Lord has said, we will do” - A sermon (edited) preached by Deacon Alan O’Brien on the occasion of our Patronal Festival on 14 June '09

Here we are this morning gathered as Corpus Christi - the Body of Christ. What a truly awesome responsibility it is to be the Body of Christ in this time and in this place! We are truly blessed to be able to meet together Sunday by Sunday to worship and adore our loving God who gives us life and to whom we owe so much for all we have received at His hands.

The Holy Communion is an act of supreme love. We need to be people of love to all God’s people in this hurting world in which we live. We need to seek out the marginalized in society so that they can be embraced into Corpus Christi. That means our family in this part of the city and all Christian communities around the world need to gather in all those who feel that they are being neglected by the communities in which they live. We are being challenged to do ‘everything the Lord has said’.

The various names that have been given to this central act of worship help us come to a better understanding of these holy mysteries. For some it is known as the Eucharist, that act of Christ’s praise and thanksgiving in which we join in Sunday by Sunday. For others it is known as the Lord’s Supper, the commemoration of Christ’s prophetic acceptance of his death on Good Friday. For some it is known as the Holy Communion, the fellowship meal which binds all of us together as the Body of Christ. Others know it as the Holy Sacrament, which is then for them the pledge of Christ’s real presence among his people. Whilst for others it is the Mass, the identification of ourselves with Christ’s once and for all act of sacrificial obedience which he eternally presents to his Father in heaven.

Just how do we live out this command to be Corpus Christi?

By looking at the various names by which we celebrate Communion week by week, I believe that we can get some insight into the manner in which we can truly be Corpus Christi.

The Eucharist: we are called to be a community of praise and worship and thanksgiving. As we meet weekly we have much to be thankful for. The word Eucharist means thanksgiving and so one of our major focuses on a Sunday must be one of thanksgiving and this through our praise and worship. We daily need to thank God for all the many blessings which he bestows upon us. We must give thanks for our life, and that we should do as we awake every morning and as we retire to bed every evening. We must give thanks for our families and friends and especially those who are our family in this place – God’s family who have been given to us to care and to nurture. Our praise and worship must be such that it brings glory to our God in whom we place our hope and trust. We need to people of prayer and so daily we need to offer up ourselves to God and in his service. ‘Everything the Lord has said, we will do’.

The Lord’s Supper: As we celebrate this day as the Lord’s Supper, we remember Christ’s prophetic acceptance of his death. We too are called to be prophetic witnesses in the world at this time. We need to be people who will be prepared to speak out against the injustices that are practiced against all God’s marginalized people. We think of those who are suffering as result of HIV and Aids and the lack of treatment which is given to them by the clinics. We think of those women who suffer as a result of rape and struggle to get the justice system to work in their favour. We think of those women whom I read about last week in the paper who struggle to get their maintenance from the courts, the very courts which awarded them the very necessary maintenance, but which now are totally lacking in compassion for them. We need to be the prophetic voice which calls all people to care for ‘their neighbour’ and that we know can be any one who comes and asks for our assistance and so ‘everything the Lord asks of us, we will do’.

The Holy Communion: Our celebration of the Holy Communion means that we are bound together by this fellowship meal. The Holy Communion began as a meal and as we know it has its roots in the Jewish meal which is celebrated Friday by Friday in a Jewish home. It is around a meal that one is able to enjoy the company of others. Just think back to the times in your own life when something important has been celebrated, it has normally been done within the context of a meal. It is important that as the family of God, we meet together around a meal. Later on this morning there will be a meal that will be shared together by the members of this family, God’s family – Corpus Christi. It is important that families at home take time to sit down at the family table and have a meal together. I think that in this modern or post-modern world in which we live, we have lost the ability to share experiences around a table and enjoy a meal together. As our diocese begins to focus on building houses into homes, so we need to reclaim this element of family life for ourselves. It is one of the aspects that we can control within our homes. We need to make time to be together and to share a meal together. We need to be able to share our hopes and our joys, our thanksgivings and our concerns, within the context of a meal. Our Holy Communion in its structure allows us to do just that, as we meet around the altar week by week. Our communion binds us closely together so that we will become one. Think of those beautiful words from that modern hymn: Bind us together Lord, bind us together with cords that cannot be broken…’ And so ‘Everything the Lord has said, we will do’.

Holy Sacrament: Our Holy Sacrament means that Christ is truly present amongst his people. Christ is present in the here and now because of us. As St Teresa of Avila said: ‘Christ has no hands, but yours; he has no voice, but yours …’ We are therefore called to be Christ in and to the world. We are being called to be Corpus Christi, in and to the world. Again a modern hymn comes to mind: ‘Brother/sister let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you…’ So we are called to be servants, to serve those in our families, in this family; to serve those with whom we interact on a daily basis; those who are marginalized in society, those who I have mentioned earlier on in the sermon, they are the people to whom we have to be Christ. We need to be able to show Christ to others so that they might be drawn into this wonderful caring and compassionate group which we are. There has to be outward looking otherwise we will become too concerned with our own needs and not the needs of those who so desperately want our love and care. Are we being Corpus Christi? So we must do ‘everything the Lord has said’.

The Mass: In the Mass we identify with Christ’s obedience. Here we have been given an example that we have to show forth obedience in our lives. We are called to be obedient to God’s call on our lives. There are many passages in the scriptures which tell us that we have to be obedient, as the words from Psalm 40 tell us: ‘…my ears you have marked for obedience… and in the scroll of the book it is written of me that I should do your will…’ How fortunate we are that we have the example of our Lord before our eyes who was obedient to what his loving Father called upon him to do in his life. Once again the challenge: ‘everything the Lord has said, we will do’.

And in conclusion I believe that if we allow ourselves to take each one of these in turn, we will be able to become more of the Body of Christ, Corpus Christi, to all God’s people in the different world’s in which we live.

‘Everything that the Lord has said, we will do’ these words need to become a vital part of how we interact and engage with the world as we share God’s love that He has given to us and which he commanded us to share. And so as we are nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist today, may our Lord be always at the centre and heart of our church and also at the centre and heart of the lives of each one of us as we become Corpus Christi. Amen

Pentecost 2009

Dear friends

Religion & Philosophy

In our last magazine I reflected on “The Nature of our Easter God”. I sense that some found it a little esoteric. Our Clergy Retreat director had focused on Meister Eckhart (1260-1328), a Dominican, who obtained his Magister in Theologia in Paris. Towards the end of his life he was accused by his Archbishop of heresy, for which he seems to have been largely exonerated, except for a few statements that it appears he recanted. His writings have influenced some of the major German philosophers and he is considered one of the foremost Christian Neo-Platonists of the 14^th century. The challenge of the retreat – for me – became a call to allow God to truly be God, and not to limit him with my own humanity.

Leave

It was wonderful to have a full three weeks off! Parish Council informed me it was time to stop taking little bits of time off and get serious about recreating! We spent a wonderful ten days in Pringle Bay in the Cape followed by a weekend in Cape Town with very good friends from our Nelspruit days (the Cape weather was idyllic!). We came back via Bloemfontein so Dawn could put in two days work. Time off is always good, so good in fact that I will be taking some time off in July to go to Botswana with Dawn’s Dad.

Our time was not without its trauma. Just before we left, during a wedding reception on the Friday at which I had officiated, the Groom’s uncle was shot dead during an attempted hijacking, which rather threw the proceedings into some chaos. As the Groom’s family are part of our friendship group going back twenty years, and I’d spent the evening talking to the victim, the whole event was deeply traumatic. It appears the victim taunted the hijackers, and that he may have been shot with a weapon stolen from the hotel room of one of the guests at the wedding: sometimes we South Africans are our own worst enemies.

While we were in Cape Town our two children were involved in a very early morning car accident here in Pretoria: fortunately only a shoulder dislocation (from not wearing a seatbelt in the back) and bad bruising (from wearing a seatbelt in the front). It was a friend’s car, and not their fault, fortunately. On our way into Bloemfontein – thanks to the GPS – we ended up in the taxi-rank at 5pm, and looking like sitting ducks (two ‘Whities’ with GP registration and luggage on the back seat) we became the focus of a Smash&Grab in which Dawn lost her handbag … with I.D. … and Drivers License … and Bank Cards … !

Politics & our Future

The last month has been dominated by the elections, the inauguration of our new State President, the announcement of a new Cabinet, and a somewhat immature interaction between Helen Zille of the DA and the ANC Youth League and MK Military Veterans Association. Despite my qualms about Zuma I agree with Zapiro that the “shower head” should be suspended, and both Zuma and the new Cabinet be given time to prove their worth. Zuma’s inauguration speech and new Cabinet show some reflection of Obama’s inclusiveness, and I look forward to a possible new era for South Africa … time will tell! On an economic front it has been interesting to see the Rand strengthen on the news of a free and fair election process, and on the announcement of the new Cabinet. COSATU’s attempt to block the listing of Vodacom on the JSE has seen the first bump in the Rand’s value; and one wonders what the true agenda of COSATU is in this action – perhaps testing their strength under the new political dispensation?

Life – what fun!

In rereading the above, it strikes me that life, especially in South Africa – and probably Africa as a whole – is never dull! And we need to reflect on where God fits into it all. We carry misconceptions of God’s purpose as God, and often these are driven not by incorrect teaching but by our own need as human beings. We ask the question “Why?” of God, and become distrustful of God because God appears to be rather diffident to our need. God chose in Jesus to become incarnate in our world: Emmanuel – God with us. He remains incarnate through the presence of the Holy Spirit. And God’s purpose is just that: to be present. God is with us through the power of the Holy Spirit; not to save us from hardship, trauma, difficulty; but to walk beside us, with us, as a companion and friend, as a helper, as one from whom we can draw strength, comfort, and hope.

As Christians we are called to live this out, to be ourselves this presence in the world and in the lives of others. We are called to involve ourselves in human development, to give of ourselves and our resources; to make a difference that is different because it is part of us, not separate from us. Too often we involve ourselves in acts of charity, and not in self-giving. Charity too often equates to hand-outs; self-giving brings about transformation.

This is our country, our Nation, our society, our community: we have responsibility. How is God’s presence visible through us, God’s Body, God’s community, God’s Church?

Thank You

Thank you to all who contributed to the very generous Easter Offering that I received this year. It is a demonstration of your love, and is enhanced with your care and friendship. Thank you so much!

Mark

Easter 2009

Dear friends

The Nature of our Easter God

In reflecting on our recent Clergy Retreat where we were challenged to not just expand our spirituality, but to seek greater depth, I realise that I need to re-explore my understanding of God. The complication is that I am comfortable with the ‘limited’ God I believe in; the God defined by Christian doctrine and Anglican tradition.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse to worship the ‘God’ of plaster and gold – imposingly 27 metres high and almost 3 metres wide – created by King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3); and I ask why did Nebuchadnezzar find it necessary to create such a God? His anger at the three’s refusal to bow down in worship seems to have little to do with the ‘God’ and more to do with his own desire to control: “Who is the God who will deliver you out of my hands?” Nebuchadnezzar asks. He clearly believes this wondrous statue has no power, yet demands its worship.

And so I reflect on my ‘limited’ God, as magnificent and wondrous as my Christian faith and Anglican tradition proclaim God to be; and I wonder how much I truly believe, how much I –like Nebuchadnezzar – seek to use God as a form of control in a world increasingly chaotic?

I do not question God, exactly, but the limits we have placed on God. Can God be defined? If so, what drives us to define God? And if not, why do we place so much effort into doing so? And then what is the basis for our Easter hope?

Scripture and human experience point to God being both absolute and infinite.

That which is truly absolute and truly infinite cannot really be defined by what it is or is not (define ‘0’ for me …), but only, perhaps, by what it is greater than. To do otherwise is to declare it finite, and what is finite cannot really remain absolute. And so, because I am limited in my use of words, in my ability to fully imagine an absolute and infinite God, I – like Nebuchadnezzar – create a ‘limited’ God, designed to my own specifications, empowered by my own need and human limitations, and I become unhinged when you challenge my creation.

I am thus challenged to begin to believe in God who is always substantially greater than my ability to define ‘God’, who is continuously ‘beyond’ my understanding, who remains absolute and infinite ‘mystery’. Anything and everything else is anathema, without substance, without power, without true existence; unless it is embraced in the absolute and infinite mystery of God. A reminder, too, that all that I am, all that I have, is through the grace of God: absolute, infinite, mysterious.

I’ve always been attracted to the Baptismal Creed (An Anglican Prayer Book 1989, pg 59) because of its simplicity, its willingness to sacrifice the complexity of belief described by the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds. What better describes God than ‘Creator’, ‘Redeemer’ and ‘Life-Giver’? What better describes the absoluteness of God than declaring God to be ‘One’? What better handhold to the absolute, infinite mystery that is God than these concepts?

And yet we insist on defining God further, on making God like us, on using God for our own ends. Idolatry is, then, not the worship of other gods, but the worship of God diminished by our own attempt to define the absolute and the infinite, to demystify the mysterious. And then what is the basis for our Easter hope?

Our limitation of God is most visible in the religious rules and regulations we adopt. We see Jesus in his own context lifting two laws out of the plethora of Jewish rules that define not God, but our response to God: love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind (Deuteronomy 6:5); and love your neighbour as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). And so our Easter hope begins to find value in our active response to God and neighbour.

Our Easter hope is manifest in the activity of the one and only, the absolute and infinite God: Jesus’ death and resurrection reveals God’s faith in us, and God’s gift of abundant life unlimited now by sin or death.

All things become possible because I have faith in God who is beyond my ability to comprehend.

And I respond by caring for my neighbour.

Easter Blessings

Mark

March 2009

Dear friends

Highveld Election

Thank you all for your sincere prayers leading up to the Elective Assembly. I was deeply disappointed to not be elected, but am at peace and accept this as God’s will at this time. The process has been a deeply affirming experience, both in terms of the process itself, and in the overt joy in the parish that I remain with you for the time-being! It does my soul good to know that I am loved by you all.

Deeper Communion: Gracious Restraint

I commend to you the March 2009 ‘Ad Laos’ (To the People’) communication from our Archbishop, Thabo Makgoba, and enclose it in place of my normal letter to you.

Blessings

Mark

To the People of God – To the Laos

March 2009

Dear People of God

In my last letter, I promised to share reflections on the February meeting of the Anglican Primates (the leaders of our 38 churches around the world).

It was remarkable coming together in Alexandria, a cradle of African Christianity enjoying a tremendously rich Christian heritage though today it lies in a Muslim country.  While there we participated in the dedication of St Mark’s, the Anglican Pro-Cathedral.  In his sermon, the Archbishop of Canterbury reminded us of the need to see Christ in one another, recognising that Christ alone is the foundation of our building and our work, the one who prays in and through us.

By the grace of God, and encouraged by this message, we found we were able to be very frank together about our continuing disagreements over human sexuality, and about the way we handle those disagreements.  We prayed, worshipped God, and studied Scripture together, seeking to be faithful to the call of God in Christ, and to discern the Holy Spirit’s leading.  We felt that at heart we shared a common concern for the Anglican Communion and a strong desire to see it flourish and remain united.  I offered our experiences of holding on to one another in continuing fellowship through all the pains of Southern Africa’s past, as an example of hope and encouragement in our current traumatic divisions. (The Synod of Bishops reaffirmed this message later in February.  I hope you have seen the Pastoral Letter which we issued to record our meeting.  If not, it is online at www.anglicanchurchsa.org.za. Please pray for Dean David Bannerman as he prepares to be consecrated Bishop of the Highveld.)

At the Primates meeting, we found a fresh spirit of open, respectful dialogue, engaging at a new and deeper level, and we unanimously agreed that our Communiqué should be entitled ‘Deeper Communion:  Gracious Restraint’.  We approved various measures for going forward, including professionally mediated conversations to try to heal our most painful divisions.  We also affirmed the continuing development of an Anglican Covenant through which we can better express our mutual commitment to the ‘bonds of affection’ between us.  To sum up – our differences remain, and are serious, but we are determined to tackle them together as far as we can.

We also discussed many other issues that concern the life of Anglicans within our world, among them the situations in Sudan and Gaza, coordination of Anglican relief and development bodies, and the importance of good theological education that helps us live faithfully to the gospel in our many different cultures and circumstances.  But at the top of the agenda was Zimbabwe.  We issued a strong statement in support of the people and churches there, and urged President Robert Mugabe to respect the outcome of the elections of 2008 and to step down. We called for the implementation of the rule of law and the restoration of democratic processes.  We decided a special Representative should travel to Zimbabwe to exercise a ministry of presence and show solidarity. We also proposed various ways of engaging politically with SADC and the African Union.

The world-wide Anglican Communion joined our Province in observing Ash Wednesday as a special day of prayer for Zimbabwe.  Thank you for sharing in this.  The Archbishop of Canterbury has also launched a worldwide appeal to facilitate aid for Zimbabwe.  As I said in Alexandria at the time, ‘If we don't intervene we will be failing God in terms of “when I was hungry you fed me and when I was poor you cared for my needs”.’ (See Mt 25:31-46.)

These verses from Matthew’s gospel were also in my heart when I visited the scenes of fatal flooding in Soweto, and met some of those whose lives had been turned upside down.  Flooding has also caused deaths in KwaZulu Natal – and who knows what other disasters may occur before this reaches you.  As I said in my messages of support to the Bishops of the affected areas, those who can give practical assistance must do so in response to Jesus’ command;  and all of us must pray.  We must also take responsibility – as democracy invites us to do – to hold our governments to account in pursuing policies that are environmentally sensitive, and which do not exacerbate the effects of bad weather (for example, through the draining of wetlands, or allowing inadequate urban development);  as well as on wider issues of preventing global warming.  God gives us the gift of free will in choosing how we treat our world.  We must do so wisely, and hold it in trust for the generations that will come after us.

Here in South Africa, we pray for ‘gracious restraint’ as we approach April’s General Election.  Across the country, encouraged by civil society groups in which the churches play a leading role, political parties are signing codes of conduct:  a promise of respectful behaviour towards one another, in word and action.  I hope that Anglicans in South Africa will do what you can to help promote political tolerance and a better understanding of democracy.  And may the whole Province join in praying that these elections will be free, fair and peaceful; and that we will elect true and honest individuals, who will dedicate their lives in the service of everyone who lives in this land.  We pray also for Mozambique, which is preparing for elections later this year.

‘Deeper Communion:  Gracious Restraint’ would also be a good slogan for our Lent and Easter observances!  Through ‘restraint’ – stepping back from distractions and complications into a simpler way of being – we can make more space for God in our lives.  Penitence and fasting (from anything from food to television!) can help us recognise with greater honesty, and with greater discontentment, how bad it is for us to live without God.  For then we have a greater appreciation of, and desire for, how good it is to live with God!  And in this way we can be drawn into deeper Communion with him.  So may I encourage you to ‘press on’ towards Easter, ‘with eager faith and love’.  I pray that you may all be caught up more fully into God’s love for us, shown in Christ’s self-giving on the cross for the sin of the world, as we look forward to celebrating the joy of his resurrection and triumph over evil and death.  

Yours in the service of Christ,

+Thabo Cape Town

Rector's Report to Annual Vestry 2009

A audio version of this report is available at http://share.ovi.com/media/markrdlong.sermons/markrdlong.10131 

Dear Friends, it is my privilege to present to you my fourth Rector’s report to Annual Vestry. Easter 2009 will mark the fourth anniversary of my appointment as Rector, and November 2009 will mark the twentieth anniversary of my priesting.

Reflection

We meet today to reflect on the past year and God’s graciousness to us, and to look forward into all that 2009 will be for us. 2008 has been a tumultuous year, and 2009 threatens to be no less challenging. In the midst of global economic chaos, political uncertainty in the Southern African environment, and the disarray of our own personal lives, we have, nonetheless, experienced God’s grace as a Christian community here at Corpus Christi. Perhaps today’s psalm speaks to the focus that has been ours in the midst of all the darkness that the world has thrust, and continues to thrust, into our lives:

For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

On God rests my deliverance and my honour; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him;

God is a refuge for us. (Psalm 62:5-8; NRSV)

In my report last year I challenged the Euro-centric nature of our parish life, which sparked some honest, but hurtful, responses in the subsequent discussion. The value of that interaction is that some of us have done some soul-searching, and I sense a greater openness to the dreams and hopes of all who call Corpus Christi home. Dawn, as only a wife can, in the midst of my own frustrations and reflection reminded me that I have walked a different path from many and that my experiences in ministry, from my emersion in Township culture in the late 1980’s to my exposure to different cultural expressions of Anglicanism in my varied parish appointments, has given me a perspective on relationships and a vision for the  potential of worship in a suburban, inter-cultural parish – such as ours – that can at times be deeply disturbing to others. There are two motivating factors that have driven my vocation: a desire to make God in Jesus Christ known to others, and a deep desire to overcome the obstacles to relationship created by Apartheid in the Southern African context. A Euro-centric outlook, while comfortable for many of us, is not helpful in this ongoing process of transition that affects us as much within the context of the Church as it does in our wider society. It may be that my role is to express the need, and that together we commit to explore the possibilities and walk the journey.

Highlights

Looking back over the last year: a personal highlight was representing the Diocese at the enthronement of the new Archbishop of the Sudan, his Grace Daniel Deng Bul, and helping define our companion Diocesan link relationship with the Diocese of Juba in Southern Sudan; a diocesan highlight was our Diocesan Synod where it was acknowledged that over the last ten years we have, as a Diocese, moved substantially from maintenance to mission, and a new focus on family life, with the catch phrase “turning houses into homes”, was adopted. There have been a number of parish highlights, much of which will be enumerated in the other reports received by Annual Vestry.

One such highlight has been our finances, and the phrase “Abundant Generosity” comes to mind. This may not seem to be very spiritual, but I generally find that the financial strength of a parish is directly proportional to its spiritual depth. Our Generosity Giving income was regularly over-budget resulting in us not needing to dig into funds deposited to cover an expected, but unrealised, deficit in our budget for 2008. Additionally in December we were able to clear the capital amount on our Diocesan Loan taken out to cover the cost of the extension of the church, enabling us to begin 2009 debt free. Further substantial donations were received that have made possible the renovation and extension to our Garden of Remembrance.

Outreach

Our involvement in outreach and mission during 2008 has also been considerable. We participated once again in the Irene Homes Fete and our stall made the highest contribution of the day to the Fete income. We have continued to provide food parcels via Tumelong to vulnerable homes in Maboloko, and with the rising cost in food last year the cash value of this outreach is sizeable. We again hosted a Christmas Party for the Maboloko Haven children and your response to this in gifts and food was inspirational: the children looked quite lost as they received gift after gift. Our involvement with Louis Botha Homes has continued and our “Shrove Sunday” celebration with the children of the house we support has become a Corpus Christi tradition. Our support of Woman Against Rape has also continued in a low-key, but ongoing, generous contribution of the “necessities” for our rape survivors.

Mission

The Gospel reading this morning reminds us of Jesus calling Simon Peter and his brother Andrew into ministry and mission: And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” (Mark 1:17; NRSV). These words remind us of the greatest highlight of 2008, our involvement in the development of a new Anglican presence in the Willows area of Pretoria East. Diocesan Synod acknowledged the growth of this work of mission by declaring the Mission Parish of Equestria. Our ongoing support of this mission effort will be needed for some years to come, and we will contribute a further R40,000 in 2009 towards the support of the Missionary Deacon, the Revd Alan O’Brien, who has taken the Revd Vernon Foster’s place. The formation of the Mission parish of Equestria has meant the closing down of the Anglican Church in Silverton, and the amalgamation of Silverton with what we have called Willow Glen. This process has been a difficult one that has taken up much of my time and energy since June 2008, and I look forward to it bearing fruit under Alan’s leadership in the year ahead. The focus of ministry between now and Easter will be the consolidation of the new Mission Parish, and beyond Easter on growth into the community. This is, perhaps, the opportunity to wish Vernon God’s richest blessings in his new appointment as Rector of Trinity Anglican Church in Lynnwood, and thank him for his dedication in so many varied ways to the formation of what is now the Anglican Church in Equestria; and also to welcome Alan onto the team.

It was agreed at our Council Planning day for 2009 that we need to encourage Equestria to become fully self-supporting by 2012, so that we can begin to throw our energies into developing an Anglican presence in Mooikloof and beyond. The Diocese is in the process of registering a property at the intersection of Garsfontein Road (M30) and the R25. It was agreed at our Council meeting in November that now that we have cleared our loan debt, it is time to take up the challenge of the Special Vestry meeting that approved the extensions to our Church to now raise funds for a building in Equestria; and so this will be the focus of all fundraising in 2009 and perhaps beyond.

Looking ahead

At our Council Planning day earlier this month it was a sobering realisation that no-one who served on Council in 2005 remains. Each year we have had a good balance of new blood infiltrating the ranks of seasoned campaigners. It is with sadness and much appreciation that the Parish bids Mary Verryn and Jeanne Jackson farewell as experienced champions of Parish life at Council level. Their contributions over the years have been considerable, and we trust that they will remain involved in other areas of parish life and ministry.

And so, at least at Council level, it seems we enter a new era. Over the last four years we have worked hard to define who we are, our purpose and our values as an Anglican Christian Community in this part of Pretoria. The challenge that lies ahead is to define our future: Jim Collins speaks of the importance of a BHAG, a big hairy audacious goal; Stephen Covey speaks of a WIG, a wildly important goal. What is our BHAG, our WIG? Certainly, building new Anglican Communities in the East of Pretoria may be a part of this, but only a part. We need something that drives us as a Community and impacts on the communities in which we are placed here in Garsfontein and the surrounding suburbs. I am very sure that God wants us to explore this, yet – as I said to our new Council at the planning day – I am personally struggling to give this definition. I have mentioned before in other settings, and continue to believe that, despite the effort we have put in over the last eight years to improve our facilities here in Garsfontein, from a strategic mission perspective we need to explore centring ourselves on the other side of Hans Strijdom Drive, perhaps purchasing the old NG Kerk facilities at the top of Rubenstein Drive in Moreletapark. 

Family Life

One of the important briefs of the incoming Council will be to take up the challenge of the Bishop and Diocesan Synod to involve ourselves in “turning houses into homes”. To this end a portfolio has specifically been set up to focus on areas of parish life that impact on family experience. A number of parenting seminars are being organised focusing on helping parents with drug awareness, self-esteem, discipline and stress. We will be attempting to organise events designed to help us be family together. We also recognise that the impact of the global economic recession touches us all, and are looking at support for those who may be struggling to meet high levels of debt.

Broad-based parishioner involvement remains a key parish value. Are you involved? If not, why not – what is the cause? It is my expectation that you will participate in parish life, no matter how insignificant your contribution may be. Are you over-involved? Why? It is my expectation that you will constantly and consistently invite others to walk with you in the Parish responsibilities you carry. Proactive face-to-face conversations are the best way forward, and will challenge the perception, shared frequently at 2008 Council meetings, that those involved in leadership are over-stretched and over-committed.

Young People

Children’s Church and Teen Church, which have formed the centre around which our ministry to young people has focused during 2008, sees some change this year. Olga Nel and Belinda Holden have resigned in order to focus on their own families, and we need to extend to them both our huge debt of gratitude for the major contribution they have made to our young people and children through this ministry. We welcome Barbara Primmer and Wonder Mutanha, along with others, as they step into Olga and Belinda’s shoes. In addition, our ministry to Teenagers outside of Sunday’s has been given a major injection with the resurrection of “Youth Fusion” – Hilary Davis has acknowledged her passion for this ministry and has gathered others around her to give this ministry new life. Our young people’s response is most encouraging.

The Future

I need to request your most sincere prayers: I have allowed my name to go forward for consideration by the Elective Assembly of the Diocese of the Highveld for election as Bishop. The election will take place on 12 February 2009, and depending on the outcome, could significantly alter all our lives. I covert your prayerful support, both for myself and my family, as well as for the Diocese of the Highveld, and for ourselves as a Parish community. Whatever the outcome, there will be consequences that will affect our future.

Thanks

My specific thanks to our outgoing Council for all you have contributed in giving direction to our Parish life during 2008, and to those who in stepping down have created space for new blood.

Thank you to you all! Our parish life would be diminished without your contribution of time talent and resource, however great or small, significant or insignificant; or just by your presence in our midst. The Kingdom of God is built not by the efforts of the individual, but by the collective multiplication of individual actions. I value you all and I thank you.

MARK R D LONG (Canon)

Rector

December 2008

Dear friends

Turning Houses into Homes

In my November “… from the Rector’s Desk” I reflected on our new Diocesan Focus on equipping and supporting family life in our church and society. One of the important questions is what Scriptural resources do we have to draw on as we walk this new journey? It is important that our faith interacts with our daily experience if we are to offer ourselves and the world something that has substance and creates renewed relational abundance.

I recently picked up a copy of The People’s Bible Commentary on GENESIS written by the Professor in the School of Theology at the University of Natal, Gerald West. This is a most marvellous book: normally Commentaries are rather intimidating and dry, but this one is a very different animal! It is written as a collection of daily readings, with a brief prayer attached, in language that everyday Christians can deal with, while retaining a very high standard of scholarship. Gerry was my Teen Church teacher some twenty-six years ago, so for me it’s a bit like dialoguing with an old friend!

What particularly caught my eye was the author’s comment in the introduction: “… Genesis does deal with cosmic matters, but on the whole it is about family matters. Most of the stories are about a family, although this family has had to bear the heavy weight of theological and ideological baggage. They can and do, therefore, speak to each one of us about ordinary but important matters, such as the fear of being unable to have children, the responsibilities of having children, the tensions within family; they speak about jealousy, envy, lust, love, forgiveness and trust; they speak about leadership; and they speak about God’s presence and absence in human life” (page 17).

Gerry comments that Genesis frames our reading of the whole Bible, covering as it does everything from a difficult to determine Israelite ancestral period right through to the shift from Persian rule to Hellenistic colonial control of Judah a couple of centuries before the birth of Christ (pages 13,17).

I am using this Commentary for my Advent reading, and am finding it really useful. It is available on http://www.loot.co.za/ for a frugal R156, and will prove worthwhile reading for the New Year.

Children and Teen Education

Critical to our parish family life is our Sunday Children and Teens worship and classes. Olga Nel – who has done and outstanding job for a number of years – has resigned as our Children’s Church Coordinator due to changes in her family and work life. Belinda Holden, who has been the mainstay of our Teen Church, is also stepping back after four years of dedicated service. We have lost a number of our younger teachers to the rigours of student life and studies. Three of our teachers, out of a needed nine (a coordinator plus two teachers per age group), remain to “hold the fort”.

It is particularly important that we find a coordinator with organisational and educational experience, otherwise we will not be able to reopen our Children’s Church in 2009. Please don’t leave this responsibility to others: if you have the skills, please apply. If you know of other parishioners who may be potential teachers, please speak up!

Youth Activities

Hilary and Lloyd, Shane and Liesel, Steve and Sabine, have made a commitment to re-charging our young people in the New Year: there has been a lot of interest shown by our young people, and we hope parents will also join this initiative.

Assistant Clergy

Our congratulations go to Vernon on his appointment as Rector of Trinity Anglican Church, Lynnwood, as from 1 January 2009. Please keep him in prayer as he prepares himself for this new responsibility and ministry.

Mission Parish

Our “baby” in Willow Glen is beginning to grow up! At Synod the decision was made to amalgamate Silverton and Willow Glen into the Mission Parish of Equestria. We await confirmation from the Bishop as to the appointment of a new Missionary Deacon for this mission. Please keep me in your prayers as continue to give leadership oversight to this important missionary outreach.

Tumelong

Jenny Moser, our own “Mrs Tumelong”, has indicated that she wishes to hand on the baton, and give others the opportunity to give leadership to this important social development focus in our parish. Jenny, you have been a giant in our midst, and held the flag high: thank you for your continued badgering and selfless contribution to the cause of the poor beyond our parish boundaries. We salute you for your dedication and the caring example you have given over the years. We know you will remain involved, but acknowledge your need to take some very well deserved rest!

Thanks

As a parish we have had a good year. My personal thanks to you all: your contribution, be it just finding time to attend worship, or greater involvement through time and resources, has enabled us to be about the business of building the Kingdom of God in our needy world. Bless you!

A blessed Christmas and New Year to you all!

Mark

November 2008

Dear Friends

Diocesan Synod 2008

Our recent Diocesan Synod was a great event, including a wonderful Diocesan Family Day Eucharist on the Sunday with the celebration of Bishop Jo’s 10th year as Bishop of Pretoria. Among many important areas of church and society addressed by Synod, the following stand out:

New Focus—Turning Houses into Homes

Excitingly, as a Diocese, we have made substantial progress over the last 10 years from maintenance to mission, and this was marked by Bishop Jo’s challenge to the Diocese in his Charge to now focus on equipping and strengthening families by turning houses into homes.

Mission—realignment

As part of a strategic move to realign our structures towards greater effectiveness in mission a motion was passed in principle (to be ratified by DSC in mid-November) to refocus our parish structures: this included the amalgamation of struggling parishes into clusters, moving some from parish to mission parish status, others to parish status. Excitingly, this included the amalgamation of our mission congregation in Willow Glen with the parish of Silverton into the new Mission Parish of Equestria.

A motion was also accepted to form a commission to review our Archdeaconry structures towards greater mission and ministry effectiveness.

Family Life

Our Bishop’s call to focus on equipping and strengthening families comes at a critical point in our social, political and economic context. While we can find much to bemoan in our present socio-political crisis as a nation, there can be no doubt that the breakdown in family life is a significant factor. Partly a cause of urbanisation, partly the rise of individualism (a negative consequence of Western-style democracy), “community” as a way of life, as a place of belonging, is increasingly rare. Families are communities; villages are communities; churches are communities; God, the Trinity, is a community. Huge, sprawling cities are not.

A house is a place, but a home is a relationship; and homes are relational networks for emotional, Spiritual, as well as economic and social, support. A home is more than just a place to sleep and store our clothes. A home is so much more than just a house.

In past centuries, mothers were often the relational centre around which family life revolved. With women, rightly, increasingly gaining economic and political power, this centre has been lost, and society has been unable to redefine the centre, and reform the nature of family into a viable 21st century social structure. The wider Church also appears largely impotent, and even—with people like Angus Buchan, of “Faith like Potatoes” fame, calling people back to an outdated social concept of family—contributing to further family confusion and chaos.

The Bishop’s Charge is effectively a call for us as Church to become creatively involved in reforming family life. We have resources, but we also need a willingness to interpret these resources in a new way for a new century with new challenges. Scripture is a prime resource, built as it is on communities of Faith over the ages, but a resource that needs to be reinterpreted for the times in which we live, rather than just a “cut and paste” job that takes no account of human evolution over two thousand years and more.

We need to re-explore “community”: we need to define how we choose to “belong” and recognise that some of our present choices may be dangerous to our relational, emotional and Spiritual reality; we need to experiment in finding a new centre, one that is not gender specific; we need to recommit to the centrality of meaningful relationships despite a consumerist global society that focuses us on possessions and teaches us a “throw-away” mentality. We need to be less discriminatory and more discriminating; we need to begin to see the wood for all the trees.

I suspect here is much we can learn from each other if we are willing to share, in particular, the areas of family life with which we struggle. A starting point may be to begin taking inventory of the reality of the family we are presently a part of, honestly and without shame.

We are all a part of this journey.

Blessings

Mark

October 2008

Dear Friends,

Challenging Times

I spent ten days in the Richtersveld this month, followed by the Men’s Fly-Fishing weekend in Belfast. In this brief time our political landscape has changed dramatically, and I have returned to civilisation to find ourselves in a new phase of political transition. The rights and wrongs of the recent actions of the ANC in recalling President Thabo Mbeki from the Presidency can be debated, but the reality is that we are moving into a transition phase that will only find some resolution after a national election is called early next year.

During times of transition, complexity, confusion and uncertainty, we need to remind ourselves of our role as Christians within the broader society. Firstly and foremostly, we need remember our first loyalty is to God through Jesus Christ, that our confidence and security is in God and not in the material world around us. Secondly, that we are ambassadors for Christ in the World, and therefore need to allow our Christian values—not our very real human fears—to dictate our words and our actions: we are called to be symbols of hope in the midst of uncertainty. Thirdly, we are called to be people of prayer and instruments for God’s divine intervention in our society: our words and actions should at all times flow out of our daily times of prayer and devotion.

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13:13 (TNIV) says, “… these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” He comments on the nature of love, “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13:7; TNIV). In these uncertain times let LOVE be our watchword.

The Richtersveld

I spent a wonderful ten days in the Richtersveld with my father-in-law during September. We were with a group of nine vehicles (eighteen of us plus four young children), and spent a great deal of time driving. We entered through Namibia and spent a night under the most massive cliff I have ever seen on the Manchab River Eco Trail. The Richtersveld itself required regular use of 4x4 (I am definitely “shaken, not stirred”) and some “hairy” moments on some very steep and rocky passes. The scenery was enchanting, and so different. One valley would be incredibly lush, and half a kilometre further the next valley quite desolate. Bare mountains, on closer inspection, were full of life, and the most amazing variety of plants survive in gravel. Klipspringer, Dassies and Ground Squirrels were in abundance, and birds—while few—were all new to me. Two of our camps were on the banks of the Orange River, and one high in the mountains. Some intrepid fishermen managed to haul out a Yellow Fish and Cat Fish were in abundance. We covered over 3,500km in the ten days (500km in the Park), set up camp too many times, but nonetheless it was a truly marvellous experience.

Synod 2008

Next time I write we will be on the other side of our Diocesan Synod. Looking through the Agenda Book there are some interesting topics up for debate, and Synod promises to be a productive time. Please keep this time (2-4 October) in your prayers and thoughts.

I look forward to seeing you all at the Diocesan Family Day service on Sunday 5 October 2008, where we will also be celebrating Bishop Jo’s 10th Anniversary as Bishop of Pretoria.

Blessings
Mark

September 2008

Dear friends

The Anglican Communion: what it means to be “Church”

In my letter to you all last month I reflected on what it means to be Church. Since then, Lambeth, the decadal conference of Anglican Primates and Bishops from around the world, has come and gone. Excitingly, the conference has strengthened relationships within the Anglican Communion, and despite contentious issues around sexuality, the Communion is, it seems, stronger than ever. This is largely due to the nature of the Conference itself, a deeply spiritual event focused on listening, rather than debate and resolutions. There is a renewed understanding among bishops as to the challenges of mission and ministry in the multitude of different contexts in which they find themselves, and a renewed commitment to support the Archbishop of Canterbury as a symbol of our unity. The threat of schism, overplayed perhaps by the media, did not find light of day, and we thank God that we remain in fellowship with Anglicans around the world. In reflection, our Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, says in his Ad Laos communication: “… when I look back, I realise that most of all Lambeth was about relationships – with Jesus, with one another in Christ, and with the world.” This is something to celebrate!

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, in a reflection to the Bishops post-Lambeth, notes: “First, there was an overwhelming unity around the need for the Church to play its full part in the worldwide struggle against poverty ignorance and disease. … Second, on the controversial issue of the day regarding human sexuality, there was a very widely-held conviction that premature or unilateral local change was risky and divisive, in spite of the diversity of opinion expressed on specific questions. … Third, there was a general desire to find better ways of managing our business as a Communion. Many participants believed that the indaba method, while not designed to achieve final decisions, was such a necessary aspect of understanding what the questions might be that they expressed the desire to see the method used more widely – and to continue among themselves the conversations begun in Canterbury.” We have a lot to be proud of, as Anglicans!

Diocesan Family Day: Sunday 5 October 2008

10:00 at St Mary’s DSG

This is an important Diocesan occasion where we celebrate being part of the wider Diocesan Family. It is also our celebration of Bishop Jo’s 10th Year as Bishop of Pretoria, so an important day for us. It is likely that the preacher will be Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan.

As has become tradition there will be NO SERVICES at CORPUS CHRISTI on this Sunday. I am also aware of the temptation to play golf, visit neglected family, or generally do something other than be part of these BIG events, so my plea is that you breath deeply, put temptation behind you, and come join us at St Mary’s DSG (one of our Anglican Schools in Pretoria) in Duxbury Road, Hillcrest! These days are always fun once one gets there, so please make the effort to join us and be a participant in this event.

As we will be outside, you’ll need to bring a chair, a hat, maybe an umbrella (for the sun, hopefully not the rain) and a picnic for after the service.

Blessings

Mark