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The Bishop Writes ...
My Dear People of God,
Christians, a persecuted people
“The US State Department now reckons that
Christians are the most persecuted people on earth”. That is a
statement which I came across recently. Though the State
Department’s assessment of the situation doesn’t surprise
me, it does come as a stark reminder to the words of Jesus when He
referred to us, as disciples, being “sent out like lambs among
wolves” (Luke 10:3) and His words of encouragement in saying
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt 5:10). We do indeed
live in a time of massive persecution though we, in this country,
have mercifully been spared the direct persecution faced by
Christians in many parts of the world.
There has been much media hype and much prayer in
regard to the situation on Jolo Island in the Philippines and while
we give thanks for the release of the hostages, very little publicity
has been given to the fact that a group of twelve Philippino
Christians were taken hostage by the Muslim rebels on Jolo Island
simply because they had gone to pray for the hostages. Thank God for
the prayers of faithful Christian brothers and sisters, but
particularly for those whose lives have been laid on the line through
their commitment to intercede.
On my visit to Uganda last year I was privileged to
meet four bishops and lay leaders from the church in the Sudan and
learnt from them of the intense persecution that the Christians in
that country were facing from the Muslim Government. The persecution
of Christians in the Sudan has continued for more than a quarter of a
century, yet the church there continues to grow and multiply by
God’s grace. I spoke to Bishop Michael Coleman after his recent
pastoral visit to the Sudan, and he told me of what he had personally
witnessed in regard to the persecution of Sudanese Christians, and
spoke of whole villages, schools and communities being deliberately
starved and bombed, and yet the people of God are remaining steadfast
and strong in their faith. The persecution of Christians in this
“forgotten” part of Africa is staggering in its intensity
and I urge you to pray earnestly for the church in the Sudan. It is
reported that in Sri Lanka more than 30 churches have been destroyed
in religious violence over the past two years, and that Christian
leaders in that country are preparing their people for further persecution.
There is a long list of countries in which Christians
are liable to be arrested, tortured, exiled and even killed and these
include countries in Africa, Asia, in Pakistan, in India and in the
Molaccas where it is reported that 4000 people have been killed in
the past year, and most of them Christians, simply because of their faith.
We know, of course, that where one part of the body
suffers the whole body suffers, so we need to pray that the Spirit of
God will impress upon our hearts the suffering of our brothers and
sisters in Christ in other parts of the world, and pray for a
deepening of our own faith in response to the love of God and for a
growing realisation of the need for a deeper commitment and
compassion in our walk with the Lord. Can we be lukewarm in our faith
when, for example, Muhammad Haji Omar, a Somali refugee in the Yemen,
has been sentenced to death, to be executed by the sword, simply
because he has converted to the Christian faith?
But Haji is not the only one. He is one of many
thousands of Christians facing death because of his Christian faith.
I urge you, therefore, not only to pray for Christians facing
persecution, but also to examine your own depth of faith in the light
of this world-wide wave of persecution. When you are tempted to focus
on some petty irritation in the church, or when you hold back in your
giving to the work of God, or when your prayer life is flagging, then
be reminded that at this very time men and women, your brothers and
sisters in Christ, are facing persecution and death for the sake of
Jesus Christ our Lord.
In his first letter, Peter writing to Christians who
were experiencing intense persecution wrote, “Be controlled and
alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking
for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith,
because you know that your brothers throughout the world are
undergoing the same kind of sufferings”. (1 Peter 5: 8-9).
With every blessing.
Yours in Christ,
Bishop Eric Pike
The view from Pulpit and Pew
v What a wonderful witness from two members of the
Diocese on the Bibliathon 2000 television presentation last month.
Michael Taylor of the Bible Society in Port Elizabeth interviewed
Josephine Cotton, a member of the Order of St Simon of Cyrene. (See
June Iindaba for her story) and Courtney Pow Chong from St Francis
Xavier, Kabega Park. Courtney has been instrumental in collecting
over R4 000 for the Bible Society whilst in hospital where she has
had seven operations to remove cancer tumours from her head! Some of
the money was collected in a money box next to her bed in hospital,
whilst other monies were collected at services at Saint Francis Xavier.
v Fr Michael Julius, the Rector of St Luke’s in
Palm Ridge, has been forced, through ill health, to resign as
Archdeacon of Parsons Vlei. Iindaba commends him and Lorraine to the
prayers of the Diocesan family.
v Congratulations to:
-
Fr Christopher Holmes, the Rector of St Francis
Xavier, Kabega Park, who has been appointed Archdeacon in Fr Julius' stead.
- Fr Sipambo Ludidi of the Alexandria Parish who has
been appointed a Canon in the Bishop’s Chapter. Both he and Fr
Christopher were inducted at the chapter meeting on 7 September.
(Photos will appear in the next issue of Iindaba.)
- Fr Zwelidumile Tom and his wife Tembeka on the
birth of their third child, a son, Mthombo. Praise God that Tembeka
was wonderfully ministered to in hospital after very serious
post-natal complications. She and Mthombo are doing well - Fr
Zwelidumile is recovering!!
- Fr Mcebisi Xundu who was licensed as an Hon Canon
at Diocesan Council, after a long and distinguished forty years of
ordained ministry in the CPSA.
- those being ordained at St Luke’s, Palmridge,
on Saturday 30 September. More about them in the next Iindaba.
v Iindaba expresses its condolences to:
-
Fr Sipambo on the death of his father, Chief Gobinamba
Ludidi, who died in September shortly before his 80th birthday. He
was the Chief of the Hlubi Tribe, and served as Churchwarden at St
Matthias, Ncoti, in the Qumbu area.
- Fr Lulamile Ngesi and his wife Linda on the death
of Linda’s sister, Tobeka.
- Doreen Neville on the death of her husband, and
Member of the Order of the Diocese, John. John was known to many as
‘Mr Synod’, and over many years played an active role in
the affairs of the Diocese.
v For some years now, Lindsay Woods, a
physiotherapist, has offered free treatment to clergy and their
families. Lindsay, who worships at St Mary the Virgin, is now closing
her practice and will no longer be able to offer this special
ministry. Many clergy are grateful to her, and indeed to our Lord,
for her wonderful skill she has expressed through her loving hands.
v Br Philip Münch, the Organist and Choirmaster
at the Collegiate Church of St Mary the Virgin, led a most successful
Royal Schools of Church Music Spring School last month. Close on
eighty participants took part, many of whom joined the St Mary’s
Choir for their Patronal Festival, including Confirmation, on the
Sunday evening. That doyen of organists in the Eastern Cape, Gerald
Horner, played the organ.
Choosing a Bishop
Readers are asking how our new Bishop will be
chosen. Roger Schärges, Chairman of the Diocesan Advisory
Committee reports.
An informal meeting of the committee will have been
held on 13 September to advise the members of this procedure. The
Metropolitan of the CPSA, Njongonkulu Ndungane, will notify the
Vicar-General of the diocese, Leon Foster, of when the Elective
Assembly will be held. Nominations for the position of Bishop are
then called for by Roger. These are processed by the Diocesan
Advisory Committee together with members of the Provincial Advisory
Committee. Just before the Elective Assembly meets, the names of
those nominated are circulated to the parishes and other dioceses so
that people can pray about who the Lord wants for the position.
Nominations
Any cleric or communicant within the diocese can
nominate whomever they feel they would like to have as our new
Bishop. The nominator must provide written consent and a personal
profile from the nominee, together with a motivation, to the
committee. Two others who support the nomination must also provide
written motivation.
Tag Lines
The root meaning of the word succeed is simply ‘to
follow through’.
PE two on AWF Provincial Exec
At the Anglican Women’s Fellowship (AWF)
Seventeenth Provincial Council held in Grahamstown during August two
PE members retained their places on the Provincial Executive
Committee, writes Torian Burgins.
The council meeting was held at Kingswood College and
was attended by about 120 delegates and observers from across the
CPSA. Present too at all the services and during some of the meetings
was the Provincial AWF Liaison Bishop, Bethlehem Nopece, who added
much encouragement in his teaching on what AWF women need to be.
Sylvia Adams of Cape Town was once again elected as
Provincial President, and Lillian remained as vice-president with
Eileen as a committee member, both the latter being members of this
diocese. Sylvia chaired the meeting with skill, reporting briefly on
all the portfolios and expressed her appreciation for all the work
being done in the various dioceses as reported by each of them.
One of the concerns highlighted was the lack of funds
for the Provincial President to be able to attend world conferences
with our international links. Brainstorming was done by the delegates
and one of the ideas was the establishment of a ‘Travel Fund’.
The Kay Barron Address given at the opening banquet
was given by Bishop Bethlehem who spoke of the power that Jesus
endorsed that women should seek to bring life and wholeness to their
children. Also that women should not misuse their ‘power’
over other women (for example their servants).
The meeting had a full programme with many interesting
speakers and reports.
Ecumedia Journalism Workshop
The Ecumedia Journalism Workshop held at St
Paul’s during August was challenging and interesting, reports
Zukiswa Jawula of St Augustine’s Church.
Seventeen budding parish reporters attended the
workshop which was led by Monty Cooper, head of photo-journalism at
Rhodes University. The two-day course included basic writing, layout
and photography skills, and helped me to be more ‘critical’
when reading newspaper reports. I learnt that reporters are not
always 100% accurate when reporting in newspapers but that we, as
reporters for a Christian newspaper, need to make sure we are 100%
correct. It made me think a lot, especially when we were busy
writing, and when we had to create headlines for a given paragraph.
It made me look at myself and check whether I am a good listener or not.
Ann Lentz, Editor of the Roman Catholic newspaper
“Diocesan News”, said of the course, “I found it most
useful as well as interesting, and am sure that I will use the skills
learnt at each session. I seem to get screeds and screeds of
unnecessary 'stuff' and never know whether to leave it in or take it
out.” Genny Walthew of St Paul’s also commented, saying,
“I found the workshop to be interesting, informative and fun to
attend, with an added bonus of making new friends with the same
interests. I learned a lot and enjoyed all the sessions and I’m
hoping to put this knowledge to good use soon.”
Estelle Fraser was also enthused and said, “It
was a wonderful experience and, although I had no idea of what I was
letting myself in for, I have really been motivated to write
regularly for Iindaba and even to initiate a parish newsletter. Monty
was really great, and his vast knowledge of the subject was truly
inspirational. I’m really looking forward to the next workshop.”
The workshop was held in response to a Synod
resolution that encouraged each parish to appoint a person to report
newsworthy activities to the editor of Iindaba. Sadly, only 10
parishes took advantage of this wonderful opportunity.
Zukiswa had never taken a photograph before the
workshop but managed to win the “Bird’s eye view”
category award for one of her photos.
Well done Zukiswa - Ed
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