19-01-2010
A locally supported partnership of churches and individuals in Scotland
with those involved in ministry and mission in South Africa
with those involved in ministry and mission in South Africa
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Dear Friends,
A great deal has happened since our last letter. We spent Christmas quietly with Susan, Richard, Nicole and Richard's family, and then went off to the far north to Mhinga to attend the 50th birthday family of one of our students Annike Mhinga on Hogmanay. The Mhinga clan historically owned what is now the northernmost part of the Kruger National Park. It was incredibly hot and the temperature reached 43 degrees on New Year's Day as we explored the Park. Then we travelled west to Venda to visit Norman our gardener, a horticulture student at Tshwane University of Technology, who lives at Thoyoandou in Limpopo province. We returned with a car full of mangoes, one of our favourite fruits! Then it was back to conference season.
First, Graham went off to the Church History Society conference at Potchefstroom University where he presented a paper on the history of the process of union in the Uniting Presbyterian Church in SA up to its fifth birthday last year. Immediately on his return he attended the SA Missiological Society conference in Pretoria. During these conferences, he was able to promote 'African Christianity: An African Story' of which he has been associate editor. This book is significant because it is the first history of Christianity in Africa which has been written entirely by African Church historians.
The beginning of the academic year was then upon us, with all the work that involves. We have only two new Presbyterian students this year: Andre Beck who is attached to our own congregation in Mamelodi, and Nomsa Ngwenya. All have settled into the House of Studies well.
Sandra is now based there as well as still having an office in the university. She finds that it is easier to deal with student issues on the spot as they arise. She has been arranging student life around the house, with a course on Reformed Tradition on Monday evenings, and weekly communion, communion meal and Bible Study on Tuesday evenings. We still maintain our daily worship in the faculty for those Presbyterian students who do not live at the house.
The students have received a gift of eight bicycles from sponsors in Laurieston congregation in Falkirk Presbytery. This is much appreciated as, beforehand, they had a half-hour walk to classes each day.
Within our Presbytery, Graham has been appointed Convenor of the Congregational Integration Committee that has the responsibility of trying to resolve problems arising out of duplication and overlap of congregations throughout the denomination. This is a very sensitive area which arouses deep emotions, and so has to be handled very carefully. To help the process, the UPCSA has been training Presbytery convenors in the 'Investment in Excellence' course of the Pacific Institute (SA). Both Graham and Sandra have attended. This course aims to develop skills in personal and social transformation.
Graham has also been appointed Interim Moderator of the Mamelodi East congregation. This is where we worship, so we already know the congregation well. Graham will also complete the supervision of the probationer there, Sibusiso Lindani, who was our student too. Sandra will become President of the Women's Fellowship; that is necessary because the women have been without the support of a minister's wife for thirteen years.
April saw Graham off to our biennial Ministers' Conference at our youth centre at Eston, near Durban. The theme of the conference was 'Since we know what it is to fear God...' (2 Cor. 5:11 – 6:2). The four keynote speakers were Graham (Immediate Past Moderator of the General Assembly), Jerry Pillay (Moderator), William Pool (Moderator-Designate), and Vuyani Vellem (General Secretary). Graham’s paper focused on reconciliation within the UPCSA. There were also a number of workshops but the major focus was on human sexuality, a matter which is exercising the minds of all churches in South Africa at the moment.
Of course, the highlight of the first part of this year was Susan and Richard's wedding on Maundy Thursday at Kwalata Game Reserve. It was a wonderful occasion which we all enjoyed immensely. The couple were married by Adamson Mxekezo who baptised Susan, and Graham blessed the marriage assisted by all the ministers present. Richard's father gave the address, and there was a wonderful blend of English and African music, not forgetting the bagpipes played by Ross Cameron, son of one of our ministers, who played 'Highland Cathedral' as the bridal march and 'Mhairi's Wedding' as the wedding march.
It was a colourful affair with a fair number of kilts and many guests in traditional dress. The ceremony was followed by a reception where the guests were greeted by traditional gumboot dancers in the Boma (a thatched area with open air dance floor and central fireplace). The main course was spit-roasted sheep (a necessary sacrifice in African society!), steak and chicken. The meal was followed by a dance. The whole affair tested Sandra's considerable organisational skills but she came through considerably, not least in ferrying people to and from Johannesburg International Airport both before and after the wedding, and accommodating a house full of guests.
We spent a few days recuperating at Bakubung Game Reserve (next to Sun City) with Nicole and some of our Scottish visitors, while Susan and Richard went to Cape Town with some of their friends. The two of them followed this with a honeymoon in Mauritius.
We are now half-way through this academic year and winter is upon us. The nights are chilly but the days remain beautiful. We are both well, and Graham is enjoying a new lease of life having returned to Scottish Country Dancing after an absence of forty years!
Best wishes!
Sandra and Graham
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