Desmond Mpilo Tutu

(A translation in English will follow).

Sedan förre ärkebiskopen för den anglikanska kyrkan i södra Afrika, Desmond Mpilo Tutu, gick ur tiden igår, har mycket redan sagts och skrivits om honom. Hans Engdahl, mångårig missionär i Sydafrika, sammanfattade det i DN igår, med orden:

Desmond Tutu var “larger than life”

Med det menar Hans att det är svårt att beskriva den stora betydelse Tutu har haft. Att ge en heltäckande bild är inte heller syftet med denna bloggpost. Men några penselstråk vill jag lägga till den stora bild som nu ges av så många.

Tutu var först och främst en del av något större. Det var på intet sätt Tutu som myntade begreppet Ubuntu men han talade ofta om denna afrikanska mentalitet. På sin fars språk, isiXhosa, skulle Tutu sagt

Umntu Ngumntu Ngabantu

Hans mamma, som var mosotho, skulle uttryckt det på ett liknande sätt:

Motho o motho ka batho

En människa är en människa bland människor. Som individ blir jag till i mötet med andra. Om inte andra finns, finns inte heller jag.

För Tutu var denna mänsklighet större än den egna gruppen. Han har beskrivit hur han fick syn på sig själv under åren i London, när han blev behandlad som en människa vid Kings college. Därför betraktade han också apartheid som ett ont system, som måste bekämpas. Att dela upp människor utifrån hudfärg var oförenligt med Tutus grundsyn.

Min egen bild av Tutu är att den världsvida kyrkan för honom var uttrycket för denna mänsklighet. Även efter sin pension 1996 ledde han regelbundet morgonmässan på fredagsmorgon i S:t Georges Cathedral i Kapstaden. Jag minns en morgon när ett filmteam var med för att fotografera och filma honom ”in action”. Någonstans skulle en staty resas över Tutu och konstnären behövde material. När fotografen blev för närgången under nattvardsbönen stannade Tutu upp och påpekade det olämpliga i att störa honom mitt i det mest centrala momentet. Fotografen backade förstås undan direkt.

Tutu var inte bara anglikan. Han var ekumen. Och det var som ledare för Sydafrikas kristna råd (South African Council of Churches – SACC) som han blev världsberömd. Han var SACC’s generalsekreterare 1978–84 och det lade grunden till att han fick Nobels fredspris 1984. Flera svenskar var direkt inblandade i nomineringen. Inte minst Axel-Ivar Berglund, som hade arbetat på SACC tillsammans med Tutu. Som generalsekreterare i SACC hade Tutu mandat att uttala sig på hela organisationens vägnar. Det fanns ett stort förtroende för Tutu och det är omöjligt att beskriva Tutu utan det sammanhanget. Men även här var hans kristna tro grunden. Han införde daglig morgonbön, regelbundet mässfirande och retreat för de anställda. Den kristna tron och engagemanget för rättvisa var två sidor av samma mynt. Oupplösligt förenade. Under alla år har Tutu börjat sin dag med egen meditation och bön. Utan den stunden hade han inte kunnat åstadkomma något, enligt egen utsago.

När jag läser artiklar, tweets och olika uttalanden är det ofta som Tutus förankring i sin gudstro glöms bort. Därför är det bra att exempelvis Svenska kyrkans ärkebiskop, Antje Jackelén, säger i DN:

För det var det som var Desmond Tutus livsmelodi – att leva sin tro i kärlek till människor.

Hans husläkare, Ingrid le Roux, säger också till Kyrkans Tidning:

Men han är också en djupt troende och andlig människa. Han lever nära korset, med bön och meditation varje dag. Det är hans styrka, det som burit honom.

Där fanns också skälet, tror jag, till att Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela utsåg honom till ledare för Sannings- och försoningskommissionen 1995. Desmond Tutus uppdrag var på intet sätt slutfört när Sydafrika fick sin första demokratiskt valda president. Kommissionen lyckades vidga ett från början kristet begrepp till att gälla samhället i stort. Som ordförande uppträdde Tutu alltid i sin biskopsdräkt.

Samtidigt fortsatte han att vara en profetisk röst även efter demokratiseringen. Han kunde exempelvis hota Zumas regering med att kristna skulle be för den regeringens fall, på samma sätt som kristna bad under apartheid, om inte regeringen ändrade sin politik. Hans kritik mot korruptionen var svidande. De fattiga var alltid i fokus.

Tutu är en stor inspirationskälla. Må han vila i frid till uppståndelsens morgon.

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Since the former archbishop of the Anglican Church in southern Africa, Desmond Mpilo Tutu, passed on yesterday, much has already been said and written about him. Hans Engdahl, a longtime missionary in South Africa, summed it up in DN yesterday, with the words:

Desmond Tutu was "larger than life"

By that, Hans means that it is difficult to describe the great importance Tutu has had. Providing a comprehensive picture is not the purpose of this blog post either. But a few brushstrokes I want to add to the big picture that is now given by so many.

Tutu was first and foremost a part of something bigger. It was by no means Tutu who coined the term Ubuntu but he often talked about this African mentality. In his father's language, isiXhosa, Tutu would say

Umntu Ngumntu Ngabantu

His mother, who was a Mosotho, would put it this way:

Motho o motho ka batho

A person is a person among persons. As an individual, I am created in the interaction with others. Unless others exist, neither do I.

For Tutu, this humanity was larger than the own group. He has described how he saw himself over the years in London, when he was treated like a human being at King's College. Therefore, he also regarded apartheid as an evil system, which must be fought. Dividing people by skin colour was incompatible with Tutu's basic view.

My own image of Tutu is that for him the worldwide church was the expression of this humanity. Even after his retirement in 1996, he regularly led the morning mass on Friday morning in St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town. I remember one morning when a film team was there to take photos and film him "in action". Somewhere a statue was to be erected over Tutu and the artist needed materials. When the photographer became too close during the communion prayer, Tutu stopped and pointed out the inappropriateness of disturbing him in the middle of the most central moment. Of course, the photographer backed away immediately.

Tutu was not just Anglican. He was ecumenical. And it was as the leader of the South African Council of Churches (SACC) that he became world famous. He was SACC's Secretary General in 1978–84 and this laid the foundation for him to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. Several Swedes were directly involved in the nomination. Not least Dr Axel-Ivar Dabulamanzi Berglund, who had worked at SACC together with Tutu. As Secretary General of the SACC, Tutu had a mandate to speak on behalf of the entire organization. There was a great deal of trust in Tutu and it is impossible to describe Tutu without that context. But even here his Christian faith was the foundation in a very practical way. He introduced daily morning prayer, regular Mass celebrations and retreats for the employees. The Christian faith and the commitment to justice were two sides of the same coin. Inextricably linked. Throughout the years, Tutu has begun the day with own meditation and prayer. Without that moment, he would not have been able to achieve anything, according to his own statement.

When I read articles, tweets and various statements, it is often that Tutu's anchoring in his faith in God is forgotten. Therefore, it is good that, for example, the Archbishop of the Church of Sweden, Antje Jackelén, says in DN:

Because that was what Desmond Tutu's life melody was - living his faith in love with people.

His family doctor, Ingrid le Roux, also tells Kyrkans Tidning:

But he is also a deeply believing and spiritual man. He lives near the cross, with prayer and meditation every day. It is his strength, what has carried him.

There was also the reason, I think, that Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela appointed him head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1995. Desmond Tutu's mission was by no means complete when South Africa got its first democratically elected president. The Commission succeeded in extending an initially Christian concept to society as a whole. As chairman, Tutu always appeared in his bishop's robe.

At the same time, he continued to be a prophetic voice even after democratization. He could, for example, threaten the Zuma government with Christians praying for the fall of that government, in the same way that Christians prayed under apartheid, unless the government changed its policy. His criticism of corruption was scathing. The poor were always in focus.

Tutu is a great source of inspiration. May he rest in peace until the morning of the resurrection.

African Church history in Uppsala

Wednesday last week Rev. Sthembiso Zwane arrived in Uppsala. He is the deputy director of

Ujamaa Centre for Biblical and Theological Community Development and Research

in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. We got to know one another when I was a lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). Ujamaa has strong links to the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics at UKZN.

Sthembiso has had a comprehensive stay in Sweden. Starting with participating in the graduation ceremony at the Church of Sweden Institute for Pastoral Education on the day of arrival. He had met three of the students, when we visited Pietermaritzburg in October 2016. I have written about that in a blog post. In Swedish though.

The Contextual Bible Study he conducted at Crossroads, on Thursday, I have also written about this in a blog post recently. Also in Swedish. After this we met the Director of the Swedish Bible Society.

On Friday Sthembiso gave a lecture at a seminar at the Theological Faculty. He was invited by Professor Kajsa Ahlstrand (mission studies). The theme of the lecture was:

African Independent Churches (AICs) in Postcolonial Development

I already knew that the ‘I’ in the acronym AIC either can mean independent, indigenous, instituted or initiated. (At the seminar I learnt that some scholars also interpret the ‘I’ as international).

The AIC’s are the fastest growing family of Christian denominations in Southern Africa. They have often been described as syncretistic, meaning that they mix traditional, African religion with Christianity. Well, that is of course a risk with every church – that the Christian message is mixed with other values. For better or for worse. It is not difficult to understand that African Christians experienced that the mission churches had mixed its Christianity with colonialism. How about that?

Sthembiso himself is an ordained pastor in

The NDJ Ethiopian Catholic Church in Zion

Hence he gave the presentation as a practioner and insider more than as a scholar on AIC’s. Still, I think the lecture was very informative and well prepared. He also got a lot of appreciation from those who attended.

One interesting thing was that Professor Kajsa Ahlstrand urged us to visit the grave of the late Professor and Bishop Bengt Sundkler. Sundkler was a highly respected scholar on AIC’s and he wrote about them in a respectful way. Of course he was part of his time. (Sthembiso critiqued him in his lecture). But Sundkler was known to have spent time with the AIC’s and not only studied them on a distance. His two groundbreaking books:

Bantu Prophets in South Africa (1948)

Zulu Zion and Some Swazi Zionists (1976)

are still referred to in almost every article or book about the AIC’s. On Monday, before Sthembiso left for South Africa, we managed to find his grave. I know that it was an important moment for Sthembiso.

Sthembiso at the grave, which was a bit difficult to find.

It is not easy to read the text.

We also visited the Church of Sweden Mission grave, where, amongst others, another Swedish Scholar is buried:

Axel-Ivar ‘Dabulamanzi’ Berglund

His book

Zulu Thought-Patterns and Symbolism (1976)

is a standard book on Zulu culture.

Axel-Ivar Berglund is buried together with his wife, Kerstin,
and one of his sons, Erik, who was my school mate.

The weekend we spent at

VärldensFest

in Västerås, where Sthembiso also conducted a Contextual Bible Study. It was a good opportunity to network with Christians from all over the world. It was in deed an honour for us to host him in our home both before and after the gathering in Västerås.

Axel-Ivar ‘Dabulamanzi’ Berglund

Today my friend and mentor - in a sense one of my spiritual fathers - Axel-Ivar Berglund was buried. The funeral service, with Eucharist, was held in the Cathedral of Uppsala. Here in Pietermaritzburg we held a memorial service. It started at 11 am and ended 1.30 pm – exactly when the funeral in Uppsala began.

The chapel at the Lutheran Theological Institute was not full but many people came. Former students and colleagues of Axel-Ivar as well as the students of the institute were there. A few persons were given a chance to say a few words, among them two retired Lutheran pastors: Rev. Nxele and Rev. Naika. Also prof Draper from UKZN, one of my colleagues, spoke.

The service was led by Bishop Biyela. The local dean, Myaka, and another pastor also took part in the liturgy. I chanted the Swedish funeral prayer (begravningsmässan). So, the service was held in English, isiZulu and Swedish.

So many good words were said about the life and contribution of Axel-Ivar. A priest, an ecumenist, an activist, an academic were some of the perspectives. His zulu name was used by some: Dabulamanzi, which means 'the one who crosses waters', if I am not mistaken. Rev. Naika, who is from the Indian community, gave him the title: My Guru.

The strongest impression today the oldest, present person made on me. Rev. Nxele came with his wife. He was driving himself. 91 years old. He was ordained in 1958 by the bishop of Stockholm, Helge Ljungberg, who had flown down to South Africa because the local bishop had died. After ordaining Rev. Nxele, bishop Ljungberg consecrated a new bishop in what was then the South Eastern Region of the Lutheran Church. His name was Helge Fosseus.

When I was writing this blog post I felt I needed to check the spelling of Rev Nxele’s surname. So I googled. And I found his name in an article. In a footnote. The article’s title is:

Black critics of Lutheran Mission in Zululand and Natal in the 1950s, with particular emphasis on socio-political issues. By: Odd Magne Bakke

The foot note reads:

Both the retired Zulu pastor, R. E. Nxele and the retired missionary A.I. Berglund
emphasized this fact in interviews with the author respectively in Durban (November 2008) and in Uppsala (October 2010).

Isn’t that strange. There they are. In an academic article about the critique of western mission in South Africa.

Today they were united in another way. Far apart in so many respects but in the sacramental reality close.

Of course it would have been fantastic to be part of the funeral Service in Uppsala, but in the universal church it does not really matter. I know that a colleague from Pietermaritzburg, Rev. Bongani Zulu, was present in Uppsala, in the cathedral where his great, great uncle, Joseph Zulu was ordained as the first African priest of the Church of Sweden in 1901.

The relation between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa and the Church of Sweden is old and there are so many personal links. I feel privileged to be part of this relation. I am thankful for the world wide – in the true sense of the word – Catholic Church.

Today this church, which crosses over borders, celebrated the life of a son of the soil: Axel-Ivar ‘Dabulamanzi’ Berglund.

Hamba kahle, Baba! Go in peace, Father!

I Uppsala

Sommarvistelsen i Sverige avslutas med seminarium tillsammans med andra utsända medarbetare inom Svenska kyrkans internationella arbete. Men dessförinnan tillbringar vi några dagar i lärdomsstaden. Vi har hunnit med att träffa äldsta döttrarna, som snart båda är Uppsalabor. Vi har varit på dubbelt femtioårskalas på Uplands Nation. Mäktigt och trivsamt!

Idag började vi dagen med högmässa i Helga Trefaldighets kyrka. Där mötte vi en bekant, nämligen förre organisten Per Erik Styf. Han undrade om han fick komma förbi en stund på eftermiddagen, vilket vi naturligtvis ville. Till detta vill jag återkomma.

Eftersom frukosten blivit sen hann vi med att besöka en annan bekant efter högmässan. Axel-Ivar Berglund är präst och var många år missionär i Sydafrika, tillsammans med sin nu bortgångna hustru, Kerstin. Det blev ett mycket kärt besök. Vi bor i den del av Sydafrika, KwaZulu-Natal, som är Axel-Ivars hembygd. Han är född och uppvuxen där och har även bott en stor del av sitt vuxna liv där. Vi hade många hälsningar till honom och han bad oss framföra hälsningar tillbaka.

Här är jag i samspråk med Axel-Ivar.

Efter lunchen och ytterligare en promenad, fick vi besök av Per Erik Styf. Anledningen var att han ville överräcka en bok han skrivit:

Sjunga i kanon med texter från Höga Visan till i dag

Under en halvtimme satt vi i trädgården, där näst äldsta dottern bor och lyssnade till en rad av de dikter han tonsatt. Alla möjliga att sjunga i kanon. I förordet skriver Per Erik:

I våra dagars samhällsdebatt hör orden demokrati och jämlikhet, jämställdhet till de mest frekventa. När man sjunger kanon, förverkligas i den musikaliska  gemenskapen märkligt nog  till 100 %  dessa begrepp, som på andra områden av mänsklig aktivitet visar sig så gott som omöjliga att uppnå.

Undertecknad, Per Erik Styf och hustrun på en bänk hos näst äldsta dottern, 

som bor på Övre Slottsgatan i Uppsala.

Idén är att alla får sjunga melodin och ingen är över- eller underställd de andra. Per Erik Styf har tonsatt texter av så skilda författare som Paulus, Linné, Selma Lagerlöf, Gustaf Fröding, Kristina Lugn och Alexandr Solzjenitsyn. Samt förstås Höga Visan. Bland de sista sångerna finns Livets samspel, där kompositören själv skrivit även texten. Den gillar jag:

Spännande är livets samspel, kontrapunktens disciplin.
Får en dissonans sin lösning blir än högre harmonin.

En innehållsrik dag, där vi fått träffa två äldre herrar, som vi uppskattar mycket.

Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 40 years

Last week I was in South Africa and coincidentally I happened to be in Pietermaritzburg at the 40th Anniversary of the Journal of Theology for Southern Africa (JTSA). One of its former editors, James (Jim) Cochrane, gave a lecture as a tribute to the journal: Spiritual capacity, Spirituality and the Challenge of Freedom.

Before he started, the occasion was opened by Janet Trisk, current editor together with the general editor Gerald West. After a few words she gave over to the founder, John de Gruchy. He gave us a few glimpses from the early years of the publication and I was happy to hear that amongst names like Desmond Tutu and David Bosch he directly mentioned Axel-Ivar Berglund. Axel-Ivar was born by Swedish parents in South Africa not far from Pietermaritzburg. He studied theology in Sweden but returned to South Africa as a missionary. He worked with theological education in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Southern Africa at Umpumulo, where pastors were trained before the education moved to LTI in Pietermaritzburg. Axel-Ivar also worked at the SACC and he holds a PhD at the University of Cape Town (UCT). Axel-Ivar has been and is still a great inspiration to me.

Back to the lecture. John de Gruchy was the first editor, Jim Cochrane the second. The third editor was Steve de Gruchy, late son of John and Isobel de Gruchy. Isobel, who is a poet and painter, was also present at the lecture. Steve was Dean at the School of Religion and Theology at UKZN and died in his fifties. I never had the opportunity to meet him but have understood that he was an exceptional theologian.

John spoke about the time when the journal was launched as “one of the darkest periods in the history of South Africa”. In 1972 the Prime Minister was B J Vorster and his brother, J D Vorster was an influential Dutch Reformed Church clergyman. As far as apartheid was concerned church and state went hand in hand.

Echoes of our time

Much has happened since then but Jim Cochrane started his lecture by talking about the Marikana shootings, saying that many draw parallels to Sharpeville and he concluded:

We are not the society we promised to become …

He gave a number of examples like HIV and AIDS, the refusal by some privileged whites to reconcile, corruption, syndicates having come to SA, violence against women and children but also against men, crime, and most of all the growth of the gap between rich and poor.

But then he told the story about Dr C V Pillay trying to fight corruption at Madwaleni rural hospital in Eastern Cape. Prof Cochrane spoke about the need for another kind of spirituality and he asked if and how theology in South Africa today has taken up this responsibility.

The lecture was divided into three parts. “Echoes of our time” was the first. The next was:

Possibilities

He spoke about a capacity that human beings have: the capacity to imagine new possibilities and bring them into being. We are created in the image of God. In latin: Imago dei. The key insight being that this also is a spiritual capacity. We can imagine a just society and bring into being.

So he turned to the third part:

Freedom and responsibility

The task of theology today is to address the new possibilities. The society is in dire need of courage, passion, rigour, seriousness and hope. This could be a contribution by theology.

After the lecture we had the opportunity to ask questions. Two interesting comments came from Sue Rakoczy (at St Joseph’s Theological Institute in Pietermaritzburg) and Clint Le Bruin (at School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics at UKZN). Sue asked when the first woman had an article published in the JTSA. According to Cochrane probably in the beginning of the 1980s. Clint introduced himself as a rather young theologian and asked for forgiveness being rude, when he asked whether Cochrane wasn’t just an old professor saying that things were better before. Clint himself experiences that the theology of today is vibrant. So these two persons gave voice to two groups (women and youth) who haven’t always been taken serious in South Africa.

The answer from Cochrane was that things are worse now. And it is not only a South African phenomenon. All over the globe the credo of our time is: Me, me and mine, mine. But there is hope. There are possibilities. Cochrane saw as one possibility the shift of theological language and he actually gave an example from a charismatic church. (Although he is not a charismatic Christian in that sense of the word).

It is a great privilege to be able to join this context of responsible theologians early next year. Hopefully I can also make a contribution.

Janet Trisk

Isobel and John de Gruchy and to the right Gerald West

Jim Cochrane

Uhuru och den sista fågeln

Vi blev gripna av Bertha Hansson. Hennes skildringar av Lapplandsdelen av Västerbottens län. Hon var som sagt lärare i Fredrika. Drottning Fredrika Dorotea Vilhelmina var drottning av Sverige 1797-1809 gift 1797-1812 med Gustav IV Adolf av Sverige. (D v s även tre år efter att han abdikerat). Hon fick ge namn till tre socknar i Lappland: Viska, Bergvattnet och Volgsjö, som blev Fredrika, Dorotea och Vilhelmina. I Fredrika var Bertha Hansson lärare. En del tavlor har hämtat sin inspiration därifrån.

Vi greps även av de tavlor, som hämtat inspiration från Rorkes Drift. Som även kallas Orskarsberg, eftersom denna dåvarande svenska missionsstation grundades då Oscar I var kung i Sverige. (Det ska ofta vara någon kunglighet och lägga sig i namn på platser - både i norra Sverige och i Södra Afrika). Men för zulufolket heter naturligtivs platsen eShiyane.

Spännande detta med ortsnamn. I nutidens Sverige är inte namnbyten så vanligt. Men i Sydafrika sker det fortfarande. Gamla koloniala namn, som t ex huvudstaden Pretoria, försvinner till förmån för nygamla. (Andries Pretorius var en av de s k voortrekkers, som grundade republiker i det inre av Sydafrika, för att komma undan engelsmännen på 1800-talet.) Idag pågår en kamp om huvdstaden ska heta just Pretoria eller Tshwane.

När vi var i Uppsala träffade vi Kerstin och Axel-Ivar Berglund. För Axel-Ivar är det eShiyane som gäller. Det är spännande! Googlar man på eShiyane får man upp en sida som handlar om Axel-Ivar! Född i kwaZulu. Kanske mer Zulu än svensk. Jag vet inte! Axel-Ivar kommer ihåg Bertha Hansson, när vi frågar honom. Hennes bilder med Afrika-inspiration var häriga. Särskilt en som heter 'Uhuru' vilket är kiSwahili och betyder 'Frihet'.



En annan av hennes bilder heter 'Sista fågeln'. En olja från 1991. Jag hittar den på Börjes konstblogg. Den har en dikt bifogad till sig:

I kväll landade ännu en fågel på min uppspända målarduk.
En stor och vit.
Den allra sista.
Hur jag vet att det är den sista?
Jo sånt tar man inte miste på.
Sånt känns i ryggmärgen.
Jag kämpade länge med färgen
besegrade den svarta
med den vita.
När klockan i Maria Magdalena
slog tolv dova slag
lämnade jag staffliet för gott.
Satte punkt för mitt målarliv.
Utan självömkan tror jag.
Men givetvis med bävan.
Nu återstår bara att vänta.




En dag spelar varken ortsnamn eller kungligheter så stor roll. Den dagen kan komma snart eller sent. Det är alltid nyttigt att bli påmind om det perspektivet. Vi väntar alla. Men själv har jag inte tänkt lämna staffliet (eller snarare tangentbordet) på länge än.