A visitor from Bloemfontein in Uppsala

Wanda Verster

Today I attended a seminar at the Department of Art History, Uppsala University. This is definitely not my field. The reason for my participation was an e-mail from one of the faculty members, Associate Professor Eva Sandgren. She invited me, because the department had a visiting scholar from the University of the Free State (UFS). Her name is Wanda Verster. I had never met her before, but since UFS is the University where I earned my PhD, I very much wanted to attend this seminar. The theme was:

Institutional Thresholds as Design Engagement. 

University Campus as Catalyst for Transformative Design

I really enjoyed listening to Wanda Verster. I have been a student at the Campus she spoke about. I know the dynamics and even the physical spaces she was referring to.

Not so welcoming, after all.

It was interesting to learn how the students had worked with a project around thresholds and boundaries. Wanda explained how the campus has become more and more closed over the years. Today one can access the campus through four main access points. If I understood it correctly that means if you come by car. There are also a number of smaller gates, where pedestrians can enter. You need a card to be able to enter and all gates are guarded by security personnel. The task of the students was to work with architectural ways of breaching the boundaries or making use of the edges in order to open up for communication between the university and its context. But also installations around other different phenomena such as the old statue in from of the Main Building. It is a statue of one of the founders of the University, President Martinus Theunis Steyn, who was the president of the Orange Free State 1896-1902.

The whole idea of statues I have written about before. That time it was about the Cecil John Rhodes-statue in front of the Main Building of the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the hashtag

#rhodesmustfall

After some googling I also found #steynmustfall on the internet. Especially a youtube video where a group called Boer Republic defend the specific statue.

Yes, there is an ongoing conversation in South Africa with clear postcolonial aspects. Sometimes peaceful, sometimes violent. Wanda also mentioned the 2016 #feesmustfall campaign. If I understood her correctly the protests at UFS were less violent than in other parts of the country. I have also blogged about this.

What I also find interesting is the fact that the gates and the fences around campus serve a mere symbolic purpose. I also remember this from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. If I had forgotten my card I could ask somebody to let me in or even talk with the security guards. They very seldom argued about that. So, at a very high cost, the universities put fences around the campuses. What does this do with a University when it comes to openness and creativity?

I told a colleague at Church of Sweden headquarters about the seminar and he directly said that it is the same with our head office. Our motto is

Openness, presence and hope

But to enter the office you need a card. Visitors need to wait in the reception to be let in. Even in the School where I teach, no one can just enter. When we celebrate Eucharist every Monday and Wednesday the worship is in theory open to any visitor. But in practice only card holderscan get in. 

It is enlightening to engage with another academic discipline. One can always learn something. About one's own context.

Context is everything

The school year at the Church of Sweden Institute for Pastoral Education has ended. This week I have plenty of time to prepare for next semester. Some students that enrolled in January will come back in September. We will also receive a large number of new students. The Ministerial class for priests will count between 25 and 30 students. More than we have had since I started in 2015. We are thankful for that!

One of the lecturers I give have the title (in translation):

The exegesis rests in the hermeneutics

This is a quote from Professor Emeritus Kari Syreeni. When I did Biblical Studies we were busy with exegesis. Hermeneutics would come at a later stage. As part of Systematic Theology or even at the Seminary. But in order to understand the Biblical text we must understand that a hermeneutical approach is needed from the beginning.

When I look back at my own ministry I realise that I often preached as if there was a normative theology which is constant through history. After my years in southern Africa I have changed. I find the tension between the common and the particular fruitful. In a document from the Lutheran World Federation: The Bible in the Life of the Lutheran Communion A Study Document on Lutheran Hermeneutics, I read:

Thus, today we allow space for several groups within the church and society to find their options and experiences mirrored in the Bible and the community of faith. Many of these groups have been able to put into writing their hermeneutics, such as feminist theologies with several intersections of race, class and culture, liberation theologies, queer theologies, Dalit theologies and others. We are thus required to take into consideration the relevance and the meaning of a plurality of contextual resonances of the Bible. Yet, this poses other challenge to us. The principle of contextuality implies that what in one context is helpful might be disconcerting or destabilizing in another context (a practice suffered by non-hegemonic groups as long as their particular reading was ignored)”

I am not totally happy with the introduction of the paragraph:

We allow space for several groups …

We and them. Why do we always separate us from them? Having said that, I am happy that it is mentioned that different voices need to be heard. And my own voice is also important.

One of my book shelfs.

I looked in my book shelf and found that I have a number of old collections of sermons. And a few. The old ones are named after that author. The new ones have other titles. Either ‘women preach’ or ‘ecological sermons’. The new ones give account for their perspective. The old ones pretend that they supply the normative perspective.

So, these are some of the thought I will share with one group of students when the second semester, for those who started in January, begins. Before that, however, I will have some vacation.

Ordination in ELCSA-SED 25 June 2017

What a joyful event. The South Eastern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa got 13 new pastors on Sunday 25 June. I was privileged to be part of the service, which took place at the Diocesan centre at Umphumulo. This might be the last ordination service that Bishop P P Buthelezi leads. He will retire later this year. On this occasion he was surrounded by two other bishops namely Bishop Emeritus S P Zulu (one of his predecessors)  and Bishop Emeritus Dr M Biyela, former bishop of the Eastern Diocese.

Five of the candidates I have taught – either at the Lutheran Theological Institute (LTI) or at the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics (SRPC) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). The main reason for my presence was however the ordination of Rev. Selom Klu. The first time I met him was in Kalmar in the South of Sweden. I think it was in 2010. He lived in Blomstermåla and was very active in Ålem Parish, where my wife worked as Parish Educator.

We moved to Pietermaritzburg in South Africa 2013 and in 2014 Selom also moved there. He lived at the LTI and continued his theological studies at UKZN. He was my student in homiletics and liturgy. When we moved back to Sweden in 2015 Selom remained in South Africa and last year he was accepted as a candidate for ordination into priesthood.

Selom is originally from West Africa and is now a full pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa after a number of years in Sweden. The common feature here is of course the Lutheran Church. Selom was born into the Lutheran Church in Togo, became active in the Lutheran Church in Sweden and now in Southern Africa. With this blog post I want to share some highlights of the ordination service.

The first youtube clip is part of the Nicene Creed, which the candidates confess together.

Thereafter Bishop P P Buthelezi asks the candidates a few questions and they all answer yes.

Central in any ordination service is when the candidate gets the stole laid on her or his shoulders. (In Church of Sweden the bishop always literally does that part.) On the other hand priests in Church of Sweden do not get a bible, an altar book, a chalice and a paten. (One has to mention that the chalice and paten is just there as symbols. The rest is given to the candidate. This means that every candidate keeps chasubles in every liturgical colour. In Church of Sweden the chasuble belongs to the Parish and is kept in the church.)

The laying of hands is also a central part of the liturgy. In this case it is the bishops and the deans that lay hands on each candidate.

Each candidate is introduced to the congregation. It is the deputy bishop, Dean N Myaka, who introduces them and he describes Selom as a missionary with links to Church of Sweden.

Here follows some photos from the ordination service.

Rev. Selom Klu

Bishop Emeritus M Biyela, Bishop P P Buthelezi, Bishop Emeritus S P Zulu.

Directly after the ordination all the newly ordained walk in a procession to meet their congregants.

All the 13 newly ordained. Eight of them are self supporting ministers and the other five are full pastors. Among them are some of my students. Second from the left is Selom Klu. Sixth from the left Ntuthuko Nkosi. Next to him Nokukhanya Mngoma and thereafter Njabulo Madonsela. The tall pastor fourth from the right was also my student: Msizi Mkhathini. I was very happy to be there and 

participate in their ordination.

South African connection in the north of Sweden

Newly ordained deacon Linda Jele with her parents, Moses and Eivor - and me.

This weekend I represented Church of Sweden Institute for pastoral Education at the ordination of one deacon and five priest in Luleå Diocese, in the north of Sweden. I have taught a few of them. Among them the deacon, Linda Jele. Her father is from Machadodorp (eNtokozweni) in Mpumalanga, South Africa. I was very happy to be able to greet him in IsiZulu. His name is Moses Jele and he comes from the Swedish Alliance Mission. He has lived in Sweden many years but was back in South Africa a few years as Rector of the Phumelela Bible College (PBC) in White River. We know quite a lot about the Swedish Alliance Mission (SAM) after our ten years in Aneby (in the south of Sweden). A close relative of our daughter’s best friend had been a missionary of the SAM to South Africa. Her name is Barbro Fritz. So I was aware that the SAM operated in that part of South Africa. Today the PBC is run by the Alliance Church in South Africa (TACSA).

Linda Jele has already worked a few years in Piteå Parish. I lived in that Parish when I was younger. From 1970-73 I attended school in Långträsk. Grade 4-6. Linda will now continue her work as an ordained deacon.

Tommy, Joel, Rebekca, Bishop Hans Stiglund, Johannes, Linda and Gustav.

Luleå Diocese also got five new priests. One of them, Joel Wadström, will work within the Swedish Evangelical Mission (SEM) an independent organization within the Church of Sweden. The others will work within different parishes of Luleå Diocese, Church of Sweden. One of them, Rebecka Folkesten, studied at Johannelund School of Theology. Johannes Lindsund studied at our institute, on our campus in Lund, in the south of Sweden. Gustav Frosteblad and Tommy Persson were two of my students at our institute in Uppsala.

I enjoyed being part of this joyous occasion. In two weeks’ time I will participate in an ordination service of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA). Will I then meet someone from Luleå?

In Luleå Cathedral I always make a stop at the triptych by Mats Risberg:
Tree of life (sometimes called: Our neighbour in the world).
The artist was inspired by Matthew 25:40.
And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one
of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

The SACC questions the legitimacy of the Government in SA

It gives me hope that the South African Council of Churches meet for their triennial conference. A number of years ago many people thought that the Council had died. And it really experienced difficult times. Financially and administratively. Three years ago a successful attempt managed to save the organization. New leadership were elected and since then the council has functioned. Whether it has functioned well I cannot really judge. But from time to time I have seen statements and understood that the prophetic voice is still there.

Archbishop emeritus, Anders Wejryd, from Church of Sweden, was invited to the meeting and his address is available on the website of the World Council of Churches. He stressed the importance of the South African Constitution. I agree with him. South Africa has a strong constitution and some independent institutions with integrity. The Public Protector and the Constitutional Court, to mention a few. In between the lines he also gave support to the SACC in its difficult task to be a prophetic voice:

Now, when you are discerning the present situation in your land and your responsibilities as servants of the people living in your land and as servants of the Lord, you shall know that the ecumenical movement is with you.

The President of the SACC, Bishop Ziphozihle D Siwa, was more outspoken about the situation. He spoke about gross organized and rampant corruption. And it was equally clear that the government is the addressee. It seems to me that the SACC – again – question the legitimacy of the present government.

Section 41 of the Constitution in Chapter 3 on the Principles of Co-Operative Government and Intergovernmental Relations. Three Subsections of Section 41 (1) says that all organs of State must:(b) Secure the well-being of the people of the Republic(c) Provide effective, transparent, accountable and coherent government for the Republic as a whole; (d) Be loyal to the Constitution, the Republic, and its people.” The above in the light of what has been revealed by the reports point to questions of moral and constitutional legitimacy of the Government. How has the Parliament and the Executive conducted themselves? What do we do? This Conference must craft clear action plans for the sake of this nation. “Iph’ indlela? (Where is the way?).

To me this is a hopeful sign.

Contextual Bible Study

Sarojini Nadar in front of Uppsala Cathedral

Today Professor Sarojini Nadar, who holds

the Desmond Tutu Chair of Ecumenical Theology and Social Transformation in Africa

at the University of Western Cape in South Africa, visited us at the Church of Sweden Institute for Pastoral Education. Approximately thirty persons were present at the interactive workshop where we read a Bible narrative together. It was the story about the syrophoenician woman who meets Jesus. We read both the Mark 7 and the Matthew 15 versions. It was reassuring to see the engagement from students and teachers. The group consisted of students preparing to become deacons and pastors, teachers at the institute, academics from the Theological Faculty at the Uppsala University and staff members from Church of Sweden head office.

When a bible study is facilitated by theologians from the Ujamaa* tradition some things always strike me. First of all everybody in the room get an opportunity to participate and to speak. All contributions are written on a flip chart. Second, you never experience a rush, even if there is a time constraint. The facilitator is not in a hurry.

We arrived at interesting conclusions. One thing that a couple of persons picked up was the impression that Jesus didn’t want to help the woman directly. Instead he started a dispute with her which helped her to raise her own voice. Only then did Jesus respond positively. Somehow even Jesus came out from the conversation transformed. He also learnt something from the encounter. A question that was asked was if we are quick to help people instead of first engaging with the other person and wait for her or his own opinion. In such an interaction we might come out as the one who has received.

Much more could be said. Those who were present were very positive. The day before students at our institute, who study in Lund, also got a chance to meet her.

To me this way of reading the Bible together is something that we should use more in the parishes. The question that always comes up towards the end is how we make sense of the biblical text in our own context. How does it speak to us? This is of course essential. Only then transformation can take place.

The theme of the workshop was

Pedagogical underpinnings of the Contextual Bible Study Method

and included also a part where Sarojini explained how this pedagogy works. This was also appreciated.

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* The Ujamaa Centre for Biblical and Theological Community Development and Research in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa is an interface between socially engaged biblical and theological scholars, organic intellectuals, and local communities of the poor, working-class, and marginalised. The Ujamaa Centre uses biblical and theological resources for individual and social transformation (from the website).

Internship in South Africa

Right now I am back in South Africa. Back in Pietermaritzburg. Back at the Lutheran Theological Institute and the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

On Saturday I arrived together with four students from the Church of Sweden Institute for Pastoral Education. They are here on a kind of internship. They are all doing their final year. One will become a Parish Educator, one is training to become a Deacon and two will be Pastors.

Today we joined a group from the University on a field visit to Vulindlela. It is an area west of Pietermaritzburg. An organisation called CAPRISA has a research site there. The acronym CAPRISA means: Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa. It is supported by UNAIDS and really an impressing initiative. The trip was organised by CHART. Collaborative for HIV and AIDS, Religion and Theology.

The organisation carries out pharmaceutical trials, partner with a number of clinics, run projects for youth, offer counselling and testing etc. They also cooperate with the community and look at a number of reasons why the HIV infection rate is exceptionally high in this area. About 40% of the population are infected with HIV. And new people get affected all the time. Not only here, but in the whole world! Every day there are 6 000 new infections in the world. 4 000 of those are in sub-Saharan Africa. This according to UNAIDS. The HIV pandemic is not over.

What I found both interesting and disappointing was the information that many young women in Vulindlela have inflammation in their genitalia. The reason is the idea that men like their vaginas to be dry. So with different herbs and other methods they try to achieve this and this of course damage their bodies. With inflammation it is much easier for the virus to get into the woman’s system and she becomes infected.

We were also told that many young women opt for anal sex. There are a number of reasons. One is that they don’t fall pregnant, which is true. The other that they keep their virginity. The third reason is of course false – they believe that anal sex is safer from a HIV perspective. It is actually the opposite.

So, the spread has to do with gender roles, lack of information and a number of other things.

One of the staff members we met used a metaphor called “the Cabinet”. Young women in the rural areas get infected by different “cabinet ministers”. 1) The Minister of Transport, is the man that takes her to school when it is raining or when the road is too long. In exchange of … 2) The Minister of Health buys food, soap, clothes and other necessities for her. In exchange of … 3) The Minister of Education can be either a teacher or a man who pays her school fees. In exchange of …

I had a nice conversation with one of the staff members. Ulenta. She gives support to the clinics in the area. There are about 90 000 people living in Vulindlela, so there are a number of clinics. They are often understaffed but with proper routines and systems in place they can do their work much better.

CAPRISA is doing a great job. To save lives. To empower people to live better lives.

Together with Ulenta.

Rewarding visit to Gothenburg

We always enjoy being on the west coast of Sweden. The second largest city of our country, Göteborg (Gothenburg in translation), is friendly and has always been multicultural. People traditionally have a good sense of humour. Unfortunately I have to avoid sharing some of the jokes. They are usually impossible to translate to another language.

We went there on Friday and spent a nice evening with my eldest brother and his wife. Saturday morning we joined the Lerum Parish and their two buses headed for Åh Diocesan Conference centre. The parish, where my brother serves as Rector, went for a Parish outing with games, food and workshops. We ended with a Holy Communion service.

Two things are important to mention (among others). First, we had promised prayer, contextual bible study, singing and dancing in our workshop. Swedish people generally describe themselves as stiff (when it comes to dancing) and shy (singing or praying). This was, however, not our experience yesterday. I was so happy to see the participants, especially some elderly ladies, and their excitement about dancing and singing. When we asked everyone to say a prayer, somebody said loudly:

Now it will become silent!

But that did not happen. Almost everyone said a prayer. Our interpretation is that members of the Church of Sweden want to participate. They are not shy. They are not often invited to participate.

Second, the concluding Eucharist service started with dance. A group of children and their leaders danced in front of the altar and we were invited to take part.

After spending the evening with good friends, we joined them for the Sunday Service in Bergsjön Lutheran Church. Bergsjön is a well-known part of Göteborg. There are many social problems there. People from more than 100 nationalities live there and there is a lot of poverty and unemployment. The congregation functions very well in this context. Part of the Church is a second hand shop. The congregation also give all kind of support to immigrants in general and refugees in particular. There is a clinic with medical doctors, lawyers go there voluntarily etc.

Before the service started we took a short walk in the neighbourhood and paid a visit to the Syrian Orthodox Church where our host-family have friends. It's an impressing church. But we did not stay more than a few minutes before we walked back to the Lutheran Church.

So, we enjoyed a High mass with lots of nationalities and prayers in Arabic and Tigrinya as a complement to Swedish.

When we had tea and coffee in the hall after the service we shared table with a refugee from Iran, who had been in Sweden eight years and two persons from Syria, who had been in Sweden two days.

This weekend gave us so much. Meeting family, friends and people who come from other parts of the world – it is so enriching.

Children and adults dancing in front of the altar.

Prayers in different languages

The risen Jesus Christ above the altar, priest and lay ministers.

The Sunday School sings!

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!

The courage to disappear

Tonight we attended

the third annual Steve de Gruchy Memorial Lecture

Guest speaker was Prof. Beverley Haddad. It was in many respects a memorable evening. I have been to a number of similar lectures. Tonight the hall, which was big, was filled to capacity. Not only people from the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics were present. There were also many staff and students from the Cluster partners; Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary, St.Joseph 's Theological Institute (Roman Catholic), Lutheran Theological Institute, Evangelical Seminary of Southern Africa, and the Congregational House of Formation.

Of course we bought a copy. Signed!

But of course: most of all the evening evolved around the legacy of Steve de Gruchy, as the highlight of the evening was the launch of a new book:

Beverly Haddad (Ed), Keeping Body and Soul Together. Reflections by Steve de Gruchy on Theology and Development. (Pietermaritzburg: Cluster publications, 2015)

Beverley Haddad, who also was a colleague of Steve de Gruchy for many years. They worked together in the ‘Theology and Development Programme’. (One of the programmes that Church of Sweden is supporting at our university). Beverley has far as I can see, done a great job. But I have of course not read the book. I will certainly come back when I have done that.

Back to title of this blog post. Steve de Gruchy disappeared in a very tragic way. The 21 February 2010 he was drowned in a river. I have never met him but I have heard a lot about him and also read some of his texts, to the extent that I feel that I am getting to know him.

Photo: Kristina Göranzon

Beverley started by saying that there are many myths around Steve de Gruchy, since fewer and fewer of the students have met him. Sometimes he is portrayed as a saint. To her, as a close colleague, he was no myth and certainly no saint, she said. But a very good friend!

He disappeared. So did also Beverley last year when she took early retirement. To me this became very obvious, when I listened to the lecture. A memorial lecture! A lecture about times that have passed …

This could have been the case, had it not been for Beverley’s energy and commitment. The way I understood her lecture, she wanted to pose questions to today’s young generation of theologians at the university. And the most burning one was:

Is social transformation still at the heart of the Theological Project?

Maybe I need to explain the term ‘Theological Project’. Our School is a result of several mergers. So Theology is now together with Religious Studies, Ethics, Philosophy, Classics and maybe other disciplines. Nowhere in the School is there any structured space which can be called a ‘Theological’ one. Therefore we speak about the ‘Theological Project’. It is carried by individual staff members in mutual commitment and I am still struggling to understand how this entity or phenomenon is constituted and by whom.

Never the less: most of the people in the audience, albeit not all, where theologians. To us the question was a wake up call. Do we really care for the context in which we live? Or are we just engaged with internal church issues? Beverley quoted Archbishop emeritus, Desmond Mpilo Tutu, who after 1994 said, that

Now the churches can go back to be churches

I have never heard of this quote and was a bit chocked. Wasn't that what the churches really did during the struggle? Were churches!

Tonight's lecture drew most of its inspiration from Latin-american liberation theology. Also a bit surprising! Maybe Steve de Gruchy also did that.

Beverley spoke about the ‘See, Judge, Act’ method but added a first step namely ‘Faith Commitment’, which makes it into the ‘Pastoral Cycle’. Later in the lecture she also, referring to Latin-america, added a fifth step: ‘Celebrate’.

The faith commitment means that we ask whose perspective is important, whom we want to journey with. The answer is, that we must journey with the poor and marginalized. We need to have an

Epistemological privileging of the poor

What we often do, in our churches is that we have an

Epistemological privileging of the ordained

This Beverley repeated four times. In as much as she herself is an ordained Anglican priest, she is very suspicious about the way clergy use their power and forget whom they are to serve.

Another part of the lecture built on the Brazilian theologian Carlos Dreher at Centro de Estudos Bíblicos (CEBI). Beverley referred to one of his books:

Carlos A. Dreher, The Walk to Emmaus (São Leopoldo: Centro de Estudos Bíblicos, 2004)

He uses the narrative in Luke 24:13-35 where Jesus walks with two disciples to Emmaus. Seven steps are found in the narrative, which we as theologians could make use of, when we seek to be part of a transformational leadership:

1. Recognising the culture of silence

2. Walking together and listening

3. Analysing the reality of those we work with

4. Using the Bible at the right moment

5. Practice opens the eyes

6. The courage to disappear

7. Ultimate goal – enabling others to become active subjects

When I took part in a bible workshop in Nairobi last year, we did study this narrative and the facilitators were from CEBI. But todays lecture gave other ‘aha-moments’. Maybe it is because we also are in the process of leaving Pietermaritzburg and South Africa later this year. That is why the sixth step became important tonight:

The courage to disappear

However, I don’t want to disappear for the sake of just leaving. I think I am on my way to something else. I also believe God is with me on that journey. Presently I do not know where we will live in six months’ time and I do not know if I will have a job or what I, if I get a job, will work with.

But one thing I know: I want to work with a theological method that has social transformation at the heart. And I want to understand that the epistemological privilege rests with the poor and marginalised. And not with the ordained.

Biskopsval

(An English version follows below.)

För en tid sedan fick jag frågan om jag kunde tänka mig att bli biskop i Växjö stift. Jag svarade med glädje: Ja! Det var början på en spännande process/resa. Den har tagit en del energi. Men även gett energi. Att några personer ville nominera mig och på olika sätt föra fram mig som en tänkbar biskop, kändes stort och känns fortfarande stort. Min bön är att de nu hittar sin väg tillsammans med den som till slut blir vald till biskop, den 3 december.

Igår blev det nämligen klart att det inte blir jag. Till stiftet och de två kvarvarande kandidaterna, Fredrik och Thomas, önskar jag Guds välsignelse.

För mig går livet vidare. Just nu i Nairobi. Tillsammans med trossyskon från olika delar av den världsvida kyrkan. Vi läser bibeln tillsammans. Och vi läser i varandras livsböcker – i den utsträckning vi vill och kan dela våra berättelser. Underbart.

Alla kände till att det var biskopsval igår. En dag då vi läste Lukasevangeliet 24:13-35. Berättelsen om Emmausvandringen. Jag var en smula frånvarande – delvis fysiskt men även rent mentalt. Sista passet var jag dock med. När grupperna gjort sina redovisningar, fick jag möjlighet att dela mina känslor några minuter.

Soave's skor gav mig något att tänka på. Hur
ser vägen ut, som mina skor vandrar?

Utifrån Emmausvandringen upplevde jag att jag nu är tillbaka till början av vandringen. Jag får börja om. Bilden för mig blev tydlig på Soave’s skor, som föreställer en spiral.

Min livsvandring har gått i en cirkel och att jag är redo att fortsätta där jag var nyss. Men omvägen har inte varit utan mening.

Så bad Soave, som är en av våra ledare, att de andra deltagarna från Sydafrika skulle komma fram. Mbali (hennes namn betyder blomma) och Kgomotso (hennes namn betyder tröst) tog mig i varsin hand. Tillsammans med resten av gruppen bildade vi en ring.

Sedan sjöng och dansade vi en sång på kiSwahili, som var direkt hämtad ur bibeltexten.

Karibia Yesu karibia, Karibia kwetu karibia

Texten betyder: kom nära, Jesus, kom nära. Kom nära oss, kom nära. Det är verkligen också min bön just nu.

Därefter sjöng vi en sydafrikansk sång, där vi i dansen byter riktning, för att vi behöver ändra våra liv. En välbekant sång som vi ofta sjunger och dansar i Sydafrika.

Sista sången hade en text med orden:

Why don’t you bright in the corner where you are?

Betydelse: Varför lyser Du inte i det hörn där Du är? Ja, det är en relevant fråga. Till slut bad Kgomotso, på uppmaning av Soave, för att jag skulle välkomnas tillbaka till Sydafrika.

En mycket stark avslutning. En befriande sång- och dansupplevelse. Och bön. I en trygg grupp. I den världsvida kyrkan. På början av vägen till mitt Emmaus. Och Jesus kom och slog följe med oss.


Election of a bishop

Some time ago I was asked if I was prepared to be one of the candidates when Växjö diocese in Sweden was going to elect a new bishop. With joy I answered: Yes! And an interesting process/journey began. It has taken some energy but I have also gained energy from it. The fact that some persons wanted to nominate me as a possible bishop felt special and it is still special. My prayer is that they will be happy together with the person, who will be elected bishop on 3 December.

Yesterday it became clear that this person is not me. To the diocese and the two remaining candidates, Fredrik and Thomas, I wish God’s blessing.

For me, life goes on. At the moment in Nairobi. Together with fellow Christians from different parts of the world wide church. We read the bible together. And we read in each other’s lives’ books. Insofar as we are happy to share them with one another. Wonderful.

Everyone was aware that Växjö diocese was electing a new bishop today. It happened the day when we read Luke 24:13-35 together. The story about the walk to Emmaus. Naturally I have been a bit absent – partly physically but also mentally. The last session, however, I got the opportunity to share my feelings with the group a couple of minutes.

The shues of Soave inspired me. Which
path are my shoes going to follow?

With reference to the Emmaus walk, I experience that I now am back at the start of my walk. To a new beginning. An image, on the shoes of Soave, picturing a spiral, made this clear.

My life’s journey has had this form and I am prepared to continue where I was recently. But the detour has not been meningless.

Soave, who is one of our facilitators, then asked the other participants from South Africa to come in front. Mbali (her name means flower) and Kgomotso (her name means comfort) took my hands, one on each side. Together with the rest of the group we formed a circle.

And then we danced and sang a song in kiSwahili, with words directly from the biblereading.

Karibia Yesu karibiaKaribia kwetu karibia

The meaning is: Come close, Jesus, come close. Come close to us, come close. This is in deed also my prayer right now.

Thereafter we sang a South African song, where we change direction in the dance, because we need to change our lives. A well known song we often sing and dance in South Africa.

The last song had a text with the words:

Why don’t you bright in the corner where you are?

Also a relevant question. Finally Kgomotso prayed, to make me feel welcome back to South Africa.

This was very powerful. A liberating dance- and singing experience. Prayer. In a safe space. In the world wide church. In the beginning of the road to Emmaus. And Jesu drew near and walked with us.

Shrinking space

At the moment I take part in a conference in Sigtuna, Sweden. We are employees of the Church of Sweden, working abroad. We work in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia. Once a year we have a conference together with staff at our head office in Uppsala, Sweden.

Yesterday we met all our colleagues in Uppsala. We were altogether 120 people. Project managers, controllers, liaison officers and a number of line managers on different levels. Our organisation is rather hierarchical. Nevertheless, it was a nice day with good talks. We prayed, singed, enjoyed good food and even had a soccer match together.

The theme for the day was “the space for civil society”. There is a trend, worldwide, that this space is shrinking. We heard examples from all over the world that governments are making it difficult for NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) to work with human rights issues. Sometimes to the extent that lives are threatened. This is serious. Not only for the NGO’s as such but also for the people we work with.

When I woke up this morning it struck me that we had not linked this to the situation that many Christians experience today. I remembered that I got a message on Facebook, from the WCC, from Christians in Iraq:

An urgent prayer request from H.E. Matta Roham regarding Christian persecution in Iraq!

Please pray and share!

Historical Tragedy.

The crimes of the ISIS moved last Thursday all Christians from the two dioceses of:

1- Mosul City

2- St. Mathew Monastery and Nineveh Plain.

Thousands of Christian families left their homes, churches and monasteries to the safe cities of Erbil and Dahok in Kurdistan, North of IRAQ.

Our Christian sisters and brothers are in need of your help for food and other basic things for daily living.

Please help and join us in prayers.

So, this morning we prayed for the Christians in Iraq and also for the Church in Central America and the Indigenous people in these countries, as well as for the situation in South Sudan.

The space is shrinking for people all over the world. In different ways! Let us pray and work against this.

Let me end with one thing from yesterday’s presentations. One of our colleagues had heard this from a person who was part of the Soweto uprising in 1976: When the school children met, they met in churches. This was a space that was open for gatherings. When they announced place and time for the next demonstration they sang the announcement with a liturgical melody. To me this was a good way to use a shrinking space in a creative way.

Church of Sweden - what kind of organisation are we?

What kind of entity is the Church of Sweden (CoS) when engaged in activities with partners internationally? Are we a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), a Faith-Based Organisation (FBO) or something else?

Steve de Gruchy
died in 2010
while tubing
on the Mooi River
 with his son.

In 2012 a book was published in Honour of Steve de Gruchy, former Dean of our School:

Living on the Edge. Essays in Honour of Steve de Gruchy Activist & Theologian. 

The book is edited by James R Cochrane, Elias Bongmba, Isabel Phiri, and Des van der Water. Cluster Publications. Pietermaritzburg.

In one of the essays "Faith Amid Turbulent Currents on a Living River" Gary Gunderson writes about the ARHAP (African Religious Health Assets Programme). This programme distinguishes between FBO’s and FFE’s. FFE stand for: Faith Forming Entity. Gunderson writes:

FBO’s are nearly always organized around a temporal, functional purpose that tends to downplay the most distinctive thing of relevance to those in them, which is to express the faith nurtured in their particular FFE.

As an employee of the International Department of the CoS I sometimes ask myself questions based on this distinction. If we go back in the history of the CoS we have traditionally tried to hold together the two: we are both an agency that seeks to transform the lives of people through the kind of temporal programmes that Gunderson speaks about. At the same time we are a church, with all its implications.

The Facebook page of our international department does not even describe us as an FBO. It says that we are an NGO. To me, that is a concern.

'Svenska kyrkans internationella arbete' means
'the Church of Sweden's International Work'.

The FFE concept is useful to me. It shows that there is a tension between different aspects in our international work. I believe it has to be. Other churches have solved this by having one organisation for aid (like the Norwegian Church Aid) which is not the same thing as the Church of Norway.

My points here are:

1. The Church of Sweden International Work is definitely not a non-governmental organisation (NGO). I hope this will be changed on the Facebook-page.

2. I agree that we need to live in the tension between being a faith-based organisation (FBO) and a faith forming entity (FFE).

3. It takes two to tango. Church relations are important if we are going to live up to our vision to be both an FBO and an FFE. In our Church relations we connect to roots both in the congregations of the CoS and deep down in our partner churches.

In the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics at the UKZN we try to keep this together. Many of my colleagues describe themselves as at the same time church people, activists and academics. Yes, there are tensions from time to time but it is impossible to separate those aspects. As the CoS we have a lot to learn from this.

Sunday in Appelsbosch

On Sunday we visited the Lutheran Congregation in Appelsbosch. My wife, who is working more directly with church relations, had made contact with the local pastor, Rev. Radebe who we were expected.

When we came, a bit early, we saw the beautiful church and the old grave yard. Directly we found the grave of Jonas Fredrik Ljungqvist. He is one of our predecessors. He was a Swedish missionary, who founded the Appelsbosch mission station in the end of the 19th century.

Pastor Radebe and my wife is trying to read on the tomb stone of
Jonas Fredrik Ljungqvist, one of our predecessors.

The church is built in beautiful sandstone (I think). But the roof is not OK and all the gutters are pointing in different directions. I directly felt that something needs to be done.

But then, when I saw all the Sunday School children in action, I started to have second thoughts. After the Sunday School had finished, youth and adults came in their numbers and suddenly the church was filled to its capacity. With the singing the congregation also managed to fill the air space in the church. Wonderful!

Two Sunday School classes are taught at the same time in the church. 

Yes, I did not see many men – that was a disappointment. But lots of young persons. Two of them led the service from the altar.

It was for the first time I saw two teenagers leading the liturgy.

A church built by living stones. So much more important that a well maintained church building without people! Of course, it would have been even more wonderful –especially for the congregation in Appelsbosch – if the church roof could be fixed. But instead of doing that, the congregation is busy finishing a building on the premises, which will be rented out to an institute starting a nursing school in the region. Probably a more relevant investment than fixing the church.

This is one of the lecture rooms at the brand new nursing college.

So, I have to admit, that I have to check my priorities. The question is: how does Church of Sweden prioritize?

Flying with SuperSport

The first part of physical journey to Busan so far has not been so dramatic. At the airport in Pietermaritzburg they were unable to check in my luggage all the way to Hong Kong, because our travel agency had spelled my surname Goranzon instead of Goeranzon. Reason: In Swedish it is spelled: Göranzon (with a so called um-laut). The system did not accept a spelling different from the passport.

On the same plane was also a bunch of men dressed in blue tracksuits. I understood them to be soccer players, so I asked one of them for the name of the team.

SuperSport!

OK, I said – on which level do you play?

The highest level.

Another person in the queue turned towards me and said:

You are supposed to take autographs!

Well, I have heard of the team but in church people mostly speak about Orlando Pirates and Kaiser Chiefs. I now know that SuperSport is one of the top teams. But no, I didn’t take any autographs.

The flight from Johannesburg to Hong Kong was nice. About 12 hours. But the seat was OK, as the food. I slept well!

I will spend 1½ day with our colleague Dieter, a theologian seconded by Church of Sweden to the Lutheran TheologicalSeminary in Hong Kong. After that I will travel a few hours the night between Saturday and Sunday and arrive in South Korea early Sunday Morning.

On the road to the World Council of Churches 10th Assembly in Busan

This coming Thursday I’m leaving for the World Council of Churches 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea (South Korea). It’s a great privilege to be able to participate. The General Assembly meets every seventh year. There will be close to 3000 participants. That is maybe not so many, but we represent millions of Christians all over the globe.

It is my intention to write about this. Mostly in English but there might be some blog posts in Swedish. We’ll see!

The main reason for my participation is the pre-assembly. I met Dr. Fulata Moyo in Malmö last year. I wrote about that on this blog. We challenged each other about the fact that there have been pre-assemblies for women but not for men. The women celebrate their 60th anniversary this year. But why is the fight for gender equality only an issue for women? So, Fulata asked me to moderate a gathering for men as an integrated part of the Pre-Assembly for women and men. About this I will definitely write. At the moment the expectation is that some 500 women and 50 men will meet. We will have separate sessions as well as combined. In preparation for this event I have made new friends. Brothers from New Zeeland, Indonesia, India, Serbia, Finland, Zimbabwe, Malawi, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago have been part of the planning committee. Imagine how difficult it can be to find a suitable time for a Skype meeting?

I will arrive in Busan early Sunday morning. On my way to Busan I will make a stop in Hong Kong and meet a colleague, who is working there as a theologian, just like I do in South Africa. He is also seconded by Church of Sweden. We will certainly have much to talk about. Hopefully I will also write something about Hong Kong, although my stay there is quite short.

Yesterday morning my wife and I worshipped together with our congregation in Eastwood. The General Secretary of the WCC, Olav Fykse Tveit, had written to all Assembly participants and encouraged us to:

…prepare for the assembly by turning to the members of your church so that your presence in Busan will be a testimony to the concerns, hopes and prayers of the community that has sent you and that will welcome you back home at the end of your journey.

Well, I am sent by Church of Sweden, but the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa is my context right now. Therefore it felt natural to ask the congregation for prayers. I know they will pray!