No singing in South African churches

During the week I have read some news about the reopening of South African churches. The President, Cyril Ramaphosa, has obviously made an announcement that churches may start with worship services again. According to IOL news this was announced by the President together with the General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana. The bishop was quoted:

play music, don’t sing

In the Policy Guide that the SACC has issues there are many recommendations. It doesn’t forbid singing. It states:

The singing of hymns may need to be considered VERY carefully. Two meters is not far enough apart for hymns to be sung. Similarly, responses need to sotto voce (intentionally lowering the voice) to avoid expressing any saliva.

Thabo Makgoba, Anglican Archbishop.

One of the church leaders within the SACC, Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba summarises the policy to his followers on his blog:

… a limit of 50 on services, disinfecting surfaces between services, physical distancing in churches, the avoidance of shared hymnals and prayer books, the wearing of masks during services, restrictions on singing (because it has proved to play a big role in spreading the virus), avoidance of the common chalice at Eucharist, no gatherings after services and rigorous hygiene in church toilets.

I have especially noticed two former SACC leaders, who are critical. Peter Storey, who was the President of the SACC 1980-83 is not happy at all. He writes:

Allowing public worship ill-advised and dangerous

John de Gruchy, another well-known South African Theologian, writes on his blog:

The fact that most Christians throughout the world have been prevented from going to church buildings has not meant that the church has stopped being the church.  The first Christians did not have church buildings; they gathered in homes for prayer and fellowship, and they did so in order to go into the world to proclaim the good news about Jesus.  That is why at the end of the Eucharist we are sent into the world to love and serve. It is misleading, then, to say that once the pandemic is over, we can go back to church when we never stopped being the church.

According to News 24 the SACC says that they did not “coerce government into allowing places of worship to open”. I guess this is a very sensitive issue. So the question is:

Will South African Christians be able to do this?

And in the same breath I need to ask the same question to our own church because we also gather in many churches. I have participated some Sundays, but we have also prayed at home at times. I am reluctant. In our own city, Uppsala, the number of infected people seems to increase again. Is the right thing to close churches again?

Pivotal election in South Africa

Local elections will take place in South Africa tomorrow. Important! From the news I get and from reactions in social media I draw the conclusion that the largest political party, the African National Conference (ANC), is facing a major challenge. The Democratic Alliance (DA) is the second largest party and it seems as if they stand a chance to win in a number of important cities. The third biggest party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is not close to majority in any metropolitan area, as far as I can see.

In connection with the national elections two years ago I listened to the vice chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, Adam Habib. He then said that he thought the DA had come to a plateau. A new political space in South Africa would rather open up to the left of the ANC, not to the right. It seems as if he was wrong. I wrote about this on my blog 10 may 2014.

ANC stalwarts continue to question the party. According to News24 the former president of the republic, Kgalema Motlanthe, has said:

It may be possible at some point to salvage the ANC from this race to the bottom. But it is also equally possible that the ANC may so thoroughly discredit itself that there may be nothing to salvage …

Motlanthe was the deputy president of Mbeki and stepped in as President between Mbeki and Zuma.

I would have hoped for a strong alternative like Cope to play the role that it seems that the DA will do now.

The question is if the EFF will grow stronger. According to IOLNews Julius Malema and other party leaders have visited Mbeki in his home and they asked Mbeki to vote for the EFF. It is of course a normal thing. Local politicians visit homes in order to get votes. The local ward councillor this time asked the leader, Malema, for help. 

Does this mean that the ANC and the DA will become almost similar in size
in the future? It seems to be the case in the large cities but the situation is
different in the rural areas.

eNCA shows some charts based on different opinion polls. It is interesting to see how close the DA is in some metros. But we have to bear in mind that these are only pre-election polls.

Church leaders, like the Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, engages in the election through The Electoral Code of Conduct Observer Commission (ECCOC). They play a crucial role. Hopefully the elections will be free and fair. This is my prayer. 

#FeesMustFall

To understand this hash tag, one has to know about another hash tag:

#RhodesMustFall

I have written about this in a few blog posts last year. The students at the University of Cape Town (UCT), together with teachers and other staff members demanded that the statue of John Cecil Rhodes, in the centre of the UCT campus, had to be taken away. This was also done, after a short time of protests. The undercurrents were South Africa’s reflection on the colonial era and also a need for renewal of the reconciliation process. Even the role of Nelson Mandela (whose name is linked with Rhodes, in the Mandela Rhodes Foundation) was questioned.

The last month or so South Africa has seen similar protests, yet quite different. This time – and it is nothing new – the fight is about tuition fees. South Africa does not have extremely high fees but for most of the population they are still not affordable. According to what I hear, the country could afford free tertiary education. The ANC-government has, however, not opted for this route. It claims that the nation first has to roll out a social security system. The critiques say that this is not happening anyway. Many billion rand disappear into mismanagement or corruption. (Read more about this on the blog of my friend and colleague, Hans Engdahl).

This time the different universities had informed students about an increment of fees for 2016. About 6 %, which I think is equal to the inflation. The students did not want this. So, students took to the streets. In almost every university town! This Thursday and Friday the University of KwaZulu-Natal therefore decided to close the University.

Rico and Clint ( in the middle) are discussing strategy with the students.

Some of UKZN-colleagues were marching with the students and yesterday evening I got first-hand information from the protest march in Pietermaritzburg. It had been a very peaceful march. The police had been there and acted in a helpful manner. A few minor incidents happened. Like some students who started to through empty plastic bottles over a fence onto the Provincial Legislature Building. Those were directly stopped by the organisers, who directly expressed that this was a peaceful demonstration.

There is a widespread support in South Africa for the students this time. The ANC has promised free education long ago and it does not happen. The minister of Education, Blade Nsimande, really made a mistake by trying to joke and say that the students must fall. By the way, he is the General Secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and he is now the target of the revolution.

Well known, high profile leaders, like Senior Vice-President of the South African Council of Churches (SACC), Frank Chikane, Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba and even the Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Town (UCT), Max Price, support the protests. Maybe it is because their own children take part in it. All three have sons who have been arrested.

News24 writes that the son of the UCT VC was arrested. IOL-news reports about the sons of Makgoba and Chikane and especially about the reaction of Makgoba:

Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba broke down on Thursday as he reacted to his son’s arrest during the student protest at Parliament against university fee increases.

On his his blog Thabo Makgoba says:

I appeal to Bishops and parishioners in all our dioceses to support students and staff at tertiary institutions, and to pray for an amicable resolution to the crisis. Apart from holding prayer vigils, I appeal to our churches to give practical help to students in distress.

I also find a statement from church leaders on this blog. The link is here. I am sorry that I don’t see the preseiding bishop of ELCSA as one of the signatories, although there are two other Lutherans. One from ELCSA (N-T) and one from LUCSA.

Late yesterday afternoon, President Zuma informed the country that the fees will stay the same for 2016. How the government will compensate the universities is not clear. But the students take this as a victory.

If this will lead to a system with free tertiary education is still to be seen. That would, I believe, definitely be a step in the right direction.

ELCSA slams Nkandla report

As media has reported already last week, for instance the Mail and Guardian, the Police Minister of South Africa has filed a report on Nkandla, where he concludes that President Zuma does not need to pay back any money. All upgrades were necessary, says Police Minister Nathi Nhleko.

Now our Lutheran Church, ELCSA, has issues a statement. It reads:

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA) in her 130th Church Council sitting dated 1st – 3rd June 2015 would like to add its voice in condemnation of the defensive stance as reflected in the Police Minister Nathi Nhleko’s Nkandla Report that absolved President Jacob Zuma from repaying any money for the security upgrade to his home.

We slam Nhleko’s report which contradicts the findings of Public Protector Thuli Madonsela and we want to categorically state that it is shocking and a grave mockery of justice. Failure of the President and the relevant ministers to own up to the unjustifiably high costs of the upgrades damages the moral integrity of the whole governing system.

As states by the SACC we believe that the review of the Public Protector’s report should have been conducted by a competent independent body or arm of government and not by a minister who serves the whim of the Office being investigated.

As a Church we also appeal to all citizens to unite across political, social, economic and religious persuasions to hold all of us who are in positions or influence accountable.

“We will continue to pray for the government to be directed in the ways of justice, honesty, peace and dignity for all”.

We can not sit back and condone that the Visitor’s Centre, the amphitheatre, the cattle kraal and chicken run and the swimming pool are security related. How the Minister has arrived at the conclusion leaves us with more questions than answers. Our view point does not discount the fact that we appreciate the need to protect the President and his family; however the costs incurred to date are exorbitant and have cause public outrage.

We urge the Minister and President Zuma to own up and take the citizens of this Country seriously by owning up and implement the recommendations of the Public Protector.

Bishop M M Ditlhale, Presiding Bishop

It is good. Maybe also brave. I see some signs that churches in South Africa are reclaiming a prophetic role. I welcome that.

Presently I attend a conference at the University of the Western Cape, where the Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba also criticized the government. He said:

The ruling party fears a strong and united church.

He also asked, which I found surprising:

When do we as an ecumenical church withdraw our moral support of a democratically elected government?

Also the South African Council of Churches has spoken out an blasted President Zumas behaviour in parliament:

We are gravely concerned about the failure of the president and the relevant ministers to accept moral and political responsibility in relation to the unjustifiably high costs of the upgrades

SACC's Preseident, Siwa, said in the statement, according to ENCA.

Makgoba preaches against inequalities

The Anglican Archbishop in Southern Africa, Thabo Makgoba, used the oppurtunity given to him in the Midnight Mass at the St Georges Cathedral in Cape Town, to preach prophetically about the situation in today’s South Africa.

On his blog you can find media reports from SABC News and a YouTube clip. The Arch spoke about economic inequality among other things.

We too attended a Midnight Mass, in the Anglican Cathedral in Pietermaritzburg, where Dean Ndabezinhle Sibisi also spent time talking about the present situation. One thing that he urged us to fight against was the fact that so many women and children are being abused.

Emmanuel. God with us. Especially with the poor, as the dean said. But he also underscored, that there are different kinds of poverty. And the worst thing is when we are spiritually poor, without being aware.

In the beginning of the Midnight Liturgy the Crib of the Cathedral of the Holy Nativity was blessed.

The prophetic voice in South Africa

On my way back to Pietermaritzburg I read the Tuesday 28 October issue of the Star. On page 8 I found a column and on page 9 an article. They were equally interesting. Both contained the views of top, South African church leaders.

The column is written by Pastor Ray McCauley, who is the president of the Rhema family churches. He is furthermore co-chairman of the National Religious Leaders Council. His column is a response to a call from South Africa’s Finance Minister, Nhlanhla Nene, that South Africa must “take the pill now or risk an economic disaster later.”

McCauley is totally in agreement with the Finance Minister and ends his column:

Let us support Nene and take his medicine. It is for our collective good.

First of all it is interesting that this evangelical pastor, leader of a prosperity gospel church, involves himself in the political life of the country. This is however nothing new. It is a well-known fact that McCauley is a supporter of the present government. The column makes this even clearer. He is in fact telling the readers of the Star, that they must be prepared for budget cuts across ministries and departments. He does say that higher income groups must pay more. But not with a single word does he mention corruption.

The article on page 9 is different. It is an excerpt from the Beyers Naudé Memorial lecture delivered by the Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba. In his lecture he speaks out against corruption and he does that quite frankly. He insinuates that President Zuma regards corruption to be a crime only in a Western paradigm. And the archbishop mentions Nkandla in this context.

In fact, Archbishop Makgoba points out corruption as the major threat to democracy. And he makes no secret about the President being one of his main targets.

There are some similarities between the two texts I am referring to in this blog post but the differences are over whelming. Makgoba belongs to a mainline church. McCauley to a fast growing, charismatic church. President Zuma, contrary to his predecessors, clearly has turned to those new, denominations and they welcome this. Hopefully this will path the way to a new need for the South African Council of Churches as a strong prophetic voice in the country. I hope that they will reorganise the council, change the constitution and maybe also the name and arise like a Phoenix from the ashes. I also hope that Thabo Makgoba will be the president of such a resurrected council. And why not having Ray McCauley as one of the deputy presidents? I believe that the future for the ecumenical movement lies in cooperation between all Christians.

Having said this I also need to add, that there should also be women in a top leader position. Right now only men are leading the council.

Youth Day

Public Holiday! To commemorate the Soweto uprising in 1976 when school children took to the streets. I know that there are some gatherings held around the country but I haven’t seen any in Pietermaritzburg. So my own commemoration will be this blog post.

When I switch on the radio I hear about the Youth Employment Accord, which was signed by government, labour, business and civil society in April 2013. But I don’t see a lot of energy in this. Not even today.

There are two other things I would like to highlight. First of all the ending of the mourning period for Nosizwe Graca Mandela and Winnie Madikizela Mandela. Both the wife and the ex-wife of Madiba have been wearing black mourning garments for six months and they have not been allowed to make public appearances. It is reported by among others SABC News.

This coincides with the release of the memoirs of Madibas former secretary, Zelda le Grange. eNCA news writes that she has written about how the family of Madiba treated his wife Graca. I am not going to comment but I think I will need to buy the book and read it. Sadly there are a lot of conflicts in the Mandela family. As in many other families, of course. Reconciliation is never easy. But generally speaking I wonder if the mourning tradition is helpful. In an article written by Mercy Amba Oduyoye I read about this tradition as an expression of a thought 

… a husband’s soul will not rest until the widow has completed elaborate mourning rites and has been purified.

Widowers on the contrary are encouraged to get a new sexual partner as soon as possible. Oduyoye writes about traditions in other parts of Africa, I am aware of that. But as far as I know the rules are the same in South Africa. Men do not need to go though the same mourning rituals as women. (The article is: Oduyoye, Mercy Amba. 1992. ‘Women and Ritual in Africa’ in Oduyoye, M. A. and Kanyoro, M. R. A. eds: The Will to Arise. Women, Tradition and the Church in Africa. Pietermaritzburg: Cluster Publications. 9-24). 

Another area where reconciliation is tested is in the mining industry. The strike in the platinum belt has been going on for  five months. Now it seems as if the parties are coming closer to an agreement. The churches have been involved recently.

In a press relaeas from the South African Council of Churches Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana, acting General Secretary of the SACC, says:

Since the minister’s intervention has not yielded the envisioned results, we are offering our physical presence to the process in order to create a fresh, neutral space within which to try and build on the work done thus far to bring the two parties to agreement for the sake of the starving families and the economy of the country which is in distress.

A year ago Hans S A Engdahl and I wrote an article in the Ecumenical Review. "Ecumenical Space. Expanded for Whom?" (Engdahl, H. and Göranzon, A. 2013. Ecumenical Space. The Ecumenical Review, 65: 258–277.) In that article we worked with the concept of " ecumenical space". It is therefore interesting to read about the "space" concept being used by the SACC.

Another Church leader who has engaged himself over this issue is the Anglican Archbishop, Thabo Makgoba, who prays on his blog:

May each put themselves in the shoes of the other and move forward together for the sake of the common good and the safety of all, especially the employees.

It is Youth Day in South Africa. As a couple we celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We are thankful that we can live in this wonderful country and we also pray that the sacrifice those school children made in 1976 will not be in vain.

Standing for the Truth campaign 20 years later

When I worked as a voluntary youth worker in Cape Town in 1981-1982 I took part in an interfaith dialogue involving Muslims, Jews and Christians. I remember that I was impressed by the open atmosphere. I also remember that we prayed together.

It makes me happy that the Anglican Archbishop, Thabo Makgoba, takes an initiative to gather religious leaders from these three religions. This coming Saturday, they will march from the museum of Disctrict Six to the Parliament in support of Good Governance. The Archbishop writes:

This led to the call that I and other Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders issued yesterday (Tuesday) to the public of Cape Town to join us in a Procession of Witness at 10 am on Saturday, April 19, walking from District Six to Parliament, to call our leaders to account and to appeal them to live up to the national values established by the Constitution. The call was supported by the full spectrum of the inter-faith community, from the Muslim Judicial Council and the Union of Orthodox Synagogues to the Methodist Church, the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk, the Uniting Reformed Church and the Uniting Presbyterian Church.

It is interesting to be in South Africa 20 years after the dawn of democracy. I am only sad that the SACC does not seem to be involved. When I google ‘SACC’, ‘march’ and ‘Cape Town’ I end up on a similar, interfaith march in 2005. It was again the Anglican Archbishop who led the march. That year his name was Njongonkulu Ndungane.

Church leaders protects the Public Protector

A few weeks ago some Christian leaders, according to City Press, publicly criticised the Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela. Bishop Pule Makgethi said:

Our main bone of contention is that the Public Protector is poisoning the atmosphere in our country by her general demeanour in the execution of her duties …

Since then a few other church leaders have come to her rescue. The Anglican Archbishop, Thabo Makgoba, showed support on his blog, saying:

We welcome the Public Protector's reports on corruption and mismanagement. We thank her for making the country accountable and transparent. Her office's work helps to develop our democracy, and I call on civil society to join the churches in defending it against the current assault.

Reported by the SABC, the SACC, through its President, Bishop Ziphozihle Siwa, a few days later continued:

It was very unfortunate for the religious leaders who were in the media criticizing, attacking the office of the public protector. That was very embarrassing, uncalled for and very much regretted …

And just now I saw a photo on the City Press web site, where other church leaders, amongst them Desmond Mpilo Tutu, with placates saying:

Protect our Public protector.

Defend our section 9 institutions

It is very good that prominent church leaders contributes with their support.

En bön för Madiba

Skriven av den Anglikanska kyrkans i Södra Afrika Ärkebiskop Thabo Makgoba:

Vandra vidare, du revolutionäre och älskande människa, på din resa från denna värld. Vandra i Guds namn, den Gud som skapade dig, led med dig och befriade dig. Vandra hem, Madiba, du har osjälviskt gjort allt som är gott, ädelt och hedervärt för Guds folk.
Vi kommer att ta vid där du slutade, med Herrens hjälp.

Nu vänder vi oss till Dig, Herre, i denna mörka timme, fylld av sorg, lidande och död, i tårar och saknad.

Vi sörjer men samtidigt tror vi att Du tröstar oss, att Du ger oss styrka att i våra hjärtan och medvetanden hålla kvar de värden som Madiba stred och stod för, samt mod att leva dem.

Vi vänder oss till Dig, Herre, och överlämnar Madibas’s själ till Din eviga vila och i Dina älskande armar, när han nu återförenas med sin släkt, sina kamrater och alla trogna.

Vi ber särskilt för de närmaste och käraste, för Ma Graca Machel, för hans barn, barnbarn och alla hans släktingar; må Du omge dem med Dina älskande armar, Din faderliga omsorg och tröst.

I denna sorgens mörka timme, i denna lägliga stund, när Du kallat honom till vila och till ett perfekt slut, ta emot hans själ och räkna in honom i de förlossades skara i himlen.

Trösta och var med hans familj, Sydafrika och världen.

Må hans långa väg till frihet levas och förverkligas i vår tid, av oss alla.

MÅ HAN VILA I FRID OCH UPPSTÅ I HÄRLIGHET!

Amen

+ Thabo Cape Town (Fritt översatt av Anders Göranzon)

Prayer for Africa
God Bless Africa;
Guard her children;
Guide her leaders
And give her peace, for Jesus Christ's sake.
Amen.

+ Trevor Huddleston

A prayer for Madiba

In another blog post (in Swedish) I asked the question: Who owns Mandela? One answer is: the people. At least that is what Madiba himself said when he addressed the people on the 11 February 1990, just released from prison:

I stand before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining yeas of my life in your hands.

When I read what Archbishop emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu has said, being one of the elders, it goes very well together with this:

God was so good to us in South Africa by giving us Nelson Mandela to be our President at a crucial moment in our history.

So, Mandelas life belonged to God, was given to Mandela himself, who generously gave it to the people. Now it is time for us to give him back to God. This is also the content in the prayer for Madiba, which Archbishop Thabo Makgoba in Cape Town has written and published on his blog:

Go forth, revolutionary and loving soul, on your journey out of this world, in the name of God, who created you, suffered with you and liberated you.

Go home Madiba, you have selflessly done all that is good, noble and honourable for God’s people.

We will continue where you have left off, the Lord being our helper.

We now turn to you, Lord, in this hour of darkness, sadness, pain and death, in tears and mourning,

We wail, yet we believe that you will console us, that you will give us the strength to hold in our hearts and minds, and the courage to enact in our lives, the values Madiba fought and stood for.

We turn to you, Lord, and entrust Madiba’s soul to your eternal rest and loving arms as he rejoins the Madiba clan, his comrades and all the faithful departed.

We pray particularly for his closest and dearest, for Ma Graca Machel, for his children, grandchildren and all his relatives; may you surround them with your loving arms, your fatherly embrace and comfort.

At this dark time of mourning, at this perfect time when you have called him to rest and a perfect end, accept his soul and number him among the company of the redeemed in Heaven.

Console and comfort his family, South Africa and the world.

May his long walk to freedom be enjoyed and realised in our time by all of us.

MAY HE REST IN PEACE AND RISE IN GLORY!

Amen

Zuma cancels Mozambique trip

Clearly the issue of seriousness has been such that President Jacob Zuma has cancelled his trip

says the presidential spokesperson, Mac Maharaj, in Talk Radio 702, according to Mail and Guardian

about the former president Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.

The deterioration in Mandelas health from "serious but stable" to "critical" seems to have caused a switch in the mood of the South African nation, from prayers for recovery to preparations for farewell.

One who is preparing and praying is the AnglicanArchbishop Thabo Makgoba:

And may your blessing rest upon Madiba now and always. Grant him, we pray, a quiet night and a peaceful, perfect, end.

Prayer request for Tata Madiba and Me Graça

This request can be found on the blog of the Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba:

At Advent we sing and pray, O come, O come Emmanuel. We ask now, for Emmanuel, God with us, to be with Madiba and Me Graça Come Emmanuel and release our Madiba from the scourge of ill health; Come Emmanuel and offer Madiba everlasting healing; You are a God who knows vulnerability, weakness and frailty, You are Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Lord of life and death, Your power sustains us in life and death.

May your arms of love, stretched wide on the cross for us, Now enfold Madiba, and Graça, with compassion, comfort and the conviction that you will never forsake them but that you will grant Madiba eternal healing and relief from pain and suffering.

And may your blessing rest upon Madiba now and always. Amen.

Yours in the service of our Lord and Saviour

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba.

ANC, kyrkoledare och Mandela

Min avhandling handlar om kyrkans profetiska röst i Sydafrika. Om hur den förändrades efter 1990. Det jag kom fram till var att den hade förändrats. Inte tystnat men förändrats. Men visst kan man också fundera över om hur den tagits emot efter 1990. Man kan också fundera över relationen mellan kyrkorna och regeringen i Sydafrika. Före 1990 (då ANC blev tillåtet efter närmare 30 års bannlysning) hade ju kyrkorna och inte minst det Sydafrikanska kyrkorådet (SACC) starkt kritiserat regeringen. Inte så konstigt eftersom det handlade om apartheid-regeringen. Men efter 1990 (och inte minst efter 1994) har inte SACC kritiserat regeringen på samma sätt. Inte heller så konstigt. Desto mer positivt att några kyrkoledare enligt The Star, har tagit bladet från munnen och nu kritiserar det statsbärande partiet ANC. Särskilt viktigt att de gör det inför ANC’s 53:e National Conference, som ska hållas i Mangaung (Bloemfontein) 16-20 december 2012.

The Star skriver:

A group of prominent religious leaders have warned President Jacob Zuma that if leaders did not act to stop the moral decay in the country, the church movement would mobilise civil society to “bring about a more healthy democracy”.

De som är med och skriver är bl a den anglikanska kyrkans ärkebiskop Thabo Makgoba och SACC’s president, biskop Joe Seoka. De jämför situationen med den under apartheid och skriver, enligt the Star:

During apartheid, some church leaders wrote to political leaders, but they often failed to listen to these voices …

Unfortunately, we find a similar trend today, but it is our duty to speak to you even when we think you might not be listening…

Jag hoppas att brevet får den effekt de önskar. Följande mening sammanfattar mycket av Sydafrikas problem:

We know that even though the dream of a just, non-racial and prospering democracy is temporarily in eclipse – being throttled by the actions (or lack of it) of a generation of leaders who seems to have largely lost their moral compass – the people of South Africa are capable of rising to reclaim their future.

Även The Telegraph skriver om brevet. Där sätts det i relation till Nelson Mandelas sviktande hälsa.

The rebuke gained extra emotional weight this week with the hospitalisation of Mr Mandela. The 94-year-old former president is suffering from the recurrence of a lung infection.

När vi bodde i Sydafrika hörde vi många tala om Mandelas betydelse för stabiliteten i landet. Visserligen gör han inga offentliga uttalande längre men hans blotta existens upplevs som en slags garant för fred och försoning. Det är en intressant tid som Sydafrika går till mötes. Ett förbönsämne!

The Marikana shootings, justice and healing

Today I come across two reactions to the Marikana shootings. Both are expressed by church leaders in South Africa. I think they relate to one another although they don’t address the same aspects.

The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, has a blog. This week he publishes a letter to the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma. In the letter the Archbishop strongly urges the President to make state funded legal representation available to families of those mine workers, who were killed at the Lonmin mines in Marikana in August this year. Apparently the Government is funding the legal representation of the police, who killed mine workers but similar legal support is not being extended to the miners themselves nor to the families of those who lost their lives. It is not often that the Archbishop nowadays writes this kind of appeals to the President. Former Archbishop, Desmond Mpilo Tutu, often did so. It is a good sign. Archbishop Makgoba ends his letter in the same tradition as Tutu used to do:

Please be assured that you remain always in my own prayers, and those of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, that God will bless you with his wisdom and grace to follow his best paths in all you do, so that you might be a blessing to this nation, and to all its people.

Yours in the service of Christ

+Thabo Cape Town

Another example where the Marikana shootings are commented on comes from Fr Michael Lapsley, also an Anglican Church leader. He is the founder of the Institute for Healing of Memories. In an interview in the Mail and Guardian he is described as a struggle veteran who became a healer. A letter bomb in 1990 shattered both his ear drums, destroyed one eye and blew off both hands. He then discovered his new calling, namely to become a healer of the South African nation. He says that the Marikana shootings is the latest example that South Africa is still a traumatised nation.

We need to find a way of listening to each other and not simply shouting past one another. But that also needs to be coupled with the challenge that the income distribution between rich and poor in South Africa is the most unequal on earth. We need to speak not only about poverty but also about greed.

I hope that many more Church leaders start to voice their critique. To me it brings hope. Do we hear a voice like this in Sweden? Well, it happens that our own Archbishop, Anders Wejryd, writes letters to our Prime Minister. Last year he critisised the Swedish Government for voting against the Palestinian application to join United Nations' cultural organisation UNESCO. He also strongly opposed Sweden’s arms export in an article in Dagens Nyheter last year. But when does he critisise the Government for injustices in the Swedish society?

Mångfald eller inte

När jag läser dagens Kyrkans Tidning på nätet toppar följande frågor:
1) Religiös klädsel eller inte
2) Omskärelse av pojkar eller inte
3) Ulla Karlssons prövotid eller inte
4) Biskop Lindsay Urwin till Visby stift eller inte
Den röda tråden kanske på ytan kan beskrivas som en kamp mellan konservativa och icke konservativa synsätt. Religiös klädsel (framför allt niqab och burka) står för kvinnoförtryck. Alltså är det icke önskvärt. På samma sätt är omskärelse ett övergrepp på barn och därmed inte önskvärt. Ulla Karlsson ifrågasätter kyrkans traditionella förkunnelse kring synd, skuld och offer. Hon står för det nya. De andra för det konservativ. Biskop Lindsay Urwin må vara hur populär bland ungdomar som helst, men hans syn på prästämbetet mm står för något konservativt.
Om jag ska ta ställning i dessa frågor kommer nog mitt ställningstagande att bli olika. Så är det också med många kommentatorer och tyckare. Samma personer kan verka konservativa i vissa stycken och mindre konservativa i andra. Och det är väl bra.
Men bakom alla frågorna ligger en annan. Synen på den andra/den andre. Klarar vi av det annorlunda? Klarar vi av mångfald?
Det är många som är för mångfald. Men frågan är: var går gränsen?
Om jag börjar uppifrån anser jag att burka och niqab är uttryck för en syn på könen, som jag inte delar. Det förefaller mig som om kvinnan måste skyddas/skydda sig. Mot vem då? Är det nödvändigt? Dessa frågor tycker jag vi ska jobba med. Men det betyder inte att jag vill förbjuda dessa plagg. Det blir för mig lika fel som att krafter i vissa länder anbefaller att alla måste bära plaggen. I korthet: jag är mot burka och niqab men jag anser inte att det ska vara olagligt att bära dem. Om det är olagligt: hur ska det bestraffas?
Omskärelse av pojkar tycks mig vara helt OK. Jag har fått intrycket att det möjligen kan vara hygieniskt. Visst måste frågan kunna diskuteras. Så högt i tak måste vi kunna ha. Men jag skulle inte vilja förbjuda det. Inte heller beskylla dem som vill förbjuda det för att ha åsikter som de inte har.
Ulla Karlsson har fått tre års prövotid, för att hon ifrågasätter vissa delar av traditionell, kristen tro. Visst, det är många präster som ifrågasätter samma saker men inte får prövotid. Något säger mig att hon ville ha en konfrontation. Jag vill sätta in detta i ett sammanhang. När man präst- eller diakonvigs ställer man sig frivilligt under en biskops och ett domkapitels tillsyn. De flesta präster och diakoner anser att vi ska ha denna ordning. Men när man själv prövas är det inte så behagligt. Jag skulle önska, att relationen mellan biskop och präster/diakoner präglades mer av en gemensam önskan att tillsammans göra det bästa för kyrkan och kyrkans medlemmar. Kanske jag vill sträcka mig så långt som att säga att den som vigs till tjänst i kyrkan måste kunna tänka sig att underordna sig biskop och domkapitel. (Men då krävs naturligtvis väldigt mycket av just biskopen och domkapitlet. Det fungerar inte om de uppträder som härskare. Jesus har gett instruktionen:
Sedan kom de att tvista om vilken av dem som skulle anses vara den störste. Då sade han till dem:

Kungarna uppträder som herrar över sina folk, och de som har makten låter kalla sig folkets välgörare. Men med er är det annorlunda: den störste bland er skall vara som den yngste, och den som är ledare skall vara som tjänaren. (Luk 22:24-26).

Jag skulle önska att Ulla Karlsson i förtroendefulla samtal blir tagen på allvar. Säkert har hon mycket att tillföra men säkert har hon (liksom vi alla) också mycket att vinna på att lyssna på andra. Målet för prövotiden är väl inte att hon ska mista sitt prästämbete utan att hon ska få vara kvar och att både hon och kyrkan vunnit något på det.
Ska då biskop Lindsay Urwin få komma till Visby och föreläsa? Trots att han kanske (jag vet inte) är motståndare till kvinnliga präster och eventuellt är mot äktenskap för två personer av samma kön? Jag tycker nog att han borde kunna få tala. Han ska väl inte föreläsa om dessa två frågor. Jag grundar min hållning på de problem som uppstår om detta blir prejudicerande. Då måste alla föreläsare vid fortbildning för präster fylla i ett formulär, där de redovisar sina åsikter på ett antal punkter, innan de anlitas. Är det rimligt? Är det ens önskvärt? När han nu inbjudits är det väl bättre att lyssna på honom. Lyssna kritiskt och ställ de kritiska frågorna.
Det liknar det sätt på vilket Ny demokrati på sin tid och även Sverigedemokraterna från början bemöttes. Jag tror det är bättre att lyssna och att lyssna kritiskt.
På något sätt finns det i alla dessa frågeställningar en längtan efter att alla ska gå i takt och både tycka på samma sätt och bete sig på samma sätt. Eller en insikt i att vi alla är olika, tycker olika och drar åt olika håll. Så kommer det alltid att vara. Självklart är det viktigt med enhet. Motsatsen blir splittring. Men enheten måste bygga på samtal, förtroende och vilja att mötas. Förbud och ensidigt avståndstagande leder ju bara till mer splittring.
Den anglikanska kyrkofamiljen lever med detta och söker vägar att lyssna på varandra trots olikheter. Ärkebiskopen i Sydafrika, Thabo Makgoba, har kloka tankar om detta på sin blogg. Och tro mig: i Sydafrika går olikheterna nog så djupt! Vi har en del att lära.