Category: Provincial Notices

The Diocese of Johannesburg is seeking a new Diocesan Executive Officer (DEO).

This self starter will form part of the diocesan leadership team and support the bishop, finance and trust board to fulfill their duties and support the work of God in this part of the vineyard.

Interested persons may see the details of the advertisement for the position here

A detailed role description can be found here

The application form is available online here.

Closing date: 31st May 2020 at 23:59

Postponement of the Consecration of the Bishop of Table Bay (Diocese of Cape Town)

A decision has been taken to postpone the Consecration service of the Bishop of Table Bay which was scheduled to take place on Saturday 2nd May 2020.

As soon as the lockdown has been lifted, a new date will be confirmed.

The Ven Horace Arenz

Provincial Executive Officer

The Elective Assemblies which were scheduled to take place on the following dates have been postponed indefinitely:

Kimberley & Kuruman / 23-24 April 2020 /  Now postponed indefinitely

Lesotho / 25-26 April 2020  /  Now postponed indefinitely

Natal / 5-6 May 2020 /  Now postponed indefinitely

Zululand / 8-9 May 2020 / Now postponed indefinitely

New dates will be fixed post the “lock down”.

Many thanks and regards

The Ven Horace Arenz

Provincial Executive Officer

A fraudster using the name of Archbishop Thabo appears to have accessed a number of email addresses for clergy and church officials and is appealing for funds in the Archbishop’s name.

Most emails seem to come from one of two identities on a gmail account: chairmancommitee, or memeberoffice.

The fraudster asks for “an urgent ewallet/EFT transfer to my cousin whom I need to pay”, promises to pay the money back and adds: “P.S: I am in a meeting now and can’t talk, just reply back.”

Beware!

Provincial Executive Office

The Right Revd Thomas (Tom) Shaun Stanage, formerly Bishop of the Diocese of Bloemfontein (since renamed the Diocese of the Free State), died on March 19.

Bishop Tom was born in Ireland in 1932 and was educated at Pembroke College, Oxford. He served in South Africa from 1970, becoming Dean of Kimberley in the 1970s. There he became known as the “Flying Dean” – he was a trained pilot who flew a light aircraft.

He was later elected Suffragan Bishop in Johannesburg and was translated to Bloemfontein in 1982.

Known for his opposition to the ordination of women, he and the Revd Wilma Jakobsen, then a deacon from the Diocese of Cape Town, charmed members of Provincial Synod in 1992 when, after the Synod decided to ordain women as priests, they sat down at a piano and played a duet together. Wilma was ordained priest a few months later.

After retiring, Bishop Tom lectured in theology at the University of the Free State. He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity honoris causa from Nashotah House in 1986.

(With acknowledgements to Sandy Botha of Bloemfontein and Wikipedia)

The Right Revd Edward Mackenzie, former Bishop-Suffragan in the Diocese of Cape Town, died in California on Saturday March 14.

Bishop Mackenzie and his wife, Sylvia, moved to the United States after his retirement, where his daughter, the Revd Vanessa Mackenzie, served as rector of the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Los Angeles.

Bishop Edward, like his daughter, was ordained in the Diocese of Johannesburg, and later moved to Cape Town, where he was elected suffragan to Archbishop Desmond Tutu at a time when the original Diocese – which stretched to the Namibian border and halfway to George – decided to appoint a third suffragan.

Bishop John H. Taylor of Los Angeles visited Bishop Edward in hospital, where he was battling cancer, a few days before his death.

Bishop Taylor wrote on his Facebook page that Bishop Edward was “in good spirits under the circumstances,” telling stories of the church’s involvement in the anti-apartheid struggle. Bishop Taylor added: “While we talked, the bishop, always a pastor, kept an eye on the young man in the next bed, Carlos, to make sure he was all right. As I left, I whispered to Carlos, ‘He’s a very great man.’ Carlos smiled and said, ‘I know.’”

It is planned that after a private cremation in the USA, his ashes will be interred after a funeral service in Johannesburg.

Postponement of Aqua Cluster  Mother’s Union Lady Day Celebrations in George

In the light of the on-going developments resulting from the corona virus, and after consulting with medical experts and convening a consultation between the four Bishops of Cape Town, Saldanha and False Bay we,  the Diocese of George,  as hosts to the planned Cluster Lady Day celebrations on Saturday, 28th March 2020 ,  wish to announce the postponement of this event. 

We are doing this simply in compliance with the protocols and guidelines issued by our National and International Church Leaders and in accordance with President Ramaphosa’s statement on Sunday March 15. We are also following the mandates of health professionals and local leaders, while preparing for any possible developments without causing premature panic or introducing unnecessary measures. 

Ultimately it is our concern for the health and well-being of our people that has led us to this decision. 

May God, almighty, infinite in His mercy and mighty in His healing power protect and heal those infected and all of us as we are affected. 

Your servant in Christ, 

+ Brian Marajh

Bishop of George

The Synod of Bishops has discussed a draft set of pastoral guidelines to apply when Clergy want to participate in party political activities. They are a work in progress, and they are published below for public information.

DRAFT

The Pastoral Guidelines for Bishops to apply when Clergy assume Public Pastoral Office along Party Political Lines

Preamble

We recognise the vocation to ministry of the Whole People of God through Baptism. Sacred Scripture uses various images to give us an understanding of the inner nature of the Church.

The Church is a sheepfold whose single and necessary gate is Christ. (c/f John 10:1-10). It is the Holy Temple; it is the Home of God in which God’s Family dwells.

It is from our understanding of the Church as the Body of Christ, made up of the many and diverse members, who need the care of the Bishop and all the Clergy working together with the Laity to maintain the bonds of unity and affection, that we recognise the need for oversight and pastoral care.

We recognise and accept that the Church must be a Place of Sanctuary for all People in their diversity.

Civil Society is made of a complexity of political affiliations held by citizens. The Church needs to embrace them all in her care.

We recognise that formal public affiliation to any Political Party could lead to Conflict of Allegiance for a licensed cleric in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. For example, in Mozambique political campaigning along Party Political lines, is prohibited from taking place in Churches. Clergy, in fact, are invited to Chair Election Process Meetings, precisely because of their neutrality.

We believe, therefore, based on our ecclesial and theological understanding of our vocation as Ministers of the Church of God, certain Guidelines ought to be put in place to regulate our common calling to this ministry.

Therefore, based upon the existing Canons in ACSA and in other ecclesial bodies governing the life of the Clergy in respect of taking on secular employment. Furthermore, in the party-political sphere, we recommend that the following guidelines be applied.

The Guidelines

1. It is incumbent that a Cleric shall always without exception, in the first instance, arrange for an interview with the Bishop to discuss the possibility of “entering the arena of public office and to be in involved in party politics”.
2. This conversation shall be deemed NECESSARY before any decision is made by the Cleric.
3. Failure to have this discussion (and only informing the Bishop afterwards, or the Bishop discovering in the media or in other ways that the Cleric has entered politics) shall lead to revocation of the Cleric’s license.
4. Provided that a full discussion has taken place and full disclosure made of the Cleric’s intentions in the arena of Public Office, the Bishop may in consultation with the Synod of Bishops, grant the Cleric to hold a Permission to Officiate (POT) with the following conditions.

• 4.1 The Cleric shall not be licensed to any formal office of ministry in the Diocese but may function on an occasional basis.

• 4.2 The Cleric may exercise such ministerial duties, only when invited to do so by competent ecclesiastical authority, on an occasional basis.

• 4.3 The Bishop shall inform the Diocese of the new status of the Cleric concerned i.e. that the Cleric holds a PTO and may be invited to exercise legitimate priestly ministry on an occasional basis.

The Ven Joshua Louw, Archdeacon of the Waterfront in Cape Town, has been elected the new Bishop-elect of Table Bay.

Bishop-elect Louw was chosen on the third ballot in an Electoral College for the Diocese of Cape Town, held at the Synod of Bishops in Gauteng.

The Bishops considered seven candidates for election, four of them women.

Provincial Executive Office

It is with a heavy heart, and following consultation with Mrs Mpumi Ngewu, that I announce the death of Bishop Mlibo Ngewu, formerly of Mzimvubu. 

On behalf of the Synod of Bishops — now in session — my wife Lungi, my family and the whole of ACSA, we send our heartfelt condolences to the family. 

Mlibo will buried on Friday, the 21st February 2020 from Qumbu parish. The requiem will start at 11 am. 

Please continue to pray for Mpumi and the children and whole family as they mourn the loss of Bishop Mlibo .

The Most Revd Thabo Makgoba

Archbishop and Metropolitan