Category: Provincial Synod

A resolution approved at Provincial Synod 2021:

POLITICAL UNREST IN ESWATINI

Noting:

1. The Archbishop in his charged alluded to the Political unrest in Eswatini.
2. Such political unrest led to destruction of property left hundreds of Emaswati with Permanent injuries and over 70 citizens (Children, women and Men) lost their lives.
3. The devastation that such unrest has caused to the people of Eswatini.

Resolve that:

1. This Synod join the people of Eswatini in thanking the Archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan of ACSA for the constant calls and pastoral letter he wrote to the people of Eswatini on behalf of the Province.
2. Request the Archbishop to continue working with other regional, continental and global structures pushing for meaningful engagement and dialogue in Eswatini to find an amicable solution to the challenges of Eswatini.
3. Respectfully request that provincial pastoral and fact-finding mission be sent to Eswatini within the next two months.

Seconder: Ms Thobile Dlamini

Proposer: Venerable Bhekindlela Magongo

A resolution approved at the 2021 Provincial Synod:

AFRICAN BISHOPS CALL FOR A HALT TO GAS AND OIL EXPLORATION IN AFRICA

This Provincial Synod,

Affirming that it:

1. Recognises the negative impacts of fossil fuel exploration in the Dioceses of Namibia and Nampula;
2. Recognises the increasing impacts of climate change across the Continent of Africa, caused by the burning of fossil fuels;
3. Commits to standing in solidarity with the rest of Africa to call for a halt to gas and oil exploration in Africa;

Resolves to:

1. Invite all ACSA Bishops to sign the letter below to the African Union, European Union and Governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States of America;
2. Invite the All-Africa Conference of Churches and the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa to circulate this letter for signature throughout Africa.

THE PROPOSED LETTER

To whom it may concern

RE: AFRICAN BISHOPS CALL FOR A HALT TO GAS AND OIL EXPLORATION IN AFRICA

Africa, our home, is a continent of spectacular beauty and abundance. It still has remnants of its unique and priceless wildlife in areas of great variety, biodiversity, and wonder. The land has deep rooted cultural and traditional significance and 80% of the Continent’s people depend on small scale farmers for their food.

A new era of economic colonialism by fossil fuel companies is well underway. This is supported by self-serving governments. They are enticed by the promise of job creation and finance for ‘development’ while ignoring the harsh reality of the climate crisis, the ravages of which are being felt across the Continent. Biodiversity loss, exacerbated by catastrophic climate change will have dire consequences for all life on this planet and Africa will be severely affected.

Africa’s natural habitats are being destroyed at an alarming rate through the extraction of oil and gas, with many new projects in the pipeline. Known in Nigeria as the curse of “black gold”, fossil fuel extraction is polluting the water and the land. Oil companies are abusing the rights of indigenous and rural people and forcing them off their land. Oil and gas exploration and exploitation are leading to political destabilisation and increased violence.
The choices we make now will determine the future of Africa. We face species extinction, widespread disease, life-threatening temperature extremes, droughts, ecosystem collapse, and rising sea levels, floods, storms, and wildfires, unless there is transformational change by individuals, communities, businesses, institutions, and governments.

Africa is a continent richly blessed with sun and wind. Investment in renewable energy, now the cheapest form of energy worldwide, will create far more jobs and long-term savings. Renewable energy will be generated without the health-damaging pollutants of fossil fuels or global warming that will push the world past a catastrophic 1.5°C increase in temperature. The declining worldwide demand for fossil fuels will also leave Africa with a legacy of stranded assets.

Yet rather than halting fossil fuel extraction, many governments are actively encouraging exploration for oil and gas reserves by foreign companies. This, despite each country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and their promise to formulate nationally determined contributions (NDC) of climate changing emissions.

Across the continent, foreign companies, supported by African governments, are putting profit before planet:

1. ReconAfrica, a Canadian oil and gas company, is drilling for oil and gas in the Kavango Basin in north-east Namibia. The company’s 25-year production licence covers over 34,000 square kilometres. Major oil extraction threatens scarce water supplies and is likely to cause widespread ecological destruction to the Okavango Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It would also disrupt traditional livelihoods and displace indigenous communities.
2. The Virunga National Park in the DRC is a ‘protected’ UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has a wealth of biodiversity but is threatened with oil exploration. UNESCO has appealed to the DRC government to cancel all oil exploration permits and focus rather on longer term sustainable development opportunities.
3. The plan to build a heated pipeline that will carry crude oil from western Uganda through Tanzania to the Indian Ocean, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), will damage fragile ecosystems and displace families from their land. The Ugandan and Tanzanian Governments, the French oil company Total, and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) have partnered in this agreement.
4. Multiple foreign corporations (including Total) have invested in the offshore gas reserves of northern Mozambique. In spite of promises, the vast development has not benefitted local communities. People are losing their ancestral land and culture. Many young men have joined the Al-Shabab insurgency group making brutal attacks. Nearly 900,000 people have been internally displaced due to the violence. The Quirimbas National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, will also be exposed to the impacts of dredging, waste disposal and construction.

As people of faith, we believe we have been given responsibility to care for, protect and preserve Africa’s magnificent creation. Therefore, we call for:

A. The immediate cessation of fossil fuel exploration across Africa.

B. The application of effective climate justice so that countries of Africa, disproportionately affected by climate change, may be enabled to leapfrog the polluting fossil fuel era into the clean renewable energy era.

C. An end to bribery and corruption by foreigners and multi-national companies to secure contracts from political leaders, with disastrous consequences for local communities.

D. A decisive and determined shift by governments to embrace a transition to a renewable energy future with its enormous job creation potential so that people and planet may breathe and thrive.

E. The recognition of Ecocide as a crime in national and international law. Ecocide is causing irreparable damage and destruction to ecosystems and harming the health and wellbeing of species, including humans.

Proposer: Rev Dr Andrew Warmback

Seconder: Rev Shaun Cozett

Provincial Synod 2021 passed the following resolution during the final sessions attended by the Dioceses in Mozambique and Angola:

MOTION ON IGREJA ANGLICANA DE MOZAMBIQUE E ANGOLA (IAMA)

This Provincial Synod,

Noting:

1. The 2002 Provincial Synod decision;
2. The Archbishop’s Charge 2019 on his vision for the establishment of a Portuguese-speaking Anglican Province in Southern Africa and the multiplication of the Dioceses in
   Angola and Mozambique (IAMA);
3. Approval by the Anglican Communion for the establishment of such a Province;
4. The work and support of Mrs Matlotlisang Mototjane, the Ven Horace Arenz (former PEO) and The Revd Dr Makhosi Nzimande (current PEO) and the efficacy and hard
   work of Archbishop Josiah and the Anglican Communion Standing Committee;

Acknowledging that thanks should be extended to:

1. The four founding Bishops of IAMA, Bishop Carlos, Bishop Andre, Bishop Manuel, and Bishop Vicente for their vision and leadership;
2. The former and current Provincial Executive Officers: Ven Horace Arenz and The Revd Dr. Makhosi Nzimande as well as the Provincial Executive Officer Administrator Mrs Matlotly Mototjane;
3. Archbishop Josiah, the Anglican Communion Exploratory Committee and Canon Maggie Swinson, Chair of the Exploratory Committee and their team;

Confirming that:

1. Appreciation and thanks are due to ACSA for its commitment to journeying with IAMA through the following:

1.1 Financial support of ½ million Rands per annum over five years;

1.2 Collaboration and support in Theological Education with The College of the Transfiguration, HOPE Africa, Green Anglicans, Youth Structure, ASF and other Provincial Bodies;

1.3 Sharing of knowledge of best practice in such areas as Safe and Inclusive Church, Canon Law Council, Anglican Board of Education and Provincial Secretariat matters;

Resolves to:

1. Commit to walking with IAMA as we venture together in faith into the new Province.

Proposer: Acting Presiding Bishop Carlos Matsinhe
Seconder: Bishop Andre Soares

Provincial Synod has called for the mandatory vaccination of clergy against Covid-19, and urged lay Anglicans to “to seriously consider vaccination as an act of love for both ourselves and our neighbour.”

Synod, meeting online, voted today for a resolution which said vaccinations for clergy are necessary because they visit people who are vulnerable to Covid-19 infection. The resolution noted that numbers of people in church congregations are vulnerable as a result of of age or comorbidities.

The vote was taken after a presentation to Synod earlier this week by Professor Koleka Mlisana, co-chair of South Africa’s Ministerial Advisory Committee on Coronavirus, which raised concerns about declining vaccination rates.

Professor Mlisana told the synod that South Africa should be vaccinating 300,000 people every day, but in the 24 hours ending on September 21 had vaccinated only 195,000. The average number of people being vaccinated every day had declined by nearly 10 percent compared to a week earlier.

In another presentation to the synod, Professor Adrian Puren of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases also highlighted the importance of vaccinating as many people as possible.

Some opposition to mandatory vaccinations was voiced on grounds ranging from selected individuals being advised against it by their doctors to concern that clergy were not employees. However, when put to the vote the resolution was passed by a majority.

The full text of the resolution follows:

MOTION ARISING OUT OF THE ARCHBISHOP’S CHARGE

This Provincial Synod

Noting that

1. The declaration of a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation for the COVID-19 virus has also affected our common life as church. 

2. The expertise developed by the WHO and world’s medical scientists point to vaccinations as key to defeating the pandemic.

3. Our prophetic stance requires that our response takes into account the consensus of medical science that vaccinating as many people as possible is necessary to bring the pandemic under control.

4. The Archbishop in his charge reminded us that “in a deadly pandemic, the right of your neighbour to Life inevitably circumscribes your right to do as you like”, and “further asked us to “to take seriously our prophetic role in society when we debate this matter.”

5. There are diverse views regarding vaccination and there are those who believe strongly in vaccination and those that are opposed to vaccination.

6. That in 1 Cor 8:9 in dealing with an issue dividing the church over food offered to idols, Paul urges ‘But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.’

Acknowledging:

1. The work of the ACSA  COVID-19 Advisory Team in its advice and guidance to the Province and commending  the information video they have made available  for use within all worship services.

2. That the COVID pandemic continues to wreak havoc in our common life as parishes and affects both clergy and laity alike.

3. That the National Covid Command Council in South Africa predicts a likely fourth wave later this year.

4. The fact that vaccinations have not always been used for good and that this has caused fear and suspicion in the hearts and minds of our communities and our members.

5. The controversy and debate around the science of vaccinations as well as the need for compulsory vaccination which is adding to vaccine hesitancy in our communities and members.

6. That our theology as Anglicans encourages us to be bound by ties of love and also to remember that we are our sister and brother’s keeper.

7. The need for a theological response which will assists our member to engage with the scientific and legal debates and be able to journey in the deepening of our faith to live in fullness to our calling.

Resolves to

1. Support the call from the Archbishop for the mandatory vaccination of all clergy on the grounds that of necessity they have to be close to other people, they visit vulnerable people to provide pastoral care and numbers of people in our congregations are vulnerable by virtue of age or comorbidities. 

2. Request the ACSA Covid Advisory Team in collaboration with the Southern African Anglican Theological Commission’s Chairperson to prepare a theological response to guide the wider church in fulfilling its prophetic role regarding its position on vaccination and that this be available to the Dioceses by the end of October 2021 for ongoing education of our members. Urges all laity to seriously consider vaccination as an act of love for both ourselves and our neighbour.

3. Encourage all to continue to be vigilant in observing all protocols and regulations relating to the prevention of the further spread of the virus.

4. Request the ACSA Covid Advisory Committee to make available inputs on vaccination to all Dioceses via social media by Prof Adrian Puren of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and Prof Koleka Mlisana, co-chair of South Africa’s Ministerial Advisory Committee on Coronavirus. 

5. Request that statistics on vaccinations within ACSA be reviewed at Provincial Standing Committee in 2022. 

Proposed: Ms Tebogo Molefe, Diocese of Johannesburg

Seconder: Bishop Raphael Hess of Saldanha Bay

Provincial Synod, meeting online from September 21 to 24, approved the following resolution on plastic pollution:

This Provincial Synod,

Noting that:

1. Across Southern Africa only 16% of plastic is recycled. The bulk of discarded plastic ends up in landfill locations, scattered across the countryside, blocking drains or littering street verges. If not buried or burnt, it finds its way into rivers (due to wind, littering, improper waste management or overflowing landfills) and eventually into the ocean;
2. It is estimated that eight million metric tons of discarded plastic end up in the ocean annually;
3. South Africa, the 11th worst plastic polluter in the world, has indicated that the government is not willing to sign the draft Global Plastic Treaty, proposed by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP);
4. Provincial Mothers’ Union passed a resolution in Lesotho (2015) to ban polystyrene at parish events;
5. Informal waste pickers play an important role in recycling waste;

Acknowledging that:

1. The practice in some rural communities is that families bring their own dishes to parish events from home;
2. To us as people of faith, the well-being of the planet is more important than short-term financial gain;

Resolves to:

1. Call for a ban of the use of polystyrene at all church events and requests that representatives of the executive of each Provincial organisation have a discussion about the implementation of this ban and that ACSA Environmental Network prepares posters with information for churches;
2. Respectfully request the Archbishop to write to the Ministers of the Environment (or the relevant office) in each of the countries within in ACSA, encouraging them to sign the Global Plastic Treaty, and encourage the bishops of IAMA to consider doing the same.
3. Recommend that where waste pickers service urban communities, Anglican households should separate their waste to help uphold the dignity of the waste pickers.

Proposer: Lulama Ntuta, Diocese of the Highveld

Seconder: Maria Van Staden, Mothers’ Union

Provincial Synod resolved today to call on dioceses and parishes to “commit to being peace-makers by intentionally building bridges between Muslim and Jewish communities in South Africa.”

In the third of three resolutions dealing with Islamaphobia, anti-semitism and the conflict in Palestine and Israel, the synod also said Anglican churches should take steps to educate parishioners on Jewish-Muslim relations and in particular, the situation in Palestine and Israel.

The full text of the resolution follows.

The address of Bishop Luke Pretorius seconding the resolution can be found here >>

Motion: Peace in the Middle East (as amended)

This Provincial Synod, noting that:

1. We grieve at the ongoing cycle of violence in Palestine, Israel and in many parts of the region that has displaced people through state sanctioned actions, civil wars and violent extremists;

2. We yearn for the peace and wholeness of God to be made manifest in Palestine and Israel as well as in neighbouring countries in the Middle East; and

3. Jesus Christ commanded us to love one another and pray for those who persecute us;

Calls on every Diocese and every Parish therein to:

1. Affirm that Antisemitism and Islamophobia have no place in the Anglican Church;

2. Take steps to educate parishioners on Jewish-Muslim relations and in particular, the situation in Palestine and Israel;

3. Commit to being peace-makers by intentionally building bridges between Muslim and Jewish communities in South Africa; and

4. Pray a special prayer for the people of the Middle East

God bless the people of the Middle East;

Protect its vulnerable children;

Transform it’s divided leaders;

Heal their wounded communities,

Restore their human dignity,

and given them lasting peace.

Amen.

Proposer: The Ven Forbes Maupa of the Diocese of Natal

Seconder: Bishop Luke Pretorius of the Diocese of St Mark the Evangelist (in Limpopo)

Provincial Synod resolved today to call on next year’s worldwide meeting of Anglican bishops, the Lambeth Conference, to initiate a process, in collaboration with international organisations and global faith bodies, to lead to “a negotiated settlement that will bring justice and peace in Israel and Palestine within a set timeframe.”

The Synod resolution, adopted with three abstentions, reads:

LAMBETH CONFERENCE SUPPORTING PALESTINE

This Provincial Synod,

Noting that:

1. The 2019 Provincial Synod unanimously expressed its support to act in “solidarity with Palestine” (Resolution 4: “Time to Act: Solidarity with Palestine”);

2. It is the continued and growing impunity and lack of accountability by the State of Israel over the areas they are occupying shown, for example, by delaying vaccination of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, continual illegal settlement building, and by not co-operating with the work of the International Criminal Court;

3. The 2020 Provincial Standing Committee’s resolution (Resolution 11.1.7 – “Support for Palestine”) further supported the need for education about “the daily reality of the situation” and that this was further supported by the February 2021 deliberations at the Synod of Bishops;

Acknowledging that:

1. The “daily reality” for Palestinians continues to be oppressive, illustrated, for example, by the statement of the “Leaders of Historically African American and South African Churches” (Group Pilgrimage Statement on Israel and Palestine, March 5, 2019), a pilgrimage in which one of our bishops participated, which was distributed at the 2019 Provincial Synod, and included the following experiences:

“d. We visited Palestinian communities and homes where people are not allowed to have freedom of movement or self-determination.

“e. We visited a refugee camp of displaced persons who still hold the keys to their homes that were confiscated over 70 years ago. We met and heard stories of men, women and children who have themselves or family members been victims of state-sanctioned violence in the form of detention, interrogation, teargassed, beatings, forced confessions and death.

“f. We met with families who are fighting to keep their homes from being taken for Jewish settlements and developments.

“g. We heard the stories of how Palestinians within the occupied territory of the Gaza Strip must contend with a perpetual blockade, the excessive use of force by Israel to subject the people to collective punishment of the whole population and the debilitating confinement that renders Gaza as one big densely populated prison.

“h. We heard of the acute shortage of fuel and electricity, seriously affecting daily life and the provision of especially health services in Gaza; and the heavily polluted and undrinkable water, aggravating child mortality rates;”

2. The Human Rights Watch report of 27 April 2021, entitled “A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution”, adds further evidence in respect of the long-held belief that Israel is an Apartheid regime.

Affirming that:

1. The ACSA Palestinian Study Group, under the leadership of Bishop Luke Pato, remains committed to carrying out the resolutions on Palestine passed by the Provincial Synod, the Provincial Standing Committee and the Synod of Bishops;

2. The five studies, “Justice for the Palestinian people”, made available by the Archbishop to our Province, will help in raising awareness and increasing understanding among our members of the Palestinian context and theological perspectives on it;

3. The non-violent struggle for freedom in Palestine is being furthered through initiatives taken by other faith and ecumenical bodies, a significant one being that of Kairos Palestine and Global Kairos for Justice, “Cry for Hope: A Call to decisive action – we cannot serve God and the oppression of the Palestinians” (1 July 2020), in which they make an urgent appeal: “We call upon all Christians and on churches at congregational, denominational, national, and global ecumenical levels to engage in a process of study, reflection and confession concerning the historic and systemic deprivation of the rights of the Palestinian people, and the use of the Bible by many to justify and support this oppression”;

4. The South African Council of Churches’ (SACC) solidarity work strengthens our own efforts, such as in their statement on the “Imminent annexation of Palestinian West Bank by Israel,” (25 June 2020) which observed that “the illegal Israeli settlers on the West Bank are already executing acts of violence against Palestinian citizens and destroying their olives and livestock,” which it stated “goes against the best prophetic tradition and teachings of both Judaism and Christianity;”

Resolves to:

1. Mandate our Archbishop to place solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for a just peace on the agenda of the Lambeth Conference in 2022, using the South African experience to hold the Apartheid regime accountable to the human family as a possible template;

2. Respectfully request the Lambeth Conference to initiate a process, in collaboration with international organisations such as the United Nations (UN) and global faith bodies, to lead to a negotiated settlement that will bring justice and peace in Israel and Palestine within a set timeframe.

Proposer: Bishop Luke Pato of Namibia

Seconder: Bishop Charles May of the Highveld

Provincial Synod today approved a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and Islamophobia and adopted formal definitions of each.

The full text of the resolution follows.

The address of Bishop Brian Marajh motivating the resolution can be found here >>

4.1 DEFINING ISLAMOPHOBIA AND ANTI-SEMITISM

This Provincial Synod,

Noting that:

1. The 2019 ACSA motion Solidarity with Palestinians affirms that “all forms of Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia should be condemned in the strongest terms”,
2. Muslims and Jews are small minority groups in South African society and therefore vulnerable to actions arising from Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism,
3. Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia share in common a racism based on perceived racial features, ethnic appearances, cultural practices or political allegiances,
4. In South Africa there is a casual Islamophobia that manifests in different social contexts such as towards a Muslim woman wearing the hijab, and
5. Globally there is a rise in Anti-Semitism leading to attacks on Jewish places of worship, Jewish schools, individual Jews on the street, the defacing of Jewish cemeteries and use of Nazi imagery on social media,

Acknowledging that:

1. Defining Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia will help identify more clearly what the Anglican church is taking a stand against and condemning, and
2. There are no perfect definitions as academics have made plain,

Resolves to adopt the following internationally accepted definitions:

1. ISLAMOPHOBIA is a fear, prejudice and hatred of Muslims or non-Muslim individuals that leads to provocation, hostility and intolerance by means of threatening, harassment, abuse, incitement and intimidation of Muslims and non-Muslims, both in the online and offline world. It is motivated by institutional, ideological, political and religious hostility that transcends into structural and cultural racism which targets the symbols and markers of being a Muslim.
2. ANTI-SEMITISM is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.

Proposer: Bishop Brian Marajh of George
Seconder: Bishop Tsietsi Seleoane of Mzimvubu

The following honours and awards were presented or announced by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba at the opening Eucharist of Provincial Synod:

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

• Honorary Provincial Canons:
  • The Ven. Horace Arenz – Former Provincial Executive Officer
  • The Ven. Keith de Vos – Former Vicar General of the Diocese of Cape Town
  • The Revd Canon Hamilton Mbatha – Vicar General of the Diocese of Zululand
  • The Right Revd Funginkosi Mbhele – Retired Bishop and Vicar General of the Diocese of Zululand
  • The Very Revd Tanki Mofana SSM – Vicar General of the Diocese of Lesotho
  • The Very Revd Ndabezinhle Sibisi – Dean and Vicar General of the Diocese of Natal
  • The Revd Carol Starkey – Vicar General of the Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman
  • The Revd. Janet Trisk

• Archbishop’s Peace with Justice Award:
  • The Revd Courtney Sampson
  • The Revd Canon Dr Rachel Mash

• Order of Simon of Cyrene:
  • Adv. Raynold Bracks
  • Ms Diana Oliver

• Lambeth Decorations:
  • The Revd Canon Dr Rachel Mash
  • The Right Revd Luke L. Pato
  • The Right Revd Ellinah N. Wamukoya