Snippets from PSC

Among decisions taken by the Provincial Standing Committee at its annual meeting in the last week of September:

• Elective assemblies to fill episcopal vacancies in four dioceses – Kimberley & Kuruman, Lesotho, Natal and Zululand – are to be held “virtually”. The assemblies have been delayed by coronavirus lockdowns. PSC resolved that Archbishop Thabo Makgoba will issue mandates to Vicars-General in each Diocese “to summon the Elective Assembly to meet in a Virtual Gathering, by Video Conferencing, if necessary.”

• In view of restrictions on funerals and travel during the coronavirus, clergy are reminded of “the importance of the service of ‘Commemoration of the Faithful Departed’ as a pastoral opportunity to provide comfort and support to those who mourn.”

• PSC rejected a proposal to explore holding “virtually” the Lambeth Conference, the once-a-decade meeting of bishops and their spouses from around the world. This year’s Lambeth Conference has been postponed until 2022, as a result of which ACSA’s Provincial Synod, originally due to meet in 2022, will be held next year.

• PSC expressed its gratitude to the SA Council of Churches for its leadership during the lockdown in South Africa and its initiatives on a basic income grant, corruption and gender-based violence.

• The Palestinian Study Group set up after last year’s Provincial Synod was asked to prepare a presentation and resources on “the daily reality of the situation” in Palestine for dioceses and parishes.