From netman at cpsa.org.za Thu Oct 2 17:53:09 2008 From: netman at cpsa.org.za (Netman) Date: Thu Oct 2 17:53:45 2008 Subject: [Cpsa.news] Fw: Bishop David's Funeral Message-ID: <87B72DBD009D46749874470009567376@jenkins> Bishop David's Requiem Eucharist will be held on Friday, 3 October 2008 at 10h00 at St Dunstan's School in the Diocese of the Highveld. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.sn.apc.org/pipermail/cpsa.news/attachments/20081002/e106525d/attachment.htm From netman at cpsa.org.za Thu Oct 2 18:14:14 2008 From: netman at cpsa.org.za (Netman) Date: Thu Oct 2 18:14:51 2008 Subject: [Cpsa.news] Re: News of the Death of +David Beetge References: <687CAE8D591FF84AB1CDA4C91E5918D47435BC89@HMC-MBX02.he.businessgateway.co.za> Message-ID: <3058BA8EE68E4ABBB95D66B1818CD565@jenkins> This illustrates the value of subscribing to CPSA NEWS e-mailing list NETMAN Dear All Sorry that the news of Bishop David's death has not yet appeared on our Website. Unfortunately, we are experiencing problems in getting into the site and loading news. Gail Gail E Allen (Mrs) Provincial Executive Administrator -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.sn.apc.org/pipermail/cpsa.news/attachments/20081002/edef7d91/attachment.html From netman at cpsa.org.za Thu Oct 9 14:04:24 2008 From: netman at cpsa.org.za (Netman) Date: Thu Oct 9 14:04:39 2008 Subject: [Cpsa.news] Statement from Synod of Bishops Message-ID: <030CB07BEFE448D49CFF8167088357B4@jenkins> Statement of the Synod of Bishops A regular meeting of the Synod of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa in Gauteng reviewed the ongoing mission, ministry and witness of the Church and some of the challenges of the context in which we live. We voiced our renewed concern at the extreme poverty suffered by many in southern Africa, and at the wide gap between those who have excessive wealth and those who are poor. We remain deeply concerned at the prevalence of malaria and HIV and Aids, and we acknowledge anew the brokenness of the nations which we represent. We pledged to continue modelling values in our societies which build integrity, love, forgiveness, peace and reconciliation. As bishops of a church which spans six nations, we acknowledge also that we have been too quiet recently on issues of social justice, and need to take a stronger prophetic stance towards our governments. Xenophobia continues to strike at the heart of our identity as a church, and in South Africa we need to work with the rest of civil society in holding all of society?s structures accountable both for combatting ethnic hostility and for overcoming the failures of service delivery which contribute to tensions within communities. We call on Anglicans to continue to pray for refugees and economic migrants. We are deeply concerned at the situation in Swaziland and have resolved to send a delegation to express our solidarity with our Diocese of Swaziland and the people of that country as they work for a more democratic society. The 40th year of Swaziland?s independence sharply focusses this concern. At the same time, we give thanks for the recent elections in Angola, and we affirm the role of President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa in mediating a settlement in Zimbabwe. Dealing with domestic issues within the Church, the Synod: Endorsed the formation of a new diocese, to be known as the Diocese of Ukhahlamba, in the northern part of the current Diocese of Grahamstown; Affirmed the key role of theological education in building the church, endorsed a formal collaboration with the University of KwaZulu/Natal for theological training, and appointed a new director of the Anglican House of Studies in Pietermaritzburg, all in a bid to foster ecumenical theological education; Decided to have the Archbishop?s Charge from the March installation service in Cape Town translated into Portuguese for the benefit of the Dioceses of Lebombo, Niassa and Angola. The Charge will also be the basis of a study series for Lent 2009. Agreed to new and/or alternative Collects for the Church; Examined the administration and leadership of our Province; and Encouraged Anglicans to sign up with the South African Bone Marrow Registry as bone marrow donors. (http://www.sabmr.co.za/donor.htm) The bishops also reflected on the implications of the recent meetings of the Lambeth Conference and of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON). We agreed to continue working for the unity of the worldwide Anglican Communion through the current instruments of communion and dialogue, including the proposed Anglican Covenant, the Windsor Continuation Group and a possible Pastoral Forum. We agreed to continue to work with all parties in the current debates particularly on our own continent and to share South Africa?s experience of a reconciliation which embraces all. The Most Revd Thabo Makgoba Archbishop and Metropolitan Anglican Church of Southern Africa -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.sn.apc.org/pipermail/cpsa.news/attachments/20081009/5986598b/attachment.htm From peoadmin at anglicanchurchsa.org.za Mon Oct 13 09:30:24 2008 From: peoadmin at anglicanchurchsa.org.za (Gail Allen) Date: Mon Oct 13 09:31:47 2008 Subject: [Cpsa.news] FW: To Laos Message-ID: <687CAE8D591FF84AB1CDA4C91E5918D4015B7FC073@HMC-MBX02.he.businessgateway.co.za> Below please find the Archbishop's October Laos. Gail Gail E Allen (Mrs) Provincial Executive Administrator Provincial Executive Office Archbishop Thabo Makgoba To the People of God - To the Laos October 2008 Dear People of God So much has happened since I last wrote. But my memories of the Synod of Bishops and the Provincial Standing Committee, and the consecration of the new Bishop of Grahamstown, Ebenezer Ntlali, are overshadowed by the sudden death, barely a week later, of Bishop David Beetge, dear colleague, friend, priest, pastor, and father in God to so many of us. Dean of the Province since 2003, David was an outstanding leader of our church, a man of deep spirituality and prayer, for whose life we are enormously grateful to God, even as we grieve his death. Our love and prayers are with Carol, his widow. I first met Bishop David in 1987, when he lead a retreat for seminarians at St Peter's College, of whom I was one. For the next few years he was my spiritual director and a wise guide through the turbulence of the early 90s. More than anything else, David would advise me to pray - and I could see that this was the best possible option in every area of life, because I could see the effect of prayer in David's own life. He persistently deepened his relationship with the God who is love, daring to open himself to receive in love whatever the Lord had in store for him, no matter how easy. In this way, Bishop David's response to his illness is a lesson, and an encouragement, to us all. Let me quote some inspiring words that he wrote to a friend a couple of months ago: 'My prayers are only for God's will to be done. If that will is for healing I will embrace it fully, but if it is not, I look forward to the vision of God that I have known and will see more clearly; and to being caught up in the wonder of that Trinitarian love that Jesus makes possible for us. We must not pray as though we fear death.' David loved to speak of the experience once on retreat, when he felt he had been caught up, in Christ, into the very fullness of the dynamic love that flows between Father, Son and Spirit. That love, reaching out unconditionally to everyone flowed through David, similarly unconstrained. Such love fuelled his unstinting work within his Diocese; and within the Province in everything from the Pension Fund to HIV and AIDS. Here he was conscious that the church has too often stigmatised and excluded those who are infected or affected, instead of extending God's welcoming arms. He also played a significant role within the Anglican Communion, including in the Lambeth Commission that produced the Windsor report, and in ecumenical work, especially in relations with the Roman Catholic Church. The Archbishop of Canterbury sent a moving personal message, which you can read on our website, www.anglicanchurchsa.org. All this we remembered at his funeral, as we heard St Paul's reassurance that 'nothing - neither life nor death - can separate us from the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord' (from Romans 8:38-9). It was typical of Bishop David that he had told some of us that, should he die soon, he wanted his funeral to speak not so much of him, but of his Lord, and the gospel promise, the sure and certain promise, of the resurrection to new life. The ways of life and death remain so much beyond our comprehension - so often illness and death seem unfair, and we come to God in confusion and deep grief. Yet in Jesus we find a place to weep for our dear friend, remembering that Jesus himself wept at the grave of his own dear friend Lazarus even though he knew he would be raised. Therefore we trust in this same hope, for David and for ourselves, so wonderfully expressed in the words of St Peter: 'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed...' (1 Pet 1:3-5) So let us not be afraid to mourn our loss, even as we hold fast to our faith - for, as our Lord assured us, 'Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.' What, then, of our Synod, and the Provincial Standing Committee? The Bishops issued a statement about all we discussed, that is also on our website. One particular decision was to send a delegation to express our solidarity with the Diocese of Swaziland and the people of that country as, 40 years after independence, they work for a more democratic society. We gave thanks for the recent elections in Angola. Within the Province, our decisions included the formation of the new Diocese of Ukhahlamba in the northern part of the Diocese of Grahamstown. Among the matters PSC addressed (in part through small groups - we wanted to capture some of the strengths of the indaba style of the Lambeth Conference) were the budget, xenophobia, gender, the environment, ecumenism, social development, and youth. We also heard reports on the Lambeth and GAFCON meetings, and in discussion noted the Synod's view that 'We agreed to continue working for the unity of the worldwide Anglican Communion through the current instruments of communion and dialogue, including the proposed Anglican Covenant, the Windsor Continuation Group and a possible Pastoral Forum. We agreed to continue to work with all parties in the current debates particularly on our own continent and to share South Africa's experience of a reconciliation which embraces all.' We also spent time at PSC talking together about consultations across the Province, to produce a 'vision statement', but I will save further comment on this for my next letter. Yours in the service of Christ +Thabo Cape Town -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.sn.apc.org/pipermail/cpsa.news/attachments/20081013/b0548952/attachment.htm From netman at cpsa.org.za Mon Oct 13 12:33:44 2008 From: netman at cpsa.org.za (Netman) Date: Mon Oct 13 12:33:55 2008 Subject: [Cpsa.news] usage periodic check Message-ID: <758CAC126FC04F30A1F78DA22BA3E318@jenkins> Just checking your address by seeing if this gets to you. NETMAN -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.sn.apc.org/pipermail/cpsa.news/attachments/20081013/d86af890/attachment.htm From peoadmin at anglicanchurchsa.org.za Tue Oct 14 09:35:24 2008 From: peoadmin at anglicanchurchsa.org.za (Gail Allen) Date: Tue Oct 14 09:35:44 2008 Subject: [Cpsa.news] Correection to 'Laos' Message-ID: <687CAE8D591FF84AB1CDA4C91E5918D4015B92CCD1@HMC-MBX02.he.businessgateway.co.za> Our apologies. Please note that the 2nd paragraph of the 'Laos' should read St Paul's and not St Peter's College. Gail E Allen (Mrs) Provincial Executive Administrator Provincial Executive Office Anglican Church of Southern Africa 20 Bishopscourt Drive BISHOPSCOURT 7708 Western Cape Fax: 021 797 1329 Switchboard: 086 100 1171 ext 1328 International: 021 763 1300 ext 1328 e-mail: peoadmin@anglicanchurchsa.org.za web: www.anglicanchurchsa.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.sn.apc.org/pipermail/cpsa.news/attachments/20081014/657fbd44/attachment.htm From netman at cpsa.org.za Thu Oct 30 12:17:12 2008 From: netman at cpsa.org.za (Netman) Date: Thu Oct 30 12:17:26 2008 Subject: [Cpsa.news] Call for peace Message-ID: Call for "political maturity" On behalf of the member churches of Diakonia Council of Churches, Chairperson Bishop Barry Wood has issued a strong call for peace and prayer to the people of KwaZulu-Natal. The Council and its member churches have expressed deep concern over the increasing levels of intolerance displayed by supporters of various political parties and by the leadership of some political organisations. "Churches and other civil society organisations have a key role to play in speaking out against all forms of intolerance and prejudice, especially where these are displayed by the very people elected to leadership positions. Our leaders are expected to present themselves as exemplary at all times", said Bishop Wood. Speaking ahead of party conventions over the weekend, Bishop Barry Wood emphasised the importance of safeguarding the values of democracy - freedom of speech and association being central - as well as the right to vote. "Democracy is about change; democracy is our means towards ensuring we have a government which is answerable to the people; democracy is a process which entrenches our right to organise ourselves politically and socially. We must defend these values and the church has a role to play in educating its members" he said. "Democracy means we can differ from one another and we can form new parties, we can and must allow for change and we must protect the rights of those who seek to do so,? he added. Diakonia Council of Churches strongly condemns the various forms of violence which have occurred in the political discourse over the past few weeks. This violence has played out in many ways, not least of which has been the language and rhetoric exercised in the public arena by various key people. Bishop Wood urged those who enjoyed the public stage to avoid any references to violence, however obscure these might be, and seek rather to create an environment most conducive towards peace-building and neighbourliness. "We cannot afford another outbreak of violence - we must do everything in our power to ensure peaceful conditions pre- and post-election" he said. The true test of a mature democracy is the ability of all stakeholders to remain focussed on the real issues at hand. The political arena needs to shift focus from personal agendas and partisan infighting to the real needs of the people it serves. Bishop Wood called for a renewed commitment to the real crises besetting our people: "KwaZulu-Natal is in the grip of the world's worst rate of HIV infections. The rate of crime is spiralling and poverty reduces the lives of millions to a sub-human existence. Service delivery to the people who need it most leaves much to be desired. Children are being orphaned every day and the state of our schools and clinics is desperate. Our environment is being degraded and climatic changes present growing challenges to us all. These are the real issues - these are the debates which we should be hearing. Addressing these problems will go a long way to bringing about peace in our land. Diakonia Council of Churches calls on all people of faith to pray for peace for our country and for wisdom and courage for our leaders. "We call on all people of faith to practice peace-building - in word and deed. KwaZulu-Natal is a province with deep scars which require healing and reconciliation. This can only be realised through strong and bold leadership committed to peace and justice", says Bishop Wood. *Diakonia represents hundreds of thousands of Christian believers and has strong ties with other faith communities. The organisation has a long history of working for justice and peace. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.sn.apc.org/pipermail/cpsa.news/attachments/20081030/dba7e445/attachment.html