Makgoba on miners' legal costs, role of Church

BY RAY HARTLE
Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba says President Jacob Zuma must ensure that miners and their families who were victims of the Marikana shootings are provided with legal support.

Makgoba, who was speaking during a conference of the Anglican Church of Southern African in Johannesburg, has written to Zuma stating that the Commission of Enquiry into the shootings must be seen to be acting justly.

He  said the government was financing the costs of the commission as well as the legal representatives of the police officers who will appear before it.

"However, it seems that similar legal support is not being equally extended to the miners themselves nor to the families of those who lost their lives.

"I am deeply troubled at the message of apparent inequality this decision can be seen as conveying," he wrote to Zuma.

Makgoba also called on Christians in legal practice to offer their services on a pro bono basis to the miners and their families.

On the role of the church in society, he said:

"We need to reclaim our voice. I went to Marikana out of love because I believe in the dignity of each person and because the environment is crying (out for a response from us)."

Makgoba acknowledged that in South Africa, the Anglican church faced many internal crises, including a dispute between the bishop and cathedral parishioners in the Diocese of Pretoria which has reached the High Court.

Many also felt the church had been slow in recognizing the ministry of women and in dealing with the needs of those in same sex civil unions.

"These are challenges but it shows that the church is alive and is not immune to what is happening in society. It is important to see how we allow God's love to move us even in the midst of those problems."

Makgoba said the Anglicans Ablaze conference reflected "a synergy of positive energies within our church" with people of contrary worship and theological positions coming together.

"We should bring whatever challenges we have into this milieu and grow together as Anglicans. 

Makgoba said that despite the diversity among Anglicans, certain "fundamentals" such as "breaking bread together", kept the church together.

Commenting on the appointment of a successor to Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Makgoba said the global church faced major issues including new human identities and degradation of the environment, which required ongoing strong leadership.

Being Archbishop of Canterbury was "an impossible job. If you really believe that you are only a conduit for the grace and love of God, it is do-able.

"I hope that whomever becomes archbishop will take up where (Archbishop Williams) ended, inject theological strength into our debate, yet know that there are no easy answers. 

"As an archbishop (the next incumbent) needs to create an enabling environment for people to really live what it means to be an Anglican in the beauty of our diversity."

Standing in the gap for a faltering, useless State

Is the Church called to 'stand in the gap' for a faltering, some may say useless State?

Day 2 of Anglicans Ablaze conference in Johannesburg, drawing together Anglican Christians from all the corners of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa including Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia, Angola, St Helena and Tristan de Cunha.

It's the biggest gathering of Anglicans in the region ever. An opportunity for meeting new people from places we're unlikely to visit, laughing, talking, learning, worshiping and visioning.

Opening the conference, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba reminded us of Desmond Tutu's statement after SA achieved democracy: ‘Now we can get back to truly being church!' But, asked Makgoba, "what does it mean for us to be truly church, in our new circumstances?"

I've been reflecting on the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel's words about finding people who could assist in building up the walls of Jerusalem and stand in the gap to protect the city. And I think that is exactly what the church in southern Africa is called to do - to stand in the gap. But in our contexts, it means standing in the gap for a rapacious, failing state. 

That state my appear as an upwardly mobile Frelimo party in Mozambique which, having left behind the revolutionary ideals espoused by Samora Machel, has been unable to bring about economic change to ordinary citizens. It may exhibit the reactionary and oppressive features of a Swaziland state. 

Or it may display the lack of leadership, the absence of creative ideas and solutions, but the presence of self-importance and greed and looking after themselves of the South African state, which appears to be failing on most, if not all fronts.

Standing in the gap may not mean simply taking over the role of the state, although where the state is failing to feed, to educate, to heal, to protect, the church MUST play that role.

But, increasingly, it must mean standing up against oppressive behaviors, speaking out on the things that people, leaders especially, are doing that are wrong. There's a nice synonym for 'things that are wrong' but people try to avoid using it because it's no longer regarded as politically or rationally correct. Sin.

The church has to take a stand against the sin of the failing states in southern Africa. And stand in the gap for God, who brings healing to a broken, divided, poverty-stricken and joyless world.

Jesus was the one revolutionary who didn't lay down the fight for justice, equality and peace in 1994 when South Africa became a democracy. And we're called again to stand in the gap for and with him.

I think that's what it means to be truly church.