The Church of the Province of Southern Africa is the oldest in Africa. The twenty-four dioceses of the Province extend beyond the Republic of South Africa and include the islands of St. Helena and Tristan da Cunha, Mozambique (Lebombo and Niassa), the Republic of Namibia, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Kingdom of Swaziland and Angola. On January 1, 2008, Rt. Rev. Thabo Cecil Makgoba began his work as Archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan and Primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.
In his Charge to his bishops, he said
. . . I am inviting all of you to join me in rededicating ourselves to be sekgo sa metse, Spirit-filled channels of peace with justice, and yeast for forgiveness and reconciliation, in whatever ways God calls us in this new chapter of our lives. . . . We must be sekgo sa metse wherever old divisions of the past or new inequalities of the present rear their heads – whether of race, or wealth, or status, or power; whether in politics, or sport, or on university campuses, or even within our churches. Archbishop Clayton once said “The Church, the body of Christ, has a prophetic duty to stand for righteousness. She must do so… It is not her duty to be popular. It is her duty to speak the truth.” In this way, we bear a moral duty to ensure that the past does not destroy the future.
When interviewed, he said
The bishop listens to where God’s people are in terms of the issues and brings the needs and concerns of God’s people before God in prayer. My role is to hear what God is saying to all God’s people.
In October 2008, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, bestowed on him the Anglican Communion’s highest award, the Cross of St Augustine.
I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.
I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together,
So that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it. Isaiah 41:18-20
Dear Heavenly Father,
We pray that Archbishop Makgoba will be a vessel of living water in the Anglican Province of Southern Africa and at the primates meeting in Alexandria. Open his ears to hear Your voice and his heart to receive Your words. May he be like a tree planted by the rivers of living water, bringing forth the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Bring forth peace and justice, forgiveness and reconciliation, righteousness and truth at the primates meeting.
May we see the work of the primates meeting and know that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it. Amen.
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We must be sekgo sa metse wherever old divisions of the past or new inequalities of the present rear their heads – whether of race, or wealth, or status, or power; whether in politics, or sport, or on university campuses, or even within our churches. Archbishop Clayton once said “The Church, the body of Christ, has a prophetic duty to stand for righteousness. She must do so… It is not her duty to be popular. It is her duty to speak the truth.” In this way, we bear a moral duty to ensure that the past does not destroy the future.
[...] Archbishop of Southern Africa Thabo Makgoba (prepared before the primates meeting) [...]