A Lettet From Bishop Merwyn to the Diocese

Sep 20, 2007

The full text of Bishop Merwyn’s letter to the Diocese in the False Bay Anchor 

My dear people

By the time this number of the False Bay Anchor reaches you, five new things would have taken place –

A new Archbishop of Cape Town would have been elected. The Elective Assembly would have considered three nominations, that of Bishop Johannes Seoka of Pretoria, Bishop Thabo Makgoba of Grahamstown and the Revd Barney Pityana, Vice Chancellor of UNISA.

It is conceivable that some one other than these three would have been elected or even that the choice was delegated to the Synod of Bishops. But we are confident that whoever it is, that that person would have been chosen by the Spirit of God and would now lead this wonderful and unique Province of Southern Africa, with its struggle history, rainbow diversity and its generous openness to the leading of God’s Spirit, into a new and exciting phase of being.

Acknowledged or not in these post modernist times, the Church has a crucial role to play in helping the world to become a more loving and peaceful and generous community with the greatest potential for good. So we give thanks for our new Archbishop-elect and pledge our support and love and resources to achieve together with others, God’s Kingdom here on earth.

On Saturday, 15^th September, I would have consecrated the new Church of the Holy Cross in Riviersonderend in the parish of Caledon. Much time and energy, much prayer and hard work, much money and human resources have gone into this wonderful sign of God’s presence in Riviersonderend.

It is up to the community of Anglicans there to take full ownership and possession of the building and turn it into a welcoming and safe place for all and sundry in that community. None of our Churches or halls and facilities should ever be allowed to stand silent most of the week when there is so much human need in our communities. I urge all pastoral charges to consider their own involvement with the communities of which they are crucial contributors.

Five new priests would also have been ordained on 29^th September at the Church of St Paul Philippi. There is an excellent article on priesthood in this number and the names of our new priests feature there as well. Out of the priesthood of all believers, God has called these new priests to be bearers of Christ, walking sacraments and servants of God’s Mission. Pray daily for all ordained ministers of the Church – our bishops, priests and deacons – that they may be filled with the Spirit and be faithful and deeply committed, holy in life and profligate in their love for God and His world.

We also have a new Archdeacon of Mitchell’s Plain, Fr Leslie Adriaanse of the parish of Westridge. The Canon ‘of Archdeacon’s’ Canon 15 says, “The main function of the Archdeacon is to share in the pastoral ministry and missionary leadership of the Bishop, in the area to which the Archdeacon is appointed.” It goes on to elaborate on some of the practical details of what the Archdeacon must do.

I hope and pray that this appointment by the Bishop will be positively received by all in the Archdeaconry and that it may result in a flowering of collaborative efforts by all the parishes in making our congregations “integrated Eucharistic Communities bringing wholeness and empowered service to all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”- to quote from our Diocesan Vision and Mission Statement.

I wish Fr Leslie, Alma and their family well in this new ministry of oversight and service and urge all our priests, deacons and Laos of God, to united witness in Mitchell’s Plain and Philippi, both areas with many social problems but with wonderfully resourced and committed Anglicans.

By now all Archdeaconry Councils would have been visited by members of our Diocesan Finance Board and been introduced to a new system of parish and diocesan assessment.

Here is an opportunity to start from scratch and introduce a more fair and equitable sharing of Diocesan Expenses by every pastoral charge. All revenue collected in our parishes belongs to the whole family of the Diocese and out of it, must cover the stipends, pensions and travel costs of our priests , deacons and bishop as well as administrative costs of running a Diocese and staff, extra-parochial ministries, mission outreach programmes, development of new Churches and congregations, and our share of Provincial costs. A larger percentage of the revenues is left in the local pastoral charges to cover running costs and local mission and liturgical and pastoral initiatives.

The old system has been seen to be unfair and unresponsive to appeals from parishes for many reasons but the new system attempts to be clear, fair, equitable but also challenging to parishes who are more wealthier than others and to those who may be struggling. I hope we may adopt this new system next year and we will discuss it in detail at our next Rectors, Churchwardens and Treasurers Meeting.

We are a relatively wealthy Diocese when compared to many of the other twenty-six Dioceses in the Province – “to those to whom much is given much is expected”. We are also a developing Diocese with much growth areas and new opportunities for Mission. We are going to need financial resources and we need to challenge all our people about their stewardship.

Christian Stewardship is about our time for Jesus and the Church, our talents for Jesus and His world and our money for Jesus and His Mission. All these things flow out of our love for God and His world and an outpouring of giving in gratitude. I will soon be appointing a Director of Stewardship and Evangelism to help and assist all congregations to a deeper commitment to Christ and a more generous living for others.

Diocesan Organizations

Both the CMS and the Guild of the Servants of the Sanctuary will be holding inaugural services in our Diocese – CMS 25 November and Diocesan Servers Guild on 4 November at St Francis Strandfontein.

The CMS seeks to gather together the men in our congregations for service. It has always struggled, for many reasons, to do this successfully. I think it is due to credible and effective leadership and lack of focus. I hope that the present leadership structure will have more success. I commend them and the CMS to all men in our congregations and ask our priests to encourage and nurture them.

The Bernard Mizeki Guild is also a men’s organization but present only in Xhosa-speaking congregations. They seem to be reasonably successful. It has much clerical support.

Our Guild of Servers – we have about 500 in the Diocese and have agreed to call themselves – the Guild of St Clare of Assisi. We want to encourage them as they restructure in the Diocese and elect officers and a warden. The ministry of our young boys and girls is much valued and appreciated in our Churches as they assist in the liturgies surrounding the celebration of the sacraments.

This and that

Our Diocesan Clergy Holiday Cottage – Piedmont, in Fish Hoek is currently being repaired and upgraded at considerable cost to the Diocese. We hope soon to make it available again at increased tariffs and under the management of a nearby parish. We need to generate income for regular maintenance and never to allow it to become so run down again. We are looking to do this by renting it out commercially for tourists etc. for portions of the year. Clergy from our three Dioceses in the Western Cape will have priority but it will be available to those outside our area as well.

The Retreat House in Faure costs the Diocese a quarter of a million Rand each year to run. At the moment, Trusts Board and Chapter are seriously considering its future use. Please keep us in your prayers.

I want to thank you for your continued support and prayers. We have a good Diocese with a good Spirit with wonderful priests and deacons and exceptional and generous people of God. Do not loose the vision, be open to what God is calling us to do, be thankful, be generous and continue to love God in Christ Jesus and worship Him regularly in Eucharistic celebrations.

All my love and prayers