ANGLICAN CHURCH OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 1
FRA N CI SCA N
JANUARY 2019
M O N T HLY
OFFICIAL MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE PARISH OF ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI, WATERKLOOF, PRETORIA
Thoughts on departing from St. Francis and South Africa after twenty years And thus, my Lay Reader career commenced. I proudly entered the pulpit and undertook the specified readings, confident in the conviction that my years of Lay-Reader service in the US had come to the fore and bore the fruit upon which I was now feasting.
IN THIS ISSUE: REFLECTIONS FROM JAMES AIELLO
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MEET REVEREND THATO TSAUTSE
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PARISH THEME FOR 2019
PARISH OBSERVES EDUCATION SUNDAY
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SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST:
• Salutation from Lay Minister James Aeillo • Meet Reverend Thato Tsautse • Parish adopts Prodigal Son theme for 2019 • Education Sunday highlight
By James Aeillo Being an Episcopalian, immediately upon arriving in Pretoria in March of 1998, I sought out the nearest Anglican Church. It was Saint (St) Francis. Without knowing anyone, my wife, Helene, and I started attending the services there. The priest in those days was Robin, a very comforting pastor. As I had been a Lay Reader and a Lay Minister in the United States of America (US) for many, many years, I figured: if I behaved myself, perhaps I would be invited to be at least a Lay Reader, because I would be demonstrating my knowledge and comfort with the Anglican service, which is virtually identical to that of the Episcopal Church in the US. So, it was no huge surprise when, after a couple of months of steady attendance (and being one of about three male congregants that actually wore a suit and tie to the service), the Deacon, some fellow named Archie, asked me if I would be interested in being a Lay Reader. I blushed, dug my toe into the carpet, and humbly accepted.
Later, I learned that Archie had asked me to be a Lay Reader “because he thought the congregation would find my American accent ‘interesting’.” About this time, Father Timothy became the parish priest, and after observing me once or twice, suggested that I become a Lay Minister. Again, the blush and the carpet dig, and the attempt to find vestments which I could wear followed. I was more or less successful in that regard, and fate came to our rescue a couple of years later when a group of ladies from one of our sister congregations in the Soshanguve and Mamelodi areas came to the parish hall one Sunday afternoon, and took the measurements of all of the existing Lay Ministers. Thereafter, they provided us with these hand-measured and custom-made vestments. I was really impressed with their talent, and truly felt that God had blessed them to do what they did and that I was humbly sharing in that blessing by wearing those vestments whenever I was a Lay Minister. Father Timothy would often partake in pre-service banter with the assigned Lay Minis-
ters, in order to better address the matters that were to be presented during the service. If there was to be a baptism, for instance, he would suggest that I, as the Lay Reader doing the introductory readings, omit the Gloria; to which I would often reply: “Omit the Gloria?” “I got up early this morning to get Gloria up, see that she was fed and properly prepared to feature in the opening parts of today’s service, and you want me to omit her?” An added blessing to being a Lay Minister was to also serve the Parish on its Council. As most of the readers of these words may know, we have been through some interesting times, and the challenge of finding the road out of those times fell upon the Parish Council. I think that the current theme of the Prodigal Son is a perfect beginning to the travel on that road and both Father Meshack and Father Julian are the perfect duo to keep us on that path Helene and I have greatly enjoyed our time at St Francis, and will miss all the magnificent things about it dearly as we go forward in the US. God Bless you all and thank you for all of the things you did to make this last twenty years so special to us. P.S James and Helene arrived safely in the US on 01 February and were welcomed by heavy snowfall.
FRANCISCAN MONTHLY
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MY CALLING INTO PRIESTHOOD (deceased Jan 1996) who was meant to officiate at my marriage having had been my priest for practically all my life
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Revd. Malusi Msimango who journeyed with me when he came to St Faiths to my licensing as a Layminister, ordination to Deacon and ultimately as a Priest.
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keen interest in the divine encounters that I was experiencing which helped me to retain my sanity and cope with the situation while keeping me grounded
By Reverend Thato Tsautse My life has been surrounded by Christianity as I was brought up in an Anglican family from both sides. My maternal grandmother was a woman of prayer who was highly involved in the Mother’s Union where she also held a very senior position. She was highly instrumental in my life. Although I attended a Catholic School of the Holy Cross Order, I can safely state that my entire life has been rooted in the Anglican Church. My granny used to be a prayer warrior who inculcated in me the importance of prayer in good and bad times. She taught me how to pray early in the morning. Even when I was at University I would never dare leave my room without praying; exams were the most important time when I called upon God to assist always.
Canon Monica Mkhize who took a
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Bishop Ndwandwe who was used by God to discern my calling which resulted in me accepting the will of God : “offer myself to work for the Body of Christ”
After my confirmation by the late Revd Siyothula, I have served in the Anglican Church in various capacities: server, youth leader, member of both Anglican Women’s Fellowship and Mother’s Union, Sunday school teacher, Lay minister, and Deacon. I was ordained as Priest in 2015 at St Faiths and have held self-supporting positions at both St Michaels & All Angels as well as St Phillips the Deacon in GaRankuwa Outside my duties as a servant of God, I am the Managing Director of Tsautse Bayi (TB) Inc.; a female-owned law firm specializing in Maritime and Corporate Law and operating both in Durban and Pretoria.
Throughout my spiritual journey, I have relied on the spiritual and moral support of several clergy principally in KwaZulu Natal province. I will name a few of them:
Prior to this, I was the CEO of the South African Association of Ship Operators & Agents (SAASOA), and the Chair of the Durban Port Liaison Committee and Maritime Promotion Council.
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I have impressive background in the professional legal arena and in the corporate
Revd.
Isaac
Dlamini
environment within the Shipping Industry. I completed my articles at Bheka Shezi & Partners, working independently and with Counsel from an early stage. This shaped my legal acumen, professionalism and personal motivation. In 2000, I joined the Port of Durban as the Acting Port Legal Advisor, where my expertise included maritime work. In 2001, I was promoted to Legal Manager of SA Port Operations, a division of Transnet, and reported directly to the CEO of SAPO, One of my roles at Transnet was ensuring that there was proper governance in the contracts division and I came up with innovative solutions in terms of streamlining operations. During this long tenure in maritime law practice, I won the Maritime Law Association Scholarship to train with the law firm Holland and Knight in New York, where I was placed in the Maritime Law and Maritime Structured Finance department, which was mainly looking at contracts for the deals in the Maritime Sector. In 2005, I was the joint head of the maritime unit at Edward Nathan Sonnonbergs. I have focused my Maritime expertise to Economic Regulation of Ports, and have received training at London School of Economics and University of Florida. I am passionate about education and pe sonal development and hold these qualifications: a BProc, LLB and LLM (Maritime Studies), BTheology and have also completed an Executive Development Programme at GIBS. I am also currently studying towards an Honours Degree in Theology. I am a mother of two children, a son Masimbonge and daughter Lungelo Sithole who are both at University. They are my pillars in the journey of faith.
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 1
JANUARY 2019
Page 3
PARISH ADOPTS “PRODIGAL SON” THEME IN 2019 can be broad and long term or specific and short.
Outreach -Inviting and non threatening.
Broad and long term
Pastoral care - proactive, relevant and ongoing.
" We are a transformed and culturally diverse community of faith, bound together through caring, fellowship and worship, reaching out to influence our environment for Christ " By Fr. Julian Kok
Specific and short term
Allow me to share with you our adopted theme as a Parish for the current year as follows:
" To be an oasis in the heart of Waterkloof providing spiritual, emotional and physical succour"
1. The Theme We are extremely excited about our theme for 2019 -The year of the prodigal The word “prodigal” means “wasteful” or “extravagant”. A prodigal therefore is a person who leads a prodigal life but later on makes a repentant return. If we are honest, we are all prodigals in some shape or form. This is not some random theme but a theme born out of prayer and fasting on the part of the Clergy and Leadership. It is linked to both our Mission and Vision as set out every Sunday in the pew leaflet These are reproduced below for ease of reference : Mission " To be role models of Kingdom values, immersed in Mission, Ministry and Social justice " Vision This is the desired position and
If one looks at the notice board on the corner of Long Street and Albert Street, the image of the weary traveller seeking an oasis is evident. 2. The reality Of course this is easier said than done and needs to be supported by clearly defined Objectives , Strategy and Action plans Objectives * To grow the Church ( Spiritually and numerically ) in 2019. * To reduce the deficit in 2019 and break-even in 2020. Strategy A strategy is an overall plan. In our case the overall plan involves Worship, Outreach and Pastoral care. Worship - Inclusive and Spirit filled.
Action Plans These are dynamic and will develop and expand as we journey throughout the year Worship * A welcoming environment pre and post service. ( welcome packs, invite to tea etc.). * Combined Team prayer time before service. * Encourage , teach and practice liturgical sensitivity. * Greater youth involvement. * Consider 3rd service. Outreach * Regular smaller fun events to which family and friends can be invited. * Lent course focused on the Prodigal son culminating in an " each one bring
* Structured plan for visiting the sick and housebound. * Buddy system. * Encourage the formation of additional house/ fellowship groups ( post Alpha) and provide necessary training. * Greater involvement of Lay Ministers in pastoral care. * St Francis pantry. * Ascertain which ( if any) Lay Ministers feel called to the Diaconate and facilitate formation process. 3. And finally Underpinning it all : * faith and courage. * Sustainable position.
financial
* Regular affirmation and encouragement of key Ministries. * Ongoing excitement about and sharing of the vision.
one " on Easter Sunday. * Consider Alpha course ( New material is great ). * Ensure we are a prodigal friendly church . It is imperative that all who visit meet the father before encountering the older brother. * Greater integration of Youth activities with other activities. Pastoral care
“For this son of mine was DEAD
and is ALIVE AGAIN; he was LOST and is found”- Luke 15:24
P A R I S H
C E L E B R A T E S
E D U C A T I O N
t took me 10 years to complete my first degree as I needed to do this by myself. However, I persevered and completed a few more degrees and today hold a DPhil (University of Pretoria); MCom (Unisa) and LLB (Unisa).
By Dr Anthea Amadi-Echendu In my view, education and the level of literacy sets different communities apart from one another. Let me explain the importance of education at the hand of my own life’s example. I was born into a family of educators. In fact, my grandfather and his eldest son established two secondary schools in the town where I grew up. The same son compiled a booklet on the functions that a principal should fulfil that is still used by the Department of Education to this day. My mom, a teacher as well, was so busy that my grandmother assisted to look after me as a child. She instilled within me a level of literacy, such that I could speak, read and write English and Afrikaans before I started school. I encountered many difficulties while growing up but believe that it was this level of literacy that my granny instilled in me during my forming years that sustained me throughout my life (and still continues to do so). My granny passed on while I was in secondary school. Although I had a photographic memory and did VERY well in school, I did not have support to continue my studies after matric.
It is therefore not where you come from, what your circumstances are, who you are, what you have or do not have that dictates the trajectory of your life. You need to decide that you will improve and develop yourself and find the willpower to persevere and follow through. Your gifts will make room for you. God will make a way for you. As a parent or grandparent, you can play an immense role in your child/ren’s life/lives by assisting with different types of learning during the forming years. As the learner, you need to be faithful and do what is within your power/circle of control; be diligent, be faithful. There are various types of learning: informal learning takes place every day. Surround yourself with people that you can learn from. Formal learning can take place as degrees or diplomas (more vocational and skills oriented), or short learning programmes. Develop a culture of lifelong learning as technologies and circumstances cont inually change. Experiential learning can be converted to a formal qualification through a process at universities called
S U N D A Y ‘Recognition of prior learning’. A formal application with proof of the experiential learning can be lodged with a university to be considered. One can decide to pursue education at any age. There is also a difference between acquiring a piece of paper and allowing the knowledge acquired to be applied by developing their skills and mature as an individual. There is only one Bill Gates in the 7.7 billion people that live on our planet. People who lie to you that you do not need education to be successful in life are probably not educated themselves and neglect to tell you that earning capability is not sustainable.
In addition, a woman in today’s society can no longer depend on a husband to look after her. Many families have fallen apart through divorce, death and other circumstances, and children very often end up with their mother. Women need to arise and put in the effort to qualify themselves. Let us begin by developing and qualifying ourselves and build better and stronger communities. May the God of grace be with you all in all your endeavours. ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI CHURCH Publisher: The Rector St Francis of Assisi Anglican Parish Cnr Long and Albert Street, Waterkloof, Pretoria Editor: Antony Jongwe Enquiries: mail@st-francis.co.za Telephone: 012 346-1106/7 Website: http://www.st-francis.co.za