Lekoa Tour - Day 7

Good Friends in Christ

Rev Robert Thema

I spent Tuesday 8th March in the company of the Rev. Robert Thema. Robert invited me to meet the people of St Silas, Evaton, where he is the minister. St Silas is one of the older congregations in this Presbytery, reportedly having started sometime in the 1920s. Evaton is an old township and I found the people warm and friendly. We met in the beautiful new St Silas building. The congregation fundraised and built a huge worship space with kitchen, boardroom and vestry.  There are plans to build new bathrooms as well.

Representatives from Session and the UPWF told about the projects that they are involved with and afterwards, we walked down the road to a centre caring for diabled women.  St Silas supports this centre with collections of food and clothing. Each winter, fresh blankets are collected for the centre by the congregation. I presented St Silas with a new chalice and patten from Trinity, Edenvale as well as gifts for the Thema family from the General Assembly.

St Silas Congregation

St Silas new buildings

Later in the day, we proceded to BM Molaba congregation - another long standing congregation in Sebokeng. BM Molaba has many outstations, some as far as Kokosi and Wedella near Carletonville and even near Orange farm. Rev.Thema is Interim Moderator here and the congregation say that they want to have their own minister as soon as possible but there are some essential repairs to the Manse that need to be made.

Elders & Members of BM Molaba

The congregation were pleased to see the Moderator (pardon my having to refer to myself in the third person!) and told me about their life and work. I passed on the greetings of the General Assembly to them.


Its my priviledge to recieve the friendly hospitality of so many in the family called Presbyterian.  I shall carry this with me and pass it on to others.