Lekoa Tour - Day 8

Good Friends in Christ

Rev Francis and Mary
Moletsane

I visited Francis and Mary Moletsane in Sebokeng this morning (Wednesday 9 March). Francis retired about 10 years ago after more than 40 years of ministry. He was originally an "evangelist", starting his ministry in the Free State and then, Barberton. In 1970, when the former PCSA came to their senses and realised that they could not perpetuate a two tier form of ministry, Francis was ordained and appointed to the new developing township called Sebokeng.  St Paul's, Sharpville, was the big church in the area then. They decided to develop a new congregation and symbolically they saw themselves as Paul sending out a younger brother. So they called the new church, St Timothy's. I wondered whether the other Sebokeng church, St Mark's, was not also named in the same way because Mark was a companion of Paul (and Barnabas).

Mary is confined to bed and very frail. She welcomed me to her home. I presented Francis and Mary with a gift on behalf of the Assembly.

The Rev Thando Mpambane is Interim Moderator to St Mark's, Sebokeng, and he arranged for me to meet elders and members who eagerly told me about the life and work of the congregation. I was treated to sandwiches and tea.  The congregation has a lovely building and a Manse which is currently rented out. I addressed the members present and answered some questions raised.

Members of St Mark's with Rev Thando Mpambane

Later in the day, I visited St Timothy's who also received me well.  St Timothy's is presently receiving a new minister, the Rev N. Kula. The Rev. Kula will be the first minister in some time.  St Timothy's (and St Anthony's) was previously served by the Rev Zamani Maqoko.
In every place, I am finding proud Presbytyerians who face challenges and yet, experience great joy in worship.  I look forward to meeting all these people again on Sunday in the combined service planned in the Saul Tsotsetsi hall.

St Timothy's

In the evening, I visited the little congregation of St Peter's, Deneysville. This congregation must have one of the most beautiful settings in the UPCSA! The congregation meets in two beautiful stone buildings (one is the church and the other is the "hall") built on a grassy patch on the banks of the vaal dam. The view over the dam is breath taking. Robbie Pitt, treasurer of Lekoa Presbytery is a member and introduced me to the congregation.

There were such encouraging questions - about Church Growth and how to reach out to young people. After our meeting, we had tea in the Church hall. I drove back to Three Rivers giving thanks to God for this group of christians meeting Sundays beside the vaal.


Greetings to all of you on this Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

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.

Lekoa Tour - Day 5 and 6

Good Friends in Christ

Sascha and my girls travelled all the way from Edenvale to Vryburg on Saturday to be with me (a 5 hour journey)! I was glad to see them when they arrived late on Saturday afternoon.

My Great Grandfather's grave.

On Sunday morning, we left Vryburg and travelled north for two hours to Mafikeng. We decided to leave early so that we could visit the cemetary before the morning service.  The Marchinkowskis were once Mafikeng people. In the early years of the twentieth century, a polish man called Fred Marchinkowski immigrated to South Africa and settled in Mafikeng and married a woman called Anne Groenewalt. They lived there and raised their two children, my grandfather, Joseph, and his sister, Veronica. The cemetary in Mafikeng is overgrown and in bad shape but we managed to find the old man's grave (he died in the late 1950s). We could not find my great grandmother's grave (She died in the late 60s).

After our sojourn to the cemetary, we proceded to Solomon Rathebe congregation where I shared the service with the Rev Malefetsane Matli. My family was warmly recieved. Rev. Matli led the service and invited me to preach and celebrate Holy Communion. The congregation presented us with a beautiful gift - a glass jug and set of glasses.  After the service, we shared a wonderful meal with the congregation. When we had said our good byes, we set out for Vereeniging (a four hour journey), travelling through Lichtenburg, Ventersdorp and Potchefstroom.

Rev Matli translating my sermon

From right: Leah, Lerato & another
young member of the congregation.

On Sunday night, we moved into the Three Rivers Lodge which will be my home for the whole of this week.


I was so grateful to "the powers that be" (The Presbytery of Lekoa and my chaplain, Mrs Sheila Hunt) who arranged for Monday 7th March to be a "day off" for me. Sascha and the girls stayed with me and we went to the Emerald Resort in Vanderbijlpark for the day. They have a zoo there which the girls enjoyed. This was followed by a game of 10 pin bowling (You should have seen 3 year old Zoe carrying her 10 pin bowling ball!) and a few hours in the Aqua Dome (massive swimming experience). We had lunch at Wimpy before Sascha and the girls went home again.

For the rest of this week, I will be in Vereeniging, going out every day to meet with the churches.

Much love

Lekoa Tour - Day 3 and 4

Good Friends in Christ

On Friday morning, I drove from Klerksdorp to Vryburg at the edge of the North West Province (and indeed, the Presbytery of Lekoa). The journey took two and a half hours and took me through farming country (Delarayville etc). I arrived mid morning and was welcomed by one of our ministers, the Rev Tony Bartlett.  The rest of the morning was spent on a tour around Vryburg in Tony's company.  Tony told me about the United Church that he serves in.  Vryburg was originally a congregational congregation (probably planted by the London Missionary Society missionaries) but became a united Church some forty years ago.  The Presbyterian, Congregational and Methodist churches are partners in the union and Tony, the fourth minister since union, has served Vryburg for the last 15 years. There are three 'outstations' in the district and Tony preaches in each of these once a month. Tony is supported by three other preachers in his work.

Tony also took me to see Tiger Kloof, a mission station of the LMS which has since become a school and has been beautifully renovated.  We ended off the morning at the weekly cattle auction (my first ever experience of one of these). The auction seems to be a weekly meeting place for local farmers.

In the afternoon, I met with members of the Council of Vryburg United. I was warmly received. Questions raised by members of Council ranged from the purpose of paying assessments and what the denomination used the money for, why the Church did not 'speak out' against the State and what the Church has to say about farm killings.  One councilor suggested that 6 000 people had been killed in recent months on farms.

I want to express my thanks to the people of Vryburg for their hospitality expressed toward me.

On Saturday morning, I travelled South west to Kuruman.  We have one small congregation in the township called St David's. The minister, the Rev. Malefetsane Matli is minister to Kuruman and also Mafeking.  He spends a month in one before travelling more than 300 km by taxis to the other.  A conference was going on in Kuruman and I addressed them on the subject of dependence on God and seeking God's wisdom.

After enjoying a lunch with the Kuruman people, I travelled back to Vryburg for the night.

Dr Moshe Rajuili

Sadly, on my journey from Kuruman to Vryburg, I received the tragic news of the death, on Saturday morning, of the Rev. Dr Moshe Rajuili, minister of St Giles Presbyterian Church, Orchards.  The information we have is that Dr Rajuili was knocked down by a taxi in the streets of Pietermaritzburg.  We mourn the loss of this wonderful, humble, servant of the Church who spent most of his working life teaching students for the ministry and these last few years as a minister of the Gospel in a congregation.
Our thoughts go out to Eunice, his widow, and to Dr Rajuili's family.


The funeral will be held in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday 12th March. The service will begin at 7am (the same time as Dr Rajuili's father's funeral began) and the burial will follow thereafter.  The venue will be determined soon.  A Presbytery service will be held at St Giles' in due course. I will travel down on Friday afternoon to participate in the funeral and return on Saturday to resume my tour of the Presbytery of Lekoa.

Grace and peace to all who read this blog

Lekoa Tour - Day 2

Dear Friends

My second day went something like this:
I left Carletonville just after 8 and travelled through Potchefstroom to Klerksdorp. I wondered, as I drove through Potch, how come we didn't have a Presbyterian Church in this seemingly thriving little city.  I arrived at Klerksdorp at 10 am and was greeted by the Rev Ken Smith and his wife, Mida.  Ken is a retired minister of the UCCSA serving Trnity, Klerksdorp, as Stated Supply.

At 10h30, I was invited to lead the congregation in worship and celebrate Holy Communion. Tea followed (in true Presbyterian fashion) and after that some of the elders from All Saints, Jouberton and Stillfontein congregations took me out to see their buildings. Our first stop was All Saints where I was taken on a tour of the church buildings and manse and told about the history and plans for the future. All Saints has a new probationer minister and is very excited about the prospect of having their own minister after the long vacancy they have had.

All Saints, Jouberton

Elders & Linsby Motebele (PAT student)
 of All Saints 

From All Saints, we travelled to the outstation at Kanana. There a steel structure there, erected recently. The congregation is seeking ways to make this steel structure into a worship space with roof, floor and walls.

Kanana, Outstation

Kanana current building.

After Kanana, guided by Mrs Gantso, I proceeded to Stillfontein where we were met by some members (including Mrs Mabo, the mother of the Rev VP Mabo). We were taken through the buildings and told about the history of Stillfontein which began as a church for migrant miners mostly from the Eastern Cape.

I handed over gifts to all three of these congregations, sent by my home church, Trinity - Edenvale.


In the late afternoon, I visited one of our retired ministers, the Rev Ian van der Lingen and his wife Judy.  Ian and Judy had served St John's, Turffontein, St John the Evangelist in Parkmore and Kokstad. They have retired to Stillfontein where he continues to lead a Bible Study and has assisted Trinity, Klerksdorp. It was lovely to hear Ian's many stories about the ministry. I expressed the deep love of the UPCSA to these long standing servants of the Church.  Ian's daughter in law, Shona, is Clerk of the Presbytery of uThukela.

Ian and Judy van der Lingen

I stayed over night in Orkney (as in 'Orkney snork nie') with Trinity's Session Clerk, Lynn Frost and her husband, Des. Today I take the long road to Vryburg deep in the Kalahari.


With love

Tour of Lekoa - Day 1

Dear Friends

I have started my tour of the Presbytery of Lekoa!

Yesterday morning I set out from my home in Edenvale westwards toward the great gold mining areas of the far west rand. In about an hour and fifteen minutes, I reached Carletonville (I have never been here before). My first impression was a little strained - on turning into the town, I saw a team of men putting up municipal elections posters for the Freedom Front and I thought what on earth are these people going to do with a "veraaier" like me!

I met the Moderator of the Presbytery and minister of St Matthew's, Carletonville, Hugh Grant at the church and he very kindly told me about the history of St Matthews and St Andrew's, Westonaria and about his life story over tea. I thought about how lovely it was to know a little more about my colleagues in Lekoa.  Readers will remember that the first part of my tour took place last October when I took the ministers of the Presbytery on retreat to the island in the middle of the Vaal dam.

Inside St Matthew's, Carletonville

After tea, we went out (accompanied by Alfred, an elder and lay preacher) by car, driving through Fochville, Kokosi, Wedella and Blyvooruitsig. These are areas in which either, outstations already exist (BM Molaba congregation has outstations in Kokosi and Wedella) or where the UPCSA is considering planting preaching stations.  We returned to the Manse for lunch and a discussion about new Khutsong (I hope my spelling is correct). This new area is being developed to replace Khutsong which is in danger of falling into a sink hole! Fourteen thousand dwellings have already been built and being a new area, there is no church there yet.

Afternoon tea was spent with the elders and members of St Andrew's Westonaria and a delicious supper (prepared by Denise Miles, my host, and the ladies of St Matthew's) was spent in the company of the elders of St Matthew's.

Trinity, Edenvale, the congregation I serve, has sent a beautiful blue pottery chalice and patten (with an inscription) to every congregation I visit. I was able to present this to St Matthew's. I stayed over with Derek and Denise Miles and today (Thursday), I set off for Klerksdorp.

Celebrations, U2 and Inappropriateness

Dear Friends

This past weekend was a wonderful weekend for me, full of lovely experiences. First,  I spent time with a much loved aunt in Durban. We reminisced and looked at old photos. She cooked and I ate.

Then, on Saturday night, I met all the elders of Berea and Stella Presbyterian Churches at the Durban Country Club where we shared a wonderful meal together.  On Sunday morning, Berea held its 125^th Anniversary service and I preached.  The service was recorded for SAFM (to be broadcast on Sunday 27^th February at 11am).  Afterward, I was presented with a beautifully inscribed and framed picture of their Ascension widow commemorating the occasion.  What a wonderful time spent together.

Rev William Pool, Mrs Lizette Pool, George & Edie Christian 

I boarded a plane destined for Jo’burg at 2 and arrived just after three.  By 5pm, just about our whole Bible Study was parking outside the U2 Concert at Soccer City in Soweto.  I like Bono (the lead singer) for two very good reasons: One, he’s a Presbyterian (I don’t care who disputes it but its true!) and Two, he is a brave man who speaks out against injustice and puts his money where his mouth is when it comes to the poor and marginalised of the world.  And so, even if his songs are sometimes a bit loud for my conservative old Presbyterian ears (By the way, I think I’m the very first Moderator of the General Assembly to attend a U2 Concert while in office! How’s that?), I listen because he can change hearts.  I also hope for a different world. Don’t you?  Bono’s themes often overlap with the Christian story.  Compare the following song to some of the Psalms of Lament (e.g. Psalm 90)

Bono and Madiba

Heaven on Earth

We need it now

I'm sick of all of this

Hanging around

Sick of sorrow

Sick of pain

Sick of hearing again and again

That there's gonna be

Peace on Earth

Where I grew up

There weren't many trees

Where there was we'd tear them down

And use them on our enemies

They say that what you mock

Will surely overtake you

And you become a monster

So the monster will not break you

And it's already gone too far

Who said that if you go in hard

You won't get hurt

Jesus could you take the time

To throw a drowning man a line

Peace on Earth

Tell the ones who hear no sound

Whose sons are living in the ground

Peace on Earth

No who’s or whys

No-one cries like a mother cries

For peace on Earth

She never got to say goodbye

To see the colour in his eyes

Now he's in the dirt

That's peace on Earth

They're reading names out over the radio

All the folks the rest of us won't get to know

Sean and Julia, Gareth, Anne and Breda

Their lives are bigger, than any big idea

Jesus can you take the time

To throw a drowning man a line

Peace on Earth

To tell the ones who hear no sound

Whose sons are living in the ground

Peace on Earth

Jesus this song you wrote

The words are sticking in my throat

Peace on Earth

Hear it every Christmas time

But hope and history won't rhyme

So what's it worth?

This peace on Earth

Peace on Earth

Peace on Earth

Peace on Earth

There are hard words for us to hear.  But they are no harder than the words spoken by the Psalmist as he cried out to God to come and bring peace to this old war torn world of ours. Bono inspires me to speak up and speak out. He makes me want to stand up for what I (we, all us Christians) believe. He makes me want to be a prophet, an activist, a brave speaker for Jesus and I hope you find moments of wanting to be that too.

Almost two weeks ago, President Zuma said (speaking in Zulu): “When you vote for the ANC, you are also choosing to go to heaven. When you don't vote for the ANC you should know that you are choosing that man who carries a fork, who cooks people. When you are carrying an ANC membership card, you are blessed. When you get up there, there are different cards used but when you have an ANC card, you will be let through to go to heaven.”

Three Presbyteries have written, asking the UPCSA to respond. The South African Council of Churches has responded as follows:

The President of the SACC, Bishop Jo Seoka, labelled the statement made by Pres Zuma as "blasphemous". "Equating a vote for the ANC with going to heaven is problematic. Adding that in heaven people are wearing the colours of the ANC only adds to the problem", warned Bishop Jo.

Seoka further reiterates that "in previous election campaigns we have called on all our political leaders to mind their tongues. What the South African electorate requires is assurances that their lives will be improved through service delivery, provision of jobs and security. Our government and political leaders must address the genuine and legitimate needs of poor people".

"We work on a daily basis with scores of people who are hungry, unemployed and homeless. These are our brothers and sisters in Christ who look at political leaders with great expectations" said Bishop Jo. "Offering heaven to these people while their suffering continues here on earth is escapist. We (as Church and government) are expected to transform the livelihoods of all (and especially the poor) for the better", he concludes

The SACC is mindful of the subsequent statement from Mr Jackson Mthembu as spokesperson of the ANC. Calling the statement a metaphor does not take away from its essence. Calling it a way of speaking does not help either. Instead it demonstrates the concern of the SACC that "political leaders and parties use unacceptable language" during election campaigns.

Mr Eddie Makue, the SACC General Secretary, indicates that approaches have been made to secure a meeting with Pres Zuma where this and other important concerns of the SACC will be discussed.

I don’t think anger is an appropriate response to this inappropriateness on the part of the President. Perhaps disappointment (without the paternalism that often accompanies that feeling) is what we should feel. It was not so long ago (2007) that the Honourable President was ordained a “pastor” by some Independent Church. As a fellow pastor, I would have hoped that he would be more careful with his words. It has the taste of cheap political tricks that one would think unbecoming of the President. I think the President should say sorry and retract the unfortunate statement so we can see that his office stands above party politics.

For what its worth – these are my own thoughts and not those of the UPCSA.