s t m i c h a e l ’ s s w o r d - squarespace · pdf filep o box 67184, bryanston, 2021...

ST MICHAEL’S

ANGLICAN CHURCH

THE ANGLICAN CHURCH

OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

Address:

73 Mount Street,

(Cnr Bryanston Drive & Mount

Street), Bryanston

P O Box 67184, Bryanston, 2021

Tel: 011-706-6050/1/6

Fax: 011-706-4709

RECTOR: FR GODFREY HENWOOD

[email protected]

Administrator: Darryl Prangley

[email protected]

Secretary: Barbara Schormann

[email protected]

website: www.stmichaelschurch.co.za

Office Hours:

Monday-Friday: 08:30 to 17:00

COMMUNITY AND COMPASSION.

On this the coldest day of the year, thus far, the power has just been restored,

the lights have just come on and the heaters are beginning to warm the room

again and I pick up a book by Ronald Rolheiser, which I am re-reading, entitled

“Forgotten among the Lilies”.

I open it to the page I am about to read and I see his quote from a magazine. A

lady was explaining why she had trouble accepting the Christian faith. She

wrote:

“Do not talk to me of God or come to my door with tracts or stop me in the

street to ask if I am saved. Hell holds no threat more agonising than the harsh

reality of my life. I swear to you the fires of hell seem more inviting than this

bone-deep cold of my existence.

Neither speak to me of church. What does the church know of my despair, the

church barricaded behind its stained-glass windows against the likes of me?

Once I heard your pleas for my repentance and sought a fellowship of faith

within your walls.

There I saw your God reflected in your faces as you turned away……Forgiveness

never came …….. The healing love I sought was carefully hoarded, reserved

only for your kind.

Be gone from me and speak no more of God. I’ve seen your God made

manifest in you: a God with no compassion. So long as your God withholds the

warmth of human touch from me I shall remain an un-believer.” (Marie

Livingston Roy) Rolheiser 299.

Rolheiser then goes on to say, “this letter is powerful because it is simple.

When we do not experience the warmth of human touch, in the end we will not

believe the Gospel”. (Contd on Pg 2)

M E S S A G E F R O M T H E R E C T O R

J U N E 2 0 1 5

V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 2

S T M I C H A E L ’ S S W O R D

Message from the Rector 1 & 2

Palm cross making 3

Extract from an interview

with +Desmond Tutu 4

Chinese cooking demonstration 4

Smile a While 5

The Blue Crane—Bird of the Year 6

R.I.P. Fr Wilfred Pohl 7

08:15 Junior Church launched 8

Maintenance at St Michael’s 9

An update on Dedicated Giving 10

“Why go to Church?” 10

Did you know……..? 11

The Power of a Bar of Soap 12 & 13

New Prayer Book 13

St Mary by the Wayside 14

I N T H I S E D I T I O N P A G E

(Contd. from Pg 1)

For Rolheiser one of life’s non-negotiable imperatives is social justice and community. He says, “Christianity will have

power when we have vital communities which can, concretely, offer an alternative to the second best compensations

which our world offers”.

Reading this in Rolheiser’s book reminds me that as a community we are rapidly approaching the month of compassion

which is the month of August. During this time we are encouraged to review our participation in social justice as a

community as we reflect on the various projects that we are involved in through our Outreach portfolio.

At St. Michael’s we have opportunities to become more involved as a community in a variety of projects.

We have been generous in providing blankets through our blanket drive, in financial support of COACH, the Alexander

Education Trust, retired clergy and widow/widowers collection, as well as donations, in kind to the various soup feeding

programmes we support. We have also had opportunity to support the sewing project at Cosmo City in the purchasing of

various articles they have produced. We will be invited to contribute to the Mission to Seafarers in July and we have been

generous in our giving to the Bible Society and to SOMA in their work in missions abroad. Well Done!

However, in reading Rolheiser’s book I am still left feeling that we need to do better by allowing ourselves to be involved in

all these projects in a more tangible way. How can we experience in a more profound way the “human touch“ that

Rolheiser speaks about? Can we have more volunteers preparing and serving food at the feeding schemes, mentors for

the High School Children in the Alexander Education system and how can we explore this call to real community in the

other projects in the Parish?

How can we become more of “GOD WITH SKIN “and the genuine community we are called to be as the “BODY OF CHRIST”

IN THE WORLD? Fr Godfrey Henwood

When I look at the articles in this magazine, I get the impression

that the St Michael’s Parish Vision is being realised. I believe that

we are a vibrant, growing and inclusive community of God’s people.

I trust that you will find the variety of content both interesting and

informative. We have much to be joyful for. The planning of a new

Anglican Prayer Book that reflects an African voice; our numerous

improvements on the maintenance side; parishioners sharing their

talents i.e. Mei Walus’s cooking demonstration and the numerous

participants in palm cross making this Easter; the start of our 8:15

Junior Church; and the 60th anniversary of Anne Spann and her

tennis partner Angela’s unbroken record win at Wimbledon. On the

flip side there has also been much to feel sad about. The passing of

our beloved Fr Wilfred in April; a devastating earthquake in Nepal

(see Pg’s 12& 13) and many other natural and man-made events

that leave us feeling despondent. We find truth and hope in the

words of +Desmond Tutu and cheer in the lighter side of life on

Pg 5. Our national bird, the Blue Crane, was chosen as Bird of the

Year, which is one of BirdLife South Africa’s annual initiatives for

creating awareness about birds and bird habitat conservation. (See

Pg 6)

Enjoy reading. Blessings, Barbara Schormann

F R O M T H E E D I T O R


P A L M M A K I N G — T H E F U N Y O U M I S S E D I F Y O U W E R E N ’ T T H E R E


Many hands ………. Kabelo concentrating.

Rows of workers

Teaching Young boys helping out

Photos

courtesy of

Lil Cook


E X T R A C T F R O M A N I N T E R V I E W W I T H A R C H B I S H O P D E S M O N D T U T U , T H E T E L E G R A P H , L O N D O N , A P R I L 2 2 , 2 0 0 1

“God says: ‘I made you, actually, and I made you as you are because I love you. Don’t try to titivate yourself. Just be you and know that I affirm you. You matter enormously to me. You matter as if you were the only human being and, you know something, I create only masterpieces. I have no doubt at all about your worth. You don’t have to do anything. Your worth for me is intrinsic. Please believe that I love you. You are not going to find ultimate satisfaction in anything out there

because I made you like me.’

“As St Augustine says, ‘Thou hast made us for thyself and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.’ I made you for a worshipping creature - and you have worshipped money and fame, I know it - but, ultimately, I am the only one worth worshipping. I won’t let you go, my child, I won’t give up on you - ever. I won’t. I will sit here like the father of the prodigal son, waiting. Come back home, come back home to

me, and our celebration will be mind-boggling.’”

“God is good, man, and he’s waiting for you.”

Submitted by Sue Cooper

F E L L O W S H I P M O R N I N G — C H I N E S E C O O K I N G D E M O N S T R A T I O N

Mei Walus giving a demonstration of how to

cook delicious Chinese cuisine.

The attentive audience

looking forward to tasting

the dishes that Mei has

cooked.

Photos courtesy of Cilla Vos


S M I L E A W H I L E

BRITISH RADIO CONTESTS

DARRYL DENHAM’S DRIVETIME (VIRGIN RADIO)

Darryl: In which country would you spend shekels?

Contestant: Holland?

Darryl: Try the next letter of the alphabet.

Contestant: Iceland? Ireland?

Darryl (helpfully): It’s a bad line. Did you say Israel?

Contestant: No

PHIL WOOD SHOW (BBC GMR)

Phil: What ‘K’ could be described as the Islamic Bible?

Contestant: Er ……..

Phil: It’s got two syllables ...Kor …

Contestant: Blimey?

Phil: Ha ha ha ha, no. The past principle of run …

Contestant: (Silence)

Phil: OK, try it another way. Today I run, yesterday I …..

Contestant: Walked?

UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE

Bamber Gascoyne: What was Gandhi’s first name?

Contestant: Goosey?

Submitted by Barbara Schormann

THE END IS NEAR Sean is the vicar of a Protestant parish in western Newfoundland, and Patrick is the priest at the

Roman Catholic Church across the road.

One day they are seen together, erecting a sign

which says:

"THE END IS NEAR.

TURN YOURSELF AROUND NOW

BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE." As a car speeds past them, the driver leans out his

window and yells,

"Leave people alone, you religious nutters. We don't need your lectures." From around the next curve they hear screeching tyres and a big splash. Shaking his head, Father Patrick says "Dat's da

terd one dis mornin'."

"Yaa," Sean agrees, then adds, "Do ya tink maybe

da sign should just say

"BRIDGE CLOSED"?

Submitted by Clare Dolbey

CLASSIFIEDS

2015 CHURCH SERVICE

PASTOR: "Praise the Lord!"

CONGREGATION: Hallelujah!"

PASTOR: "Will everyone please turn on their tablet, PC, iPad,

smart phone, and Kindle Bibles to 1 Corinthians, 13:13.

And please switch on your Bluetooth to download the

sermon."

P-a-u-s-e......

"Now, let us pray committing this week into God's hands.

Open your Apps, BBM, Twitter and Facebook, and chat with

God"

S-i-l-e-n-c-e

"As we take our Sunday tithes and offerings, please have your

credit and debit cards ready."

"You can log on to the church Wi-Fi using the password

'Lord909887.'

The ushers will circulate mobile card swipe machines among

the worshipers:

a. Those who prefer to make electronic fund transfers are

directed to computers and laptops at the rear of the church.

b. Those who prefer to use iPads can open them.

c. Those who prefer telephone banking, take out your cell

phones to transfer your contributions to the church account.

The holy atmosphere of the Church becomes truly electrified as ALL the smart phones, iPads, PCs and laptops beep and

flicker!”

Final Blessing and Closing Announcements.

a. “This week's ministry cell meetings will be held on the various Facebook group pages where the usual group chatting

takes place. Please log in and don't miss out.

b. Thursday's Bible study will be held live on Skype at 19:00

GMT. Please don't miss out.

c. You can follow your Pastor on Twitter this weekend for

counselling and prayers.

God bless and have a nice day.”

Submitted by Anne Marie Berger.

Canon camcorder used twice. Still in the

box with instruction manual, CDs for down-

loading to computer, power cable, USB

connections and memory card. Bargain

price R1400 o.n.o. Contact Barbara on

082 901 4939

T H E B L U E C R A N E — B I R D O F T H E Y E A R ( 2 0 1 5 )


The Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus), South Africa’s national bird, also known as the Stanley Crane or the Paradise

Crane, is a tall, ground-dwelling bird which stands a little over a metre high and is pale blue-grey in colour with a white

crown, a pink bill, and long, dark grey wingtip feathers which trail to the ground.

It is endemic to southern Africa with the majority of its range falling within South Africa. There are three clear strongholds:

the Overberg region in the Western Cape; the Eastern Cape Province; and western KwaZulu-Natal/south-eastern

Mpumulanga. There is also an isolated breeding population in Namibia centred on Etosha Pan.

The South African population is approximately 20,800 birds. Its closest living relative is the only other wholly dryland

crane, the Demoiselle Crane, Anthropoides virgo, which migrates annually at 20,000 to 26,000 feet over the Himalayas

between Mongolia and China to India.

The Blue Crane is found in pairs, family groups and flocks which can exceed 800 birds. In the fynbos biome it inhabits

cereal croplands and cultivated pastures, but avoids natural vegetation. By contrast, it is found in natural vegetation in

the Karoo and grassland biomes, but also feeds in croplands. They are altitudinal migrants, generally nesting in the upper

grasslands and moving down to lower altitudes for winter. The blue crane has a distinctive rattling croak, fairly high-

pitched call, which can be heard from far away. It is, however, usually quiet. This species is listed in the global Red Data

book as vulnerable. Even though there have been significant declines in the local population, it is not listed in the South

African Red Data book because it was not then considered threatened.

The primary causes for the decline in numbers of the Blue Crane are reduced habitat due to human population growth,

the conversion of natural grasslands into commercial afforestation, and poisoning: deliberate (to protect crops) or

accidental (baits intended for other species, and as a side-effect of crop dusting). The South African government has

stepped up legal protection for the Blue Crane. Other conservation measures are focusing on research, habitat

management, education, and soliciting the help of private landowners.

Of interest is that the Blue Crane is of very special interest to the amaXhosa, who call it Indwe. When a man has distin-

guished himself by deeds of valour, or any form of meritorious conduct, he is often decorated by his chief and presented

with the feathers of this bird. After a successful battle, the chief would organise a tribal ceremony, called ukundzabela, a

celebration for all the heroes, at which feathers would be presented to them and they would wear them with pride sticking

out of their hair. Men so honoured were known as ‘men of ugaba’ or trouble. The implication being that whenever trouble

arose, these men would be capable of dealing with the situation and reinstate peace and order.

Submitted by Colin Whittle


R . I . P . W I L F R E D P O H L

One of the authors and theologians who has had a marked influence on my life as a Christian and as an ordained

minister is Eugene Petersen. In his book “Christ plays in 10,000 places”, he introduces us to the understanding that

each human being is an extension of God’s creative word. In the beginning God spake therefore each person born into

this world is an extension of that word and is therefore created to reflect that Word into the World. Petersen, in this

same book, also suggests that by baptism each Christian becomes a unique expression of God’s love.

With this in mind I would like to take this opportunity to share how I have been privileged to be shaped by Wilfred’s life

in my life as a Christian and as an ordained minister. In as much as Wilfred lived his life in alignment with the Word of

God revealed in Scripture, so he has revealed the Glory of God to you and to me.

In colloquial terms I would capture my memories of Wilfred in the title “A gentle giant”- a big man with a big heart. A

person of compassion and of deep empathy—a person to be trusted and respected as he upheld the values of integrity

and respect for all life and especially for people who were vulnerable or wounded by the ways of the world, and some-

times by the hardness of heart of fellow Christians.

Wilfred, as a priest, was always loyal to his Lord and faithful to his calling—a fine example of the disciplined of praying

the daily offices and participation in the Eucharist or Mass as he preferred to name the sacrament.

Wilfred the man with wisdom, gained through his willingness to learn from his experiences of life including his mistakes

and therefore an amazing mentor to many. As a former rector of this Parish he would often come to me and share his

perceptions of life in the Parish and his concerns for issues he would feel needed to be addressed. He would say to me

“I do not want to interfere but …” and such was our relationship that any time he would begin with the words “I do not

want to interfere” I would say “but” and then learn from his wisdom.

Wilfred the friend, the companion and the beloved: I know that you, Michael John and Luke would know better than us

all, Wilfred the man of love and devotion and care, especially revealed in his caring for his beloved Elaine. How, in two

years of Elaine’s frailty, Wilfred cheerfully and caringly ministered to her - not just doing his duty, but caring with all his

heart and soul and in alignment with Paul’s letter to the Romans in chapter 12 - with cheerfulness - ”Turn to me and

know my love for you.”

With all this in mind, and remembering Eugene Petersen’s understanding that each of us is an extension of God’s word,

I was led to choose the two passages we have had read to us from the Scripture today. In the second letter of Paul to

the Corinthians Chapter 3:18 “we have all turned to the Lord and received the freedom created by the Lord by the Spirit

and thus with unveiled face behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord.”

A verse which can also be rendered as “reflect as a mirror the glory of the Lord.” To behold the glory of the Lord and to

grow in the love of the Lord is to be transformed. This understanding of our need for God was surely at the heart of

Wilfred’s philosophy of life and also that which gave him hope for the future - knowing we are daily being transformed

into the same image, from glory to glory.

Like Wilfred, we and all Christians, make God visible to the World as we allow Christ Jesus, the image of God, to rule in

our hearts and lives. It is as we see the image of Jesus the Christ in us, that the glory that comes from God is increased

in us.

Wilfred understood the importance of life lived in relationship with Jesus, on earth as the journey of life with the Lord

even to eternity. Thus the knowledge that Jesus has gone before us to prepare a place for us also gave much

inspiration and hope to Wilfred and through him to the many he journeyed with as a fellow Christian and as a Pastor in

his 86 years of life.

May the Christ revealed to us in Wilfred, continue to inspire us to live out our lives in the image of Christ Jesus and in

the love of God. Fr Godfrey Henwood

0 8 : 1 5 J U N I O R C H U R C H L A U N C H E D


After weeks of planning and preparation, the 8:15 Junior Church group was

launched on Sunday 10 May. On the day, four eager teachers along with

Fr Godfrey, gathered in the hall to await the arrival of the children. Since it

was Mother’s Day as well, we weren’t sure what to expect. In the end there

were 4 excited children. I must say we had lot of fun singing a few action

songs then we broke into two groups for the bible story and activity.

Over the weeks attendance has fluctuated between 2 and 6 children which, in

part might be due to the very cold weather. We’re hoping that numbers will

increase in the spring and that more teachers will join the group. Neverthe-

less, we continue to have as much fun as we had on the first day.

Please note that the 8:15 and 10:15 Junior church groups will be closed on

Sunday June 28 for mid-term break. The 8:15 Junior church will resume July 5

while the 10:15 group will resume July 12.

Submitted by Jeanette la Fleur

On The Menu

Faith Works

The “Coffee Bar” zone with the theme for the teaching on the

menu.

The “Christ focused” zone where the weekly teach-

ings take place.

Youth

Room

Make-

Over


Like your home which requires lots of TLC, so too does the place where we worship. In this brief report/update I’ll try to

bring you up to speed with what we have been doing on the maintenance front at St. Michaels.

The upkeep of a property like St. Mikes, is an enormous and ongoing undertaking, from the gardens, which always look

good, thanks to a lot of hard work by our Vergers and other dedicated individuals, to the buildings and surrounds which

are also kept in a good state of repair and neat and tidy.

Since the beginning of the year, we have experienced more load shedding than in the past, so in an effort to keep our

parishioners and visitors safer, especially in the church, we have, with the kind assistance of Ken and Darryl Prangley,

installed solar and battery powered emergency LED lighting in those “dark” areas, so when the lights go out, our lights

come on!

In the main church, there is emergency lighting, as well as in the chapel and in the passageway near the steps.

Automatic sensor lights around certain outside areas help parishioners who come to the church after dark for a meeting,

to safely navigate to their destination/s, and this includes an area of the car park.

Our trees, whilst pleasing to see, sometimes have roots that tend to push up the paving around the church creating a

potential hazard for someone to trip and fall and possibly hurt themselves. To avoid this, several of the roots of the large

plane tree at the back of the sanctuary have been dug up, and a large area of paving replaced, leaving us with a level

walk area devoid of raised paving bricks. As always, it is difficult to obtain the exact same colour paving bricks, so we end

up having a wonderful “patchwork” of paving, which I believe adds character to our beloved church.

In addition to the above work, various repairs have been carried out at the rectory and the assistant priest’s house.

With pressure on costs, we have launched an initiative to replace the “older” power saving globes with low wattage LED

globes which, whilst slightly more expensive initially, will cut down our energy consumption in the longer term, without

sacrificing lumens (those brightness things).

Pictures of all our previous rectors have been hung outside the counselling room opposite the chapel, for all to see, and

allowance has been made for pictures of future rectors of St. Michaels to be hung there as well.

Our Youth Room (see photos on pg 8) received a “makeover”, thanks to Thato, to support our youth initiative and, in

addition to this, many more everyday things which need to be fixed or replaced, have been carried out in the first six

months of this year.

Thankfully, with judicious cost management, maintenance costs have been contained, and in certain instances reduced,

even as more work is carried out under general maintenance.

We are still looking for willing assistants who have some free time, to volunteer their services for this important function,

and if you think you can help, please phone Darryl in the Parish office. Submitted by Mike Chilton

M A I N T E N A N C E A T S T M I C H A E L ’ S

During the first two weeks of May, Thato Lebaka together with Rose Saunders and Peter Lephadima made and painted benches, built a coffee bar area, painted wood for life thoughts to be written on, and hand wrote sixteen thoughts. On Sunday 17 May the teens had their first lesson in the almost complete “God centred Youth Room”.

Submitted by Darryl Prangley

1. Firstly a big thank you to all those who responded to our calls last year. We were truly blessed by your response.

2. A problem that has arisen is that a few very generous givers have either passed away or retired away from our

area. This has reduced the amounts expected to be collected by a considerable amount.

3. The budget for 2015, which covers the day to day running costs of St Michaels was drafted to include these contributions. This clearly excludes any costs of the developments about to take place with regard to

housing and parking.

4. We continue with a full MST for 2015 and our costs are mostly fixed in nature.

5. Dedicated giving, which is comprised of parishioners pledges and contributed by way of envelopes, EFT or stop

orders, is a vital function in the running of our church. This represents our commitment to fund God’s work.

6. We have 1 641 families on the parish register at this time.

7. 492 families presently commit to DG.

8. These figures clearly indicate that only about 30% of our parishioners are contributing to the furtherance of

God’s work in our parish.

9. We know that we are speaking to many of you who are contributors but we really do need to work hard at increasing the number of contributors so as to continue to be able to worship and do ministry in the way that

we do and through the Diocese, afford help to those parishes who are impoverished.

10. We do hope that this information will encourage some of those not yet contributing to open their hearts and

contribute to God’s work.

11. You can also all make a difference by engaging with fellow members to encourage all to participate in DG.

12. If we could get just half of the families involved just imagine the wonderful impact we could have in further

developing outreach and in spreading the gospel.

13. Other once-off contributions we could make – tithe on a bonus, thanksgiving for birthdays, anniversaries, birth of children, grandchildren etc. Donations for flowers – in memory of loved ones or any other celebration would

help as well. Submitted by the church wardens

“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God

loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7

D E D I C A T E D G I V I N G C U R R E N T L Y R 3 5 0 0 0 P / M B E L O W B U D G E T


An answer to 'Why go to church?'

If you're spiritually alive, you're going to love this! If you're spiritually dead, you won't want to read it.

If you're spiritually curious, there is still hope!

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every

Sunday. 'I've gone for 30 years now,' he wrote, 'and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons, but for the

life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the priests are wasting theirs by

giving sermons at all.'

This started a real controversy in the 'Letters to the Editor' column.

Much to the delight of the editor, it went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: 'I've been married for 30 years

now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a

single one of those meals. But I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!' When you are DOWN to nothing, God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Submitted by Ann Barrow


D I D Y O U K N O W ? . . . . . .

TIME FOR A LITTLE CHEER from Anne Spann

Thought I would just let you know that I am off to Philadelphia to see my son, then to Salisbury in the UK to see my two sisters aged 86 and 84 and then on to Wimbledon. We - my partner Angela Mortimer and I – are about to celebrate a British record

of 60 years since we won the doubles at Wimbledon.

With the influx of players from the Eastern Block countries I can’t see a British pair ever winning the title again and we can genuine-ly be called Unique Antiques - just hope everyone thinks we

played like the Williams sisters....

I also have to mention 46+ years in the choir that has got to be a record as Dorothy Flinn, Ev Williams, Jess Pageat and I joined up

at the back of the church to help out the organist in about 1967!!

Did you know . . . . .

….. that a “HYMN SELECTION TEAM” meets

every five weeks to decide on the hymns to

be sung over the next five weeks? They go

through each reading allocated for the five

weeks and carefully choose hymns which fit

with the theme of the readings which will be

heard at the Sunday services.

….. that Fr Godfrey celebrates 40 years in

the ordained ministry at the end of this year

on the 14th December?

….. that in November 2014 we had sixteen

altar servers and we now have twenty six;

and that you can be an altar server regard-

less of your age?

….. that Fr Eric Richardson will be 103 years

old on the 21st July this year?

….. that Dave Prangley became engaged to

Veenah Kishoon in April this year?

….. that there are 44 species of birds to be

found in and around the Parish gardens?

Find the detailed list on the website.

….. that donations from interments are used

towards the maintenance and upkeep of

our beautiful Garden of Remembrance?

The Editor

……… that every month the Parish goes through:

36 litres of milk, 600 teabags, 750g of coffee, 3,5 litres of

Handy Andy, 10 Kg of sugar, 40 litres of Oros, 20 litres of

communion wine, 8 paper towel rolls, 50 rolls of toilet paper

and 17 reams of printing paper. This is just a small example

of the costs involved in keeping a large Parish such as

ours running smoothly.

The Garden of Remembrance -

Photo by Colin Whittle

Angela Mortimer and Anne Spann

T H E P O W E R O F A B A R O F S O A P ( C O N T D O N P G 1 3 )


In my work in development and poverty reduction through improved nutrition, I get to travel to some amazing places and

meet some incredible people. I have talked to and debated with Presidents, CEOs of some of the world’s largest

companies and the most dedicated of philanthropists. But more importantly to me, I have met with the poorest of the

poor and seen how they innovate for survival; I have been lost for words talking to a woman who with her four children

had walked thirty days across a desert to reach the safety of a refugee camp, but who wanted me to drink her cup of tea

as she hosted me in her tent. I nearly always get to bring home some memento, not so much to remind me of my trip, but

the people I have met. Recently, a bar of soap resulted in tears streaming down my face…

On the 25th May 2014 I got to go to Nepal, not to climb in the hills, but for a project we are working on investigating

feeding practices of infants and children up to 2 years of age in the Kathmandu Valley, with the aim to ultimately

strengthen policies that support breastfeeding and optimal infant feeding in the critical development period from birth to

2 years of age. As I looked out of the window as the plane flew towards Kathmandu, I was made so aware of how remote

the villages in most of this country are – the hills never end and villages are perched on the top of them, with terraced

fields cascading down the sides. It is not surprising that Nepal is ranked 145th of 187 countries on the Human

Development Index (HDI), the challenges of lifting the majority of its 27 million people out of poverty are enormous but the

government is determined.

Throughout our visit we were always welcomed with warm smiles, warm hospitality and an openness to talk and share. On

the last day, which my colleague and I had taken as leave, we managed to do a flight along the Himalaya’s to see Everest

from the air, which was truly spectacular and a tick on my bucket list, and we visited a few of Kathmandu’s famous sites

(even though we had been struck down with a nasty bug). Our final stop was a fair trade shop filled with the most

beautiful crafts from across the country. Yak soap, made in a remote village as part of a young girls’ empowerment

project, was the perfect gift to bring home for friends and a few for myself. Each had a tag with the name of the girl who

had made it and a note of thanks for supporting her to reach her dreams.

On the 25th May 2015, Nepal was hit by a 7.3 magnitude earthquake (with many subsequent quakes and even today my

colleagues say the earth is still grumbling). My first response to the news was to ensure that all my colleagues and their

families were safe. The answer was “yes, but many of us have either lost our homes or cannot go back into them as they

are unsafe.” The very next day, those same colleagues were planning how they could help others and the team I work with

focussed on supporting pregnant and recently delivered women to ensure they could still get medical assistance and to

ensure they had basic provisions. Our research funder immediately agreed to divert funds from our project to direct relief

and packs were put together containing essentials that included mosquito nets, water purifiers, soap, buckets that had

been fitted with a tap to either store drinking water or use as a hand-washing station, as well as some basic food items for

a day or two, a piece of clean cloth, and sanitary napkins.

An extract from one of our Project Coordinator’s email reads ‘We parked about 45 minutes from the village and had army

personnel and a team member go ahead to assess the situation. One of the two villages had lost all 37 homes and the

other had established a community kitchen as damage in their area was extensive and many of the homes that were not

destroyed were unliveable.’ Over 60% of homes in in rural Nepal were damaged in the first quake and even more in the

subsequent after-shocks. Day after day our team, together with volunteers, visited villages, handed out packs and sup-

ported the pregnant and new mothers.

Once things had settled somewhat, I followed up on the village where my soap had been made and the message back

was the cause of my tears – the village no longer existed, it had been wiped out in a landslide following the quake. The

official death toll from the quakes stands at around 10 000, but it will undoubtedly still rise as other remote areas are

reached – where in other villages, like the one where my yak soap came from, no one has been reported missing,

because everyone is missing.


T H E P O W E R O F A B A R O F S O A P

I know Nepal, as a country, will recover and I am so

proud of my colleagues and the work they are doing

despite their own trauma. Not all of us can be there in

that way, but there is one thing we can all do and that is

continue to hold the people of Nepal in our prayers.

God,

You are the God of the mountains and the valleys, we ask that you might bring your healing hand to rest on the

country of Nepal.

We pray for the injured and the vulnerable.

We pray for those who are grieving.

We pray for those who are searching for lost loved ones or have given up knowing they will perhaps never be

found.

We know you are with them in the rubble and the chaos and the rebuilding Lord, and we ask that today they

might feel your comfort and grace. Amen

Picture: Helen Keller International staff and volunteers

deliver provisions to villages

Submitted by Jane Badham

ACSA has identified 8 Priorities, one of them being Liturgical

renewal for transformative worship. In light of this Priority,

the Synod of Bishops has mandated the Provincial Liturgical

Committee to undertake a project towards the Revision of An

Anglican Prayer Book 1989.

In our work on Revision APB, it was discerned that we should

revise the APB 1989 to arrive at a prayer book that reflects

an African voice. Therefore, the Revision Sub Committee

arrived at a name for the Process: “A Prayer Book for

Southern Africa Today: Under Southern Skies in An African

Voice”. One of the key objectives of this project is to ensure

that the whole process of revision is collaborative and to

capture as many voices as possible from across all Dioceses

in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.

To this end, a National Consultation and Training Week was

planned by the Revision Sub-committee and implemented in

the week of 09-12 June 2015. Thirty-six people shared in

these four days of discussion and planning. Twenty-three out

of twenty-eight Dioceses sent representatives to attend the

Consultation. These four days were infused with enthusiasm,

excitement and very valuable discussions brought about by

the commitment of the delegates. We explored various

liturgies from members of the Anglican Communion in

worshipping together for Morning and Evening Prayer, The

Eucharist and Compline.

This is an exciting project of which I am privileged to be invit-

ed to be a key part of. There is still much work to do and it is

envisaged that the final outcome of our work will only see

completion in about 10 years’ time but the Revision Sub-

Committee will develop and distribute key milestone resource

publications along the way.

On behalf of the Revision Sub-Committee and the ACSA

Liturgical Committee, I ask for your prayers for the work being

undertaken and for all the members of the Committee.

Yours in Christ, The Revd Brent Frieslaar.

N E W P R A Y E R B O O K


“ S T M A R Y B Y T H E W A Y S I D E ! ! ! ”

Responding to the needs of the growing community in the Bryanston/Witkoppen area, St Michael’s started life as an

extension of the parish of St Martin’s in the Veld, Rosebank. At first it was even envisaged that the new church might even

serve people as far north as Halfway House. The prime mover was Fr Lewis Howell Pearson, Rector of the Rosebank

parish.

Land was purchased in 1949 with the help of Anglo American Corporation, who owned much of Bryanston at the time, and

who took an active interest in the church from the start. Building got underway in September 1952. Names submitted for

the new church included St Ambrose, St Mary by the Wayside and St Michael’s. Sir Ernest Oppenheimer unveiled the

foundation stone on 10 October 1953 and Bishop Reeves blessed the stone.

After the dedication of the church in December 1953, Fr Pearson held services in what was technically still a Mission Dis-

trict of the Rosebank Parish. Archdeacon Redvers Rouse took over the conducting of services in February 1954 when the

first baptisms were held. In August 1954, Revd CE Salisbury was welcomed as the first Priest-in-Charge. By the end of

that year there were 189 communicants, and the first AGM of the Council was held in February 1955. Canon Redvers

Rouse was appointed first Rector of St Michael’s.

By 1978 when St Michael’s celebrated its 25-year Jubilee, with Bishop Timothy Bavin presiding, there were then six

thousand parishioners registered on the Roll, of whom two thousand attended Christmas services.

Article and photographs submitted by

Colin Whittle.

s t m i c h a e l ’ s s w o r d - squarespace · pdf filep o box 67184, bryanston, 2021...

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