THE BISHOP’S CHARGE TO THE SYNOD 2008 OF
THE DIOCESE OF PRETORIA
CHURCH OF THE PROVINCE OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

EQUIPPING AND STRENGHTENING FAMILIES
Turning Houses Into Homes

The Right Rev’d Dr J.T Seoka, D.Min., D.D.
Anglican Bishop of Pretoria
October 2nd, 2008

Greetings and Welcome
I greet you all and welcome you to our 82nd Synod in the name of the great shepherd of the sheep, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen

Now to him who is able to keep us from falling, and to make us stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen (Jude 20:24-25). To all of you present here and those who are not able to be with us today, I thank God for the privilege of working with you in revealing Christ in the world.

State of the nation
The context in which we live and proclaim the gospel today is much more complex than it was ten years ago. Democracy is under threat and the rule of law is being undermined by the very voters who brought about the new dispensation. Violent crimes, poverty, unemployment, corruption, human trafficking, unwarranted criticism of the former president, disrespect of the judiciary and more recently xenophobic attacks remain a serious cause for concern and worry. Talking about xenophobia, we need as a Diocese and the city to confess our failure to be hospitable to our neighbors. Hopefully we will be able to repent and publicly apologize to the refugees within our jurisdiction for the way we have treated them. We have failed to "Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed" of his/her human rights and violated his/her dignity (Jer 22:3; 7 5-7; Leviticus 19:33-34). These are challenges we cannot overlook otherwise anarchy will replace our hard earned constitutional democracy. If you revisit and reread our Charge to Synod 2000 you will realize that the issues concerning us today are the same ones that we addressed then. They remain challenges that are facing the Church and its proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ today.

Today the nation is at a cross roads where a school dropout youth can depose the President of the country by inflammatory rhetoric and senior political statesmen utter no reprimand. We are, indeed, in trouble when revenge supersedes national interest because the party is more important than the people it represents. It has become too obvious to me that the future of this country is not in the youth we so much cherish, but should be in our determined struggle to change the Constitution of the land to shift the election of the President from the party to the electorate. This, I believe will protect both the nation and the President from those whose agenda is self interest rather than national one. May be the critical question we must ask at this Synod is simply: how do we live the gospel in a context of complete moral decay?

Ecumenical and Interfaith relations
Our Saviour Jesus Christ prayed that we may be one and this is what we as part of the wider Church should be striving for with all Christian denominations and other world religions. The truth is that we cannot witness to the gospel of Christ alone to the world but working together as the family of God - our heavenly Father - through ecumenical dialogue and mission. The Bishops at Lambeth discussing the Ecumenism said; "We believe that the ecumenical vocation is one which comes directly from the Lord, empowered and directed by the Holy Spirit" (Lambeth 2008).

With respect to Interfaith relations we must appreciate that we live and do work of mission and evangelization of God’s people in the context of many faiths. It will please God if we reached out to each other in friendship and dialogue, and where possible cooperate in the service of humanity. Looking down on people of other faiths is, in my thinking, despising God whose image is in those we right off as unbelievers.

Wondrous things God has done
In 2003 we responded to our "calling to be a missionary Diocese by implementing our vision and mission statement. I charged you, the people of the Diocese, to shift the boundaries in search(ing) for new frontiers for mission and ministry" (Bishops Charge 2003, p 9). Our prayers were answered and God has blessed us with new communities of faith. As a result we have consecrated nine (9) new places of worship and ministry. These are not just halls for worship but churches which reflect the glory of God. If you do not believe me, I only ask you to get out to the outskirts of Pretoria and see what the Lord has done in Madidi and if you are lazy to go to rural Tshwane, walk to The Reeds and marvel at God’s wonders. In our effort to live up to our mission statement, to have a priest in every parish, clergy persons have been appointed in most Parishes either as priests-in-charge or rectors. And God willing, more new churches are on the pipeline to be consecrated after this Synod. There is no doubt in my faith of Jesus Christ, that this is a result of our commitment to mission and evangelization of God’s people within our jurisdiction. Our three year Mission and Evangelism plan has, indeed, been a blessing. To those of you who heeded my call and released resources given to you for the work of the Church, thank you and may our bounteous God bless and prosper you more abundantly. Friends, God’s goodness and loving kindness is great and we must glorify and praise him.

Past decade
Reflecting over the past years since we accepted the Episcopal responsibility of our Diocese, I can only thank God for his grace without which we would not be where we are today. Ten years may not seem a long time today but that’s what it is. If we count from 1998 to 2008 the answer is ten years. In all these years I have never doubted God’s love and grace to us as a Diocese. All that we have achieved to date can only be attributed to him who enabled us to do and accomplish all that is good - seeking to do his will on earth. It is him and only him who is working among us fulfilling his purpose in the world, and for this we must thank and glorify him for his steadfast love towards human kind.

We have, since 2000, "Journeyed with Christ to the other side" in obedience to the gospel so that the gospel is preached there also for this is what we are called to do (Mk 1: 38; 4:35). Taking a "quantum leap of faith", we multiplied our Diocese into two viable Dioceses - Pretoria and Mpumalanga. Today Mpumalanga is a fully fledged Diocese with its own Bishop, Rules and Regulations.

I will be dishonest if I said all this has been without the devil’s attempt to disrupt the work of the Lord. You all know how I was publicly ridiculed in my own cathedral by evil forces and subsequently scandalized by the media and the Diocese brought to disrepute by some members of this very Diocese. The truth is that Christ triumphed and as always the devil lost the battle. I and the Diocese are still reflecting the Kingdom values working for God’s glorification on earth. I believe that I am still a means by which Christ reveals himself to others and that our Diocese continues to model a foretaste of God’s Kingdom. Notwithstanding, I will be naïve to think that "The strife is over, the battle is done" (Finita jam sunt praelia). All I know is that we have a mighty God.

Tumelong Mission and Social Development
Tumelong Mission as you will learn from the Synod Report is still doing what it does best, serving God in the lives of the poor and marginalized. We have, by resolution of the Governing Board restructured it in terms of its founding document. All the projects that are outside the scope of our core business have been either outsourced or handed over to people who have the capacity and the knowledge to do the work through which the project delivers services to its beneficiaries. The primary reason for this decision is simply financial. We depended too much on Government and Lotto funding and when money was not coming in, Tumelong Mission could not fulfill its mandate. Employees, the very people we were trying to help, assisted by some of those who were seeking to assassinate my character and bring the Diocese to disrepute fabricated stories to the press. I thank God that even though we were afflicted in every way, (we were) but not crushed; perplexed, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; is because God in his economy of time, wanted us to always carry in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies (my emphasis of 2 Cor. 4: 8-12).

I therefore propose to this Synod that we, as a Diocese, commit 0.7% of our annual Diocesan budget to Tumelong Mission so that it does not depend solely on outside funding. This is an Anglican Communion Resolution of Lambeth 1998, which was also passed by our Provincial Synod in 2005. If we so resolve at this Synod, Tumelong Mission will be self-sustainable, self-propagating and self-reliant and the money raised from outside funders will complement our resources. I also suggest that the Diocesan Social Responsibility program be fused with Tumelong Mission for effective fund raising and focused service delivery.

On the whole, today you can be proud of yourselves for moving from maintenance to mission, enhancing Diocesan strategy for mission and ministry that has borne fruits through sharing of gifts and resources for the work of Christ. I have, this year, more than any other time in my episcopate, confirmed more adults than children who normally count for more confirmands. We have truly lived out our Lord’s great commission in the world (Matt 28:18- 20; Mark 16:15-18), and he must be very pleased with us.

Lambeth 1998-2008
An effort has been made to address some of the resolutions of Lambeth 1998. Some of what we have done has borne some fruits which has benefited some while other efforts have been a challenge and remain even a greater challenge today. Our youth work, for instance, has not given us much joy despite our successful work in and through Children’s Church Ministry. This challenge has led me to concur with Martin Luther King, Jr in quoting Paul Goodman in his publication, ‘Growing Up Absurd’’, in 1960, that the reason for what we are experiencing is a result; "of the shattering impact on the young generation of the spiritual emptiness of contemporary society. Now, years later, it is not spiritual emptiness that is terrifying, but spiritual evil" (The Trumpet of Conscience, Martin Luther King, Jr. 1957). I must commend and applaud Mrs Kraft and her Board for what has been achieved in producing the curriculum for the young people who are preparing for confirmation. I hope we will be generous on the request put before us for consideration. We have, however, now appointed the Diocesan Youth Coordinator and hopefully, we shall, in due time, yield some results that may help us deal with the social ills I alluded to under the state of the Nation.

Lambeth 2008 was different to previous ones in that it was not a debating and legislative conference. Rather, it was rooted in prayer, guided by scripture and focused on conversation. As a result we were able to build relationships and trust. Bishops discussed issues that related to their ministry under two conference themes; "Equipping Bishops for Mission and Strengthening Anglican Identity". This is to be done as an agenda of the Anglican Communion for the next ten years by participating in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which are to:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

As a church, we are called to help each other implement, at least, one of the MDGs "as part of our response to our Lord’s command to speak for the poor," (Lambeth 2008 Reflections). Recognizing the challenge paused by MDGs, Archbishop Williams said, "Because our faith challenges us to eradicate poverty, and not merely reduce it, we should be all the more alarmed that…most of these achievable targets will not be met. The cause is not lack of resources, but a lack of global political will…." As a Church we have the will and faith because it is not us doing the work but the Lord (who calls and sends) through us and therefore we can do what is within our means for the benefit of the poor and vulnerable people in our communities. Thank God that our Diocese is, to some extent, already engaged in acting on some MDGs through our Social Development Program.

Welfare of clergy and their families I wish to thank those Parishioners who have shown love, kindness, and generosity to their clergy. Scriptures urge us to take special care for those who labour so hard amongst us and some of our Parishes have been outstanding in implementing this teaching. The motion on clergy package is one of the ways through which I am trying to help you take care of your clergy welfare. Since I became the Diocesan Bishop, at least, two senior priests asked me for permission to find jobs in order to supplement their income. Of course, I did not grant my permission but this told me something about the difficulties faced by some of our priests. The package proposal before you has been workshopped for the last three years and most, if not all parishes, have had the opportunity to discuss its implications. I hope you will not be hasty but sensitive when you debate matters of clergy welfare because it is my wish to recruit and maintain young energetic clergy.

Way forward
I thank God for equipping the faithful to achieve the tasks we set up for ourselves over the past decade. I believe it is now opportune for us to engage in a new program that will equip and strengthen us as a Diocese in our communal life. I have therefore, prayerful discerned the Lord’s will for us and resolved to pay attention to family life. Again in 2005, I spoke to this subject of ‘the family’, saying that "it is our major challenge…" (Bishop’s Charge 2005, p 5). Sadly, we did not do much to address the issues that were breaking down family life. Some of you here today will concur with me that as a nation we have neglected family and focused on self. Life is no longer about family values but money and material gains. All what we do is more about self. We have adopted the "Western" attitude and culture of individualism and materialism. It is my wish that we change this mind set and think broadly about family- its importance and value.

The saying is true and sure that, "The family that prays together, stays together", and therefore the opposite is equally true – the family that does not pray together, falls apart. Family time of prayer is today a rare commodity. In fact there is hardly any time and space for family togetherness. Very few of us spend quality time with each other as family, eat together, share memories and plan for the future. We have become such busy bees that family values have gone out of the window leaving our children confused and spiritually empty. The need today is much more than ever "for families to have a rule of life that focuses the family on the centrality of Jesus Christ, with respect for each other as children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus" (Ibid). We have Mothers’ Union whose main objective is to "Strengthen and preserve marriage and family life" which can help us with this vision, only if they can work with the rest of the Diocese.

Jesus commends John to Mary We have built everything else but family. I believe it is never too late, even now we can still amend our fault of omission. I am therefore, putting a challenge before you to seek God’s guidance at this Synod as to how we can be ‘involved in Equipping and Strengthening Families: Turning Houses into Homes’. This is one way through which we can make a profound contribution as a faith community in rebuilding and transforming family life and responsible citizenship. Therefore, may I suggest that, individually, we commit ourselves to collectively and intentionally restore family values that are informed by scripture and influenced by corporate prayer. Our homes must be turned to worship spaces, meals into Eucharistic experiences and conversation to means of bonding and renewal of family love and nurturing.

Hanging on the cross of crucifixion, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ looked down and seeing his mother standing near the cross and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Women, here is your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." ‘And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.’ We could say this is one of the most important family concerns that Jesus had before he died because only thereafter he gave his spirit to God. I believe this instruction to Mary and John is directed to us today and I am asking you, the people of the Diocese, to take cognizance of your responsibility towards each other by putting your love into action as witness of your obedience to Jesus Christ’s teaching on family life.

In the context of African tradition and culture, family is the whole community where each person is not only responsible for his/her family but any other member of the community. Adults are parents of every child whose upbringing is everyone’s responsibility. As most of you would bear witness, African culture and Christian religion have many similarities which translate well into the Christian way of life. The gospel is also about inclusion, otherwise Jesus would not have asked his followers, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" (Matt. 12:48). Here we learn about a new kind of family which is the traditional African teaching. Jesus turned the family structure into a wider community – connecting the family unit into a network of relations. If I may emphasize by reiterating what I just said earlier, I hope we can learn from each other and transform our houses into daily liturgical experiences and places where conversation is conducted and networks developed beyond the security of our houses. Human beings are a family whose Father is God in heaven and this is the kind of family that has the power to transform Christian believers into new beings in Jesus Christ.

We have enough evidence that "people are both hungry for relationships and yet at the same time ill prepared for the costs involved. In a culture in which casual relationships or contractual relationships are the norm, it is difficult to build relationships on deep foundations that can survive disagreements and disappointments. People are more prone to walk away when the going becomes difficult than to work through a crisis to the point where a new depth of understanding is reached" (Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger, 2005, p 97). I am convinced that family conversations on both the gospel and family values could be utilized to equip and strengthen families. In my thinking there is no better way of rescuing those families that are in the verge of breaking up, support single parents and child-headed families and create networks for employment purposes than through the gospel teaching and instilling of family values.

The approach I am proposing here, I trust will help us follow the new family practices modeled by Jesus and passed on to his followers as recorded in his conversation with Mary, his mother and John, his beloved disciple. It is such relationships that will build the Church instituted by Christ to which all God’s people belong. Families are a given and are not something one chooses, because they are founded and built on relationships, i.e. one is born into a family. Each person belongs and is connected to the family whether he/she likes it or not. We do not choose to be family members but we are part of family at all times and in all places of our lives.

If we resolve, at this Synod, to live our lives as family, there is no doubt in my mind that our Diocesan/Church’s practices will be transformed as we will be committed to one another because we are all children of the same Father in heaven, God (Ref to Lord’s Prayer). In our congregations new members will feel welcomed and loved as they learn to model their lives on the Trinity whose currency is love and grace. Does Jesus not say we must love one another as he has loved us? This is our calling.

Discussing family related issues, the bishops at Lambeth said; "Individuals are held within the life of a family from birth to death. Anglicans affirm the place and goal of family life for all, in terms of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. Families are part of the family of God as well as part of a larger community" (Lambeth Conference 2008). This, I believe, will not only transform the Church but the whole society in which we live and the nation we are part of.

Conclusion
My dear brothers and sisters, I need to say no more but that, "Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and forever. Amen" (Heb 13:20-21). I thank God for your love, prayers and support of our efforts to serve the Lord by revealing him amongst you. It is a privilege indeed, and for that I thank you.