Congregational

Chronicle
Newsletter Date: October 2015

WHY I AM A CONGREGATIONALIST?

Inside this issue:

Congregationalist

Timeless Words

Tribute

UCCSA in Pictures

Interns Conference 5

Ecumenical

GS letter

I am Congregationalist, not of necessity, but by choice and by heritage, though that is

not where my faith rests. My faith rest in God's faithfulness. But I am more than that: I
am Christian. I claim the heritage of Congregationalism as an expression of my faith. But
I am more than that! I am Protestant! By choice and by heritage. I am a child of the
Reformation and acknowledge the debt I owe to Luther and others who paid dearly,
some with their lives, that the church might have new life, though, my salvation does not
rest on heritage or on loyalty to a tradition or even on the truth of a religious system.
Ultimately my salvation rests on the God who has guided that heritage, on the God to
whom the tradition bears witness, on the God who stands above all religious systems.
His grace and His mercy. Nothing else!
When the Congregational streams of our denomination merged on the 3 October
1967,it was after a lot of soul searching and wrestling with the Spirit and one another.
As a result of the faithfulness to call to unity, our fore parents were able to embrace
unity as way to go. This is not only a trail blazing event but also an expression of essential oneness under the Lordship of Christ Jesus, In small way it was a step towards the
realisation of Jesus prayer That they maybe one( John 17:21A)Unity is therefore a
foundational principle. As Congregationalists, we should be proud of our heritage, but
even this inspiring tradition should not stand in the way of bringing the Church of Christ
closer to one another. Our rich history and legacy of mission confirms that the UCCSA,
right from the early years, had been a Church on the edge. A church challenging limitations and restrictions and pushing boundaries. A Church committed to taking the gospel
to every corner and spreading the love of God.
UCCSA Communications Officer-Mr Wellington Mthobisi Sibanda

Page 2

Congregational

Pilgrim Spirit: The Timeless Words of John Robinson

I am verily persuaded the Lord hath more truth yet to break forth out of His Holy Word

A sweeping assessment of approximately 2000 years of Church history

could be summarised thus The story of the Church is one of an almost immediate falling away (from revealed New Testament truths
and practices) followed by staggered periods of notable recovery.
Such a statement is of course a broad generalization. Much of what is
called the Church today is still so obviously very far from New Testament purity. On the other hand, a reading of a good Church history
book (such as Broadbents Pilgrim Church) shows us that there have
always been pockets of faithful ones scattered throughout the centuries who have sought in varying measure to maintain New Testament
teachings and practices God always has His remnant! However, in the more mainstream story (as has
been summarised above) we see that there has been times and seasons of men returning to an understanding and experience of some New Testament truth. The ever-present danger in all such reforms is that
people will have a tendency to think and say, Ah, now weve got it, and from thenceforth to become once
again stuck on the treadmill of religion instead of being carried along by the moving of the Spirit into
the next phase of Gods blessing. John Robinsons words below are to my mind a timeless piece of godly wisdom that are relevant to every generation no matter how far we
I am verily
may think we have come.
persuaded the
In 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers sailed for America aboard the Mayflower. These men, along
Lord hath
with their families, had great hopes of finding/founding a society where there would be
more truth yet liberty for them to follow the Lord in the things that had been revealed to their hearts
to break forth and understanding. A man by the name of John Robinson (who himself stayed behind)
sent the departing company on their pilgrim voyage with these earnest words:
out of His
I charge you before Godthat you follow me no further than you have seen me
follow the Lord Jesus Christ. If God reveals anything to you by any other instrument of His, be as ready to receive it as you were to receive any truth by my ministry, for I am verily
persuaded the Lord hath more truth yet to break forth out of His Holy Word. For my part, I cannot
sufficiently bewail the condition of those reformed churches whichwill go, at present, no further
than the instruments of their reformation. The Lutherans cannot be drawn to go beyond what Luther saw; whatever part of His will our God had revealed to Calvin, they will rather die than embrace it; and the Calvinists, you see, stick fast where they were left by that great man of God, who
yet saw not all things. This is a misery much to be lamented
Clearly John Robinson understood that the voyage being undertaken required not only fortitude in human
endeavour but also an attitude of pilgrim spirit in their journey on in light and truth if it was all going to be
worthwhile. Paul said that it was quite appropriate that we should be followers of him, that is, in as far as he
was following Christ: Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. (1 Cor 11:1). We are also told to
follow others, that is, those that are godly men, being careful to take special note of their manner of
life: Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose
faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. (Heb 13:7). Of course we are first and foremost all
to be followers of Christ, but God has given to His Church men who are worthy of esteem and worth taking notice of. The charge of John Robinson so wisely puts this following of others into perspective. We
must be so careful not to become a follower of men in such a way as to only ever come as far as their limitations allow them.
http://www.newtestamentpattern.net/christian-articles/sundry-thoughts/the-words-of-johnHoly Word.

Page 3

Congregational

To the Late Mr. Gareth Arends and Rev Jennifer Shamu

11October 2015
UCCSA Message of Condolences to the Arends Family
We have received with shock and disbelief the sad news on the passing away of your son, brother and father;
Mr Gareth Arends.
We celebrate with you his life, work and service to his family and the people of South Africa. He was a special gift from God to the Arends family and shall forever remain grateful to God for that. His footprints will
continue to inspire Gods people; young and old.
As we mourn his death, may we find comfort in the words of our brother Paul who says; For none of us
lives for himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we
die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Romans 14:7-8
We commit all of you to Gods keeping with the following words from the Apostle Paul;
What then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare
his own Son, but gave him up for us all; how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things.
...and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:23, 31-32.
May the presence of God the Creator give you Strength;
May the presence of God the Redeemer give you Peace;
May the presence of God the Sustainer give you Comfort;
May the presence of God the Sanctifier give you Love.
We commend Gareth to Gods keeping, everlasting love and mercy. May his soul find eternal rest in God,
our Rock and our Redeemer!!
UCCSA President
Rev Mosweu Simane

TO: DIRECTORS, CWM

Dear Colleagues: It is with immense sadness and some degree of shock that I write to inform you of
the passing of Rev Jennifer Shamu, Director and Deputy Moderator of CWM. Jennifer attended the
Staffing Sub Committee meeting in Hong Kong on 16 September. We understand that shortly after she
returned she fell ill and was admitted to the hospital where she was under doctor's care for some time.
She later suffered a stroke and was due to begin physiotherapy following her release from hospital. Unfortunately, she succumbed to her illness about 10:00am (Zimbabwean) on 28 October. May her soul
rest in peace. With sincere best wishes,
Rev Dr Collin I Cowan General Secretary
Council for World Mission

Page 4

Inside Story Headline

Page 5

Congregational

UCCSA COMMISSIONS 19 INTERNS FOR ORDINATION

Matthew ends his Gospel telling the story and compiling the teachings of Jesus with Jesus sending his disciples out into the world with these words: Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have taught
you. And remember, I am with you in the first century and in the 21st. I am with you always, even unto
the end of the age.
I am more and more convinced that God came among us in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth to show us the
way to be reconciled with the God who deeply and passionately loves each and every one of us, to be reconciled and right with that God and to be reconciled and right with each other as the children of that one
God who created us all. He came to show us how to get right and how to get reconciled. He came to
show us therefore how to become more than simply the human race thats not good enough came to
show us how to be more than a collection of individualized self-interests, came to show us how to become
more than a human race. He came to show us how to become the human family of God. And in that, my
friends, is our hope and our salvation, now and unto the day of eternity. Or to say it another way. the end
of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20)
The church is a movement of the spirit, always being shaped, reshaped and moulded into something new.It
is not a static organisation, but one that is always being reformed and Ministry does not begin at being an
Enquirer, it begins at Baptism. It does not end at ordination, it continues throughout life. There are many
people who have gone through and they have become ministers and once the hands are laid on them, Once
the Amen is said after the ordination prayer; they rise and from there they will never kneel again. Humility
for them will never be seen, simplicity for them will never be part of their lives. They rise from the ordination service where they have been kneeling, they rise to become bosses and you can't touch them. Perhaps
there is something wrong that we are missing in terms of our preparation for Ministry. That's an observation made by one of the facilitator's at the Interns Conference.

Page 6

World Council of Churches contact person for Africa Region visit to UCCSA
The UCCSA on the 13th of October hosted visitors from the WCC in persons of Prof Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri
(Associate General Secretary: Public Witness and Diakonia World Council of Churches) and Mr Manuel
Quintero and they were locally accompanied by Ms Duduzile. Part of their visit
was to hear more about our churchs programmatic priorities our plans for the pilgrimage of justice and peace. Mr Manuel
Quin tero also shared with us about the
WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme on Palestine /Israel
They were received by the UCCSA Officer Mrs Kgomotso Nxumalo,WCC
Commisioner on Ecumenical Education
and Formation Mr Wellington Mthobisi
Sibanda,CWM Africa Region Programme
Associate Ms Sindisiwe
Magutshwa,UCCSA Administrator Ms
Monalisa Bhebhe UCCSA Accountant Mr
Leon Lepere, Rev Sindiso Jele UCCSA Minister.
The Council for World Mission is
pleased to invite expressions of interest to join the staff team in the following positions:

Head of Finance and Administration

Head of Programme
Mission Secretary (Mission Development)
Regional Mission Secretary Africa
Regional Mission Secretary East
Asia
Regional Mission Secretary South Asia
Communications and Marketing Manager
Human Resources Advisor

How to Apply:
Click on each position for a full job profile. Please send a recent resume/CV AND a letter of application stating
your reasons for wanting to work with CWM, as well as your main qualifications and alignments with a specific
role to:recruitment@cwmission.org for the attention of the General Secretary, indicating the job title of the
role being applied for in the email subject box.
Closing Date 25th November 2015.
Initial screening interviews will take place during the first week in December, with panel interviews held in Singapore week commencing 7th December 2015.

Page 7

Conventus of the Churches of the

Reformation in Southern Africa

21 October 2015
Dear colleague
LETTER OF INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN A PUBLICATION
WITH REGARDS TO THE 500TH CELEBERATION OF THE REFORMATION (1517-2017)
Grace and peace to you!
The Conventus of the Churches of the Reformation in Southern Africa is an organisation which consists of a number of churches which associate closely with the main
confessional basis of the Reformation of the sixteenth century.
During a meeting of the Conventus in March this year it was decided to jointly celebrate the great event of the Reformation after 500 years (1517-2017) in a couple of
ways. One of these is a publication which deals with the theme The Impact of the Reformation in South Africa after 500 years. The aim is to invite authors from as many denominations in South Africa as practical possible (from all different traditions) to share
how they view the impact of the heritage (positive or negative) of the Reformation in
the South African context from their respective perspectives past, present and future.

The Impact of the

Reformation
in
South Africa after
The idea is not to debate doctrinal controversies, but simply to narrate a specific de- 500 years.
nominations experiences, views on theological influences in the ecclesial and societal
arenas, ecumenical perspectives, the further role of this heritage and theology in our
country, etc. A specific aspect can also be addressed, for example spirituality, liturgy,
ethics, etc. Hopefully this will present us with a reasonably comprehensive picture of
the impact of the Reformation on the current ecclesial and societal situation in South
Africa and, perhaps, implicitly lead to a mosaic-like common witness to the society at
large. As publication committee we now invite theologians from different denominations to propose articles for the publication. The articles should be written in a popular style but must be scientifically well founded. We can accommodate about 30-35
articles, length about 10 pages (35004000 words). Date of publication: the end of
2016; date of finalising the book for publication: by mid-2016.
If you are interested to join this special venture, please let us know before the 1 st of
December 2015. Please submit a title and an abstract of about a 100 words by the 1 st
of March 2016. The complete article should be submitted not later than the 30 th of
June 2016.You are more than welcome to contact the committee with regards to any
question or suggestion you may have. You can do it at the following e-mail address,
namely kobusg@ngkerk.org.za or mobile 0828955680.
We look forward to hear from you!
Kind regards

Letter from UCCSA General Secretary

Page 8

27 October 2015
To All:Synods
Regions
Local Church
UCCSA Members

Dear Friends and Colleagues in Christ,

Greetings from the Central Office in the name of the Lord Jesus who comes
to give us hope!
Those of you who attended the past Assembly in Namibia, will be aware of
the financial difficulties experienced by the denomination. Our current model
of funding the work of the UCCSA continues to be a challenge. We continue
to be in a deficit situation. The Central Office has been operating on a shoe
string budget which has
resulted in us not able to meet most of our obligations. As Synods, have developed over the years, more resources are needed to also fund the programmes and activities implemented at Synod level.
As a committed
member of the
UCCSA,
you
are invited to
contribute an
amount
of
R 1 0 0 . 0 0
monthly over a
period of three
months.

The recent Assembly meeting in Windhoek, Namibia, tasked the UCCSA Officers and respective Synod Officers to find both short term and long term
solutions to address our current and long term financial sustainability. This
group under the leadership of the UCCSA President, Rev. Mosweu Simane
met and agreed that we make an appeal to all UCCSA members to make a
once off special contribution to bring our finances back to normality.
As a committed member of the UCCSA, you are invited to contribute an
amount of R100.00 monthly over a period of three months.
Those who are able to give more, please do. Whatever you are able to contribute will be greatly appreciated. Your contribution should be directed
through the Local Church and Regional Council to your
respective Synods. The Synod will then transfer all contributions to the
UCCSA account It is our prayer that each UCCSA Member will respond positively to this appeal.
Thanking You
Rev. Alistair Arends
General Secretary
P. O. Box 96014
Brixton 2019
Johannesburg
South Africa
Tel: +27 11 837 9997
Fax: +27 11 837 2570
150 Caroline Street
Brixton 2092
Johannesburg
South Africa

Rev Alistair Arends

The General Secretary
Email:gensec@uccsa.co.za
Mr Wellington Mthobisi Sibanda
Communications Officer
Email: wellosacha@yahoo.com
Tel: +27 11 837 9997
Fax: +27 11 837 2570
Email: tel-lus.uccsa@gmail.com
Website: www.uccsa.co.za

Please Pray for the following meetings

r g a n

i z

a t

o n

SA Synod Committee Meeting (Gordonia Region-UCCSA)

UCCSA Leadership meeting to held in Botswana
CWM Executive Committee meeting in Madagascar.
Zimbabwe Synod search for Synod Secretary.
Russian families of the plane crash victims.
UCCSA Youth Conference to be held in Zimbabwe