6 June 2011

6 June 2011

Saturday night was a subtle event at the Hexagon Theatre with Ryan Calder’s band. See Http://weloveyoursong.com To vote for a good independent band from South Africa. Grey hairs were in abundance, but then our group felt that the music reflected a good deal of their tastes. All except one are over 40, but with peace and love as themes we were hooked.

Sunday after an hour drive to Greytown and another 30 minutes to the township we worshipped in Zulu with another former student, Caleb Ndlovu. Again we experienced “high” worship in a most unusual setting. This is Caleb’s style, but the congregation is happy with his leadership for three years after they had been vacant for five. Hospitality abounded both in the congregation and afterward.

An hour and half drive later we were at the Gateway. Shopping Center north of Durban to meet with Xolelwa Mshubeki. She was the only female in the class during my sabbatical. She is now in her second parish of 9 congregations and she is assisted by two self-supporting pastors [that means that they have other jobs to support their families and preach on weekends.] Every congregation is served communion once a month. That is in sharp contrast to the communion celebration in the rural parish in Zulu land and the Sowetan parish from last Sunday.

A mad dash to the closed airport and the new one made life interesting, but not exciting. After midnight we checked into our B&B in Cape Town. Robben Island came early for those with little sleep, but even for the second time it is a stunning place with in prison tours still led by those who had been incarcerated for political activity. The sharp contrast to a bustling city of Cape Town to the arid township outside of Greytown is stunning. Sitting in a 24 hour internet café two blocks from the B&B seems odd after the other places we have been. It seems odd to be doing this 19 years after our first seminary visit, when apartheid had not been removed and Mandela was still in jail. Till later.

June 2, 2011

June 3, 2011

On June 1 in the am we met the theological faculty at LTI and had a good discussion around the topic of congregational mission, especially after the end of apartheid. It is intriguing that they also raised an issue that the government coopted many of the church leaders from the apartheid movement and thus many leaders of the church felt it more important to lead the church. Social issues became the property of the ‘new government’

The evening meeting with students started with a reflection on the history of South Africa by Mongi Zulu an instructor at LTI. The questions raised by students are not any different than the ones raised by American students. They too are concerned about leading increasingly older congregations. They know that their challenge will be to get their college classmates involved with the church, which many of them have placed on a back burner at best. Calls that make sense in a time of economic downturn, lack of emphasis on children’s ministry, continuing education, workload of congregations and stress on family life. Generally all of us were impressed by their openness in sharing.

Thursday we traveled to Durban and spent time in and around the Indian Ocean, but the afternoon was time well spent with the Council of Churches in Durban and their work on Economic, Health and Social Issues, and Environmental issues challenging South Africa. They were especially concerned the lack of American influence as it pertains to Carbon footprint and Global warming, two especially critical issues in South Africa. We were encouraged to contact our legislative bodies to change the USA stance at the COP17 event in Durban this Fall. HIV/AIDS especially in Durban was a focal point in the work of Health and Social Issues, as was the status of Women, especially in the Church.

Preaching at the Ascension Service was a personal highlight, but the worship was an extreme change from my sabbatical time. Bishop Bieyla is the Chaplain and we had a full liturgical event with smells and the bells of a full house of voices singing praises to God in 4 languages. Good sharing the night before with the students made it seem that we were a part of a much larger family. Conversations continued late.

Today was the Msunduzi Museum which explored the role of the Boer Movement, the English control and the Zulu presence and ultimate control of KwaZulu Natal. The history of an area that reflects immigration of Hindus, Moslems, Christians and Independent African religions was reflected along with the mixing of races that goes back to the 18^th century. It’s now down time and I’m posting. TTUL.

IT took a week to get online

June 1, 2011

A week goes by quickly when one is keeping six people together in a rush to museums, appointments, railway trains, meals, bed and breakfasts, and hoping it all falls into place. Thus far, so good. Oh Yeak, I'm still driving on the left side of the road....

Charles Leonard and Jennifer Soltis arrived right on schedule and we made connections after four of us, Tom Schornovacchi, Altressa Boatwright, David Hoxter and I wandered the halls of the Apartheid Museum which had a stunning special exhibit on Mandela. Though it’s my third time there were elements that I had not seen before, or had not spent time reading all the details of a particular time in my life time that has at least captured my attention. We never made it to the Hector Petersen Museum. There is such a thing as too much information, and we all hit overload.

Worship with one of my former students, James KenoKeno Mashabela was wonderful. If I can find time and space, I will try to post an audio portion of the service. Hospitality overflowed with worship and dreams of the future by congregational members and the pastor as they saw ministry developing in their neighborhood that they could address. Arriving late in the afternoon we spent time the Martin Mabane and his two parishes. These two different former missions are looking at cooperation in being relatively close and served by one pastor. A new vision for a new age. Again hospitality over flowed as we wearily stopped by Mandela Square late in the evening to eat and wonder at the large version of a man who cast a larger shadow on this intriguing country.

Great conversations with Theology Faculty from the University in South Africa [UNISA] along with a few members of the Law faculty. Though the questions were primarily in the area of theology and the issues of government in a nearly 17 year old country, the theologians did not seem to want to deal with questions that came from the Law Faculty. There is a finality about the Law that does not lend itself to the ongoing dialogues that can take place among religionists.

Stopping at LUCSA proved to be both enlightening from the conversation with Kristen Opalinski, who is the Communications Officer. This Reading, PA former missioner and now staffer showed us her work in informing a world of the work of this segment of Lutheran Work. It was stunning to know that she is “Philadelphia Union” fan. Oh we just happened to see along the way Bishop Phashwana, Bishop Buthelezi, Rev. Phillip Knutson and the Executive Director of ELCSA

Rush hour mad dash to the train station to drop the rental car and catch a train to Maritzburg. Cold and rocking until the blankets arrived. A chicken and drinks picnic and interestingly enough a good sleep. Thank God we arrived late, so it was one taxi to the car rental and then a drive to the Lutheran Theological Institute. Meeting with Beverly Haddad and HIV Aids study program and neighborhood activist program that is a model of public theology in the midst of and academic enterprise for theological preparation for ministry is quite stunning. Lots of questions and dialogue with staff.

Why don’t Americans have Teas breaks? The Theology faculty and students were gathered for tea after our morning presentation and good questions and conversations emerged. It was good to see some of the same faculty that I had seen 3 years ago. Housing at Kenosis an AIDS orphanage and retreat center has slowed us down. In our debriefing, there was finally a question of “when do we get some down time.” There is an element of information overload.

This morning, we met with Georg Scriba, Pastor at Hayfields and retired Administrator for LTI about mission and ministry in Southern Africa. He rolled a semester course into a little more than an hour and shared his own story as a South African, and the challenges he sees facing him and the church he loves for the future. Detlev Tönsing has graciously let us use his home wi-fi to get these messages out to you.

Preparation

After a year of work, it seems that most things are in place for a seminary Globalization Trip to South Africa. With four students and a faculty colleague, we leave in two shifts Thursday and Friday, with plans to be in Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg, and Cape Town. Plans have centered around the contacts made during my 2008 sabbatical, which was based at the Lutheran Theological Institute centered adjacent to the University of KwaZulu Natal. The eight student I taught at that time are now assigned to parishes in a variety of places in South Africa. We won't be able to see them all, but I'm hoping for as many as possible. We'll keep you all posted who follow the blog.

Desktop cleaning

Desktop cleaning uncovers a host of detritus that hasn't found an appropriate place. [like the circular file]. A piece worth saving came from my daughter-in-law, Curtina. After my mom's funeral she handed me a note with the following gift of words:
Sorry for your lose.
As she was a child of GOD,
that has now left us and went home.
So glad to know that while she was here
many hearts were filled with Joy
Therefore when we grieve her, remember and know
that she will remain in our hearts
like a piece of precious gold,
and the memories we hold will always stay near,
in sight and so dear,
she is home with the good LORD, put to rest,
So for the purpose she was put into this world
will remain, be remembered,
AS SHE WAS THE BEST

A lot happens in a Year

For almost two years, my mother and I had a different relationship. Returning from sabbatical in South Africa, I made decisions for her. It was different after leaving for college at 17 and having only sporadic physical contact with mom. She was always at the end of a phone call. She was supportive in different ways, like she helped to buy my first computer, but her strength of character would come out in distinctive ways. She never wanted a computer for herself to contact me or grandkids or great-grandkids. So after two years of seeing her almost twice a week, she has now gone to be with those with whom she had mental and dream-like conversations for quite some time.


Charlesetta Ransom Stewart, 87, on April 12, 2010. She is survived by her son Richard (Dawn) and brother Melvin Ransom, her grandsons Karl (Curtina), Joel, and her great grand children Jordyn and Devon Stewart. She was preceded in death by her husband Paul Edmund Stewart, her brother Willard Ransom, and her sister Charlotte Starnes. She had a passion for food and was able as director of dietary training to meet the needs of patients at Toledo Hospital for nearly 30 years. Her Memorial Service will be at Ascension Lutheran Church, 1326 Collingwood Avenue, Toledo, Ohio, where she had been a charter member. Service will be at 10 am, Saturday, April 24, 2010 with internment at Woodlawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent in Charlesetta’s name to the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, or Haitian Earthquake Relief of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Funeral arrangements are being done by the Sujowski Funeral Home. A condolence page is available at http://www.sujkowskirossford.com/index.cfm .

1 March 2009 – Sunday

I continue to get asked, “What’s it like to be back?” I know that most are asking about the sabbatical time, but that was almost nine months ago. Occasionally I respond with comments about being back to teaching and working at the seminary, because the adjustment from not having a strict calendar to meeting the schedules of committees, students and classes has been a shock to the system.

I noted in an earlier post that the change in schedule has adjusted the number of visits that I have with my mother. The adjustment to being electronically available has been the most severe, as I’ve gone from 109 to 145 friends on Facebook, and I’ve only initiated one contact. Trying to write (a couple of projects need my attention) is almost as taxing as trying to finish the Doctorate. While I have talked about shedding and shredding, that task continues, as Dawn’s position at the Episcopal Church has come to an end. Both of us are seriously into eliminating the excess of our lives.

Maybe that is the discipline of this Lent. To be about the task of moving forward as unencumbered as possible, Jesus did seem to always travel light. May your Lenten journey be inspired.

Rich