Hi friends,
Well, the internet is a little spotty. I will try to get new posts to you as much as possible! Hopefully I will have more luck with uploading photos later, too.
Tonight w
e were joyfully and graciously welcomed by All Soul's Parish in Tsakane, Gauteng for the opening Eucharist (see photo at left). The parish runs a very effective HIV/AIDS ministry and day care center and showed us tremendous hospitality. As we arrived by buses, the community was gathered around singing, waving TEAM flags, dancing, and just generally doing all they could to welcome us. The 2 1/2 hour Eucharist was amazing, something like I had never experienced before. To look around and see the very diverse faces of my Anglican brothers and sisters reminded me of why those relationships are so important: that's what the kingdom of God looks like. All these faces gathered together worshipping the living God, embracing our differences as opportunity rather than obstacle.
Yesterday, when our flight began the descent into Jo-burg, a brief introductory video appeared on the screens in front of us. It relayed the beauty, warmth, and prophetic history of this place. There was a line that stood out to me: Welcome to South Africa, where 9 indigenous languages are still spoken, none of which has a word that means "stranger".
Well, the internet is a little spotty. I will try to get new posts to you as much as possible! Hopefully I will have more luck with uploading photos later, too.
Tonight w
e were joyfully and graciously welcomed by All Soul's Parish in Tsakane, Gauteng for the opening Eucharist (see photo at left). The parish runs a very effective HIV/AIDS ministry and day care center and showed us tremendous hospitality. As we arrived by buses, the community was gathered around singing, waving TEAM flags, dancing, and just generally doing all they could to welcome us. The 2 1/2 hour Eucharist was amazing, something like I had never experienced before. To look around and see the very diverse faces of my Anglican brothers and sisters reminded me of why those relationships are so important: that's what the kingdom of God looks like. All these faces gathered together worshipping the living God, embracing our differences as opportunity rather than obstacle.Yesterday, when our flight began the descent into Jo-burg, a brief introductory video appeared on the screens in front of us. It relayed the beauty, warmth, and prophetic history of this place. There was a line that stood out to me: Welcome to South Africa, where 9 indigenous languages are still spoken, none of which has a word that means "stranger".
As we arrived and then worshipped together in Tsakane, I could not imagine that any of us was considered a stranger by the people there. We were treated, in fact, like highly honored guests. (I was even asked for my autograph by a young girl! See our photo at the right.) As the Archbishop of Canterbury preached on the parable of the lost sheep, describing how none of us is whole without the other, that in the heavenly choir God listens not for who is the loudest, but to the voice which isn't being heard, I gave thanks for all those voices I have already heard here in South Africa, voices that even in the short time I've been here have brought me to a new understanding of our global relationships and our mission of reconciliation.
One of those voices came from a conference worker who met us at the airport and sat next to me on a bench as we waited for our shuttle. Her name was Mami Carole. (Since I'm Amy Carol, we felt a kinship immediately!) She told me she was from Soweto and wanted to know what I knew about it. I had just seen a docu
mentary about Mama Jackie's school there, so we chatted about that. We talked about the history of violence there and its ongoing legacy. "It's just that people are so poor" she said. "The poverty destroys people." After we talked about why our group was here, she shared with me the story of watching her closest brother die from AIDS at the age of 30. We talked about the complicated web of poverty, violence, HIV, hunger. "But," she said, "it's not all bad in Soweto. There are very good things there." Having spent only a few minutes with Mami from Soweto, I had no doubt about the very good things there.
mentary about Mama Jackie's school there, so we chatted about that. We talked about the history of violence there and its ongoing legacy. "It's just that people are so poor" she said. "The poverty destroys people." After we talked about why our group was here, she shared with me the story of watching her closest brother die from AIDS at the age of 30. We talked about the complicated web of poverty, violence, HIV, hunger. "But," she said, "it's not all bad in Soweto. There are very good things there." Having spent only a few minutes with Mami from Soweto, I had no doubt about the very good things there.This work, all of it--the MDGs, Creating a Culture of Peace, trying to be a global church--this work is not about fixing a problem. It's about finding transformed wholeness by seeking and serving Christ in all persons; it's about living into our baptismal reality of being One Body; its about listening for the lost voice in the midst of an often cacophonous choir so that God's beautiful chorus might be heard.
