Church welcomes Zuma’s ‘soul-searching’

South African churches gave a cautious welcome (23/2) to President Zuma’s call for a
Church welcomes Zuma’s ‘soul-searching’national dialogue on morality. The National Church Leaders’ Consultation said President Zuma’s proposal to examine the soul of South Africa was ‘timely’. The ‘common values and principles’ that formed the country under the leadership of President Mandela had been ‘substantially squandered’, the leaders said. The president’s recent fathering of an illegitimate child provoked strong criticism and was seen as a sign of the country’s declining moral standards. President Zuma told South Africa’s Sunday Times there was a need to agree the ‘values that define a common South African identity’. South Africa’s church leaders are keen to clarify this and establish the ‘sacred’ and ‘inviolable’ value of all human life, regardless of ‘race, class, nationality, religion and political persuasion’.

Source: Church of England Newspaper (5/3)

South African government must find new purpose

South Africa’s leaders must move beyond political slogans of past generations and address the ‘messiness’ of democracy and social justice, the Archbishop of Cape Town has said. Archbishop Thabo Makgoba said the government must move on from the victim mindset of the apartheid era and respond to current challenges. ‘The bondage is over and God’s comfort has been made real to us,’ he said. ‘It’s our turn to be channels of his comfort’. Now South Africa faces many ‘complicated’ issues ‘with no big simple answers’ and leaders must move out of their ‘comfort zones’, he said. Archbishop Makgoba also gave a rebuke to President Jacob Zuma who said at an ANC rally last week, that the party ‘will rule until the Son of Man comes’. The archbishop feared it could give sanction to some who might resort to unconstitutional actions to prolong ANC rule indefinitely.

Source: Church of England Newspaper (3/7)

Urgent Call to Rebuild Zimbabwe

NEWS RELEASE

Monday 21st April 2008

Churches concern at Zimbabwe violence

The Methodist and United Reformed Churches have together voiced their concern about increasing levels of violence and political intimidation, linked to the delay in announcing the result of Zimbabwe’s presidential election.

Commenting on the precarious situation, the Revd Dr Stephen Orchard, Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church said: ‘The Zimbabwe Election Commission owes it to the long-suffering people of Zimbabwe to announce the presidential result without further delay, to enable people to begin the urgent task of rebuilding their shattered lives and economy. We condemn the campaign of violence and intimidation that has been embarked upon by members of the ruling party, following the announcement of the parliamentary election results. We also believe that people who hold power in any country have a first duty to care for the poor and vulnerable rather than for themselves’.

Reflecting on the escalating humanitarian crisis, the General Secretary of the Methodist Church, the Revd David Deeks, said ‘The impact on the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans has been immense. The people of Zimbabwe appear to have voted for change and the leaders of Southern African states bear a huge responsibility to ensure that the will of the people is respected. If that doesn’t happen, the crisis in Zimbabwe could have an increasingly devastating impact on the entire region’.

The two churches expressed their solidarity and support in prayer and action with their partner churches and agencies in Zimbabwe and pledged to continue working together to achieve peace, justice and prosperity there. They illustrated the plight of Zimbabweans with statistics, including:

INFLATION In 1987 inflation averaged 11.9 percent. It surged to an official record of 100,586 percent in January 2008, but economic experts say the real rate is much higher.

LIFE EXPECTANCY Average life expectancy dropped from 63 years in 1990 to 37.3 years in 2005, according to World Bank and U.N. figures.

UNEMPLOYMENT Estimated at about 80% of the working population.



The Methodist Church has about 295,000 members and 800,000 people are connected with the Church. It has about 5,800 churches in Great Britain, and also maintains links with other Methodist churches totalling a worldwide membership of 70 million. www.methodist.org.uk.

The United Reformed Church comprises one hundred thousand people in 1600 congregations. It has brought together English Presbyterians, English, Welsh and Scottish Congregationalists and members of the Churches of Christ. Worldwide, more than 70 million Christians are members of the Reformed family of churches, the largest Protestant tradition. The name ‘Reformed’ is used because the churches began to emerge with reform movements in the sixteenth century. www.urc.org.uk.

For more information contact:

Stuart Dew
Press Officer
United Reformed Church House
86 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9RT
tel. 020 7916 2020 or 07976 753950
e-mail stuart.dew@urc.org.uk

Anna Drew
Media and Information Assistant
Methodist Church House, 25 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JR
tel. 020 7467 5191 Fax 020 7467 5229
e-mail drewa@methodistchurch.org.uk

Toby Scott
Media Relations Officer
Methodist Church House, 25 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JR
tel. 020 7467 5221 Fax 020 7467 5229 Mobile/Out of hours 07881 783 812
e-mail scottt@methodistchurch.org.uk