The Unexpected Homilist

During our time at the College of the Transfiguration (COTT) we were assigned to formation groups. These groups are similar VTS’s Friday morning worship groups, but also have to plan a worship service once a semester. Well it turns out that the time at COTT was to be worship planning for the formation group I was assigned to. Now, I don’t know about you, but for me one of the most consistently frustrating experiences is worship planning by committee. Other contextual theology students were enjoying Braais (A South African BBQ) and trips to the beach with their formation groups. Meanwhile, I was stuck planning a worship service that no one could agree on or even find motivation for. So like most things that lack motivation, it floundered to the last available moment (the night before) to do any real planning.

On the eve of this service, tension was high. Group members were arguing and disagreeing about the form, subject, and even the time of the service. As the meeting began, the service was planned for the following evening and because I had another obligation that would prevent me from participating, I tuned out for a while as the students argued. After about twenty minutes I looked up to realize that everyone was looking at me.

Someone repeated the question that I had apparently completely missed. “Would you like to preach?”

Of course, my reaction was, “uh, what?”

It turns out that as I was dazing they had not only decided to move the service to the morning, but also that since I would then available I should preach. They had come up with a concept for Women’s Day where men would show penance for their treatment of women and I would preach on the Transfiguration and somehow tie that in to the penitential theme. Oh, and did I mention, all in less than eight hours. I stammered a reluctant, “yes” , while glancing about the room hoping someone else would volunteer. No one did.The next morning, I presented a brief homily on how Jesus was changed before the disciple’s eyes, yet all they could see was the same old patriarchs of Moses and Elijah. I wanted to show that we can limit the transforming power of Christ when we perceive it within our previous experience. It seemed to go over well and I receive some compliments. But, as I was preaching without text, at some point I called Jesus a “rock star” and I am still trying to figure out what that means.

-Dean

The Veld Fire

The country of South Africa offers many opportunities to see nature in the raw in its many incredible game reserves and parks, but nothing could have prepared us for the awesome power of a genuine South African “veld fire.”

We were scheduled to spend a relaxing three nights and four days at the Mariya uMama weThemba monastery just outside of Grahamstown. We arrived just after lunch and I immediately took to the comfy bed to enjoy a nap. I awoke a little groggily in time for Vespers. As I made my way from the dormitory to the church, I happened to notice that things were looking a little foggy. I shrugged and thought perhaps rain was in the offing – this part of the country hadn’t had rain in four months. But, just as I was about to enter the chapel, I chanced to look far off to my left and received a shock in the valley below the monastery.

After Vespers, we spent the better part of the next few hours watching the fire gradually develop and consume more and more of the valley below the monastery. We were continually reassured by the fire fighters that the monastery would not be threatened and that in fact they were lighting a “backfire” to prevent the spread. They warned us it would look worse at first but then get much better.

Well, it looked worse all right…and worse…and worse…

The fire had now spread into what could best be referred to as a “lake of fire,” and it began to threaten the hillside that runs up to the monastery. Although we were worried, we saw people working to control the fire and keep it from jumping the pathways up the hillside. This led to an amusing conversation between myself and Sara Shisler of Yale:

Sara – “Umm…guys, the fire is really starting to come towards u

Gates – “Yeah, but the guys in flame retardant suits seem to have it under control. So I’m sure we’ll be okay.”

Sara – “Flame retardant suits?! Do you really think people who are fighting the fire with a pair of pants tied to a stick are wearing flame retardant suits?!”

Sure enough, the weapon of choice for the local fire brigade? A damp pair of pants tied onto a five foot stick. Improbably, the efforts of the fire fighters seemed to be working and coupled with the calm confidence of the monks as to our safety, we all elected to go to sleep around 10.

Fast forward to 1am when a knock came at my door. It was Steve Domienik of EDS reporting, “The fire is coming much closer, we may want to think about getting out of here.”

At this point, we went outside and found that the fire had gone from fascinating event to scary tragedy, and that the efforts of the fire fighters had failed completely. The fire was not more than 10 feet from the monastery chapel itself and moving in. One of the monks was using a garden hose to fight it back. Thus followed a five minute period of shock and confusion in which scenes of devastating California forest fires flashed before our eyes and everyone asked why exactly no one had evacuated us yet.

The monks however remained generally calm in the face of this seemingly inevitable tragedy. They spread out and began to do their part to fight off the flames. We too, spurred on by their example, joined in the fight and soon found our worries drowned out by the effort of fighting the fire. Soon the fourteen or so of us (eight of us and six monks) who were there had a bucket line going on alongside a few people with wet towels who were trying to beat out the fire. We worked for about four hours. The fire gradually surrounded the entire monastery, although thankfully never all at once, so our escape route was always available if necessary.

Our efforts finally concluded around 6am when Vigils was called and we all blearily went to the chapel for some much needed prayers of thanksgiving and deliverance. For once, the usual incense of the monastery chapel was not needed, as each of us was thoroughly smoky from the fire. Although several fires continued to burn around the monastery grounds, we had come to the realization that they would eventually burn themselves out without much risk to any of the buildings.

The monastery was ultimately saved and not damaged – other than torched phone lines and a generally smoky air. However, the fire continued to work its way along the countryside, burning thousands of acres of land and severely damaging farms, a few homes, and a nearby game reserve. The South African Army spent much of the next two days fighting the fires. Our prayers continue to go out to the people who were left without home or livelihood, but we are also grateful that the fire did not do more damage.

It is hard to believe that these fires are actually good for the land. But in fact the fires are not only good, but essential. Many creatures prefer shorter grasses and the burned lands provide them with much needed habitat. Many plants have seeds that are only activated for germination after fires scorch them. We initially saw only the tragedy of the burning, but the monks of Mariya uMama weThemba took the time to explain the good that the fire brought in the face of the horror we saw. For South Africans, these fires are a fact of life. And although a few homes were tragically destroyed, to our knowledge no one was injured.

The fire did leave me with a burning question (if you’ll forgive the pun):

Does God redeem a tragic situation or does God bring about good through imposing suffering?

Peace to all of you and I look forward to getting back to the USA in a few days.

-Gates

Addo Elephant National Park

We do, from time to time, take off and see the glorious country around us and all the flora and fauna it has to offer. Saturday, eight of us borrowed a car from the college for a day trip down to Addo Elephant National Park. The eight of us were made up of four of contextual theology students (Suzanne, Sara, Dean, and I), three students from the College of the Transfiguration (Vongai, Emilio, and nKanyiso), and another American participating in the Episcopal Church's YASC program (Young Adult Service Corps).

We learned that we could actually visit two game parks that afternoon, because one of the swankier private reserves, Shamwari, has a free area anyone can drive through. Shamwari was known to have giraffes which Addo regrettably does not. Except for the occasional monkey, however, the trip through Shamwari was largely uneventful until the very end. As we came to the other end of the park, we thought we saw a grey shape a ways down the side road and we decided to go ahead and take a gander. As we drove up, we realized that these grey shapes were in fact two rhinocerouses? rhinoceri? rhinoceroos?...well rhinos anyway. The exciting thing is that the rhinos were right next to the road we were diving on, not four feet from the road. Thus followed the most comical portion of our trip as our car at times inched forward towards the rhinos and at times jolted back as one of the passengers panicked. Windows went up and down in direct proportion to the closeness of the rhinos. In the end, the braver (or stupider) group won out and we came up to the rhinos who were not five feet from the car at the closest.

In a day full of great animal viewing experiences, our first was in my opinion the best. To see a rhinocerous so close, with no zoo-type barrier between us was fascinating and intense. I even managed to capture a video of one of them with just about no zoom:


It's hard to imagine just how huge they are until they are right there. Eventually, we escaped the rhino trap with our fears about being charged somewhat allayed.

Speaking of huge, the elephants at Addo were almost as good as the rhinos. And they were certainly more plentiful. Just as we entered the park, we encountered a horde of elephants devouring a tree. I use the term "tree" loosely. It was basically a large thornbush. And by thorns, I really mean 3 inch spikes. Didn't bother elephants in the least. Their skin is thick and their trunk allows them to put the branch far back in their mouth where their massive teeth can go to work and crush the pricklies.

These elephants locked trunks in a faceoff.

We spent the rest of the day watching elephants drink and walk around, laughing at some energetic warthogs, admiring some zebras, spotting several meerkats, trying to correctly name the various antelopes, and eventually hoping a lion would show up and try to eat something. We were originally just looking for some lazing lions, but as dusk drew nigh and our frustration grew, we got a little bloodthirsty. Well, the animal pacifists amongst us can relax, the lions were content to be their normal lazy selves, and we didn't spot any.

We'll save the lions for another day, but the day we had was a blast. Fun, friends, fellowship, and fauna, who could ask for anything more. After seeing these beautiful animals up close and personal, I can't imagine how anyone would ever consider shooting one for a little ivory or a knife handle. God's work was clearly apparent in myriad incredible creatures and the breathtaking landscapes.

Peace to you all,

Gates

Worshiping at the Apostolic Faith Mission

So far this contextual study program has been challenging on many fronts. It’s very tiring for me to always remember names, names that are difficult to pronounce and have no English parallel. It has also been tiring to have to be the initiator of conversations. My little introverted self is being stretched, but perhaps in a good way.

From the first week I had the intention of visiting an inculturated church – a church that incorporates forms of uniquely African religion with Christianity. To do this I had to step well outside the Anglican Church into something called the Apostolic Faith Mission. Imagine for a moment a Pentecostal church with its simple doctrinal preaching mixed with an African Tribal Priest (think of the priest from The Lion King.) There were, as well, repetitive rhythmic call-response hymns and associated movement that was not quite dancing, but more than swaying. In many ways it was fun, in other ways it was quite foreign and I felt very clumsy even though I earned a compliment for trying.

There were probably about twelve of us gathered (a rather significant number for something known as an Apostolic mission) in a building that was little more than a lean-to shack built from looked to be a mixture of cardboard and corrugated metal. It was located in the Grahamstown Township, also known as a “location”. This is a euphemistic word reclaimed from Apartheid when black Africans were removed and relocated to these areas.

The preaching rose in great crescendos while the pastor moved about with a cane that was thumped against the floor as punctuation to his point and usually followed by a trail of amens or alleluias. The entire sermon if strung end to end lasted about an hour and a half. Two texts were used: Psalm 8 and Matthew 26 (I was never really sure what verses were used). The text was used only to illuminate doctrine. There was no experiential preaching here or even textual interpretation. As best I can recall the entire sermon was on salvation, lots of references to the “blood of Jesus”. There was little hope placed in this world and everything good was for the life to come.

The men, all two of us, sat on one side of the room while the women were on the other side (dressed with heads covered and many in the Mother’s Guild dresses which look like a white Salvation Army uniform with a blue sash). The priest wore a similar uniform to the Mother’s Guild, but his jacket resembled a doctor’s white lab coat over which he wore a blue sash like a deacon’s stole and carried the previously mentioned cane or in this case a short metal rod.

To close the service the priest brought in the “healing water” that was somehow revealed to the prophetess and founder of the church (I still need to research this, but it sounds a lot like Joseph Smith). We each drank the healing water and were anointed and blessed by the priest after which people danced and vocalized when moved by the spirit. All of this only took three hours. Oh, and did I mention that the whole thing was in Xhosa, the priest was kind enough to occasionally translate for me giving the whole experience a very personal touch.

Overall, it was certainly outside of my experience, and if I was in the States I would have ran as far and as fast as I could. But I gave it a chance here in Africa and I have to admit there is something enticing about it. But don’t worry; I have no intention of making anyone dance in the spirit in my ministry.

-Dean

The Isibindi Project in Alice

Without a doubt, the most profound experience of this trip thus far has been centered around the Isibindi project we visited in Alice, South Africa. The town of Alice is most well known as the location of the University of Fort Hare, at which a large number of the current political figures in South Africa were educated, including Nelson Mandela himself. Alice itself is not a well to do University town like Graham's Town. Graham's Town itself has a great deal of poverty in the township, but Alice itself is poverty-stricken.

We haven't really hit on it yet in the blog, but HIV/AIDS is perhaps the number one problem in South Africa today. It is estimated that as of 2006, 29.1 percent of all pregnant women in South Africa were infected with HIV. That is a mind-numbing statistic. I won't get all into the reasons for this because that is a topic for another time, but suffice it to say that with all the HIV infected pregnant women, this leads to an extreme number of maternal orphans. In most cases, these children have lost their fathers as well to HIV.

The Isibindi project in Alice, as well as the 45 other locations around the country is a response to the poor children left behind. Isibindi means "courage" and the goal is to help orphaned children acquire the skills they need to survive and when possible to give them back a bit of their childhood. The Isibindi program in Alice is a joint effort between the Anglican Diocese of Grahamstown and the National Association of Child Care Workers (NACCW).

The purpose of Isibindi is to train women in the actual community to work with these orphans, some of whom live with grannies and others who live without any parental figure at all. Isibindi works to keep children in their own context, often living in their family home in their home communities. Unlike countries like the United States, orphans are so prevalent, it is impossible in many cases to place them in foster care. Estimates projected that by the end of 2008, there will be 1.5 million orphaned children in South Africa. A harrowing number in itself, it is made all the more poignant when one realizes that there are only 47 million people living here, of that around 15 million are children. Meaning that roughly 10% of all children in South Africa are orphans.

These orphans face terrible struggles: lack of income, physical and sexual abuse, lack of education, malnourishment, etc. Many of the children themselves are living with HIV and have no access to ARV medicines to help them. It is in the midst of this pain and sorrow, that the child care workers of Isibindi come to provide these children with love and care. Isibindi is about local communities, and so the workers themselves are always trained from within the community. Thus, lives are transformed not only with the orphans, but within the families and friends of the child care workers themselves. These women and men (although the women vastly outnumber the men, but more on that later) spend time each day with these children and grandmothers helping them learn to manage their finances, prepare healthy meals, go to school, grieve for their losses, obtain medicine, and play. Playing is something these children have largely lost as they are forced to assume adult roles often well before they are even teenagers.

The child care workers become a part of each and every family. They look after the well being of the children, advocating with all sorts of agencies, such as the government when their parents’ estates have not been able to be claimed. They also help advocate for children with schools, when the fees cannot be paid, even at times finding better schools for particularly gifted children. The workers in Alice often drive 150KM each way to East London to get ARV medications for children living with HIV. This is the nearest place to Alice in which these medications can be obtained.

Click HERE for a link to a video about Isibindi in Illinge, nearby to Alice. The two women being interviewed are Monica Vega and Heidi Schmidt, two women living under Roman Catholic orders and devoting their time to supporting three of these projects with their time, energy, and communication skills.

It is heartbreaking to see these children and families torn apart by HIV/AIDS, poverty, and violence, but Isibindi is proving a bright light of hope in these communities. In Alice alone, the 13 child care workers serve about 315 children! Including the nearby Illinge and Ezebeleni projects as well, over 1100 orphaned children are being cared for in this area alone. This is a revolutionary project here in South Africa and one need only visit these families and meet the child care workers to see the wonderful potential for healing and growth that lies within the hearts and minds of the people of South Africa.

Peace to all,

-Gates

P.S. I apologize for the lack of photographs of the Isibindi project. We were asked ahead of time to leave our cameras in our bags and immerse ourselves fully in the experience.

P.P.S. Some other links on the Isibindi projects:
A Blog on one person's trip to visit Isibindi in Illinge
The National Association of Child Care Workers in South Africa
The Anglican Diocese of Grahamstown
The home page of the Isibindi Model at the NACCW