Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study
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  Wednesday, November 28, 2007    
  Gold Divider Rule
  Republic of South Africa  
             
 

At a gathering in Johannesburg in January 2006, a group of South Africans representing various organizations working on behalf of the poor met with former mission co-workers Susanne Carter and Ken Jones to explore the need for a Joining Hands Against Hunger network on land justice. They first talked about what the concept of land meant to each of them.

Mati Mathabatha insisted, “Land is food. Land is water. Land is life.” Christopher Saaiman added, “Land is security and dignity. Land is family identity for generations. We cannot be without land.” “Given the meaning of land in African cultures,” write Ken and Susanne, “North Americans can hardly begin to understand the deep emotional commitment and spiritual dimensions of the struggle for land justice on this continent.”

The group discussions that ensued reflected the creative tension between those who work hard to make land accessible to the poor and those who dedicate their lives to develop and teach sustainable use of whatever land is available. From either perspective, Ken and Susanne heard from people with tremendous experience, knowledge, and commitment to land justice.

Two groups of participants literally wore their convictions on their T-shirts. The Landless People’s Movement organizes poor and often illiterate people to demand access to land. The Nkuzi Development Association protects the rights of farmworker families threatened by evictions.

Several administrative and imaginative steps will have to be taken before this group can become the core of recognized Joining Hands Against Hunger network in South Africa. But their enthusiasm is high, and as Philemon Talane said during the evaluation period, “We are off to a good start.” As this groups works to bring this vision into reality, Susanne and Ken request prayer for the process and outcome.

Through the years, God’s people have moved from place to place,” writes Janet Guyer, regional AIDS consultant for Southern Africa. “Ours is a history of moving. Sometimes God has called us to lands more fertile and to a place of blessing. Sometimes God has needed to push us into places that are far away and frightening, to find God’s blessing. And sometimes the moves have nothing to do with the will of God but the sinfulness of humanity. Even so, God has continued to care for and bless us. So it is with Davyton Township, east of Johannesburg. Built on the pain of relocation during the apartheid era because black South Africans were living in a place that white South Africans wanted, Davyton has grown through the migration of people moving from rural areas, other urban areas, and simply through the growth of families that came to call this area home. It is now made up of a cross section of people, ranging from those living in comfortable, middle-class homes to those living in high-density areas on the very edge of existence.

Today, some people here are economically secure with stable jobs and are able to care for their families. But this is not the whole picture. Unemployment is near 40 percent and rising, and underemployment is rife. HIV/AIDS has touched almost every family in one way or another. Teenage pregnancy is on the increase. In general, although South Africa appears to be prospering, in Davyton times are hard.

“In this milieu, St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church of the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa finds itself called to care for her members and to reach out to the community with God’s compassionate love, God’s hope, and God’s justice. In 2005, the dream of a way to help feed people in the community became a reality after people were taught more efficient ways to grow vegetables. The first crops were grown on a plot of donated land and in small garden areas around homes. Those first crops were harvested in time to appear on the table at Christmas—yet one more of God’s blessings.”

This is a picture repeated throughout South Africa. God’s blessings growing from seeds of hope in the hands of God’s people, reaching out with God’s love to their communities.

 
             
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Partners/Ministries
South African Council of Churches (SACC): Rev. Dr. Molefe Tsele, general secretary • Evangelical Presbyterian Church in South Africa: Rev. N. Joseph Tshawane, moderator, Rev. Titus R. Mobie, general secretary, Rev. Dixon Masangu, finance officer • Presbyterian Church of Africa: Dr. Jabulani E. Mdlalose, general secretary • Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa (UPCSA): Rev. Dr. Jerry Pillay, moderator, Rev. Vuyani S. Vellem, general secretary • Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA): James Buys, moderator, Rev. John Collin Goeiman, general secretary • Presbytery Partnerships: Presbytery of Donegal, Presbytery of Florida, Presbytery of New York City, North Alabama Presbytery, and Presbytery of Northern New England with the UPCSA; Presbytery of Western New York with the URCSA; Presbytery of Western Reserve with CLEVESA (Cleveland- South Africa)

PC(USA) General Assembly Staff
Mark A. Thomson
Julia A. Thorne
Susan Tickner
Elder Robert L. Tinkham
Irvin Tinley

 
             
  Gold Divider Rule
  Scripture      
  For the day of the Lord is near against all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you (Obad. 15).  
             
  Gold Divider Rule
  Lectionary      
  Ps. 96, 132, 134, 147:1–11
Obad. 15–21
1 Peter 2:1–10; Matt. 19:23–30
 
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