From the South African Council of Churches
In this month of reconciliation, it is fitting for us to remember the life well-lived of our former President, Tata Nelson Mandela, whose legacy we come face-to-face with daily, as we navigate the road to a truly reconciled South Africa.
The South African Council of Churches (SACC) will, during this Month of Reconciliation, launch on December 16, a campaign called “The South Africa We Pray For’. This campaign returns the spot-light and focus onto the issue of the healing and reconciliation for our country, its people, and the conditions under which they live.
It invokes the memory of Madiba, the premiere champion of reconciliation, whose life will be commemorated in churches across the country on Sunday, December 6 2015. Mandela, on the occasion of receiving the Truth & Reconciliation Commission Report in October 1998, made this profound statement on reconciliation:
“Reconciliation requires that we work together to defend our democracy and the humanity proclaimed by our Constitution. It demands that we join hands…to eradicate the poverty spawned by a system that thrived on the deprivation of the majority. Reconciliation requires that we end malnutrition, homelessness and ignorance. It demands that we put shoulder to the wheel to end crime and corruption.”
In remembering Mandela, now, more than ever, we need to challenge all forms of inequality, in order to experience the life that Tata believed in and lived for, and for which he was prepared to die. We therefore call on all churches around the country to remember Nelson Mandela this weekend, on the anniversary of his departure, with the understanding that much was achieved in his lifetime – but that more still needs to be done to achieve true reconciliation.
As the SACC, we say ‘Yes’ to reconciliation between blacks and whites, but also:
– ‘Yes’ to reversing poverty and inequality to reconcile the lot of marginalized poor people with the fortunes of the country.
– ‘Yes’ to economic transformation for a reconciled economic dispensation, where all have a chance for a decent living.
– ‘Yes’ to facing up to the brokenness of our family life so as to usher in a reconciled existence for future generations.
– ‘Yes’ to confronting corruption, maladministration and the decline of public trust, to reconcile those who lose hope, with the possibility of a good democratic practice, and thus nurture and anchor democracy.
The South Africa we pray for and shall work for, is a just, reconciled and equitable society, free of racial, tribal, xenophobic and gender prejudices, free of corruption and deprivation, a country of ecological justice, and with enough food and shelter for every citizen; and for each child born to grow to their God-given potential.
This is the South Africa we believe God intends for us.
This is The South Africa Mandela believed in.
This is the South Africa We Pray For, and shall work for.
