SARK se Konferensie Verklaring 2010 "TRIENNIAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE"

South Africa Council of Churches
Triennial National Conference 18-19 August 2010
Conference Statement

The SACC held its Triennial Conference on 18-19 August 2010 at Lakeview Conference Centre in Kempton Park. We met under the theme “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God and trust also in me” (John 14:1). As we met, the whole country was troubled by a massive strike involving public sector workers such as teachers and nurses. Children at school and patients in public hospitals are poised to be the worst victims of this massive strike. This statement seeks to capture the mood of the conference and some of the most urgent issues discussed.

The Triennial Conference provided an opportunity for the SACC to introspect and to talk frankly about the state of the ecumenical movement in South Africa. Conference contends that the ‘heart of the country’ is in turmoil; both church and country need to look into the mirror and discern what is going wrong. But it is not enough for the church to be concerned only about itself, just as it is not enough for our public and political leaders to be concerned only about them-selves. We are concerned that some member churches may have grown insular. We are concerned that they may not have attained the inspiration they derived from the Council for years before the dawn of democracy in South Africa. In reading the signs of the times, the Triennial Conference discerns a sense of panic and desperation in our land. These signs of desperation can be discerned among others from these observations:

• The politics of disgrace have grown and grown more sophisticated.
• Issues of moral leadership and succession have become important in the church, in the public and private sectors.
• The poor that continue to become poorer – hence the service delivery protests.
• Corruption and the politics of the belly remain high in both the civil and private sector.
• Violence, especially violence against women remains unacceptably high.
• Service delivery protests and frequent industrial actions seem to become a permanent mode of communication between government and citizens, employers and employees.

Seeking a heart that is un-troubled in our troubled times, the Triennial Conference was inspired by inputs from leading theologians and Church leaders. Conference was encouraged to seek more unity among churches, to enhance clarity on the essence of our Christian faith in public life and to earnestly seek theological and ethical answers for the issues that have not been seriously tackled in our land which are residues of our past. For the duration of the Conference reflections on the theme continued and words of encouragement from sister organizations were a source of hope against hope amidst the challenges that confront the church today.

Conference recognized with sadness that despite the political and economic pro-gress of the last 16 years, the majority of South Africans have not benefitted from this progress.

The levels of poverty have not decreased, while the economy has been relatively stable and rather skewed in its benefits. Whilst South Africa has developed a fantastic Consti-tution and policies on trans-formation, South African society has not in fact changed much from the days of apartheid. The country remains polarized on the basis of race, class and gender, and now the scourge of Afrophobia that is bitterly troubling our land. The Triennial

Conference grappled with these issues and now wishes to pronounce in the following manner:

• Conference calls on churches in South Africa to take a prophetic stance and continue to bear witness with the poor. The South African Council of Churches has historically sought to articulate the voice of Christ into the current context of the nation’s life. Those who were cham-pioned by the SACC in the past - the victims of apartheid - are today very largely the victims of poverty in its many manifestations. We stand in solidarity as Christ himself did, with the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed (Luke 4:18f).
• The challenge to be prophetic is a challenge to our largely Christian society as a whole: we talk about ubuntu/botho, but have largely lost the reality. Inhumanity - rather than compassion, care and fairness - increasingly mani-fests itself towards women, children and foreign nationals. Public life has surrendered to the culture of the belly: too many public figures are no longer feeding the vulnerable of God but eating them. Thus after we speak to ourselves and to our society as a whole, we have to speak to those who are paid by society to serve the needs of the people - that is, the government and its officials.
• The SACC commits itself to working alongside other inter-national ecumenical bodies such as the WCC in providing accompaniment to the people of Palestine at this time.
• Furthermore, Conference implores government, the ruling party and parliament to withdraw the Protection of Personal Information Bill currently under discussion. It is our view that the definition of national interest as well as the powers given to cabinet ministers in terms of classifying and declassifying information has potential to undo the gains made with regards to press freedom, freedom of expression and access to information since 1994. Similarly, while we understand the destruction caused to individuals and society through vindictive reporting and poor quality reporting, we do not think the creation of a Media Tribunal is the way to go. Instead, we call on government to work alongside the Media in strengthening the office of the Press Ombudsman as well as other media monitoring instruments.
• Whilst Conference accepts the freedom of unions and workers to protest, this should not be done in an undignified way. Conference is concerned about the time that has already been lost due to the FiFA World Cup. Needless to state, South Africa cannot afford to sacrifice the future of our young in this dispute. Conference calls on both sides to come to a speedy agreement. We also call on strikers to refrain from infringing on the rights of fellow South Africans in the process of waging their strike.
• The SACC is in a journey of transformation. Conference, prayerfully took resolutions that seek to renew its vision and mission of the SACC in the 21st century. Conference reviewed its vision and mission, took a path to reconfigure its structures to be aligned and will implement this new direction with the newly elected National Executive Committee. Matters relating to personnel will then be dealt with following a strategic plan and budget based on the new vision and mission of the Council.
• To this end, Conference has, as required by the SACC constitution, elected new leadership for the Council.

President: Bishop Joe Seoka,
Senior Vice President: Rev Joy Kronenberg.
Vice President: Dr Kobus Gerber.
We also elected a new National Executive Committee.

As delegates depart from conference, they do so with a clear grasp of the extent to which our country and our world is in turmoil. We are even clearer of the challenges faced by the churches in this country. Yet we depart with a sense of renewed faith in the efficacy of our Lord Jesus Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit and the unfailing care of God our father. We are going out to bear witness to our Lord Jesus Christ in the knowledge that Jesus has already conquered sin.

For more information please contact:
SACC President, Bishop Jo Seoka 082 893 1378
SACC General Secretary, Mr Eddie Makue on 082 853 8781