Dear Friends
When we think of the Church I wonder what image comes most readily to mind – the building, or the people? We have some beautiful, historic church buildings, it is true, but the Church is the people – the family of God. This is a worldwide family and it’s good to be reminded of that, especially when we have the opportunity to meet Christian brothers and sisters from other countries.
During July the Reverend Moses Thabethe, his wife Thuli and their little boy Lungelo were in our area, staying in Gotham. Unfortunately Hope, their adopted daughter, was unable to come with them. Moses attended the ordination service at Southwell Minster and was at St. Mary’s Church, East Leake, bringing greetings from Natal, during the special service to welcome Claire as our Curate. There were also various social events and services around the Cluster of twelve parishes which gave many of us the opportunity to meet Moses and family. In addition, Thuli spoke at Deanery Synod about her work in South Africa. It was a joy and privilege to have Moses, Thuli and Lungelo with us, and we have now received a letter from Moses, which I hope you will find interesting. Please pray for them, living and working and serving the Lord in a situation very different from our own.
With my love and prayers
Glynis Hetherington
_______________________________________
NEWS FROM NATAL
Greetings from a warm, Natal winter. We travelled safely from Birmingham through Dubai, then to Johannesburg. We arrived in Durban on Saturday (26th) at about 9pm. It was wonderful to see Hope after a whole month of absence. She enjoyed her stay in Pretoria with her uncle and aunt. Lungelo has really emerged out of his shell – perhaps this visit has given him a sense of freedom. Thuli is back at work and on the church front, it’s back to square one!
This is a simple note of thanks to you all for the warm hospitality you showed us. I know that there was a lot of preparation that went into our visit. I think Greg and Anne deserve a special mention as they were our parents, friends and companions for the entire month! I also know that the entire cluster worked together to make our visit comfortable and memorable. Even as I pen these few words, I am struck by the inadequacy of our language in expressing thanks. You have truly blessed us and we have the memory of every encounter written on our hearts.
We haven’t had time to digest all the experiences we had while we were with you. Experiences such as ours cannot be taken lightly, they take time to process. It wasn’t until I started writing this short reflection that I realized that the Companion Link is actually a work of mission – sending forth (silly me, that should have been obvious!). The mission of the church is always to proclaim the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ, in word and deed. It also involves recognizing and acknowledging the new life which God offers to all of us – from the North and the South, the East and the West. That was the reality of our encounter with you as we prayed, laughed and played together!
I remain convinced that one of the objectives of the Companion Link is for us as dioceses and parishes to know that we are not alone in this work of mission – that there are brothers and sisters in other continents who sing the same praises, battle the same demons and seek the same forgiveness from our compassionate God. Your cluster continues to wrestle with this work of mission in real and practical ways, thanks to your visionary leaders!
On our return, we were saddened to learn of the resurgence of xenophobic violence in some parts of the country (especially in the Gauteng Province). Please pray with us that these and other ills of our time may end. We also ask that you continue to pray for the full recovery of our bishop, Rubin Phillip. He is recuperating well, albeit slow.
So what next about the Link? Well, here are some words of comfort and hope that Thuli and I learned from one of you:
“Thank you Lord, for this life-enhancing experience,
help us to know what to do with it…”
This prayer sums up my aspirations for the Link. While we celebrate these face – to-face encounters, we also ask God to help us remain open to new possibilities in building our Communion.
With love and prayers,
Moses Thabethe (Natal Link Officer)
When we think of the Church I wonder what image comes most readily to mind – the building, or the people? We have some beautiful, historic church buildings, it is true, but the Church is the people – the family of God. This is a worldwide family and it’s good to be reminded of that, especially when we have the opportunity to meet Christian brothers and sisters from other countries.
During July the Reverend Moses Thabethe, his wife Thuli and their little boy Lungelo were in our area, staying in Gotham. Unfortunately Hope, their adopted daughter, was unable to come with them. Moses attended the ordination service at Southwell Minster and was at St. Mary’s Church, East Leake, bringing greetings from Natal, during the special service to welcome Claire as our Curate. There were also various social events and services around the Cluster of twelve parishes which gave many of us the opportunity to meet Moses and family. In addition, Thuli spoke at Deanery Synod about her work in South Africa. It was a joy and privilege to have Moses, Thuli and Lungelo with us, and we have now received a letter from Moses, which I hope you will find interesting. Please pray for them, living and working and serving the Lord in a situation very different from our own.
With my love and prayers
Glynis Hetherington
_______________________________________
NEWS FROM NATAL
Greetings from a warm, Natal winter. We travelled safely from Birmingham through Dubai, then to Johannesburg. We arrived in Durban on Saturday (26th) at about 9pm. It was wonderful to see Hope after a whole month of absence. She enjoyed her stay in Pretoria with her uncle and aunt. Lungelo has really emerged out of his shell – perhaps this visit has given him a sense of freedom. Thuli is back at work and on the church front, it’s back to square one!
This is a simple note of thanks to you all for the warm hospitality you showed us. I know that there was a lot of preparation that went into our visit. I think Greg and Anne deserve a special mention as they were our parents, friends and companions for the entire month! I also know that the entire cluster worked together to make our visit comfortable and memorable. Even as I pen these few words, I am struck by the inadequacy of our language in expressing thanks. You have truly blessed us and we have the memory of every encounter written on our hearts.
We haven’t had time to digest all the experiences we had while we were with you. Experiences such as ours cannot be taken lightly, they take time to process. It wasn’t until I started writing this short reflection that I realized that the Companion Link is actually a work of mission – sending forth (silly me, that should have been obvious!). The mission of the church is always to proclaim the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ, in word and deed. It also involves recognizing and acknowledging the new life which God offers to all of us – from the North and the South, the East and the West. That was the reality of our encounter with you as we prayed, laughed and played together!
I remain convinced that one of the objectives of the Companion Link is for us as dioceses and parishes to know that we are not alone in this work of mission – that there are brothers and sisters in other continents who sing the same praises, battle the same demons and seek the same forgiveness from our compassionate God. Your cluster continues to wrestle with this work of mission in real and practical ways, thanks to your visionary leaders!
On our return, we were saddened to learn of the resurgence of xenophobic violence in some parts of the country (especially in the Gauteng Province). Please pray with us that these and other ills of our time may end. We also ask that you continue to pray for the full recovery of our bishop, Rubin Phillip. He is recuperating well, albeit slow.
So what next about the Link? Well, here are some words of comfort and hope that Thuli and I learned from one of you:
“Thank you Lord, for this life-enhancing experience,
help us to know what to do with it…”
This prayer sums up my aspirations for the Link. While we celebrate these face – to-face encounters, we also ask God to help us remain open to new possibilities in building our Communion.
With love and prayers,
Moses Thabethe (Natal Link Officer)
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