Dear
Friends,
Greetings
in the precious name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I trust
that you are well in the grace and love of our Lord. It is hard to
believe that we are already in June and in the middle of 2013. It’s
amazing how time seems to fly! I feel a little bit like the Apostle
Paul who was always meaning to write to the church but was overtaken
by circumstances. But thank God that he did write as centuries later
we are able to read and learn from his great Epistles.
In
recent times my devotional readings have been reflecting on the
prophecies against Israel because of her disobedience and lack of
memory of God’s grace and love. For example, I was led to Ezekiel
13: 1-9 where we read about the prophecy against the false prophets
who have mislead the people of Israel with “false words and lying
visions”. In such a context God declares “then you will know that
I am the Sovereign Lord.” I often wondered in these devotional
readings whether God is attempting to tell me something about the
church today. We sometimes seem to go about what we do in our own way
rather than seeking to follow God’s agenda and as the prophet
Isaiah reminds us “God’s ways are very different from our ways”.
We need to stop, reflect, repent and come back to the Sovereign Lord.
South
Africa is going through very challenging times as we face political
concerns, unrest in the mines and other labour industries,
corruption, crime and violence. This is, of course, true for Zambia
and Zimbabwe as well as these countries face their own challenges. We
are pleased that Zimbabwe has finally agreed on the country’s
Constitution and now we await the national general elections. All of
these experiences remind us that the Church cannot sleep nor slumber.
We need to stand up and be counted as we declare the presence of the
Sovereign Lord.
I
am pleased to report that there is a resurgence of a strong
ecumenical voice in South Africa.
Churches
are coming to realize that we need to be together, we need a joint
Christian witness to be more effective and we need to exercise a
joint prophetic witness as we address the issues in South Africa. The
UPCSA has been part of these initiatives and is playing a significant
role in gathering the Christian voice in South Africa and beyond.
Likewise, our Church in Zambia and Zimbabwe are doing the same. We
give thanks and praise to God for these opportunities availed to the
UPCSA.
I
was grateful to attend the inauguration of Pope Francis earlier this
year. It was a most memorable experience seeing the church in all its
splendor and glory. The new Pope’s focus on the poor, ecumenism,
inter-faith dialogue and peace in the world is all commendable. The
World Communion of Reformed Churches has been having dialogues with
the Roman Catholic Church for a number of years now. It is our prayer
that with the leadership provided by the new Pope that we will gain
even deeper strides in the formation of more meaningful relationships
and conversations in the area of Christian unity and witness.
The
UPCSA has implemented its new committee structure with 14 Assembly
Committees instead of 66 since the 2012 General Assembly. I am
pleased to inform you that this new structure is largely in place and
taking good shape, addressing a number of significant areas of
ministry within our Church. Most of these committees will share at
the July Executive Commission this year the work they have engaged,
the progress they have made thus far and their vision and plan for
the next few years. We will share more about this in the next
Presbyterian Link which
will be available in August.
The
2012 General Assembly agreed that we should appoint External
Mediators to help resolve the conflicts within the Church
Associations. I am pleased to report that we have agreed on who
should be the External Mediators for this process and plans are in
place for this to take place, hopefully at the end of September this
year. Please let us continue to pray for this process and seek to
work towards unity at all levels of the Church.
We
are currently working on the Presbytery Empowerment Plan and in due
course we will map out a strategic plan to equip, assist and mobilize
Presbyteries. The strategic direction of the UPCSA
Vision
and Mission Priorities is to help support the development of
missional congregations. Our focused interest as a denomination is to
mobilize our congregations to reach out into the communities in which
they are found and to impact it with the love and presence of Jesus
Christ.
The
purpose of the church is to proclaim Christ and God’s Sovereign
presence in a hurting and suffering world. We need to look more
externally rather than be lost somewhat exclusively in the internal
matters of the church.
The
Executive Commission will be taking place from the 9th
- 12th
July within the bounds of
the Free State Presbytery, in Kimberley. Please pray for the Local
Organising Committee, the Presbytery, the Moderator and team who will
lead the EXCOM, Conveners of Assembly Committees and all
commissioners. This year, we will be introducing a new session at the
meeting in which the committees responsible for the Mission
Priorities of the UPCSA will present their work and converse with
congregations about what is happening on the ground with the
objective of attempting to address the needs within the local church
– this is part of our endeavour to support our congregations in
what they do. So, you can see that we are serious about building
bridges in our church structures to reach and support local
congregations where mission really happens.
Please
remember Papers
for the Executive Commission are
available on the website: www.upcsa.org.za
Finally,
I wish to encourage all our ministers, elders, leaders at all levels
in the UPCSA and members in the pews to continue to faithfully serve
God with joy, devotion and love. There is nothing better than serving
God and others in God’s name. Sometimes this may not sound true
because church can be disappointing and even tiring and hurtful but
consider the example of Jesus who served faithfully in obedience and
humility, even until death on a cross. It was the loving presence of
God that raised and exalted him. This same God desires and longs to
do the same for us as the Holy Spirit works in us and through us. So,
no matter where you are in your personal journey and experiences know
this much to be true: God rules! Why can we say this confidently?
Simply
because God declares: “… you will know that I am the Sovereign
Lord.” (Ezekiel 13:9). God is Sovereign!
Stay
Blessed!
Jerry
Pillay
