KEEPING IN TOUCH 2013/1

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