Amptelike Nuusblad : NG
Kerk in Oos-Kaapland
OosKaap eNuus
Visie: Een, heilige, algemene Christelike kerk, die
gemeenskap van die heiliges
Jaargang 6 - Nommer 28 - 4 September
2008 - www.ngkok.co.za/enuus
Progress
Report: Draft Charter of Religious Rights and Freedoms for
Marriage
Course 2008 : Lutheran
Church Springfield, PE
Ds Riaan Terblanche, eersdaags tentmaker-leraar van
Cradock-Moedergemeente, skryf:
Veritas College is besig met die opleiding
van lidmate, kerkraadslede en leraars op verskeie plekke in die Oos-Kaap,
soos Aberdeen, Cradock, Port Elizabeth, Humansdorp, Jeffreysbaai, Mthatha, Molteno en Tarkastad. Ons lei mense op om
eksegese te doen, met ‘n praktiese toepassing op die
lewe van vandag en wat lidmate versterk en toerus met bedieningsvaardighede
soos prediking, die lei van kleingroepe, kinderevangelisasie,
berading, ens. Hierdie opleiding het reeds ‘n
groot impak gehad op die lewe van die kerk in meer as 30 lande rondom die
wêreld.
Veritas College bied vanaf 24 tot 28 November
2008 op Cradock ‘n fasiliteerderskursus van Module 1
vir leraars en kerkleiers aan waarmee hulle toegerus word om hierdie
leierskapsopleiding van Veritas College in hulle eie
gemeentes en/of in naburige gemeentes soos die VGK aan te
bied. Sluitingsdatum vir die kursus is 7 November
2001. Die koste van die kursus is R500 per persoon en sluit
kursusmateriaal en etes in.
Indien u belangstel om die kursus by te woon kan u ‘n
epos skryf of vanaf begin Oktober met my telefonies skakel, omdat ek
Septembermaand in Mosambiek besig sal wees met opleiding. My epos-adres
is riaan@veritascollege.org
Kruisgewys 8/4, September 2008, het pas
verskyn. Dié uitgawe fokus op die MIV/Vigs pandemie. Dit laat
veral ’n meer waarderende lig val op wat wél op die gebied van MIV/Vigs in die kerk
gebeur. In dié stories van hoop wil ons leraars en gemeentes laat moed skep om
te kan onderskei waar op ’n praktiese manier betrokke geraak kan word:
* Die volledige
Kruisgewys 8/4
* Redaksioneel:
Die God van randfigure
* Die
kairos in die MIV/Vigs-krisis - Willie van der Merwe skryf oor die
wyse waarop die NG Kerk sedert die negentiger jare na MIV- en vigs-mense
uitreik en verduidelik drie aspekte van die huidige strategiese proses.
* Die
olifant in die kamer - Nelis
du Toit skryf oor sy persoonlike reis met die MIV- en vigspandemie as ’n motivering vir gemeentes om as liggaam
van Christus by die werklikheid daarvan betrokke te raak.
* Dis
óns probleem - Aneleh Fourie-le
Roux skryf oor die mobilisering van gemeentes om doelbewus
vigs-vriendelik te raak en bied uitgebreide hulp aan deur middel van CABSA se
“Kerke, Kanale van Hoop”-projek.
* Vigs-vriendelike
gemeentes - Nelis du Toit
skryf namens die Vigsaksiegroep van die VGK Ring van
Wynberg oor hulle vyf jaar lange projek om ’n praktiese verskil in hulle
omgewing aan MIV en vigs te maak.
* Op
reis met MIV-positiewe mense - Aneleh Fourie-le Roux skryf oor die intense
emosies wat sy in haar betrokkenheid by MIV-positiewe mense ervaar het. Dit
wissel tussen die Godverlate hartseer oor twee vriendinne wat dood is aan vigs
en die onverwagse inspirasie van MIV-positiewe mense wat met oorgawe leef, ten
spyte van die siekte.
* Vigs
op my drumpel - Lynette van Wyk
vertel die aangrypende verhaal van Wiseman, die
flinke werker by ’n weldoener se strandhuis, en die tragiek van sy dood aan
vigs.
* “Ek
is MIV-positief ” - Aneleh Fourie-le
Roux beskryf meer volledig die verhaal van Cecelia Kruger, “iemand wat
moedig bly en altyd ’n glimlag het ten spyte van moeilike omstandighede”.
* Die
hande en voete van Christus in die gemeenskap - Chris van Wyk vertel die verhaal van Arnau van Wyngaard en die gemeente van Shiselweni
in Swaziland, wat onlangs die tweede prys in die Courageous
Leadership Awards van Willow Creek Community Church in
Chicago vir hulle Home Based
Caregivers projek gekry het.
* Jou
taal verraai jou hart - Nelis
du Toit help ons om sensitief met MIV- en vigs-taal te werk.
Progress Report: Draft Charter of Religious Rights and
Freedoms for
Prof Pieter Coertzen skryf:
Dear Colleagues and Friends
A few lines to bring you up to date with where we
stand at the moment with the Draft Charter of Religious Rights and Freedoms.
§ On 29th May the
Continuation Committee met in Stellenbosch to discuss comments and suggestions
we received since 14th February. Some amendments were made and in
the beginning of June the amended document was circulated very widely amongst
religious communities and other involved groups calling for further comments
and also asking that, if possible, your religious community approve of the
document, even if only in principle. I trust you received this document. I am attaching it to this circular too.
§ In addition to the circulation
of the document members of the Continuation Committee have embarked on a
program of meetings with various groups and organizations. Thus far we have discussed
the document with representatives of –
o The African
traditional religions
o The Human Rights
Commission
o The National House
of Traditional Leaders
o The Buddhist
religion
o The Rastafarians
o The Religious
Editorial Board of the SABC.
§ We have a meeting with the
Executive of the National Religious Leaders’ Forum on 3rd
September. We are also meeting with
representatives of the South African Council of Churches on the same day.
§ We have formulated the Charter
in terms of proposed legislation.
§ We are still waiting for
comments an proposals.
§ We understand that each
religious community has its unique decision-making processes, which sometimes
may be time consuming, but we would appreciate it if we could receive the
official endorsement of your religious community at your earliest convenience.
If you still have any enquiries on the content of the Draft Charter or the
process we follow, please do not hesitate to contact us.
§ If sufficient consensus can be
obtained among religious communities, we intend to approach Parliament with the
proposal after the elections of 2009.
§ The Draft Charter can also be
found on the following webpage www.sun.ac.za/theology/nuus_gebeure.htm
.
Thank you for your attention. I say goodbye with a quote from Judge Albie Sachs “Ideally
in South Africa, all religious organisations and
persons concerned with the study of religion would get together and draft a
charter of religious rights and responsibilities … it would be up to the
participants themselves to define what they consider to be their fundamental
rights.” (Albie Sachs, 1990, Protecting
Human Rights in a New
Kind regards
Pieter Coertzen
(On behalf of the Continuation Committee)
1 September 2008
Die amptelike bekendmaking van vakatures vir
predikante is op die kerk se webtuiste by die skakel http://www.kerkbode.co.za/kerkbode/vakatures.asp te sien.
Alan Stansbury het gereelde kontak met ‘n
groep Somali winkeleienaars in die Walmer Township. Hulle
het behoefte daaraan om Engels te leer. Enigiemand begerig om dit te doen -
natuurlik as geleentheid om na hierdie gemeenskap uit te reik, gasvryheid te
betoon, en hulle so beter te leer ken.
Indien jy belangstel,
kontak Alan asb by 084 5617 746.
Frederick Marais laat weet:
Die
Positiewe Ouerskap blog is aan die gang- gaan na www.communitas.co.za en kliek op
Positiewe Ouerskap. Daar is 'n eerste bydrae opgesit en ons sal graag 'n
gesprek oor ouerskap aan die gang wil kry. Doen gerus die volgende:
* as jy weet van mense wat die Positiewe
Ouerskap kursus gedoen het, of van mense wat belangstel in ouerleiding - stuur asb vir hulle die boodskap aan
* of sit dit op jou gemeente se nuusbrief vir
enige ouers om te lees
* maak 'n bydrae deur 'n opmekring
te maak of vertel ons van 'n boek oor ouerskap wat jy gelees het
* of nog beter sommer iets wat in jou familie
gebeur het rondom deelnemende ouerskap- ons leer mos meer uit mekaar se foute
as enigiets anders
Marriage Course 2008 : Lutheran Church
Springfield, PE
Ds Felix Meylahn van die Evangeliese Lutherse
Kerk in PE, ‘n ou en gewaardeerde vriend, laat weet:
All couples,
married or to be married,
are welcome to join us in our
quest to answer the question:
How do we live
together after the “idealisation” has worn off and “realisation”
sets in?
The
course will run over seven
Wednesday evenings (10 and
17 September; 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 October) starting at 7pm in our Church Centre. There will
be a light meal to start
the evening off, ample time
for you as a couple to interact
with each other and the presented
material and the sessions will end at about 9pm. The costs for the
whole course (including the written
material) will be R100,- per couple.
Please enrol for
the course by the 3 September 2008.
(Nota: Jy’s laat - jy beter dadelik inskryf!)
It is very
important that you try to attend
all the evenings
of the course because they make up a composite whole.
PROGRAM
Marriage Course 2008 - Lutheran Church Springfield
Starting Wednesday 10 September 2008
Lutheran Church c/o Martin Rd. and Luke Ave.
Pastor Felix Meylahn
and his wife Barbara and Vicar William Frost and his wife Karen
will present the Marriage Course together. The following is an indication of
the content covered in each session:
Who did I marry after all?
How shall we live together?
What kind of relationship is “Marriage” meant to be?
The ideal?
How does sin destroy the ideal? (Consumerism, modernity, individualism)
What is forgiveness?
How do we practice forgiveness? (Reconciliation)
Faithfulness
Communication - Truthfulness and Dependability
To trust and be trusted - sharing the work of survival
Talking and Listening
Appreciating Differences
Focus on the Issues / Distinguishing between Person and Deed
Sex – what’s it all about?
Six qualities for lovers
Avoiding adultery
The wounds of real relationships
“Looking for love in all the wrong places”
Living with scars / Praying together
Getting out of the “castle”
Gifting and Volunteering
Compassion
The course will run over seven Wednesday
evenings (10 and 17 September; 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 October) Starting at 7pm in
our Church Centre. There will be a light meal to start the evening off, ample
time for you as a couple to interact with the presented material and the
sessions will end at about 9pm. The costs for the whole course (including the
written material) will be R100,- per couple. Please
enrol for the course by the 3 September 2008. It is very important that
you commit to attending all the evenings of the course because they make up a
composite whole.
‘n Opgewonde ouderling André Olivier skryf:
Die gemeente van King William’s Town ontvang eerskomende Vrydag (5 Sept) Ds. Piet Nel en sy vrou Attie hier in ons gemeente.
Ons is baie opgewonde want na byna 3 jaar gaan ons weer ‘n permanente leraar hê. Ds.Nel
het in die Wes-Kaap gearbei en tot verlede naweek in die gemeente Monte Vista.
Ons het hom beroep in ‘n kontrakpos vir 3 jaar.
In ‘n
groeteboodskap namens die Sinodale Kommissie skryf dr Chris van Wyk:
Hier in die Oos-Kaap sing ons in ons
sinodelied van God wat ons hier tussen berg, Karoo en see laat woon om Hom as
Koning hier te kroon. Ons bely daarin dat Hy ons saamneem op sy triomftog
en ons gawes insluit en gebruik tot sy roem en eer.
Ons verwelkom dus ds. Piet Nel en sy
vrou Attie in ons sinodale gebied en bid hulle die seën van hierdie Koning-God
toe in King William’s Town. Mag julle ‘n vrugbare
bediening en ‘n persoonlike tyd van verryking hier
saam met ons hê.
Baie welkom!
Die Universiteit van
Pretoria is 100 jaar oud. As deel van
die eeufeesviering wil die Fakulteit Teologie graag ‘n
bundel publiseer met staaltjies en humoristiese verhale oor die fakulteit. Indien jy iets humoristies onthou of ‘n
interessante storie het oor mede studente of dosente stuur dit asb
aan dr JM van der Merwe by johan.vdmerwe@up.ac.za. Vir navrae 012 420 2818 of 0825653768 Sperdatum: 4 Oktober 2008.
Dave Dunbar skryf:
Sometimes
people ask the question, "So what does it mean practically to be missional?"
They understand that the church has been too inwardly focused. They see that we can't just
hope non-Christians walk through the door. But what does it look like for congregations
to live as the "sent people"?
How can pastoral leadership encourage Christians to move into the neighborhood?
These are good questions. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Missional living
calls for Spirit-led creativity which seeks outreach that is appropriate to the
varied context of each local congregation.
We can't provide universal models, but we can illustrate the principle.
Just
recently I received a great story from my friend Rick Paashaus
who serves as pastor of worship at Calvary Bible Fellowship Church in
Coopersburg, Pennsylvania. After a bit
of arm-twisting, Rick agreed to let me share his story with you.
Two months ago I was reading through
Deuteronomy and kept hitting up against those phrases about "the aliens
within your gates." Kept thinking...yeah, right...Coopersburg [PA]...the
only aliens here are those of us who don't happen to be Pennsylvania
Dutch...and maybe one or two black families and one or two adopted Korean kids.
But then I went to the diner for lunch and was cared for by a Mexican, saw
another Mexican refilling the salad bar, and noticed a Greek immigrant cook on
his break. It really got my mind going. Where do these folks live? Who is
showing any interest in them? What about the staff of
the diner in general, folks who are Greek Orthodox but rarely darken the
door of a Church anyway?
My wife and I came up with a plan to invite
THEM to a dinner, just to say "thank you." And they responded. We
provided a full course dinner with tablecloths and china and candlelight, and
35+ of the staff from the diner came and enjoyed it immensely. We took some
pictures over the past weeks and secreted out some shots from over the years
and put together a surprise video before the meal. No preaching. No handouts or
signup--just our way of saying thanks and getting to know the staff
better. Many of our own people were there to help, serve, mingle, listen. The diner people loved it. Some were tearful when they arrived and
couldn't stop saying, "I can't believe you guys would do something like
this." They stayed for three hours and left with containers of leftovers.
We even sent 12 dinners over to the staff that had to work and couldn't
attend.
Don't know what the results may
be--perhaps nothing visible--but at least the server from Mexico who is living
above the pizza place while his wife and child remain across the border felt
valued and cared for one night. And the waitresses who so often serve us and
wait while we linger over a third cup of coffee realized that they were
appreciated. It was the right thing to do, and the Lord was glorified without
too many words.
There are several points to be made from this story.
First, the starting point was a fresh reading
of the biblical text from a missional perspective.
By this I mean an interpretive stance which presumes that the unifying theme of
Scripture is a narrative about Yahweh, the missionary God, who reconciles the
world to himself through the promised Messiah. This perspective
highlights certain points of the text that might otherwise go largely
unnoticed; it raises questions that move beyond merely historical or exegetical
concern. Who are the aliens in our community? What are their
greatest needs? How is the Spirit leading us to extend hospitality to
them?
Second, a missional
reading of the Bible encourages a distinctive way of "seeing" our
communities. For many of us life is too busy to allow us to see
what God wants to do through us. Will and Lisa Samson observe that life
in the suburbs seems particularly designed to perpetuate our blindness:
"The burbs are safe, but they are safe at the
price of keeping out questions of need, questions of poverty, questions of insufficiency. In fact, they are designed
to maintain an illusion of a particular life, the American dream, where no one
is needy, where there is a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage...."[1]
Of course the tendency to look past
kingdom opportunities is not new. One thinks for example of the disciples
traveling through Samaria with Jesus. Their concern is with the
challenges of the journey and the logistics of finding food. Jesus, on
the other hand, speaks of having food that they know nothing about even as he
ministers profoundly to a woman they would as soon look past or disregard (Jn.
4:31-35). I love Rick's story because it reminds me that we need to see
through the eyes of Jesus.
The third observation is that actions speak as loud as or louder
than words. This is especially true in our
post-Christian culture. The church now finds itself playing an
away-game. The fans who watch the game no longer view us as the home
team. They are neutral at best and sometimes downright hostile.
David Kinnaman
surveyed perceptions of Christians among outsiders to the faith, ages
16-29. Among the 440 people in the sample, only 10% had a "good
impression" of "born-again Christians" and only 3% had a good
impression of Evangelical Christians.[2] In
another survey Kinnaman reports that only 20% of
outsiders "perceive Christian churches to be loving environments, places
where people are unconditionally loved and accepted regardless of how they look
or what they do."[3]
In this context cynicism runs high
and words--including gospel words--are regarded with suspicion. So
actions become the metaphors of the gospel. Not that we never
speak. Words are still necessary, but we have been too much about
words--words as theories, words without deeds, or even words with the wrong
kind of deeds. As Hugh Halter and Matt Smay have observed: "Christianity is now almost impossible to explain,
not because the concepts aren't intelligible, but because the living, moving,
speaking examples of our faith don't line up with the message.
Our poor posture overshadows the most beautiful story and reality the world has
ever known."[4]
Kinnaman talks
about the need "to articulate a 'kinder, gentler' faith--one that engages
people but does not compromise its passion for Jesus or its theological
understanding of him."[5]
What we need right now are
churches that put both words and deeds in the service of the mission of God.
And we need leaders who can encourage this balance--leaders like my friend Rick
who can help us to think more creatively about the opportunities that surround
us.
Notes:
[1] Justice in the Burbs
(Baker, 2007), p. 59.
[2] Unchristian (Baker, 2007), p. 25.
Hein Boshof stuur hierdie
enetjie:
A man came home from work late,
tired and irritated, to
find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.
SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you
a question?'
DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.
SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'
DAD: 'That's none of your business.
Why do you ask such a thing?'
the man said angrily.
SON: 'I just want to know.
Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'
DAD: 'If you must know, I make R50.00 an hour..'
SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied,
with his head down.
SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow R25.00?'
The father was furious,
'If the only reason you asked that is so you can
borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march
yourself straight to your room and go to bed.Think
about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such
childish frivolities.'
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut
the door.
The man sat down and started to get even angrier about
the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some
money?
After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down ,and started to think: Maybe there was something he really
needed to buy with that R25.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often.
The man went to the door of the little boy's room
and opened the door.
'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.
'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.
'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier'said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out
my aggravation on you. Here's the R25.00 you asked for.'
The little boy sat straight up, smiling.
'Oh, thank you daddy!' He yelled.
Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some
crumpled up bills.
The man saw that the boy already had money, started
to get angry again.
The little boy slowly counted out his money, and
then looked up at his father.
'Why do you want more money if you already have
some?' the father grumbled.
Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the
little boy replied.
'Daddy, I have R50.00 now. Can I buy an hour of
your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with
you.'
The father was crushed.
He put his arms around his little son, and he
begged for his forgiveness.
It's just a short reminder to all of you working so
hard in life.
We should not let time slip through our fingers without
having spent some time
with those who really
matter to us,
those close to our
hearts.
Do remember to share that R50.00 worth of
your time with someone
you love.
If we die tomorrow,
the company that we
are working for
could easily replace us
in a matter of hours.
But the family & friends we leave behind
will feel the loss for
the rest of their lives.
Make time for living while you're still breathing.
Can I Borrow R25.00?
Sinodale Kommunikasie