Ad Clerum 5/13 June 2013

Ad Clerum The Season of Trinity

Dear brothers And Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost said. Men and brethren, these men are not drunk as you thinkthey are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Number 5/13

The Feast of Pentecost has come and gone and we are safely back in the routine of the Sundays after Trinity..generally filled with excellent sermon material. I have waited deliberately to revisit Pentecost, as neither its message nor its consequences can afford to be overlooked by the serious traditional Anglican Christian. We do live in an age of instant gratification at every level of life, and even the most patient of Christians reasonably expects prompt service wherever they may go, be it a restaurant or a car service centre. We find ourselves becoming quite horribly aggressive if we are not immediately tended to; true? That same sentiment is also becoming obvious within the church as many people become pushy and intolerant if they are not immediately heard or pandered to. Nowhere is this attitude more apparent than amongst our Pentecostal brethren. They have made their own bed-of-nails, to be sure, in that they have long preached a shallow and superficial message of becoming Healthy, Wealthy and Wise as if God were a divine dispensing machine, popping out goodies for spoilt children. To many of these people, the Gifts of the Holy Spirit become yet another opportunity for indulgence, 1

Ad Clerum 5/13 June 2013 with believers competing for the more spectacular manifestations and ridiculing those who have not received as they have! It is a most unfortunate picture, precisely because they have never realised that the purpose of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit is for the WORK OF THE GOSPEL. Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will assist the disciples to spread the Good News from Jerusalem, to Judea and to the ends of the earth. Spiritual entertainment was never on His agenda! The orthodox message concerning the Holy Spirit is that He is the Spirit of Service and Sacrifice; let me explain. Any serious Christian disciple will have two matters highest on his or her agenda; 1. Personal Holiness and, 2. The work of the Gospel. These two are the drivers behind a true Christian disciple, and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are there to enable that disciple to succeed on both counts. The indwelling power of the Holy Spirit will enable the discipline that will produce a personal holiness, making him or her a burning and shining light in the world. The Holy Spirit will then give the necessary courage to that disciple to engage a world that is largely hostile to what is being proclaimed. The tendency to huddle together and compete for gifts accomplishes neither requirement to true discipleship. It is a most noticeable fact that amongst the first Disciples (and also amongst the first generations of Christians) the mortality rate was very high. Do a little research for yourself and see how many of the twelve actually survived to old age! Most were hunted down and killed for what they believed and proclaimed. It was the Holy Spirit that gave them courage and enabled them to testify, like Stephen, James, Peter and Paul, to that which was burning within them. It is also apparent that they gave their testimony out amongst the people of the world in full view and without fear. The Holy Spirit can be blamed, if you like, for the very difficulties in which they found themselves, for without His intervention at Pentecost, they would have either gone fishing or remained safely in their Upper Room.

Most of us are not naturally courageous people; that is a learned skill. I imagine that we would all choose a holy and quiet life over one of persecution and perhaps even death? However, if it was true for them, why should it not be so for us? Why, I have to 2

Ad Clerum 5/13 June 2013 ask, should Our Lord not require of you and me precisely that which befell the first Disciples, and why should we not be required to hear that same challenge given by Jesus Himself, are you able to drink the cup of which I drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I am baptised? The frightening reality is that many of us have perhaps already heard that very call and have chosen to ignore it.. I am a member of the Traditional Anglican Communion precisely because it is a tough walk. I am not interested in a trouble-free and safe Christian life. I seek to be obedient and to emulate my Saviour and the early Saints in as close a way as possible, no matter what the cost. In this Communion, I am pleased to find like-minded men and women; determined and courageous disciples of every age. Isnt it sadly amusing to see those amongst our clergy who have returned to main-stream Anglicanism because they were offered a house, a car and a stipend? I am not aware that Our Lord offered those luxuries to his original band.He offered persecution, demanded an austere life in which ones own goals were abandoned to His own, and promised glory only to those who sacrificed all for His sake. No, the great Feast of Pentecost cannot be swept under the table. The Holy Spirit has plans for you and your ministry, of that you can be sure. I make an earnest request that you to revisit the Pentecost Sunday readings and reconsider what it was you had to say to your people on that 2013 Pentecost Sunday past, and then answer the challenge you have consistently given to your people within the context of your own life and ministry. Remember that integrity is to be, in truth, that which you say you are, and I am asking you to examine the integrity of your life of ministry in direct association to that which you so regularly preachI pray that you will be able to match the quality of your own life to the high standards you are constantly demanding of your people. Spreading the Love: I am not sure whether you know just how much is done in terms of aid and charity, but here is some news to keep you aware of the acts of charity that keep us involved in the lives of our people. Below is the example of just two of my recent trips carrying relief to the poor of our widespread Diocese. These are essential acts of charity, for we do need to show our Christian love not only in word, but also in deed.

The Bishops Vito bus filled to capacity for two recent relief trips. 3

Ad Clerum 5/13 June 2013 I have been most privileged to experience the love of Christians for our Southern African church from several quarters and have been able to participate in spreading the love to at least some of our dear people. Firstly, the people of The Anglican Church in America, Diocese of the North East, have been most generous to us, and sent us a whole lot of goodies for the use of our churches. These included vestments, some glassware, but also lovely chalices and other altar vessels. I was able to bring these items back in three suitcases from the USA, and have already begun to spread them out amongst our parishes. The first to benefit has been St Matthews Parish in Mandela Village, Hammanskraal. If you remember, the parish church was completely destroyed by fire a few years ago. We were able to reequip Fr Thoploa with all the necessary robes at the time, but now I have been able to give them a fine chalice and paten from the ACA, together with other items for their life of worship. I have made up packages for many of our parishes, according to my knowledge of the needs from my visits, and will be dropping off these gifts over the next few months as I see you. Our thanks go to Fr Jeff Monroe of the ACA for co-ordinating this wonderful gift to us, and for all the kind people of the parishes in the ACA Diocese of the North East for their generosity and thoughtfulness to the Southern African TAC.

The lovely Chalice and Paten from the ACA for St Matthews Parish, Hammanskraal, together with other items given to the parish and members of the Mothers Union.

My thanks also go to Mr Will Booysen, of the Bedfordview Branch of Rotary International for the very generous donation of four bales of high quality blankets, some 200 blankets in all. He has supported us before, and on this occasion I was able to spread the blankets between four parishes in the Hamanskraal area. Fr John Mashiane, Fr Godrey Mathibe and Fr Wilfred Rakgatlhe each received a bale of blankets and numerous other items of clothing that our people in Pretoria and Johannesburg had put together for them. The final bale was given to the Mothers Union in Mandela Village for distribution amongst the many poor people in that area. The kindness of such people as Will Booysen is highly appreciated and they enable us to spread some warmth to our people in the poorer rural areas.

Ad Clerum 5/13 June 2013

Bales of blankets being opened at Hammanskraal, and a grateful recipient (right) I need also to mention St Andrews, Mondeor and Holy Cross, Pretoria, as these two parishes have lively outreach programmes and regularly gather food and clothing for those less privileged than themselves. Last Sunday at St Martin de Porres, Ekangala, I was able to witness a mountain of brand new blankets and comforters sent to them from Holy Cross Parish. Each family received a most welcome package and the balance was kept for distribution to the needy in the Ekangala area. If you have information about your parishes outreach to the poor, please let me know and I will gladly publish that information in the future.

Fr Mark Sekoba (left) at St Martin de Porres, Ekangala with some of the donated items in the background. A grateful parishioner (right) recieves a gift from fellow TAC members of Holy Cross Parish, Pretoria I am very pleased to see our parishes caring for each other and spreading Gods love in such practical ways. Let us challenge each other to excel in works of charity! 5

Ad Clerum 5/13 June 2013 St Martin de Porres, Ekangala (Youth Day, June 16th)

The congregation on a cold winters morning at St Martin de Porres, Ekangala I was able to visit St Martin de Porres, Ekangala last week on 16th June and enjoyed a very good service with the enthusiastic congregation there. St Martin de Pores has a lively Mothers Union and the parish is currently being served by Fr Mark Sekoba, a Military Chaplain to the SANDF. We were able to keep Youth Day and Fathers Day together as a part of our celebration. St Andrews, Mondeor, Johannesburg (Pentecost Sunday)

Pentecost Sunday at St Andrews with the congregation all in red

Ad Clerum 5/13 June 2013 Fr Allan Smith has been away on a well-deserved holiday, and I was given the pleasant task of looking after the community in his absence. I would like to record special thanks to Fr Wonderful Edom and Fr Andrew Pfeiffer for their work in the absence of Fr Allan and their service to the people of the parish.

Members of the St Andrews Youth Group with Tongues of Flame upon their heads!

Ad Clerum 5/13 June 2013 Some Diocesan Matters: Vestry: You should all have completed the process of election of Office Bearers by now, and be well on your way into a new year of church management. Please remember to send me the Minutes of your Annual Vestry Meeting for Diocesan Records. Please ensure that the contact details of your Church Wardens (both telephone and email) are made available. You may send this by email to frmichaelgill@gmail.com or by fax to (011) 442 1824, or 086 612 9125. If you wish to post copies, it is to P O Box 837 Houghton, 2041.

God bless you and keep you strong in your ministry by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Christ

Bishop Michael Gill Southern Africa