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Anglican News February 2009 - VOL 1 NO 1
An Independent Online newspaper for the Anglican Church of South Africa

Grocery donations for the two families of the Newcastle parish.

The Advent Season with a Difference

by Simangaliso Magudulela of St Andrew's Madadeni/St Mary's Cathedral Johannesburg

Deuteronomy 15:7, 11 says, "If there's a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." God is calling us to join Him in His great task of transforming the world that we are living in. We are not bystanders but we should be involved in this life of ubuntu. That is what we are called to be by God Almighty since we all partake of one body. A Ugandan proverb says, "When the tiny toe is hurting, the whole body stoops down to attend to the pain of that tiny toe." Yes indeed God has called us to stand up when some part of our body is in pain and offer some healing to that part of our body.

If we do not, one day we will be forever haunted by these words of the German Protestant Priest, Martin Niemoller, "They came for the communists and I didn't object, for I wasn't a communist, they came for the slaves, the mentally ill, and the physically disabled and I didn't object for I wasn't one of them. They came for the Jews and I did not object for I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no one left to object." We need to act against poverty and other social issues affecting us as people of God while we still can, while God is still giving us the means to do so. Means can be financial and non-financial support to the people of God.

These words of Deuteronomy and of Martin Niemoller made us go out and make two families happy this past advent. We as Bernard Mizeki members and friends (non Bernard Mizeki members) in the parish of Madadeni (St Andrew's) thought we should evangelize in a manner that people would see the love of God in their lives. We made donations appeal to our parish young employed people who work in and outside Newcastle to help make two poor families in our parish happy on this past advent. Our appeal was met with a huge support even from the parish tertiary students. We fund-raised within 3 weeks R3 666, 00 to buy the groceries. Our new parish Rector Fr Philani was amazed by our effort and supported us with his presence when we delivered these grocery gifts to the families.

The expression on these families is something that I cannot explain with words. Perhaps the words I can say is that they were so overjoyed by the surprise they received. They only thought we just came to do an evening prayer meeting. They really saw the love our God and of the church. It was evangelism that every parish in our Anglican Communion needs to exercise because it shows the love of God in a more real form to the people of God. We did not end there we also did a Christmas party for our Sunday school children in supporting their right to be protected, loved and cared for by the church.

Since this project went successful, we will be doing it annually and in an improved manner, which will be reaching out more people in a form of Sunday School Christmas Party, Christmas groceries and Amajuba FET College bursaries. We will be doing this possessing the highest hope in the world and in heaven that says, "In God all things are possible."

Lastly, there was a man called Lawrence in Rome in the days when you could be arrested and executed for being a Christian, who is celebrated as a saint. When he was arrested, he was told to collect all the treasures of the Church to be given up to the courts. He got together all the homeless, the orphans and the hungry that the Church looked after in the city, and presented them to his judges, saying, "These are the Church's treasures." Yes indeed, they are the Church's treasures whom we should love and take care of. With these words I appeal to everyone to do something that will change the life of a poor person whether for a day, month or even for a lifetime each year.

May God bless and protect the disadvantage people of this world. God loves you and so do I.