PASTORAL LETTER Vol 4 April 2018



Dear fellow saints

As you will by now know, our country yesterday suffered the loss of the person who came to be known as “the mother of the nation”, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. I am sure you will join with me in mourning the loss of someone who was an icon in the struggle against apartheid, and in the work she did post-1994.



The following is the statement I issued last night (Easter Monday, 2 April, 2018) for both your information and prayerful consideration:

The death of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has come as a blow to South Africa as a nation, according to the Bishop of Johannesburg, the Rt Revd Dr Steve Moreo.

“The ‘mother of the nation’, as she was so aptly known, was an influential figure through the many years of struggle against apartheid when she showed herself time and again to be an inveterate struggler for the cause of justice. This was during a time when she had to bear the full might of a security state against her while her husband was in prison.

“Let us not forget that she had to live in exile in Brandfort in the Free State where she had to bear additional hardships because of her commitment to freedom for all people in South Africa.



“During her life, she kept close contact with all parts of the Church. A practising Methodist, she used her strong ecumenical links to reach out to other denominations, not least that of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa in general, and the Diocese of Johannesburg in particular.

“There were many occasions when her insight and background information assisted the Anglican Church in the dark days of the 1970s and 1980s to be part of a Christian witness in bringing about the demise of apartheid,” he said.

Bishop Moreo added: “In this, she worked closely with Archbishop Desmond Tutu when he was Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral in Johannesburg and then later when he was Bishop, and, of course, during his tenure as the General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches. She was with Archbishop Tutu as he welcomed her and her then husband, Mr Nelson Mandela, to Bishopscourt on the first night of Mandela’s release.

“It is against this backdrop that, on behalf of all Anglicans in the Diocese of Johannesburg, I express my deep sympathy on the occasion of her death.

“I also wish to express my support for my colleague, the Revd Gary Rivas, Bishop of the Central District of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, and to all fellow Methodists whom he has been representing as he gave pastoral care to her during her long illness. His witness epitomises the caring nature of our Church.

“May the soul of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela rest in peace and rise in glory,” he concluded.



Please feel free to share this statement with your Parishes and wider members of the community in which you minister.

At this time, I know you will keep this matter in your prayers and join me in extending condolences to the family.

Shalom!

Yours full of grace

The Rt Revd Dr. Steve Moreo

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