Special Hearings — Faith Community Hearings — 1997-11-17

REV RAE: Mr Chairman, we want to make it clear that those resolutions were   passed by the Baptist Union Assembly when the Convention and Union were one   body. However, one of our members has said that we might have plastered the   walls of parliament with our resolutions but notwithstanding these resolutions,   the Baptist Union did not put them into practice both internally or externally.
We confess that within the structures of our own Baptist Union, we practised   apartheid. For instance, we established theological training institutions to   cater to for the cultural diversity of our denomination and it was only in 1986   that we closed the college exclusively to train Black pastors, in order to train   students for the ministry together.
Our national executive was dominated by White members and right up until 1989,   had only one Black representative on the leadership body. It follows then that   decision making and policy setting for the Baptist Union was done by Whites,   most often without any consultation with the Black members of our churches. 
Right up until 1987, we kept separate lists for White and Black pastors and   White and Black churches. Many of our decisions mirrored the status quo during   the apartheid years and for this we humbly repent. Associations within the Baptist   Union are also formed on racial and linguistic lines - for instance, within   the Baptist Union was the Association of Churches from the Afrikaans community   which formed the Afrikaanse Baptiste Kerk, the Black churches formed the Baptist   Convention, the Indian Churches the Baptist association of South Africa and   the Baptist Mission. As you can see, our denomination reflected apartheid in   it's overall structure.
During these years - apart from the resolutions that we passed, we did not   sufficiently challenge the legitimacy of unjust institutions in our country   or the apartheid policies. We tended to marginalise those who wanted to do more   than simply speak against apartheid within our ranks. We did little to alleviate   the sufferings of the oppressed people of South Africa. The White members of   our denomination benefited from apartheid structures socially and economically. 
The assembly in 1991, expressed the Baptist Union's repentance in the following   words
"This assembly of the Baptist Union of Southern Africa gives thanks to   God that statuary apartheid has been abolished. We acknowledge that statutory   apartheid was but a symptom of tradition, traditional and ingrained attitudes   within society and sadly, even within our church. 
As Baptist we too have been guilty and to our shame - as individuals and churches,   have sinned in our actions and attitudes, we've allowed them to be governed   by the pattern obtaining in society. We have conformed when we ought to have   confronted.
While we have condemned the legislation, many of us have enjoyed the economic   and social privileges resulting from it, for this we humbly repent. We acknowledge   that true repentance will go beyond mere words and must manifest itself in a   change of attitude and in positive action"
In 1987, the Baptist Union went through a painful division within our ranks.   Approximately 60% of the Black churches within the Convention Association withdrew   from the Baptist Union, to form a separate body namely, the Baptist Convention   of South Africa. We acknowledge that attitudes and actions reflecting apartheid   within the Baptist Union were partly responsible for this division. 
The Baptist Union has acknowledged that our relationship with the Convention   has caused much pain. And heart searching negotiations within our brother -   and negotiations with our brother body have not been easy as we have sought   to come to grips with attitudes and actions of the past, including our sins   of commission and omission.
I've asked the Reverend George Ngamlama, lecturer at the Baptist Theological   College, Pastor of the Nancefield Church and past Associate General Secretary   of our Union to share very briefly, something of what we are seeking to do to   address the sins of the past.

REV NGAMLAMA: Thank you Sir, thank you for reminding me to be brief, surely   I will be brief. In looking into our denomination, we had to deal with certain   matters concerning ourselves, so I'm going to deal with five points and then   come to a conclusion. I'm going to deal with the structure, the leadership,   the development and a word to our members and our relationship with the convention.
Looking at the BU structure We have removed from the BU, associations formed   on basis of race from constitutional structures of the Baptist Union. We are   striving to reflect the unity of the body of Christ in our denomination. 
Under leadership The leadership of the Union in the past was predominantly   White and male. We are striving to ensure cultural and gender inclusiveness   in our leadership.
Development of people We have embarked on a programme called "Impact   2001" which involves utilising all our available human resources and developing   leadership skills among all our people. For our member churches we have initiated   BU care - that is, Baptist Union Community Assistance and Relief and I quote   "To motivate and enable Baptist churches to witness to Christ through social   concern and social action that will empower deprived communities to address   their physical, social and other needs and to provide relief when necessary"
Our relationship with the Baptist Convention After many years of struggle   and conflict, we have committed ourselves to a process which will heal the hurts   of the past and to work together in fellowship as brother bodies of Christ.   In a joint resolution of the 8th of November this year and I quote "We   are still committed to pursuing actively the ideal of structural unity but agree   that we continue as two separate bodies for the present time".
In conclusion As a denomination in partnership with others, including TISA,   we are committed to building a nation based on truth, righteousness and justice.
Thank you Sir.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much.

REV HOFFMEISTER: Chairperson, Commissioners and honoured guests, ladies and   gentlemen, our President ...[indistinct] Mathikela and myself, greet you on   behalf of the Baptist Convention of South Africa. 
The Baptist Convention of South Africa was formed in 1927 as then known, the   Bantu Baptist Church. This church was started as a missionary expression of   the then South African Baptist Missionary Society, an extension of the Baptist   Union of Southern Africa. In 1987, the Baptist Convention declared it's independence   from the Baptist Union for what it perceived to be institutional racism in the   life of that community at that time.
...[indistinct] segregated church, we share a common existence up to that time   with our sisters and brothers and therefore have to speak to that.

CHAIRPERSON: I don't want to butt in, you are not going to read the whole thing?

REV HOFFMEISTER: No, Sir, you can relax Sir, I will stick within my 10 minutes   - I am not reading the whole thing.

CHAIRPERSON: ...[inaudible]