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

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much. I think Chief Rabbi Harris will be glad to   have you join his ...[indistinct] team because he says he's had a bit of a thing   since he testified in favour, so you'll have to put on your tin hat. But I just   want to add again my own deep appreciation. 
I remember how we walked together in Boipatong after the massacre there and   how you assisted church leaders to have a chartered plane when we were trying   to douse fires in all sorts of places - flying to Ulundi and rushing from there   elsewhere, and I just want to pay a very warm tribute to the fact that I have   seen how God has worked in and through you, as a changed person with eyes that   could now see. 
Some of the letters that you wrote to the then government, I wouldn't have   written - I mean, I was quite surprised at the language that you used. I just   think that we need to give thanks that God is so good to us, God really loves   us here in South Africa and we are sometimes not aware of it. 
God loves us in a way that is quite extraordinary because when you think of   the hell that we nearly experienced in 1994 - people forget easily, this country   nearly went up in flames. And we forget that we sighed with relief when we heard   that the IFP was coming into the elections and that happened just on - I mean,   we were on the verge of total catastrophe and we don't give enough thanks to   God and that God said "I will show you a new thing". 
And we must make ourselves available to God and let this miracle happen because   God wants it to happen also - not just for South Africa, God wants it to happen   for other parts of the world. 
God wants to be able to say to other parts of the world "Did you see   the awfulness of apartheid in South Africa, did you see the nightmare they had   there - it's ended. Rwanda, yours can end - will end, Northern Ireland - and   God wants us to succeed and we ought to make ourselves available to work with   God for this great miracle, for the sake of the world. Let's just observe a   moment's silence.
A MOMENT'

S SILENCE: God Bless Africa, guide her leaders and give her peace, Amen. 
Thank you, please stand up. Thank you very much.
Actually, I didn't allow you to clap but yes, I don't mind. We now call on   the Baptist Union and Baptist Convention. Order please!
My namesake, will you introduce your colleagues, your friends?

REV HOFFMEISTER: Thank you Chairperson, my name is Reverend Desmond Hoffmeister,   I'm the General Secretary of the Baptist Convention of South Africa and I'm   accompanied by our President on my right, Reverend Michael Mathikela who is   the Pastor of the Orlando Baptist Church in Soweto. 
We also have a delegation from the Baptist Union of South Africa - Southern   Africa, that is led by Reverend Terry Rae who is my counterpart, the General   Secretary of that denomination and I'm going to ask him to introduce the group   that he has come with.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much.

REV RAE: Our delegation is made up of myself, General Secretary of the Baptist   Union, the Reverend George Ngamlana former Associated General Secretary and   Ex-President of the Baptist Union and the Reverent Peter Hollness who is a Pastor   in East London on our national executive and also past President of the Baptist   Union.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much. I presume that all five of you at one time   or another are maybe going to speak, so will all five of you please stand?

BAPTIST UNION CONVENTION: (sworn states)

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much. We do welcome you warmly and are very grateful   that you have come. You will be aware that we are working within certain time   constraints and the whole operation will be about 30 minutes - I have to keep   repeating this because you will say no, I didn't say it to you, I was saying   it to those other people - Baptist really - I mean, Baptists can't be restricted.   Thank you very much.

REV RAE: We thank the TRC for this opportunity of sharing in the Commission.   The Baptists appear before this Commission in two separate groups, The Baptist   Union of South Africa and the Baptist Convention of South Africa and we are   extremely glad to be able to make this submission together, after a painful   division in our Baptist ranks in past years. 
On behalf of the Baptist Union, comprising 426 churches excluding roughly a   similar number of fellowships with an active membership of 42.000, not including   adherence in children. The Baptist Union of South Africa is culturally and racially   diverse, Evangelical in it's theological persuasion and congregational in it's   system of government, with each local church being autonomous.
We would like to outline briefly what the Union did in speaking against apartheid   over the years. Secondly, we want to express our confession in not putting our   reservations to practice, both as a denomination internally and then not sufficiently   challenging the legitimacy of apartheid policies in actual practice.
We would like to express our repentance for the hurts and pain that the actions   of the Baptist Union cause, both to it's own membership and to the wider body   of christians and citizens in South Africa. 
Finally, we would like briefly to express what God has enabled us to do in   putting our own house in order and in building relationships towards reconciliation   and forgiveness with fellow Baptist in the convention and within our country   as a whole.
Firstly then, during the years of apartheid the assembly of the Baptist Union   which met annually from 1877 and made up of delegates from members churches,   passed a resolution after resolution against racism and apartheid. And I've   asked the Reverend Peter Hollness if he would briefly summarise these resolutions.