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

DR GIDEON KHABELA: The other question, Chairperson, relates to the formation   of the Bantu Presbyterian Church as a black church. Your question was, was there   any effort to make the Bantu Presbyterian Church truly indigenous? The answer,   Mr Chairperson, is that that is the ambiguity of our church. Although it was   created as a black church, it was created by the white people, so there was   not effort made to make it totally a black church that has its own independent   thinking. That is why we say in our report that the understanding of the black   situation grew with the level of understanding in the black community. We also   state in the body of the report that the leadership of the RPC was white for   a long time, until eventually the missionaries were being, the number of the   missionaries, were being reduced and the black leadership began to take over.   That is when the reflection began about the nature of the church that we are.   In other words we cannot say that we have been a native church in the sense   that we have been truly indigenous.
DR.

KHOZA MGOJO: Thank you. But is there any programme now to instil a type of   theology in your church which would manifest itself in Ubuntu as a black church?
REV, D,M.

SOGA: That is a difficult question, Mr Chairperson. We have not yet   reached the stage where we have begun to question ourselves as a church. What   we represent exactly. Because we have been influenced by the multiracial churches   among which we count ourselves. That is why we say that we have responded to   things in the same way as the multiracial churches have. We have not stood back   and said how do we respond to this as a black church? We are beginning to do   that, but we haven't done it in a very clearly defined way. We hope to do it   in the future.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you. Siyabulela kakhulu for your contribution and again   I think the thing that is so noteworthy is the strong self-critical element   which I hope can be something that we will be able to communicate as well to   all the people of this country that from that basis we make ourselves more open   to the possibility of receiving the grace of God and we thank you for your own   contribution to the struggle to bring democracy and peace to this land. You   may stand down. I am asking Piet Meiring just to say a closing prayer. Perhaps   we could before he does that, just observe a moment of silence.

UNKNOWN: Oh Lord, our God we thank you for this day, a day we will remember   for many years to come. Thank you for the opportunity to come together with   our sisters, our brothers, to stand before you in humility looking at the past,   looking at the present and dreaming about the future of our country. Oh Lord,   all of us do confess the sins of co-mission of omission of all our churches.   Thank you oh Lord, that you have kept faith with us. That you are still carrying   us in your heart. We do pray oh Lord that you will forgive us all and that you   will take all of us towards a future of reconciliation, of forgiveness of justice   for all in the country. Thank you for every presentation of today and we do   pray oh Lord that tomorrow and the day after tomorrow you will continue to open   windows for us on the past and the present and the future. We commend each of   the churches, each of the organisations who presented their submissions today   to your care and your love, thanking you for each of them. Amen.

COMMITTEE ADJOURNS: ON RESUMPTION - 18 NOVEMBER 1997