Kick-off

The Spiritual discipline of Lectio Divina, Gospel Contemplation, and the Examine will be explored at this workshop and is ideal for young layministers and youth leaders. Venue: St. Francis - Walkerville Times: 8:30 - 4:00 pm Cost: R20:00 (Bring your own lunch)

1 Kings 8:22-30 Ps 84 1 Peter 2:4-10 John 2:13-22

Friends in Christ, I welcome you all to this wonderful occasion. It has literally been a 20-year project and I can hardly believe we are here; as Solomon said in the Old Testament reading (1 Kings 8:24), God has kept his promise – and by God’s grace, we have been able to keep our promises to one another. We do praise our God for his goodness today as we dedicate St Monica’s Church Centre together in the presence of Diocesan Council and our many visitors.

Dear People of God

I am writing this in Holy Week, knowing that it will almost certainly reach most of you after Easter Sunday. This underlines to me the constant presence with us of both death and life, of both sorrow and hope.

Rarely a week passes in Bishopscourt without our receiving news of the death or serious illness of a member of the clergy or their immediate family, whom we then remember in Bishopscourt Chapel in our daily services of Morning and Evening Prayer and the Eucharist. Recently we mourned the death of Sarah Breytenbach, wife of Bishop Martin of the Diocese of Christ the King – to whom and to whose family we extend our condolences. I was privileged to participate in Sarah’s funeral, where we not only grieved her passing, but gave thanks for her life – a life she lived ‘with abundance’ even through the years of her cancer, in which she had a remarkable ministry to so many people.

STATEMENT OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS A regular meeting of the Synod of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa in Gauteng this week reviewed the ongoing mission, ministry and witness of the Church and some of the challenges of the context in which we live. We voiced our renewed concern at the extreme poverty suffered by many in southern Africa, and at the wide gap between those who have excessive wealth and those who are poor. We remain deeply concerned at the prevalence of malaria and HIV and Aids, and we acknowledge anew the brokenness of the nations which we represent. We pledged to continue modelling values in our societies which build integrity, love, forgiveness, peace and reconciliation.

By Bishop Peter Lee Wednesday 21 May 2008. We wake at 05:00 as usual because Gill has to get on the highway before 06:00 if she is to reach school in time to teach. People do not always understand that Johannesburg is a busy place. The province of Gauteng which is geographically the smallest of South Africa’s nine new provinces, is also the most densely populated with about a quarter of South Africa’s population and large numbers of immigrants from other places crowding it. This province contains 2 of South Africa 4 major cities – Johannesburg and Pretoria – and generates no less than 30% of the Gross Domestic Product not of South Africa – but of the entire African continent! It is a rich city which of course attracts large numbers of the poor. It is big, busy, aggressive, dynamic and stimulating unless you get tired. The needs for ministry are enormous and new housing areas have burgeoned all around these cities in the past twenty years creating massive demands for employment, housing, health services, schools, water and drainage especially in a city which sits at 6 thousand feet and therefore has to pump most of its water back up the hill from which it has drained away when it rains.

Siyafundisa is an HIV/AIDS prevention programme that was launched in September 2005 to fight this pandemic disease through behavior change (abstinence and being faithful). It is aimed at children and youth between 10 and 24 and the main objectives of this programme are, to increase abstinence until marriage, to increase “secondary abstinence” among youth and adults who have previously initiated into sexual activities but not yet married, to increase fidelity in marriages, to increase VCT referrals resulting in safer behavior and to decrease risky and harmful behavior among young people.

Compass is the official Newspaper of the Diocese of Christ the King. Issues are printed and distributed to up to 5000 parish members quarterly. Send your comments and suggestions to: The Editor, Compass CTK E-mail address: compassctk [at] gmail [dot] com Click on Links under the Menu Bar on the right then select a Compass issue to read on line, or download in "PDF" format to your own PC.