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Ad Clerum

Season of the Passion Number 3/13

I greet you in the Name of Jesus Christ our Saviour as we solemnly approach the

dramatic ceremonies that commemorate His Death and Resurrection.

Ad Clerum 1.13 and developing a sense of urgency:

If I could have released Ad Clerum 1.13 before New Years Day, I would havedone so, for rising inside my gut was a turmoil that translated into such a senseof the urgency for the work of the Gospel to be taken forward that I found that Icould not rest.I had to ask myself, am I some sort of religious maniac, or is this a reasonablestance for me to be taking and asking of you to share as my co-workers in Christ,the team of clergy that make this great work for the Gospel possible?

Reading a few days ago, I came upon this quote from Jeffrey Liker's book, TheToyota Way:

The biggest crisis a company faces, is when the leaders believe there is no crisisor do not feel a passionate sense of urgency to continuously improve the waythey work.

Ahso perhaps I am not such a maniac after all? Here I found a similar view, butstated by people hungry for production figures and financial profit from sales.They, too, are engaged in a fierce struggle; the struggle for market domination,and against powerful competition. When motivated by greed and ambition,

people are able to do extraordinary things.

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When confronted with the challenge of growing the church, we are prone toshake our heads and sadly note that we do not have resources behind us to build

churches and that we are not adequately rewarded for our effort in serving thechurchand travel is so expensive..Brothers, I recall that Peter, Paul, John and James, Barnabas, Phillip, Stephen,Timothy and the others of that initial band of disciples were poorly resourced andwere not paid professionals? How then were they able to carry the Gospel soconvincingly to the ends of the known world despite those very seriousshortcomings? They had a passionate sense of urgencyfor the salvation of thesouls of men, women and children and that is how they could do it!In a recent shack-fire in Cape Town, several hundred dwellings were burned tothe ground and many people were left homeless. The Muslim group, Gift of theGiversstepped in immediately and donated 100 houses and clothing and food.

They responded quickly, and that is a part of a direct strategy that they are usingto convert people to Islam. We may call it cheap; they call it successful. Why doyou think there are enormous new mosques outside every township? They aremoving resolutely to dominate the religious landscape of Africa. It is a long-termand patient strategy that the global church, so intent on inner bickering, and onpushing forward with a destructive liberal social agenda has failed to even detect,let alone combat. The wider Anglican church has entirely lost its sense ofurgency, and will, in the end, even lose its identity.In our Southern African strategic meeting some years ago, we agreed, not onlyon our core values as Scripturally based Anglicans, filled with the power of theHoly Spirit, bringing Good News to all through the beauty of our Anglican

heritage and traditions, but we also committed ourselves to fervent evangelism -so fervent in fact, that we promised ourselves that we would double our impact inSouthern Africa within a decade. Time is marching on, and I ask you, O Priest ofGod, where is your ministry, and has the work expanded sufficiently? Are thefruits of your efforts beginning to be seen in the communities you serve? I amacutely aware, sadly, that there are a few communities have dwindled and havegone steadily backwards.brethren, that is simply not acceptable. Some of ourclerical brothers have not exercised any Priestly ministry for years.how can anyChristian Priest in such a situation live with himself!The chaos and disintegration of main-stream Anglicanism should be providingus with a unique window of opportunity to gather some of those lost and

disillusioned souls, but that is a task quite apart from the Primary Evangelism ofour Priesthood, in seeking the lost and bringing them into the Ark of the Churchand the safety of the loving arms of Our Lord Jesus Christ.Come now, brothers together we are to be as vigorous as our earlypredecessors and just as sacrificial as them in our commitment to the task of theGospel above all things. If you are such a Priest, you will be an inspiration to theyoung, to those who can support you and to those you reach out and touch withyour amazing message of Mercy and Grace, shown in the face of Jesus ChristOur Lord.Remember our battle cry:

No compromise! No surrender! No desertion! No disgraceful peace with our foe!

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Advent:

I would like to record my gratitude for your generosity on Advent Sunday.2012 saw two large Ordination services at different ends of the country, and soour expenses were naturally very high. We were able to cover all our travel,vestments for the Ordinands, bibles, etc., through your giving on Advent Sunday.Thank you, and please would you be so kind as to thank your people?

All Saints Pro-Cathedral, Seshego. 20th Anniversary CelebrationSunday 6th January saw a joyous celebration by this fine community as they keptan anniversary that speaks of their fortitude and determination as TraditionalAnglicans and as the leading parish in our Diocese. Clergy and people from theDiocese came to join the celebrations and share the joy of the people of Limpopo

Province.The service began with the Institution of Rev John Selolo as Rector of theParish of All Saints, and Regional Dean of Limpopo Province. It is hoped that ashe and his team proceed, the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ will be carried tomany new places within that province.Special thanks were given to the founding members of the parish, the foundingmembers of the Anglican Church in Southern Africa (Traditional Rite) and theTAC Bishops who assisted them in establishing the church in our country.Bishops Falk, Connors, Hudson and Rhodes were thanked for their role inleading the church.Several founding members of the parish told of their experiences; amongst them

Dr Percy Molwele, Mr Mxolisi Bambo, Mr Zenco Malesela and Fr Paul Setati.The Bishop addressed the clergy and people, and asked them to emulate thesepioneers of our church in their work and service.Special words of recognition were given to Fr Paul Setati and Fr PhillipSethowa for their work and witness in the community and their support of thenew structures being developed within the parish. Their dedicated service of thewider church and the parish were acknowledged with gratitude.Following the Mass and Institution of Fr Selolo, the parish put on a magnificentspread and all were fed and cared for.The thanks of the whole Diocese goes to the hard-working and dedicated peopleof All Saints, Seshego!

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Some pictures of this wonderful event:

Working hard behind the scenes

The Procession enters the Pro-Cathedral

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Above: The Holy Water, Holy Oils, The Bible and the Book of Common Prayer arepresented to Fr John Selolo, Below: The Chalice and Keys to the Pro-Cathedral are

given to the new Rector

Fr John Selolo takes the prescribed Oaths and is welcomed by the Bishop

A sumptuous feast and good fellowship followed the service

Well done, people of All Saints, Seshego!

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Fr David Aphane: Fr David has announced his retirement from active ministry.He has been a faithful servant of the church for very many years and his advice

and enthusiasm for the work of the Gospel will be sorely missed.

Fr David Aphane With his beloved Antheria (RIP) in 2009

I ask your prayers for Fr David and his family as he takes a well-earned rest.May Our Lord continue to inspire his life and open his eyes to new areas ofspiritual service and ministry.

Fr John Mashiane: The Parish of St Lawrence, Hammanskraal.

I have great pleasure in announcing the appointment of Fr John Mashiane as theBishops Chaplain with immediate effect. You are aware that I have not had afunctioning Chaplain since Fr Stewart Peart retired, and so it will be good to havesuch an experienced clergyman in this role. I commend his new ministry to your

prayers.

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Prayers requested:Fr Martin Magoleng: Please may I ask that you keep Fr Martin in your prayers.

He is having a great deal of difficulty with his eyes, and the Lords intervention isnecessary in his condition. (You will remember that he had a cornea transplant)He has recently needed several days in hospital for treatment. My thanks go toFr Vusi Mosife and the Deacons Maxwell Nene and Shadrak Maila at St Cypriansfor taking on the services in his absence.Please also pray for Priscilla Maseko, wife of Fr Michael Maseko who has beenunwell for some time.Canon Lionel Kuiper has not been well of late. Please hold him in your prayers.Particular prayers are requested for Canon Jacob Masakala and his family. Hisdaughter, Daphne, died at home on Saturday 23 March of a cancer relatedillness. She will be buried on Holy Saturday. You should call condolences on

079 303 2510. He and his family are devastated by Daphnes death; she wasonly 38 years old.The end of 2012 saw many men enter the sacred ministry. This is a completeadjustment of life for them and so I humbly request that you hold them in prayer,both for the success of their ministry and that the transition of life is a smoothone for them.

Blessing of the Holy Oils and the Renewal of Priestly Vows:This beautiful ceremony takes place on Maundy Thursday,28th March at HolyCross, Groenkloof, Pretoria. It would be very good if as many as possibleattended, as this bonds our fellowship and enables us to focus our efforts for the

Easter services. The service will begin at 11h00 to enable those who havetravelled from other areas to attend.

Buildings and alterations.Please refer to our Constitutions and Canons in this regard. Canon 30 (page 80)deals with this matter. Please remember that Derek Baker is an architect thatserves on the Diocesan Standing Committee precisely to assist you with mattersaround the fabric of the church. Derek can be contacted on 083 754 7623 or on(012) 361 0006 during office hours.

Diocesan Standing Committee: I humbly request your prayers for all the

members of the Diocesan Standing Committee, who will be meeting at theBishops houseon Saturday 13 April. We will be joined on this occasion by FrMurinda, Fr Mukuyamba and the Regional Deans. We will be discussing mattersconcerning future structures and developments in the TAC in Southern Africa.

An Appeal for assistance with The Altar Linen and Stoles Project:Each of you have benefitted from this project. We have supplied almost all of youwith fine Altar Linens, decanters, jugs and bowls, and cruets for your parishes. Allof you have Stoles and Amices that have come from the Diocesan workshop. Ithas been an exercise that has raised our overall quality and made you a lotsmarter than the ministers from other churches around about you! Our brothersin Zambia and Zimbabwe have also benefitted from this great work.

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The recent Ordinations saw the workshop make many full sets of stoles,chasubles, albs, girdles and amices. The occasions were made glorious by this

very hard work behind the scenes.

Just some of the stoles in preparation for the above Ordinations at Kimberley and

Seshego

Recently, we have fully equipped three poorer parishes with full altar frontals, veiland burse, and stoles. Slowly but surely our parishes are beginning to reach thelevels of excellence I expect us all to attain. They are, after all, an expression ofthe excellence that lies within us all?

We have put a lot of effort into equipping a workshop that is efficient and can dowhat is necessary for our purposes. Here are a couple of pictures of theworkshop in action on your behalf.

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The amount of work that has been done has brought us to the end of oursupplies of fabric for vestments and we do need to purchase more for thecontinued work of upgrading our parishes. I would be most obliged if you couldspeak to your Parish Councils and ask them to make a one-off donation to theAltar Project. This can be paid into the usual church account, but marked forAltar Project, just as you do for the Advent collection.

Dalene has asked that if there are any women in your parish that would like tobecome a part of this wonderful and fulfilling Altar Project, you let me know, asshe would like to run workshops for our ladies to train them in the making ofcorrect Altar Linens for their parishes. Please would you send their details to mevia email, so that a meeting can be put together and their fellowship can begin.

The Holy Week ServicesMy prayer for us as the clergy of our Diocese is that the sense of urgencymentioned at the start of this Ad Clerum will be evident in our Holy Weekservices. As people become aware of the need for real repentance and theGrace of God in their lives, so the Holy Spirit will be able to work in them andthrough us, and the Love of God will spread in our communities.I ask that we spend some very serious time in prayer and confession, in order tocleanse ourselves from any defilement as we come to these great services, sothat, as pure vessels, we may bear the Light of the World to all men.

I am very proud of your preparation for Easter and of what you have achieved up

to this point in the Christian Year through sheer hard work and perseverance.May the Lord prosper your handiwork!

In Christ

Bishop Michael Gill

Southern Africa