The Anglican Church of Southern Africa will next week officially join an international campaign to end violence against women and girls known as the White Ribbon Pledge campaign.

At the Women’s Day service at St Georges Cathedral Cape Town on Tuesday (9th August), the bishops of the Dioceses of Cape Town, False Bay and Saldanha Bay will be signing a pledge on behalf of their churches “Not to commit, condone or remain silent about all forms of Gender-based violence.”

The White Ribbon Campaign aims to eradicate gender based violence. A statement from the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town announcing this event states that “Violence and particularly gender-based violence in all its forms is an endemic reality of South African society” and calls everyone to action.

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A 50-year-old South African man woke up inside a mortuary over the weekend and screamed to be let out – scaring away attendants who thought he was a ghost.

His family presumed he was dead when they could not wake him on Saturday night and contacted a private morgue in a rural village in the Eastern Cape.

He spent almost 24 hours inside the morgue, the region’s health department spokesman told the Sapa news agency.

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ESPN’s Between the Lines at its best–watch it all.

Moammar Gadhafi insists he will not leave his country, South Africa’s president said Tuesday after he met the embattled Libyan ruler.

South Africa President Jacob Zuma’s office said he had pressed Gadhafi to agree to an African Union proposal for a cease-fire and dialogue to settle the Libya conflict and that the Libyan leader agreed.
“Col. Gadhafi called for an end to the bombings to enable a Libyan dialogue,” it said. “He emphasized that he was not prepared to leave his country, despite the difficulties.”

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Four birdies in a row to close it. Wow.

The number of people who see Brazil as having a positive influence in the world is rising rapidly, according to a BBC World Service poll of 27 countries.

The country is now regarded positively by 49%, compared to 40% last year – the largest jump by any of the 16 nations respondents are asked to comment on.

South Africa, host of the 2010 World Cup, posted the second biggest rise.

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Several specific topics are worth noting.

First, corruption in church leadership. Corruption and greed are issues especially where the church is growing rapidly and new leaders cannot be developed fast enough to meet the needs. As a result, immature leaders with charismatic personalities abound. “Many use their positions for worldly power, arrogant status or personal enrichment,” the document’s authors complain. “As a result, God’s people suffer, Christ is dishonoured, and gospel mission is undermined.”

Leadership training programs have been instituted in many places to meet the urgent need, but, the document continues, “The answer to leadership failure is not just more leadership training but better discipleship training. Leaders must first be disciples of Christ himself.” Character formation as Christ followers should take precedence over training in the techniques of leadership.

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When Anglicans worship, we affirm our faith by saying the Creed together. As we come to the point when we say, “we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church,” we remember that we are part of the one Church of Christ since it was started on the day of Pentecost and before all the divisions that have taken place over the centuries. It also reminds us of our responsibilities to strive for unity, in order to fulfill the desire of Jesus’ heart: “that they may be one” (cf. John 17).

This also reminds us of our failure to take seriously our responsibility towards the unity of the Church of Christ. We not only have failed, but many of the reformed and evangelical churches have contributed in widening the gap between them and the traditional churches.

This “widening of the gap” happened as a result of rejecting many ideas and practices, simply because they belonged to the traditional churches. The main focus of our reformed churches was directed towards the study of the Scriptures, mission and evangelism….

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One of those responsible for leading the younger leaders movement within Lausanne, Michael Oh, wrote this afterward:

During the reception for younger leaders, where we had close to 1,000 in attendance, I mentioned that many had been asking about the future of Lausanne and the future of the global Church. So I asked the young people gathered there to look around the room and into each other’s eyes. And I said to them, “Welcome to the future.”

Jesus showed up with a message. My job at the congress, which nobody envied but everybody was keen to encourage, was to chair the Statement Working Group.

We were tasked to listen for the voice of the Lord coming through the deluge of voices in all the plenaries and groups, and a deluge it was. It was like trying to catch Niagara Falls in a bucket. We hope to release the full Cape Town Commitment, Parts 1 and 2, in January 2011.

But what struck me towards the end was how often we had heard two themes coming through again and again ”” the same voice, saying the same things: “Make disciples” (don’t just count decisions to believe in me) and “Love one another” (and stop chopping up my body among you with your brands and labels, your ignorance and arrogance). And I thought to myself: “Two thousand years ago an Ethiopian met Jesus and brought him to the top end of Africa, through the scroll of Isaiah interpreted by Philip. How wonderful that two thousand years later our Lord is meeting us at the bottom end of Africa and giving us the same fundamental message.”

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12 Cities | 12 Conversations – Cape Town 2010 from ConversationGatherings on Vimeo.

It is a good question they are asking: What can the American church learn from leaders in other regions of the world?

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Update: Skye Jethani identifies those in the video discussion here.

Lausanne Movement leaders have called for a new Reformation and challenged participants in the 2010 Congress to repentance, renewal and integrity. The Congress in Cape Town brought together more than 4000 evangelical delegates from 198 countries, and despite a sophisticated cyber-attack, many more were able to follow its proceedings on the internet.

Among its themes were how to reach out to other world faiths, ministry in the world’s 10 ‘mega-cities’, each with more than 10 million inhabitants, issues around justice and social action, and HIV/Aids.

The retiring chair of Lausanne’s theology working group, Dr Chris Wright, aimed his Saturday address at the church. ‘What hurts God most, is not just the sin of the world, but the failure, disobedience and rebellion of those he has redeemed.

‘We tend to spend all our time attacking and complaining about the world and ignoring our own failures.’Dr Wright referred to what he called ‘the idolatry of the church,’ pointing out the three idols that are ‘especially seductive’ for evangelical Christians: the idol of power and pride; the idol of popularity and success; and the idol of wealth and greed.

‘Reformation of the church is once again the desperate need,’ he said.

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Even though there is nothing above on the screen if you click on play I assure you Chris Wright will appear–watch it all; KSH.

Ever since Martin Luther Christians have been calling for new reformations, with varied levels of seriousness. (In 1982 Robert Schuller published Self-Esteem: The New Reformation.) However, Chris Wright’s call on Saturday morning of the Cape Town 2010 congress had a note of unusual authenticity. His address was followed by Femi Adeleye’s take-no-prisoners talk on prosperity teaching, which he labeled “another gospel.” More to the point, much of Saturday was devoted to repentance and prayer, as participants were asked to reflect deeply on their lack of humility, integrity and simplicity.

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At the evening session, the Rev. Gideon Para-Mallam of Nigeria, the international deputy director for English, Portuguese and Spanish-speaking Africa, told Western Christian leaders at the conference to stand up and Africans to applaud them for the sacrifices of Western missionaries in bringing the Gospel to the continent.

“As a result of their obedience, God has been at work in Africa,” said Para-Mallam. “Africa has moved from a missionary-receiving continent in 1910 to now [in] 2010 a missionary-sending continent. Missionaries will be leaving Africa to Europe, from Africa to the United States of America, from Africa to all over the world.”

“The church in Africa is the church of the future,” he declared.

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There was resounding applause today as Chris Wright issued an unequivocal call for a second reformation in the world church.

Addressing the Third Lausanne Congress on world evangelisation today, the renowned theologian said Christians had lost their integrity and succumbed to the idolatry of power and pride, popularity and success, and wealth and greed.

“What do you think is the greatest obstacle to God’s desire for the evangelisation of the world? It’s not other religions. It’s not persecution. It’s not resistant cultures.

“The greatest problem for God in his redemptive mission for the world is his own people.

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When asked about the messages emanating from the Cape Town 2010, Dr [René] Padilla said ”˜I am thankful that we can now talk openly about the social dimension of the gospel.’ Referring to the relationship of evangelism and social responsibility, Padilla recalled the analogy once given by his longtime friend, British theologian and churchman John Stott. Aged 89 and a lifelong bird watcher, John Stott advocates that proclamation of the gospel and the social dimension of the gospel go together like ”˜two wings of a bird.’

René Padilla remarked that the level of disquiet he received in 1974 was rather intense. Given the climate of Cape Town 2010, it would appear that things have clearly changed.

While taking part in a panel focusing on Latin America, René Padilla articulated three priorities facing evangelicalism in particular, and the Church as a whole. At the top of the list is what the senior statesman calls ”˜true discipleship, modelled after the original disciples of Christ.’ His other concerns, seen as interrelated and of equal importance, are globalization, which he claims breeds an unjust economic system, and the stewardship of God’s creation.

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(ACNS) The second full day of the Cape Town 2010 Congress focused on the role of the church in the ministry of reconciliation””reconciliation of women and men with God’s creation, reconciliation between people of different economic status, and reconciliation between people of different ethnic and racial backgrounds.

Ruth Padilla DeBorst, the General Secretary of the Latin American Theological Fellowship, began the day by leading participants through a study of Ephesians chapter two. She provided thoughtful insights about the nature of God’s transformative power in changing people and societies.

“Jesus made peace by doing justice, by restoring to rightful place and right relations those who were being deprived of them by unjust systems, human greed and abuse of power,” Ruth Padilla Deborst said. “God lives wherever men and women together allow the Community-of-love to imprint God’s image on them, to speak reconciliation into being in their midst, to tear down all humanly constructed walls and spiritually bolstered exclusions so that unity becomes visible, to remind them that once we were all together in death and that our lives, our value and our purpose depend entirely on God’s unmerited grace. God yearns to build the world church today into his earthly dwelling place.”

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You can participate (really) in eight different languages–check through it carefully.

Check out this hugely significant event which begins today.

Bishops of the Anglican Church in Southern Africa say they are deeply disturbed by news of growing human rights abuses in Swaziland, a kingdom sandwiched between South Africa and Mozambique.

The bishops, meeting in Benoni near Johannesburg from 27 to 29 September for their twice-yearly synod, challenged their church to become more involved in the quest for democracy in Swaziland.

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of Cape Town, the leader of the church, said on 30 September he could not remain silent on the issue of democracy in Swaziland, “where power and wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few, and political debate is hardly permitted”.

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At one level the World Cup has been a short-term boon. Tourists emptied out of the tour buses, made purchases from street merchants and visited the Hector Pieterson Museum situated across the street from Holy Cross. They got back on the buses to return to their hotels in suburbs with high walls, confident that they saw the real Soweto.

“I live on the other side of Soweto and I haven’t seen a tour bus yet,” [Anglican priest Stepehn] Morero said.

But now that the monthlong circus has left town, the hard questions that were raised by community activists before the World Cup are back: Who won? Who lost?

The event has generally been hailed as a great success, with talk now turning to a South African Olympics as a possibility. New stadiums were constructed along with new roads leading to the stadiums, construction that helped create thousands of jobs. But is South Africa ”” and a majority of South Africans ”” better off than before the World Cup came to town?

“How much of the profit FIFA makes will be left to develop the poor communities?” Morero said. “I do not think it is going to move the ball forward. There has been a concern from the community over who profits from the World Cup.”

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France exited in disgrace from the World Cup on Tuesday with no victories and little sympathy for a team that infamously used an intentional handball to get into the tournament and self-destructed on the way out.

France’s petulant image did not gain much redemption in its final match, a 2-1 defeat to host South Africa in Bloemfontein, south of here. Les Bleus, as the team is known, played the final 65-plus minutes a man short after midfielder Yoann Gourcuff was ejected for elbowing an opponent in the head.

Afterward, the eccentric and departing French coach, Raymond Domenech, declined to shake hands with his South African counterpart, Carlos Alberto Parreira. Apparently, Parreira said, the snub was related to his criticism of the way France had qualified for the World Cup: the illegal handling of the ball by forward Thierry Henry, which was unseen by the referee and led to the decisive goal in a cumulative playoff victory against Ireland in November.

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CHARLIE ROSE: And soccer’s popularity or football as they say everywhere else, grows like crazy?

TOMMY SMYTH: Yes, it’s continuing to grow, there is no question about it. I mean, you travel the streets of any major city in the United States now and you will find kids wearing the jerseys of Barcelona–

CHARLIE ROSE: And every bar’s got it turned on along with baseball.

TOMMY SMYTH: Yeah, everybody’s watching it now, and the ratings on ESPN have been tremendous, through the roof.

CHARLIE ROSE: Yeah, and high-definition television, unbelievable.

TOMMY SMYTH: It’s almost like you were on the field, Charlie. You have to look out or somebody will kick you.

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The remarkable remains of two ancient human-like creatures (hominids) have been found in South Africa.

The fossils of a female adult and a juvenile male – perhaps mother and son – are just under two million years old.

They were uncovered in cave deposits at Malapa not far from Johannesburg.

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As an Anglican archbishop who spent decades working to defeat apartheid and is widely considered the moral conscience of South Africa, what do you make of your country’s current president, Jacob Zuma, who is in the headlines again for fathering a child out of wedlock?

I think we are at a bad place in South Africa, and especially when you contrast it with the Mandela era. Many of the things that we dreamt were possible seem to be getting more and more out of reach. We have the most unequal society in the world. We have far too many of our people living in a poverty that is debilitating, inhumane and unacceptable.

But why is Zuma still president? He sets such a poor example ”” a polygamist with three wives who just fathered a 20th child with yet another woman. Why is that tolerated?

It’s not. Two of the major churches have spoken out very strongly. The Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church have said that he’s undermining his own government’s campaign to deal with the H.I.V. pandemic. That campaign speaks about being loyal to one partner, practicing safe sex and generally using condoms, and he hasn’t done that.

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[Martin Luther] King…had this to say in 1968 about anti-Zionism at Harvard University: “When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews; you are talking anti-Semitism.”

Today, Gandhi’s influence is still keenly felt globally. Yet it is interesting to note that India today rejects its spiritual founder’s worldview. A nuclear power, it has adopted Israel’s approach to threats from suicide bombers and other terrorists.

So with all due respect to Tutu, Israel and the Jewish people are clear about the lesson of the Holocaust: that never again will the destiny of our people be placed in the hands of others. For 2,000 years, Jews depended on pity; they had no land and no army, and what they got in return were inquisitions, pogroms and the Nazi genocide. The Holocaust also taught us that freedom and justice come to those who are prepared to fight for them.

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Crime in South Africa is commonly portrayed as an onslaught against the wealthy, but it is the poor who are most vulnerable: poor people conveniently accessible to poor criminals. Diepsloot, an impoverished settlement on the northern edge of Johannesburg, has an estimated population of 150,000, and the closest police station is 10 miles away.

To spend time in Diepsloot over three weeks is to observe the unrelenting fear so common among the urban poor. Experts point to the particularly brutal nature of crime in this country: the unusually high number of rapes, hijackings and armed robberies. The murder rate, while declining, is about eight times higher than in the United States.

In Diepsloot, people usually bear their losses in silence, their misfortune unreported and their offenders unknown. If a suspect is identified, victims usually inform quasi-legal vigilante groups or hire their own thugs to recover their property.

This ran on the front page of Tuesday’s New York Times. It is a sobering account of just some of the plight of the urban poor globally. Read it all–KSH.