Uniting Reformed Church In Southern Africa Research Articles

For Hannes Adonis: Demolishing Walls

The study aims to indicate how the lives of religious people can serve as a source of theological knowledge and beliefs. This study engages the life and work of Hannes Adonis through the methodology of biography as theology. A key characteristic of Hannes Adonis's life and work is the dismantling of all walls of division in church and academia. First, the methodology of biography as theology is discussed. Secondly, Adonis’s contribution to the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC)/Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) is engaged. Thirdly, Adonis’s impact on academia, particularly the South African historiography, is discussed.

Ecclesiastico-pastoral care for social security grant holders in South Africa

This article aims to address the gap in research on ecclesiastical and pastoral care for congregational members dependent on government grants from the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA). It emphasises the impact of the dire socio-economic circumstances of congregants, and the role it plays in the life of the ordained pastor of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA), navigating through the dynamics on their daily realities. The primary question addressed is: What amount of care is possible from the side of the church and the pastor to deal with SASSA related problems experienced by congregants? It is based on two types of data: firstly, five semi-structured interviews conducted with five women, three of them mothers who receive a Child Support Grant, and two grandmothers whose teenage daughters receive this grant. A second data set consists of recollections by a pastor who ministers in a community where the only income of most of the inhabitants is SASSA Grant related. Seven stories are told of pastoring needs related to SASSA Grant holders. Applying Narrative Therapy as method, data was analysed and nine themes emerged: (1) The church acknowledging and managing the needs of mothers; (2) the church providing a ‘haven’ for young mothers harassed by the father of the child; (3) pastoring domestic unrest among older grant holders; (4) pastoring congregants who are scammed out of a SASSA Grant; (5) supporting congregants who escape domestic violence through SASSA; (6) the church co-ordinating between significant others; (7) pastoring honour and shame; (8) protecting the elderly; and (9) pastoring conflicting cultural expectations vis-à-vis the SASSA Grant. This article concludes with a summary of and recommendations on ecclesiastico-pastoral care for SASSA Grant holders.Contribution: This article emphasises the importance of a multi-dimensional, non-theoretical approach in providing insight into the reality of ecclesiastical-pastoral care of congregants – care that extends beyond spiritual well-being to the livelihoods of vulnerable communities with various socio-economic needs, particularly those solely dependent on government grants.

Mary-Anne Plaatjies-van Huffel

There’s no doubt that Mary-Ann Plaatjies-van Huffel is amongst the women who “have moved into the academy, assumed religious leadership, and claimed their religious agency and heritage”. However, as a woman of colour Plaatjies-van Huffel’s life and work reveal that she had to navigate her leadership and exercise her agency along a well-beaten patriarchal beaten track. In this article I foreground some “first woman to…” milestones on Plaatjies-van Huffel’s trailblazing journey through the ecclesial ranks of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA), highlighting that her academic research and community engagement reflect the social, economic, and political realities of racism and sexism, and its complex ramifications in post-apartheid South Africa. The main argument I make in this article is that, while women may no longer be excluded from leadership positions, it is second-generation gender bias that maintains the patriarchal beaten track in “the church”. Thus, I call for the debunking of second-generation gender bias which, I argue, will require a virtue of unctuousness.

Unfinished business

In this essay, we seek to relate the prophetic critique of the Belhar Confession to several matters that could be classified as “unfinished business” for the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA). In particular, we argue that Belhar – which has been a confessional document of the church since 1986 – speaks to several ongoing issues which impact South Africa and URCSA in particular. For the sake of this essay, we focus specifically on the “unfinished business” of Belhar as it relates to patriarchy, within the context of femicide, the question of the inclusion of queer bodies within the body of URCSA, and the continuing societal problem of xenophobia and Afrophobia in South Africa at large.

Inequalities within Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa on gender, with special reference to lGBTQIA+: Imago Dei

This article consists of five parts on equality within faith communities. First, the focus is on the creation of human beings as the image of God on an equal basis. The premise is that LGBTQIA+ people are created as human beings in the image of God, deserving to be welcomed in faith communities. Second, the article focuses on the way in which missionaries have taught African converts to interpret the Bible on many serious human rights issues. Third, the position of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) is discussed, utilising the contents of the General Synods, spanning from Pietermaritzburg (2005) to Stellenbosch (2022). Fourth, this study reflects on the challenges faced by denominations who accept LGBTQIA+ people regarding marriage and their ordination. The challenge seems to be about the fundamental reading of the Bible, confession, and Church Order articles, which are discussed here. Fifth, recommendations are proposed to address this inequality. This article is approached from an anthropological-missional viewpoint when addressing this inequality within communities of faith.

Unsuspicious reception of Biblical discourse in Africa and its implications for polygamy

The Bible has been conceived and received as a neutral book, as the Word of God, or as containing the Word of God. This understanding and perception enabled missionaries to interpret the Bible in such a way that it disadvantaged and oppressed the “converts”. It should be clear that theology is a form of rational discourse, with consequences for the recipient. As a result, the Bible has destroyed the sociocultural world of Africa. The article aims to narrow down the discussion and focus on the issue of polygamy in the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA). The Church Order is used as a point of argument to clarify the URCSA’s position. The article argues that the unsuspicious reception of the Bible in Africa and the “interpretation” by missionarieshas created a cultural bipolarity for African Christians and demonised polygamy.

Questions on the Ordination of “Homosexual” Members in the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa

This article aims to engage the topic of homosexuality, with special reference to the ordination of homosexual people. This was informed by the ongoing conversation that has been happening within the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) since their 2005 Pietermaritzburg General Synod. The church has put a moratorium on the licensing of ministry students, ordination of proponents and marriage officiation of its homosexual members until such a time that the synod makes its decision. A task team was appointed to do research and consult with congregations of the church. The aim of the article is not to provide answers but rather to ask radical theological, medical and biological questions that would assist the church in making informed decisions based on current experiences and realities. The Reformed and Creation theologies shall be used as a tool to engage and clarify questions. Questions are viewed as important to move towards finding answers and solutions to the issue of the ordination of “homosexual” ministers from the LGBTQIA+ community.

Verskuiwing van die Teologiese Skool van die Verenigende Gereformeerde Kerk in Suider-Afrika na die Universiteit van Stellenbosch

In September 1998, the University of the Western Cape (UWC) terminated employment contracts of 51 lecturers, including six lecturers of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA), due to a process of rationalisation. UWC unilaterally suspended the employment contracts of six church lecturers. The curatorium considered this action as a breach of contract, in view of the 1973 agreement of the church with UWC. In response to a presentation by Prof. G.D. Cloete at the URCSA Cape Regional Synod 1998 entitled: “Report of the future of the Faculty at the University of Western Cape,” the Synod assigned the task to the Cape Regional Synod Curatorium “to protect the interests of its students and lecturers; then (b) ensure the best possible theological training for future ministers.”A historical overview about the move of the Theological School of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) to Stellenbosch University (SU) follows. The article comprises letters, reports and collective decisions of the church that deal with the relocation of the Religion and Theological Faculty from UWC to SU.

Gender Inequality in the Church: Addressing Patriarchy within the Liturgical Spaces in the Johane Masowe Chishanu Church in South Africa

This article discusses gender inequality in the Johane Masowe Chishanu Church (JMCC), a Zimbabwean church that has established branches in South Africa. The article reports on a study that grappled with the question of how the JMCC addresses patriarchal structures that have pervaded and replicated in most African Indigenous Churches (AICs). Using an African cultural hermeneutics theory, the current study sought to build on the valuable inputs of the late Mary-Anne Elizabeth Plaatjies-Van Huffel (1959–2020), who dedicated her work to the cause of gender inclusiveness and the eradication of social injustices. Plaatjies-Van Huffel, whose extensive contribution as an academic and a minister in the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA), is revered throughout theological and academic settings, particularly in southern Africa. Accordingly, the study found that although the JMCC has celebrated 90 years of its existence, women and girls have not been given an equal opportunity in officiating the sacraments and other liturgies. Hence, the study recommends that the time is right for women and girls in the JMCC to follow in the footsteps of Plaatjies-Van Huffel in the struggle to liberate themselves from traditions and cultural bondage. Further, the study recommends that some religious and cultural traditions, which forbid women from occupying these sacred spaces simply because they are female, must be addressed. The data for the study was collected through conducting interviews and consulting secondary sources, such as published books and journals.

Church Media and Reconciliation in the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA)

In honour of Mary-Anne Elizabeth Plaatjies-Van Huffel, this article is dedicated to her last endeavour, “to reflect on the road travelled” of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA). Plaatjies-Van Huffel became outspoken against the lack of internal unity in URCSA, especially after the retraction of her nomination as Actuarius at the URCSA Cape Synod elections in 2018. In this regard, the article focuses particularly on reconciliation in URCSA with a focus on the role of the church media as a medium for reconciliation. The paper will focus on the media reporting of the DRMC church newspaper, Die Ligdraer, between 1990 and 1994 on church unification between the DRCA and the DRMC as a case study to reflect on what role church media can play in the internal unification processes in URCSA. The author conducts a rhetorical analysis of the DRMC’s newspaper, Die Ligdraer, and its role in the facilitation of unification between two churches (DRMC and DRCA), with different ethnic and cultural traditions that became reconciled and united in the context of political transition within the broader South African context.

Mary-Anne Elizabeth Plaatjies-Van Huffel: A First Voice on Gender Equity in South Africa

The article contains and expands on the previously unpublished first “Mary-Anne Plaatjies-Van Huffel Memorial Lecture” that was given by the author on 12 August 2020. This was the day on which Mary-Anne Elizabeth Plaatjies-Van Huffel, who died on 19 May 2020, was to give her inaugural lecture as the first black woman to become a full professor in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. The article concentrates on the pioneering work Plaatjies-Van Huffel did in her first doctorate, which she submitted in 2003 under the supervision of the author. The question is asked why, after almost 20 years, the proposals for gender equity set forward by Plaatjies-Van Huffel in her 2003 thesis have still not been heard, either by local academia or by the church to which she belonged, the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA). In answering this question, her involvement in the equally neglected “Policy on Gender Equity,” accepted by URCSA in 1994, and adapted in 2005, will be highlighted.

Rethinking Methods to Curb Gender Discrimination in Church Leadership: The Case of Pentecostal Churches in Zimbabwe

The patriarchal structure that has pervaded and replicated itself, not only in the society but also in the church, has raised questions on how the church can get out of this quagmire. Many proposals have been propounded from different angles on the topic in question, and this paper seeks to add a voice to the discourse. The paper assesses the effectiveness of methods used in Pentecostal churches in Zimbabwe to address and curb gender discrimination. The research concludes that although Pentecostal churches in Zimbabwe have made concerted efforts to curb gender inequality in the church, the methods used have not been able to effectively mitigate the gender imbalance that previously existed. The research that directed this article was grounded on the Pentecostal hermeneutics theory as well as the African feminist theory. This article acknowledges the valuable inputs of the late Mary-Anne Elizabeth Plaatjies-Van Huffel, who dedicated her work to the cause of gender inclusiveness and the eradication of social injustices. Her vast contribution, as an academic and minister in the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA), reverberated throughout the theological and academic milieu in southern Africa, and indeed in the world. The researcher used a qualitative approach as well as interviews and participant observation to gather data, together with secondary data from published books and journals. The study recommends educating people about the importance of gender balance and the inclusion of gender, a message of inclusion and new practices and traditions, and the creation of a structure for change. Roadmaps and paths for change are to be built. The research will be beneficial to political, social, economic and religious systems to alter the discrepancies in gender discrimination that are propelled by beliefs, a mind-set and culture proponents that seem to derail the value and contribution of women.

The Life and Work of Mary-Anne Plaatjies-Van Huffel in Church and Society with specific Reference to the Confession of Belhar

The untimely death of Prof. Mary-Anne Plaatjies-Van Huffel challenges everybody who knew her to reflect on her life and work. One of the outstanding attributes of Plaatjies-Van Huffel was the way in which she “lived” the Confession of Belhar. To her it was much more than a theological document. It guided her life, was the lens through which she looked at church and society and, in the process, became personified in her life and work. This is the focus of the article. It starts off with a short overview of the life of Plaatjies-Van Huffel before it gives a short description of the importance of the Confession of Belhar. How the life of Plaatjies-Van Huffel and the Belhar Confession became inseparable is then described through the three critical areas which are addressed by the Confession, namely unity, social justice and reconciliation. Examples of her leadership in the reunification process between the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) and the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA), and press statements on social justice and reconciliation are then used to illustrate how the Confession was embodied by Mary-Anne Plaatjies-Van Huffel.

'n Kerkhistoriese oorsig van die diskoers oor rasseverhoudinge en versoening in die Afrikaanse gereformeerde kerke (1990-2017)

A church-historical analysis of the discourse on race relations and reconciliation in the Afrikaans reformed churches (1990–2017)The Afrikaans Reformed Churches, namely the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC), Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA), Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk of Africa (NHKA) and the Reformed Churches in South Africa (RCSA) made choices regarding the theological justification of apartheid and/or the denouncement thereof. in the past three decades. This chapter offers a close reading of synodical decisions of the Afrikaans Reformed churches with regard to the theological justification of apartheid and related issues as well as the resolutions of the General Assembly of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in 1992. The decisions of the said churches led to the re-admission of the NHKA and DRC in national and international ecumenical organisations, but eventually resulted in some schisms in the denominations. The chapter highlights the reluctance of the Afrikaans reformed churches to expedite a response to the World Alliance of Reformed Churches’ resolutions connected to the biblical justification of apartheid and to attend to reconciliation. In this chapter, attention will be paid to the following sub-themes: the struggle against the theological justification of apartheid and its legacy; from the theological justification of apartheid to a season of human dignity (DRC); from “volkskerk” to identity determined by God (NHKA); the protection of the identity of the “volk” as a God-given call to demographic unity (GKSA); jointly together towards a theology of inclusivity.

Kerkhistoriese oorsig van die diskoers oor rasseverhoudinge en versoening in die Afrikaanse gereformeerde kerke (1990–2017)

A church-historical analysis of the discourse on race relations and reconciliation in the Afrikaans reformed churches (1990–2017)The Afrikaans Reformed Churches, namely the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC), Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA), Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk of Africa (NHKA) and the Reformed Churches in South Africa (RCSA) made choices regarding the theological justification of apartheid and/or the denouncement thereof. in the past three decades. This chapter offers a close reading of synodical decisions of the Afrikaans Reformed churches with regard to the theological justification of apartheid and related issues as well as the resolutions of the General Assembly of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in 1992. The decisions of the said churches led to the re-admission of the NHKA and DRC in national and international ecumenical organisations, but eventually resulted in some schisms in the denominations. The chapter highlights the reluctance of the Afrikaans reformed churches to expedite a response to the World Alliance of Reformed Churches’ resolutions connected to the biblical justification of apartheid and to attend to reconciliation. In this chapter, attention will be paid to the following sub-themes: the struggle against the theological justification of apartheid and its legacy; from the theological justification of apartheid to a season of human dignity (DRC); from “volkskerk” to identity determined by God (NHKA); the protection of the identity of the “volk” as a God-given call to demographic unity (GKSA); jointly together towards a theology of inclusivity.

Reading the URCSA Church Order with African Lenses: A Belhar Confession Perspective

There are individuals within the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) who claim that URCSA is not an African church in the real sense, as it ought to be. These claims have emanated from the narrow reading of URCSA’s Church Order from a European perspective. This article aims at exploring how one can read the URCSA Church Order with African lenses. The author will highlight the identity of URCSA, as was accepted by the 2005 General Synod of Pietermaritzburg, which is African and Reformed. In this article, the author will outline the three concepts that are recently underpinning the African philosophy, namely community, Ubuntu, and Ujamaa as the lenses with which to read the URCSA Church Order. The utilisation of these concepts as lenses will enable us to understand and interpret the URCSA Church Order in an African sense.

Whose Land Is it anyway? A historical Reflection on the Challenges URCSA Encountered with Land and Property Rights

The proposal to amend the Constitution of South Africa 1996 regarding the expropriation of land without compensation has invigorated a robust discourse with regard to the land issue in South Africa. Cognisance should be taken of how the land issue was handled during the apartheid dispensation and the way it has played out in the constitutional democracy dispensation since 1994 in South Africa. This article will attend to issues relating to land in the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA). URCSA was constituted in 1994 due to a merger of two racially segregated churches, the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA). The DRMC was constituted through mission endeavours of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) during 1881 to serve so-called coloured members of the DRC. The DRCA was constituted in or about 1910 to serve African members. In order to understand the controversy in URCSA from 1994–2012 with regard to property rights, one has to understand how the colonists and missionaries (and later the apartheid regime) utilised “divide and rule” and supremacy strategies to secure property rights for churches of people from mixed descent and Indian people (the DRMC) and the Reformed Church in Africa [RCA]); while at the same time restricting property rights for churches of members from African descent (the DRCA). This is evident in the way the constitutions of the above-mentioned mission churches were drafted. This article will attend to the following subthemes: property rights of the DRMC challenged by apartheid laws; property rights of the DRCA challenged by apartheid laws; a court case regarding the expropriation of land without compensation; controversy regarding property rights (1998–2012); from litigation to out-of-court settlement on property rights (1998–2012); and lastly out-of-court settlement between the DRC, the DRCA and URCSA.

Rethinking the reciprocity between lex credendi, lex orandi and lex vivendi: As we believe, so we worship. As we believe, so we live

The Catholics order is from the way they worship to the way they behave ( lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi ). Protestants, on the other hand, commence with the question, ‘What are we to believe?’ The Protestant order would therefore be lex credendi, lex orandi, lex vivendi. Lex credendi is the law of belief (what we believe). Lex orandi, lex credendi , literally means the law of prayer (the way we worship) is the law of belief (what we believe) or the law of praying ( lex orandi ) constitutes or establishes the law of believing ( lex credendi ). As we believe, so we live ( lex credendi ) forms the basis and foundation of both the Catholic doctrine and the Catholic moral life. Lex orandi , the law of prayer (the way we worship) has to do with the enactment of the liturgy itself. In this article, I argue that the liturgy of life ( lex vivendi ) makes apparent what we believe. Lex vivendi [the rule of life] therefore pertains to how one should conduct oneself in a specified way, especially in relation to others regarding the teachings of the church as well as to ethical and social questions. Lex vivendi has to do with the faithful living of the Gospel. This article will therefore attend to the following: the meaning of lex credendi, lex orandi, lex vivendi ; expansion of adage to lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi ; justice and lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi ; interplay between lex credendi, lex orandi, lex vivendi in Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA). Contribution: From the perspective of Protestant dogmatics, this article aims to contribute to the reflection on the notion fides quaerens intellectum [faith seeks understanding].

Die Ligdraer as a Grassroots Engagement on URCSA’s Church Unification and Reconciliation between 1990-1997

One of the pre-occupations of God’s mission on earth ( missio Dei ) includes unity and reconciliation. This is well documented in the work of the catholic missiologist, Robert Schreiter (reconciliation), David J Bosch (unity) as well as the ecumenical World Mission Conferences (New Delhi, 1961; Athens, 2005). Unification processes of all the South African Churches (especially between traditionally/originally black and white race-based Churches) coincided with the transition period since 1990. The Churches, including the DRMC and the DRCA, went on a path of unification. This did not come without a wide range of “stumbling blocks.” Die Ligdraer , as the official newspaper of the DRMC, announced the date of the founding Synod between 14-17 April 1994 using the metaphor of a ‘wedding’ to reflect on the union between the two separate, racially-based Churches (NGSK, 1993) . From a missiological perspective, this paper deals with the case of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) in presenting the perspectives and sentiments on the ‘stumbling blocks’ experienced, particularly the informal conversations and discussions that are mostly presented in the Church’s newspaper ( Die Ligdraer/Ligstraal ). It focuses specifically on the 1990-1997 period of the Church, where most of the letters from members of the congregations, emotions and sensitive issues on the road towards unity were discussed. The paper limits itself to the newspaper of the DRMC, with a focus on the discussions and voices from members at the grassroots but also ministers that were listening to members in congregations to reflect on the ‘sacrifices’, compromises, accommodation and mutual trust that was at play and the strategies of the leadership of these Churches to facilitate reconciliation.

The Awkward Positioning of a Dutch Reformed Missionary in Apartheid South Africa

The Rev. D. P. (David) Botha was a lifelong apartheid critic and minister in the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) and later the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA). Early in his career, he served as a “missionary” in a DRMC congregation in Wynberg, and subsequently in other congregations in the Western Cape, South Africa. During his career, he wrote an important book and engaged in public discourse through contributions in newspapers and other mainstream publications. Focusing on these sources, most of which now form part of his private collection in the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) Archive, this article traces Botha’s growing agitation regarding the implementation of apartheid policies, in the aftermath of the institution of the 1950 Group Areas Act. Among other things it illuminates the early apartheid-era white view of the other, as experienced and critiqued by this insider-outsider minister with respect to his assessment of general white perceptions of so-called “coloureds” in the Cape Town area. Through specific attention to Botha’s correspondences with A. P. Treurnicht and Beyers Naudé, this article also shows the problematic perspective of a white missionary seeking to alleviate the impact of policy decisions on his church members, while simultaneously buying into the predominant ideology of racial categorisation.