Corresponding with Congregations in South Africa

We saw and learned several things that helped us understand the slow and sparse conversation we had received from Lekubu:

•  This is a very new relationship with the ELCA. ELCSA has had a long term very good relationship with the German church, but that relationship is more paternalistic in nature and is a sharing between circuits (what we call conferences) rather than congregations. This “companionship” relationship with the ELCA is still new and with congregations is entirely new.

•  Trust is important and necessary in this relationship. The people in the Western Diocese are very trusting, loving, singing, fun-filled, happy people – but they are also very cautious. Crime is rampant. Unemployment is 50%. It is a fact and daily reality of life to guard anything you want to keep and not trust anyone. Beyond this the systematic oppression by whites under apartheid was inhumanly cruel.

•  Education has been limited or even denied to Blacks until 1994. Thus few over the age of 30 speak English. Until 1994 for those who were able to receive education English was at best their third language. Many, perhaps most, pastors do not type and many do not have access to a computer.

•  Time is different in Africa as in many places in the world. There is no need to hurry. Worship never started on time and worship would go on for hours. What is slow to us is seen as being diligent to them.

•  Organization is different in the Western Diocese than in the U.S. and our ELCA congregations. Committees are very much alive in the Western Diocese. Meetings are very important. Long deliberations, careful decisions, and knowing and following the determined course are highly valued. Thus if a congregation in the Western Diocese is serious about this Companion relationship they will form a Parish Committee to oversee this relationship. This will take time to form, time to review the letter, and time then to respond to the letter. BUT what they write and do will be deeply owned and supported by that parish.

•  Tradition still has its place. A primary tradition in the Western Diocese is respect for Elders and those in places of authority. To whom the letter is address and who writes the letter are very important. The pastor and the chair of the Parish Council or the Parish Companionship Committee are key.

•  The role of pastors is different in the Western Diocese. They are appointed by the Diocese and not called by the congregation. The collegiality appears to be much stronger. If we think pastors here are busy, in the Western Diocese an average congregation will have one pastor for 3000 members divided among 2-3 congregations. Thus it may be easy for many pastors to neglect or avoid a letter from us. Responding to our letter may well involve, for them, forming another Committee and more meetings. We were told by pastors there that some pastors are “lazy” about replying to letters from their U.S. companion congregation. BUT if fellow pastors start talking about their American companion congregation that will have tremendous influence and suddenly it will become a major priority.

•  The people of the Western Diocese are proud, lively, vital human beings . After being oppressed for so long, they are not about to look bad. South Africa is both a First World and a Third World country. 15 minutes away from the Third World looking African village of our Companion congregation is a formerly white-only city which is now filled with Blacks and which has all the look and shopping of any U.S. city. South Africa is not like many other African countries – they are not enamored with our “white world” – they see it and engage with people in that world regularly. I also do not understand why - perhaps because they are the majority, or because of Nelson Mendella's leadership, or because of their faith – I never sensed a feeling of victimization. Hope abounds. My observation is that they are confident and proud. They know, if given the opportunity, that they can live and manage in that First World . Thus I wonder, if some of the slowness to respond in writing back to us is that they want to do it well. They are not going to instantly whip out a response. They have dealt with that “white world” and they are not going to allow themselves to look badly just to please us. They want to be proud of their letter and make sure it sounds and looks good.

•  The relationship with the Germans is a major reality in the life of the Western Diocese. The German missionaries are highly revered for they are the ones who brought them the Good News of Jesus Christ. In nearly every parish there is physical evidence of church buildings, parsonages, and early learning centers funded and built by the German church, besides many of the circuit and diocese facilities. It was also the German church that initiated ELCSA becoming more independent beginning in the 1950s including inviting South African pastors to serve German congregations and regular alternating visits (every year or every other year) to “partnership circuits”. HOWEVER, this is a long-established, entrenched relationship in which the German church has been the giver and the South African church the receiver. It is felt by the South Africans as paternalistic, but it is also seen, especially by many laity, as the necessary means by which to fund their programs or needs. Why would they view our “Companionship” relationship differently? We need to show and prove it. Are we going to supply the financial support where and when the Germans don't? We need to be prepared for this expectation and confusion. My understanding is that German letters and visits are “business” letters from the German circuit to a circuit in the Western Diocese – so why will they not view our letters in the same way? Our letters are different since they are addressed to a parish rather than the circuit, but we will need to again show and prove that our letters and “companionship” is about developing a relationship rather than about business. AND both of us – our congregations and theirs – will need to grow into what “relationship” means and why this is important (they see the value of what the German church has done – what is the value of our relationship with them).

Conclusions : 
The development of relationship with congregations in South Africa needs insightful leaders in that parish to share the load with the pastor. I think the reason our Companion congregation responded to our letters and welcomed us to their village was because of Jake, Alfred, and Abbe. Pastor Seaketso was very nervous when we first came. To his credit he quickly relaxed and related well with us, but I don't think he would have responded so readily on his own if he had not had the support of Jake, Alfred, and Abbe. Jake and Alfred are well educated, traveled, and confident leaders who saw the meaning and the value of “relationship” and so encouraged the development of this relationship. Abbe as one who had time and desire, was the one they relied upon and who also very adeptly did the primary work of relating to us. Our correspondence before our visit was very limited. Letters were slow – often taking 1-2 months before they were received both ways. The letters were also short and business like – not much more than the facts. As a result of our visit we have figured out a way to email. Now communication is much more frequent and much more personal.

In summary, to communicate with the people of South Africa , the following is important:

• Be persistent, patient, and understanding. South Africans will view and use letters differently than we do. It is important to realize and understand this and not to be offended or put off by it but to keep trying.

• There may be no response until a change of pastors and unless there is “visionary” lay leadership.

No response may also be a signal to define more exactly why we are writing and what we expect and hope from them.

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