Address by Minister of Social Development, Dr Zola Skweyiya, at the renaming of the West Rand Circuit of the Presbyterian Church of Africa 2 December 2008
Minister of Minerals and Energy, Ms Buyelwa Sonjica,
Rev. Frank Chikane (Director General in the Presidency),
Gauteng MEC for Housing Ms. Nomvula Mokonyane,
Executive Mayor of the West Rand District Municipality, Faith Matshikiza
Mayor of Mogale City, Koketso Seerane
Reverend Sihlahla and senior members of the church,
PCA congregations from across the country and province
Members of the public
The media.
I wish to thank members of the JBR Musi Presbyterian Church of Africa for inviting us to share in your service this morning. As we open this auspicious occasion I am reminded by the words of Jesus where in Matthew, in Chapter 6, Verse 9 he provides us with the Lords Prayer, which starts:
“Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come…”
Emmet Fox (1886-1951), eloquently explains the significance of this carefully constructed organic daily recital, which is recited Christians all over the world;
“The Great Prayer is a compact formula for the development of the soul. It is designed with the utmost care for the specific purpose; so that those who use it regularly, with understanding, will experience a real change of soul. The only progress is this change… The mere acquisition of fresh knowledge received intellectually makes no change in the soul. The Lord's Prayer is especially designed to bring this change about, and when it is regularly used it invariably does so.”
In Fox’s view the Prayer meets everybody and all’s aspirations at their own spiritual levels and desires. He apportions the utilization of “name” to the “essential nature or character of that thing”. He further traces the utilisation of “hollowed” back into Old English wherein it has the same meaning as “holy”, “whole”, “wholesome” and “heal”. Therefore he concludes that “the nature of God is not merely worthy of veneration, but is complete and perfect – altogether good”. He apportions the utilization of the phrase “thy Kingdom Come” so the mastering of a sense of duty amongst all of us. This duty his also intertwined with an obligation to serve humanity at all cost.
It is therefore in fulfilment of this interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer that we gather here today. We gather here today to mark the renaming of this West Rand Circuit of the Presbyterian Church of Africa to the JBR Musi Memorial Church. In so doing we are singularly embracing our heritage and accentuating the duty bound values we wish this congregation to espouse.
For, as we have said, a name signifies the essential nature of a thing. I so doing we bring to the whole and to good the life of a man who lived his life in an exemplary and duty bound manner.
The decision of this renaming by this congregation constitutes a milestone in the history of the PCA and society at large. The gesture symbolizes the recognition of the church’s history and legacy as an invaluable contributor to the liberation of our people. This legacy is worth preserving, promoting, and celebrating.
The religious fraternity in general and the PCA in particular, have played a very prominent role in the history of South Africa. The PCA has been for many decades an integral part of the struggle against colonialism, apartheid and all forms of oppression and injustice. This role, post 1994, has increased within society be it with regard to moral regeneration, poverty eradication, the fight against HIV/AIDS as well as influence on many other societal endeavours.
In our view the renaming of the West Rand Circuit after Reverend JBR Musi is a reflection and epitome of the great tradition of serving the people, especially those in need. This occasion also serves as a monument of our commitment to transforming society towards the building an African identity. Such an identity would establish a solid foundation for future generations to emulate and embrace.
This resonates well with a country on a path of redefinition and self discovery in a context of an increasingly globalizing world. In essence, this event pronounces to the world that Africa is ready to take its rightful place amongst the communities of the world. This occasion serves as a clarion call for the entire PCA community and all of us to invest and join in the quest for African Renaissance especially, in the context of the church celebrating its 110th anniversary in 2008.
But who was this man… who was this Reverend Musi, we name this church after?
The gigantic name of JBR Musi is engraved in granite alongside ordinary South Africans who lived and fought for the total emancipation of our people. The Reverend John Benjamin Robert Musi was ordained for the Ministry of the Gospel of God in 1946. In 1947 he was appointed to the West Rand Circuit.
West Rand at that time was a preaching station located inside the mine premises where he preached the word of God particularly amongst the miners. Many of these diggers came from across the country and the Southern African region to seek for employment. Many of whom lived in very abject conditions and indeed needed spiritual comfort and support. Through his tireless work, subsequently, many more preaching stations were formed.
Rev. J.B.R. Musi was a profound thinker, an excellent listener and a committed preacher with a wholesome personality. His stature and ideas did not require an utterance or argument to convince you, for he lived as he preached. It was these qualities that made the leadership of the PCA such as the late Rev. Kwatsha to have great trust in Rev. J.B.R Musi. They noted his ability to change or convince the minds of Ministers and elders in the Transvaal and Swaziland area even at his young age. Consequently, after noticing the intelligence of this young Minister, Rev Kwatsha sought to place him in leadership of the leader of the church at a tender age of 25 years. His commitment and capabilities led to Rev J.B.R Musi being deployed in 1959 to Rhodesia with the aim growing church there.
In 1967 he was appointed to serve at the Vereeniging station but due to ill-health and age, he served there for a period of less than a year. He came back to Kagiso where he passed away in 1968 and left behind his late wife Mamfundisi Maria Sarah “Mangwanya” Musi their daughter and grandchildren.
The saying with which Rev. J. B. R. Musi is remembered by is, “If you preach, preach as if you won’t preach again”. That legacy is still maintained and permeates the church and his family today.
Ladies and gentlemen, memorials are important as they are a reminder of the gift of unity in Christ that we all share. We are gathered here today at the heart of a variety of such commemorations.
Yesterday was World AIDS Day and tomorrow marks the International Day for People Living with Disabilities, which events are to be officiated by our Deputy Minister. We are also in the middle of our 16 Days of No Violence Against Women campaign. These are all battles that the church has an important role to play in. While the church played a prominent role in slaying the demon of apartheid it is the termites of our new found democracy that threatens our hard-won freedoms. The challenges of crime and AIDS have their basis in moral decay and it is herein that I call upon the church to join hands with government in restoring our people’s moral compass. AIDS has no culture. AIDS has no colour. AIDS has no religion.
Last Sunday saw the Million Men's March which was symbolic of men and boys joining together with women to say "No!" to the abuse of women and children. It highlighted the fact that violence against women and children is not only a women's issue, but a societal issue, an issue that should concern everybody. It is this message that should be spread throughout the congregation.
Between the 3 and 5 October 2007, in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, various religious leaders including Rev Ndungane, the National Religious Leaders Forum and other faith-based organisations, hosted the first ever international forum: Global Interfaith Dialogue in Cape Town. The forum was held to raise awareness amongst religious leaders and the faith-based communities on ways to eliminate another growing scourge of our time – that of human trafficking.
At the opening of the first democratically elected Parliament, the then President, Mr Nelson Mandela set the agenda for addressing the rights of women in a post apartheid South Africa, and I wish to quote him:
“Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression. All of us must take this on board that the objectives of the Reconstruction and Development Programme will not have been realised unless we see, in practical and visible terms, that the conditions of women in our country has been changed for the better and that they have been empowered to intervene in all aspects of life as equals with any other member of society.”
As our renowned Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said, “If God be for us who can be against us?”
Amen.
