By Karabo Ntanzi
The Northern Cape province hosted the seventh leg of the National Pastors Indaba Advocacy (NPIA) consultative process in Kimberley, with Dr Khanya Maseko, president of the Salvation Church of the Revival of Faith in Cape Town, headlining the event.
Seventy-six men and women came together from as far as Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng, Western and Eastern Cape to witness the consultation process in Kimberley. The Northern Cape was the seventh province to host the Indaba.
It was an auspicious season for Northern Cape to share Dr Maseko’s vision to create a platform to open dialog for pastors to advance their interests as a collective “from where the sun rises to where the sun sets”, Maseko said, quoting extensively from Psalm 113 of the Bible.
Maseko, the visionary behind the Indaba, said the purpose of the gathering was to create a platform to open dialogues for church leaders, “we are here to co-exist with other organisations. Not to form or replace any organisation, fraternal or any structure”.
He explained that the platform was not affiliated to any political party, club or society but was an autonomous structure. “One does not need an application form or joining fee. Just an attendance register to confirm your presence.”, continued Maseko.
He told delegates that the enemy benefits when pastors criticise each other. Therefore, churches must be united.
Pastors from others provinces addressed the gathering on various topics including…..
Prof Stanley Peterson, president of the Koisan and Speaker of the Dawied Kruiper local municipality, was the guest of honour.
Chief Apostle Dr MA Maphalala delivered a message of support based on the importance of fatherhood. He explained that fatherhood was exchanged for slavery through colonisation; hence, the high rate of dysfunctionality within our communities”.
Maphalala also spoke strongly about leadership roles, “As leaders, we must give each other a chance. Do not hold on even when you are tired”, he advised.
Gregory Nyongane, the convenor for Northern Cape anti Gender-Based Violence, presented shocking statistics, “we talk about accountability, advocacy, stupidity and ignorance, but we forget our responsibilities as parents”, he remarked.
He mentioned that in 2018 when 2000 organisations approached the state president Cyril Ramaphosa because 6 443 pastors were convicted for GBV crimes perpetrated over 28 years. Those included 127 pastors from the Northern Cape, “shame to the church,” he exclaimed.
Nyongane informed the audience that there is a draft bill on GBV to establish an anti-GBV council that the country’s president will lead. The parliamentary portfolio committee on anti-GBV received 27 000 submissions. Two comments were from the church, the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) and the Southern African Bishops Conference (SABC) or the Roman Catholic church.
In his closing remark, Bishop Keith Harrington, organiser for NPIA, reminded delegates that this was a consultative process, “We have an attendance register. We will contact every one of you. If there is an interest, we will have more of these gatherings”.
For video recordings go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV48WWi3tgQ&t=85s – Ps Stanley Petersen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hU4Sm0mP7c – Chief Apostle Dr Maphalala
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txUQGrwbCps –Gregory Nyongane
Comments are closed.