A first for Rev Gill Lovell

We were delighted when Reverend Gill Lovell and her husband Kevin from St Peters Parish in Burham visited to gain experience of the ministry in South Africa.

During their eight week stay at the Church of Ascension, Rev Gill assisted with the services at Holy Trinity Paarl and was the first female clergy person to ever celebrate communion at the parish. They also helped with the rebuilding of the houses that burnt down in Luiskamp and helped distribute meals to workers on the surrounding farms.

Much appreciated

Earlier this year Reverend Keith Hawkes [left], assistant priest at The Guiltcross Group of Parishes, and his son Nigel from the UK came to visit us.

On a previous visit, Revd Hawkes was so inspired when he visited our projects at Robertson that he decided to do something
to help. We were thrilled when he donated £640 – raised partly through some part-time work and partly as a result of placing jars at the back of the church and encouraging all the men in the congregation to empty their pockets of coins into the jars.

An enterprising group of girls at Riddlesworth Hall Preparatory School held a cake sale and raised £50 – and a further £200 was donated by the school.

Thank you to all of you – your hard work and kindness is greatly appreciated!

Archbishop of Canterbury attends MDG Conference in South Africa

At a media briefing the visiting Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said that achieving the Millennium Development Goals for Africa depends on the grassroots delivery networks of churches on the continent.

“A key theme is the Christian faith as a powerful component in the transformation needed to end poverty,” he said.

The Archbishop was addressing reporters at the 8-day Anglican communion conference on the church’s contribution to achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals in South Africa, hosted by Cape Town Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane.

One of the church’s goals was to build an HIV/Aids-free Africa. “We need to end the scandal of extreme poverty, stop the spread of Aids and ensure proper care and treatment for those affected by the virus," Williams said.

Capetonians march to stop violence

Led by churchmen, including our patron Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, people of Cape Town took to the streets on Thursday May 4thto protest against the level of crime in the city. The symbolic statement took the form of a silent peace march from the Good Hope Centre in Strand Street to Cape Town City Hall.

If you walk beside us along the narrow dusty 'streets' of townships like Rooidakke, you might be hard-pressed to see any sign of hope. People here live in abject poverty, as many as six or seven adults and children to each tiny one-room shack.

And yet there is hope here ... thanks to you and others like you, who support our poverty-relief programmes in southern Africa.

Because you care, there'll be a community soup kitchen operating; perhaps in someone's backyard or at the local church hall. Willing township mothers will pitch in to help turn donated fresh vegetables and sacks of protein soya – paid for by overseas friends like you – into nourishing meals for queues of hungry children.

As we continue up the street, we may pass the community health worker on her way to soothe a sick child or terminally ill adult – with medicines, dressings and equipment supplied by you!

And if we pop into the small hut that serves as a child care centre, you'll see busy little ones making the most of the books, crayons and educational toys you helped us buy. For all you do, and all you mean to so many people here, THANK YOU!

Smiles from the Belhar kids!

Friends around the world opened their hearts to the little ones who come to 'school' at Mary Magdalene Church in Belhar – sending not only money to help build a proper child care centre, but also exciting parcels of soft toys, books and other equipment. These smiles are for YOU!