Programme director
His grace Arch Bishop Sitoe, Bishops Moloi, Ramokoka, Maleka, Bogatsu
Honourable Minister of Social Development, Mme Edna Molewa
The Executive Mayor of Bojanala Platinum District Municipality, Councillor Lobang Motsepe
The Mayor of Moses Kotane Local Municipality and Councillor Peter Molelekeng
Motlotlegi Kgosi Monnakgotla of the Bakubung Traditional Authority
Anointed Servants of the most high God, Borre le Bomme Baruti
Representatives of the Ncgelwane,Mokgosi and Tigelo Families
Representatives of the National Women Convention & National Youth Council
Deacons and Evangelists
Phuthego e e kgethegileng
The first book of Samuel Chapter 7 verse 12-14 reads “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, "Thus far the Lord has helped us.”
I consider myself blessed and highly honoured to share this wonderful occasion to celebrate the goodness of the Lord with an African institution that has played an emancipation role in the history of our country over the past seven decades.
Like the Israelites in the days of Samuel, We are gathered here to profess to the Almighty God Almighty, “Ebenezer” you have been with us to this very day. We also gathered here united in our diversity to celebrate with exhilaration, the remarkable growth and the advancement of the Church of Christ’s Assemblies.
This thanksgiving celebration is an opportune moment for us to reflect and trace our roots and humble beginnings as a formerly oppressed people. I must emphasise that Our government and the African National Congress as the ruling party are not strangers to Christian values and beliefs.
Today's celebration also affords us an ample opportunity to highlight and underpin the positive role that progressive Christians played within the ANC and the mass democratic movement.
Throughout the many years of colonial and apartheid oppression, many political activists were hidden in church buildings to escape the repressive apartheid state. The church was a sanctuary that fortified our spirits to be courageous and kept our vision of a free society as God’s people alive.
It is for this reason that we view this occasion as important for us to acknowledge the pivotal role that the church played towards our struggle for liberation, and the role it continues to play in fostering reconciliation and nation building.
Right from their inception, African Independent Churches played a crucial role in promoting a religious philosophy that was based on sound African value systems. Many of the leaders of Independent Churches have assumed leadership positions in society over the years.
It is significant that most of our leadership in the early 20th Century, were staunch Christians, for example John Mafukuzela Dube, the first President of the ANC from 1912 to 1919 and of course Reverend Makgatho, the second ANC President, who was a founder of one of the early African Independent Churches, the United National Church.
We recognise the significant role that the founder of the Church of Christ's Assemblies, Prophetess Catherine Ngcwelane like other pioneers of African Independent Churches played in the lives of millions of people in our country.
Like other pioneers of African Independent Churches, the great prophetess, Mme Ma-Mbhele as a spiritual leader made an important contribution in terms of redefining what it means to be an African and a Christian at the same time.
Like Charlotte Maxeke, Lilian Ngoyi, Albertina Sisulu and many other heroines of our struggle for liberation, she remains an inspiration to us as our Deborah, our Ruth and our Hanna. She was a courageous leader and a faithful servant of God who sought the face of the Lord for the spiritual liberation of our people and nation.
The establishment of Church of Christ Assemblies in 1939 and other African churches was a clear symbol of rejection of the colonial rule and thus heralded a message that was resonant with the dominant feelings of the people at the time. Their voices were echoing across the rain, heralding hope to the hopeless, courage to the disillusioned and downtrodden.
The church of Christ like other Independent African churches and institutions of traditional leadership that refused to be co-opted by the apartheid regime played a meaningful role in conscientising our communities against colonialism and apartheid . Today we can boldly say brothers and sisters, that your fervent prayers and unwavering resilience against hardship have become a stronghold of our freedom.
Brethren as we celebrate 71st years of service of the Church of Christ’s Assemblies, we cannot avoid looking ahead as to what role the church should continue to play in the reconstruction and development of the country in particular and on the African continent in general.
The message of the Christian faith is fundamentally about the upholding of values of justice, equality, peace, respect of human rights, prosperity and goodwill towards all people. We count on the church to lead communities in working together with us to foster respect of human rights, strengthening of families and communities and to build a strong foundation for a caring society.
Most of your congregations amplified our 2010 Firearm Amnesty Campaign message -Awulethu Umshini Wakho-Surrender Your Firearm and as a result 3262 firearms and 26 878 bullets were removed from circulation in our province alone.
Your prayers released the spirit of unity, patriotism and an anointing that arrested the evil threats of terrorism and spirit of criminality during the 2010 Football World Cup. Indeedthe Lord showed us grace and raised our stature as a blessed nation.
Through your prayers, we experienced lesser accidents on our roads compared to Festive and Easter Arrive Alive Campaign periods through we had increased volumes of traffic.
We count on your continued support and prayers in the onslaught against poverty, abuse against women and children, the scourge of crime and corruption.
Programme Director, democracy cannot function well in the face of decaying moral values and human indignity. To this effect government has devised annual programmes aimed at encouraging our communities to lead a quiet and peaceable life with proper conduct. One of these yearly programmes is the 16 Days of Activism of No Violence Against Women and Children campaign.
During November, government’s programmes will focus on 16 days of evaluation of our activism for No Violence Against Women and Child Abuse. We urge you to intensify your effort and involvement in the 365 days campaign and your continued partnership with government and other sectors, to highlight this scourge and work towards its eradication among the vulnerable groups of people in our society.
The church should take the lead in mobilising communities not to look away from abuse but to take action for all other sectors of society to follow. Remember this is the year of activism for accelerated service delivery therefore we have to work closer with community policing forums and establish support groups for abused women and children.
As partners with government in the Moral Regeneration Movement, the church also needs to continue to play a critical role in ensuring that the moral values of ubuntu such as respect for human life, and respect for each other are inculcated, especially among our youth.
We also see a key role for the church to continue playing in alleviating the suffering caused by terminal diseases, especially HIV and AIDS. Across the country every day, we are encouraged to see faith based organisations, especially support groups led by churches taking care of the aged, nursing the sick, feeding and clothing the poor and orphans especially HIV and AIDS orphans.
We greatly applaud, and appreciate these selfless efforts by the church, for they inspire the nation to greater moral heights. This is what moral regeneration is all about. As you are a direct product of the struggle for justice, freedom, peace and good value system let us join hands in the struggle for the spiritual reconstruction and development of our society.
I wish to thank the visionary leadership of the church for inviting me to share this momentous service with you. We wish you all the best in continuing with the work of the Lord . We rejoice with you as you celebrate 71 years of grace .
May the Lord Bless you as you continue with your mission to build a church that is rooted in preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of Righteousness, justice, peace and support for the poor and vulnerable in society. We trust that we will continue working together to do more in servicing humanity.
A e gole tumelo, a e gole !!! A egole Kereke ya Jesu Keresete, a e gole !!!.
Ke a leboga.
