Speech delivered by North West Premier Mme Thandi Modise at the Zion Christian Church Mass Prayer Meeting held at Taung Sports Ground

Programme Directors
His Grace the Right Reverend, Bishop Dr Barnabas Lekganyane
His Worship the Executive Mayor of Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality Councillor Elvis Thaganyane
His Worship the Executive Mayor of Greater Taung Local Municipality
Esteemed Members of the Bishop’s Council
Kgosi Tshepo Makuroane and esteemened members of the Batlhaping ba Phuduhucwana
Magosi a rona otlhe
Esteemed Members ZCC Church Executive
Distinguished guests
Kgotso Baruti le Baporofeti
Kgotso Borre le Bomme ba Seaparo Se Segolo,
Kgotso Maloko a Mokhukhu
Kgotso Phuthego e e kgethegileng
Kgotso a e be le lena !!!

God the Almighty and our creator in the second book of Chronicles Chapter 7 verse 14 says “If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land "

We are highly honoured that an invitation was extended to us share with you this special prayer service convened to seek the face of God the almighty.

We are here because we believe in prayer because it is the very foundation upon which our glorious movement, the African National Congress was laid by the founding fathers of our movement.

Faith and prayer carried us during moments when it was tough, when we were in the thickest of the bush and in the darkest of the night. It carried us when we were freezing in sub-zero temperatures in far -away lands and when we were burning under the scorching African sun far away from our homes, far away from our parents, our people and the land of our birth.

They carried us when we faced the guns and the cannons of the brutal apartheid forces that had no regard for human life and or the dignity of our people.

Unwavering faith sustained us to persevere under trying circumstances for us to continue to believe and fight towards attainment of the vision of the Freedom Charter for a free, just and equitable society in which all of our people enjoy human rights and dignity which the evil systems of colonialism and apartheid robbed us.

The word of God as read in the Bible and indeed Christianity taught us to value human life as it reminded us that every human being irrespective of the colour of their skin and or ethnicity are God’s creation and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

Without Jehovah Elshaddai we wouldn’t be here to proclaim his greatness and faithfulness. Without the Almighty’s grace, the African National Congress wouldn’t have survived the 100 years we are celebrating this year.

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 Zion Christian Church, Bishop Angnus Barnarbas Lekganyane 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 successive Bishops of the Church until His Grace the Right Reverent, Bishop Dr Barnabas Edward Lekganyane as a spiritual leaders have made an important contribution in terms of redefining what it means to be an African and a Christian at the same time.

This spiritual home founded after the Anglo-Boer War in 1910 is older than our liberation movement, the African National Congress. When he founded this colossal church whose membership straddle across Southern African Development Community States, His Grace Bishop Agnus Barnarbas Lekganyane was acutely aware of the attempt by missionaries to erode African value systems and cultural beliefs.

He realised that unless Christianity was interpreted in a context suitable to the African lifestyle, cultural and political development, Africans would, in due course find themselves as a nation alienated from its roots, rich history and religious foundation.

Without the infrastructure available to so-called "main stream" churches at the time, Bishop Agnus worked tirelessly for the spiritual upliftment of our people and by 1948,when he passed away, let me pause to say: May his soul rest in peace, the Zion Christian Church was approximately 120 000 people strong. Today I am told that the membership of this African religious institution under the leadership of His Grace Bishop Barnabus Edward Lekganyane is over 4 million.

When our glorious movement, the African National Congress adopted its first constitution in 1919, and established the upper house of chiefs, Bishop Agnus was among the first people to applaud, because in his view and I quote: "When our educated young leaders recognised our historical background the African was on a path to somewhere".

In 1927, when the status of African chieftancy was downgraded by the Native Administration Act, Bishop Lekganyane refused to recognise that African chieftancy was subject to the whims and life of the white government. To him, the African chieftancy was an institution not to be tampered with, least of all by a foreign people who understand very little or nothing about African culture.

From the beginning, your church viewed habits such as drinking liquor, smoking tobacco or dagga and violence as against the gospel of Christ. As such, tobacco, dagga, now lately including narcotic drugs, liquor and all forms of violence were and are still prohibited by your church.

His Grace the Bishop proclaimed peace to all people on earth. So dedicated to peace was he that he even taught congregants in your church to precede their greetings by proclaiming peace to each other. From 1910 to date, Kgotso is the way members of Zion Christian Church greet each other and are known for the proclamation of peace the world over.

Your church’s commitment to peace, reconciliation, nation-building and sustainable development is our pride. Let us continue to pray for unity and cohesion, spread love for one another as we are called to minister reconciliation and respect for our traditional leaders.

We count on your continued and prayer for us to overcome the evils of tribalism, racism, crime, greed and corruption and commit to intensify the fight to overcome these wherever they raise their ugly heads. We owe it the lives of the likes of Vuyisile Mini, Andrew Zondo and Solomon Mahlangu, John Harris, Ruth First, Steven Bantu Biko, Onkgopotse Tiro, Jeffrey Boesman Mangena to name but a few who gave their lives fighting for our liberation to uproot nepotism and corruption across all spheres of government.

The message of the Christian faith is fundamentally about upholding the 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.

Programme Directors, 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.

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.

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.

Your government, the ANC led government regards the church as one of its principal partners as we strive to improve the lives of all our people, especially the poor. Accordingly, we urge the church to continue to use its capacity and infrastructure positively to impact on the process of transformation and change.

As we build a people centred, caring society, we call on the Church and all of our people to support the 16 Days of Activism Campaign for No Violence against Women and Children by exposing those who abuse women and children in our homes, in our workplaces and in our society.

We should blow the whistle on abusers. In the same vain we should reject the hallucinations of sensationalists who have ran out of ideas and seek credibility and political mileage though the HIV and AIDS pandemic.

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 Batlhaping Ba-Ga Phuduhucwana Traditional Council under the leadership of Kgosi Tsepo Makurwana and the Zion Christian Church for inviting me to share this momentous service with you. We wish you all the best in continuing the work of serving the Lord.

In conclusion, 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.

Galatians 6 verse 9 implores us not to be weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Working together we can do more to build better communities.

A e gole tumelo, a e gole !!! A egole Kereke ya Jesu Keresete A egole, A e ate Kgotso ae ate !!!.

Ke a leboga.