Johannesburg

On Thursday we drove to downtown Johannesburg to visit Constitution Hill, which is the site of the Consitution Court which once was the site of the prison in which Mandela and Ghandi were imprionsed, and 600 children from the Soweto uprising. Bricks from the old prison make up much of the buildings which now protect people's rights. The people want to be very intentional to not try to forget the oppressicve past, but remember the things learned and carry that into the future. We got to experience 24 seconds of being in a cell that was used for solitary confinement, our guide wanting us just to get a taste of what the prisoners experienced 24-hours a day.

From Constitution Hill we went to Central Methodist Mission (which is a church) to meet with their pastor Rev. Dr. Paul Veryn. He told us about the minstry of CMM which is a home for thousands of refugees from Zimbabwe. He said that every night there are about 1000 homeless sleep on all surfaces of the church. The church offers training and skills classes, language classes with over 500 learners. Paul is a true prophet of his time as he shared with us all the ways he's been involved in social justice, speaking out against the injustices taking place in the government right now. He shared with us stories of people in the government wanting him dead during the apartheid struggle for his role in non-violent resistence. He shared with us that he thought hope for the future was in the religious community, because it's the one place where, when at its greatest is an exploration into honesty and accountability, which is desperately needed right now in the politics of the country right now. He thinks that the answer to the problems of the county right now is "prophetic distance" in the religious community becuase too many religious leaders are giving in to the powers that be and aligning themselves too close with them, unable to speak honestly and critically. So Paul thinks there needs to be some distance so they can speak freely and prophetically because he noted that prophetic distance is not silence. It was an incredible conversation, the best part of our trip thus far! 

To end of the day we went to Parktown North Methodist Church which is a smaller congregation in J-burg to meet with the pastor. He too talked about the need for being prophetic and stressed discipleship in the church, which are two of the themes I keep seeing being repeated. After meeting with Pastor Vunsi we attended a conversation on the state of national health care. It was interesting to hear more about some of the issues facing the health of people in South Africa. 

I draw inspiration from the leaders of churches we have met with who are being bold and speaking out on behalf of the vulnerable. We are also starting to hear more about ministry to young adults, and continue to hear more about the emphasis on discipleship. I look forward to being in touch with some of the people we have met and walking together, learning from one another as we each seek to accomplish similar things in different contexts.