scholarly journals THE EXPERIENCES OF THIRTEEN WOMEN MINISTERS OF THE METHODIST CHURCH OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Williams ◽  
Christina Landman
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
40Th Anniversary ◽  
Methodist Church ◽  
Women Ministers ◽  
Ordination Of Women ◽  
The Church ◽  
Unique Relationship

The year 2016 marks the 40th anniversary of the ordination of women into the ministry of Word and Sacraments in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. What are their experiences during their ministry whilst being in a covenantal relationship with the church and their ordained colleagues? What are the particular concerns and issues raised by a sample of 13 women ministers who have served for a total of 90 years since their ordination in the church? The paper describes the unique relationship between the church and ministers and then presents the findings of the experiences of the sample, indicating that the women ministers in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa are being discriminated against in various ways and struggling to find acceptance and appointments in financially viable circuits.

scholarly journals Grant me Justice! Reading the Chronicle of the Ordination of Women in the MCSA as the Making of a Patronage Ministry

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Obusitswe Tiroyabone-A-Sedupelela
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Methodist Church ◽  
Women Ministers ◽  
Ordination Of Women ◽  
The Church ◽  
Patronage System

In 2016 the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) celebrates 40 years of the ordination of women which signifies a milestone in the ministry. Whilst this calls for celebration, it is also important that we lament the challenges women ministers are facing in the church. The chronicle of how the church came to ordain women as ministers in the MCSA cites tensions and debates as well as theological arguments for and against the ordination of women. This paper reads this chronicle with a hermeneutic of suspicion. The paper holds that the decision of the church to ordain women has not translated to women being ordained ministers like men within the church, but rather the decision created a patronage system within the ministry where male ministers (and their wives) are patrons and female ministers their clients. The woman minister in the MCSA joins the woman in the Luke narrative who continues to go to the judge (the MCSA) and laments “Grant me Justice!”

scholarly journals THE PLACE OF WOMEN MINISTERS IN THE MISSION OF THE METHODIST CHURCH OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
F S Mkhwanazi ◽  
Thias Kgatla
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Women Empowerment ◽  
Cultural Stereotypes ◽  
Methodist Church ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
Fully Integrated ◽  
Women Ministers ◽  
The People ◽  
Full Participation ◽  
The Church

This paper proposes that the ministry of ordained women within the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) has not fully integrated women, despite the landmark decision of the MCSA Conference of 1972 to have women ordained into the full ministry of the church. At that Methodist Conference of 1972, the Methodist Church adopted a resolution to have women ordained into the ministry of the church, and yet this has not been fully realised in the life of the MCSA. Despite the fact that women form the majority of the people who come to church on Sundays, they form a very small group within ministers’ ranks. We will investigate the challenges within the MCSA that slow down its policy on the ordination of women. The paper proposes the tools that can be used to address the challenges with regard to the full acceptance of women ministers within the MCSA. Furthermore, it investigates the organisational structure of the Women’s Manyano as a means for women to protest against their exclusion from full participation in the life and leadership of the church. Although what women have learnt and practise within their own women organisation has not infiltrated into the full life of the Methodist Church, they have become a force to reckon with in the MCSA. The paper traces the causes of the marginalisation of women within the Methodist Church to patriarchal and cultural stereotypes that are determining the reading and understanding of the biblical text. Human nature is a condition that needs to be checked regularly in order to remove those elements that are human-made, self-serving and limiting. Some examples of psychological and cultural elements are cited as a basis for reflection and a launch pad for women empowerment, and for the transformation of the MCSA and its policy on the ministry of ordained women.

scholarly journals Ordination of Women to the Ministry of Word and Sacraments: A turning point in the history of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ntobeko Dlamini
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Methodist Church ◽  
History Of ◽  
Role Of Women ◽  
Ordination Of Women

In 2016, the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) celebrated 40 years since the first woman was ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacraments (1976–2016). The MCSA Conference of 1976 ordained the first woman to the ministry of Word and Sacraments, a verdict that was long overdue. This became a turning point in the history of the MCSA. This document seeks to highlight the role of women in the MCSA prior to and after the 1976 Conference resolution. Included herein are key controversies, statements and events in the ministry of women within the MCSA.

scholarly journals Party political chaplaincy? – Methodist ministry to political parties

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ndikho Mtshiselwa ◽  
Simphiwe S. Mthembu
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Theological Reflection ◽  
The Political ◽  
Methodist Church ◽  
Political Sphere ◽  
Prophetic Voice ◽  
The Church

The debate on church and party politics is far from being exhausted in South Africa. Although the Methodist Church of Southern Africa discourages the participation of clergy persons in political parties, it is becoming critical that the church offers a prophetic voice in the political sphere. Issues of morality and spirituality within the political parties necessitate a careful involvement of the Church in politics. This article therefore sets out to offer a theological reflection on the (possible) ministry of Methodist clergy persons to political parties in South Africa.

scholarly journals The need for continued decolonisation and Africanisation of ordination in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald M. Williams ◽  
Wessel Bentley
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Methodist Church ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church ◽  
Rich History ◽  
The Way

Being the church in Africa requires a continuous self-assessment by Christian denominations, asking whether it is sufficiently contextualised both in its doctrines and practices. This self-critique is essential so as to not perpetuate negative colonial influences in the way churches operate. The Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) has a rich history of challenging itself to become truly instrumental in working towards ‘A Christ-healed Africa for the healing of the nations’. This article explores the history of the MCSA’s engagement with its doctrine and practices of ordination, its journey of decolonisation and its presentation of an emerging Africanised theology of the presbytery.

scholarly journals A state church? A consideration of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa in the light of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s ‘Theological position paper on state and church’

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dion Forster
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Church And State ◽  
Position Paper ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Methodist Church ◽  
Thirtieth Anniversary ◽  
African Context ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

This article considers whether South Africa’s largest mainline Christian denomination, the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, is in danger of embodying or propagating a contemporary form of ‘state theology’. The notion of state theology in the South African context gained prominence through the publication of the ‘Kairos Document’ (1985) – which celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in 2015. State theology is deemed inappropriate and harmful to the identity and work of both the Christian church and the nation state. This article presents its consideration of whether the Methodist Church of Southern Africa is in danger of propagating ‘state theology’ in dialogue with Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s important document, <i>Theological Position Paper on State and Church</i>. The article offers some insights into the complex relationship between the state and the church in South Africa in the apartheid and democratic eras. It further problematizes the relationship between the Methodist Church of Southern Africa and the governing African National Congress by citing some concerning examples of complicit behaviour from recent history. The MCSA’s polity and doctrine on church and state relationships are also considered before some critique and warning is offered in the light of Bonhoeffer’s <i>Theological Position Paper on State and Church</i>.

scholarly journals Reverend Linda Mandindi and the Quest for Black Methodist Consultation: Muted Voices Are Enabled to Speak

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simangaliso Raymond Kumalo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Black People ◽  
The Political ◽  
White People ◽  
Methodist Church ◽  
Cultural Challenges ◽  
Spirituality And Education ◽  
Religious Landscape ◽  
The Church

This paper reflects on the approach of Reverend Linda Mandindi to ministry in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA). Special emphasis is given to the contribution he made as ninth president of the Black Methodist Consultation (BMC). I will highlight Rev. Mandindi’s journey in the ministry, his struggle to candidate for the ministry, and the ways in which he dealt with ethnic and cultural challenges of being a black minister in a church predominantly led by white people. Rev. Mandindi’s narrative demonstrates the liberating work of the church to black people, whom it empowered through gospel spirituality and education. The article presents a truncated biography in the context of the historic evolution of the BMC, its contribution to the transformation of the MCSA, and ultimately to our nation. I have divided this paper into four sections. First, I briefly discuss the founding of the BMC. Second, I look at Rev. Mandindi the man, with specific emphasis on his development as a progressive pastor and leader with a keen understanding of the political and religious landscape of South Africa. Third, I seek to appraise Rev. Mandindi’s work and legacy. I conclude the paper by looking at the challenge that Rev. Mandindi’s legacy presents to the MBC and the MCSA.

scholarly journals From Cabazi to Bruma: Purity Malinga’s Rise to Presiding Bishop of the MCSA

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simangaliso Kumalo
Keyword(s):  
Glass Ceiling ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Methodist Church ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
The Church

This article is an appraisal of Presiding Bishop Purity Malinga’s journey from her rural upbringing in Cabazi, Ixopo in KwaZulu-Natal to the helm of Methodism in Bruma Lake in Johannesburg, headquarters of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA). The path of Purity Malinga to Presiding Bishop of the biggest mainline denomination in Southern Africa is explored from a perspective that her nomination breaks the 212-year-old glass ceiling that limited women’s rise into leadership in the MCSA. The aim of the paper is to present facts about the life, qualities and achievements that enabled her ascendance to the leadership of the MCSA. The major conclusions of the study indicate that her rise to the echelons of the church was because of a combination of factors, namely her leadership capabilities, theological acumen, progressive nurture of Methodism and the crisis caused by a leaked conversation between Rev. Vukile Mehana and Raymond Sibanga on December 28, 2018.

scholarly journals FROM CONSTANCE OOSTHUIZEN TO PURITY MALINGA: THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY IN ORDINATION IN THE METHODIST CHURCH OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-191
Author(s):  
Raymond Simangaliso Kumalo
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Statistical Data ◽  
Primary Research ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Methodist Church ◽  
Women Ministers ◽  
Ordained Ministry ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Impact

The researcher believes that while in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) women have been ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament since 1976, they remain a minority numerically and are still marginalised in leadership. As a result ordained women remain the most unrecognised and underutilised group in the MCSA. Few women ministers have held leadership positions during this period, particularly primary leadership positions. This article enquires into the experiences (or, ‘acceptance’) of these women, the reasons for the minority representation, and reflects on the future of representative ordained ministry. A theoretical framework of feminist ecclesiology is used as an approach. Primary research provides statistical data upon which the assessment of progress towards gender equality is based. The impact of culture upon institutional gender representation is discussed, together with equality of opportunity in principle and practice. Reference is made to gender equality in other institutions, both secular and religious. The article reflects upon the leadership of the MCSA towards gender equality in the ordained ministry, and some conclusions are drawn and recommendations suggested for the future.

scholarly journals Theory and Praxis: An Evaluation of the 1958 “One and Undivided” Mission Policy of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa 60 Years Later

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ntobeko Dlamini
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Mission Statement ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
60Th Anniversary ◽  
Methodist Church ◽  
Black Clergy ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Church ◽  
Looking Back

The year 2018 marked the 60th anniversary since the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) resolved to be a “One and Undivided” church in 1958. It was at the peak of apartheid when the MCSA was brave enough to embark on a journey of oneness. This was a mission policy seeking to unite Methodist people of all races in the midst of segregation in South Africa. This paper, therefore, seeks to evaluate the implementation of this mission policy over the past 60 years. The paper will interrogate the inclusion of black clergy into critical positions in the church, the Black Methodist Consultation, and the formation of geographic circuits and cross-cultural stationing as means of achieving the mission statement. The important question in this study is: Looking back, 60 years later, is the MCSA now “One and Undivided?”

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