"Faithful to your promise, you led the people you had rescued; by your strength you guided them to your sacred land. The nations have heard, and they tremble with fear ... " (Exodus 15:13f)

The period since 1990 is difficult to record. Not only because it is so near that it is hard to put into perspective, but because it is a period of transition and change which is still in progress. It has been a very busy period. Each day brings another event that twists the ever changing kaleidoscope of the emerging society and gives a new design to the picture.

On February 2nd 1990 the young people celebrated outside the new Khotso House. They danced in the street, the news spread like wildfire, and millions watched on television as Mr de Klerk announced the impossible vision of democracy. The struggle was over, the dream had come true, the dawn of the new age where all would participate and the hated divisions of apartheid would disappear was actually here. Nine days later on February 11th it was all confirmed as many watched Nelson Mandela walk freely out of prison and heard him speak to the crowds in Cape Town.

It was not surprising that he spent his first night of freedom at the home of Archbishop Tutu in Bishopscourt, Cape Town. It was not surprising that the General Secretary of the SACC, the Rev Frank Chikane, was invited to be one of a small group who shared the mission of bringing Mr Mandela out of prison, to the people, and eventually home to Johannesburg. This was a natural recognition of the part the Church had played in reaching that day.

Nor was it surprising later when the Archbishop voiced the feeling of most Churchmen and women to say that the platform now belonged to the politicians to work on the details of the new society and the Church would get on with its task of being the Church for the faithful. The Church would look to those things of faith and order, Church growth and renewal, that had held value all the time but had suffered some neglect through the emphasis on the primary task of being the voice of the voiceless and the champion of the oppressed.

The Church leaders had, during 1989, when examining the role the Church would play in the future South Africa, resolved to help create the climate for negotiations but not to be participants in the negotiations themselves. It was felt to be important that the Church did not follow what was termed the "Muzorewa option" (after the Bishop who went into politics in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe), but rather maintain a stand outside of the political parties to be able to speak to all in the name of God when any situation warranted it. This 1989 resolution was to prove to be so necessary in the years that followed.

It had been forgotten that the road from Egypt to the promised land led through a dreadful wilderness. Like Moses who had sung about the Lord who had "guided them to your sacred land" before experiencing the excruciating time of being neither here nor there in the wilderness, many in South Africa sang too soon about the democratic participative society that seems further rather than nearer in June 1993 than in February 1990.

At the 1989 National Conference the Rev Frank Chikane had reminded the members that "dictators never allow for freedoms that threaten their dictatorship; and that totalitarian states do not spontaneously self-destruct. It takes enormous pressures to force an oppressive system to surrender its powers of oppression and thereby to allow a free and democratic process to take its course.

"I would like to submit to you, Mr President, that racist South Africa is no exception. Contrary to the opinion of some, even the present crisis of white power and domination, the crisis which compelled the regime to negotiate a settlement in Angola, to allow Resolution 435 to be implemented in Namibia, and the crisis which has sent Mr de Klerk trotting the globe talking about ending apartheid and negotiations, all this, is a direct result of the accumulated pressures that have been brought to bear on the regime over the years."

It was necessary in the euphoric days of celebration that followed February 1990 to remember such words and tread carefully into the new territory of transition. General Secretary, Frank Chikane, said to the National Executive Committee in late February of 1990, "Whilst we accept that dramatic things are happening in South Africa ... we should never allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the euphoria that accompanies these dramatic events. This is the time when we need to be more vigilant, always reading the signs of the times, in order to make the right judgements and the right interventions at the right time. This is a difficult type of Kairos we are called upon to deal with."

Eighteen months after the celebration of the anticipated new order in February 1990, the Council was holding its National Conference of 1991 under the title, "From Egypt to the Wilderness: The ecstasy and the agony - Challenge to the Churches in a time of transition." It was realised very much by then that the celebration about the giving had come before the gift had been received. South Africa was far from the new society envisaged in February 1990.

It is with this "wilderness" scenario in mind that the Council has approached its activities during this period of transition.

It has, obviously, had to examine and re-examine what role it must take and how best to fulfil that role.

Prophetic Mediation

A significant debate running through all the discussions and deliberations has been that of prophetic ministry as against mediatory ministry. Should the SACC be the prophetic voice proclaiming the word of God upon the events of the period, or should it act as a mediator between the different factions to help bring them together? In fact it has found itself taking the precariously balanced middle road between. Not to be neither but to be both.

So it was when violence ran rampant in 1991 and there was a breakdown in May of that year of the "talks about talks." Church Leaders co-operated in a number of visits to the State President, to the ANC, and to Inkgatha. These visits were eventually to lead to a peace conference and the establishment of the Peace Accord with national, regional and local structures for peace monitoring and intervention. The prophetic word was not forgotten, but spoken loudly. The mediatory role was not discarded but taken seriously.

So when in July 1992 the country was in yet another crisis with labour and business in confrontation, with the ANC and the Government at loggerheads, and with the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) in a state of collapse, the Church Leaders took it upon themselves again to visit all, speak a prophetic word of challenge in the name of the Gospel and, at the same time, mediate between each and attempt to find common ground for a return to negotiations.

Violence

The primary issue was, and sadly remains, violence. The senseless destruction of lives and property has plagued the land since the mid eighties and has always been in the foreground or background of the South African scene. Places such as Sebokeng, Uitenhage, Boipatong, Port Shepstone, and Bisho are etched into the tragic history. The names of the dead are legion with women and children of all ages among them. Political assassinations have taken their toll culminating earlier this year in the killing of national Communist Party leader Chris Hani.

In March 1990 a Church Leaders Meeting said that to deal with the widespread violence there was need that "the period of transition in South Africa from the present order ... to the new order must be made as short as possible." That same message, of the urgent need to hold an election and establish a government of transition, has been at the centre of SACC statements ever since. The Council and the Church Leaders have called repeatedly for the announcement of a date for an election, the establishment of an interim government and a constitution making body, and for the defence forces to be placed under joint control.

A Task Force was established to study the violence to better understand its roots. Patterns of violence emerge, where even the sporadic outbreaks of violence that seem to rise here and there with little reason behind them, take their place in the overall pattern of a macabre plan. Whenever the negotiated settlement takes a step forward there is an outbreak of violence, and whenever there are signs of peaceful change some vicious act erupts. All the signs, once again, point to the need for an election as soon as possible.

Blood, Bullets

The Council has continually offered practical help to the hurt and to the bereaved. Regional Councils have helped arrange such assistance, giving comfort to the families and the displaced, and often been called on to mediate in the midst of violent confrontations. Archbishop Tutu, General Secretary Frank Chikane, Methodist Presiding Bishop Stanley Mogoba, SACC President Khoza Mgojo, and other Church Leaders have had personal experience of the blood, the stones, the bullets, the spears and pangas, and the anger, hurt and hate, that together form so much of the all too common scenes of violent clashes.

The Council has not only had much to say about the violence, but also about the other issues that have been raised in the time of transition. Revelations about defence force participation in the violence, that not only destroys lives but threatens to destabilise the negotiation process, have been strongly condemned with increased calls for joint control of the security forces.

Disclosures about homeland maladministration, and of corruption in Government and in business have also been condemned. Coupled with this has been a call to repentance, restitution and forgiveness that can help clean the soul of the nation putting a foundation of trust and acceptance into future relationships.

In March 1993 the Church Leaders said "The politicians may establish a negotiated settlement and erect a new system of electing Government, even a new system of accountability. Without a change of heart throughout the land, however, this may provide a skeleton upon which there is no flesh because the people have no confidence in the practice of politics and business.

"Who will be first to stand and ask forgiveness? We have heard the excuses, we have heard the disclaiming of responsibility, and we have heard enough! .... We call the nation to repentance .."

And the comments have not all been aimed, as some would want to suggest, at one or two parties only. In 1990 the Church Leaders said "It is sometimes easier to prove courageous in the time of powerlessness than it is to demonstrate moral stature through honest use of power. We call for vigilance to ensure in those who lead us an example in fairness, justice and accountability that will strengthen our trust in the future." The Churches have stated quite clearly what that means in particular situations in talks with the ANC, Inkatha, PAC and AZAPO.

General Secretary, Frank Chikane, has said on more than one occasion that the struggle for the Churches is not for one particular political system but for justice and peace. He adds that he would be willing to go to prison again if this is demanded by injustice against any section of the society in any future dispensation.

The Council does not claim to be impartial as far as the question of justice and peace is concerned. Its impartiality in national affairs is in regard to party political interests but not on issues of justice. It stands now, as it has attempted to stand through the years, on the side of the oppressed, the hungry, the poor, and the suffering. Yet it is impartial

A Different Council

The changed situation in South Africa challenged the SACC not only to a re-appraisal of its role and function in national affairs but also in regard to its programmes and activities.

Some of its functions have become unnecessary, others have been taken over or shared with Non Governmental Organisations. This led to a sad and painful period of reduction of staff on the one hand, and to a complete restructure of the national office and regions on the other.

Taking into account that the number of staff members is less than before, the number of Regions has decreased slightly, and the structure has had to be rationalised, the tally of activities is incredible. Many Programmes, such as the African Bursary Fund, the Women's Desk, and work among youth and children have remained. Rationalisation has put Inter Church Aid, Victims of Apartheid, and other development support programmes together into one ministry. And the new demands of the period have brought some new programmes within the SACC including one on Aids Awareness and another on Drought Relief, as well as issues tackled by the Justice and Social Ministries such as the problems arising from Value added Tax, repression in the Bophuthatswana homeland, and an international examination of Economic Justice for a future South Africa.

Many new programmes for the time have been established in partnership with other groups. These have included:

• The National Co-ordinating Committee for the Repatriation of South African Exiles.



• The Ecumenical Monitoring Programme for South Africa.



• The Independent Forum for Electoral Education.



• The Joint Enrichment Project.

These symbols of a new co-operation in facing the needs of the time are also reflected in broadening the base of ecumenical co-operation.

At the end of December 1989, before the February 1990 speech and release of Mr Nelson Mandela, the State President issued an invitation to the Churches to come together with him to create a climate for negotiations and reconciliation. It was not felt possible by the member Churches of the SACC to accept the invitation to dialogue with the State President but rather to find some way in which the Churches might discuss and debate together. There were three groups of Churches that were identified. These were the member Churches of the SACC, including observer member the Catholic Bishops' Conference, the Dutch Reformed Churches, and the Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches.

In November 1990 a historic event took place when these three groups represented by 250 delegates met together in Rustenburg, Transvaal for a five day Conference. It became a "confessing conference" in which many of the white delegates confessed to the sin of participation in the apartheid process and asked for forgiveness. Both the confessing and the forgiving were to be challenged later. A DRC delegate, for instance, confessed on behalf of the DRC Church but was later said by his own Church not to be speaking on their behalf. The DRC position was to accept apartheid as a "mistake" rather than a sin. On the other hand many of the black delegates and Churches found they were unable to support the forgiveness unless and until it contained practical restitution and reparation.

Apartheid Divisions

There are some Churches that are wrestling with relationships between the separated sections of the same denomination. The DRC, the Baptist Union and the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) created separate mission Churches along the apartheid divisions. In all cases the black sections have united or plan to unite, and are challenging the "parent" white Church to accept the inevitability of the future South Africa and join in one united denomination.

The black Baptist Convention has been an observer member of the SACC and is now moving toward full membership. The united portion of the AFM is not in membership of the Council but its recent appointment of the Rev Frank Chikane as its first President indicates where its policy viewpoint lies. The DRC did apply for observer membership but, after all the years of attempts to bring it back into membership since it left the Christian Council in 1940, the request was turned down until such time as there is agreement between the different members of the DRC family on a future denominational structure.

Such are the issues still to be faced by the Churches of South Africa facing the legacy of apartheid within their own ranks. The period of transition confronts the Churches as much as the nation at large.

The changes in perception of the SACC means that it has to consider more applications for membership than ever before.

There are a number of Churches that had previously kept the Council at more than arms length that have become or applied for observer membership. Will the Council provide the meeting ground for the different theological perspectives within the total Christian family?

Changing Times

And so the Council faces the changing times, the changing challenges, and the turbulent "death pangs", as the Rev Frank Chikane described the situation in the country, of a period of transition. In 1990 Dr Khoza Mgojo, a Methodist minister of note and then President of the Federal Theological Seminary, was elected President of the SACC. He spoke at the 1991 National Conference of interpreting the signs of the times. Using a quotation from Charles Dickens' "Tale of Two Cities" he said, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times .... the period was so far like the present period, that some of the noisiest authorities insisted it's being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

"Indeed," he went on, "it was the period of the Ecstasy and the Agony." This was followed by a picture of the ecstasy following the announcement of the end of apartheid and the release of Mr Mandela, and of the time of agony when "endemic violence blew through the country like a whirlwind. Thousands of people have been killed.... People's hopes have slowly been turned into an unimaginable nightmare."

His address, using further quotations from literature and scripture, took its listeners through a series of different scenes to help interpret the sign of the times and then turned to look at the need, in all interpretation of the signs of the times, for hope. "This word hope", he said, "has for some past months been very popular in our people's thought in South Africa. Since February 2nd 1990 we have cherished a great hope that apartheid was about to be dealt a death blow, and that all will taste the fruits of freedom.

"This then becomes a challenge to the Churches as we cross the Red Sea from Egypt to the wilderness. Even in the wilderness most of the people are still in Egypt because they are still carrying Egypt in their hearts. ... The Church has to be a sign of hope and has to give this hope." Dr Mgojo quoted Archbishop Hurley saying that "hope is the well spring of all human creation" and finally moved on to a challenge to a new sense of living, a new sense of mission, and a new sense of purpose to bring this hope into focus and into reality.

To do this, Dr Mgojo reminded Conference of the "Message to the People of South Africa" issued by the SACC when it began in 1968.

"We are under obligation to confess anew our commitment to the universal faith of Christians, the eternal Gospel of salvation and security in Christ alone.

"This Gospel of Jesus Christ offers hope and security for the whole life of man, not just in man's spiritual and ecclesiastical relationships, but for human existence in its entirety.

"Consequently, we are called to witness to the meaning of the Gospel in particular circumstances of time and place in which we find ourselves."

25 years later than when those words were written and presented as a "Message to the People of South Africa" we return to them because they speak of the beginning and they speak of the continued future aim of the witness and service of the people of God through the South African Council of Churches.

The Gospel remains the Gospel, the good news of salvation in Christ, but the way that Gospel is expressed does change according to times and situations. The story of the South African Council of Churches is of united witness and service to express the never changing Gospel through the changing scene of South Africa through a quarter of a century of enforced apartheid and promised reform.

To God be the glory! Come celebrate!