NATIONAL HEAD OFFICE

We are the facilitating body for a wide fellowship of churches committed to expressing together, through proclamation and programmes, the united witness of the church in South Africa, especially in matters of national debate and order.
The Council is the national ecumenical enabler and co-ordinator of inter-church debate and action. We are well known for the part we played in the struggle against apartheid, the globally- condemned oppressive policy of our former Government. We are now engaged in assisting the reconstruction of the nation and the development of South Africa's fragile new democracy. These pages are dedicated to sharing information about that work together with statements and comments from our leadership, as well as to respond to any queries you may have of us.
Through its 27 member churches and associated para-church organisations, the SACC represents roughly half of the Christians in South Africa. The national office is located at Khotso House in Johannesburg. There are also eight Provincial Councils of Churches working in close contact with us and for the same aims. They are governed by representatives of the Provincial churches as we are governed by our national member-churches.

PARLIAMENTARY OFFICE

At its 1995 National Conference, the SACC adopted a resolution calling on the General Secretary
“to establish a mechanism to monitor the proceedings in Parliament and the Constitutional Assembly and to convey to the relevant Portfolio Committees, Ministries and Theme Committees the concerns and opinions of the Churches on those issues which have relevance to our ministry and on which the members of the Council have a common mind.
“Such a mechanism should also convey to the members of the Council information about the way in which these issues have been dealt with by the elected representatives in the national parliament and alert the members when urgent combined action is required.”
As a result, a Public Policy Liaison Office was established within the General Secretariat in 1996 as a witness to the South African Council of Churches' commitment to strengthening the voices of poor and marginalised groups in the public policy process. In May 2002, the office was renamed the Parliamentary Office.
The decision to establish a parliamentary office was informed by the ethical concerns of the churches and the principle of "critical solidarity". This meant that the SACC would support South Africa's democratically elected government in the work of reconciliation, nation building, and reconstruction and development, but reserved the right to criticise the government if it violated principles of justice and democracy or if it contravened the bill of rights. At the 2001 National Conference, SACC members adjusted the principle underlying the SACC’s interaction with government from “critical solidarity” to “critical engagement”.