Sunday in the Township

Well, Sharon has been telling you about the invitation for me to speak at a church in the township, and now it has happened.  We left our flat at 10 a.m. Sunday, picked up Sharon’s friend, Carol, and made our way to meet the Bishop who was to escort us to the church. 

After meeting the Bishop, I rode with him and Sharon and Carol followed us.  We drove a good distance  to Uitenhage and a very poor township and stopped at a church we believed to be the venue for my talk.  Instead, it was only an unexpected first stop where instead of preaching, I was asked to be the center of a video photo shoot.  It took several “takes” before I got it right and properly recited…“My name is David Zimberoff and I am from Chicago in the United States.  The congregation wants to extend a warm  welcome to the chief apostle who is coming from Switzerland to visit in August”.  So you think it was easy, but let me tell you when I entered the “take” room I thought I was going to be introduced to the preacher and the church elders.  Instead I felt I was in the local police station lineup.  Before going into the church, while being introduced to some congregants, an army of young children embraced, touched and hugged me the way bees are attracted to honey.  After returning to our cars, we proceeded to the next church.

Our next stop was the Apostolic Church in the center of the township Kwanobuhle where we were greeted by the congregants.  During the struggle against apartheid, this township was the site of a major uprising, and many were killed.  Over 300 people filled the church with all the men wearing black suits and ties and white shirts, the women all dressed in their Sunday dresses and the many children were around and for the most part quiet and orderly.  For about 90 minutes, the service was conducted with the choir singing and the pastor sermonizing.  A translator stood next to the pastor and translated the sermon into Xhosa, the indigenous language of the people in the Eastern Cape.

The service ended, and I was called to the front.  I asked to have someone translate for me and our host, the Bishop, came to assist.  I started by asking two boys who play football (soccer) to come up and join me.  A young boy about age 7 and a young man about 17 volunteered.  My talk centered on the importance in the belief of possibilities rather than resignations and defeat.   I asked each of them how many times they kicked the ball in a game and how many times a kick resulted in a score.  I then used this interchange to illustrate how in a game of football, you continue kicking the ball over and over and don’t give up hoping for a score.  I then related how their game of football is a metaphor of life.  I related how Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison, and emphasized that was more than 9,700 days and more than 250,000 hours and yet Mandela did not give up his vision.  What I found most interesting was the attention of the elders in the front two rows directly in front of me.  Their eyes were glued on me and I felt they really understood and were excited about what I was saying.  It was a real treat for me!

Now, we thought our visit was over but instead we were escorted out of the church to a home of one of the congregants nearby.  A feast of delicious food was prepared for us and for many of the congregants including a visiting pastor from East London (a town about 3 hours away) and members of the choir as well - A truly memorable South African experience.