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Honourable Members of the Congregation
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is indeed a privilege for me to address you at this important Synod of your church.

This occasion afford us with the opportunity to look to the future with confidence, relying on the fidelity of God and the power of his grace. It is an occasion for blessed persons to renew their commitment and rekindle the hope, which should inspire their offering of themselves to the Lord.

I am deeply convinced that the decisions of this synod will be of value in strengthening the Church, and will form an important starting point for the further development of its activity in helping our people to fulfil their major historical tasks, which confront us.

Allow me also to thank you and your congregations for the continued prayers for the leaders of government as well as your support in collaboration with government to attend to the needs of our people.

The Christian religion - which, of course, embodies many of the great spiritual and moral truths of society - is a fundamental part of our national heritage. For centuries it has been our very lifeblood. Indeed we are a nation whose ideals are founded on the religious values. Also, it is quite impossible to understand our history or literature without grasping this fact.

As Christians we need to renew our commitment to the life and teachings of Jesus and become new persons as we take on the challenges that face us in the communities we are staying.

It is at this juncture that I would like to encourage you as spiritual leaders to stay strong in the knowledge of Scripture and to use this knowledge effectively in spiritual combat.

Paul's letter to Timothy sets a good pattern for godly leaders as they motivate their followers. In 1 Timothy 3, Paul highlights the problems of then, which we could easily recognise as moral problems which you and me had to address in order to create a better life for all.

Problems such as people will be lovers to themselves, lovers of money, abusive, disobedient to their partners, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, without self-control, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. These are but a few challenges we as leaders have to deal with in preventing a further decay of our moral fibre.

It is at this point that both government and the church have to ask: "how much strength, love and self-control do we as leaders require to win people over to a good life style in fulfilling the mission of the church?" I therefore, get inspired by the leadership and management style of Nehemiah, who serves as an example to all leaders when he had to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah chapter 3). His conduct is still relevant today, especially when we had to deal with challenging tasks, by praying continuously for guidance, protection and wisdom to deal with the demands of our assignments.

Together with all the freedom-loving nations of the world we must continue to pray for peace and justice to prevail in the rest of the world. And condemn crime, violence, anarchy and lawlessness wherever it manifests itself. We should maintain solidarity between people of different cultures and civilisations living together in the same territory

The government of the Northern Cape has taken a conscience decision to ensure the involvement of all the sectors of society in particular the religious sector to influence any decision it takes.

It is for this reason that we have set up the RDP of the Soul co-ordinating committee, to gain from the valuable insights and experience of the religious sector.

Our past and present State Presidents, have both supported the need to create an environment for the church to fulfil its mission. Our Constitution 108 of 1996 supports this notion of free speech and interaction.

The key principle of the RDP of the Soul is to overcome the attitude of the church towards the followers of other religions instead of robbing members to show growth in figures rather than change of heart and mind.

I am of the opinion that the church must expand on the teaching of understanding the need for inter-religious dialogue for all believers and non-believers so that each person can grow and realise his/her authentic growth in the presence of rapid social growth. It remains my wish that your deliberations will result in a "Kindness" that will facilitate interfaith collaboration to combat the social problems expounded in 2 Timothy 3.

I would like to share some thoughts at the start of your synod.

During the years when our nation was subjected to extreme brutality, the Church has never broken its links with the people: it has shared their needs, wishes and hopes and contributed its full measures to the common task of building our country.

You took the plight of our people, our hopes, our dreams and our struggle to your hearts and made it your own. You have forged great bonds of friendship that have become unbreakable over the years and have refused to let the people of this country and the world ignore the tragedy wreaked by long years of discrimination.

The changes that we have seen today would not have come without your participation, and as we witness these changes, great responsibilities have been put on all our shoulders.

As his followers the following challenges confront us:

* To become agents for change in our society and the church should be at the forefront of this call to each of its members
* To unite in the fight against the scourge of HIV/AIDS that is ravaging the world and is wiping out entire family structures.
* To confront and help to uproot the demon of racism in our society
* To join us in the fight to reduce the high poverty levels that affects so many people especially the most vulnerable sector of our society i.e. children and women.
* To unite in the moral renewal of our nation
* To create the awareness that freedom and rights comes with civic responsibilities that need to be exercised.

The church as always can take these challenges head on and ensure that our members are equipped to deal with them in a way that will enhance the socio-economic transformation we are all longing for.

We were made in God's own image and therefore we are expected to use all our own power of thought and judgement in exercising that right to choose between good and evil.

If we open our hearts to God, He has promised to work within us.

Psalms 127 to 130 inform us that we must recognise that everything we are and have comes from God. If we fail to depend on him for guidance and instruction, every enterprise we undertake will suffer from a weak foundation and will find that we laboured in vain.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, as Paul has always prayed God's blessings upon the people he interacted with, I feel it is incumbent upon ourselves to pray that the prayer of Jabez will become reality in your seeking to expand God's kingdom in the Northern Cape in realising your church's own mission and that in collaboration with other churches and interfaith groupings.

Allow me to wish your Synod well on behalf of government in its deliberations, with the hope that it will pronounce itself on the challenges outlined, so that this century may truly be pronounced as carrying the favour of the Lord. May you

I thank you

Issued by Office of the Premier, Northern Cape

15 October 2001