Worship at Table Mountain
(Sunday, 29th July 2007)
Report letter to the Westborough church:
Sanibona, Westborough! This e-mail provides a text description of our visit to Table Mountain on Sunday, rather on the long side, so you might want to get a cup of tea or coffee, as you prefer, and settle in for the read … A series of separate messages will provide a few photos from the day. Thanks again for your several letters of greeting which, as you'll see below, were a special part of this really wonderful visit to 'your' church at Table Mountain. Best greetings to you all -- Jan and Ruthann.
To drive from Umhlanga, on the coast by Durban, to the central church of the Table Mountain Circuit in the upper reaches of the ‘Valley of a Thousand Hills,’ takes a bit under an hour, most of this on interstate-style highways. Leaving the highway as the road crests on a plateau at Cato Ridge, the route to the Table Mountain community soon winds down into the valleys around the Table Mountain itself, always a magnificent sight. Unusually for a trip to one of the rural churches of the UCCSA in KwaZulu-Natal, the off-highway portion of this route is now paved all the way to the church driveway, and our several turnings to get there can be confirmed by formal street signs, our direction notes for which aren’t, we notice, spelled exactly correctly, but with multi-syllabic Zulu names that’s perhaps forgivable; the signs are a helpful novelty nonetheless.
It is a blazingly bright winter’s morning, quite warm in the sun, chilly in the shade, quite cool down in the valleys. Having found the correct road out of the central area of the community by the new post office towards the old Mission church, we follow this as it dips down again towards two one-lane bridges spanning the rivers by a newish school, pass the community vegetable garden we’d come to see when we’d first visited this area in 2001. The garden looks to be doing well. Around the bend and up the hill a bit, we come to the driveway for the church, sitting on the crest of the hill, white in the sun, a baked earth parking area with a single thorn tree to one side. We’ve learned to take advantage of such, and try to grab some shade for the car, under the tree.
We’ve come a bit early at her request to meet with Florence Mkhize, the Circuit’s elected Secretary and key coordinator for their ‘relationship committee’ involved in the church-to-church connection with the Westborough church. So we’re not that surprised not to see any other vehicles, and indeed there aren’t as yet any people, up at the church, though there were several cows wandering and grazing on the grassy slope.
The door was however open to the church, and Mrs. Mkhize, wearing her white Isililo uniform, was inside in the single room of the sanctuary, bustling with ‘preparing tea for you,’ the cups and plates for which are laid at the table in the front of the church where we’ll also meet to discuss the relationship activity. Our offer to help is politely declined, so we wander around a bit taking in the view of the flat-topped mountain and the broad valley. Shortly a girl, a youth member, arrives to help with buttering the scones and then departs, and two young boys show up carrying an electric pot that’s boiled the water at a nearby house. After everything is in place, Mrs. Mkhize gives a brief grace, and she and we sit to enjoy tea or coffee, the scones, and especially the apple and cranberry (hello!) jam. We’re joined, in a bit, by Thokozani Xulu, who’s the youth advisor; she’s also in her Isililo uniform. [We’ll also see, this day, men, but also women, clad in the khaki uniform of Amabutho, the Soldiers of Christ. Amabutho is referred to as the men’s group as Isililo is considered the women’s group in the Zulu UCCSA churches, but especially in the rural churches half the members, at least, of Amabutho seem to be women, and many women are members of both organizations.]
In the course of the conversation over tea, we’re reminded that Isililo teaches its members to pray for all the children of God, and from Mrs. Xulu we learn something new about the Isililo uniform. We’ve been treated to reports and discussions about the uniform here and there over the years, but hadn’t recalled being told before that the rosette – the light blue badge with ribbon and the UCCSA logo pinned to the white blouse – ‘reminds a woman that she should forgive as she was once forgiven.’ Mrs. Xulu seems to be up on the uniform explanation, from her role as youth advisor, as that includes her mentoring for the church’s Iziphika chapter; Iziphika can be considered a preparatory group for girls and younger women who will usually, in time, move on to membership in Isililo.
We have a good discussion with the two ladies about aspects of the relationship effort with Westborough, in its early stages yet, and about some practical aspects of the upcoming service. We particularly explore questions of arranging for lists of potential pen pals among the Sunday school children and the youth, and about establishing an ongoing and regular contact for a prayer connection between the churches. Mrs. Xulu was quite interested in learning more about whether Westborough had a women’s prayer group. She assumed it would be different from the Isililo structure, but was there anything of the kind, with which they could seek a connection? Our suggestion, remembered and acknowledged by Mrs. Xulu as we were saying it, was that that’s precisely the sort of question they should try to talk directly with Westborough about; a practical additional suggestion was that perhaps, with the indication that the prayer connection link between their churches might be in the offing, that could be used as a way to ask such questions, initially.
We are also given a few individual pen pal letters to take along to Westborough, including one that’s from Mrs. Xulu’s daughter for her correspondent there. The daughter has been thrilled to tell her friends about having a friend in America, says Mrs. Xulu. The time goes quickly, and soon enough it’s a bit past the official hour for the worship service to begin.
Rev. Thulani Ndlazi, a Lancaster seminary graduate, and his American-reared (and non-Zulu speaking) wife Thelma, have arrived, and a few parishioners are standing about outside, but it looks as if the service will be delayed a bit in getting underway. There are those (Thulani seems to be one) who’d like to take the stand that the service should start on time regardless of how many folks have arrived yet, but from our experience we’d be quite surprised, especially in rural churches like this one, if things got underway promptly. The folks who’re walking or coming by minibus taxi from nearby may not have a real excuse for being late, other than the habit of what the people themselves will refer to as ‘Zulu time,’ but for those coming greater distances from, for instance, branch churches elsewhere in the Circuit, with the unpredictability of transportation, it’s harder to complain that they’re not punctual (though it’s unusual for anyone to be very early). This normal delay does give time to discuss things as we wait, and after a while, standing outside in the sun, we hear those who’ve now gathered inside the church begin a chorus – which seems to serve as a kind of church bell surrogate, alerting many more of those who live nearby that things are going to begin, and a small but steady stream of churchgoers approaches the old Mission Church.
Eventually, a number of the deacons have arrived, and there is a goodly group of women in their Isililo (and some Amabutho) uniforms and a few youth and Sunday school kids inside, so maybe half the seats on the benches are occupied, and Thulani calls for a brief leadership prayer under the thorn tree – ‘in lieu of a vestry,’ he says – and then we and they process into the church to the sound of a sung invocation by the congregation.
Rev. Ndlazi, in his robe with the red stole common for UCCSA ministers but with political-style buttons addressing HIV/AIDS attached, is in the pulpit directing the service, first to a hymn, then to the opening prayer by one of the parishioners closed by a collectively sung Lord’s Prayer. Our ease in following what’s going on is in no small measure the result of Thulani’s having introduced to this Circuit the idea of a bulletin for the service; it doesn’t necessarily speed things up, but it does help to give one a sense of what’s happening when.
The next item is a time of mutual greetings, a Passing of the Peace; this is, as we’ve experienced it here before, a rather livelier activity than can be usual in the more, well, reserved churches in New England. There’s a robust chorus being sung as everyone, pretty much, greets everyone else, with lively handshakes and many hugs, and broad smiles; since there are folks from the other branches in attendance, it may have been a few weeks since they’ve seen each other, and they seem to be making up for lost time. This, like most aspects of the service here, goes on rather longer than would be the norm back home, but there’s no rush.
There’s a bit of a pause for a formal welcome to us, and then Mrs. Mkhize, as the elected Secretary of the Circuit, reads out the announcements for the week. These include most especially the schedule for upcoming meetings of the organizations of the church, regional and national and denominational gatherings for Isililo, Amabutho, and Amadodana (the younger members’ offshoot of Amabutho); we know that the corresponding Iziphika gathering was a few weeks back. We’re again concerned about the mid-August denominational Isililo meeting, for which a busload of KZN women (twelve, we learn, from the Table Mountain churches) will be taking the 24 hour overland trip to Bulawayo, in Zimbabwe where there’s so much turmoil and uncertainty at present. But, as we’ve been told, that’s where the meeting has been scheduled, and they feel obligated to go. We silently give again a prayer for their safe travel, for the success of the meeting, and for the well being of all those, of the church and beyond, who are suffering now in that once-prosperous land to the north.
The next item in the bulletin refers to ‘i3L,’ and while the parishioner who was supposed to be involved with this hadn’t showed up before the service, so we’re somewhat on our own, we’re generally aware of the intentions, from our earlier meeting with Mrs. Mkhize. Because transitions from one thing to another in the service, and especially when someone is rising to speak as part of the service, should involve an appropriate musical reference, we do a round of the ‘i3L Chorus,’ which the congregation here, or most of them, should know from earlier visits; it gets better as it goes along. Jan then begins speaking with a greeting in isiZulu, which gets a few murmurs of approval at appropriate places. It seems the reading out of these words translated for us last year by a friend here, for our use originally at the regional church’s annual meeting and which have found use since in visits to both the Massachusetts and the KZN churches, was close enough to correct. The folks at the Westborough church had responded well to our request for their own greetings to be read out to the KZN church, so Jan can also bring especial greetings from Westborough and read out three letters we’d received for Table Mountain.
Jan reads Jean Newton’s note, and separate prayer request for her daughter (and son) serving in the US military; Marilyn Lyle’s letter including mention of the hope for the prayer connection’s establishment; and Elaine Gaetani’s review of many events at the Westborough church, all very much of the style of sharing with the brothers and sisters of the Table Mountain churches. In this case, the messages are not translated immediately, but copies of the letters are given to Mrs. Mkhize and to Rev. Ndlazi with the hope that they’ll be made available to the broader congregation soon.
Ruthann is up next, and speaks about the hope for more means of connection between the churches, including pen pals and the prayer connection, and then introduces the items we’ve been told (earlier by Mrs. Mkhize) we’re to take from Table Mountain to Westborough. These include a photo album with pictures of special events in the church; this is displayed to general acclaim. And then Alice Ngubane (in her Amabutho uniform – we learn later that she’s also a new music contact person for the relationship), pinch hitting for the parishioner designated in the bulletin, joins Ruthann for the presentations to her, for delivery on in America, of some gift-wrapped items for the Westborough ministers, and others at that church; and, a pleasant surprise, we’re each presented with a t-shirt with the UCCSA logo on the front, and “Table Mountain UCCSA / My church is your church” on the back. Neat! Jan tries his on, and turns to point to the back, and there’s raucous applause. Jan starts a round of the chorus, for full effect.
Ruthann’s not done, though. She wants to speak further about the pen-pal lists that are in development, and to emphasize how important it will be to get full information, age and gender (the given names in Zulu are often not definitive on that matter), from those who want to participate. They should help speed the process by cooperating in providing this to those compiling the lists. Will they do that? ‘Yebo.’ Okay. She’s going to hold them to the agreed time frame on this! For good measure, Thulani translates, to confirm the covenant on this point.
Before the next hymn, he parcels out to specific parishioners the responsibility for the several short OT, epistle, and Gospel scripture readings we’d provided as requested as sermon texts of a sort, now listed in the morning’s bulletin. After the singing of the hymn, a group of four women and one man come forward to the lectern, and begin to read in sequence from the Zulu language Bible, one text each; the texts in sequence are Psalm 33: 13-15; 1 John 3: 11; Romans 1: 11-12; Ephesians 2: 17-22; and John 4 : 25-27. The first one goes fine, and the last three, but the reading from the first Letter of John was, we’d noted and Rev. Ndlazi had explained, mis-stated in the bulletin (the ‘1’ was missing), but, as we are by this time pretty familiar with how this passage sounds in Zulu, we knew immediately on hearing it that, not too surprisingly, that wasn’t what was being read. We’d guess it was a reading from the Gospel of John, instead; Thulani commented on this after it had been read, there was a reshuffling of pages in the reader’s Bible, and another reading, but still not the right one. After the last three readings were done, Thulani read the 1 John 3:11 passage. It can happen anywhere.
The necessary musical transition to the sermon is the first three verses of 'OJehova, Uyangazi’, Hymn No. 6 in Amagama Okuhlabelela, the Congregational hymnal in the Zulu language. We’d encountered this first at another church, last year, and had been struck by both the tune and especially by the words which are a paraphrase of the 139th Psalm. The third verse, in particular, Uyawaz’ amazwi ami, Nokuzindla kwami konke – ‘You know my words, and all my thoughts’ – has seemed an apt lead-in to a sermon, and we’ve had occasion to use it in that way a couple of times this year. Thulani confirmed that the congregation would know it well, and it takes about three beats into the first verse before most of the congregation is joining in, and a rousing rendition of the hymn is underway, through that third verse.
The sermon this day is in large part an expanded version of a pro-i3L pep talk of sorts that we’ve given, when we’ve been afforded the chance, to more than half the participating churches here in KZN, over the months we’ve been here this year. The ‘expanded’ version, besides being crafted as a sermon rather than ‘bringing greetings’ as we’ve done with a number of the churches, is longer specifically because, when we’d first been requested to deliver a sermon (hence relieving a deacon of that responsibility for that Sunday) at another church on an earlier Sunday, we had asked whether 20 minutes for the day’s sermon was okay – bearing in mind that it was to be translated as well for the benefit of those in the congregation less comfortable with English, which would likely more than double the time. We were told ‘no, that’s too short’. This day at Table Mountain, even with the sometimes included ‘greetings’ now separated into the earlier part of the service, the time taken up by the sermon and its translation is right about 55 minutes. It’s not all Jan’s fault (or credit?), since clearly Rev. Ndlazi, who was doing the translation, was interpreting and explaining rather than just directly transliterating; starting from the fact that it almost always takes longer to say something in Zulu than in English, this clearly helped increase the time. But while, as we observed, not everyone in the congregation was riveted by all aspects of the message, they were patient and receptive.
The indicated ‘theme’ for the sermon was “Important work for us all,” and it was about building on the elements of the connection between the two churches that had begun, to make these things known to others in the church, to enlist more people as direct participants, not to leave the work to others, and not to be discouraged if one’s efforts weren’t immediately responded to. The effort to craft a direct relationship between the churches and their people is a mission, part of the mission of the church, and so should be part of the mission of this church, and so deserved the participation and effort of all the people of the church.
So why should we do this? Well, first as a response to scripture, to live out the directive that ‘we should love one another,’ made real by seeking to know one another; and also as an honoring of the historic connection that our churches have, through the efforts of the American Board missionaries. But can we do this otherwise than by infrequent visits? Yes, it’s important to realize that the intended relationship is NOT to be defined by those, nor (especially not) by Ruthann’s and Jan’s visits.
But Paul visited the early churches, didn’t he? Are we being instructed to do so as well? Consider why it was that Paul, writing to the Roman church, said that he longed to visit them: so “that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.” We have the opportunity, that Paul did not, to reach out to each other in ways that make us close, to offer that mutual encouragement by conversations about our lives, our churches, our faith, on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis. Our reciprocal mission to and with each other is made possible by the modern world that we share; we have a responsibility to make use of it. “Trust me, if Paul had had these tools, he would have used them!” And so we made an open plea for folks willing to share correspondence and phone calls, and for those who had access to e-mail, to make themselves known to become involved in the relationship effort with and towards Westborough.
As we’ve been doing at the churches here that we’ve been able to join for worship and bring greetings, we mentioned in closing the story of last year’s visit to the Adams Mission church, just south of Durban, when the Amabutho members in charge of the service that day based their testimonies on Paul’s words from Ephesians. They’d not been told we were coming that day to speak about the relationship that they were undertaking with Bethany church, Foxborough, but we have carried that so-apt message with us, the message that they highlighted for us through that service, as we have spoken to participating Massachusetts churches since, and so also to KZN churches: that Jesus “came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God …” And so we were welcomed this day at the Table Mountain Circuit’s central church, and so it can be, even more so, as the people of the churches speak with and write to each other, that it truly is as a family, and not as strangers, that we seek to interact with one another, that we are not strangers to one another, because we are ‘fellow citizens’ of the one church, across time and across oceans. And so, we should work to know one another.
After conclusion of the sermon, the step-down from the pulpit allows for another round of the ‘i3L chorus,’ after which Thulani pauses before proceeding with the service, to give his own further pep talk, in Zulu but we can catch enough words (some of which are usually the English words anyway) about the people of Table Mountain taking seriously the responsibility to reach out to their brothers and sisters at Westborough, not depending just on the members of the relationship committee, and so on. He thanks us warmly for the contribution, which seems to resonate with his own desires for the congregation to seize the opportunities for involvement in this different type of relationship with another church, to be equally givers in the relationship.
A soft, slow chorus leads into another prayer, per the bulletin the Pastoral Prayer, which is given by one of the female deacons from the benches. We’re not able to follow this in any detail, but from the word being very prominent when it’s heard in the midst of a stream of Zulu, we know for a fact that prayers for and about the Congregational church in Westborough featured in this prayer. Amen to that.
The offering is next, for which there’s special music by the Sunday school. A group of kids have been sitting to one side, patiently, through the whole service, and when it’s their time they come forward as a group, singing and swaying, line up, and launch into the first of three songs. Each song has a part by a lead singer, with a hint of call and response, and pretty rhythmically complicated backup from the group, and with dance and hand motions to each song. It’s quite a performance, and they’re given a rousing hand of applause spontaneously by the congregation, and then again on Thulani’s suggestion, after they’ve sat down. The offering, which has been collected in the meantime, is received with a prayer, and we move to the closing hymn.
One of the interesting aspects of visiting the Zulu churches, in particular, of the UCCSA, is the incidence of quite familiar hymn tunes which found favor here over the century plus of the American missionary effort, and which, altered perhaps as to rhythm and usually sung in parts, and with more vigor, are heard here as well. The text to No. 152 in the Zulu language Congregational hymnal is UJehova Abe-nawe, a translation (by G.A. Wilder, who was the long-serving early missionary at Umtwalume, the church which is in relationship with East Walpole Union) of “God be With You Till We Meet Again,” and while the music set out in the hymnal is a different tune, the congregation this day identifiably used the tune familiar to us … or at least so we could surmise on the last few bars of each verse. It hinted of home.
Thulani then delivers the closing prayer and benediction, the congregation sings a responsive ‘Amen’, and the day’s worship service, after its several hours, is concluded.
We’re invited to share in a meal that’s been prepared. The host branch will usually have the responsibility to provide some sustenance for those who’ve come from the more distant branches, when the Circuit joins together for a common service. Most folks eat in groups on the benches, with much conversation. For those of us required to be at the formally set front table – the Ndlazis, ourselves, and several key deacons including Mrs. Mkhize and Mrs. Princess Ndluli (a main figure in Isililo in the Circuit, and a relative of the local chief; she is involved with the vegetable garden, where we met her on our 2001 visit) – the repast is a bit fancier, including some salad and a roast chicken, besides the bread, juice, and cake more generally available. Hospitality demands that we partake, and given the time since breakfast, even with the earlier tea, we’re grateful.
As preparations have been underway for serving the meal, the Sunday school kids have been serenading us, spurred to this by Alice Ngubane (in her Amabutho uniform, who’d done fill-in duty earlier for the delivery of the gifts to Westborough), who’s been identified as a music contact. This is information we promised to pass along immediately to Westborough.
The after-service meal also allows Ruthann the opportunity for a further private conversation with Mrs. Mkhize, in this instance concerning a community outreach idea that has been under discussion with Rev. Ndlazi over the past weeks.
By the time we’re ready to depart, the crowd has thinned out considerably, and it’s possible to thank the ladies who’d prepared the meal and who now, naturally, are dealing with cleaning up, in the universal way of these things.
We exchange thanks for the day with Thulani and Thelma as we each approach our cars, slightly shaded under the ‘vestry’ thorn tree, and as they drive off towards their home in Pietermaritzburg, we go the other way towards Durban and the sea.