Dear Friends and Members

In May 2011 a new Church Council has been elected by the congregation and although not all positions could be filled, the new council consisting out of Richard Norman as the re-elected chairperson, Dominic Kessell as Secretary and JP Rossouw-Sulyman as treasurer within their current term until 2012, and Rodney Hahn as a re-elected council member are full of spirit and ready to take on the challenges of our times. We intend to co-opt members of the ministries on a ‘per project basis’ to supplement the decision making process during this council period.

This MCC congregation full of diversity must - like every congregation living the spirit - constantly re-look as to what it is what we want to be as a local church.

With a focus within the congregation, we try to have at least one other offering during the week, we approached new guest preachers from diverse backgrounds and are re-evaluating our current ministries and ways to make our Sunday Services more accessible, welcoming and inclusive. The ministry leaders will meet on 23 July for a workshop. Social events for the congregation to meet, share and provide opportunities for interactions and discussions on an informal basis are in the planning as well as a trip to Port Elizabeth, which will be holding their first Pride ever. The Church council has also increased Laurie’s function as spiritual mentor to the congregation from 40 to 60 hours per month.

To strengthen our impact in our community we recently registered the Good Hope MCC as a Non-for-profit organisation to have a stronger legal construct to apply for funding of new areas of our work. As in the past, we continue to work with other organisations in and outside of the Joint Working Group to make a stand against injustice in this world. We are actively engaging with our partners to provide input on various levels, may these be discussions around issues such as Hate Crimes, taking part in demonstrations, or very practical approaches like organising the children’s section at Cape Town Pride, donating goods and bibles to the Pride Shelter and our involvement with the Helping Hands Children’s project.

As a faith community we are planning to submit our application for membership to the South African Council of Churches this year, we are represented on an international denominational task team and also on an advisory committee of Atlantic Philanthropies to set up a LGBTI foundation in South Africa.

Because the environment and dynamics in our society and in the world are constantly changing, we need to re-evaluate our work and focus on an ongoing basis – our work is always driven by our beliefs and purpose as a MCC congregation side-by-side and in unity with other MCC congregations worldwide.

We commit ourselves to

• Inclusion
  Love is our greatest moral value and resisting exclusion is a primary focus of our ministry. We want to continue to be the conduits of a faith where everyone is included in the family of God, and where all parts of our being are welcomed at God’s table.
• Community
  Offering a safe and open community for people to worship, learn and grow in their faith is our deep desire.  We are committed to equipping ourselves and each other to do the work that God has called us to do in the world.
• Spiritual Transformation
  Providing a message of liberation from the oppressive religious environment of our day or to those experiencing God for the first time is what guides our ministry. We believe that when people are invited to experience God through the life and ministry of Christ, lives will be transformed.
• Social Action
  Working to talk less and do more, we are committed to resisting the structures that oppress people and standing with to those who suffer under the weight of oppressive systems, being guided always by our commitment to Global Human Rights.

Living up to these core values is not always easy, but we need to constantly remind ourselves, what it means to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. As people liberated from other people’s definitions of who we are, we stand boldly with those who resist the structures of exclusion, as Jesus did, and work to insure freedom for all people. In the margins, we are blessed; we are one of the many voices of God that, until now, has been lost in the margins. MCC’s worldwide believe that our ultimate ministry is in the world. We know that in order to prepare ourselves for radical service that changes lives, we must equip ourselves and others in the safety of a supportive community. We strive to live out a message that rejects the idea that any are excluded from the family of God.

At MCC’s around the globe we have experienced the soul destruction that comes from hate filled rhetoric. In restoring our souls, we have come to find that our voices will speak the liberation that comes through peace, compassion, love, respect and grace.

It is with this peace, compassion, love, respect and grace that the council of Good Hope MCC invites you as a friend, partner or Ministry Members of this church to all work together in making this congregation a safe community and beacon of light reaching out into our communities and into Africa and to be a diligent worker to “Tear down Walls and Build up Hope”.

With blessings,

Church Council of Good Hope MCC
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