St George's Cathedral, Cape Town

The Cathedral Justice and Reconciliation Group
associated with the International Community of the Cross of Nails

The vision of our Justice and Reconciliation work is to fulfil the Cathedral's prophetic mission as a place of hope and healing through our commitment to issues of justice and reconciliation.

On 12 September 2004, in acknowledgement of the reconciliation work of St George's Cathedral, Coventry Cathedral named St George's a Centre of the Cross of Nails. In a wonderful ceremony they gave a cross, sculptured to symbolise the story of healing after the war-time bombing of Coventry Cathedral.

A group of Cathedral members continues to take up this area of ministry focusing on the issues of reconciliation and social justice posed by our current context.

We recognize that reconciliation is a journey, not an event. We seek to explore journeys and listen to our fellow travellers' stories.

Our activities include:

1. Praying with the worldwide Community of the Cross of Nails and Saying the Litany of Reconciliation – which we translated into our regional languages, isiXhosa and Afrikaans – each Friday before the lunchtime mass and keeping Fridays as a focus on reconciliation.
2. Networking with other Cross of Nails Centres in our region and with Coventry Cathedral's Cross of Nails work.
3. Developing and organizing annual observance of South Africa's national Day of Reconciliation. In 2006 and 2007 this took the shape of an inter-faith pilgrimage. The first pilgrimage in 2006 took place at dawn. It took in Cape Town's Slave Museum and the Tana Baru, a place of grace in the Muslim tradition and historic site of very early Cape Town of which the Bo-Kaap area through which we processed is a part.

   In 2007 Ds Deon Snyman of the Uniting Reformed Church and the Foundation for Church-led Restitution preached in the Cathedral before the pilgrimage commenced from the Cathedral's labyrinth, through the historic Company Garden of the Cape of Good Hope, to the Gardens Shul and on to the Owal Mosque, the oldest mosque in Cape Town. Before returning to the Cathedral to observe and reflect on the Mountbatten windows (which embrace a reconciliation theme), we stopped at the Population Registration Act memorial benches on Queen Victoria Street as a reminder of our divided past. Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Mary Burton delivered a message here and Tina Schouw sang a moving song of hope.

   Walking the Path to Wholeness: In 2008, after the Public Holiday Eucharist focus on Reconciliation Day, we invited participation in a walk on the Cathedral's magnificent labyrinth – with facilitated personal reflection on our journey to wholeness in our own lives, within our faith communities and our nation. We also distributed the Truth and Reconcilation Commission's recommendations to faith communities.

4. Together with St Mark's in District Six, a surviving Church from the era of mass forced population removals, organising and developing a Lenten pilgrimage during Holy Week. This has taken place during 2007, 2008 and 2009.
5. Preparing the ground for the Cathedral family to further its commitment to inclusivity in regard to a pastoral response to gay Christian partnerships of faithful commitment. To this end, the 2008 Vestry adopted the following resolution:

   We as a Cathedral family

   • In furtherance of our shared mission statement, commit ourselves to a process of dialogue and listening
   • Giving serious prayerful consideration to the acceptance of gays and lesbians in their committed partnerships, as valued members of our parish family
   • Trusting the Holy Spirit to guide us as we seek the mind and heart of Jesus Christ. We further propose that we ask for a meeting with Bishop Garth, and in course with Archbishop Thabo, seeking their support and encouragement for this process of exploration.

   A “Statement of Conviction” relating to Developing a Pastoral Response to Gay Christian Partnerships of Faithful Commitment has subsequently been presented to Archbishop Thabo for our guidance. Work in this area continues.

   Planning further work on inclusivity in regard to the growing population of refugees in our midst, many of whom have suffered from violent xenophobic attacks in our city. A celebration of the poetry of refugee women was organized to remember World Refugee Day on 20 June 2009.

6. Initiating and supporting the development of the Cathedral Crypt as a Centre of Memory and Witness. The resources of the Justice and Reconciliation Carrying Group have been deeply invested in developing the proposal to convert the Crypt to create a sacred space of dialogue, hope and healing.
   The opening of The Crypt Memory and Witness Centre and Café St. George, 30 May 2010
   

7. Developing pilgrimages to the Chapel of the Good Shepherd on Robben Island. To this end a litany for use by an ecumenical group of facilitators has been developed with the participation of potential pilgrim leaders and with the support and encouragement of the Robben Island Museum authorities.

   For nearly 400 years, Robben Island, 12 kilometres from Cape Town, was a place of banishment, exile, isolation and imprisonment. Robben Island has come to symbolize, not only for South Africa and the African continent, but for the entire world, the triumph of the human spirit over enormous hardship and adversity.

   Several groups from a cross section of churches and backgrounds including the South African Council of Churches colleagues, the Warehouse staff, the staff of Healing of Memories, various church leaders, members of the Cross of Nails Network and congregants of the Cathedral have been able to visit Robben Island and use this pilgrimage litany. These groups have explored topics such as the differences between charity and restitution, black consciousness and reconciliation, and retreat.

For more information please contact Di Oliver, doliver@global.co.za, or Sarah Crawford-Browne, sarahinsl@yahoo.com.

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