Welcome in the townships

Father David Dinkobogile, Rector of Sharpeville, unveiling a tomb at Vuka Cemetry


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27 October 2009

Catherine Shelley was on placement in Sharpeville, South Africa, during her training for the priesthood. She reports:

Under apartheid, Sharpeville was a black-only township, providing workers for the mines and steelworks around Johannesburg. Apartheid no longer exists but, although black Africans have moved to former ‘white’ and ‘coloured’ areas, few non-blacks venture into the townships. It’s a shame because the welcome is amazing. I spent six weeks on placement with the rector of St Cyprians, Sharpeville.

The parish is thriving; worship is a wonderful blend of Anglo-Catholic procession, incense, spontaneous singing, prayer and dance. Services start at 9.30am (after an hour of Bible study or confirmation classes) and finish sometime after 12.30pm; never has time passed so quickly. Most Saturdays are spent at the cemetery for funerals or tomb unveilings. It can take decades to save the money to put a tombstone on a grave, so the occasion is a great commemoration.

The parish is also involved in the wider community. I spent time with the drugs education team, in schools, with the HIV team, at the community centre and Sharpeville Care of the Aged. Trips around Sharpeville, Soweto and Sofiatown with Father David provided amazing insights into South African history, as someone who lived through the worst struggles. South Africa is freer than it used to be but much work remains to heal the legacy of racial segregation and build houses, schools and skills needed to bring fullness of life to the whole population.

One Saturday we walked with the start of a diocesan donkey drive. A deacon (white) and a priest (black) are driving a donkey cart to Cape Town, to raise funds for church and community centres. The trip also symbolises the building of links across racial, class and economic divides. It will take three months to reach Cape Town. Please pray for them and for South Africa.


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