A tribute to Bishop David Russell - Grahamstown

A good friend of mine, Fr Larry Kaufmann introduced me to Bishop David Russell in Grahamstown many years ago. I had the joy of visiting his residence, and praying in his chapel, in Grahamstown. It was at his home that I first saw the film Babette's feast - a profound moment that changed my understanding of hospitality, grace and the sacraments.

Bishop Russell was a great inspiration to many young clergy in South Africa, and across the world. He was deeply committed to the Gospel of Christ and God's Kingdom of justice, mercy, and grace. His life and ministry showed many of us what it meant to be welcoming, and to be welcomed, into loving fellowship with God in Christ and one another.

Bishop Russell passed away this week. I thank God for his life and ministry. He was a Public Theologian par excellance!

Here is a tribute to David Russell written by my friend Archbishop Thabo Makgoba:

"With David Russell's death, an era passes for the Church and its
prophetic and courageous ministry, especially to the poorest of the poor.

"From the earliest days of his ministry as a priest, he was radical in
his identification with the poor and oppressed. Steve Biko, with whom he
worked closely, called him 'a friend, an equal... a comrade.'

"In the Eastern Cape in the 1970s, he played an important role in drawing
attention to the plight of people who were forcibly removed from their
homes under apartheid and dumped to starve in areas, such as Dimbaza,
where they had no hope of making a living.

"Later, as a chaplain to migrant workers in Cape Town, he campaigned
against the cruel removals, in the middle of winter, of families who
defied the pass laws and came to Crossroads to live with their husbands
and fathers.

"When the apartheid government sent in bulldozers to destroy their
shacks, he was willing to put his life on the line - one admirer recalled
on Facebook this week: 'Will never forget the image of DR lying,
spreadeagled, in front of a bulldozer in Crossroads.'

"When the government imposed a banning order on him, he defied it,
breaking it in multiple ways to attend a meeting of the Church's
Provincial Synod and to motivate a resolution expressing the Church's
understanding of those who had resorted to armed struggle.

"After becoming Bishop of Grahamstown, he ordained the first woman priest
in Southern Africa and repeatedly challenged the Church on theological
grounds to reverse its opposition to blessing same-sex unions. He also
challenged the democratically-elected provincial government of the
Eastern Cape for its failures in areas such as health and education.

"As one who served as Bishop David's suffragan bishop in Grahamstown and
was mentored by him, I feel his loss keenly.

"Not only the Church but the nation - which honoured him for his service
with the Order of the Baobab in Silver - mourns this son of the soil.

"On behalf of my family, the Diocese of Cape Town, the Synod of Bishops
and the broader church, we send our condolences and prayers to his wife,
Dorothea and to his sons, Sipho and Thabo.

"May this pastor, prophet, theologian and fierce fighter against
injustice rest in peace until we meet again."

Calls by the African Anglican Bishops to postpone the Lambeth Conference.

This post comes from 'Contact online' a blog by Fr David Mac Gregor. I am reposting it here since it may be of some interest to the readers of this blog - however, please do take a look at David's great blog.

Calls to postpone Lambeth

From the Friday, Oct 12, 2007 issue of the Church of England Newspaper

By George Conger

THE ANGLICAN Archbishops of Africa have backed Nigeria’s call to postpone the 2008 Lambeth Conference, and have pleaded with the Archbishop of Canterbury to call a special meeting of the Primates to avert the impending collapse of the Communion.

And this week a leading Church of England Bishop warned that if the current arrangements stand, he will find it difficult to attend the 10-yearly meeting of Bishops.

In a statement released following the meeting earlier this month of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) in Mauritius, the Archbishops acknowledged Dr Williams’ concerns that postponing Lambeth would be ‘costly’, but said the alternatives were far worse.

“A divided conference with several provinces unable to participate and hundreds of bishops absent would be much more costly to our life and witness. It would bring an end to the Communion, as we know it,” they said.

Postponing Lambeth would allow ‘tensions to subside’ and permit space for the ‘hard work of reconciliation’. It would also ensure that a common mind would have been reached on the proposed Anglican Covenant before the meeting took place.

Last month Dr Williams said he was not persuaded that a delay of Lambeth was necessary. He had to ‘keep faith’ with the conference organisers and with the minority of bishops who were not concerned with the crisis of faith and order dividing the Communion.

However, the African church stated that a ‘change of direction from our current trajectory is urgently needed’ for the Communion to survive.

The African archbishops said they were willing to work with the ‘instruments of unity’ to resolve the ‘current impasse that confronts us’.

However, they said: “We have spent the last 10 years in a series of meetings, issuing numerous communiqués, setting deadlines and yet we have made little progress.”

A Lambeth Conference that papers over the widening cracks in the Communion would serve no one, they argued. “We want unity but not unity at any expense,” they said.

Their call coincides with an admission by the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, that he would not be able to attend Lambeth if the liberal US bishops who appointed Gene Robinson were invited.

Responding to a question on the issue after delivering the fifth Chavasse lecture at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford, Bishop Nazir-Ali said:

“There are churches and bishops who were requested, there were pleas to them by everyone from every quarter, not to do what the whole Communion had said was contrary to God’s purpose.

“They went ahead and did it.

Now the intention is to have those bishops at the Lambeth Conference, and the person consecrated also. Under such circumstances, and as matters stand, I could not go.We have to state at a particular time what is the gospel’s judgment in a particular situation.”

Meanwhile, the Bishop of Exeter, Michael Langrish, said he backed Bishop Nazir-Ali.

He said: “I agree with the Bishop of Rochester about both the need for greater clarity about the purpose and nature of next summer’s gathering.”

He added he was concerned about the possibility the Conference could make Gene Robinson a scapegoat, ‘rather than focusing on the action of those who, through their decision to act in disregard of the pleas and mind of the rest of the Anglican Communion, precipitated this crisis’.

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