South African Archbishop to visit Bay Area to Combat Global Suffering

SAN FRANCISCO - - - The Most Rev. Njongonkulu Ndungane, Archbishop of Cape Town and Primate of the Province of Southern Africa, will be featured at five events next week during a visit to the Bay Area aimed at energizing communities to combat global suffering.

 

Archbishop Ndungane is a voice of moderation in the Anglican’s Communion’s raucous debate swirling around the place of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the Church. His stance is reflected in a 2005 interview on NPR when Terry Gross introduced his as an outspoken leader against poverty, third-world debt, and HIV/AIDS. In his youth, Ndungane was an anti-apartheid activist who was jailed for three years on Robben Island.” The “Press Statement issued by Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane regarding the election of gay bishops in the worldwide Anglican Communion” will also be of interest to many in the Bay Area.

 

On Monday, October 15, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Walnut Creek, Ndungane will join in a Taizé style worship service of prayers and chants. This beautiful and moving candle-lit service begins at 7 p.m. and will be followed by a reception welcoming Ndungane to California. Ndungane will make remarks at the reception and answer questions from those in attendance.

 

During the week, Ndungane will be present at three town hall meetings on:

• Tuesday, October 16, he will be at St. Paul’s, San Rafael;
• Wednesday, October 17, he will be at St. Augustine’s, Oakland, and
• Thursday, October 18, he will be at Trinity, Menlo Park.
  
  

Each of the presentations, entitled “Being the Beloved Community,” will begin at 7 p.m. and will provide opportunities to discuss the Millennium Development Goals, the continuing scourge of HIV/AIS in Africa, and Ndungane’s perspective on the Anglican Communion. Each event will include musical offerings from the Chinyakare Ensemble, bringing African rhythms and instrumentation to the event. The event on Wednesday, October 18, at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Oakland, will also feature the local sounds of several nationally renowned poetry slam artists.