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2000-238

News Briefs

Bishop Ndungane calls for reconciliation

     (ENS) South African bishop Njongonkulu Ndungane launched a national anti-
racism forum in Cape Town on December 16, calling for reconciliation among all 
race groups in the country.

     "Racism is so entrenched in our national psyche that we need to take 
constructive steps to achieve normality. This involves education, firm 
commitment, research and recognition of the many cultures and languages that make 
us such a dynamic nation," Ndungane said. "We owe it to ourselves and our 
children to make a difference and it is time for all of us to act."

     The forum was established by the South African coalition SANGOCO and the 
"Home for All Campaign," which calls on white South Africans to get actively 
involved in the reconstruction and development process, reconciling race groups 
divided by apartheid.

     Ndungane said that the positive approach adopted by those ready to 
acknowledge the economic, cultural and psychological damage inflicted by 
apartheid was heartening. "Even more so is their acceptance that many whites had 
actively and passively supported that (racist) system and that the damage has not 
been overcome," he said.

     But not all white South Africans agreed. F.W. de Klerk, the former president 
of South Africa who released Nelson Mandela before stepping down in 1994, said 
the declaration fails to "capture the full complexity of the circumstances in 
which we found ourselves. Instead, it represents an over-simplistic analysis 
which seeks to divide complex human interactions simply into good and evil." And 
National Party leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk said it would create a nation of 
"hand wringing apologists."

     The declaration reads, in part: "We acknowledge that apartheid inflicted 
massive social, economic, cultural and psychological damage on black South 
Africans…We acknowledge our debt to fellow black South Africans since all whites 
benefited from systematic racial discrimination…We pledge to use our skills, 
resources and energy, through individual and collective action, to empower 
disadvantaged people, eliminate racism and promote a non-racial society whose 
resources are used to the benefit of all its people…"

Doctor of Ministry program begins its 27th year

     (ENS) The Doctor of Ministry program of the University of the South begins 
its 27th year this summer.

     The program is one of the few in the U.S. which, operates only during the 
summer months, so that clergy can participate without major interruptions to 
their parish responsibilities. It also affords an opportunity for students to 
study in an Episcopal seminary in a university setting.

     The program stresses the relationship between the practice of ministry, and 
biblical, historical, and theological knowledge. A Master of Sacred Theology 
program, focusing on research skills, is also available. Both programs usually 
take three or four summers to complete.

     Courses offered this summer include Models of Liturgical Theology; Ministry 
Seminar; Biblical Authority and Preaching the Word; Ministry with the Dying and 
Bereaved: Ritual and Pastoral Care at the End of Life and In the Beginning was 
the Story: Character and Ethics in Genesis and the Gospel of Mark.

     For further information, contact Don S. Armentrout, Advanced Degrees 
Program, School of Theology, 335 Tennessee Avenue, Sewanee, TN 37383-0001, or 
call 800/722-1974.