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12 March 2019 | Story Eugene Seegers | Photo Eugene Seegers
Leading women honoured at faculty opening
Rev Martin Laubscher pictured with Thandeka Khulu, Oarabetse Morokane, Lunette Visser, and Trunette Sevenster, who participated in the worship service.

At its recent opening, the Faculty of Theology and Religion conferred the inaugural Letsema Award on Dr Ellen Vuyiswa Blekie, a medical doctor known for her sterling work in her local community in Thaba Nchu, as well as on the various church councils and committees on which she still serves at the age of 87. Dr Gideon van der Watt, director of the “Partners in Mission” unit of the Dutch Reformed Church in the Free State, presented the award to Dr Blekie on behalf of the faculty.

The theme of the morning’s proceedings was: The church and violence against women and children. This theme was not only borne out by the worship service presented by Rev Martin Laubscher, but also by each of his participants. First, a popular song from 1987, My Name is Luka, by Suzanne Vega, was recited in spoken-word form. The song deals with themes of physical and emotional abuse, as well as being kept silent as a victim. Next, the Paulette Kelly poem I Got Flowers Today was recited. The final stanza begins with the words “I got flowers today.../Today was a special day — it was the day of my funeral...”

Dr Carin van Schalkwyk, who has been serving the Philippolis community and congregation since 1993, conducted the liturgy. Her chosen passage was 2 Samuel 13, which recounts the events leading up to King David’s son Amnon raping his half-sister Tamar and the subsequent cover-up by the king and his sons. Dr Van Schalkwyk likened the way David of old handled the situation to the modern church’s failure regarding the protection of women and children, stating these vulnerable ones have been failed miserably.

Dr Van Schalkwyk added: “The root of the problem has not been addressed. It requires a rethinking of both preaching and policy, even of theology. All are created in God’s image; what does that mean?”

Concluding, she said, “We need to hear the lament of those affected, and weep with them. I dream of a day when women do not have to think of how to avoid sexual harassment on a daily basis.”


News Archive

South Africa praised for dealing with its history
2012-07-12

“I listened to an incredible conversation on how South Africans can talk about the past. We failed to do that in the US. We cannot move on because we failed to name the ghosts in our past. I am honouring what South Africa is doing.”

These are the words of a staff delegate from a university in the USA in a case study at the Global Leadership Summit led by Prof. André Keet, Director of the International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Students and academics from universities in the USA, Belgium, the Netherlands and Japan are attending a Global Leadership Summit with the theme “Transcending Boundaries in Global Change Leadership” at the UFS.

In the case study, symbols on the Bloemfontein Campus such as the MT Steyn Statue, Justitia symbol of justice at the building of the Faculty of Law, the artwork Van hier tot daar, and the Women’s Memorial were presented to the audience and the question was asked if they had to be removed or if they had to remain.

Students overwhelmingly felt that symbols of the past had to remain. Here are some of the comments:

  • “Without our past we would not be here today. Without the past, we would not know why we are here or where we are going.”
  • “It is important for students that it remains on campus, as a reminder that history must not repeat itself.”
  • “There is room for new symbols. We must look back but must also look at the future.”
  • “We must resolve the problems of the past and move on.”
  • “We must remember that we cannot go back there again. We must not take away part of other people’s history.”
  • “Symbols must be contextualised.”
  •  “Don’t look in the rear mirror, but through the windscreen where you are going. The windscreen is far bigger.”

One student said the statute of MT Steyn filled him with anger.

Prof. Keet said the act of running away from the ghosts of the past was a way to keep those ghosts alive. The past cannot be dealt with, only visited. The ghosts connect people with the past and allow the past to be present in the now.
 

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