May Laban
THE REVEREND May Laban of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa was the first Indian woman priest in the country, first female archdeacon of Pietermaritzburg, first woman rector at St Paul’s Church in Durban, and first female archdeacon of Durban.
Much of this happened at a time when the question of female priests exercised the minds of masculine heads of the church worldwide.
Furthermore, some were averse to the prospect of a woman priest. Overcoming such conservative and sometimes petty attitudes, she ultimately became a much-loved priest whom most of her congregation referred to as Mamma May.
Typical of how she often turned a situation on its head is when she was informed by the archbishop of South Africa that she was to be the preacher at the consecration service of Bishop Monument Makanya of the Diocese of Zululand in 2016. This meant she would be preaching to bishops from around the country.
This was a daunting challenge not just for Laban, but also for the wardens and councillors of Zululand – a woman priest, and an Indian woman to boot, to preach at such an auspicious service… and in such a patriarchal society.
The auditorium at the University of Zululand was packed. Everyone was aflutter. The outcome? “I have never had so many requests for copies of my sermon from bishops, clergy and laity,” says Laban. “God’s holy power was so amazing. He is always so faithful in blessing what we have to offer.”
What’s more, Makanya asked her to be the rector of a parish in Zululand. This speaks volumes for the power and charm of this woman. It was an offer she sadly had to turn down, as she was leaving for Brunei to help her niece, Mary, and her young son Alec.
Before taking the cloth, Laban was a teacher for 22 years. “My parents’ home was open to every relative from Glendale who wished to become a teacher. No visitor could leave our home until my father offered a prayer for them,” she said.
When the time came to change course in life, she reminded herself of Queen Esther in the Old Testament (who averted the killing of her people, the Jews, by the Persians in Babylon).
“She took great risks and served her people. I think I took a risk into the unknown when I left a secure job in teaching and joined the ministry.”
But, like Esther, she says she trusted God implicitly when accepting His leading.
While she had passed her theology exams with distinction, she had been nervous when appearing before the Diocesan Selection Committee. Waiting to hear if she had been ordained was a nail-biting time.
Being among the first women to be ordained, meant Laban had no female priests as role models. Still, she was influenced by the late Monica Thumbadoo, the first Indian woman lay minister in South Africa.
“I am grateful for the many women who fought for the ordination of women priests,” she says, mentioning that people like researcher/author/ poet Dr Betty Govinden had also inspired her.
Laban also pays tribute to great mentors in the ministry such as Bishop Rubin Phillip, reverends Dennis de Stadler and James Wyllie, as well as Dean Rogers Govender.
Talking a little about her career, Laban said she had been ordained by Bishop Michael Nuttall in 1993 and had trained under Canon John Forbes at the Cathedral of the Holy Nativity in Pietermaritzburg. “It was the beginning of a new era of democracy in South Africa, but the cathedral congregation supported me greatly.”
She became archdeacon of Pietermaritzburg before her move to Durban and steady progress up the episcopal ladder.
“I was fortunate to be chosen as a group leader in 1980 by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to go on the Pilgrimage of Hope to Israel and Taize Community France,” she remembers. She also attended the International and Ecumentical Summer School in Rome in 2002.
She pays tribute to a host of other male clergy who encouraged her in her walk through the ministry.
She says she has been blessed to have travelled extensively, with her niece Dr Prema Laban in Canada sponsoring her travels.
After retiring last year, she accompanied her niece Mary and son Alec to Brunei, and again she broke tradition.
“I worshipped at St Andrew’s Anglican Church in Brunei and there the Reverend Johnny Chin told me there are no women priests in Singapore, parts of Malaysia or Brunei, but he gave me an opportunity to preach during Lent.
“I was very anxious as I knew I had to open new debates about the ordination of women. God blessed my preaching on a very simple sermon entitled ‘The Word: PRAY: P stands for Persevere, R stands for Reflect, A for Act, and Y for Yield’.
It seems people loved it… and the rector said she must preach again.
Laban is back in Durban, but no doubt a congregation in a very conservative country, half a world away, is eagerly waiting for her to return to its pulpit.