ST JOHN’S CHURCH MARKS ITS 180TH BIRTHDAY WITH CELEBRATORY SERVICE
ST JOHN’S Church in Bathurst, the oldest unaltered Anglican Church in Southern Africa, celebrated its 180th birthday on Sunday with a special Eucharist service presided over by the Bishop of Grahamstown, Ebenezer Ntlali.
Lay minister Rob Gess presented a short summary of the church’s history, from its time as a refuge during the Frontier Wars to its present day still serving a small congregation in the village of Bathurst.
A recurring humorous theme in the service was that if Bathurst had been chosen as the seat of the colonial government in the 1800s, it would have a cathedral and Grahamstown a chapel.
In his sermon, Ntlali said: “This church is not just standing in a vacuum, it’s standing in a community and it serves the community of Bathurst.”
As the 14th bishop of Grahamstown, he acknowledged his predecessors. “These bishops have brought us leadership and spirituality in the diocese of Grahamstown. I give thanks to God for them.”
He also thanked the rectors of the various parishes within the diocese. “They have done a beautiful thing for God.
“It’s a miracle that after 180 years there is still a congregation worshiping here,” he said, “because in some parts of the world there are churches with nobody to worship in. Beautiful buildings, no worshippers.” He mentioned Bedford as an example.
“It’s thanks to the work of the rector and lay ministers that this chapel is still going strong,” he added.
“Yes, this church did have its origins in colonialisation and militarisation, but in that they remembered they have souls and need to be ministered to as souls.”
He said the ministry of the church had come out of this colonialisation and militarisation and outlasted it.
“Whether they are soldiers, police or people, how can they continue without worshiping God? How can they serve one another without serving God?”
His sermon reflected on the scripture, 1 John 4:7-12.
“John didn’t need someone to tell him there is a God. When he met Jesus and hugged him and ate with him, he knew God. He was an eyewitness to God’s love in Jesus Christ,” Ntlali said.
“He saw the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ. John holds that balance so that we can learn from both the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ.”
He said it was an honour for the church to be named after John the evangelist, one who had started seven churches in Asia Minor and received the revelation of the end times and judgment.
He closed with: “This church is an asset of the commitment of those who built it and worshiped in it, lasting over 180 years to our time”.