Review of the Regional Synod and Regional Council Meeting

by John-Peter Gernaat

​The priests from New York, Windhoek and Cape Town arrived in Johannesburg on Sunday, 10 August to begin the Regional Priest Synod early the following morning. Their days began at 08h00 and finished some twelve hours later. The community were marvellous in providing meals for lunch and supper. On Wednesday, 13 August Rev. Oliver Steinrueck celebrated his birthday and was treated to a South Africa braai before the group went to the Rietfontein Nature Reserve in Paulshof for an outing in nature.

​On Friday, 15 August representatives of the Communities in Cape Town, Windhoek and Hillcrest joined the congregation and trustees of Johannesburg and the priests for the start of the annual Regional Council meeting. The Friday evening consisted of reports on the financial and community status of each congregation. The theme for the weekend meeting was “aware of the Christ in our humanity”. The theme was introduced by Rev. Oliver Steinrueck, as our Lenker, on Friday evening.

Saturday was a working day for the representatives of the communities who make up the Regional Council and its Executive. After the Act of Consecration of Man, the theme of the weekend was explored as a way of adding a sense of orientation to the work on which the meeting was to embark. The formalities of the Annual General Meeting with its reports on the work of the Executive, the reports from the Chairman and Lenker and the financial status of the Region, were followed by the Council spending time on the question of re-enlivening the Hillcrest congregation.

This congregation has a history of growth and contraction. The last growth came with the sending of Rev. Peter Holman as a resident priest. Over the decade of Peter’s residency, the community grew from requiring a lot of financial aid from the Region to being able to repay some of its loans. Then Peter left and Rev. Michaël Merle was sent to the community, and shortly thereafter Covid happened. This began a period of contraction that eventually led to the property, of which the church is a part, becoming in need of major maintenance. In 2024 the Regional Council recommended that the only financially viable option was to sell the property and find a more manageable option for the celebration of the sacraments. One of the members of the Hillcrest congregation decided to purchase the property as they were downsizing from a farm. This congregant offered the space where the church is located to the congregation so that the church would not have to move. This change has opened up options for the Regional Council to discuss and plan a way of supporting the development of the Hillcrest community going forward. The work of the Synod prior to the Council meeting enabled the Council to offer a means of support that has given new hope to the Hillcrest community.

The desire to develop community was discussed along with many other topics. Feedback was given to the Johannesburg congregation on Sunday after the service and by lunch everyone was heading home. The Regional Council will meet next in Cape Town in August 2026.