Marianne Merten
A black Anglican priest has been moved from his Mitchells Plain parish following a dispute with local church wardens that escalated into racial slurs and divided the congregation.
The decision to ask Reverend Thokozile Gubangxa to leave as rector of Christ the King church in Rocklands was announced to the congregation last Sunday.
“Gossip and negativity has begun to undermine the working of this parish and has caused pain to many people, including your priest and his family. I am sorry and I know that all of you must feel sorrow that things have tuned out this way,” said a pastoral letter that was read out in church, written by the Bishop of False Bay, The Right Reverend Merwyn Castle.
Tensions at the Rocklands church began in May 1999 shortly after Gubangxa arrived from Grassy Park, also on the Cape Flats, where he was an assistant to the rector.
Gubangxa raised concerns about how collection monies were processed, payments were made and expenditure accounted for. Also at issue was a substantial farewell gift for the previous priest, who served the community for more than a decade.
In the Anglican Church each rector ministers to his congregation and is accountable for the running of the parish. The wardens are in charge of administration and financial management. Both sides regularly meet to ensure the smooth functioning of the church’s business, including all projects under the control of the parish council. This body of between seven and 15 people is elected from the congregation to advise the rector on all aspects of parish life and the wardens are elected each year at the vestry, the church equivalent of an annual general meeting.
For more than a year accusations have been traded over almost all aspects of church life. Last year’s election of new wardens was initially disputed, but the same officials were re-elected. However, this failed to resolve tensions.
As the acrimony escalated at the end of 2000, services were disrupted. And in the middle of January tensions came to a head when a parishioner called the priest “a monkey” after a minor disruption during Sunday service.
‘I have lost something at Rocklands: my human dignity,” said Gubangxa. “I have been labelled kaffir here. One could understand if it came from ordinary people, but the wardens?”
A significant section of the congregation is understood to support the priest, accusing others of underhand tactics. One parishioner, who spoke reluctantly, said there was “a lot of hurt” and “the church was broken”.
The parish is now being administered through a team led by the local archdeacon. The main aim is to heal rifts within the parish.
Bishop Castle said the issue is complicated. “The decision to move him from the parish was not an easy one. There has been a tremendously long process of trying to come to a decision that is right for the priest and the parish.”
Building a strong relationship between parish and priest can be difficult, particularly when a priest who has ministered for many years is replaced. Some parishes observe a “mourning period” before a new priest starts.
An Anglican priest said it was unlikely a priest would be sent to a parish where he was not welcomed as each side met during the interview process. But the church could make wrong appointments.
“The people of Mitchells Plain are hurt enough by daily life. They don’t
need the church to hurt them,” the priest said, adding the most important thing now was to overcome divisions in the once-thriving Rocklands congregation.