The Dutch Reformed Church tower in Cape Town that makes a dominee’s wife think of a giant phallus is set to stay, but the debate on the issue is not yet over.
The controversy arose when Cobie Swart claimed the tower, at her husband Chris’s church in Brackenfell West, was an occult image of a penis ”continually having sex with the goddess of the sky”.
Swart, apparently with the backing of her husband, also said it was a Freemasonry symbol, and should be demolished.
However on Thursday night, after a marathon debate, three-quarters of the 55-member church council voted that the tower should stay.
According to council chairman Hennie Hugo, although the issue had now been resolved at his council’s level, the issue of symbolism would be referred to the DRC regional synod which starts at the Goudini Spa on Monday.
”In essence our task is to look after our community, the members of our church,” he said on Friday.
”Our opinion is they (the synod) are really the people that should look into matters like that — if it’s necessary to look into matters like that. We don’t know at this stage.”
No decision was taken by the council on the position of Ds Swart who, news reports suggested earlier this week, might be asked to resign.
In fact, according to Hugo, Swart was not even discussed. He said the council gathering had been a special one, and special meetings were usually convened to deal with only one issue — in this case, the tower.
Asked if the congregation were happy with Swart, he said: ”If I must be fair and honest, I cannot give you an exact answer on that, because we have not discussed that.
”There’s no problem at the moment: he’s not on leave.”
Dr Willie Botha, director of information of the DRC’s general synod, a national body, said the larger church was not taking the Brackenfell steeple issue seriously.
”We don’t have time for this,” he said.
”We are busy with Aids, poverty, crime and violence. We won’t put things like that on our agenda.
”It’s about reconciliation and healing of the country, that’s what we are busy with.”
The controversy over the tower has led to a flurry of letter-writing in Cape Town papers, including one from an archaeologist pointing out that pre-Christian worshippers were fascinated more with female than male projections, as evidenced by prehistoric breast-shaped earth mounds.
Ds Swart and his wife could not be reached for comment on Friday afternoon. ‒ Sapa