Bishop Sipuka urges interfaith leaders to take action for the poor at G20 Forum

IOL News

3 days ago

President of the South African Council of Churches (SACC) and Chairperson of the National Church Leaders' Consultation, Bishop Sithembele Anton Sipuka.
Image: Theolin Tembo
President of the South African Council of Churches (SACC) and Chairperson of the National Church Leaders' Consultation, Bishop Sithembele Anton Sipuka, delivered rousing remarks that left attendees giving him a standing ovation at the G20 Interfaith Forum.
The IF20 forum, which convened religious leaders, civil society organisations, government officials, multilateral institutions, and scholars to explore collaborative solutions to pressing global challenges, concluded on Thursday.
The IF20 event is intended to reflect and reinforce South Africa's G20 Presidency theme: 'Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability'.
'These four days in Cape Town have shown us that we - Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, traditional African spiritualists, and all faith traditions represented here - we have all chosen to go far, together.
'We came to Cape Town under the banner, 'ubuntu in action', focusing on vulnerable communities. Ubuntu has taught us that our humanity is interconnected - I am, because you are. This week, we have discovered something profound: Ubuntu is not just a philosophy; it is a prophecy.
'It calls us beyond mere acknowledgement of our connectedness, to active responsibility for one another's dignity,' Sipuka said.
Sipuka highlighted how all the various interfaiths have all heeded the same divine call 'in different sacred languages'.
'This forum has held up a mirror to our souls, as religious leaders, and what we see is both inspiring and convincing. We have confronted uncomfortable truths about ourselves as faith leaders. Too often, we claim to serve the God of the poor, while those poor view us with suspicion. Why? Because our proximity to power has sometimes made us complicit in systems that perpetuate injustice.
'It is easy for religious leaders to be co-opted by those in power, for the benefits of that, and in exchange lose our prophetic stance, to stand and be the voice for the voiceless. This sometimes results in religious leaders living in mansions, while their congregants queue for food parcels…'
Sipuka said that it was important for religious leaders to model the very leadership and action that they are seeking from those they shepherd, and to put words into action.
'As we part, my wish is that we could commit to transforming our educational approaches. Let us commit to establishing an interfaith educational partnership that teaches not literacy and numeracy but social, emotional, and spiritual intelligence - true cross-cultural religious literacy.
'May our madrasas, church schools, temple institutions, and community centres become laboratories of ubuntu, places where children learn that difference is not division, but a tapestry of diversity created by the pleasure and joy of Divine design.'
Sipuka added that they haven't gathered to issue another statement or calling on officials to act as 'the poor are tired of our calls, the poor are hungry for our commitment'.
'My hope is that, as interfaith leaders, we could commit ourselves to action. My wish is that every faith community represented here could take the initiative, not waiting for perfect conditions and not waiting for external funding, but beginning where we are, with what we have, for who we serve.
'Rather than setting rigid timelines that may become empty promises, let each of us return home, and begin… what matters is not the speed of our response but the sincerity of our commitment.'
Deputy Minister of Social Development Ganief Ebrahim Hendricks said that he did not doubt that the discussions at the forum would have positive effects in its wake.
'In our beloved South Africa, faith communities have and continue to play a crucial role in advancing the National Development agenda. At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, members of our communities have witnessed extraordinary acts of courage and love.
'They demonstrated acts of solidarity and support for the most vulnerable population at the time of their greatest need, and I think the interfaith communities in South Africa, and all over the world, must be complimented for saving many, many lives because of their direct intervention,' Hendricks said.
'The aim is to harness and deepen the partnership that exists with faith communities… In truth, South Africa is still a work in progress, and it is daily challenged to keep building bridges in spite of the various obstacles.
'In conclusion, I want to thank the IF20 for throwing their weight behind South Africa in the run-up to the G20 conference in November, and I am sure what you have decided here will help us conclude a very successful G20,' Hendricks said.
Vice President of G20 Interfaith Forum Association, Katherine Marshall, closed the forum by saying that they have heard a lot about ubuntu throughout the forum, but that they should heed Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool's reminder that there is a hard edge to ubuntu, 'which is that 'I am my brother's keeper''.
'I think we all leave with a powerful sense of what we can do, and what we must do together. I started out talking about something that always echoes in my mind, NATO - No Action, Talk Only.'
She also thanked all of the attendees and the organisers who assisted in pulling the IF20 event together.
[e-mail]