The Methodist Church of Southern Africa, an organization where historically many have sought refuge from injustice, has been compromised by poor governance, ill-discipline, and a lack of integrity. This has led to a crumbling of the network of trust, faith, and mutual respect that is necessary for the organization, its clergy, and laity to minister honestly and authentically to all of God’s children.

We, the laity of the MCSA do hereby undertake the responsibility of being standard-bearers of the Truth, so that issues of poor governance, ill-discipline and/or the erosion of Chapter 11 of the Book of Order/Laws and Discipline of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa may be dealt with in a free, fair and transparent manner, thus preserving the integrity of the Church as a movement, a faith-based organization, and registered Public Benefit Organization.

We agree, all those who participate in the raising of concerns about poor governance, discipline as according to Chapter 11 of the Methodist Book of Order/Laws and Disciplines, and the subsequent compromising of the integrity of the MCSA, that the raising of said concerns is not done to publicly embarrass or humiliate the Church. Rather, the publishing of this petition and the approaching of the media/press has been exercised as a last resort, and as a consequence of years’ worth of concerns and/or complaints that have not been resolved by the senior clergy of the MCSA.

We do so because a) we have exhausted the internal mechanisms available to us within the organization itself, and b) the response from the MCSA in regard to concerns around said poor governance, ill-discipline, and the subsequent compromising of the Church’s integrity has unveiled an uncanny intolerance for those who refuse to endorse such practices. Thus, having exercised the principles of Matthew 18 as a God-fearing people, we turn to this petition and the media/press in order that the voices that have been drowned out by bureaucracy may now be heard.

We believe that the Church has lost the moral authority to speak into the challenges that we face as a society until such time that we prove that we are able to honestly, transparently, and effectively govern ourselves – whether we be clergy or laity within the body of the MCSA. We apologize to those whom we have failed in remaining silent in the face of injustice and we humbly ask their forgiveness as we now work towards restitution for victims of various injustices that have taken place within the MCSA, and which have been perpetrated by people who call themselves Methodists.

We undertake to share only what is factual, basing every allegation and/or accusation on truth that can be corroborated through:

• statements;
• reports; 
• complaints; 
• decisions by the District Disciplinary Registrar and/or Connexional Disciplinary Committee; 
• case studies; 
• correspondence via email, text message, WhatsApp and/or other modes of communication; 
• any evidence supporting our claims; 
• and legal precedence in the event that reference is made to particular cases where the Church has been brought before the judiciary of the Republic of South Africa to resolve disputes.

We continue to pray for the senior clergy and cling to the hope that they would humble themselves enough to not only recognize the damage that has been done to the reputations, lives, and spiritual well-being of those whom they are called to disciple and serve, but that they would be intentional about restoring trust where it has been broken.

The senior clergy will say that we are a Church and a people of grace. This is true. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, however, cautions us through his teachings that “cheap grace is the enemy of the church”, and when grace is made exclusively available to perpetrators of various forms of abuse whilst intentionally overlooking the truth and ignoring the victims, we must speak out. We did so as a Church who spoke out about the evils of apartheid, and we do so again as a Church who wrestles with the issue of political bureaucracy in the face of injustices within our organization today.

It is regrettable that the senior clergy and the various mechanisms within the MCSA responsible for conflict resolution and/or discipline have broken the trust relationship between the likes of the clergy and laity. The subsequent systematic dismantling of Chapter 11 of the Methodist Book of Order/Laws and Discipline has emboldened those who would seek to entrench themselves and serve their own agendas instead of God’s children.

We call upon the Church to improve governance measures, strengthen discipline, and prioritize the moral character that should imbue our spiritual leaders.

Indifference is no longer an option and accountability must be sought. We implore you to stand with us in our plea for justice, truth, and the reinstatement of integrity in our Church, by signing this petition.

All clergy and laity who are concerned about being prejudiced against as a result of signing and/or sharing this petition, please note that you do have the option of not having your name appear on the petition once having signed it.

If you are a victim of abuse in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, or are aware of unethical practices (such as theft that was not reported, etc) please email mcsapetition@gmail.com