The National Church Leaders Forum of the SACC, meeting on 24 March 2015, expressed “grave concern” at the disturbing state South Africa is in. The church leaders urged the SACC to focus all efforts on transforming the poor’s fortunes, from one generation to the next, and thus seek to contribute to the reduction of the gross inequalities of our society.

The South Africa we shall pray for uses a “see-judge-act” model: it is informed by thematic research in partnership with research institutions and other entities empirical and scientific information enables informed socio-economic theological reflection for the “judge” of the Gospel it leads to actions sanctioned by church leaders and taken up ecumenically in the congregations in united public witness. The goal of the campaign is to identify and act on critical socio-economic issues.

Poverty has already been decided as the main theme for 2015 to 2016, and the SACC is building on work already being done by several member churches, including the pilot work conducted in Soweto under the auspices of the Apostolic Faith Mission.

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The Civil Society Manifesto was birthed from the National Convention of South Africa and is aimed at building public consensus on the value positions, and standards that inform policy options that are acceptable to meet the requirements of life and governance anticipated in the rights culture of the South African Constitution.

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The Local Ecumenical Action Network (LEANs) was birthed from the SACC COVID-19 pastoral plan to organise functional local public ministry structures that address crisis relief, pastoral care that focuses on the vulnerable and the anxieties of families of frontline workers. Although LEANs was developed as a COVID response it is built on previous work done by churches at community level.

The current LEANs initiative aims to consolidate and strengthen local ministrations in order to better serve society in the COVID challenges, but also to build on that strength for a post-COVID social and economic programming at community level LEANs are one of the vehicles to drive the current SACC strategic plan and includes the four pillars (Healing & Reconciliation, Quality Education, Economic Transformation and Anchoring Democracy ) developed to achieve the South Africa We Pray For.

There are approximately 100 LEANs network groups across the country mainly in Western Cape, KZN, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Gauteng

Joint activities across ecumenical lines have also taken place in Limpopo, Free State, Norther West Province and Mpumalanga during the COVID-19 pandemic.

LEANS have been involved in numerous activities including:

• Ongoing food relief
• Pastoral Care and Counselling
• Communication around COVID19 responses and prevention
• Training on Farming God’s Way
• Community Assets Workshops
• Diversity Workshops (Black Lives Matter)

To join a LEANs network or start one in your community kindly send an email to lean@sacc.org.za.

The South African Council of Churches (SACC) is conducting a multi-pronged Patriarchy & Society Campaign against sexual and gender-based violence, and its social conditioning in society.

(a) The aim is to mount a preventative campaign – to conscientize various sections of society about the impact of a patriarchal society and its outcomes on sexual and gender-based violence, for the safety and flourishing of women and girls.

(b) In addition, the programme will target traditional cultural programmes of boys’ initiation to manhood, in consultation with relevant cultural authorities.

(c) The main activities include:

• 1. Republic of Sexual Abuse Exhibition Virtual Roadshow: To put the ‘Republic of Sexual Abuse’ Exhibition on a virtual roadshow, to dramatize the frightening experience of the lived reality of sexual abuse in South Africa.
• 2. Botho jwa Basadi Campaign: To create social change against gender-based violence and its roots in socialization, religious and cultural psyche, norms and mores through a large scale communication blitz of what should be the obvious, the fullness of woman humanity – Botho jwa Basadi.
• 3. Violence against people with diverse sexual orientations: To educate against social and religious attitudes, and their outcomes in prejudice and violence; and work with other organizations in support of families of LGBTIQ+ persons, in regard to their various life challenges.