A New Priest is appointed

The Vicar writes

It was with great excitement that we were able to announce to the congregations on Sunday 8th June that we have appointed the Revd Andreas Sistig to the Post of Senior Curate with Responsibility for Ministry at Ss. Philip and James. When the candidates came for interview in May, I think that everybody who met them were particularly impressed by Andreas - his enthusiasm, his commitment to ministry, his fresh views, and his experiences of living and working in a very different culture, which he will be able to bring and use to help us on our journey.

Andreas was born and brought up in Germany - in the Rural area to the East of the Rhine, close to Koblenz, where his family still live. He was a Catholic by birth and began training for the Priesthood in a German Seminary. In 1999 his training took him to South Africa to study theology for one year at St. Joseph’s Theological Seminary, Cedara, KwaZulu Natal.

And it was there that he met his wife Jennifer, a native South African, who was training for Anglican ministry. This event took him on a journey which was to lead him to the Anglican Church, to ordination, and to his present post as an Assistant Priest in the Parish of Holy Trinity, Hillcrest, where Jennifer has been the Rector. He has had a particular ministry to four rural, Zulu-speaking Churches in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, which is part of the Parish. They have two daughters, Rebekah (5) and Hannah (2). 

The Licensing of Revd Andreas Sistig as Senior Curate and Revd Jennifer Sistig as NSM, by Ven Stuart Beake, Archdeacon Of Surrey, took place at SS Philip & James Church on Sun 7th Sept. Roy Woodhams

Impressions of a Curate

When I was first asked to write a few lines for this month’s Parish Magazine, I was not quite sure what people would expect – a theological essay, a comment on an a current issue, or a message of encouragement . . . ? Well, as it has turned out, it is a bit of everything!
I have chosen to call this little article “Impressions of a curate” because I have so far only gained a few glimpses of what life in this part of the world is like. Though these glimpses are very pleasant ones, it does not escape the fact that they stand in some contrast to aspects of ministry and life in South Africa. And so, while I am in the process of “arriving back in Europe” I begin to realize, to quote from
the book of Ecclesiastes, that “there is a time (and place) for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…”
It was just two months ago that our family was invited to an African engagement party (Zulu-style). On arrival we witnessed, together with about 200 other invited guests and family members, the negotiations about the price of the bride, the
slaughtering of three sheep and the subsequent process of them being turned into a delightful meal. The meat was first cut and then hung from the roof top of a grass hut.
Then, about 4 hours later it was boiled/roasted and consumed with home-brewed maize-beer that had been fermenting in the sun for the last 3 days. Some of you might understand now why I had to smile when the delicious food during this year’s harvest supper was served by people who wore blue rubber gloves – for hygienic reasons! That’s when I remembered that “there is a time (and a place) for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…”
Driving in the car with our children also was quite interesting during the first few days. There were comments like “Why do we have to sit in the back?” and “I don’t like this chair…”. Indeed we had some trouble explaining to Rebekah and Hannah
why in one country it was quit all right to sit with 20 other children in the back of a
Landrover Defender, when in another country you have to have special, age-appropriate car seats and certain adult to child ratio’s when supervising children! But then, one day they might understand that, “there is a time (and place) for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…”
And then there is one more aspect of life here that sometimes gives me the giggles… the right length of services (funerals in particular) and sermons. While an average African funeral took about 5 hours, I confess that a 30 min slot (which is supposed to only take 20 min max) at the crematorium seems unusually short! An average African sermon takes about 30 min and anything less is considered to be an
insult, probably because it takes most people about 60 min to walk to church. But here I return to a European way and realize that “there is a time (and place) for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…”
Having shared these three glimpses, I must confess that I do prefer quality controlled meat, proper car seats and, believe it or not, short services. And yet the point I want to make is not that the one is better than the other. I just wanted to share that these 3 years of ministry in South Africa have made me understand that happiness, fellowship and quality of life originate in the love of God and the love of one’s neighbour in their various forms of expression.
During these last few weeks it has been that very same kind of love, fellowship and
generosity which our family has experienced here in Fleet, half way around the world.
And it is because of this, that I am looking towards the future and our shared life with great excitement. I hope and pray that it will indeed be a time to
plant, a time to build, a time to laugh and a time to dance.
God bless you all, Andreas.