A local church is celebrating two decades of partnership with another located nearly 8,000 miles away on another continent.
On Oct. 28, ministry members of Old North Church in Marblehead traveled to South Africa to visit members of the Pholela Presbyterian District Church in honor of the 20th anniversary of their partnership.
Old North Church Interim Minister Don Remick, Associate Minister Lindsay Popperson, Minister of Music Maria van Kalken, and Coordinator of the Partnership Ginny von Rueden assisted in coordinating a commemorative service for the anniversary.
The partnership got its start when Rev. Gideon Khabela of Pholela Church came to Marblehead. Khabela had a friend that was a member at Old North, and was invited to preach a sermon at the church. Afterward, he encouraged members of the church to come visit Pholela.
Rev. Khabela, along with Stow Walker, helped create the mission statement for the partnership, which states that “Old North Church walks in Christian Partnership with the Pholela Congregation in friendship, faith, and hope for unity and equality in a divided world.”
The partnership focuses on “encouraging literacy, education, health, and economic development, and building an intergenerational relationship between our two congregations and the communities they serve.”
Since then, 85 members of Old North have traveled to South Africa with family and friends to visit many of the 25 villages that comprise the Pholela Congregation of more than 1,100 people in the KwaZulu Natal region.
Von Rueden said that Africa has a special place in her heart as she lived there before moving to the United States.
“We just fell in love with the people, and the country and we just kept going back,” von Rueden said.
Through the partnership, the churches have come together to complete a number of volunteer services, including working with local chiefs on agricultural projects to provide fencing for village gardens and farm animals, visiting clinics and working with health officials to discuss ways to improve health care, and visiting schools to provide toys, school supplies, and sports equipment to students.
In addition, the partnership has also provided scholarships for high school students and salaries for nursery school teachers, and raised funds for cleaning supplies, sanitizers, and masks so the congregation could gather after three years of isolation as a result of the pandemic.
While in South Africa, the churches held a service that included African drums and music presented by Theo Marten and members of the Akwaaba Ensemble, and a performance of the South African national anthem, “N’Kosi Sikele iAfrika,” by the Senior Choir.
At the service, Rev. Simon Mbanja thanked Old North for its work through the partnership.
“God has been wonderful to us. Your presence was a blessing for all of us and we thank you for making it happen because this partnership is so important to us. Stay blessed in the knowledge that Old North is constantly in our thoughts and prayers,” Rev. Mbanja said
At the beginning of the ceremony, von Rueden and other members from Old North walked into an auditorium and received “thunderous clapping and singing greeting” as they walked down the aisle as some of their children body surfed onto the stage, showing their appreciation for everything they have done.
“It was an overwhelming experience that brought us all to tears knowing it came from the sheer happiness of just having us there,” von Rueden said.
Members of the Pholela Congregation have also made trips up to Marblehead. Von Rueden said that one year, they were able to raise funds to host a number of members in town, where they got a chance to experience some of the projects Old North was involved in, take their first ever rides on the ocean, and even attend a Red Sox game.
In 2016, church elder Thembinoski Hlongwane was one of those who traveled to town in 2016, staying for a week. He spoke on the connections made through the program.
“The friendship we have for such a long time is a blessing to us in Pholela. May God be with you all the times. You will always be in our hearts,” Hlongwane said.
Von Rueden said that Old North members are already making plans to return to South Africa for another gathering and are looking forward to continuing the special partnership.