Cape Town - An interfaith service, “Liturgy for Palestine”, will take place at the St George’s Cathedral on Sunday, in one of two services to bid farewell to the Anglican Dean of Cape Town, Reverend Michael Weeder, as he prepares to enter formal retirement later this month.
Weeder’s retirement was placed on hold for two years after a request to extend his tenure.
Reverend Weeder, who is known for his warm and embracing disposition and sense of humour, has been an ordained to the priesthood 15 December 1985.
He is also an author of non-fiction and creative work and has produced two anthologies of poetry: The Promise of Memory; and Lockdown, Love and Lament. An anti-apartheid activist, Reverend Weeder continues to be a strong and pivotal voice against injustice whether in South Africa or across the globe.
The interfaith service will take place this Sunday, April 14, from 4pm, and a farewell Eucharist service will take place on Sunday, April 21, from 9.30am.
Weeder’s tenure as dean of the cathedral began on May 22, 2011, when formally installed by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, who led, by hand, Weeder into the dean’s stall, which he would then occupy for 13 years.
At the end of the farewell Eucharist service, the verger will take the dean’s staff and place into the stall, which will be vacated by Weeder, with the staff to remain there until the next dean is elected and appointed.
“In our lifting of voices and hearts towards our Creator, we are reminded of who we are, what we believe and what we are meant to make different within ourselves and also in the world and that will be the ‘Liturgy for Palestine’ and focusing on the immediacy of the need for a sustained ceasefire,” Weeder said.
“For it to end at ceasefire and then life goes on under the occupation as before would be such a cruel, cynical gesture, so the call is also for the total transformation of the Holy Land of Palestine and end of the occupation, that colonisation must cease and there must be the important process of the engagement of negotiations of how to live.”
The interfaith service will consist of musical performances, poetry readings and prayers read in Arabic, Hebrew, English, Xhosa and Afrikaans.
The liturgy will also feature a traditional township choir, brass section, mbira, marimba, quartet and soloists, and will include the iconic cathedral organ.
“I have been very fortunate to be at this place, the cathedral, in this time of our history and to go into formal retirement from this cathedral is a great honour.
“We have always been reminded that whatever we do, we always do it in collaboration with the assistance of others … and I have been able to benefit from the expertise, support and solidarity of people beyond my own faith tradition and also the broader society.”
Collections from the interfaith service will be donated to disaster relief organisation Gift of the Givers.
Its founder, Imtiaz Sooliman, said he wished Weeder well as he entered retirement.
“Outspoken, brave, courageous, he stood out firmly on the Palestinian issue because it was a cause of truth, justice, and to be on the right side of history.
“He never feared the threats that he received, he persevered and continued, fighting for the cause of truth, but of course, the Palestinian cause was not the only cause that he fought for.
“He always fought for what was right and what was just.”
When the organisation lost its Gaza office head Ahmed Abbasi as a result of an Israeli attack, Sooliman said Weeder was the first person to offer to have a memorial for Abbasi at the church.
“We were very touched, Abbasi’s family was touched, the Palestinians were touched,” Sooliman said.
“Every time he had an event, the proceeds of the event would come to Gift of the Givers for the Palestinian cause.”
Sooliman referred to Weeder as a great man, friend, teacher and a living example of what clerics and religious leaders should embody and live.
“If ever there was an example of mankind as one nation, the God of all mankind is one, it has been lived by Fr Michael Weeder,” Sooliman said.
For those who would like to contribute to the “Liturgy for Palestine” project, email [email protected] to obtain the cathedral’s banking details.
Cape Argus