Pastor retires after 37 years
2006-06-15
David Joshua
THE Anglican diocese of Saldanha Bay recently bade farewell to the Reverend Mlamli Mfenyana (65), on his retirement after 37 years in the priesthood.
The farewell service and ceremony took place at the St Stephen’s Church in New Orleans, Paarl, last Sunday.
“I am humbled and hurting in a joyful way,” were the words of Rev Mfenyanah, addressing the Vicar-General for Saldanha Bay diocese (Canon Raphael Hess), celebrant the Venerable Andrew Wyngaard of the Annunciation Church in Paarl, clergy of the diocese, congregation members and members of other faiths and denominations.
He referred to the three things people had come to know him by.
“I am very unpredictable at times. I am mostly controversial, specially if I find no logic in what you say and I am outgoing - sometimes even loudly, but very loving,” he added, much to the delight of those present.
Mfenyana grew up in Lady Frere in the Eastern Cape in 1941.
“My grandmother groomed me in the Christian faith, and when she died, my mother took over. My father was one of the leading preachers of the time in our rural parish of St Cyprians and I belonged to an out-station called St Monica’s,” he said.
He matriculated at Lady Frere Fremantle High. The congregation burst out in laughter when he remarked that at the age of twelve, he was the one who started the hymns.
“I did that in a female voice until the age of fifteen, when I had to change over to a male voice, my best part as tenor unto this day.”
He became an altar boy, later altar young man and eventually a preacher.
“It was from there that I felt the calling to the ordained ministry of the church,” he said.
Resisting the call, he went to study at the Vlakfontein Technical College in Pretoria and worked there for two years.
Transferred to the Eastern Cape by the government, he had to take charge of a group of technicians who serviced the border area. He specialised in electrical house wiring.
Here he worshipped at St Peter’s Anglican College, which was part of the Federal Theological Seminary of Southern Africa. He was ordained in 1969.
He and his wife Freda have three adult children and a granddaughter. They spent 28 years in Grahamstown diocese.
Addressing the youth, he said, “Life is a gift from God, and you only live it once. Some of you are much too carefree and should take life more seriously.
“Your best weapon is education. The world is becoming one globe and if you want to fit in, you need to be educated.”
He concluded by saying that the youth should see their bodies as holy: “Stay away from drugs, for that is a quick trip to hell. And remember that freedom comes with understanding and responsibility.”
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