Tumelong:
“1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an annus horribilis”.
These words were uttered by Queen Elizabeth II in a speech she made in 1992 to mark the occasion of the 40th anniversary of her accession to the throne. The phrase annus horribilis was first used in 1891 to describe the year in which the Roman Catholic Church defined the dogma of papal infallibility (Wikipedia).
Annus horribilis means ‘horrible year’. It is a phrase that captures the challenging nature of the year under review. The effects of a declining South African economy had severe implications for Tumelong and other Non-Governmental Organisations. Not only did government funding take a sizeable dip, but donations have all but dried up. We were faced with a situation in November 2019 where we were unable to pay salaries or bonusses at the end of the year. An appeal to the Diocese saved the day. Many folks were moved to donate.
Tumelong was then able to start the year on a positive note as a result of the generosity of the holy faithful people of God. Then the COVID-19 pandemic visited our shores. As I write we are in our fifth week of a level 5 lockdown. In less than a week we’ll enter a slight ease of the lockdown restrictions. Indications are that the church may only return to function normally from about October this year. Needless to say, the traditional support base of Tumelong is badly affected, and as a result, Tumelong’s future looks even bleaker.
We dare not lose hope. Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu used to remind us in the darkest days of the Apartheid years that we are called to be prisoners of hope. St Paul mentions hope as one of the three great virtues that abide. Hope is the firm expectation of all that God has promised through his Son our Lord Jesus Christ. Our hope should be the bedrock that anchors us in these times of uncertainty, illness, and death.
The prayer of lamentation should come naturally to us in these days of isolation. To be isolated is one thing, but when our forced isolation during the lockdown period is nuanced by the stark inequalities of our society and we see how thousands of people scramble for food, then it stems our mood to be even darker. The prayer of lamentations are shouts from the heart, shouts of suffering, groans of anguish, and screams for help. They are prayers that are uttered in pain and need, but they also express the hope that things will change, that God will listen. Such is expressed in Psalm 6.
So we shall pray for a faith to endure these troubled times. We shall try our level best to continue to bring relief where we can. And we shall fix our gaze on God in the firm expectation (hope) that God will come to the aid of his people.
Our gratitude is extended to the many generous benefactors. To the staff of Tumelong. To all the holy faithful people of God. We shall overcome.
+Allan
CHAIRMAN: TUMELONG GOVERNING BODY
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