Browsing by Author "Plaatjies-Van Huffel, Mary-Anne"
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- ItemThe Belhar Confession in its historical context(Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust, 2014) Plaatjies-Van Huffel, Mary-AnneIn this article I work with the presupposition that the time has arrived that the Belhar Confession should be detached from being a document utilized for advocacy perusal only. The Belhar Confession should rather be interrogated as a historical document in the true sense of the word. This will be helpful in construing the Belhar Confession as a discursive instrument in the discourse on social justice issues both local and global. The article is divided into four parts. In the first part the focus is largely on the socio political context of SA during 1960-1990. In the second part the influence of the ecumenical movement on the discourse on social justice is being attended to. Thirdly I attend to the drafting of the Belhar Confession and lastly attention will be given to the reception of the Belhar Confession (1982-1990).
- ItemA history of gender insensitivity in URCSA(Church History Society of Southern Africa, 2019) Plaatjies-Van Huffel, Mary-AnneThis article utilises autoethnographical methodology to dissect the history of gender insensitivity in the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA). According to Carolyn Ellis (2010), autoethnography is an approach to research and writing that seeks to "describe and systematically analyze (graphy) personal experience (auto) in order to understand cultural experience (ethno)." Ellis (2004) states that autoethnography refers to writing about the personal and its relationship to culture. This paper utilises self-reflection to explore anecdotal personal experience and to connect this autobiographical story to wider understanding of gender in URCSA. Sandars (2009) defines reflection as a "metacognitive process that occurs before, during and after situations with the purpose of developing greater understanding of both the self and the situation ..." This article concentrates on research grounded in personal experience. It aims to sensitise readers to issues of identity politics in URCSA. It will highlight experiences shrouded in silence within URCSA, and deepen knowledge about the struggles that women in ordained positions within URCSA have had to endure. Foucault (1982) describes three types of struggles: either against forms of domination; against forms of exploitation; or against that which ties the individual to himself and submits him to others. The article deconstructs the relationship between text and theory, praxis and context, and presents an alternative interpretation. It highlights central themes regarding women in ordained positions within URCSA, but focuses more on the sub themes: from ordination to academia; ordained women in leadership positions, the gender equity policy of URCSA; a milestone never embraced 1994-2005; inclusive language and the draft worship book of URCSA; women as delegates to ecumenical gatherings.
- ItemThe unsettling story about Allan Boesak's involvement in the struggle against apartheid(Church History Society of Southern Africa, 2018) Plaatjies-Van Huffel, Mary-AnneThe poststructuralist assertion is that all meaning and knowledge are discursively construed through language and other signifying practices. In order to decipher the story of Boesak, the author made use of the notions of poststructuralists, namely Foucault, Spivey, Milne, and so forth. The media has been the major authority that delimited, designated, named and established Boesak as an object of the discourse. The media constitutes Allan Boesak and simultaneously constitutes the dominant, prevailing discourse regarding his life and work. The legacy of Boesak is, therefore, portrayed as constituted socially and is consequently inherently unstable. The following subsections are being discussed in the article, namely: the role of the media in construing Boesak; the formation of Boesak as the object of the discourse; Boesak's early involvement; Boesak's engagement with church and society during 1982-1990; and Boesak our leader, we are not throwing a friend to the wolves.
- ItemWhose land is it anyway? : a historical reflection on the challenges URCSA encountered with land and property rights(The Church History Society of Southern Africa, 2020) Plaatjies-Van Huffel, Mary-AnneThe proposal to amend the Constitution of South Africa 1996 regarding the expropriation of land without compensation has invigorated a robust discourse with regard to the land issue in South Africa. Cognisance should be taken of how the land issue was handled during the apartheid dispensation and the way it has played out in the constitutional democracy dispensation since 1994 in South Africa. This article will attend to issues relating to land in the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA). URCSA was constituted in 1994 due to a merger of two racially segregated churches, the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA). The DRMC was constituted through mission endeavours of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) during 1881 to serve so-called coloured members of the DRC. The DRCA was constituted in or about 1910 to serve African members. In order to understand the controversy in URCSA from 1994-2012 with regard to property rights, one has to understand how the colonists and missionaries (and later the apartheid regime) utilised "divide and rule" and supremacy strategies to secure property rights for churches of people from mixed descent and Indian people (the DRMC) and the Reformed Church in Africa [RCA]); while at the same time restricting property rights for churches of members from African descent (the DRCA). This is evident in the way the constitutions of the above-mentioned mission churches were drafted. This article will attend to the following subthemes: property rights of the DRMC challenged by apartheid laws; property rights of the DRCA challenged by apartheid laws; a court case regarding the expropriation of land without compensation; controversy regarding property rights (1998-2012); from litigation to out-of-court settlement on property rights (1998-2012); and lastly out-of-court settlement between the DRC, the DRCA and URCSA.