Second Christian Leadership Forum Meeting

The Second Leadership forum meeting was held at Hunterstoun and were attended by eight St Patrick's church Councillors and 10 christian community leaders. As there is still some difficulty in relaying information to all christian leadership, some did not get the notification and minutes of the previous meeting. It was pointed out that timeous attendance by all concerned is essential for participation in the Forum and that minutes and notices will be available at Jikani for those with no electronic access, but Maggie will send out  SMS notifications in future.

During this meeting Wayne Kent from the CPF reported back on some of the pressing issues that were raised during the first meeting. The good news, to report back to the various communities, is that the land claim issues for the people living  in Bolt Point has been resolved and Eskom has been given the go ahead to provide electricity to the existing houses. The water system in Hogsback is being upgraded and will include Bolt point as well, in the near future. It was suggested to also investigate more short term cheaper solar possibilities. 

As far as employment opportunities are concerned, more jobs have become available assisting with refuse. The chairmen of both Bolt Point and Esikolweni are tasked with allocating plots and the mayor will be visiting Hogsback shortly. 

We will investigate training dates and formats for the delivery of empowerment/ICT courses for christian leadership and it was stressed that this training will be a process that will take commitment. A possible donor has been identified that will assist with supplying leadership with devices that will enable them to communicate more efficiently. 

The CPF is planning a sports day and we will all work together to make that a success. So all in all we ended on a high note and it was decided to have the next meeting on Sunday the 6th of November at Hunterstoun at 3pm. 

Christian Leadership Seminar

The Council of St Patrick-on-the-Hill at Hogsback held a Seminar on Sunday 11 September 2016 at 4pm at Hunterstoun. The purpose of the Seminar was for the Council to listen with humility to Christian leaders on Hogsback to hear what they think the problems are and what they suggest the church should do. The Council would then be in a position to decide what role it should play.

The meeting was attended by 20 concerned Hogsback christian citizens. It was a positive appraisal of the difficulties experienced by the citizens of Hogsback and their lack of unity. The inter-racial meeting represented a breath of fresh air. The vibe was optimistic throughout and it was a great get-together of black and white, in which we opened our hearts to each other.

Purpose of the meeting:
The chairman, Trevor Webster, called the meeting of Christian leaders on the Hogsback on behalf of St Patrick’s Chapel to hear what the problems were and to offer help if possible. He quoted 1 Corinthians 10 in which Paul wrote of the one body with many members. He emphasized that the church is one body and each member is important, each is different and each is equal and needs to work together in unity. But too often the body is divided. 

Issues and solutions

Many pressing issues where discussed namely that there is a great need for black and white community members to work and pray together for our village and actively working to built trust relationships. Our black community members need assistance with resolving poverty issues, Eskom, water and housing needs and we also desperately need a clinic. 

We would like to become a model for others to follow and can help in opening up communication channels and providing support and assistance to drive initiatives that can expedite the provision of electricity, housing and other much needed priorities and help giving those who do not have the means to communicate, a voice. It was suggested that St Patrick’s and Jikani could possibly work towards facilitating a leadership course for the Christian leaders in order to be able to deal with difficulties within the greater communities in Hogsback. 

The community needs unity with everybody working together. This meeting is a start and can become a Church Forum that supports the Task Team. The priority for the community of Hogsback is to help all those who do not have a roof over their heads. The Forum will work for all in Hogsback and take matters forward, if necessary.  Great things can happen if we give it to God and pray together as a village community. 

The meeting resolved to form a Christian Leaders Forum which would meet regularly at Hunterstoun. The next meeting will be held on Sunday 2 October 2016 at 4pm.