In 1993, moved by the struggles of Black South Africans trying to navigate post-Apartheid life, the Session of SSPC initiated a partnership with the Newcastle congregation of the Uniting Presbyterian Church of South Africa. This congregation is located in the township of Madadeni, a few hours south east of Johannesburg. The purpose of the partnership is to strenghten one another's ministry and disicpleship by walking hand-in-hand in our faith journey.
In 1995 Rev. Cleopas Ngbane, pastor of Uniting Presbyterian Church of South Africa, Newcastle Congregation and Elder Gugu Mabaso visited SSPC to discuss a possible partnership. With the support of members like Margaret Wentz, Bill Morgan, Gil Longwell and interim minister Rev. Roger Shoup, the covenant document was written and the South Africa Partnership was formally established.
Since this first trip, there have been many cultural exchanges with our sister congregation. Trips of 2-3 delegates take place every 2-3 years, in both directions. We stay in the homes of church members and experience the culture of a community half way around the world. The most recent trips were in 2017, when Nancy and Mike Gawlas traveled to South Africa and helped the Newcastle Congregation establish a Medical Ministry. In 2019, Vusi, Mbuyseli and Fikele came to visit our congregation and enjoyed home stays in 4 of our members’ homes. In the same year, Karen and Stefan Karkuff and BJ Lopez traveled to Newcastle to help in their soup kitchen, teach wellness awareness and art projects to the children.
Over the years, the partnership has resulted in a container project of 45,000 pounds of goods assembled and shipped to South Africa, HIV/AIDS education, a Vision Care Clinic, a food distribution program, "Dress a Child" program, soup kitchen, the Embabane Outstation, and more. When we cannot be together with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we communicate effectively with them through conference phone calls and emails.
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