Durban — Taking a cue from the legendary lyrics of Simon and Garfunkel, many Christians in greater Durban will be working together in Building a Bridge (over Troubled Waters) in the lead up to the May elections.
The theme is an extension this year’s Diakonia Good Friday Service theme “Challenging Indifference”.
There is an opportunity to bridge the gap between Good Friday (March 29) and the elections on May 29 by creating a virtual pilgrimage throughout the suburbs of Durban.
This period is a time when people will be anxious about the electoral process and thinking about how to vote.
“The church has a very special role to play in this process: We want to build a bridge over troubled waters; we want to help people build a bridge between their faith and their politics; we want to help different Christian denominations to build bridges with each other; we want to show how citizens can build peaceful bridges – even when they disagree – and we want to build bridges between generations to overcome indifference and confusion,” said Dr Raymond Perrier of the Denis Hurley Centre.
Every Monday until May 27, video material will be published online to help Christians engage with the election process in a prayerful way. The process goes live from Monday, April 22. To access the material, join the private The Bridge WhatsApp channel (none of the members of the group can either see or communicate with each other).
People are invited to tune in live at 6pm to join together in prayer; and thereafter access the material throughout the week. The project has been spearheaded by the Denis Hurley Centre, the Diakonia Council of Churches and Christian churches in and around Durban.
Each week will have a different theme. The first session will question the interaction between faith and politics and most of the contributors are from Durban North. The material comprises worship, witness, encouragement and reflection.
The model of The Bridge is based on the Durban Holy Week that was created under the guidance of the Denis Hurley Centre for 2021 when lockdown rules restricted face-to-face engagement. At that time, dozens of churches from across Durban worked together to produce material; and thousands of Christians tuned in.
“We know that Christians are feeling alone and anxious in the face of major crises. We hope they will be receiving support and advice from their own pastors but we also want to supplement this with online resources.
“The intention is not to tell people who to vote for – but to make sure that they do vote and think seriously about how they vote,” said Perrier.
Drama students at the Durban University of Technology have been involved in the programme. As first-time voters they have been looking for creative ways to communicate their feelings about the elections and their role in preserving democracy.
To join the conversation, on WhatsApp click “updates” then “channels” and search for “The Bridge”.
Sunday Tribune