Reconciliation was the core theme at a lecture on post-apartheid South Africa organised by the Global Mission Network recently.

Addressing the issue, Professor Piet Meiring asked, "Can swords really be hammered into ploughshares?"

Global Mission Network was formerly known as the Churches' Commission on Mission and is a part of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.

In 1996, Professor Meiring was invited to join Archbishop Desmond Tutu on the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which worked to establish a clear picture of the events of apartheid and to help both victims and perpetrators find peace with the past and hope for the future.

|QUOTE|Speaking of this enormous task at hand, Professor Meiring said, "Reconciliation, history teaches us, is not for the fainthearted. To act as a reconciler, a builder of bridges between opposing individuals as well as communities, asks for a strong commitment, resilience, and nerves of steel. It is often a hard and thankless task. But, bridges are made to be tread upon!"

However, he debates that there is still much work to be done, saying: "During the life of the TRC, 224,000 victims came to the fore with their stories; 7,048 perpetrators followed suit. Many of them experienced healing. But in South Africa today there are still millions of people - victims as well as perpetrators - from all walks of life, from all communities, who are still struggling with the pain, the frustration, and the anger of the past.

"They too need the opportunity to tell, to be listened to, to be taken seriously, and to experience healing in the process."

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland have made South Africa the focus of the resources for the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in January 2007.

Worship resources published by CTBI highlight the suffering and death caused by HIV/AIDS and include information for the special ecumenical service and daily reflections with prayers for Africa. They also encourage people to respond to the needs of others and include a Resource Book with additional worship.