The Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) has elected Rev Prof B.B. Senokoane of the Southern Synod as its new Moderator. Senokoane will lead the church for the next four years, focusing on unity, reconciliation, and justice. His election was announced during URCSA's 9th General Synod in Maseru, Lesotho, where delegates from across Southern Africa have gathered to discuss the church's future direction. The gathering is hosted by the Free State and Lesotho Synod.
The 9th General Synod is being held under the theme "Be the Salt and the Light of the World: 40 Years of the Belhar Confession as Prophetic Witness." This theme is significant, as URCSA commemorates four decades of the Belhar Confession. The confession emerged during apartheid and emphasizes unity, reconciliation, and justice. Senokoane's leadership will focus on strengthening the church's unity, advancing its mission, and ensuring the principles of the Belhar Confession remain central to its work.
Senokoane will lead a newly elected Moderamen, which includes Rev S. Mostert of the Namibia Synod as Assessor, Rev Dr E. Monhla of the Northern Synod as Scribe, and Rev H. Tromp of the Cape Synod as Actuarius. Additional members elected to the Moderamen include Rev TT Hlalele of the Free State and Lesotho Synod, Rev Elise Julius of the Phororo Synod, and Rev Dr Mbatha of the KwaZulu-Natal Synod. The new leadership takes up its responsibility at a significant moment for URCSA.
The church said the incoming leadership had been entrusted with strengthening the church's unity, advancing its mission, and keeping Belhar's convictions central to its life. The leadership change comes at a milestone Synod, where delegates are considering reports, proposals, and recommendations covering governance, theological formation, finances, mission, pastoral care, and the work of various church ministries and structures.
URCSA's General Synod has brought together representatives from different geographical, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds, with unity emerging as a central message of the gathering. The church said its cultures, languages, and experiences are held together by a shared faith and mission. At the heart of the Synod is a call to unity, which does not mean erasing differences.
The 40th anniversary of the Belhar Confession is an opportunity for URCSA to assess whether its own structures, relationships, and decisions continue to reflect the principles of unity, reconciliation, and justice. The church said forty years of Belhar is not only a remembrance of what the Church confessed; it is a renewed call to live that confession.
Senokoane assumes the leadership of URCSA at a significant point in the church's history. With the new leadership in place, URCSA is poised to continue its commitment to unity, reconciliation, and justice. The church's focus on the Belhar Confession and its principles will remain central to its work and public witness.
Key points
- Rev Prof B.B. Senokoane elected as Moderator of URCSA for four years
- URCSA commemorates 40th anniversary of Belhar Confession
- Church focuses on unity, reconciliation, and justice under new leadership
