The Venerable Terrence Lester announced as St. George’s Cathedral’s new Dean.
While it was a tough goodbye to his previous church, The Venerable Terrence Lester said that he is more excited and nervous as he takes on the role of being the new dean of the St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town.
The church was packed full on Sunday afternoon as many congregants and members of the Anglican Church came to attend the installation of the 16th Dean of Cape Town and Rector of the Cathedral of St George the Martyr.
Archbishop Thabo Makgoba was the officiant and preacher of the service.
“Terry, it is my prayer that your ministry here at the cathedral brings about a new song, full of new possibilities… You do not lack experience, but you will nevertheless, need assistance from God to advance his will for this Cathedral church.
“So, as you take up your new responsibility, I bring you, on behalf of the diocese, the wider church, and my own behalf, congratulations on your appointment,” Makgoba said.
“As we know, this Cathedral has a proud history of being a people’s cathedral - seeking to challenge and inspire parishioners to advance the kingdom of God through teaching ministry and evangelism. To achieve those objectives, it requires a discernment that produces good decisions, based on divine principles.
“It is therefore our shared prayer, and hope, that you, together with your team, will discern the common good in whatever decisions you make, just as your predecessors have done..”
“You are not an interim Dean, you are the Dean of Cape Town…”
Raised in a family with a blend of Christian and Islamic influences, Lester’s younger days exposed him to a variety of cultural and religious traditions.
Lester said his journey is not unique in any way as “we all have family members and neighbours through whom we are exposed to the variety of forms of worship on offer”.
He said that the hardest part of his new chapter was having to break the news of his departure to Christ Church Constantia.
“A letter from our Bishop was read one morning as worship started, it came as a shock to many. I have served here for 13 years but I was also born and raised here, so Constantia is in my blood.
“In July 1965 we were removed from our home in Strawberry Lane and my dad bought property in Grassy Park. I was 5 then. So being back as the priest of this community and building the connectivity again with the people and landscape has meant that there has been a real depth to the relationships built. Hence the emotional toll of saying goodbye,” Lester said.
“I have been able this past week, after saying a very emotional goodbye to the congregation and laying down my eucharistic vestments on the altar last Sunday, to spend time taking in the gravity of my appointment.
“I have been strengthened by the many, many people who have expressed joy at my appointment. I also know that when God’s people gather in worship a very real peace descends. I am more excited than nervous with fluttering butterflies.”
When asked about taking over the role of Dean, Lester said it involves giving spiritual leadership to those in one’s care, “those entrusted to us by the Bishop whose licence gives one the authority to minister”.
“There is also a broader aspect to that leadership as a Cathedral Church in the city as well as being situated next to parliament. Contrary to popular belief among some, God is alive and well, and God is interested in the welfare of all God’s children and creation. We matter to God! How we live, who we choose to love, the values we cherish and the bonds that bind, all these are important to God who made us.”
Lester acknowledged that people look for consistency in those who serve, and that there has been an erosion of trust in society and communities.
“Pastors, clergy and spiritual leaders are not exempt from human foibles. It is not a condition which tend to only afflict politicians! No-one is immune to having one’s ego get the better of one. You can’t manufacture trust.
“It starts with each person deciding to be a trustworthy person and doing things consistently, morning, noon and night, day after day, from a place of love, care, compassion fuelled by a gratitude for the most precious gift of life,” Lester said.
When asked what helped shape him he spoke about the impact of loss.
“Loss can shape us, does shape us! We get to choose how we process life’s losses. One way is to harden one’s heart, become like a rock where you ‘touch no-one and no-one touches you’ (to quote Simon and Garfunkel).
“I have mentioned loss of home and the familiar, of community in one’s formative years. I lost the mother of my children while here in the parish after a 20-year battle with breast cancer.
“The irony is that losses expand our human experience and teaches us that we can develop a capacity for expanding compassion, understanding, being in another person’s ‘shoes’. It should make us better, not bitter, versions of ourselves.
“Sadly and too often we have settled for the latter. This has shaped and guided the ministry here and wherever I have served and I take it with me now as I prepare for the new opportunity afforded me,” Lester said.
theolin.tembo@inl.co.za
Related Topics: