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SAU Session Report

REPORT OF THE SAU BUSINESS SESSION HELD
 20 NOVEMBER, 2005

The Southern Africa Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church has just had its quinquennial business session. This is the occasion when new officers, departmental directors, and an executive committee are chosen to serve for the next five years.

The following have been elected to serve in their respective roles:

	1. OFFICERS President Executive secretary Treasurer	Ps F Louw Ps T Kunene Mr HJ van der Ness
	2. DEPARTMENTAL DIRECTORS (Ministries): Ministerial, Global Mission and Satelite Personal Ministries, Sabbath School & Publishing Youth and Children's Ministries Education and Communication Women's Ministries	G Baxen G Mweemba SB Khumalo P Charles C Liebrandt
	3. DEPARTMENTAL DIRECTORS (Services) SEDCOM, SEDMED Information Technology and Equipment Adventist Development and Relief Agency Pensions Department	AJ Scholtz A Evert PR Gelderbloem M Viljoen
	4. HEADS OF INSTITUTIONS Bible Correspondence School (VOP) Helderberg College Maluti Adventist Hospital (Lesotho) Southern Publishing Association	RA Zeeman GT du Preez Dr W Hurlow BB Cekeshe

It is with sadness that we have to report that Bethel College had their last graduation class on Tuesday, 29 November, 2005. Other possible options are being investigated for the utilization of the infrastructure at Butterworth. The Bethel High School will continue to function as usual.

It is also fitting to mention that some of our team will be going on retirement:

1. Dr VS Wakaba, after more than forty years of dedicated service to the church went on retirement during the Session. We wish to thank him for his commitment and dedication in the service he gave to the church, and to the cause of the gospel. We wish him God’s blessing as he enters another phase in his life.
2. Mr P Peters had also, after having completed an illustrious career in the field of education with the state, joined the team at our head office as Education and Communication Director for eight years. We wish to acknowledge his contribution and thank him and his wife for the time they spent in Bloemfontein. He will also be retiring at the end of the year.
3. Ms Campbell was called out of retirement to assist the SAU with the Pensions Department. She has truly done yeoman’s work in the Pension Department. Our sincere thanks to her. Her successor has now been appointed and she will be retiring finally during the first quarter of 2006.
4. We wish to thank H Badenhorst for the time she served in the treasury department. She will also be retiring to Advent Haven at the end of the year. We wish her and her mother God’s richest blessings.

We wish to express our very sincere thanks to these soldiers of the cross. They have served well and with distinction. We wish them a well deserved rest as they enter into a more sedate and leisurely pace in their lives. God will reward them appropriately at proper time. God bless you dear colleagues and friends.

CHURCH UNITY
The matter of church unity continues to be a matter demanding attention in our Union. For your information we are including herein under, the resolution which was voted by this session indicating the way forward in this regard:

RECOMMENDATION TO SAU BUSINESS SESSION HELD
19/20 NOVEMBER, 2005

The Executive Committee of the Southern Africa Indian Ocean Division held on 7 November, 2005 in action 00/00/05 approved the recommendation of the SAU Executive Committee action 379/ 115/05 for the implementation of the following:

That the model voted on the 17 March, 2002, detailing the realignment of conference boundaries in Southern Africa be implemented for the following conferences

I. Northern Conference - Limpopo Province, Gauteng, NW Province, Mpumalanga
II.  Cape Conference  - E/Cape, W/Cape, N/Cape (TOC), St Helena Island) (including TOC churches in the N/Cape)
III.  KNFC Conference Shall include TOC churches in the Free State

That the SAU Executive Committee recommends an amendment of the SAU constitution to reflect the new restructuring as in Conference I, II,III above.

A. The SAU Executive Committee recommends to the SAU Business Session that the conference boundaries within its territory be restructured as per action 140/35/02 of 17 March, 2002 of Special Business Session and that the implementation shall be as follows:

1. The SAU Business Session, 20 November, 2005, will be asked to reaffirm realignment of conference boundaries.

2. The SAU shall, in terms of GC Working Policy B65 05 convene constituency meetings in order to formally constitute new conferences as per A above as follows :

Conference I to be held on 19 March 2006
Conference II to be held on 26 March 2006

3. Affected constituencies in the territory of the restructured conferences shall have an opportunity to align themselves with the restructured conference design by the timelines stipulated herein-above.

4. Where such alignment as envisaged above is not realised by the said date, the restructured conferences shall come into effect and be constituted on the basis of membership in that territory.

5. Should there be churches/members that do not align themselves by the said date, the newly formed conferences shall set up appropriate ministry to reach out to such churches/members in order to secure their acceptance of the restructured conferences.
 
6. The draft constitutions already negotiated and agreed by the executive committees in the affected territories shall be used as a basis for constituting the new conferences.

B. The recommendations contained herein shall have the effect of rescinding action 140/35/04 taken on 14 March 2004 as contained in Supplement B of that minute.