Back to the future

Abstract

The Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa was formed on 26th September 1999 as the result of the union of the black Reformed Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa and the white-dominated Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa. Various unsuccessful attempts had been made since the latter part of the nineteenth century to effect union. In the spirit of national euphoria which surrounded the first democratic elections in South Africa in1994, the Reformed Presbyterian Church initiated union discussions with the Presbyterian Church. The subsequent union was based on what are now considered to be inadequate preparations and many unresolved problems have emerged to test the witness of the new denomination, not the least of which is racism. At its 2002 General Assembly, as the result of what appeared to be a financial crisis, the Uniting Presbyterian Church appointed a Special Committee on Reformation was established to investigate the problems in the denomination and to bring proposals for dealing with these issues.