Abstract:
In 1985 when storm clouds were gathering over South Africa, and a state of emergency was
declared, a group of members of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) Family, clergy as well as
laity, founded an organisation, Reforum. The two-fold aim of Reforum was to provide a
prophetic witness against apartheid, calling the DRC to take leave of its theology of apartheid,
and, secondly, to work towards the reunification of the DRC Family. The article researches
the original Reforum documents, minutes, reports, conference material and letters, that
hitherto laid untouched in the DRC Archive, in Pretoria. The programme of Reforum,
especially the national and regional conferences held by the organisation over the 7 years of
its existence, is discussed. The initial negative reaction of the DRC officials and synods, as
well as the critique from some in the Dutch Reformed Mission Church and the DRC in Africa
that Reforum was not radical enough in its approach, are recorded. The summation, at the
end, is that Reforum did play a significant role, albeit humble and short lived, in the annals of
the DRC’s apartheid saga. Relevance: The DRC’s apartheid saga, the story of a church that
had over many years lived with apartheid and even provided a theological argument for
separate development, eventually came to the point where the DRC not only repented of its
past, but declared apartheid and the theology of apartheid a sin and a heresy, continues to
fascinate historians, including church historians. For South African Christians, clergy as well
as laity, it helps explain their often troubled past, as well as present. The often neglected story
of Reforum and the role and contribution of the organisation in this process needs to be
recorded. Original research: the author provides original qualitative research, using material
that had lain untouched in the DRC Archive for three decades. This may be considered to be
a preliminary study. The archival material merits more and deeper attention. It may well
provide material for post graduate research.
Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The research is of value for the study
of South African general history, South African church history, ecumenical studies, and
practical theology
