Church members bid farewell to retiring pastors

Apostolic Faith Mission Church members in Katlehong held a service to bid farewell to their retiring pastors on Saturday, January 28. The service took place on the church premises at 473 Hlahatsi Section, Katlehong.

The pastors, Anna Morajana, Sandra Tshabalala, Grace Selepe and Miriam Thwala, started serving in 1990 .

The Kathorus MAIL had a chat with some members of the church to hear how they feel about their retiring pastors.

A dedicated member of the church and one of the organisers of the function, Sanna Motloung, said they will miss their pastors.

“They have preached the word of God since we were very young. They have taught us the ways of God. They are humble leaders who would take blame if there was a need for them to be blamed about something. If you sit down and talk to them you will always learn something new because of their life experience.

“It will never be the same at church without them,” said Motloung.

Another member of the church, Ellen Malotle said it will be difficult to fill the void left by their pastors.

“You know it is always difficult to replace a person because people have different characters. The retiring pastors have their qualities and those who are coming also have their qualities, but they have good qualities too.

“I would like to congratulate them because they have worked so hard on changing people’s lives. They have helped me a lot in transforming my life,” said Matlole.

Anna Morajana (60) said it was time for her step down.

“I started preaching the Gospel in 1990. It was very good to serve the members of the church, who are such good listeners. They listen to instruction like the way the children of God should. I am very happy for the opportunity to work with them.

“I would also like to thank them for organising this function for us. It shows they appreciate the job we have done for them,” said Mojarana.

Sandra Tshabalala (68) said she does not see herself spending Sundays without seeing the church members.

“They have shown a lot of love to us. You know it is not easy to distance yourself from someone who loves you. So I am still going to be part of the church, even though I won’t be preaching anymore,” said Tshabalala.

Grace Selepe (60) said they are still going to preach the word of God.

“Even though we won’t be preaching at church, there are still souls that need to be won outside of the church. We are still going to preach to those people,” said Selepe. She added that the farewell function was a nice surprise.

Miriam Thwala (59) said they are still going to lead sermons on Thursdays and rest on Sundays.