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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Canon Stephen Shipley

Good morning.

The symbolic value of Robben Island, seven miles off the coast of Cape Town, lies in its sombre history, as a prison and a hospital for those deemed to be socially undesirable. All this came to an end in the 1990s when the Apartheid regime was rejected by the South African people and the political prisoners who had been incarcerated on the Island received their freedom after many years. Easily the most famous of course was Nelson Mandela who, on this day, 12 June 1964, began his 27 years prison sentence.

Nowadays the smartened up prison buildings are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the guides who show you around are often former inmates themselves. I shall always retain the memory of my few moments spent alone in Mandela’s cell, looking out towards the quarry where the prisoners spent hours each day breaking through the layers of rock with a pick and then extracting the seam of lime with a shovel. Forget palm trees and sun-kissed beaches; Robben Island’s allure lies in its rich and wretched history.

So on this day, as we recall the extraordinary achievements of Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black President, we pray for all victims of racist abuse, for all caught up in the racial tension across the USA. We pray for God’s grace in in eliminating this blight from our hearts, our communities, our social and civil institutions, as we recall the words of the Archbishop of Cape Town at Mandela’s funeral:

‘Go forth, revolutionary and loving soul, on your journey out of this world, in the name of God, who created you, suffered with you and liberated you. You have selflessly done all that is good, noble and honourable for God’s people. We will continue where you have left off, the Lord being our helper.’

Amen.