Marxism, Jazz and Jesus saved my soul - Father Michael Weeder on his retirement
|Published
Cape Town - St George’s Cathedral’s Father Michael Weeder is no ordinary priest, donning a keffiyeh he purchased in Bethlehem in Palestine, which he said symbolises the sea and travel routes. He stands at a solidarity site for the people of Palestine erected inside the more than 120 year old church.
As he reaches his last days at the church before his retirement, it’s no secret that Weeder has gone against the grain, caused tongues to wag and has had his share of hate thrown at him.
He’s not one to shy away from controversy and is passionate about the causes he believes in. He has gone on a hunger strike to support a fellow clergy person, the Reverend June Dolley, who said she was raped 20 years ago by a clergyman.
He has been accused of racism during his 13 years at one of Cape Town’s oldest Anglican churches.
He has walked alongside international and local figures such as pianist, Abdullah Ibrahim, the late Bob Marley’s granddaughter, Donisha Prendergast and family whom he met in Jamaica in 2018, including many British royals, politicians, judges etc.
He shared a photograph of himself taken in June 1990 by renowned photographer, Benny Gool, which shows him being dragged by police after being tear-gassed.
“This photograph was taken in Ashton when I was the parish priest serving the Anglican congregations of St Joseph and St Paul in Ashton,” he said.
“The Ashton community had embarked on a mini-defiance campaign and I had been tear-gassed.“
This would mark many moments of in Marxism journey, whether in silence or during fasting and demonstrations.
In November 2023, while observing the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestine people, Weeder and the church hosted a vigil and he had begun to fast.
The process he said had been met with challenges and uproar by his fellow colleagues and even by a portion of his congregation.
In fact, he was bold enough to allow high-ranking officials of Hamas to stand with him in solidarity inside the church.
“Bishop Joshua Louw was coming to anoint me, to inaugurate me too fast, and normally we start at 1pm,” he explained.
“I was asked whether two representatives of Hamas could be brought, there was usually a big crowd outside, more than 100, and the slogans were more militant and we do the river to the sea.
“The Bishop and I are standing there and he is given a (Palestinian) flag and he is an old activist and he took it and Hamas came and the media was there.
“The two Hamas gentlemen stood at the bottom and I said lets go to them as this is our house and this picture goes viral.
“I am thinking to myself , what do I do, do I invite them in, once I have invited them inside, should I ask them to say something.
“I had these thoughts in my mind as we were coming in, and there is an inscription on the door which says: ”If you want peace, you talk to your enemies and not your friends.
“Though I do not work with the category that you are an enemy particularly in a liberation struggle, I said I will invite them inside to say something.
“They gave a humble speech.”
The next day he had received an influx of mixed emotions and messages even as far as the Jewish community but said he soon made sure to inform his superiors and immediately sent out a letter and has continued to show his solidarity to the Palestinian people.
At age 66, Weeder will bow out and remove his robe as the 15th Dean at the Cathedral on April 21, 2024, uncertain who will be his successor.
He has come from a line of Deans starting in 1852 with William Abiah Newman to Rowan Quentin Smith who was ordained in 1996.
His role model, friend and confidant has been Archbishop Desmond Tutu who served as the Archbishop of Cape Town between 1986 to 1996, Weeder shows the Arch’ resting place in the sanctuary of the church.
He said Jesus, Marxism and Jazz is what saved his soul and fed it and holds a photograph of a struggle veteran, Basil February, inside his chambers to remember where he had come from.
He had admired the Marxism of Basil February and James April who were amongst the first coloured people to join the ANC’s military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe.
February died during an ambush attack in the then Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) in 1968.
“For me it is looking at someone looking as a Marxist analyst and still be a person of faith and for me, Marxism and Jazz is what saved my soul and Jesus of course,” said Weeder.
He is a devout husband to his wife, Dr Bonita Bennet, and parent to Chiara, Andile and Khanyisa.
His priestly journey led him through time in parishes as diverse as Mitchell’s Plain, Ocean View, Gugulethu, Ashton, Zolani and Lotus River, including a period as a member of the Black Clergy Association, and eventually to work with late Archbishop Tutu as the Director of the Anglican Board of Social Responsibility.
Weeder is a poet, writer, struggle veteran and holds a BA (Hons) and an MA in History from the University of the Western Cape.
He has published two volumes of poetry and has been invited to multiple writers’ festivals.
Weeder was ordained as a priest in 1985 at the height of revolt against the apartheid regime.
He said it was a calling he had once resisted but knew it was where he was supposed to be and had gone through a filtering of more than 10 candidates.
“May 22, 2011, was my day, it was so beautiful,” he said standing on the spot where he had been ordained as the dean.
“The Archbishop said a prayer and blessing over me,” he explained.
“It was a moment of great personal intimacy, this is where God had wanted me because I had resisted it.
“In the year that Nelson Mandela died, I asked him (Desmond Tutu) where he would like to be buried.”
Weeder showed where Tutu’s ashes lay in the sanctuary and shared their most intimate moments of prayers held in another wing of the church.
In last his stance of not being “conventional” and to break tradition”, Weeder prepares to unveil a painting of Tutu done by artist Hayden Proud in 1991 which he has protected for years and is also working on stained glass windows which will showcases significant women and men during the liberation struggle even dating back to Krotoa.
His journey to priesthood was nurtured in the streets of Elsies River, fostered and encouraged by his mother, Sheila.
When asked what he would be doing during his retirement, Weeder remarked he would be resting but working on his latest writing piece, a book on Marxism.
In a statement released by the Cathedral, they said he had shown ongoing commitment to the transformation work and the place the Cathedral holds as a space of witness, vigil, moral guidance and activism.
Farewell services will take place on April 14 at 4pm is an interfaith Liturgy for Palestine.
The second is a full Festival Eucharist of Thanksgiving on the 21st April at 9:30am, featuring joyous choirs, and followed by light refreshments and performances.