Methodist Church suspends Rev Mehana

Reverend Vukile Mehana has been suspended from the Methodist Church pending an investigation into his patriarchal remarks. A group of women from the Methodist Church of Southern Africa embarked on a march to the Methodist Connexional Office at Bruma, east of Johannesburg earlier on Friday.

The march was to voice their concerns after a recording made rounds on social media revealing a private conversation between Reverend Vukile Mehana and Raymond Sibanga, where the two men were sharing views about women in the church, which were widely perceived as being derogatory.

The video has sparked outrage online, prompting Mehana to apologise for the comments.

One of the women, Reverend Dr Libuseng Lebaka-Ketshabile, says their main demand is for gender equality within the church.

“The majority of us, although we confess with our lips that Christ is our Lord and Saviour, the confession has not touched our hearts and we’re therefore not living that confession. The Christ we follow is a Christ within a life-giving culture, but he’s also a Christ who stands against a life-destroying culture.”

The women, mainly dressed in black, gathered at a park outside the Eastgate Mall and made their way to Methodist Connexional office, where they held a media briefing. As they marched in the blistering heat, some of them could be seen holding up placards reading “Patriarchy must die” and “Equality in Ministry”.

The women say their main demand is for gender equality with in the church.

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