(pronounced Sen a WAN e)

Minister:  Rev. Andrew Thejane (Te JAN e)
Members:  200 approx.

This congregation was established by two ministers when apartheid was at its height, although difficult times made it impossible to construct a church building. Rev. Andrew Thejane was called to help six years ago and raised grant funds and donations from Soweto town to begin construction on a church. The principal structure is being completed in stages:  first the foundation, support beams and roof, then the bricks, and finally the windows and doors. Marble Church's Easter Offering provided doors for the church building.

Rev. Thejane and his wife Alice have been married 47 years and have six children (five living) and ten grandchildren. Andrew is known as a builder of churches and has a talent for succeeding from the ground up. His congregation is comprised of older people, many of which care for grandchildren who are victims of AIDS, poverty, or abandonment.

The church is located next to a clinic that provides preventive care for AIDS, tuberculosis and other diseases, as well as well-child and AIDS support services. Nearby is a funeral home where processions past the front door of the church are a continual reminder of the increase in AIDS-related deaths. Crime is also an acute problem in the neighborhood. Andrew is nearing retirement but says he will continue his ministry until he can no longer speak or is too ill to work.

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