ST OSWALD’S CHURCH MILNERTON
Anglican Church of Southern Africa
with the chapelries of
St Francis, Brooklyn & St Luke’s, Joe Slovo
St Oswald was the Saxon king of Northumbria who in 634 AD won his throne in the name of Christ, after erecting a wooden cross on the battlefield and praying to God for victory. He then sent forth a Christian missionary, St Aiden, to convert his people.
He was proclaimed a saint by the Church when miracles were subsequently associated with the site of his last battle. Northumbria was, for a time, the centre of Christianity in Britain.
St. Oswald’s was established as an outstation of St. Anne’s Maitland in 1913. The ground for the church was purchased in 1912. A small wooden structure for worship was built on the site where the hall is presently situated. Later St. Oswald’s became a parish and the church was built in 1955 and later on the hall was erected. The foundation stone of the church was laid by Archbishop Geoffrey Clayton on 5th February 1955.
Over the years St Oswald has assisted with the establishment of churches at St Chad’s Tableview and Holy Trinity Bothasig and St. Michael and all Angels in Edgemead. The Chapel of St Francis in Brooklyn was purchased in 1989 and is still part of the parish. In 2002 we incorporated the chapel of St. Luke’s Joe Slovo Park into the parish (formerly part of St Cyprian’s Langa). A chapel was built for them and completed in 2012.
The original St Oswald’s church was built to accommodate only about 80 persons. Over the years as the congregation grew the church has been extended to accommodate 125 persons. In 1998 with the church at bursting point, the church was considerably enlarged to its current size to accommodate the increasing congregation. About 300 persons can now be accommodated. Provision has also been made to include a mezzanine level at the rear of the church should the need arise.
St Oswald’s is a beautiful place to worship and filled with the Holy Spirit. We have been blessed to have had many wonderful clergy ministering here and a friendly congregation. People have worked hard to extend Christ’s ministry here and we have been fortunate to have many generous patrons who have beautified our church with many inspiring items.
Revd Foster van der Byl, Revd Muir, Rev Clough, Revd Bowers, Revd Tom Winter, Revd Basil Bertholdt, Revd Dick Llewellyn, Revd Steven Oliver, Revd Bruce Allen, Revd Dan Auret, Revd Keith Griffiths, Revd Glen Logan, Revd Alan Lindhorst, Revd Alastair Buchanan, Revd Noel Jacobsen, Revd Gerald Francis, Revd John Stewart, Revd Michael Burt, Revd Bruce Snyman, Revd Henry Frieslaar, Revd Nevil Callander, Revd’s Gordon and Hope Jenniker, Revd Keith De Vos, Revd Brian Steven, Revd Denver Heugh, (Deacon), The Very Revd Elizabeth Muturi, Revd Canon Jerome Francis, Revd Ernest Ward-Cox, Revd Thozamile Shweni, Revd Tembeka Mpako-Ntusi and Revd Selwyn Engelbrecht.