A Depiction of the Ministry of Presence During African Funerals: The Case of Burials in the Collins Chabane Local Municipality in Limpopo, South Africa

Death is one of the most painful realities of life that is inescapable. In African communities, death is not just an individual loss but a collective community loss and suffering. Therefore, the practice of the Ministry of presence is prevalent during funerals by both the community and modern-day church. African funerals are characterised by a heavy presence of family members, relatives, neighbours, and the church. The church has become a key role-player that is always visible when funerals take place. The act of physical presence is significant to provide solidarity as individuals offer physical and emotional support to the bereaved family. The church not only provides spiritual but also practical support, like other community institutions and members do, notwithstanding the challenges of the erosion of certain burial practices due to colonial influence on economic migration and cultural dilution. This was exacerbated by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. The article grapples with the following question: in what ways does the ministry of presence serve as a means of dealing with grief during African funeral and burial rites? This article explores the role of ministry of presence by the various stakeholders during African funerals. It examines the emotional, spiritual and social implications of the presence of the church, family and community members during funerals in Collins Chabane Local Municipality (CCLM) in Limpopo, South Africa. It also looks at how the ministry of presence was disrupted by the advent of the pandemic, leading to different forms of funeral attendance. Ministry of Presence is a pastoral and theological concept used as conceptual framework supported by the African ethic of unhu/ubuntu as a cultural interpretive framework. This qualitative research is based on primary data collected through interviews and literature analysis.