St John's Anglican Church Roodepoort
About Us
St Laurence’s is a friendly small church with a big heart! Everyone is welcome to come and experience the warm and down-to-earth atmosphere where we praise God from the heart.
The church has been going since the 1950s and began as a chapelry of St John’s Roodepoort but eventually grew big enough to be its own church. We have about 120 families who are members, mostly from Discovery, and nearby suburbs in Roodepoort, while some travel from
Boskruin, Pretoria, Ruimsig and Randfontein.
Whether you have been coming for over 50 years, or you are a first-time visitor, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and we are all journeying together to get closer to God and to find deeper meaning in our lives, in this most challenging world we live in.
The church is well managed by a team led by Revd Martha Gordon who is the priest-in-charge and the wardens: Gustave Cilliers; Clayton Petersen; and Lerato Myeza.
Please contact Martha for more information or feedback marthahgordon@gmail.com or 083 399 5934.
Who was
St Laurence?
St Laurence was a deacon and martyr in Rome in the year ad 258.
“There is no contemporary account of Laurence’s death. According to a tradition known to Ambrose a hundred years later, he was one of the seven deacons of Rome who was ordered by the magistrate to hand over the Church’s treasures. Laurence collected together a number of poor and sick people and presented them to the magistrate, saying, ‘These are the treasure of the Church’.
For this, he was condemned to be burnt alive on an iron grating. He became one of the most famous of all Roman martyrs, and many churches are dedicated to him.” – extract from Saints and Seasons, Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA), 1993. P.93.
What is a deacon?
The Anglican Church recognises three levels of ordination – deacon, priest, and Bishop, and that all baptised people – lay and ordained – are ministers in God’s church. “The ministry of a deacon is to represent Christ and his Church, particularly as a servant of those in need; and to assist bishops and priests in the proclamation of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments.”
Anglican Prayer Book, ACSA, p. 434. This serving emphasis continues even if the deacon later becomes a priest or bishop. The Bishop’s charge to the priest during the ordination service includes: “When you were made a deacon, you accepted the call to be a servant of God and of his people. Remember that you never cease to be a deacon, and be ready to offer service wherever God calls.” Ibid, p. 587.
It is this spirit of service that St Laurence’s Anglican Church, Discovery, wishes to embody.