It's the Economy, Stupid - Reflections and Learnings from South Africa

Rev. Alan Storey is an ordained minister of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa and presently serves at the Central Methodist Mission in Cape Town. He holds an Honors degree in Theology and a Master's in the Philosophy of Applied Ethics from St. Augustine College in SA, with a special focus on economics. He faced conscription into the apartheid regime's military. In 1990, he was arrested & faced trial with a six-year prison sentence as the likely outcome. The State abandoned his trial midway, and he became the last conscientious objector to be tried in apartheid South Africa. During his theological training at Rhodes University, he was involved in the Gunfree South Africa Campaign that was launched at the time of transition to democracy & was the deputy chairperson of the National Peace Accord in that region. After University, Alan was sent to Welkom, which is known as a conservative mining town that lies in the very center of South Africa. It was here that he started the Banna Na Modimo home for destitute children & the Banna Ba Modimo Clinic for people who are homeless. Alan received Rotary's Paul Harris award as a result of this work. He was ordained in 1996 & sent to a small white congregation in Midrand. He built a new church named Cavalry and the congregation grew into one of the most culturally diverse congregations in the country at the cutting edge of reconciliation & justice ministries. Alan is now the National Chairperson of Gun Free South Africa.