| (Copyright 2024) by Craig M. White (Australia) |
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| I think that you will find this unique bit of WCG history of interest – most have never heard of it. It is also included in the attached collection of notes (i.e. it is not an article per se), pages 15-18. I first heard about this when living in South Africa in the 1970s, but only had a limited knowledge of it and did not even know the name of the group involved. The information in the rest of the document you might also find interesting and if you have anything to add to any section in the document, please send my way! Regards to all, Craig ================================ 1. My note: It is said that this Church of God group in South Africa was formed by peoples from India or Malaya which pre-dates the WCG in that area. (June 2003) 2. Eve G states: “Apparently there was a group of pre-1900 Church of God people in Cape Town that joined up with the Radio Church of God when Mr. Waterhouse visited them in the early 1960s.I am told that they had a church with a baptism font under the floor. They gave the church to WCG, and they remained very faithful members of WCG up until the apostacy.” (June 2003) 3. Peter H writes: “The best person to obtain accurate information from may be Owen Visagie, a minister in Worldwide Church of God familiar with the history of the Norling family. He has (as far as I know) remained true to his calling and true to the word of God.” (June 2003) [Personal note: I wrote to the WCG in South Africa to no avail] 4. From the WCG website: “Norling, Edward Norman, aged 89, of the Cape Town South church passed away on 2 November 2002. He was ordained as a deacon in 1977. He is survived by his wife Sophie, whom he married on 15 February 1938, and six children., ten grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. His daughter Valerie serves as a deaconess in the Pretoria church.” (extracted from the January 2003 Worldwide News). 5. From the WCG website:  OLDEST COUPLE– Mr. and Mrs. Edward Norling, oldest couple in Cape Town, South Africa. (extracted from the February 1999 Worldwide News) 6. Stan B writes: “The following is the only information that I have been able to glean regarding the group that joined WCG in Cape Town. Unfortunately, all those who were part of this group have died. The only remaining person who has any information is 93 year old Mrs Norling. She is the daughter-in-law of a certain Jacobus Johannes Norling who was an ordained minister of the SDA. He died almost 50 years ago, and she has no idea why he left or how he eventually came in contact with WCG. Her husband Edward Norling had also been ordained by his father as a minister of this church. Later Mr Edward Norling was ordained as a deacon in WCG. He died a few years ago. Mrs Norling is living with her granddaughter, Anthea Variant. The telephone number is: – 021 7121455”. (13 April 2005) Alvin S wrote: “Yes, I did the interview with him (Pappa) a few months before what would have been his 90th birthday. Mrs. Norling lived to be more than a 100 years old.  Denise Variend Neville Norling, Valerie Pritchard (married to Joey Pritchard of PE), and Hazel Norling are siblings who were a part of their father and grandfather’s church… they are still very much alive.” (1 January 2024, Facebook Messenger). 7. On 30 December 2023 Alvin Schuller sent me some information upon my request. “In the mid-1970s I lived in South Africa and was told that a small Sabbatarian group, preceding WCG in that country had later merged with the WCG. It was either John Burger or Olaf Bacon who told me this, but no details were forthcoming, but thanks to Alvin, some details are now at hand. “… the history of the Sabbath-keeping group that we attended eventually meshed with that of WCG by a decision of the Norling family to contact WCG and ask if they could become associated with them … eventually ceding properties and control to WCG… that was late 50’s through mid 70’s … during that time Gordon Terblanche, Dan Botha, Bill Whitaker were the overseeing pastors … “I wrote the history essay during 2003 and that was while I was in South Africa…. I’ve been in the USA for 15 years and have no immediate access to copies of what I wrote then … The group was in the suburbs of Cape Town. “Five generations ago, a Mr Norling had gone to an SDA tent meeting, recognized the Sabbath as binding…. started up a few churches which he and then later his son, Edward ‘Pappa’ Norling, pastored.” “Pappa Norling is the one that I interviewed 22 years ago … God’s Remnant Apostle Church of Christ … They were independent of the SDA’s …yes. When Pappa Norling’s father passed, he struggled to pastor all the churches under their banner… so, when he discovered the Plain Truth, Good News and World Tomorrow magazines… it resonated with him … so, he made contact with WCG and they sent out some guys to talk to him and he agreed to affiliate with them.” “Wishing that I had my essay available to give better details… at the time WCG under the new dispensation was not interested in the details of the interview that Pappa and I had agreed was the final draft.” “Eventually, Peter Hawkins, Frank Nelte, Andre van Belkum, Peter van der Byl, Owen Visagie took pastor roles in that congregation until we finally amalgamated as one congregation in the Cape Town area.” “The formal affiliation started during the early 60’s … ceding properties happened during the late 70’s… The only old timer that I know that has a direct connection to the Norling legacy is Neville Norling, one of Pappa’s surviving sons (close to 80 by now) … he is on Facebook… he’d be happy to share … He was part of the existing chapter that eventually affiliated with WCG.” In a follow up message Alvin stated: “The Norlings established their own Sabbatarian group which came out of an SDA (pre-1900’s) group. SDA has had God’s Remnant Church as a moniker since the mid-1800s… so, I don’t think that the church’s name is too far off. The following was Denise Variend’s full reply: “Hi Alvin… God’s Remnant Apostle Church of Christ. My grandfather tried to make sure all were part of the name…” Just a note, Pappa was almost 50 when he made contact with WCG and he had co-pastored with his dad for at least 3 decades before then. The irony is that he was only ordained as a deacon in 1977.” (FB Messenger, 2 Jan 2024) “The information about the RCG/WCG South African work [in my article] and anecdotal history is awesome to read. “And after a few years of correspondence, WCG sent out Adriaan Botha (brother of later pastor for Retreat, Dan Botha). “As kids, the baptismal font (at least 3m x 5m) was always an awesome experience because it was situated directly under the lectern… sometimes, my dad, Victor Schuller, would have us help Pappa Edward Norling fill the pool for upcoming baptisms. Concerning my question if “there was a Sabbatarian group since the late 1800s in the western Cape separate to the SDAs or that this is the group that came into contact with the African American preacher?” Answer: “I don’t know.” And if the American was CG7 and not SDA he answered: “I can neither confirm or deny that. “What I can confirm from my recollection of the 2002 interview is that Pappa Edward Norling’s father, Jacobus Norling, went to an SDA tent meeting and was convicted enough to start keeping the Sabbath and eventually start God’s Remnant Apostle’s Church of Christ, servicing two or three different congregations in different suburbs of Cape Town before his death. It’s in these congregations that Pappa Norling served alongside his father…” (E-mail, 4 Jan 2024) Phone interview (with later updates) with Andre Van Belkum, 2 January 2024: Andre first heard about this group based in Retreat on the outskirts of Cape Town, around 1964. In the late 1930s or early 1940s a black American preacher was holding Bible lectures in the area attended by coloured folk. He told them that they would recognise the right church. After a while he returned to the USA. He preached the Sabbath and that there was no trinity. Andre thinks he may be from the Church of God (Seventh Day). A group decided to observe the Sabbath and purchase a hall in Retreat (which included a baptismal font). Norling became their leader. One day in the late 1950s on a bus trip, Ed noticed a man reading the Plain Truth. When he exited the bus, the man left behind the magazine which Ed proceeded to pick up and read. Soon he recognised that this was the truth and enthusiastically told his congregation. He contacted the Worldwide Church of God offices which Ernest Williams was the Regional Director. Soon he and Adriaan Botha visited them, and they offered to merge into the WCG which was accepted. In early 1970 Andre and Gerald Waterhouse visited them. Over the years Andre used the baptismal font to baptise around a dozen occasions. ——————————————————————————————————— See Craig White’s other articles at: White, Craig M. – Church of God, Bismarck (church-of-god-bismarck.org) Reprinted with permission from: Friends of the Sabbath Australia http://www.friendsofsabbath.org/ ——————————————————————————————————— |
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