Tameletjie Wedding Venue, Springs –Statement
2nd March 2018
Following various forms of
harassment suffered by the Cronjé family the last couple of months, the owners
of Tameletjie Wedding Venue have decided to state their position clearly in a
statement to all concerned persons, to avoid confusion and to fully address the
issue regarding the venue’s inability to host same-sex wedding ceremonies.
Tameletjie was started in 2015 by
Mr. and Mrs. Cronjé on the family small holding where they live. It is a labour
of love for the family, which began with a family celebration when their son
got married on their small holding and has since grown into a flourishing young
business which, apart from the family, currently employs five people from the
local community.
Mr. and Mrs. Cronjé are both
Christians and hold a sincere belief in the traditional, biblical view that
marriage is something holy, a covenant between a man and a woman before God
Himself. They host weddings at Tameletjie as a celebration of this religious
conviction and belief.
On 10th January 2018, Mr. Wayne van der Schyff
requested an appointment with Mrs. Cronjé to visit and view the venue.
Prior to his arrival for this purpose, Mrs. Cronjé noticed that Mr. van der
Schyff’s profile picture on WhatsApp consisted of a photo of himself and his
fiancé, Mr. Kobus Smal. From a desire
not to mislead Mr. van der Schyff and to be upfront about her and her family’s
convictions, Mrs. Cronjé asked Mr. van der Schyff if he would be having a
same-sex wedding. She then truthfully said that she would unfortunately
be unable to assist due to the conflict with the family’s sincerely held
religious convictions and beliefs. This was the sum total of their
interactions and, contrary to allegations in the media, no other conversations
pertaining to food etc. were ever entered into.
The South African Constitution
envisages a society that celebrates diversity of opinion and belief. To this
end, everyone is constitutionally entitled to freedom of religion, conscience
and belief and is protected in law from unfair treatment or discrimination for
holding, and giving practical effect to, their particular belief(s). Yet
this is exactly what has happened to the owners of Tameletjie, who have been
vilified in the media and on their social media platforms simply because, in
good faith, they were upfront with this couple about their inability (due to
their sincerely held religious convictions and beliefs) to assist in this
instance.
Mr. and Mrs. Cronjé wish to
reiterate that it is not, and never was, their intention to offend anyone, and
they sincerely regret any offence that may have been caused. They respect
the freedom of choice of Mr. van der Schyff and Mr. Smal to conclude a same-sex
marriage. However, they simply ask that in turn their freedom of choice be
respected. They should not be coerced under threat of punishment to
participate in something that will violate their conscience before God –
potentially with eternal consequences – particularly when there are many other
similar wedding venues available who are willing and able to host the couple’s
wedding and make it a most special occasion for them.
Issued by:
J & A CRONJÉ - THE OWNERS OF TAMELETJIE
For media enquiries, contact:
Mr Michael Swain
Executive Director, Freedom of Religion South
Africa (FOR SA)
Tel: 072 270 1217
E-mail: michael.swain@forsa.org.za