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For her exemplary service during decades of oppression, transition, and dramatic change, as a pioneer and leader in theological education and ecumenical relations on a local, national, and international level, and for the enduring value and impact of her life, faith, and work with so many individuals and communities of faith, Angelene H. Swart will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity.
Angelene spent the first decades of her life living under the oppression of apartheid in South Africa and served as an educator in the schools, the Moravian Seminary in South Africa, and the Moravian Church in South Africa (MCSA). After apartheid ended, she emerged as a leader in theological education and ecumenical relations on a local, national, and international level.
She has many "firsts" on her résumé: the first Director for Christian Education in the MCSA, first woman and layperson appointed as Director of the Seminary, first woman and layperson elected as President of the MCSA, and first woman and layperson elected as President of the Unity Board of the worldwide Moravian Church. She has also served on the South African Council for Theological Education, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Advisory Committee for Theological Education in Africa, the LWF Council, as chairperson of the planning committee for the LWF 11TH Assembly, and as Vice-President of the Lutheran Communion in South Africa.
In her retirement, she is a member of the Doctrine Commission of the MCSA, the Chairperson of the South African Council of Churches in the Western Cape; a member of the Moravian Church Foundation, and serves as an Acolyte in her local congregation. She continues to write and to travel widely as a speaker on theological education, women and theology, and women's work and development at conferences both locally, nationally and internationally. Angelene also enjoys life with her husband of 35 years, John Swart, son Jonathan, son Evan and his wife Heidi, and "beautiful granddaughter" Sasha. |
