Archbishop of Cape Town, Winston Hugh Njongonkulu Ndungane, Commencement Speaker
Episcopal Divinity School announces its 2007 Commencement Ceremony on May 17, 2007 at the First Church in Cambridge, Congregational, 11 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, at 2:00 pm. EDS will confer honorary degrees on four individuals with distinguished and faithful ministries in social justice: The Revd Canon Gregory Cameron, Ms. Catherine Hoffman, The Rt Revd James Kelsey, and The Most Revd Njongonkulu Winston Hugh Ndungane. The Commencement address will be delivered by The Most Revd Njongonkulu Winston Hugh Ndungane, Archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa. (For more information on Archbishop Ndungane see his biographical information at the end of this release.)
‘EDS is proud to recognize Gregory Cameron, Catherine Hoffman, Jim Kelsey, and Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane as its 2007 honorary degree recipients,’ said EDS president and dean, The Right Reverend Steven Charleston. ‘Each one of them is working tirelessly to carry out God’s mission of justice, compassion, and reconciliation: Gregory for his ecumenical work through the Anglican Communion; Cathy for her leadership in the area of peace and justice work through the Cambridge Peace Commission; Jim in his work with the Diocese of Northern Michigan in helping all of God’s baptized to claim their rightful place in the Church, and Archbishop Ndungane for his leadership and advocacy related to the Millennium Development Goals.’
The Revd Canon Gregory Cameron is Director of Ecumenical Affairs and Studies, and Deputy Secretary General in the Anglican Communion Office in London. Ordained in the Church in Wales in 1983, he worked in parish ministry and theological education before becoming Chaplain to the then Archbishop of Wales, The Most Revd Rowan Williams in 2000. He holds four masters degrees in theology, law, and canon law from the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Cardiff, Wales. Since 2004, Cameron has been the point person for ecumenical relations for the Anglican Communion while also providing key staff assistance to such bodies as the Lambeth Commission on Communion that produced The Windsor Report, and the Anglican Covenant Design Group. EDS recognizes Canon Cameron for his faithful service to ecumenical and inter-Anglican affairs for the Anglican Communion.
Ms. Catherine Hoffman is the Director of the Cambridge Peace Commission, Cambridge, Massachusetts. An organization that is dedicated to the concept of thinking globally and acting locally, the Commission acts as a link between the municipal government and neighbours, schools, young people, peace organizations, social justice efforts, anti-violence coalitions, communities, and the municipal governments. Hoffman’s responsibilities within the Commission include: coordinating peace education projects within public schools, coordinating community-wide violence-prevention programs, coordinating a link between national issues of peace and justice with local concerns, and initiating efforts for community recognition and promotion of peace and justice work. EDS recognizes Ms. Hoffman for her peace building, social justice, and local activist work.
The Rt Revd James Kelsey is the Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Michigan. An advocate for collaborative ministry, a non-hierarchal form of leadership which includes a locally ordained priest and a team of persons who share ministry support responsibilities, Bishop Kelsey and others in the diocese have played a leadership role in introducing collaborative ministry to other dioceses in both the Episcopal Church and elsewhere in the Anglican Communion. EDS recognizes Bishop James Kelsey and the Diocese of Northern Michigan for their prophetic leadership in supporting the baptismal ministry of all Episcopalians and for their work in helping to transform congregations from being communities gathered around a minister to ministering communities.
The Most Revd Njongonkulu Winston Hugh Ndungane is Archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, which includes 23 dioceses with more than 900 parishes in South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Angola, and other nations. Archbishop Ndungane is known as an outspoken advocate against injustice, inadequate education, economic oppression and violence both in southern Africa and across the world. EDS recognizes The Most Revd Ndungane for his work related to the Millennium Development Goals and serving as a powerful example of someone living into God’s mission of justice, compassion, and reconciliation
Additional Biographical Information about Archbishop Winston Hugh Njongonkulu Ndungane
At the February 2007 meeting of the primates of the Anglican Communion, while speaking to the Millennium Development Goals, Archbishop Ndungane set forth challenges of how Anglicans can respond by saying, ‘to make the world a better place for all...to ensure that there is sustainable livelihood for everyone so that every human being has access to clean water, food, and health care.’ He continued, ‘In our world there is global apartheid where the rich are getting ‘stinkingly’ rich and the poor are getting desperately poor. There are 120 million children (of whom 60% are girls) (who) do not go to school. This is sin and evil. Wars, conflict, famine, drought and floods have caused our continent to be a continent of orphans.
‘By 2010 we are talking about 50 million orphans in Sub Saharan Africa as a consequence of war, famine, droughts, and preventable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. We know that there are more than 800 million people living in poverty in the world ... this is not only immoral, it is a sin, it is evil.’
Archbishop Ndungane was appointed Metropolitan of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa in 1996. He has been a leader in the campaign to control the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa and has called for debt relief for impoverished nations. In the fall of 2004, he spoke at the United Nations to launch the Micah Challenge, an international Christian movement to cut world poverty in half by 2015. A fourth-generation Anglican priest, Archbishop Ndungane decided to enter the ministry in the early 1960s while serving a three-year sentence as a political prisoner on the notorious Robben Island. He was ordained in 1974 in the Diocese of Cape Town and has a BDiv and MTh from King’s College, London. Before his appointment as archbishop, he served as Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman in South Africa.
About Episcopal Divinity School
Episcopal Divinity School is a respected center of study and spiritual formation for lay and ordained leaders with a strong commitment to justice, compassion, and reconciliation. EDS, formed in 1974 with the merger of Philadelphia Divinity School (founded in 1857) and Episcopal Theological School (founded in 1867), offers doctor of ministry and master’s degrees, as well as certificates in theological studies. Located on an eight acre campus just a few blocks from Harvard Yard, EDS is a member of the Boston Theological Institute, a consortium of nine eminent theological schools, seminaries, and departments of religion.
Item from: Episcopal Divinity School