I am a cradle Anglican, baptized in the Church of England, raised in the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, now known as the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. I have come to know the Anglican Communion not first as a structure, but as a lived reality, marred with history filled with tension over identity and culture.
As a young person, I became involved in ministry early on, leading Sunday school initiatives, youth ministry in the parish and the diocese, and eventually serving as Provincial Youth President. This role took me across different countries in Southern Africa and beyond, where I encountered the richness and complexity of Anglican life. I remember sitting in conversations where language, culture, and theology differed, yet we were bound together in prayer and purpose. Those experiences shaped my understanding that the Anglican Communion is not held together by sameness, but by a commitment to remain in relationship while acknowledging the rich diversity. It is held together by the commitment to Scripture, Reason, and Tradition sources of authority. It is held together by the instruments of the Communion: the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Anglican Consultative Council, the Primates meeting, and the Lambeth Conference. Most importantly, it is held together and bound as the Body of Christ.
My involvement with the Kairos movement and, later, with Global Kairos for Justice enriched my formation. I became immersed in ecumenical and interfaith interactions and dialogue. This was later enhanced by the Rose Castle Foundation training offered by the Center for Anglican Communion Studies. In the Kairos movement spaces, I wrestled with what it means to speak of God in contexts of injustice. I wrestled with what it means to live out what I now understand even better as my baptismal covenant: “to seek and serve Christ in all people and to strive for justice for all.” I learned that discernment of God’s mission often happens at the edges, in places of discomfort, where faith meets the realities of cultural, religious, political, and economic struggles.
When I came to Virginia Theological Seminary, working in the Center for Anglican Communion Studies (CACS) felt like stepping into a place I belonged. This is where the connection web started to form. All the projects and people I encountered in my past were a part of this marvelous connection of formation. I became more aware of both the beauty and the fragility of our Communion.
I also became more aware of my own voice (shaped by the ‘Global South’) and the responsibility to speak from that place with honesty and humility. Hosting Anglican Communion visitors and organizing events with CACS has fostered and reignited long-lasting relationships and connections across the Anglican Communion footprint. I am thankful to God for the gift of connecting with people and connecting people. The power of the Holy Spirit has moved in ways that I have never expected. The deeper connection and communion in practice that I experienced during my ordination was a collaboration among Virginia Theological Seminary (CACS), The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, the Diocese of Natal, the Diocese of Eswatini, and the primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. This is a historical moment I will forever remember as a Communion in action, in a positive, life-changing way.
As I prepare for ordained ministry, I carry these experiences with me. I do not see the Anglican Communion as a problem to be solved, but as a gift to be stewarded. It is the space in which I continue to discern my vocation: as one called to serve, to listen, and to remain committed to the mission of God in a diverse and sometimes divided Church.
The Rev. Nonhlanhla Shezi
MDiv. ’26