Anglican Communion News Service

Bishop Beetge at one of his
Township Churches

Photo Credit: ACNS/Rosenthal

Bishop David Beetge, Bishop of the Highveld died last Saturday. He was 59.

Tributes have come in from many Anglican leaders. ACNS shares statements from Dr Rowan Williams and others. Our prayers and sympathy are with Carol his wife. May he rest in peace and rise in glory. Amen

Editor

From Archbishop Williams

“The Anglican Church wordlwide has lost an exceptional man - warm, intelligent, utterly dedicated, imaginative; and many of us have lost a deeply valued friend. David gave selflessly of his gifts in the service of the Communion, its internal business and its ecumenical relations, and carried great responsibility with calm, humour and good sense.

We join with Carol and the family and all his colleagues and friends in grieving his untimely death and giving thanks to God for a genuinely apostolic life, courageous and joyful. May he rest in peace.”

From Archbishop Thabo

“As Dean of the Province, Bishop David was the second most senior bishop in our hierarchy. He also served the worldwide Anglican Communion with great distinction as co-chairman of the International Anglican/Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission (IARCCUM).

He was an outstanding and exemplary leader of our church, a man of deep spirituality and prayer, and we give God thanks for his life and witness.

He leaves his wife, Carol. On behalf of the Church in Southern Africa, I express our deepest condolences to her and to their family. There will be a Requiem Mass for Bishop David at 10 am on Friday October 3, at St. Dunstan’s School in Benoni.”

From Secretary General Kenneth Kearon

“Bishop David was firm in his support for the work of the Anglican Communion on many levels and was a very special friend of all of us in the London office. On visits to his diocese it was clear that he was not only a beloved bishop and pastor to his clergy and people, but a bishop whose ministry reflected the heart of the gospel message in his widely diverse, vast and strong diocese. He will be sorely missed in the workings of the Anglican Communion but his legacy is one that I am sure will inspire many of us in the days ahead.”

From Canon Gregory Cameron

“I worked with Bishop David both in his ecumenical work, as Anglican Co-Chair of IARCCUM, and in his work for the Anglican Communion as a member of the Lambeth Commission on Communion, which produced the Windsor Report. David was a man of great personal holiness, commitment and good humour. He worked tirelessly for the causes to which he was committed, and brought an enormous pastoral concern for his colleagues at the same time. He always showed great common sense, which combined with great perception, allowed him to ensure that work was carried forward in a way which enriched and sustained the life of the Communion and its ecumenical relations. He leaves a huge gap, and will be very hard to replace.”

Notes to editors:

Bishop Beetge Biographical Background
From the Diocese of Highveld

Bishop David Beetge, born in Witbank, South Africa in 1948 worked in commerce for a time, completing his Chartered Institute of Secretaries and Administrators examination and being Company Secretary of ICI (South Africa) Limited.

He received his theological education at St Paul's Theological College in Grahamstown. He subsequently obtained both his Bachelor's and Honour's Degrees in Theology through the University of South Africa.

He obtained his Master's Degree in Theology from the University of Natal.

Bishop David was ordained deacon at St. Mary's Cathedral, Johannesburg in December 1980 and was ordained priest at the same Cathedral in December 1981. He has served as curate at St Boniface's Church, Germiston and was instituted as rector of St. Boniface's Church, Germiston in April 1984 and as rector and archdeacon of Springs in January 1987.

Bishop David acted as Vicar-General in the absence of the Regional Bishop and was appointed Vicar General of the Diocese of South Eastern Transvaal at the inauguration of the Diocese on January 6, 1990. He was consecrated Bishop of the Diocese of South Eastern Transvaal on March 9, 1990. In January 1998 the name of the Diocese was changed to the Diocese of the Highveld.

The Diocese Daily faces many pressing and complex issues, including the scourges of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, incredible poverty and the challenges associated with the massive influx of immigrants from Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. A large proportion of the population lives in abject poverty, in informal settlements or shanty towns without basic access to water, sewage or electricity. In some rural areas, the rate of unemployment is as much as 80 per cent.

At Provincial level Bishop David has served in a number of key portfolios and is currently Dean of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa. In addition to his duties as Dean of the Province, he is Liaison Bishop for Provincial Staff; Liaison Bishop and Chair of Anglican HIV/AIDS programmes for Southern Africa; Co-Chairman of Anglican-Roman Catholic Bishops' Consultation; Deputy Chairman of the CPSA Pension Fund Board Trustees (including the Pension Board Investment Advisory Committee); the Anglican Consultative Council Episcopal representative (Nottingham 2005); World Council of Churches Episcopal representative (General Assembly 2006); Co-Chairman of the International Anglican/Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission and member of the Lambeth Commission. His Diocesan portfolios include that of Chairman of St. Dunstan's College Council; Chairman of Highveld Anglican Board of Social Responsibility and Chairman of Board for Theological Education and Reflection.

Ends