Statement on the Election of Canon Margaret Vertue as Bishop of False Bay

‘I am absolutely delighted that the Revd Canon Margaret Vertue has been elected the next Bishop of the Diocese of False Bay’, said Archbishop Thabo Makgoba on hearing the news from the 3 October elective assembly. ‘Margaret was my junior when we were both training for ordination at the College of the Transfiguration – then St Paul’s, and I have worked closely with her on the board of HOPE Africa. She is well known, respected, and liked throughout Southern Africa, and we thank God for this new chapter in her life and ministry, and the life of False Bay Diocese.’ Canon Vertue will replace Bishop Merwyn Castle. The Archbishop learnt the news while attending the Anglicans Ablaze conference in Johannesburg, the largest gathering from across the whole Anglican Church of Southern Africa in living memory.

Canon Vertue is the second woman elected to the episcopate in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. The Revd Ellinah Wamukoya will be the first Anglican woman in Africa to become a bishop, when she is consecrated Bishop of Swaziland on 17 November. The Archbishop of Cape Town said ‘In the last few months, we have had four episcopal elections, electing two women and two men. It seems the Holy Spirit is not finished with us, but is taking us further onwards into this new stage of our Church’s life. We give great thanks to God.’ The Venerable Steve Moreo will succeed Bishop Brian Germond in the Diocese of Johannesburg, and the Revd Steven Letloenyane will follow Bishop Paddy Glover in the Diocese of the Free State. They, and Canon Vertue, will be consecrated in early 2013.