In which I ask myself the following questions:

Who am I? Where do I come from? Why am I here?

“Who am I?” is a daunting question in an age focused on identity. My simplest answer is this: I am a child of God, redeemed by the Grace of Christ. Born to Albrecht and Helga Meylahn, missionaries sent by the Berlin Mission Society to Pniel in the Northern Cape, my upbringing revolved around God’s mission. My parents’ work on the mission station instilled in me a calling to proclaim the good news of God’s unconditional grace to all people. This led me to study theology in Pietermaritzburg, Berlin, and Tübingen and to pursue my vocation as a pastor.

After completing my studies in Theology, I became a pastor and worked for more than 30 years in various congregations of the Cape Church: Philippi on the Cape Flats, Bellville in the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town, Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape and then Stellenbosch in the Winelands. Here in Stellenbosch, I became involved in the accompaniment of and as tutor for the theology students of our church, whose training had been moved to the Stellenbosch Faculty of Theology in around 2017.

From June 2023 I have been appointed full time as Director of Studies for the Theology Students of the Lutheran Churches in Southern Africa. I have an office in the faculty (Room 2035) and I live in 34 Rhodes-North Street, Die Boord, Stellenbosch (a rather large house to accommodate the library of UELCSA), in which we have seminars and many conversations with students, who sometimes find accommodation here for a couple of months as they prepare for their theological exams under the auspices of the Examination Board of UELCSA.

So, why am I here? Because I believe that it is a good vocation to become a theologian, it is a lifelong task – we need to keep becoming theologians, by prayer, meditation and spiritual trial. I’ll expand on this thought in the next article called: “How to become a theologian” and there also introduce the students of our church to you. They are the reason why I am here. It’s their “fault” – and I am here gladly.

Felix Meylahn