The Bishop
At their gathering on 06 February 2007, the clergy and laity of the Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman elected Ossie Swartz from among nine candidates to be their new bishop.
Ossie is well known in many parts of the Oxford Diocese: from the start of the partnership in 1993 until 2002 he was the Diocesan Secretary. This included having responsibility for the K&K end of the link relationship. Before that he was rector of St John’s Mafikeng and held other posts in the diocese. He grew up in Kimberley where his father was a priest.
In 2002 Ossie became responsible for the sub-Saharan desk at USPG headquarters and was able to visit this diocese on a number of occasions. His experience also enabled to smooth out some of the practical arrangements for visitors to our link partners. He left USPG in 2005 to become Dean of Pretoria.
Ossie and his wife Yasmin have three children in their early twenties who are living or studying in Cape Town. As part of the preparation for the Lambeth Conference in 1998, he contributed a chapter entitled ‘New wine, old wineskins: a look at possibilities for a rural diocese in a changing society’ in the resource book “Anglicanism: A Global Communion”.
The consecration and enthronement will be at St. Cyprian’s Cathedral on 01 May 2007 and Bishop Colin will be present to represent the Diocese of Oxford. With so many common bonds, we look forward to an exciting time in the next few years of the link partnership.
