Servant Leadership

Desiree Snyman is an ordained priest from South Africa.

She serves as the current rector for Alstonville Anglicans.

Below she answers some questions put to her.

Desiree, tell us a little about you

It is my privilege to minister to Great Creator Spirit and serve all God’s people in Alstonville

I experience myself as one who is deeply loved.

I am grateful fundamentally for the extravagant, abundant, and reckless love of Source that pours into, onto and over me, embracing me intimately, even as this same grace embraces all humans.

What I have in common with the human family, is the intimacy and vulnerability of this extravagant love of the Divine, that leaves inside each a spark or seed of divinity.

I don’t promise to always succeed, but I hope to celebrate and rejoice in the mystery of each person I come across, who is birthed into the world as an original blessing from God: Creator and Source of all being.

My husband Marius is one of the great joys of my life. We met at Rhodes University Grahamstown South Africa where I studied Theology and Marius studied music. We married in 2001 and have loved each other more and more each year. In 2003 our twins joined us. We delight in Connor Mpho and Keehan Sipho who we are deeply proud of.  

I come with love to share through word and sacrament, blessing and challenge, prayer, and presence.”

Desiree, what do you do for fun?

To relax and have fun I enjoy triathlons.

I probably hang around the wrong people, but through friendships in Dunsborough I gradually became part of the multi-sport scene.

The thing I love best about competing in events is the experience of humanity at its grandest. The comradery among the athletes, the support of bystanders and the euphoric experience of the event is unbeatable.

I also enjoy the training; the time spent on the bike, running or swimming becomes meditative. Alongside are some pictures of the Busselton 70.3 Ironman event that included a 1.9km swim, 90km bike ride and 21.1km run.

Why do I do triathlons? Well, why be bad at one spirt when you can be bad at three!

One of the reasons we love Australia is the opportunity to celebrate the great outdoors. Marius and I love hiking. The twins and I love camping, the beach, the warm weather and the ocean.

When the sun has set or the weather is inclement, I have fun entertaining friends, reading a book or watching ‘Indie’ movies.”

Desiree, what is your favourite Bible verse?

“One of the key Scriptural verses that means much to me is John 10.10b where Jesus says that he came that we might have life in all its fullness.

Along similar lines the early church theologian Irenaeus said that the glory of God is the human being fully alive, fully human, fully God. These verses reflect my early experience of coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

I experienced faith as an awakening where I was energised to be fully who God created me to be and open to the fullest possible experience of life, joy, grace and above all love.  

I entered ministry in South Africa at a youthful age and was thrust face first into the coal face of human suffering that challenged my early understanding of the abundant life that Jesus awakened and awakes in me.

How can the offer of an abundant life with the extravagance of grace described by Irenaeus be real for the people I was encountering who were HIV positive, destitute, abused and eking out an existence in places that are less that humane? My central question became “Can black women, who are HIV positive, unemployed, living below the poverty line and suffering oppressive abuse in a patriarchal culture experience full humanity?”

In other words, do the evils of poverty, HIV/AIDS and patriarchal abuse prevent people experiencing fullness of life? In exploring this question, I did two things: I read deeply and widely in spirituality especially feminist spirituality, transpersonal spirituality, and liberation spirituality. I also journeying alongside a support group for women who were black, unemployed and HIV positive to find out if the material I was reading had any significance at grassroots level.

Many writers conclude that the lofty aims of experiencing God and fullness of life are possible once basic needs such as food and housing safety have been met (e.g. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs).

In contrast, the women I learnt from taught me that it was precisely the moment of crisis such as being diagnosed with HIV that galvanised their blossoming into strong, empowered women who lived out life in all its fullness. The women I journeyed with and interviewed taught me that a fully human spirituality or life in all its fullness involves wholeness and healing at many layers of our identity.

They also taught me how solidarity with those who live life on the margins can lead to personal and social transformation. Most importantly I learnt that suffering, whilst often the result of social injustice and oppression and not of God, can still be the place where the abundant life and extravagant grace of God in Christ can be fully experienced.”

Desiree, what do you believe?

“My favourite doctrine is the Trinity. I am in love with the Trinity!

The Trinity is the heart of my experience of faith, any mystical experience of God and the aim of my ministry as a priest. 

The Trinity is the Dance of the Divine; Three Persons loving each other so much that they become One.

What makes God who God is, is this endless flow of loving and being loved: Source pouring out in love into Christ; Christ receiving that love and pouring love back into Source and the Holy Spirit as the Love Bond uniting Christ to Source and offering us a share in that loving unity.

The most mind explosive, extravagantly generous act is that God opens-up God’s inner love life and invites us to live inside that endless dance of love poured forth and love received. As 2 Peter 1v4 asks: “Do you not know that you are partakers of the Divine nature?” 

Obviously, this Trinity thing can be a bit esoteric or doctrinal so to communicate my passion for the Trinity clearly, I use Rublev’s Trinity Icon to describe the process in which we literally live inside God.

The icon (picture) depicts three angels that represent Jesus the Christ (centre), the Holy Spirit (right) and Source (left). A space is left opened in front so that you and I are can accept the gentle hand of invitation from the Spirit to sit at table with the Trinity and allow the endless pouring of love to flow in us and through us.”