Abstract:
Vuyani Vellem was a distinguished scholar of black theology of liberation. A number of giants
of black scholarship and theologians have written constructive tributes in recognition of his
work, particularly in academia. He has rightly been lauded as an excellent academic, but very
little has been said about his role as a churchman. Despite being an outstanding African
theologian, Vellem’s ministerial formation was hewed in the context of the black-conscious
minister from the African Christian missionary church enterprise. He was a trailblazer, a
voice of the voiceless within the church, in South African black communities, in ecumenical
relations and globally. This article reflects on the crucial role of yobufundisi bonyana womgquba
or womthonyama [ministry of the son of the soil, land or earth], in which Vuyani Vellem
relentlessly served the church until his untimely death at the age of 50 years on 04 December
2019. The article argues that Vellem unrelentingly loved and served the Uniting Presbyterian
Church in Southern Africa (UPCSA) with distinction as its first black general secretary at a
transitional epoch in the postapartheid era where the Reformed Presbyterian Church in
Southern Africa came into union with the Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa in 1999 to
form the current UPCSA.
CONTRIBUTION : The scholarly contribution of this article adds value and significant tribute to
the ministry of Vellem, his quest for justice and unshackling of the church. It seeks to
espouse ubufundisi bakhe [his ministry] within the UPCSA, his perpetual calling in serving
the needy and downtrodden. Moreover, the article contributes a practica reflectere of his
spirituality, black consciousness and life identity with underprivileged black churches and
communities.
