Westville Church leader shares his journey

THE passionate Anders Litzell has taken up the position as rector at the St Elizabeth’s Anglican Church in Westville.

The 37-year-old father of two hails from Sweden and took up residence in Westville with his wife and children a few months ago.

His studies in his faith have taken him across the globe and had him bear witness to what he can best describe as countless miracles. Even though he has a Masters Degree in computer sciences, his journey always led him towards his calling to God. He completed his first Theology Degree in Chicago where he was exposed to the Anglican church for the first time.

“I didn’t have a car so when my neighbour would go to church, I would go along with him. It was completely different from what I was used to, growing up in the Pentecostal church,” said Anders.

He returned home to Sweden in 2003 and in 2005 became the head of the national office for the Alpha course in Sweden. Through mutual friends and a holiday in the Swedish mountains in 2007 he met his wife, Kate, a former Kloof resident, working in London. “Things moved pretty quickly. I like to think that Kate fell for me on the Swedish mountains, quite literally,” he laughed. Six months later he proposed and moved to London as well.

He had his mind set on working in IT to see if he could get the same fulfillment for a corporate as he did while working for the church.

“God has a sense of humour and a job opened up unexpectedly, working for Holy Trinity Brompton. Working in IT,” he laughed.

The couple were married in June 2008 and in January 2009 he said something clicked and he offered himself up for ordination in the Church of England. The Litzell family soon grew as they welcomed their first bundle of joy, Henry.

In June 2012 Anders was ordained and held a position at St George’s Holborn, in Central London, for three years. During this period their second child, Isabella, was born. The Archbishop of Canterbury launched the Community of St Anselm and Anders was asked to head up the project, a role he poured his heart and soul into for three years.

“It was a fantastic position and the members came from all around the world, and all forms of Christian expressions; they were people who wanted nothing more than to become like Jesus, through living a shared life of prayer, study and service to the poor for one year. By every standard they should not have gotten along. What we proved was that people of the most diverse expressions of the Christian faith have a common unity by learning to recognise the Holy Spirit in one another,” said the impassioned Anders.

ALSO READ: Estate agent couple toast to 50 years of marriage

“Coming up to three years in this role, around Easter last year, I prayed about where we were at and it seemed I had done what I came to do – set the community up from scratch. The work was very intense and if you ask my wife, it was like she was a single mother. We prayed about it and asked God what He would like us to do next,” said Anders.

The couple were initially eyeing potential positions in London but Anders said he woke up one morning and had the strongest conviction that his family should move to South Africa. He sent out feelers to a few bishops and it so happened that Bishop Dino Gabriel, The Anglican Bishop of Natal, was passing through London and the duo met. Anders was invited to take up ministry in KZN and this led to his appointment to this current position.

He has now been in SA for three months.

“When flying north to south you don’t get jetlag, you get season lag,” he laughed. “Being Swedish I’m made for minus 30 not plus 30. But I have adjusted well!”

He described his congregation as wonderfully diverse and thoroughly enjoys his job.

“Being a young family ourselves we have been very encouraged by several other families joining in the last months. This, together with our wonderfully welcoming and embracing existing congregation, gives us great hope that this will be a parish where everyone can come, belong, experience God’s love and find a place to serve.”

When not at the church, the Litzell family enjoys the outdoors and have since adopted two gorgeous furballs from the Kloof and Highway SPCA.

“Personally I need to rediscover the things I love as the London pace of life was relentless. In a sense I am so grateful to rediscover a different way of life with balance and that is one of the gifts I think we are here to enjoy, while serving the community and the Westville parish,” he said.

Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409.

You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Highway Mail WhatsApp number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts