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This is the beginning

I am a boy from the Eastern Cape South Africa. I was born in Port Elizabeth now called Gqeberha. I was given the name Phillip. In my life I’ve v tried to live my name Philopolis -lover of horses. My earliest experience of a horse came in the form of a gift for my 8th birthday. It was a paint my number set of a horse. As I painted my name in the form of a horse I fell in love with the horse and of painting.  An awakening took place within me. I was consumed by a passion to sketch and paint at an early age. I remained true to this passion of art for some time until in my adolescence two things got in the way – God and girls!

Forging a career as a draughtsman compensated in a sense for my interest in Art. A young woman from our church took a fancy in me and some years later we got married. Glynis my wife worked for Barclays Bank and by then I was quite settled working in the drawing office at General Motors in PE. The passion for God and the church persisted though resulting in an invitation to lead a youth project for a church in Germiston in the then Transvaal province of South Africa.  The project in the church was to establish a commune for young people.

Glynis transferred with Barclays bank to Germiston, and I worked as a draughtsman for De Beers diamond laboratory in Crown Mines Johannesburg. In the meantime, the commune grew with young adults from Germiston and Thokoza (a township outside Germiston) our country was in social and political upheaval.  This was in 1976. As I drove home from work on the 16th of June 1976 my life was about to change dramatically. I heard the sound of guns crackling on the car radio of the drama unfolding in Soweto on that infamous day. I parked my Combi on the side of Main Reef Road and listened to the ensuing chaos.  I was gripped by a strong sense of the shock and evil taking place just a few kilometres from me. My soul wept. (Song of weeping by Bright Blue)

A still small voice whispered, “I want you to serve in the Church”. My life turned upside down. Within a year I entered the full-time ministry of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. This path and journey place me on a different and new trajectory, I was ordained in Pretoria in 1984.

Phillip Bauser

"Umuntu, Ngumuntu, Ngabuntu" (Zulu – Ubuntu) - "A Person is a Person through other People." Phillip Bauser is a South African born in Port Elizabeth (now Queberha). He grew up and attended school there, later studying and working as a Draughtsman. Married to Glynis for over 50 years, Phillip's life has been a journey filled with diverse experiences and connections. His path took a significant turn when he was called into the Ministry of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, where he served for 40 years in various communities. During this time, he earned a degree in Theology from Rhodes University. Phillip is passionate about justice, peace, and the well-being of all people, cultures, and nature. An artist at heart, Phillip specializes in oils, pottery, and sculpture, and is also a photographer. He finds solace in his art room, the potter's room, the garden, and the bushveld, where he can meditate, imagine, and practice his art. Phillip enjoys telling stories and traveling with Glynis, embarking on road trips and adventures across Africa.

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