The Business and Economics Faculty lecture, hosted by the School of Management Sciences in the Digital Dome at the University’s Science Centre, drew students, academics, entrepreneurs and members of the public.
Local Missionvale entrepreneurs displayed their handmade products, part of the faculty’s drive to link its scholarship to social impact.
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Speakers at the public lecture included, from left, Dr Paul Tai-Hing, Right Rev Dr Eddie Daniels and Professor Hendrik Lloyd
In opening the event, Professor Hendrik Lloyd, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, said the lecture brought together two worlds often seen as distinct: spirituality and liturgical wisdom, and modern organisational life.
“For those of us in academia, it speaks to the heart of what the University should represent. Universities are not only centres of knowledge and innovation, they are also communities of practice, communities of rhythm and communities of tradition,” said Prof Lloyd.
“This conversation could not be more timely. We live in an era where many organisations struggle with burnout, disconnection and a sense of fragmentation. The rise of technology and, as we all know, the different forms of AI, is transforming workplaces.
“Liturgical wisdom does not give us a quick fix to our managerial complexities and strategies, but it does offer a deeper thinking about the way we work.”
Right Rev Dr Eddie Daniels addresses the audience at Nelson Mandela University’s Science Centre
Dr Daniels expanded on this in his keynote address, explaining how the Anglican order of worship, preserved in its Book of Common Prayer, was far more than ritual.
“Its ancient patterns are not relics,” he said. “They’re living frameworks that speak profoundly to today’s leadership challenges. Church and business may be unlikely allies but there is a shared longing for purpose, belonging and impact.”
He outlined five liturgical movements — gathering, listening, responding, sharing and sending — and suggested how each could be translated into business practice.
Each of these could be connected to practical leadership habits: creating safe spaces, listening with curiosity, encouraging action, fostering generosity and sending people back into the world with renewed purpose.
It may seem odd, Daniels said, that a 16th-century prayer book held keys to 21st-century business success, “but humans have not changed that much. We still need structure that creates safety, a purpose that gives meaning, and a community that makes us feel we belong.
“The most powerful things in liturgy happen when everyone participates. The same is true in business, the companies that thrive are the ones where people feel like co-creators and not just mere employees.”
The evening was also an opportunity to showcase how the Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences translates these values into practice. Director of the School of Management Sciences Dr Paul Tai-Hing highlighted several projects designed to meet real needs in Gqeberha communities.
These include a Food Cupboard Project supplying meals to students who “are seen, are cared for, and are not alone in their struggle”; a Crochet Project producing blankets, hoodies and scarves for the elderly and destitute, and outreach to high schools to help pupils complete online applications, prepare for exams and repair school property.
“We show them that education is more than textbooks; it is a key that can unlock futures once thought to be unreachable,” said Dr Tai-Hing.
He also described the Peri-Urban Project in Missionvale, which trains and mentors community members to start small informal businesses and “rediscover their own potential”. Several of those entrepreneurs displayed their goods in the Science Centre foyer, giving guests a chance to meet the people behind the story, and to buy their products.
By combining leadership theory with a marketplace for township entrepreneurs, the event embodied the University's mission of being “in the service of society”.
Missionvale Care Centre Linda van Oudheusden shows Right Rev Dr Eddie Daniels examples of the work by local entrepreneurs