Rev Ecclesia de Lange is an ordained minister of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA). After announcing to her congregation that she was going to marry her same-sex life partner in 2009, Ecclesia was charged, suspended, disciplined and discontinued as a Methodist minister in February 2010. This matter was heard in the High Court of Cape Town, Supreme Court of Appeal and in the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Ecclesia has been involved with Inclusive and Affirming Ministries (IAM) part-time since 2011 and became a full-time staff member in 2014. Since 2015 she had position as senior program manager and was appointed as director in 2017. She is passionately involved with LGBTI rights activism in Southern and East Africa to promote full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people. She holds a comprehensive honors degree in theology from the University of Southern Africa (UNISA) and a master's degree in social science from the University of Cape Town (UCT). Ecclesia has extensive experience in business and facilitation.