FREE SPIRIT

A thoroughly modern minister

“One of the great things about my job is that it’s completely varied. One minute I’m talking with someone who’s sleeping on the street and the next I’ll have a meeting with a CEO, or be taking communion to older parishioners at home who can no longer physically come to church.

Being ‘called’ to this work has given me a window into people’s lives, and that is a real privilege.

Church has always been a normal part of my world. I grew up in Lower Hutt in a family that went to church every Sunday and were very involved in the parish. I was surrounded by strong, vibrant clergy – people who made faith a real living thing, connecting it to the world and making a difference in people’s lives, and who were an important part of why I ended up in the church myself.

At 19 years old, which sounds a bit crazy now, I went to see my vicar to tell him I wanted to explore a call to the ministry. He said, ‘That’s absolutely fabulous, but finish university, get married (I was already engaged) start your life off and then we’ll talk again.’ That was a really sensible answer, because I was far too young!

So I did a degree in languages, then a diploma in social work before starting the more formal process of selection for ordained ministry – including a degree in theology. A lot of clergy joke that we do all this study on theology and church history and yet end up worrying about buildings and finance. It’s like running a big enterprise.