Thanks Ella!
After seven years of pouring her whole, bubbly self into just about every corner of the Anglican Centre, Ella Brown is hanging up her many hats as Whānau Discipleship Enabler and heading off to a new chapter as school librarian at Wairarapa College.
Ella started at the Anglican Centre in 2019 in an administrator and receptionist role and says the role came with "a real sense of call... to creating such a welcoming culture, that base camp kind of vibe." From there her seven years became what she laughingly calls "all these little roles": supporting rangatahi into employment with the Wairarapa Whānau Trust; discipleship huddles for families with Whānau on Mission; an interim stint as Tenancy Manager, and, resourcing children and young people ministry in parishes in the Children and Families Enabler role.
Ella says what stands out is the people centred posture of the Diocese. “I’ve loved the focus on leadership and discipleship, and the open and honest conversations, everything done through a discipleship lens," she says. "I feel like the diocese has been very generous — they develop you as a leader and care about all of you, your emotional wellbeing, your spiritual wellbeing. And that comes down right from the bishops."
Ella’s especially proud of the children's library she helped take online, "to try and make it more accessible to people across the dio," and the new safety training programme being rolled out this year, that is landing with parishes better than she dared hope. "People have responded really beautifully and positively to it," she says. "That's felt really humbling."
Hundreds of tamariki have also enjoyed the energy and passion that Ella has poured each year into the children’s programme at Ministry Leaders Family Camp. Under Ella’s watch there’s been no shortage of fun - just ask any kid who remembers the inflatable shark or dinosaur.
Her move wasn't something she went looking for. "I actually didn't see it coming," Ella says. "I had to really seek God out." What she found through prayer was reassurance: "My sense of call to children doesn't stop just because I'm not working in a Christian job. It carries over. The call hasn't gone, it's just outworking differently."
Archdeacon for Mission and Ministry Gendy Thomson, who has worked alongside Ella for much of that journey, says the diocese is losing a rare gift. "Ella has poured her whole heart into whatever the moment needed — reception, resourcing parishes, discipling families, holding our tenancy communities together," Gendy says. "Wherever there was a gap, Ella filled it with warmth and with Jesus at the centre. That's an extraordinary gift to give an organisation."
"There's real joy in seeing her land somewhere so fitting," Gendy adds. "A school library, it's a beautiful next step, and it carries the same heart for discipleship and encouragement she's always brought here." We know she will continue to live out whānau on mission and local missional discipleship, she is not ‘leaving’, she is locally in God’s church and still in our Dio family.
For now, though, it's simply haere rā and thank you, Ella — for the welcome, the sharks, the library, the huddles, and seven years of discipleship lived out well.
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With regards to the Children and Family Enabling role, we will not be immediately advertising. We are planning to carry out a scoping exercise to hear what parishes, mission units and EMV’s are experiencing and so what type of enabling may be needed. This will continue and when we have this clarity, it will enable the Bishops office to decide what support to offer for Children and Family ministry.
