At Ministry Leaders’ Family Camp in October 2022, soon after I’d decided to finish teaching at Tawa College and join the staff at St Christopher’s in Tawa, I had a special encounter with God. I was in the chapel at El Rancho, interacting with a prayer prompt. The prompt asked me what I imagined Jesus saying to me. When I cast my eyes to a Bible on the floor nearby, it was open to the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel. The one word I could read, without my glasses, was my own name in bold caps. That was it. Much as Jesus had called Mary’s name on Easter morning, I now felt as if he were calling my own.
Over the four years since then, as I have worked as an “Assistant Pastor” at St Christopher’s, I have sensed a strengthening call from God to ordained ministry. During that time, I’ve preached a lot of sermons, led a lot of youth group, vacuumed a lot of floors, mentored a number of young adults, and shared the gospel of Jesus with a whole lot of kids. Many, many times, I’ve felt almost impelled to pray – a sign, I believe, of God’s Spirit active within me. I’ve had a role to play in baptisms and funerals and in the day-to-day pastoral care that takes place within a local church. My understanding of the importance of the Church and the church, worldwide and local, has deepened and bedded in.
Alongside these developments, I’ve also had time and been granted resources to engage in biblical and theological studies at Otago University. This has been hugely enriching, sometimes working its way out in sermons, sometimes in poems, and, I hope, in actions. I am grateful to God and grateful to many people for the inspiration, help and genuine care that have brought me to this moment of ordination.
