Rev. Michelle Tofts
Michelle is a teacher at Nga Tawa School and alongside her husband, Adrian, forms the chaplaincy team there. Michelle is also a part of the team in the Parish of the Rangitikei where she and Adrian oversee the family service at St Stephen’s.
I have nearly completed my second year teaching Religious Education at Nga Tawa Diocesan School, where my husband Adrian works as the chaplain, and together we form the chaplaincy team. This year I have returned also to my roots as a mathematics teacher, and have been teaching junior Social Studies as well. I have enjoyed the mix of teaching a diverse range of topics, where any one day could include teaching on the arrival of Māori to Aotearoa, an ethical response to poverty in New Zealand, the Reformation, why vulnerability is an important counter to shame, solving quadratic equations and analysing statistical reports. In being a part of the chaplaincy team, it has been encouraging to have numerous conversations with our students about how to live out their faith, reading the Bible and deepening their relationship with God. It was a privilege to again take students to Easter Camp and journey with them as they encountered God in new ways and had lots of fun participating in all the challenges!
This year, Adrian and I have taken on the responsibility of the family service at St Stephen’s church in Marton, part of the Parish of the Rangitikei. It is a privilege to lead and serve there, amongst a small but growing faithful congregation. I look forward to carrying out priestly ministry among our people there.
Adrian and I are very excited to be welcoming our first child this Christmas. I’m hoping and praying that baby doesn’t arrive on her due date of Christmas Eve, but I am looking forward to seeing how many nativity plays and events I can be in as a pregnant Mary.
Before living in Marton, I spent 5 years in Whanganui, where I spent several years living in intentional community – firstly in an AYM house, and then in the Anglican Order of Transformation. These were incredibly formational years building my confidence and experience in church ministry and deepening my relationship with Jesus. The daily rhythms of prayer and weekly rhythms of discipleship helped me to prioritise time with God in the midst of life teaching secondary mathematics and being involved in parish ministry. It was a real privilege to be able to lead one of the small rural congregations, St John’s Matarawa, with Adrian during our time in the parish in Whanganui.
It was during our time in Whanganui that I again heard God’s persistent voice calling me to ordained ministry, having heard it a number of times over the years beginning while I was studying at St John’s Theological College. A particularly significant time of this was when praying through a prayer labyrinth in the church during the Thy Kingdom Come week of prayer, hearing clearly God’s call and responding to it.
As I begin my priestly ministry, I look forward to drawing people together in worship, encouraging them to seek God more deeply in their everyday lives, ministering in the sacraments, rooting ourselves in our diocesan values as we continue to strive to be disciples who make disciples. I look forward to these next adventures.
The ordination service for Michelle Tofts takes place at 10 am Saturday 9 November at St Stephen’s Marton.
For more information, please contact Rev. Adrian Tofts on 021 068 0550
