Rev. Rebecca Packer

Rebecca lives in Wellington and works at Crown Law. She is married to Matt and they worship and serve together at St Michael‘s in Kelburn.

Stepping into ordained ministry is my response to the ever-unfurling invitation of God to deeper trust and more complete surrender.

Before moving to Wellington, I lived in the UK for a number of years. Over this time, I was introduced to contemplative spirituality and silence as a member of the Community of St Anselm, involving a year-long commitment to a shared life of prayer, study, and service. I discovered deep wells of our faith tradition that I had not had an opportunity to experience before.

At the end of that year, the sense of being called home to New Zealand began to ring like a bell, quietly at first.

The call home, and more recently to ordination, has presented as a gentle yet persistent invitation to participate in the reconciling work of God in Aotearoa New Zealand – personally and structurally, in the Anglican church and beyond, in this place and at this time.

I am increasingly aware of the tension and the strength of the warp and weft of an identity woven of different stories, experiences and cultures – including descent on my maternal side from CMS missionaries in Waimate North and whakapapa through my paternal line to Ngāti Kahunghuhu Ki Te Wairoa, Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Rongomaiwahine.

In the call to ordination, I have a sense of invitation to embrace tension and difference and to live at points of intersection – by simply being present to God and others and by actively engaging in the often uncomfortable work of bridging, translating, mediating and reconciling. To join with others in unblocking deep wells. And to weave together a life of prayer and worship in contemplation and active service.

In ministry, I seek to foster and participate in communities of trust, vulnerability and compassion where people can respond to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. I also remain committed to advocacy on behalf of the marginalised, to the pursuit of justice, and to the peaceful resolution of conflict – in my academic study, my work in the justice sector and at Crown Law, in governance responsibilities, voluntary and service activities and in the life of the church.

It is a gift of grace to be on this journey with my husband Matt.

The ordination service for Rebecca Packer is at 1.30 pm on Sunday 17 November at St Michael's, Kelburn.