In February 2020, I travelled to Melbourne to begin my studies as part of candidating through the Uniting Church WA to become a Minister of the Word. My studies and ministry formation took place at Pilgrim Theological College and I lived – and worked as the chapel verger – at Queen’s College, University of Melbourne.Read more
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Holy and loving God, awesome Creator and marvelous Saviour, we thank you for your life-giving love. Jesus reminds us that such is your care for us that even the hairs on our head are numbered. We lament with you over the spread of the coronavirus around the WORLD. We are saddened by suffering and deathRead more
The COVID-19 pandemic felt at first like a spanner in the works. Major parts of normal life seemed to grind to a halt from COVID-19. At times it all felt quite surreal, something out of a dystopian movie. This ugly virus has caused catastrophic medical, economic and social reverberations around the world. The global scaleRead more
We’ve probably all heard, and even been challenged by, one of those quotes about a spiritual giant who prayed more the busier they were. So Martin Luther: In fact, I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” Or St Francis de Sales: Everyone of us needs halfRead more
Would you describe yourself as being energised, dedicated and engaged by and in your ministry? How have your experiences with COVID-19 and the different challenges that have come about in your ministry changed your energy and commitment and engagement in that ministry? It may be if you were struggling already this has either led toRead more
“How has your week gone everybody?” This was a starter question in a small group in the ministers’ gathering. “Busy” is the response that rings around the [zoom break-out] room… The life of ministry is busy and there were all kinds of events that people mentioned that they were working towards that filled their headsRead more
I’ve thought about having a ‘theology of self-care’ but actually it is more having a theology of ministry and then part of that is how self-care might have a part. There is no one-size-fits-all when we talk about ministry let alone self-care. So while on one hand that is a comfort (especially for those ofRead more
We have been talking about self-care for a number of weeks. But there are problems with the language of self-care. Three main reasons are the ways that it buys into the current self-focus of the age, multi-cultural factors, and ministry as a call to service. Self-care: you’re worth it! We live in an age whenRead more
A ministry colleague (and previous student) has just posted his second day of ‘25 Push-ups for 25 days to raise awareness on Anxiety, PTSD, Depression and Suicide’. When I commended him (not volunteering to do the same) his response was ‘self-care is a must!’ I’m pleased that that message has got through to someone. ButRead more
We are all grappling with life and ministry having changed dramatically with the advent of coronavirus and consequent social distancing. It is in times of change and stress that the place of supervision comes into its own; at the same time one of the impacts on many of us is that we can no longerRead more
