What a joyful celebration yesterday as we joined with people from many parts of Australia the calling of God through the Holy Spirit of eight Anglicans to be ordained to proclaim in word and deed the love of God in Christ to our world.
Three people were ordained as Priests and five as Deacons at St David’s Cathedral, Hobart, at 10am Saturday 7th of December.
The Ordinands came from very different backgrounds, and will serve the Church and community in Tasmania in a variety of ways.
Reverends Chris Bowditch and Victor Shaw are young ministers who will be ordained Priest. They are working particularly with growing ministries to youth, young adults and families in Hobart.
Michael Chau, who is to be ordained Deacon, is the Chinese Minister at Wellspring Church in Sandy Bay, where he ministers to a bilingual congregation and also with the many international students at the University. He has come to Tasmania originally from Hong Kong, but with 10 years in Melbourne.
Dr Sam Gough, to be ordained Deacon, is a medical Doctor with a young family, who has had a career change and will be the Assistant Minister at Kingston.
David Blyth, Fraser Herbert, Celia Hooker, to be ordained Deacon, and Reverend Keith McCoy to be ordained Priest, have come to this ministry later in life. They come from around the state and have had careers as varied as Firefighter, IT worker, Nursing and Community Worker, as well as being parents and in some cases grandparents! They will work as a part of ministry teams in the north and south of the state.
The Missionary Diocese of Tasmania continues to see a steady stream of new leaders being ordained over recent years. We are blessed with men and women of wide experience and different gifts, younger and older, who are taking up the challenge of serving their church and local community in these new roles. They are a valuable part of the local leadership of the Anglican Church in Tasmania.
Excellent article by Philip Heyward in the Mercury today with photos, Anglican Church’s big catch of new clergy.
