JourneyOnline
Trinity Theological College celebrated the graduation of six Ministers of the Word on 25 October. The group, four women and two men, look forward to sharing their diverse skills and passions with the church throughout Australia.
Artist Dona Spencer said her hope for her ministry was to continue to walk the path God has chosen for her. “I hope to be faithful to my call and that I will walk in obedience to my call,” she said.
Suzie Castle said her passion was for mission. “I can’t wait to go and share what we have learnt and I can’t wait to do that in a community that grows in faith together.”
Narelle Collas is seeking a placement in Western Australia as she returns there. “I’m seeking to be involved in parish ministry and with people who are struggling and growing in their faith and working out what God’s call is for them,” she said.
Somporn (Lek) Branjerdporn hopes to find a placement in Queensland to “be able to serve the Lord faithfully”. He said he was open to many kinds of ministry and was particularly interested in cross-cultural ministry.
Mr Branjerdporn’s hope for the church was that it would be the contemporary voice of faith in the community and do “something innovative that will challenge us to open ourselves to understand the people out there”.
Lin Lin Chew said her hope for the church was one of unity. “That we work together as a church, we unite in Christ even with our different ethnic backgrounds.”
Ms Chew finished her studies mid-year.
“It has been nearly four years of formation and studying.
“I have been transformed during formation to serve in the church and in God’s kingdom.
“I’m glad I did it in the Uniting Church in Australia … because there are so many different ethnic groups and they are so rich with that.
“I really appreciate the difference and that we can still come together as a church.
“I’m ready to be serving in the church and in God’s kingdom.”
Harlee Cooper has been working at Emmanuel Uniting Church in Brisbane’s Enoggera for six months.
“It’s new, exciting and challenging,” he said.
Mr Cooper said working in a ministry team has helped him adjust to life as a minister. He said the biggest lesson he has learnt so far was to trust that God is faithful.
“God’s faithfulness continues to astound me,” he said. “That what God calls us to, God equips and sometimes it seems to be at the last minute, and that’s a bit scary, but we get there.”
He hoped the church would continue to “struggle with what it means to be relevant to our society without letting who we are as a church be dictated by society, grounding ourselves in Christ but never forgetting that call to be Christ to the community and what that looks like”.
Photo : Trinity graduates (from left): Suzie Castle, Narelle Collas, Lin Lin Chew, Somporn (Lek) Branjerdporn, Harlee Cooper, and Dona Spencer. Photo by Osker Lau
