JourneyOnline
While most high school graduates are preparing for further study, apprenticeships, working or travelling, three young Uniting Church people are exploring their call to ministry with a year long traineeship in their chosen field.
Tagisa Lale from St Ives UC Samoan congregation is enjoying her work at Wheller Gardens aged care residential facility with chaplains Colin Gurteen and Ruth O’Sullivan.
Gavin Core and Monique Mawbey, both from the Emerald Uniting Church congregation, are starting their work in high school chaplaincy and congregational ministry respectively.
Both say they are well into preparations for the year and are looking forward to what lies ahead.
“Mostly so far the traineeship has been a lot of meetings, but that is good because it is preparing me for what is ahead and giving me an idea of what is going to happen this year,” said seventeen-year-old Mr Core.
“I want to become a high school chaplain after I finish this traineeship and have done a bit of other stuff. I want to get back into the high schools and help out teenagers with what they’re going through.
“I owe a lot to my high school chaplain, Peter Newman. He really helped me when I was going through some pretty tough times.”
Mr Core graduated from Emerald State High last year and was school captain.
“I’m planing on going to university and studying teaching and drama and then I’ll teach drama in high school for a while and switch over into chaplaincy after I have got a bit more life experience.”
Monique Mawbey said she is “following the minister around”.
“I have been a couple of times to the aged care home. I kind of feel sorry for the old people because they have so much to share and give and nobody really willing to listen to them, and the ones that are there are too busy,” she said.
“At the end of the traineeship, I am hoping to go to Bible College to become a minister. I suppose my biggest fear is that this traineeship tells me that I shouldn’t be a minister. Maybe it’s not God that wants me to be a minister, maybe it is just me.”
For more information about the Traineeship program contact the Paul Yarrow on 07 33779866
paul.yarrow@yacmu.ucaqld.com.au or visit www.traineeships.ucaqld.com.au.
Photo : Ministry trainees Monique Mawbey and Gavin Core share a joke while attending training programs
