Victoria.
Our first parish in Victoria ended disastrously
after only a few months. Hard lessons were
learned by all involved and we learned to navigate the waters of the Presbyterian Church of
Victoria. It’s been twenty years since, and strong
friendships were forged in the support we received through those dark days of feeling tested
by the Lord.
Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the
Lord your God goes with
you; he will never leave you
nor forsake you.”
And God’s Sovereign plan was still guarding us.
Scott happily became appointed as the RMIT University Chaplain in Melbourne. Living in the inner
city was an adventure for us all. By this time our
son was at University and the girls commuted for
90 minutes to their school for the years we were
there. The city was everyone’s “backyard”.
With an office at the University, and most meetings taking place there, there were only occasional calls for hospitality in the form of the backyard Barbie. It is a delight to see some of these
former students married, having children and
even becoming ordained through seeds planted
in those years.
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Philippians 4:13
I can do all this through
him who gives me strength.
The position at RMIT lost funding and we sought
a position to pastor a local church.
God placed us at the Hume Presbyterian Church
in Greenvale just north of the city of Melbourne.
During our time of ministry here, we again practised hospitality, evangelism, Bible studies and
visiting people in the congregation. We learned
how to be close to people of all ages. We tried
to set an example of living in Christ, of raising
Christian children, we taught Sunday school, we
led youth group. We became active in the Presbyterian Youth of Victoria and saw first hand the
changed lives of people walking with Jesus. It
was a joyous time in our lives. And it was a fulfilling time in our ministry. We miss this and we are
currently seeking a new position.
Last year, we were not reappointed to continue
pastoring the Hume Presbyterian Church in
the Northern suburbs of Melbourne. We had
been in the position 9.5 years. In our denomination, when one leaves a parish, one loses the
manse and the rental monies to cover it. We
put all of our worldly goods into a storage unit
and became professional house-sitters. In between house-sitting assignments we live with
our daughter Jess and son-in-law Alex, who are
exceptional in this regard as we have been truly
blessed by their care for us.
During this time, we have learned that all those
goods in storage are just “stuff”. Granted, it
showed that God has blessed us abundantly,
none of it is particularly important in our travels
with Christ.