by Bishop Denise Ferguson
One of my favourite contemporary hymns, written by New Zealand hymn writer Shirley Murray, is taken from Ecclesiastes 3: Our Life Has Its Seasons. It speaks of the various seasons of life, the challenges and joys, and God’s faithfulness throughout the journey.
“There’s never a time to stop believing. There’s never a time for hope to die. There’s never a time to stop loving. These three things go on.”
My ministry has encompassed many different seasons, most totally unexpected, all blessed and challenging. Throughout these seasons, God has been faithful, even when my faith has wavered. As I step into this next season, and a ministry that will look much more like retirement, I am grateful and I am blessed.
Where did it begin? The season that most people beyond immediate family and friends are familiar with is my ministry journey. It began on a very cold Sunday morning in 1988 in an Army camp in the middle of the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. Following the Sunday service, the Army Chaplain took me aside and said, ‘God has told me he wants you up the front.’ I must confess my immediate response was not particularly kind, faithful, or generous. However, as we know, God has a sense of humour, and when God calls, ultimately, we can’t avoid it any longer.
When the announcement was made in 2019 that I was to be Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Adelaide, that Army Chaplain, now long retired, was one of the first to contact me. Of course, his opening words were, ‘I told you so!’
Thirty-eight years later, I look back at my ministry journey and am still amazed, humbled, grateful, and at times overwhelmed by God’s grace on that journey.
From lay ministry in an Army camp, when I was often called in to fill the Chaplain’s shoes while he was on military exercise, through to today, I have served in ways I could never have anticipated. I have served in two provinces of the Anglican Communion; five dioceses; two parishes as Lay Reader; four parishes as Curate, Rector, or Vicar; as Canon of three Cathedrals; as Archdeacon in two dioceses; as Diocesan Manager and Registrar; as Assistant Bishop; and, for the past twenty years, alongside these ministries, I have been involved in ministry discernment, formation, and training for ordained ministry.
The shape of ordained ministry has changed significantly over these past few decades. Therefore, the shape of training and formation has needed to change to meet this complex environment. Parish ministry, diverse chaplaincies, stipendiary, honorary, part-time, and bi-vocational priests, and distinctive deacons are all valid and necessary expressions of ordained ministry. The challenge is this: how do we equip God’s people for faithful, missional leadership in this fast-changing environment?
The establishment of the Anglican Church Southern Queensland Clergy Development, Training and Wellbeing Team has been a significant step in bringing cohesion across ministry training and the lifelong process of formation, from discernment to retirement. While there is still much to address, the changes of the past two years have been significant.
It has been a privilege to have been part of this transformation and transition, and to have had the opportunity to walk alongside those in training for ordained ministry throughout my time in these many different roles.
However, our life has its seasons, and it is time for me to step into my next season. We have a God of surprises, so I am in no doubt that there is still more God has planned. Thanks be to God.