My family migrated from Australia to New Zealand when I was nine years old. Even though Australia was only just “across the ditch,” I felt isolated and ‘different,’ my Aussie twang disappearing within a week! God used this childhood experience to instil within me a heart for those that are different than me; the stranger, the isolated, the minority group, the migrant, the former refugee.

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My husband Andrew is a presbyterian minister to a Kiwi-Chinese community in central Auckland.  We reside in Mt Roskill, one of the most multicultural suburbs in the country. We have three adult daughters, who have each had to deal with the challenge of ‘difference.’ Our oldest daughter was diagnosed with autism at age four and has a successful ministry an adult mentoring neurodiverse young people. Our other two daughters, like many of today’s young adults, have experienced mental health challenges. Journeying with all three girls has grown my passion that Jesus ‘welcomes the isolated’ as well as the stranger. I value family time including a yearly summer holiday together.

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I have spent the past 35 years walking alongside new immigrants from diverse countries and cultures, empowering them as they attempt to integrate into and contribute to their new home. In this setting many have been introduced to Jesus, who as a fellow refugee and outsider, reaches across cultural boundaries to welcome people into His Kingdom.

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Initially I thought my interest in intercultural ministry would take me overseas as a “missionary”, but then realised that the nations had come to our little nation of New Zealand, and that we are called to be ‘people on mission’ in our own backyard.  

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I have spent time in a variety of settings; a city university campus, facilitating a team running a Mainly Music in the suburbs, facilitating teams to run English conversation classes in both the city and the suburbs, facilitating “Christianity Explored” and other exploratory studies, working as an English language tutor teaching refugees and at-risk migrants, and helping pioneer work making connections with our Muslim community.

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I am committed to the formation of people who want to take an intercultural approach to mission, that is intercultural communities committed to celebrating difference and welcoming outsiders. This often involves identifying and setting aside our own cultural preferences, discovering what the gospel means for THIS unique community in THIS time and THIS place.

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In addition to intercultural ministry, I have an interest in Ignatian spiritual formation practices, encouraging coaches to reflect on where God may be present in our current context. My current role is as Community Engagement Lead at St David’s Community Church in Hillsborough, Auckland.