I have been in Nelson for almost four years, and have learned a lot during this time. I was privileged to be one of the original members of the Suter House community, a student at Bishopdale College, an employee at the Anglican Centre and a member of Victory Community Church for three years, then St Stephens Tāhunanui for one year.
I first came to Nelson at the invitation of Bishop Steve who said that he “wanted to see me in Nelson in ministry in my own right”. He offered me this chance at the beginning of 2021, at which time I said no, but by the end of the year I really felt like God was calling me to accept this invitation and relocate from Christchurch to Nelson. Little did I know that this was exactly where I needed to be, and that after 18 years of growing up in Christchurch, I would very quickly switch allegiances and claim Nelson as my turangawaewae, my standing place.
It was this very fact that informed my decision to go to Ridley College in Melbourne from the end of February this year for a period of two years. I know that Nelson will remain my turangawaewae and that I will return many times during my time of study.
This decision has meant, however, that I have had to give up my position at the Anglican Centre, after being there for three years in various roles. You may have seen me at Leadership Camp, received emails from me as the receptionist, or been a part of a Wayfinder vision-finding day that I helped run.
As bittersweet as it is to leave the office where I have worked so long, and to temporarily leave the region where I have resided for the last four years, I take with me many learnings and memories of beautiful conversations and input from many trusted people in this region.
I am grateful for the years of formation that Brad Wood and Spanky Moore have contributed to my life, through the Suter Formational Hui that ran from 2022-2024, and the Kākano Missional Incubator that I was a part of in 2025, run by Spanky.
The Suter Formational Hui was especially impactful, as we were split into huddle groups and were taught the “Learning Circle” reflection model, which I will take with me as I go. We were taught to identify moments where God was interrupting us in our lives, ask what he was saying to us and form a plan of what we were going to do about it. This space was especially helpful to process things going on in our lives. It was actually in a Kākano huddle, doing exactly this process, that I decided to take the step to go to Melbourne.
During my time in Nelson, the three big things that I have learned about being a leader and following Jesus are:
Be open, not just to God, but also to other people. Take on board what you are hearing from God and what other people around you are telling you. You may be surprised at what you find. An example for me is silent retreats. I was very resistant for a long time to going on a silent retreat, because the idea of being alone with my thoughts was terrifying to me. After two years of people telling me about them, I finally went and I loved it so much that I went back for another one and would highly recommend them. The thing that I was scared of actually turned out to be exactly what I needed and I experienced deep moments of beauty out in nature, alone with God and with my thoughts.
This one may sound a bit cheesy, but it is so true. Committing to a journey with Jesus means that there is hard work on the way. He may ask you to uproot your life (in my case, maybe more than once), and move to a new place to serve him. He may ask you to do something you never thought you would do, like move into a flat with four other people and live in an intentional community together, praying twice a day, spending time together and serving the community. It may not always be easy, but there is such reward from doing these things that God calls you to. I am blessed to have found friendships that I consider as close as family during my time in Nelson, particularly with my flatmates, and I very strongly believe that I would not have had that relationship with them if we had not been thrown together into this crazy idea of living in community.
I learned this the hard way! I kept making plans for my life, and God kept saying no. If my plans had worked out, I would have been a teacher in Christchurch right now, but instead I have spent four wonderful years under strong leadership, learning to trust God and I am so glad that God’s plans happened instead of mine. I wouldn’t change the last four years if I could go back, as God knew exactly what I needed and when. I didn’t know that at the time, and I struggled to leave Christchurch, and now I am also finding it quite hard to think about going to Melbourne, but I know that God’s plans are so much better than my own.
I am so grateful for the time I have had here and look forward to sharing my learnings when I return, as long as that is part of God’s plans for me!
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
I have been in Nelson for almost four years, and have learned a lot during this time. I was privileged to be one of the original members of the Suter House community, a student at Bishopdale College, an employee at the Anglican Centre and a member of Victory Community Church for three years, then St Stephens Tāhunanui for one year.
I first came to Nelson at the invitation of Bishop Steve who said that he “wanted to see me in Nelson in ministry in my own right”. He offered me this chance at the beginning of 2021, at which time I said no, but by the end of the year I really felt like God was calling me to accept this invitation and relocate from Christchurch to Nelson. Little did I know that this was exactly where I needed to be, and that after 18 years of growing up in Christchurch, I would very quickly switch allegiances and claim Nelson as my turangawaewae, my standing place.
It was this very fact that informed my decision to go to Ridley College in Melbourne from the end of February this year for a period of two years. I know that Nelson will remain my turangawaewae and that I will return many times during my time of study.
This decision has meant, however, that I have had to give up my position at the Anglican Centre, after being there for three years in various roles. You may have seen me at Leadership Camp, received emails from me as the receptionist, or been a part of a Wayfinder vision-finding day that I helped run.
As bittersweet as it is to leave the office where I have worked so long, and to temporarily leave the region where I have resided for the last four years, I take with me many learnings and memories of beautiful conversations and input from many trusted people in this region.
I am grateful for the years of formation that Brad Wood and Spanky Moore have contributed to my life, through the Suter Formational Hui that ran from 2022-2024, and the Kākano Missional Incubator that I was a part of in 2025, run by Spanky.
The Suter Formational Hui was especially impactful, as we were split into huddle groups and were taught the “Learning Circle” reflection model, which I will take with me as I go. We were taught to identify moments where God was interrupting us in our lives, ask what he was saying to us and form a plan of what we were going to do about it. This space was especially helpful to process things going on in our lives. It was actually in a Kākano huddle, doing exactly this process, that I decided to take the step to go to Melbourne.
During my time in Nelson, the three big things that I have learned about being a leader and following Jesus are:
Be open, not just to God, but also to other people. Take on board what you are hearing from God and what other people around you are telling you. You may be surprised at what you find. An example for me is silent retreats. I was very resistant for a long time to going on a silent retreat, because the idea of being alone with my thoughts was terrifying to me. After two years of people telling me about them, I finally went and I loved it so much that I went back for another one and would highly recommend them. The thing that I was scared of actually turned out to be exactly what I needed and I experienced deep moments of beauty out in nature, alone with God and with my thoughts.
This one may sound a bit cheesy, but it is so true. Committing to a journey with Jesus means that there is hard work on the way. He may ask you to uproot your life (in my case, maybe more than once), and move to a new place to serve him. He may ask you to do something you never thought you would do, like move into a flat with four other people and live in an intentional community together, praying twice a day, spending time together and serving the community. It may not always be easy, but there is such reward from doing these things that God calls you to. I am blessed to have found friendships that I consider as close as family during my time in Nelson, particularly with my flatmates, and I very strongly believe that I would not have had that relationship with them if we had not been thrown together into this crazy idea of living in community.
I learned this the hard way! I kept making plans for my life, and God kept saying no. If my plans had worked out, I would have been a teacher in Christchurch right now, but instead I have spent four wonderful years under strong leadership, learning to trust God and I am so glad that God’s plans happened instead of mine. I wouldn’t change the last four years if I could go back, as God knew exactly what I needed and when. I didn’t know that at the time, and I struggled to leave Christchurch, and now I am also finding it quite hard to think about going to Melbourne, but I know that God’s plans are so much better than my own.
I am so grateful for the time I have had here and look forward to sharing my learnings when I return, as long as that is part of God’s plans for me!
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
