Northwind Theological  Seminary

I am a Minister in the Uniting Church in Australia, with a multi-cultural identity, being half-

Chinese, half-Scottish/Aussie, widow of a part Spanish/Irish/Aussie, with Sri Lankan and

Irish in-laws! Born into an Atheist-Buddhist household, I am aware of the need to address

issue of culture and community. My academic studies commenced because I was dissatis-

fied by what we learnt of God in congregations, so I took subjects as part of a hunger to

know, love and serve Jesus Christ more deeply. Building on my previous creative arts, mu-

sic and language background, and extensive teaching as Director of the Education for Life

and Ministry Centre at North Parramatta, intercultural studies/missiology called to me. Af-

ter presenting at the Boston 2010 (Edinburgh Anniversary) Conference, I was convinced to

broaden my missiological exposure by studying at Fuller among other missionaries, rather

than in a seminary setting. This opened doors to developing and leading teams to work

with the most marginalized.

As Executive Officer for the Uniting Church in South Australia in Mission Resourcing (2015-

2017), I led a tight team guiding ecumenical international projects in The Philippines, Thai-

land, South Korea and South Sudan. 2018-Feb 2021, I served as Ecumenical and Multifaith

Chaplain at Western Sydney University, where I built an intercultural spiritually diverse

community of staff and students, exploring the concept of blessing. In March 2021, I made

the move to be Senior Minister at Eastwood Uniting Church (Sydney) to work on transition-

ing an English-speaking congregation with some Chinese members into an intercultural

and multilingual hub church (Darug, English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Auslan Deaf,

Fijian, Samoan, German, French, Italian, Dutch, and who knows what else???).

As a member of the World Methodist Council Steering Committee, I have led teams in

short-term missions in four countries over the last five years, becoming the first woman to

preach at the First Methodist Church in Mexico City and guest missions teacher for the

Methodist Conference in Cuba. I have a particular interest in the role of worship as it nour-

ishes mission heart and release for missional activity.

My first language is English and I worked in France, travelling Europe as an Opera-singer

in younger days. In Ministry, this gave me the confidence to work and participate actively

with partner churches in mission in numerous countries, so I am passionate about building

strong intercultural relationships that impact world development.

As a musician (singer and conductor) I sang in more than 11 countries and recorded ex-

tensively in a range of styles. Artistic collaboration has been a joy and underpinning life

value. While music these days is more associated with mission and ministry, it continues to

be part of a personal toolkit for connecting with people and building social cohesion.

AMus, LMus, BMus, Grad Dip Mus (Vocal Perf), Grad Dip Mus (Conducting), MCA (Wollongong), MMin (CSU),

DIntercultural Studies (Fuller, Pasadena)