By Gillian Vine
'It’s been a wonderful two years,’ says Chris Konings of his time at the School of Ministry in Dunedin.
He and his wife, Mary-Jane, were among the nine people whose graduation was marked on 11 November by a valedictory service at Highgate Presbyterian Church, Maori Hill.
The other graduands were Dennis Flett, Alofa and Nimarota Lale, Chris Purdie, Nuka Tauevihi, Stephanie Wells and Tekura Wilding.
Each graduand received a stole, the gift of Silvia Purdie, who crafted them for her husband, Chris, and each of his classmates. “It’s awesome,” Chris Konings says. The Konings and their four children went to Dunedin from Knox Lower Hutt, where he was youth pastor and she worship co-ordinator. Previously, Chris had been a youth pastor in Pakuranga, Auckland, and the couple wrote Mentoring: The Penguins’ Guide as a youth ministry resource.
Although a diverse group, there were three common strands – commitment to the Church in a post-Christian society; significant pre-entry Church involvement, particularly in youth ministry; and high levels of tertiary education. “Students are already qualified and experienced in one sphere of life,” Mary-Jane says.
She is a good example of that. A former teacher, Mary-Jane has a teaching diploma and a first-class honours degree in agricultural science – “I’m still in the agricultural field, pastoral care,” she quips. She also completed a Bachelor of Theology degree before entering the School of Ministry. Her husband held a BSc and BMin when he entered Knox, and Masters degrees are almost commonplace among their classmates.
But ministry training is about much more than academic excellence. “Good relationships have been formed, continued and deepened, and there has been lots of good conversation,” Chris said. It was “great having time to talk about issues” with people who had a similar perspective.
Chris Purdie’s background was similar to Mr Konings’. With his wife, Silvia, and their three children, he went to Dunedin from Hutt City Uniting, where he worked half-time as a lay minister and half-time as youth co-ordinator.
It was through lay ministry that Chris began to consider entering the School of Ministry, although he recognised that – unlike, say, Australia – there was no infrastructure for a long-term career as a youth minister. “Ideally, youth ministry is a ministry in its own right and we [the Church] should be able to provide a career path for those who want to remain in youth ministry,” Chris says.
His future might well combine both, as he is investigating the option of chaplaincy in the armed forces. “Military chaplaincy means you have to get out of a parish environment and work in a way that makes the Church work for people [many of whom have no Church background].”
Whatever direction they take, the Purdies will still be linked to the School of Ministry as Sylvia was accepted this year as a new ordinand and will continue her studies through the distance-learning scheme.
The Konings were looking at shared ministry, which had worked successfully in various parishes. “The advantage is you bring twice as many gifts and it’s fresh time, not tired time, when it’s shared,” Mary-Jane says.
Of the other graduands, two have been called to parishes – Stephanie Wells to Maniototo, Central Otago, and Tekura Wilding to Winton, Southland. Ecclesia Niue student Nuka Tauevihi expects to return to work in Niue.