Nungalinya Welcomes New Principal

Most of you would know very little about my background. As a child I grew up in back-country Michigan, near Canada, and in Lima, Peru. I attended various churches where my parents sang in the adult choir and I was a soloist with youth choirs. While completing my undergraduate Honours degree in history and English, I became a Presbyterian and was ordained in this church after completing an MDivinity degree at Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey.

I began my ministry with a call by the Uniting Church to Whyalla, South Australia, on Kokatha land, where I also met Andhyamatana people and many from the Pitlands. One thing that drew me to Australia was the chance to learn from the oldest continuous culture on earth, and Nungalinya fulfills that opportunity.

I became an Australian citizen many years ago and also formally joined the Uniting Church. After placements around South Australia, I became Principal of Coolamon College, part of the ecumenical consortium known as the Adelaide College of Divinity. My PhD on a new understanding of God came through the Adelaide College of Divinity connection with Flinders University.

In Whyalla I met, and later married, Deb, who grew up in Adelaide. When Deb’s work as a Junior Primary School Counsellor finishes at the end of this year, she and our two lovely daughters, Robina and Kimberly, will come and join me in Darwin. In the meantime I am enjoying getting to know the staff and students of Nungalinya, and its many supporters across Australia.

 

Nungalinya College Incorporated PO Box 40371,  Casuarina NT 0811 Phone: (08) 8920 7500   Fax: (08) 8927 2332 Email: info@nungalinya.edu.au