5 minutes with Melissa

Tell us a little about you.

I’m an Anglican Priest in one of the parishes in Toowoomba in regional Queensland, where I look after two churches, St James’ and St Anne’s, and multiple congregations.  I was ordained a deacon in 2021 and a priest in 2022. Before that, I had a long career in the Australian Public Service.  I come from a big, close family, and I have three adult children, two grand-children and another one on the way.  While I’m based here in the Toowoomba region, all of my family are in and around Brisbane. 

Part of my role includes membership of Diocesan Council, ecumenical and inter-faith groups, support for school chaplaincy and Angligreen, our diocesan eco-theology committee.  I’m also on the National Board of the Movement for the Ordination of Women.

Do you have a favourite Bible passage? If so, what is it and why?

My go-to verse is Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” The New Living Translation calls us God’s masterpieces.  Other translations use words like handiwork, or work of art.  How amazing is that?  God sees us, just the way we are, as God’s own masterpiece.  It’s so easy to be convinced by the world that we have little value, or that we don’t live up to the standards of beauty and success. No way. We are all a masterpiece in the eyes of God.

How do you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus?

I think that comes down to daily spiritual practice.  I’m not rigid, but I am disciplined.  My routines include starting the day with scripture before I even get out of bed, and then some prayerful movement.  Most days that’s followed by private morning prayer from the Anglican prayer book, but sometimes that’s replaced by public liturgy.  At the end of the day, once again, depending on what else might be required of me, I will spend time with the prayer book, meditation and journalling.  And then at bedtime, it’s more time with scripture.  I hope that’s not too much information; sometimes it’s helpful to know how other people structure their prayer life. I offer that as an example, not something to emulate.  We can each find a path that works for us.

What would you like the next generation of Christian women to know?

Christian women need to be affirmed in their gifts and callings.  An important part of this is seeing women in older generations ministering freely and exercising spiritual authority, without restriction or apology…. By the way, did I mention that the Movement for the Ordination of Women has a conference coming up this year?  Make No Apology, God Calls Women!

The other important message is to question and dive deep into any version of the Good News that doesn’t actually sound that good, or isn’t good news for everyone.

What’s one thing that you love about your local church?

My parish is incredibly welcoming and affirming of people’s gifts.  I love the devotion and energy people feel towards our parish. I also love that I’m based in a town where most people are friendly and open towards Christians and other people of faith. That means there are many ways to collaborate, learn from each other and achieve greater outcomes for the community through the synergies we create.

What did you learn about God during a time in your life that you found hard?

I’ve had three major disruptions in my life: the death of my mother when I was 12, the death of my first baby at 15 months and my divorce.  My image of God as a loving parent has emerged stronger with each of these events, and the other tragedies and setbacks that have come along the way.  God never gives up on me, always calls me ‘daughter’ with a loving and compassionate gaze.  There’s nothing I can’t take to God.

What are you passionate about?

People! And people as a subset of creation.  The things that tug at my heart are seeing people and other creatures suffering.  I guess to narrow it down, the issues I get most involved in are gender equity (including for LGBTQI folk), eco-theology, refugee support, first nations justice and the ecumenical and inter-faith movements.

What do you enjoy doing when you rest?

Number one on my list is gardening, even when my garden looks very unruly.  I love to walk and travel and I’ve been very fortunate to have opportunities to travel internationally much more in recent years.  I love reading, but don’t ever get close to making headway on my big pile of unread books.