In the presence of family, friends and members of the Uniting Church WA, Rev Justine Wall was ordained as a Minister of the Word on Sunday 9 July, 2.00pm, at Uniting Church in the City, Wesley Perth.
Rev Trevor Waters, Chair of the Uniting Church WA Pastoral Relations Committee, read Justine’s Narration of Steps, detailing her call to ministry.
“Justine first heard the call to ministry in her teens, but belonging to a denomination which at that time didn’t ordain women, she dismissed her sense of calling as wistful thinking,” he said.
“God’s call came again in her twenties but at that time, Justine was too busy establishing a family and pursuing a career in teaching. Her nagging feeling that God wanted her to serve in ministry was totally inconvenient.”
While in her thirties, Justine stepped into a school chaplaincy role, beginning her ten-year journey towards ordination. In 2016, she took 12 months leave from her role as Chaplain at Tranby College to complete her studies, and for the birth of her child.
Rev Margaret Tyrer, Minister at St Aidan’s Claremont Uniting Church, preached at the service on the reading of Luke 4: 16-24; when Jesus read scriptures in the Synagogue of his childhood town, Nazareth.
Justine said she is grateful to all the people who have journeyed with her throughout her call to ministry.
“I have been blessed with great teachers, mentors and supervisors in the Uniting Church,” she said. “The congregations where I have served during my training were wonderfully welcoming and encouraging.
“I’d particularly like to thank the Tranby College community, where I have been Chaplain for the past five years. They have trusted me to conduct their weddings and baptise their children and it has been their faith in me to serve them which confirmed my calling. And many of them took the time to attend my ordination which made it all the more special.
“I’m particularly grateful to my family, especially my husband Brian and my adult children for their patience and forbearance over many years of discernment and study. I couldn’t have got to this stage in the journey without them. Now I’m looking forward to getting back to work and developing my ministry in new areas.”
Justine will return to Tranby College as Chaplain at the beginning of Term Three.
