Revd John Webster appointed Rector of the Parish of Drouin
March 7th, 2023
The Diocese is delighted to join with all members of the Clergy Appointments Advisory Board for Drouin in announcing the appointment of The Revd John Webster as Rector of the Parish of Drouin!
John and Phillippa’s journey to us in Gippsland has prepared them well for this new season of ministry, as John explains:
"I am a South African British Australian – however, my culture is Anglican. My and my wife Phillippa’s faith was nurtured in the Anglican church under apartheid, where I learned to be comfortable with a broad range of faith expressions. My career in IT, primarily as a Business Analyst, took our young family to the UK, where I trained for the ministry. I was initially ordained into non-stipendiary ministry, which meant that for a few years I maintained my secular career while also ministering in a benefice – a Church of England term for a group of parishes. In 2006 the bishop of Wangaratta invited me to take up my first full-time incumbency in Tallangatta. So we moved with our two teenage sons from damp Berkshire to a then very dry border region of Victoria. I have since served in Rutherglen, Surf Coast and Croydon, as our boys have studied to become wonderful musicians living independently in Melbourne. Phillippa is a qualified piano teacher, and brings her own faith and experience of good liturgy in support of my ministry. We both delight in our active involvement in our granddaughter’s life, and we are together looking forward to our life in Drouin and Gippsland. I have brought the analytical mindset from my secular career into my own faith practice, and regularly reflect on how the church might continue the mission and ministry of Jesus in our own time and place. Through my experience over the years of breaking open and sharing the Word of God – both in scripture and sacrament – I have come to appreciate the need for us to intentionally reconnect with our pre-Constantine roots, as found in the gospel accounts and early church. I hope one day to be described as having the culture of Christ."
John’s Induction will be held on Wednesday 26 April (observing the Feast of St Mark), at 7.30pm, and we look forward to welcoming him and Phillippa amongst us. In the meantime, thank you for your prayers for them and for the people of Drouin and Jindivick in this time of great anticipation.