Religious Background

I grew up in a secular home but was mysteriously drawn to the church from the early age of about five years of age. I carried a yearning for the church for many years. During those years I studied the Bible, Christianity, and various religious traditions. The studies helped my understanding, while my heart kept drawing me to something mystical which was beyond my intellect but was a deep-seated yearning gnawing at my heart and soul, to the point that I decided to be baptised. Growing in England the natural choice was the Anglican church.

I emigrated to NZ and was at some point appointed a university Chaplain employed by the Anglican church. In providing support for the students, I accompanied them to their favourite church which happened to be Baptist. I enjoyed attending services in that church. It was vibrant, energetic and caring. In a casual conversation with the pastor of that church he asked me if I would consider becoming a Baptist pastor. This was an interesting challenge. I went through some training and was appointed senior pastor of a Baptist church. This particular church catered for the poor and the marginalised, which was the very reason I chose to serve in that church. I very much enjoyed the role and loved the interactions with the congregation. I was a very enthusiastic preacher and was named as one of the best Baptist preachers in NZ.

Preparing for my Sunday sermons was for me a sheer delight, but as years went by, I began feeling that something was missing from my spiritual life. I was searching and exploring, trying to discover what was the missing element in my spiritual life. and ended up going on a five-day silent retreat led by the Catholic church. I went back to that retreat every year for three years. This process was long, arduous, and very intense, but by the end of three years it became clear that I have found the missing element in my spiritual life within the Catholic church. After entering the Church I was appointed the Catholic chaplain to the University of Canterbury, a position I hold to this day. I love teaching the Bible and am expert in Old Testament. I am fluent in Hebrew and so am able to provide a deep understanding of OT. I am a qualified spiritual director in the Ignatian tradition, and giver of the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola.

Supervision Training and Experience

I completed the CAIRA pastoral supervision course. I have been practicing supervision for two years. I have so far accumulated 14 hours of supervision, since the start of my supervision training with CAIRA ( not including supervision training sessions within the course)

My approach to pastoral supervision follows two key aspects: deep listening, and awareness.

In awareness I include three levels of circumstantial contexts. 1) awareness to my own circumstantial context, assessing my current state of mind/ heart prior to entering a supervision session. This will allow me to attend to my own interior aspects so as to ensure my readiness for the session 2) discerning the state, and circumstantial context of the supervisee 3) being aware of the context emerging/ evolving from the interaction between the supervisee and myself.

In regards to deep listening, I would : Apply tools borrowed from the area of psychology, Address context/s, Practice awareness and discernment constantly through the session. Make sure I am being a good listener, one who gives full attention, focusing on the other person and their feelings so that the supervisee feels heard and respected.  A good listener establishes eye contact (unless culturally inappropriate), sitting equally (not behind a desk) and with a positive body language.

I would follow a Humanistic approach – being respectful, tolerant, and accepting. I would follow the “Eyes and Ears of the heart”, according to St Benedict I will apply a variety of supervision practices- various types of interventions, e.g. open ended questions/ challenging while respecting/ leading the supervisee to discover options & possibilities I will apply empathy- understanding situation vs. Sympathy- sorrow, pity I will apply real time reflection in action – the Supervisor thinking on his/her feet