12/10/2026
"I’ve always had a desire to serve the church in a ministerial capacity, so I needed to complete a degree in Theology. Incorporating Pastoral Studies in my degree meant putting theology into action, to be a missionary disciple, animating the Gospel by seeing the presence of GOD not only during worship but also in our daily activities as GOD is always with us.
"I am forever grateful for Dr Lynne Taylor and Reverend Dr Wayne Te Kaawa for teaching me important lessons in pastoral studies. A few projects that continue to impact me are the importance of having a sabbath activity to avoid burnout and the ability to be creative in ministry. The other project that comes to mind is where we had to gather data and statistics in the area of where our church is based as it gives us a picture of what strategies we can use to evangelise based on migration statistics, the makeup of ethnicities who attend church services, etc.
"I am currently a Family Educator for Sydney Catholic Schools at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Primary School, Mount Pritchard, where I accompany the families of students in their faith by meeting them where they are at. I evangelise families by facilitating playgroup, Alpha, Bible study, and most recently the school was able to celebrate their cultural diversity as I coordinated the school’s first ever cultural festival which was only possible through the seeds that had been sown into me when I was completing my pastoral studies. Furthermore, I am a mentor for the Arete missionary leadership programme which consists of students from Australia and New Zealand who are learning to become missionary disciples in their parish communities."
--Richie Leilua, graduate of the Theology Programme at Otago.
