Australia, my new home

To become a minister in the Presbyterian Church required a three year period of study as a home missionary, looking after a congregation at the same time, usually in a small country parish. Then a three year course at the United Theological College (UTC) in Sydney. As I was older than most other candidates, and had done some tertiary studies, the College Committee allowed me to start the course at UTC.

As a candidate for the ministry, the Presbytery of Kuringai welcomed me warmly as being under their care and they urged me to get as much practice in preaching and pastoral care as possible. They helped me to get a position as an assistant to Rev. Ralph Maidment in the Parish of Rockdale/Arncliffe. Ralph was Bob Macarthur's father-in-law.

Before I started there, I was invited to conduct services in several congregations over the summer holidays. My first service was at the Presbyterian Church in Avalon, in January 1966. We were staying then at Collaroy in my parents' house. As the main part was let, our family squeezed into the little granny flat for the holidays. I put a whole week's preparation into this service, and needless to say, was very nervous. But Bob Macarthur had given me very good hints, and the day before the service I practiced my sermon on Alison. The service went without any hiccups. When I shook hands with the congregation at the door, I was introduced to three ministers, all on holidays in that area. I nearly fainted afterwards. I'm sure I would have, had I known it beforehand. But they were all very kind and encouraging. My second service was at Beacon Hill, and before my lectures started in March of 1966 I had already preached five sermons.

The Theological Hall was situated at St.Andrew's College and consisted of several buildings, the largest being the Gillespie Library. Joan Humphreys was the librarian, and she was most helpful in explaining how to find the books we were looking for, and some general hints about reading, making notes and writing essays. With her help the settling in was made much easier. The other students knew each other from their home mission course, but for me everybody and everything was new. It didn't take me long, though, to settle down, and I enjoyed studying very much. Due to my age I was exempt from taking Hebrew, but I had to pass a two year Greek course with the other students. They had the advantage of having studied Greek for the last three years, but I quickly caught up with them. I knew that with languages it was just a matter of rote learning, and so I memorised vocabs on the train journey from Lindfield to Redfern or Macdonaldtown, which took about half an hour each way. I felt that the time thus spent was not wasted, and I probably spent more time on Greek than the others, for I passed the requirements after only two years.

The other subjects in our curriculum were: Old Testament, New Testament, Church History, Pastoral Theology, Systematic Theology, and Philosophy. Most subjects were challenging and opened up new fields and

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