GLENWOOD Presbyterian Church's new minister, Brett Williams was ordained and inducted at a special service recently.
The Glenwood Presbyterian Church, which has a merged congregation of Berea, Stella and Frere Road Presbyterian Churches, has a proud history in the Berea and Glenwood area. Brett believes he has joined the church at an exciting time, and is keen to re-look at the vision of the church, and where God wants to take the church.
“I have a business background and hold a marketing BTech degree. I worked in sales and marketing roles for the past 10 years and then had the call to study to be a minister 11 years ago. It was a very different call! I got off a plane and went home, and when I walked into the kitchen, I told my wife I have to do this! It's been a journey since then” he said.
Brett left his job at a time when he had no children and his wife had a good job, and he had the opportunity to start studying again.
“During that time, my daughters, who are now nine and six years old, were born, so I had to slow down the studies, which I did part time while working in the training environment,” he said.
He said he is excited by the work he now has in the church,and said it was a challenge to draw young people into the church, and create a family environment.
“We've got a traditionally older congregation, one week we baptised an infant, and a week later we celebrated someone's 100th birthday! I think it's important for us to become relevant to the young people, but also recognise the need for pastoral care of people of the older generation. It's tough trying to cater for the needs of the different generations,” he said.
He added that the church also needed to be relevant to its community and its needs.
“We need to be open to the call of the local community. We have a diverse community and we have outreach projects at Natal Settlers' Homes and Stella Pre-Primary School. Our focus in 2016 is to clarify these ministries. We need to remember what happens out there in the community is important. This last year in training at the church has given me a big advantage as I have been able to learn and observe what is happening in the church and the community. There is a lot of need in the community which we need to reach out to,” he said.
The church has a 9.30am and a 6pm Sunday service. Contact the church on 031 205 3717.
