Humans of the Uniting Church
Rev David Jackson
September 13, 2023
This year, we’re excited to be featuring some of the inspirational people who make up the Uniting Church. Check out the growing hub of stories here. If you know of someone with a great story to tell, contact us and nominate them to be featured.
This week we we head to Mid-West WA where Rev David Jackson is the Disaster Recovery Bush Chaplain with Frontier Services.
"People in the bush seem very stoic and focussed on others over self. They are incredibly resilient and hopeful. Their fortunes and misfortunes are tied to the land. They seem very attuned to nature.""
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What’s your Uniting Church story?
I was born and raised in a small country town in rural Tasmania. My parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were church-going people. They were Methodists. I candidated as a Methodist and was ordained in the Uniting Church on 18 Dec 1978. I had parishes in George Town in Tasmania, Frontier Services Patrol Ministry on the West Coast of Tasmania, Karratha in the Northwest of WA, Maylands Mt Lawley UCA in Perth, Army Chaplain for 19 years and now Disaster Recovery Chaplain in the Mid-West of WA.
What enlivens your faith?
Ministering to the unchurched and the marginalised in society gives me the most joy in serving Christ. I like Martin Luther, the great Reformer. One of the things he said that sticks with me is that the Church is the place where the sick and sinful come. Like the good Samaritan who stopped and bound the wounds of the man beset by thieves, he takes the injured victim to an inn paying the inn keeper for the man’s rehabilitation and offering to return to compensate for any further costs. What an amazing image of the church.
What’s one thing you love about being a Bush Chaplain?
Standing alongside people in the bush. Caring for them and supporting them through all of life’s events, good and bad.
What’s something you’ve learned from people in the bush?
People in the bush seem very stoic and focussed on others over self. They are incredibly resilient and hopeful. Their fortunes and misfortunes are tied to the land. They seem very attuned to nature.
What’s one thing happening in your ministry that’s really exciting for you?
In my role as a Disaster Recovery Chaplain I get to stand with those impacted by disaster and help build back stronger together.
What’s one thing you love telling people about the UCA?
The Uniting Church is putting its money where its mouth is – supporting people in the rough, tough and unforgiving landscapes in city and in the country, giving help and hope to all.
What’s one thing you’d like to change, or something you hope for?
I would hope for a society that respects each other equally regardless of their ethnicity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation or any other factor that leads to prejudice or racism.
What's one thing you would like the rest of the Uniting Church to pray for?
Pray for a society free from greed, hatred, prejudice, racism or war/terror.
Pictures: Rev David Jackson serving as a Bush Chaplain.