Former moderator Isabel Thomas Dobson (pictured) said she hadn’t considered the position of associate general secretary before being tapped on the shoulder by the placements committee earlier this year.
“This is not where I expected to be but, then again, I did not know where I intended to be (after stepping down as the moderator at the May Synod),” she said prior to her commissioning in the synod chapel last month.
“The position had not crossed my mind for more than a millisecond and been dismissed before I was approached by the placements committee.”
Ms Thomas Dobson began in the role at the beginning of October following the retirement of Rev Dr Peter Blackwood earlier this year.
She said she approached the role with a mixture of genuine apprehension and delight, and welcomed the prayers of those from the Church as she embarked on the role.
“I will need your prayers, I will seek your prayers and I will be adding plenty of my own,” she said.
In welcoming the appointment, the general secretary Mark Lawrence said Ms Thomas Dobson came to the role with vast experience of the church and leadership within it.
“Isabel has had a deep involvement in congregational ministry as a lay person and a myriad of ecumenical experiences…and much more,” Dr Lawrence said.
“She has served as a presbytery minister, the moderator of Tasmania and the moderator of Victoria and Tasmania.’’
Chairperson of the placements committee, Rev Stan Clarke, said Ms Thomas Dobson was the unanimous choice for the role.
Comments are closed.