Well how do you put together a life story in just 300 words or in our case two life stories? I was born in Albury 29th July 1952. In 1956/7 Dad sold out and moved to a property between Coonabarabran and Gunnedah where my schooling started at Coonabarabran. After a series of droughts Dad sold out before moving to Grafton area in 1966. It was at this stage that I spent 2 yrs at The Southport School before returning to Grafton to work with dad on the property. My main interests at this stage were horses - Equestrian (to state level), Shows, Rodeos and eventually to training racehorses.

Val on the other hand is a Grafton girl, she worked for a footwear company in Grafton and we finally meet on a blind date arranged by mutual friends. We were married 7th January 1978 in the Christ Church Cathedral Grafton.

We have one child - a daughter Katryna, who is with our Lord, having died of a blood clot . Katryna was 20 at the time and studying Psychology at UNE Armidale.

In April 1987 Val, Katryna and I moved to Ballina to open a saddlery and continue to train a few racehorses, however God used this time to draw us into a church community, a community of faith that has helped us to grow and nurtured us through some very dramatic times in our lives. This has lead to my answering God's call upon my life being ordained into the Vocational Diaconate on 7th December 2002. I was subsequently appointed by Bishop Keith Slater as Co-ordinator of The Grafton Diocesan Household of Deacons.

For the last 13yrs Val has worked in a Dementia Specific area at the ExServices Home in Ballina caring for others, especially families as they have tried to cope with the onset of Dementia in their loved ones.

Friendships have always been big in our lives and it is through the friendship of a person for whom I trained racehorses that the initial Tasmanian opportunity arose. It is as we have explored this opportunity that we feel God has lead us to partner the Parish of Buckland as together we bring God's love and Christ's peace into this community.

May Christ's peace surround us all as we journey together in God's Kingdom.