A true call

By Catherine Hoffman
New Times Editor & Communications Officer

Posted Feb  8, 2017 in Faith

Rev Tony Goodluck has come full circle. Approximately three months ago, he accepted an appointment as Dean of Uniting Church students at Nungalinya College – the same place Tony’s father, Jack, helped establish.

“The name ‘Nungalinya’ comes from the old man in the Larrakia tradition of dreaming, whose name was also given to a reef off Causuarina Beach. Many people know of Old Man Rock, but don’t know the story of the old man, Nungalinya,” Tony explains.

“My father approached the Larrakia people, the people of the land in Darwin, and asked them if they would give a name to the college. They chose ‘Nungalinya’ – the old man ‘custodian of the stories’.”

The adult education college based in Nakara, a suburb of Darwin, was established in 1974, and is a partnership of the Anglican, Catholic and Uniting Churches.

At present, the college offers a range of certificates in ministry, theology, music and media, as well as offering foundation studies, which can assist students in preparing for future study. Scripture is used as the primary study document in each of these courses.

Approximately 300 students are expected to attend the Nungalinya in 2017, most of whom are in their 30s or 40s.

“The students come from all over the Northern Territory, and beyond,” says Tony. “About half of them are Uniting Church students and they’re mostly from Arnhem Land.”

While Tony has spent the last 20 years in ministry in suburbs around Adelaide, he is no stranger to Arnhem Land or Nungalinya College.

“My parents spent several years living at Nungalinya College in its early years, and as a boy, we lived at Minjilang, the main settlement on Croker Island in Arnhem Land,” he recalls. “And my wife, Margie, and I lived in a caravan on the College grounds for two years when we were first married.”

Despite the many ties Tony has to this community, his call to the position of Dean at Nungalinya was an unexpected one. He was settled into his ministry with the Modbury and Para Vista Uniting Church congregations, and he and Margie felt settled where they were. They had expected to stay there for at least the next couple of years.

“We were actually just talking about how settled we felt, and a couple of days later we heard that the churches had decided to cut my position down from full time to 0.8. The churches knew we would probably start seeking another role,” Tony explains.

“It was the very next day that an email about the Nungalinya position came across my desk. The College was urgently seeking someone for the position of Dean of Uniting Church students, and [Rev] Amelia Koh-Butler had forwarded it to me. I decided to look at the position description as a courtesy to Amelia, but as I read on I felt more and more interested in the role.”

Tony showed Margie, expecting her to dismiss the idea of uprooting their lives and moving to Darwin. But she was keenly interested, too – although neither of them were quite sure why.

“We knew God was up to something,” Tony says.

But he still wasn’t sure whether he was truly being called to this new ministry. He decided to call Rev Felicity Amery, who was moving from the role of Dean to take up the position of Presbytery Minister for the Pilgrim Presbytery in the Northern Territory.

“I told her I didn’t think I was really interested and that the December 2016 start date wouldn’t work at all. I basically wanted her to tell me that we didn’t need to have this conversation. I wanted to fulfil all righteousness by looking into this and then cross it off the list,” Tony says.

Felicity convinced Tony that he and Margie should come up for a visit for three days, and Tony agreed. When he and Margie went to check for a date that would suit, they found they had already marked three days down as ‘Tony and Margie away’. They’d made the decision way back in February to take these three days off, but had not yet decided where they would going during this time.

It seemed like everything was falling into place.

“We went up for those three days and when we got back there was a letter of offer sitting in my email inbox.”

While the College wanted Tony to join them in December, he and Margie wanted to give the Modbury and Para Vista congregations plenty of notice. They allowed three months – time that has been full with Christmas celebrations and interstate visits with church youth.

While the prospect of leaving the church communities was difficult, it was the thought of leaving family and friends that made the decision to move to Darwin most difficult. Adelaide is home to Tony and Margie’s children and grandson, as well as Tony’s ageing father and other extended family. The couple also have valued friendships and networks, as well as a deep connection with the local Sudanese community.

“It’s a huge tear. We’re broken-hearted about leaving, but we’re also very excited,” Tony says.

“For me, this fulfils two long-held, deep-heart desires. The first one was that we might go north to work and live with Indigenous people once again. The second was to, one day, work in a theological college. I had held these deep-heart desires very privately, and I actually let them go about three years ago. To find out I’ve been called to something that realises both of these is amazing.”

In his role as Dean, Tony will support students with all of their ‘out of class stuff’, splitting his time between administration duties and pastoral care. He will also have the opportunity to visit communities in Arhem Land and encourage people to attend the College.

“I’m a great believer in education as the key to breaking cycles of poverty and disadvantage. This role provides me with an opportunity to invest in, empower and support existing and emerging Indigenous leaders,” Tony says.

“I was sent a list of students this week and I got so excited just reading their names and the names of the communities they are from. Reading them aloud was like hearing a deep resonance of my heart and my childhood.

“I truly feel like my cup is running over – and that’s before I even get there.”

A farewell service for Rev Tony and Margie Goodluck will be held at Modbury Uniting Church on Sunday 12 February at 9.30am.

For more information about Nungalinya College, please visit their website.

---

Comments

Write comment