Ordination of Chelsea Size

Posted Feb 15, 2022 in News

In late November, 2021, Rev Chelsea Size was ordained as a Deacon in the Uniting Church. The service, coordinated through the Wimala Presbytery, was held at the Para Hills Community Hub, which was appropriate for her call to minister as a deacon to those in the community.

Chelsea believes that the marginal communities she and her husband Jesse have been involved with, have formed them, just as much as the theological formation at Uniting College. Being in ministry with the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress Church in Port Augusta and then Training and Formation Coordinator with United Aboriginal and Island Christian Congress (UAICC) in South Australia has left a lasting impact.

What Chelsea has found is that a young female ordained person is a surprise for many. She has always felt a responsibility to represent her faith community positively, but this is now greater.

The ordination means that her ‘call is affirmed back’ and that her life proclaims that she is ‘caught up in a different narrative and story.’ People now see her through another lens, but this carries an opportunity for enriching conversations about spirituality and people’s experience of church. She has found that being a deacon invites ‘a very specific kind of presence: non-anxious, non-defensive, compassionate and curious.’

The accompanying photograph was taken after Chelsea’s ordination service. It features Rev (Deacon) Olly Ponsonby, Rev (Deacon) Chelsea Size, Mandy Harvey (Deacon candidate) and Rob Cartridge (Deacon candidate.)

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