* Conversations with Christian Women * Hosts: Tori Walker and Taryn Hayes chat to women from Australia and around the world about faith, life and ministry. Ordinary women trusting an extraordinary God makes for inspirational stories and great wisdom shared about all aspects of life as a Christian woman.
Episodes
Monday Aug 30, 2021
Episode 76: Jill McAlpine
Monday Aug 30, 2021
Monday Aug 30, 2021
Jill McAlpine knows what deep emotional pain looks like - she has seen it in her practice as a Clinical Psychologist and she has felt it herself, acutely, through church-based ministry and the terminal illness diagnosis of her husband, Stephen. In this episode, Jill shares with Taryn her gratitude for the pain, hurt, sorrow and grief because of how God has shaped her and her husband through some of the more difficult moments in life and ministry.
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Jill belongs to God, first and foremost. She is grateful for his gift to her of her husband and best friend, Stephen. Together, they embrace the challenges of loving and parenting two children (an adult and a teenager) and they are looking forward to retirement together.
As a psychologist, Jill has been blessed to meet and work with people from all walks of life in a diversity of settings, from schools to prisons; around the world, including in the UK working with Muslim women in a refugee centre; and currently in her clinical psychology practice in Perth with women (and men) across all life stages and contexts.
As someone involved in church-based ministry – that has included a couple of church plants – Jill has been entrusted with an intimate awareness (personally and professionally) of the struggles and pastoral care needs of congregations, of those who lead them, and of their families. Jill also enjoys teaching in Pastoral Care at theological college to help equip the next generation of students to care well for others.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
SHOW SNIPPETS:
“I’m a huge introvert and so for me it was quite a challenge to open myself up, so instantly, to people.”
“We were told that our parenting was not up to speed, we were told that I should not be working as a psychologist-because it’s not good for the family.”
“We were told that Stephen was not cut out for ministry or for leading a church.”
“We felt that at that moment we were so deconstructed, we had nowhere to go then to seek God out.”
“We soothed our way through our suffering, just praying.”
“Even though we thought that we had let them down, there was enough grace there to continue to love us.”
“The clutter was more my despair and my disbelief, I knew I couldn’t fix this. I was trying to work out ‘how do I manage this?’ And I realised that it was beyond me.”
“Everything just did not make sense and we were completely vulnerable and exposed to God’s plan for us.”
“We had nothing. It was a very pivotal moment for us in our ministry.”
“We are thankful for the pain and the hurt, the sorrow, the grief, we are thankful for how God has shaped us through it.”
“My time is very much with people-and sometimes those contexts blur.”
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Sunday Aug 15, 2021
Episode 75: Marion Birchley
Sunday Aug 15, 2021
Sunday Aug 15, 2021
Host Tori Walker chats with Marion Birchley about life and student work in PNG.
EPISODE NOTES:
Host Tori Walker chats with Marion Birchley about life and student work in PNG.
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Marion lives and works with her husband Keith in Papua New Guinea. She has three adult children and one granddaughter. She enjoys serving and growing in her knowledge of God through involvement with different churches in children, youth and women's ministry.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
The Church Missionary Society (CMS)
SHOW SNIPPETS:
“It’s exciting to see how God can just continually grow us right throughout life.”
“Sometimes when you have very little or nothing, then there’s only one place to turn: that is to the Lord.”
“How much do we (in the West) really cry out to the Lord to help us through things?”
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