Tamworth gives new Uniting Church minister a friendly country welcome

Reverend Geoff Flynn officially starts "work" at the end of October and in the weeks leading up to this has been busy meeting the locals and getting a feel for his new home.

"I think the care for people in rural and regional areas is very important, and I love the idea of Tamworth being a regional city," he said of his move to the country music capital.

Originally from Lithgow, Reverend Flynn comes to Tamworth from the Wollongong Mission, where he was for nine years, however, a rural posting will come as nothing new to him, having spent 14 years in Wagga Wagga prior to his move to Wollongong.

It has been some time since Tamworth has had an ordained Uniting minister in residence, the city's three churches being served by lay and retired ministers during this time.

These are: Tamworth City Uniting, which has had no ordained minister for four years; Southside Uniting, which has been without an ordained minister for six years, and the Peel Valley congregation which takes in West Tamworth, Gowrie and Hallsville, and has never had an ordained minister.

"We're looking to renew these ministries and I am excited about the possibility of journeying with them - wherever that may take us," he said.

"I like the rural lifestyle, and I've certainly found that since my wife, Sharon, and I have arrived the people here are even more friendly than we were expecting."

With three churches and a shared congregation of between 140 to 150 people, Mr Flynn said there were plans to recruit a colleague to join him, as "we see this as a two-person leadership team".

"I'm the first of the two to arrive," he said.

Mr Flynn said Tamworth's congregation was comparable in size and scale to that in Wagga, and his focus would be on renewal and growth within the local congregation, particularly in the case of the younger age demographic.

"We're hoping to engage younger people into an active Christian faith and find opportunities for them to serve in the community, while also continuing to work with older adults to assist them to age well and address some of the spiritual life questions people wrestle with as they age," he said.

Having a background in mental health chaplaincy, as well as being a director on the board of Lifeline Australia, Mr Flynn expects there may be an opportunity for him to work alongside people in the area of mental health locally.

He said it had been his "privilege" to minister as a chaplain among post-traumatic stress disorder patients ward during his time in Wollongong.

"In terms of mental health chaplaincy, it's about being a companion for people whilst they undergo therapy or treatment," Mr Flynn said.

"But you have to always consider the individual - there are some things that are similar for people but everybody is unique, everybody's story is unique.

"For me it always begins with listening, then through that listening creating empathy.

"There are many people within the community who want to be heard - everybody is talking but there are people not feeling like they are being heard."

Mrs Flynn is currently the chief executive officer of the Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine, but has retirement plans in her near future.

She also has family in Werris Creek, so Mr Flynn has been a visitor to Tamworth and district in the past.

He's also an avid musician and keen to experience Tamworth's Country Music Festival.

"I play the violin and don't mind playing some country music, but I've already made some enquiries to see if there might be other opportunities to play some music locally, such as at the Tamworth Regional Conservatorium of Music," he said.

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That said, Mr Flynn is interested to see what happens during country music week.

"It will be interesting to see what it feels like being a resident as opposed to a visitor," he said.

Mr Flynn will be commissioned on October 28 at Tamworth City Uniting Church at 2pm, and lead a combined service at Southside on October 29.

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