Welcome to Rev Bruce and Sharn Waldron

Rev. Bruce Waldron and his wife Sharn arrived in England from Ballarat, Australia on August 15th to take up the position of minister of Emmanuel Church, Bungay.

The decision to come to England was due to the fact that Sharn wanted to study various courses in psychoanalysis that were not available in Australia and she would need to study in London to gain her Phd. Sharn has supported Bruce throughout his Ministry and now Bruce felt that after receiving a profile of Emmanuel Church here was a terrific Church that he could Minister with while Sharn could commute to London to study. Following the ecclesiastical matchmaking Bruce was invited to become minister of the Church. It is a wonderful opportunity for them both.

Sharn, a lady with many talents from model making to painting and writing, has already met students and is looking forward to starting her new term.

Bruce is of English heritage, the first Waldron left Birmingham for Australia following a family dispute in the 1800’s and moved to South Eastern Australia. Sharn was raised in Scotland and immigrated with her family when she was 11.

They have a wonderful Bassett hound, Caillin (a Gaelic name) who is a character in himself but they have left their daughter Allison and their Son David and daughter in law Jasmine with baby Talia, in Australia.

Both are settling in well and love walking to the shops, (something that was not done in Ballarat), looking around and meeting people who are so friendly and helpful. They also appreciate having the milk and mail delivered early in the morning.

The church at Ballarat was not particularly large – more or less on a par with Bungay and was situated on the outskirts of the town. With the help of The Uniting Church, welfare offices, a new worship centre, kitchen and toilet facilities were built, all with a lot of thought for disabled access such as ensuring that the disabled ramp was in a covered area. Uniting Care Wendouree was created, offering among other things, counselling for drug abuse or family problems and, on the lighter side, a breakfast club for kids. Sharn was based there and the Uniting Care was open for five days a week. Sharn was also involved in fundraising for a Family Support Worker position which operated for two days a week. In Australia, although the government funds medical care, counselling is done by private agencies who obtain funding through a variety of means.

This background shows the extent to which Bruce and Sharn were involved in the community at Ballarat. As Bruce explained, the literal translation of the word ‘soul’ in Greek actually means ‘life’.

It was a privilege to meet Bruce and Sharn. Their enthusiasm is infectious and there is a warmth and wonderful sense of humour and quite honestly, I could have stayed talking all day. Bruce says that he is looking forward to his work here in Bungay where he says the people are so friendly and Sharn, not only supporting her husband but also looking forward to her own role as a student. The team at bungay-suffolk.co.uk wishes them well.

www.bungay-suffolk.co.uk