Student Story: Vanessa Turner
Terrified of studying as an adult and satisfied with what she calls a ‘simple faith’, Vanessa Turner was not someone you would expect to find in a lecture room at Mary Andrews College, or writing theological essays. And yet, Vanessa makes this reflection on her time at MAC:
“MAC is definitely my special heart place.”
How did God lead her to study at MAC? And how did her time at MAC equipped her for her new season in her life, as Vanessa was recently appointed part-time Care Minister at St Paul’s Castle Hill?
Looking back, Vanessa is confident that she was definitely not expecting to be studying in her adult years, nor would she have had the knowledge or confidence for this new ministry role had God not intervened.
Vanessa is married to Craig and they have two adult children. She became a Christian as a teenager and was quite happy with what she describes as a ‘simple faith’.
Then something happened to turn all that around.
Vanessa relates what turned her from being complacently satisfied with a ‘simple faith’, to exploring the depths of the Bible in order to create firm foundations for her faith:
“Suffering the loss of someone I loved to suicide in 2018, was a catalyst for me to grow deeper in my understanding of the Bible and our great God. I wanted to understand more deeply the wonderful God who had remained faithful to me in the hardest periods in my life and I wanted to understand more about what the Bible says about suffering.”
Despite being terrified of studying, she was gently encouraged to think about studying at Mary Andrews College. She sees those next three years of study as a great gift, especially as she was able to leave her job to focus on study and lay ministry.
“I have loved my time there the past three years, and it has changed and shaped me dramatically and prepared me well for this season.”
For Vanessa, one of the great attractions of studying at MAC was that she would be studying with other women. “Studying with men would have been way too daunting for me.”
Vanessa writes of those years:
“My time at MAC was one of the most special times of my life. I have had beautiful Christian fellowship with other women, and lecturers who nurtured, stretched and encouraged me all the way. I am so sad to be nearing the end of this special period where God grew me in such an incredible way, and where I met such wonderful Christian sisters.”
Now at 50, Vanessa is launching onto a new path. That path has come to her from her years of walking with others through the suffering of suicide. Her love for Jesus has given her the desire to care pastorally for others, teaching and encouraging them in the various seasons of their life. She knows that God is never finished with us and that he keeps growing and changing us to be more like him.
She is excited to be entering into a pastoral care ministry role at St Paul’s. While finding her feet during the first few weeks of her new job, Vanessa discovered that the knowledge, words, encouragements, essays and books that she had been exposed to at MAC have been an enormous benefit to her.
"My time at MAC has given me the skills, the courage and confidence to enter this role. Again, going into ministry is a great surprise for me. I love how God does that.”
Vanessa loved all the subjects she did. She speaks of how God used each area of study in her life:
“These included Old Testament overview, which I thought I would find too hard but adored, seeing God's great covenant love for us from the beginning of time. Theology subjects that stretched me to think and learn about why I believed what I believed. The absolute joy of Church History and delight in learning from the saints that went before. Beautiful nurturing subjects like Christian Spirituality and Pastoral Care pushed me to delve deep into my relationship with God and others. I have loved them all.”
Vanessa Turner speaks to a group of 60 women at St Paul’s Castle Hill
Vanessa grew not only in knowledge, but also in confidence during her time at MAC. She is thankful for the lecturers who gently pushed her when she feared speaking in front of a group. The tasks she was set in various units, the encouraging feedback and the example of the lives of the lecturers all played a part in giving her the confidence to speak in front of others. Just recently, Vanessa gave her first half hour talk to a group of 60 women at St Paul’s Castle Hill. She remains amazed at how God had equipped her with the courage to do that.
Vanessa bubbles over with enthusiasm as she speaks about her “heart place being MAC”. These are her concluding words as she looks back over those 3 years.
“Above all, the things I came out of College with were these: the assurance that God loves us more deeply and intimately than I ever realised; that he has always been faithful to me; that he works through me (and surprises me in doing so); and that the gift of Jesus is so extravagant.”