 Media Release Diocese of Fredericton 29 March 2005 From the Office of the Bishop of Fredericton Bishop appoints Director of Christian Education  Bishop Claude
Miller recently appointed Elizabeth (Liz) Harding of Westborough,
Massachusetts as Diocesan Christian Education Officer, effective April
1. She replaces the Ven. Patricia Drummond who pioneered the part-time
position and brought new life and resources to Sunday schools and
Sunday school teachers throughout the diocese.“We conducted a careful search and interviewed several excellent candidates,” says Bishop Miller. “Ms. Harding’s experience, expertise and enthusiasm are exactly what we need and we are very excited to welcome her to the diocese.” Ms. Harding is equally excited to become part of the diocese, especially since she is no stranger. She spent time at Camp Medley last summer and, since November, has conducted monthly Growing Youth Ministry (GYM) classes with Canon George Porter, the diocesan Youth Action Director. She worked with George in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts before he came to Fredericton. “When he moved to New Brunswick he said he would like me to come and share some of my training and spiritual formation experiences,” says Ms. Harding. “My first reaction was ‘You have to be kidding!’ New Brunswick sounded like the end of the earth. However, last year I met with Bishop Miller and enjoyed his forward thinking on the need for deepening spiritual formation and reaching young people who are growing up in a rapidly changing culture.” That meeting led to her stint at camp, the monthly GYM classes with George and her interest in the Christian education position. “I am very impressed with the people here and their obvious desire to deepen and grow in the process of spiritual formation. I am also excited that the Christian Education position has expanded to include 12 to 16-year-olds in addition to the younger children. It is a perfect opportunity to dovetail with the formation experiences of the older youth George is providing.” Ms. Harding believes that on some levels, today’s young people mature earlier than previous generations. “There is a critical need for support and guidance to enable them to make good faith decisions. I believe each young person is a leader. It may be at home, school, in the community, at church or behind the scenes, but each one is a leader. Young minds are very fertile ground, a fact not lost on the many secular organizations who rush to fill them with their own messages.” She sees this as a challenge the church cannot ignore. “It is our job to help our young people become good, strong leaders of the Christian faith, which in turn will enable them to make good choices in life. It has been my privilege to see many young peoples’ faith grow in leaps and bounds when they are actively involved in ministry. I am eager to be a catalyst and resource to support this process in whatever way I am able. This will not only be a challenge but an exciting journey, one where we will all learn from each other.” Ms. Harding has been a Christian ministry professional in England and the United States for almost 20 years. In addition to her Christian education and spiritual formation work in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts, she spent four years as as a trainer for hands-on Bible study curriculum with a publishing company. She was als assistant director of a Christian camp and conference centre for 16 years. Her many volunteer efforts over the years are too numerous to list. She lives with her husband Tim and sons Matthew and Simon (both university students) in Westborough, Massachusetts. Though she will continue to live primarily in Massachusetts, she will travel to the Diocese of Fredericton each month. “The position requires 100 hours per month, so I will be in this diocese 10 to 14 days for site visits and meetings. Obviously this will take some forward planning and careful scheduling, but I am confident that I will be able to fulfill the demands of this job between visits and telecommuting. In my work to date with George I have found myself tearing up the Maine Turnpike eager and energized, thinking about the people with whom I will be working and the things that we will be learning together.” Contact Ana Watts Communications Officer Diocese of Fredericton 506/459-5358 awatts@nbnet.nb.ca |