Ministry Team

I have been engaged in ministry in many different settings, including parish, education, community building and community development work. My enthusiasms include developing rituals and worship in ways that connect the stories of our traditions with the ebb and flow of our contemporary living and lifestyles. I am committed to exploring the way our Christian story can continue to inspire and empower people today. In my experience the church is still discovering how to 'be' church in this complex contemporary world amongst our different perspectives, ways of living and rapid change. I want to be engaged with all the ebb and flow of that.

I am passionate about the multicultural mix of Auckland city, and want to make my contribution to discovering how we can live well together, with all our differences, and in respectful interdependence.

I was ordained as a priest in 1979. In the intervening years I have been on an ongoing journey of God/Self discovery which has taken me through marriage, children, parish priest, Christian Community living and into explorations of sexuality.

I am at present in a civil union relationship with my partner Hilton and in one of my lives run a garden wedding venue and cafe/function centre in Gordonton. I have a home in Onehunga and a spiritual home here at St Columba.

John Allen is a landscape designer and team leader of the Labyrinth group. In his spare time John practices yoga, belongs to a choir that offers performances and takes classes in painting and sculpture. For the latest on the labyrinth development visit the Labyrinth Page.