Brunswick Uniting Church has a Ministry Team of ordained and paid lay leaders,
and many other volunteer leaders who share their gifts on Church Council, committees and other groups.
Ministry Team
Ian Ferguson
Minister of the Word
Children Youth and
Young Adults Committee
Discipleship and Education Committee
Justice and Mission Committee
Pastoral Care Committee and Teams
Worship Committee
Hello, I am Ian Ferguson. I have been the Minister of the Word at BUC since 2013. This means I help lead worship, and preach, I share in our pastoral ministry of hospitality, care and compassion, and I help us listen for Christ’s call to us and envision God’s mission for us.
My life before ministry was in dance – I worked in various professional dance companies, and bring to my ministry a love of “embodied” worship and artistic creativity. I love delving into the bible, finding a word for today in its ancient strangeness, and exploring creative and engaging ways to express that word.
At BUC I am delighted to be part of a church that is Christ centered, inclusive, open, compassionate, justice oriented, creative, passionate about worship and community engaged.
Ph. 0438 547 842
Anika Jensen
Youth and Student House Co-ordinator
Children Youth and
Young Adult Committee
Student House Committee
YUCY (Youth Group)
Hi there, I’m Anika and I’ve been the Youth and Student House Co-ordinator since January 2016. This means I get the privilege of hanging out with the younger teenagers of the Brunswick Uniting community (plus some awesome ring-ins) at youth group, catching up for coffees after worship with the older teenagers to discuss the sermon, providing community-building and individual support to our Student House, plus a bunch of other great things happening in the life of the younger generations at BUC!
I’m really passionate about creating a space to understand what it means to be a young person of faith in Melbourne today. Exploring what’s happening in our world and how we respond in our own lives: sitting with the doubts, joys, and everything between as young people in community.
If I’m not hanging out with the cool kids of BUC, I’m studying my Masters of Social Work or riding my bike!
Ph. 0401 181 664
Peter Blair
Olive Way Co-ordinator
Olive Way Steering Committee
Hello, I am Peter Blair. I have spent the past 15 years involved in local mission in Melbourne’s South-East exploring what discipleship on the margins looks like, and finding it in a group of passionate Jesus followers, living in Melbourne’s South East called Urban Neighbours of Hope (UNOH). I came to love this group for their passionate desire to see the forgotten of our world brought in to loving community, and seeking to challenge the injustices that forces people to the margins.
UNOH profoundly shaped my faith and the way I view the world. It is difficult to not notice the poor and marginalised of the world once your eyes have been opened, and this is what led me to seek out the a place where I could continue to work with those considered the least and lost by the world.
Brunswick Uniting has long provided the space where people who are similarly excluded and marginalised by the community around them are welcomed into loving community. This is what Olive Way is all about, a place that begins with openness and hospitality but provides bridges to so much more. My hope is that all who come to Olive Way will be enriched by their encounter.
Ph. 0431 193 810
Caitlin Mullen
Children & Families
Co-ordinator (Interim)
Children Youth and
Young Adult Committee
Sunday Morning Program
Church Council
Shawn Whelan
Chair
Communications (liaison)
Music team
Property (liaison)
Sacred Harp Singers
Web Team
Linda Wannan
Treasurer
BUC Arts
Finance Committee
Daniel Broadstock
Secretary Church Council
Chair Congregation
Discipleship & Education
Liturgist
Mulling Group
Music team
Helen Rowe
Culture of Safety
Contact Person
Discipleship & Education
Food Co-op
Out & About Group
Kate Scull
Presbytery Representative
Music Team
Steph Gesling
Presbytery Representative
Pastoral Care
Hospitality Team
James Balsillie
Mulling Group
Music Team
Student House Committee
Behzad Farhangi
Persian Bible Study
Gwen Arnold
Justice & Mission Committee
Pastoral Care
Compassion Team
Claire Foley
Pastoral Care
Compassion Team
We organise and oversee the many ministries, communities and activities at BUC with a central guiding Church Council, made up of our Minister Ian Ferguson and our Elders, and committees that enable and do the necessary work. If you’re interested in learning more about Church Council or any of these committees, contact the person listed here:
- Church Council (Shawn Whelan, 0418 613 898)
- Children, Youth and Young Adults (Anita Brown-Major, 0424 034 096)
- Communications (Saide Cameron, 0407 096 743)
- Discipleship & Education (Daniel Broadstock, 0479 039 640)
- Finance (Linda Wannan, 0405 470 568)
- Justice & Mission (Meredith Budge, 0412 051 574)
- Pastoral Care (Jane Allardice, 0419 385 544)
- Property (Ray Cameron, 0407 883 654)
- Worship (Saide Cameron, 0407 096 743)
