Rev Dr Fei Taule’ale’ausumai Davis has been appointed as a part-time ministry formation co-ordinator at Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership.
Fei takes up the role in March. She shares the role with Rev Nikki Watkin who began in February 2020.
Fei is an Aotearoa-born Samoan. Her father Taule’ale’ausumai Fa’asiu came from the village of Faletagaloa in Safune, Savaii and her mother Viola Sooialo is from the villages of Vailima and Alamagoto in Upolu.
Fei brings considerable experience of Christian ministry to the task of forming ministers and resourcing leaders, and we are very excited to have her on board, says Knox Centre principal, Steve Taylor who headed the recruitment panel.
Fei has been a chaplain at Maclaurin Chapel, the Church’s national youth-coordinator and a parish minister at St Andrews Presbyterian. Fei is currently the minister at Pt Chevalier Presbyterian, and will continue in this role alongside her new responsibilities as ministry formation co-ordinator.
Fei has also served internationally as a lecturer at St Andrews College and Selly Oak School of Mission and World Christianity in England and regionally, as Pacific Regional Secretary for the Council of World Mission.
Steve observed that Fei impressed during the interview with her depth of spirituality, her passion for forming leaders and her inter-cultural academic capacity.
“Fei’s PhD research focused on migration and faith across three generations. It offers an exciting approach to church history and the Presbyterian commitment to being reformed and reforming, by holding together respect for those who have gone before, while discerning changing contexts,” says Steve.
Fei is excited about the opportunity to be at the coal face of ministry formation.
“I have always felt called to teaching and engaging with people by accompanying them on their ministry journey. KCML is about enabling and empowering our students to be culturally and contextually relevant and ready for Christian ministry within our churches and communities and in society as a whole. It is a privilege to be called to be part of this journey.”
Fei’s appointment is for a fixed term out of respect for the ongoing review being conducted by Council of Assembly.
Fractional applications from different geographic locations around New Zealand were welcomed in the hope of enhancing the diversity of the Knox Centre faculty, explains Steve.
In the process of making appointments to the ministry formation roles, he says new partnerships between Knox Centre, the local parishes of Kohimarama Presbyterian and Pt Chevalier Co-operating and Northern Presbytery have been forged.