13 June 2023
The Council of Assembly is delighted to announce the appointment of Rev Sebastian (Seb) Murrihy to the position of half-time lecturer and ministry formation co-ordinator at Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership (KCML).
Sebastian will take up the role in August and be based in Waitara, where he will remain minister at Knox Church half-time.
Council of Assembly Convener, Rev Dr Jaco Reyneke, says Council is grateful that Rev Sebastian Murrihy can take up the role as Council is “aware of the need for pastors and churches to develop a greater awareness of how and where God is at work in the many strong currents of our society, and to have the ability to serve and minister within that space”.
“Sebastian writes in his article, Pastor as Poet in the Time of the Pandemic: ‘I suggest that the role of the pastor is to help people to be attentive to God’s presence in the currents of human life’.”
Jaco says that Sebastian “will be a valuable asset to the team at Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership as they equip people in our Church to build and expand God’s Kingdom".
A response that Sebastian gave at his Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership interview has stayed with Principal Rev Dr Geoff New. “We asked Seb why he was applying for a part–time role instead of full–time. He answered that he wants to be a pastor–theologian. For as long as I have known Seb, this has been a feature of how he has ministered. His pastoral leadership and ministry are grounded in deep thought and reflection, while remaining accessible and applicable to those he serves. I remember a series of sermons he preached from one of the most difficult books of the Bible, Revelation, because he did so with simplicity and sophistication. I am thrilled we have a faculty member of such calibre who can resource the Church and her leaders.”
Sebastian was called to apply for the KCML role because he is passionate about seeing local churches flourish. “I want to help form ministers and Christian leaders who find a deep sense of joy and hope in what God is doing in our churches and in our communities.”
He looks forward to being part of a team that is “theologically reflective and thoughtful about how it teaches and connects classroom learning with ministry contexts. As part of the team, I want to see people who are prayerful in ministry, trusting that God still delights in encountering us today”.
Sebastian studied at Laidlaw College earning a Bachelor of Theology, followed by a Master of Theology (2013). He served four years as associate pastor at East Taieri Church before commencing as an intern at KCML. After completing his internship in late 2019, he was ordained and called to be minister at Knox Church, Waitara.
Sebastian has published “a handful of peer-reviewed journal articles”, the latest was published in 2021: Pastor as Poet in the Time of the Pandemic: Exploring a Pastoral Image through Amy Plantinga Pauw's Wisdom Ecclesiology.
Sebastian is married to Jessica, a primary school teacher, and they have three boys: Elias (6), Isaiah (4) and Micah (1).