Meg Evans retiring from ministry

In April, 2013, hundreds gathered in the Midlands of Tasmania on Sunday to farewell Patrol Minister Rev Meg Evans who has finished up after 10 years. Meg’s final service at the Oatlands Uniting Church was a wonderful celebration of her ministry, with many warm wishes extended for her retirement. Meg was the first minister appointed to the Midlands Patrol when it was established in 2003. Extending across the Midlands and Central Highlands of Tasmania, the Patrol covers the small towns of Oatlands, Ross, Bothwell and Campbell Town and the isolated properties in between.

Looking back on her time in the Midlands, Meg reflected on her work as a “ministry of presence”.

Frontier Services family (Left-Right) Judy Knowling (formerly Pilbara Patrol), West Coast Patrol Minister Gay Loftus, Rosemary Young, Colleen Grieve (formerly West Coast Patrol) and Meg Evans.

“As more and more services leave these rural areas, the presence of the church is really significant,” she said. “It’s important just to be there. It has been such a privilege to be a part of people’s lives, to have people trust you, and to share in the hard times and the good times.”

As the Midlands Patrol Minister, Meg has led 114 funerals, 33 weddings and 35 baptisms. She has walked alongside generations of families through their highs and lows. In her final week, she conducted a baptism for a family she had come to know well. Meg buried the grandfather, married the children and now welcomed their grandchildren, touching four generations in one family!

For many, Meg has been more than a church minister. She has been a welcome visitor in isolated places, an advocate for the community and a trusted friend. Always, she has been a visible sign of the church’s presence in the community.