NORTHEAST Health Wangaratta (NHW) regional infection and control consultant, Lesley Lewis, was recently ordained as a priest at the Holy Trinity Cathedral Wangaratta. The ordination took place on Saturday, December 2 with Ms Lewis surrounded by colleagues from NHW as she was ordained by the Bishop of Wangaratta, Right Reverend Clarence Bester. Rev'd Lewis said a persistent sense that she was being called into ordained ministry took a real turning point in 2017 while in the Anglican Communion delegation at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. “While in this delegation I experienced an inspirational model of women’s ministry that had a poise and grace that was something that I could commit to,” she said. “Following ongoing spiritual reflection I entered a discernment process with the church to formally explore the sense that God is calling me into ordained ministry.” Rev'd Lewis said there was a rigorous evaluation and selection process due to ordained ministry being considered to be a vocation and a calling rather than ambition. “The process of discernment to ministry involves a journey of growth and maturity in faith and involves many elements,” she said. “While my journey began with a personal or subjective sense of calling, it continued with an objective evaluation by the church through its vocational and discernment processes." The evaluation includes consideration of the individual including personal characteristics, vocational and faith characteristics, professional capacity and qualification. To meet these requirements Ms Lewis completed a Graduate Diploma of Divinity at the University of Divinity and is currently completing a Master of Theological Studies. She also completed ministry development and training with supervised ministry under the direction of an ordained priest which involved serving in multiple parish settings including the Wangaratta West, Alpine, Beechworth and Yackandandah parishes. Rev'd Lewis said the ordination was a deeply spiritual experience for her. “It felt like I was finally stepping forward into the space where God intends me to be; and a new beginning by following this calling to work for the mission of God in worship, prayer and service for others,” she said. Over her 40 year career at NHW Rev'd Lewis has had many highlights including serving as an elected member of the executive council of the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control and international recognition as the first Australian recipient of the prestigious Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) International Ambassador Award. She was also a part of a two year secondment to the Department of Health public health pandemic response initiatives and was recognised by NHW as one of the 2023 recipients of the Quality Improvement and Consumer Experience Clinical Excellence and Patient Safety Award. While being an ordained priest is a new vocation for Rev'd Lewis, she said it is a journey that is parallel to her nursing career. “My role as an infection prevention and control consultant does not involve ministry and therefore my work at NHW will not change,” she said. “While this does not alter my work responsibilities, the personal growth and experiences that I am receiving through my ministry is giving me a wider holistic view and interpretation of the world around me.”
