REVEREND Rosie Wynter may have just arrived in the place she was always meant to be.
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She grew up the daughter of Anglican Diocese of Bathurst priest Reverend Cyril Crowe, and just last month she was ordained as a reverend herself.
Her journey to this point was challenging, she says, but one that she was glad to have travelled.
Born in London, brought up in Bathurst, she moved to Sydney and the Blue Mountains for a number of years, before returning to Bathurst 18 years ago.
It was during this time away from Bathurst that she studied psychology at The University of Sydney and had a family (three boys and one girl).
“I had a business in Leura for many years doing interiors and cookware,” Rev. Wynter said.
“I [also] studied natural therapies and had a natural therapies clinic for 10 years in Leura.”
During her journey, however, there was always a call.
“I had been touched on the shoulder many times, but being busy through life I hadn’t answered that call,” Rev. Wynter said.
She said she always felt very familiar with the Anglican Church thanks to her father.
“I didn’t see my father as a priest, I saw him as my Dad, but the light that shone from him was so beautiful and it stayed with my forever,” she said.
Rev. Wynter said, however, it was during a visit to the Christ Church St Laurence in Sydney that she could no longer ignore the call.
“It’s renowned for its music and it’s got a rich liturgy, but I found myself on my knees in tears,” she said.
Rev. Wynter said her journey to last month’s ordination was very much a “leap of faith”.
“It’s been a challenging journey and a challenge to let go the feeling that I could ever shine a light as bright as my father,” she said.
“Through my discerning process I was challenged on many levels, which had me go very deep to make sure this is what I was called to do. But those difficulties have gifted me many things.”
It’s been a challenging journey and a challenge to let go the feeling that I could ever shine a light as bright as my father.
- Reverend Rosie Wynter
During her ordination last month in the All Saints’ Cathedral, Rev. Wynter said she felt the presence of her father.
“I felt great emotion about him on the day and I felt him there beside me. I think he’d feel great joy,” she said.
“I’d love to have ministered with him.
“I was blessed to have him as a teacher of life and love.”
Outside the church, Rev. Wynter leads a busy life. She is the mother to four adult children and grandmother to nine.
“They have encouraged me very much, so have my friends,” she said of her journey to become a reverend.
She also runs a bed and breakfast at her home in Rydal.
“I’ve got a little B and B and I open the garden to raise money for charity. I’ve helped restore the old Union Church in Rydal and have helped organise functions there for the last 15 years.
Rev. Wynter will remain the pastoral minister for the South Bathurst Anglican Parish, but she is now also the deacon of All Saints’ Cathedral.
As she settles into her new role, she shared her hopes for the future.
“I have vision of greater unity and a real awareness of why we are there, why we meet and why we are Christians,” Rev. Wynter said. “It’s not a self-serving role, it’s a servant role. It’s one of servitude and that is at the very centre of all ministry and sometimes that gets lost.”
Rev. Wynter has welcomed the wider community to come and say hello.
“My door is always open to anyone in the community and I have a great passion for peace, and a passion moving forward with love,” she said.