First to complete clinical pastoral education through Avondale
Sara Thompson
Public relations assistant
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia
A lecturer in the School of Ministry and Theology has become the first staff member to receive a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) certificate through Avondale.
Pr Mike Parker completed the New South Wales College of Clinical Pastoral Education’s basic CPE unit through the Clinical Pastoral Education Centre at St Vincent’s Hospital. He then received his certificate from the state’s governor, Professor Marie Bashir.
Avondale offers the basic CPE unit through St Vincent’s as part of its chaplaincy course. It is aiming to become a registered provider of the CPE course and the first tertiary institution in Australia at which a Clinical Pastoral Education Centre is located.
“We’re hoping fulfil the dream of Dr Tom Ludowici and the late Dr Arthur Patrick [both served in chaplaincy at Sydney Adventist Hospital] in offering a professionally recognised chaplaincy course at Avondale,” says Mike, the strand convenor. He hopes to become a CPE supervisor.
The first cohort of seven students plan to graduate with majors in chaplaincy from Avondale this year, following the college of higher education’s introduction of the course in 2012.