Rev. Michelle Shin began her ministry at Albany Presbyterian Church in March 2024.

 

Michelle’s journey is deeply rooted in her family's legacy of Presbyterian ministry. Born in Seoul, Korea, she was the second child of a family of Presbyterian ministers. In the late 1980s, her parents left home to serve the South Island of New Zealand Korean community. Their dedication and service led to establishing a church in South Auckland, where they continued their ministry until retirement. This rich family legacy has undoubtedly shaped Michelle's path in ministry.

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Michelle studied Chemistry at Canterbury University. She then was called to be a teacher at a mission school in the Philippines. Coming back from that, she studied theology at Auckland University and spent a year abroad before being trained at Knox College, the school of ministry in Dunedin. She completed a postgraduate diploma in ministry from Otago University.  Inspired by her time in Zambia working with the churches through CWM, she went into a chaplaincy with the hospital when she became an ordained minister of PCANZ. 

 

After serving over 6-7 years in the hospital chaplaincy, she became a parish minister working across seven congregations in the Lower Hutt area in Wellington. Returning to Auckland, she had a year of supply ministry with St. Aidan’s before she became the ecumenical chaplain at Auckland City Hospital. While serving at Auckland Hospital, she also worked on becoming a clinical pastoral education educator, for one of her passions is to train people to care for God’s people.

 

She is passionate about the church, where the presence of God is made plain and powerful.  She says,” One of my great passions is to see God’s people loving and caring for one another inspired by the love of God in Jesus. I am also passionate about how faith is lived clearly and confidently yet lovingly and meaningfully in all those who believe. Contemplation and spiritual practice of meditation and study, essential parts of our faith practice, should always inspire one’s authentic living faith.  For Christians, love is faith expressed in a genuine and life-giving way. This might be too simplistic, but true. The gospel is just that: God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so whoever believes in him will have eternal life. (John 3:16)”

 

Her ministry and preaching hope to inspire this authentic living faith.