Members of the Durham Street congregation were deeply saddened to hear of the death of Rev. Rob Ferguson on 8th December 2022. Rob came out of his second ‘retirement’ in 2016 to be our church’s first StreeTs minister and spent over two years wandering the streets of Christchurch, bringing a church presence to the city and encountering a wide variety of people. Our StreeTs ministry page includes a link to Rob’s insightful blog about his time on the streets. Many of his interesting and artistic photos were posted to the StreeTs Facebook page and some have been collated into a photo book.
He was featured in two articles in the Press newspaper, in September 2016 and September 2018.
In addition to his time at StreeTs, Rob’s thoughtful and creative ministry included appointments to Eltham-Kaponga, Palmerston North, Beckenham Sydenham, St Albans Uniting and Wanganui parishes. Rob also served with Mission Resourcing in an Educational Ministry role for a number of years, and held Connexional appointments on the Disciplinary Tribunal Panel, Complaints Review Panel and more recently as Synod Superintendent for the Lower North Island Synod.
A statement from the Lower North Island Synod reads:
We are sad to have lost a friend, and a person with an inspiring ministry. The Lower North Island Synod acknowledged his leadership at our Synod last weekend. Rob blessed us by making us uncomfortable, challenging us not to accept the easy answers. He asked us to open our minds and hearts to new possibilities and understandings, to explore how we can be church in the 21st century. We will miss him.
Durham Street Methodist Church will also miss you, Rob. Haere ra.
