50 years of faithful service - celebrating Rev. Jacinth Myles

“I will always be grateful to the Lord for calling me to this ministry.”

As of 2023, Reverend Jacinth Myles has faithfully served in Anglican parish ministry for 50 years.

Joyfully many women have served in a variety of types of ministry around Sydney and NSW, including chaplaincy, theological education and mission, but perhaps none have had the depth of experience that Jacinth has had in parish ministry.

But despite this remarkable service, Jacinth, who has been a Christian for over 70 years, classifies herself as an “ordinary person”. She says that she came from a poor family and has no university education. 

However, she does have a Theological Diploma, a strong faith in Jesus, and a passion for serving others - and God has used her powerfully.

The beginnings of a ministry life

Jacinth began her working life as a primary school teacher at Fairfield West Public School before transitioning into her ministry training at Deaconess House over 50 years ago. Initially, she had wanted to become an overseas missionary.

However she found that God had other plans for her life and her ministry. When she was unable to pursue missionary service due to medical reasons, she began a life of ministry in NSW that spanned across nine parishes.

Over the Australia Day weekend in 1973, Jacinth began in her first parish ministry role in Lawson. At the end of the year, she was sent a letter and a plane ticket from Bishop Clive Kerle, inviting her to an interview in Armidale. She got the job and ministered at the Armidale Cathedral for almost seven years.

During her time in Armidale, there are three highlights that stand out to Jacinth.

Jacinth recalls, “God gave me an idea to reach out through SRE classes which resulted in 100 primary school children attending weekly Bible Study and Prayer groups in parishioners’ homes and learning how to read the Bible and pray at home during the week. These groups were called Quest Clubs and the idea soon spread to many parts of NSW, QLD and beyond”.

Jacinth explains her second highlight: “Ordinary people, like myself, in a university city, were finding it difficult to understand the Dean’s sermons and the Bible Studies led by him, as he was a highly intelligent academic. Once again, I believe that the Lord gave me the idea of starting a Beginners’ Bible Study for Adults. Soon I was leading three of those groups every week,”

Jacinth’s third highlight was when she met Jackie Stoneman, a new parishioner with whom she built a strong and enduring friendship. Together they have shared accommodation and ministries across the same parishes for over 40 years.

Back to Sydney

Following her position in Armidale, Jacinth was then invited to take up an assistant role in the Haberfield parish. During her time in Haberfield, the Christianity Explained course had just been written and Jacinth was able to use it as a resource and in that first year, 14 people in the parish became Christians. Jacinth continued to use the course over the next four decades of her ministry.

Jacinth shares she was amazed and privileged at Bishop John Reid’s suggestion that she be appointed in the place of a Rector at the church parishes of South Canterbury and Clement Park as her next ministry position. One of the highlights was that Jacinth was able to lead a team of parishioners to knock on 3,000 doors, to give away many New Testaments, to invite recipients to do the Christianity Explained course and to see many people become Christians. Jacinth ministered in this role for three and a half years before the parishes were amalgamated with the parish of Belmore, and she then continued on staff for another three and half years.

In 1989, both Jacinth and Jackie Stoneman were among the first fourteen women to be ordained as Deacons in the Sydney Anglican Diocese.

But as Jacinth continued on her ministry, she began to feel the weight of burnout upon her.

“I was able to take some time out,” Jacinth shares. “During this time though, I became convinced that I would never be able to do any more parish ministry, ever!”

Rebuilding the Abbotsford parish

Thankfully, this was not the case and Jacinth received a phone call from Bishop Peter Watson. He asked her to start leading the services at Abbotsford, a parish that had no more than $1000 in its bank account, 15 parishioners and was on the brink of closure.

Jacinth shares, “He (the Bishop) wanted me to start the following Sunday, the week before Christmas and to my amazement, I said I would, but when the call ended, I panicked, thinking that there was no way I could do the job. This situation was to be trialled for two to three months and then reviewed. The review never happened.”

“This was the Lord taking a minister and a parish, both down for the count and almost out, and putting them together to perform more of his miracles.”

After fifteen years at Abbotsford, she chose to retire from that parish. But during her time serving at Abbotsford, the parish was able to employ six male student ministers, three children’s workers and an administrative assistant. Abbotsford is still going well 29 years after it was to close.

Retirement and work at ADM

But retirement for Jacinth certainly wasn’t the end of her ministry. She went on to minister in the parish of St John’s Park and from 2011 was the Honorary Assistant Minister in the parish of Sadleir for 12 years.

In 2008, Jacinth became aware of a growing need amongst retired deaconesses in the Sydney diocese. Their regular meetings were at risk of being discontinued, which would make it difficult for them to continue in fellowship with each other.

Jacinth shares, “I contacted the Archdeacon for Women at the time and asked for the meetings for the older women to continue running. She was swamped with lots of different tasks, so she asked me to come on board and help to pastor the older women as a volunteer, which I did for six months.”

“The CEO of ADM at that time heard about it, and offered to pay me to continue this role. I nearly fell off my chair at the opportunity to be paid to do something I really loved!  Since then, it has been a privilege and a pleasure to be Chaplain to the deaconesses, some retired female deacons and a few lay women.”

Jacinth ministered to 49 deaconesses and female deacons in a myriad of ways. She recalls that she sought to “encourage them spiritually, and to give them undivided time and attention.”

Jacinth with a number of the deaconesses and retired female deacons.

“When I visited them or spoke on the telephone, I made sure that I never had a deadline – that I was there for them, for as long as they needed,” she says.

“I also used the traditional hymns they know and love so well to encourage them, and shared related Scripture selections and the stories of the authors of those hymns. Because these ladies had ministered God’s word to others for many years, this was a way I could bring God’s word to them in a fresh way. They always found stories of the authors so inspiring.”

Jacinth also offered practical support to the women where she could. This included taking funeral services, organising significant anniversaries, providing hospital communion and driving some to appointments.

She also served as a much-needed bridge between the deaconess’ needs and ADM’s financial services.

“Many of our deaconesses ministered before the days of compulsory superannuation contributions. They were paid very low stipends and when they retired, they had no superannuation and very little, if any, savings,” shares Jacinth. “The fact that ADM was willing to support them financially, in so many ways, made a huge difference to many of them. They were always so very grateful.”

Rev. Jan Donohoo shares of Jacinth, “In caring for the deaconesses and others who came within her remit, Jacinth is a true servant of the Lord Jesus. Her sense of responsibility toward these women – who themselves have served sacrificially – caused her natural diligence and organisational skills to have a fine Christian outworking, and to benefit the women.”

Jacinth saw days working with the deaconesses and providing care as a way to put faith into action. She shares, “For many years I would say to people that I have the most wonderful ministry: I get paid to chat, eat meals and have coffee with my friends! It was a joy to be there for them. I will always be grateful to the Lord for calling me to this ministry.”

Since her retirement from ADM in late 2020, Jacinth spent two years in increased time caring for her elderly mother, who went to be with the Lord two years ago. She also continued in parish ministry at St Mark’s Anglican Church Sadleir until mid-2023. She says she looks forward to seeing how the Lord will help her to be a faithful minister of his word well into the future.

Jacinth says, “I have always been, and forever will be, immensely amazed at and appreciative of all that the Lord has so graciously and generously allowed me to experience during the past 50 years.”