by Allan Davidson, Steve Lowe, Ted Schroder, Richard Waugh.  Published by the Kynaston Charitable Trust with Craigs Design & Print Ltd, 2014. Reviewed by Garth Cant 

If you started life in a small town, then moved to larger arenas, God Knows Where They Come From! will resonate with you. If your life has been interwoven with Ted Schroder in the Episcopal Church in the USA, with Steve Lowe in Rome or Timaru North, with Richard Waugh in the Wesleyan Church or aviation history, or Allan Davidson at St John’s College in Auckland, this book will delight you.

Ted Schroder grew up in the Central Hotel, went to Hokitika DHS, and was part of All Saints Parish. His journey into priesthood took him across the Alps to Canterbury University, then across the world to Durham University. From there he became Dean of Christian Life in Gordon College, Massachusetts. Most of his Ministry has been in the Diocese of Florida. Now, in active retirement, he is host and chaplain at the Amelia Plantation Chapel in Florida.

Richard Waugh’s Dad came to Hokitika as Chief Pilot and Engineer for West Coast Airways in 1958, flying in and out of South Westland. The Waugh family were part of St Paul’s Methodist congregation, served by a succession of young, enthusiastic, probationer Ministers. Wesleyan theology and aviation stories have shaped Richard’s identity. He now leads the Wesleyan Methodist Church in New Zealand and is Regional Secretary for World Methodist Evangelism.

Steve Lowe was born in the year of Vatican II. He was nurtured by family, parish, and the Sisters of Mercy who taught him at St Mary’s. Work with the NZ Forest Service took him to Timaru North and that parish changed his life. He trained for the priesthood at Holy Cross Mosgiel and the Gregorian University in Rome. Back in New Zealand, he has worked in parish ministry and ministry formation. Life will expand in new ways in 2015 when he becomes Bishop in Hamilton.

Allan Davidson is both historian and Presbyterian Minister. He studied at Knox College and Otago University in New Zealand, the University of Chicago Divinity School, and Aberdeen University in Scotland. He taught for a time at Rarongo Theological College in Papua New Guinea, and then took up a post with the Anglicans and Methodists at St John’s College in Auckland. He has nurtured successive generations of students and writes on Pacific and New Zealand religious history.

These four are a fascinating set, and their life stories, are shared with compassion, with honesty, and with a lightness of touch. Will Hokitika also celebrate its women in ministry: Patricia Allen, Jean Waugh, Tui Cadigan, and Gladys Styles?