Born in Switzerland, Gil went with his parents to South Africa when a small child. With Wyn (son Mark and daughter Nina) they came to New Zealand in 1978.  Gil became Head of Gastroenterology at Dunedin Hospital, and Mary Glendinning Professor of Medicine at the Dunedin School of Medicine and University of Otago. He has a number of added interests, including his links with the Roslyn (now Highgate) Presbyterian Church, where he has been an elder for about 25 years, wood sculpture, and walking and running in the bush around Dunedin. Gil retired from his University and Hospital posts at the end of 2003. He still practises as a consultant gastroenterologist once a week, and takes part in some academic, teaching and research activities at a local and national level. Recently he and Wyn went to work in a children’s home in Madagascar, an experience which has stimulated further interest in helping the poor and underprivileged. Gil sees himself as a stimulator of ideas and a team person, so he hopes to find ways of making himself useful as part of an outward looking mission team. <p/&

I have been in the parish for over thirty years and have been an elder for almost all that time. For most of that time, Celia and I brought about 100 teen aged boys to church every week unless we were leading a Chapel service at John McGlashan College where we were both fully involved. We therefore understand “Church” from the views of many with a wide range of faith development. My last eight years of full time employment were as a Mission consultant, mainly working in Otago and Southland. Now when I can choose what I do it is family, home and garden, tramping, Synod of Otago and Southland committees. With my grey hair I probably bring experience, but also a keenness to further develop our community mission focus. Serve the community with Christian love.

Charissa Nicol

In 2006, I arrived back in Dunedin after 4 years teaching and travelling in the UK with my husband, Andrew. I first lived here as a student between the ages of 17 and 20, then moved to Christchurch to continue my studies in Music (BA Hons) and Maths (BSc), and train as a secondary teacher. It was there that I met my husband Andrew, who is now a PhD student in Theology at Otago. We have two boys – Elliot who turns 3 in October, and Theo who is 1 in December. I stopped teaching full time at Kavanagh College at the end of last year and took up a part-time maths position at Columba College in February. Andrew and I happily ‘discovered’ B@tCH a few months after we arrived and have had the privilege of running the senior youth group since the start of 2007.