Wee Waa warmly welcomes its new town vicar

Wee Waa has warmly welcomed the town’s new vicar Reverend Neil Hunt, his wife Steph and their son Seamus.

“It feels like home,” said Steph.

A special induction service was held for Reverend Hunt at St Augustine’s Anglican Church recently and it was very well attended.

About 40 people from the Wee Waa district came along, but also filling the pews were another 40 people from Narrabri, the Hunts’ former hometown.

“We also had close friends from Armidale come too,” said Steph.

“It was lovely to have that support and kindness from people.”

Neil and his family are very easy going – they insist on being called by their first names, rather than titles, and are incredibly hospitable.

The family moved to Narrabri from Armidale in early 2019, where Neil worked as an assistant minister to the popular Rev Bernard Gabbott, who also used to call Wee Waa home.

“He taught me that being a minister is not just a job, it’s actually a way of life,” Neil said.

“You don’t clock on and off, you’re committed to the welfare of these people and there’s a quote he used: ‘What the people of God need most is to be fed with the Word of God’.

“So the Bible is like food and it’s our job to keep that food coming to people.”

Neil said he was raised in a Christian family and would regularly attend church but the services didn’t really resonate with him until he was 17-years-old.

“So at 17, I would say that I became a Christian meaning that I understood that Jesus is the King, he’s forgiven me and that’s what life is about,” he said.

“And I got to about 45 and I thought – ‘all I want to do in life is just tell people about Jesus’.”

Interestingly, Neil had previously worked in different roles including as a graphic designer before he decided to study and become a minister in his 40s.

He said there wasn’t a particular moment or incident that inspired him to commit to the church further and work as a minister, but he just knew it was how he wanted to spend the rest of his life.

“There wasn’t a major crisis in my life that caused the change of direction,” he said.

“I just knew that I had been forgiven for the rottenness in my own heart and I wanted others to hear about what Jesus had done for them too.”

Neil said working to help some school children in Armidale, who had challenging and disadvantaged backgrounds, made him feel like his work as a minister could create positive change.

Neil also praised his wife Steph for her ongoing support.

“I’m delighted that she’s been willing to go on this adventure together.

“Steph and I both studied to give us a good grounding of what the Bible was about,” he said.

“Steph is the best person to help with my sermons too.”

“I have a red pen,” Steph joked.

As well as assisting her husband in his role, Steph works as a nurse at both Wee Waa and Narrabri hospitals and their son Seamus is in year 12 at Narrabri High School, staying on at the same school to complete his HSC.

The Hunts also have three daughters and two grandchildren.

Seamus said he’s enjoyed the move to Wee Waa and even put his hand up for some farm work during the school holidays when he first arrived in town.

“I was driving tractors and irrigating – it was great,” said Seamus.

The Hunts said they looked forward to getting to know more about the community and building relationships with people from all walks of life.

“I like to think that we’re an open home,” said Steph.

“It really is the people here who make it such a terrific place,” said Neil.

“The town has seen some hard times and we want to continue to bring the message of hope which is Jesus and what’s he’s done for us.”