A Day in the Life of an EPS Howie

by EU GradsFund

A different side to EU Ministry: Life in the Postgrad and Staff Faculty

As a faculty, EU Postgraduates and Staff (‘EPS’) is a bit of a mystery to many of my Howie colleagues. Our faculty people look quite different to other faculties: we have three ‘streams’: postgraduate students (PhD, Research Masters, postdoc), academic staff (tutors, professors, lecturers, etc.), and professional staff (everyone working to keep the uni running outside of the academic space: from administration to IT to finance).

Also, our yearly calendar looks different! Unlike undergraduates, who are full steam ahead during semester time and things quieten down a bit during the breaks, EPS continues steadily all year, with the only true break being the week or so after Christmas when USYD has a shut down period.

In order to shed some light on the mysterious life of this large but often invisible faculty, I thought I’d share “a day in the life” of my work as an EPS Howie.

(Our first 8am gathering, over breakfast as we heard each others’ testimonies!)

8am: Small Group – it’s almost guaranteed that there will be an 8am small group in EPS, because for many (especially staff) it is preferable to come early for Bible Study rather than trying to squeeze it into a lunch break, when last minute meetings may be called. I’m co-leading this group with a Chemistry Professor and an Engineering PhD student, and we’ve been leading our group through studies on John’s gospel.

9am: Teaching The Bible (‘TTB’) training course – last year, for the first time, we introduced EU training courses to EPS members who’d like to grow in specific ministry/theological skills. This semester I’m taking two postgrad women through the TTB course, as they are eager to grow in their capability to lead bible studies. We meet each week to work through the content of ‘Exegesis, Hermeneutics, and Homiletics’. They’ve both reflected to me that it has been one of the highlights of their week, and they’re excited to put the training into practice in future!

(Two postgrads in the Science Discipline Network)

10am: pre-reading for book club – perhaps unsurprisingly, there are a number of book clubs in EPS! Some of these are connected with particular ‘Discipline Networks,’ for example the Science Discipline Network meets monthly to read through a Lennox Book on science and faith. This hour I spent some time reading Alasdair Macintyre’s book “After Virtue,” for a book club with several humanities PhD students.

11am: lunch

12pm: Symposium on ‘Mental Health and Burnout’ – Keith gave a wonderful talk to a mix of professional staff and postgrads on how to improve our daily wellbeing and prevent chronic stress or burnout. We aim to hold 5-6 symposia in EPS across the year, and always have one connected to mental health, as low mental wellbeing is a ubiquitous problem in the academic and research space. 

1pm: 121 with postgrad law student – praying with her about how she can share her faith as an international student, and discussing some of the barriers domestic students have to hearing the gospel.

2pm: Professional Staff Discipline Network – this group meets monthly, with a mix of workers in finance, IT, faculty administration, and timetabling. We enjoy lunch together, and take turns sharing a short presentation on an area of interest (e.g. Christian art; philosophical arguments for God’s existence, etc.), and finish with prayer for faithful witness to colleagues.

3pm: Coaching – my final hour on Thursdays is spent with my Coach, Matt, who is my primary trainer in ministry. This hour may be in discussion about particular issues I’m facing, preparation for upcoming responsibilities such as AnCon faculty teaching time, and prayer for different areas of growth or struggle (often navigating a healthy balance between work and rest!).

With a little light shed on the EPS faculty, I hope this can fuel your prayers for the work God is doing through this diverse group of Christians who spend most days of the year on campus: that they would be encouraged by the knowledge that other Christians work at and for the university; they would be emboldened to share their faith in an often combative workplace; and that they would be inspired to consider how they might use their vocation and extensive skillset to bring glory to God’s kingdom.

– Felicity Kerr, Howard Guinness Project 2022-2023

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