PERSONAL PROFILE THE REVD NORMAN ALLKINS

Norman has been in ministry for 40 years and was ordained into the Anglican Church of South Africa in 1994 after serving the first five years of his ministry in the Methodist Church as a youth worker and lay preacher. He joined the Anglican Church in 1983, where his ministry involved leading the Sunday School, and lay preaching. He served as a self-supporting priest in the Diocese of Pretoria as assistant priest and priest in charge in six parishes. In 2007 he took a fulltime position as rector and archdeacon of the coalfields in Emalahleni in the Diocese of Mpumalanga. Norman came to St Margaret of Scotland, Bedfordview in January 2014, to take up the position of Rector. Norman, together with his wife, Adele and daughter Jolene, moved into the rectory and immediately became part of the family of St Margaret’s.

Norman brings to our parish a wealth of experience dealing with people His quiet determination to bring about a gentle change in our parish can be seen by the regular Bible study groups now held, as well as his encouragement for the growth of prayer groups and outreach & social functions as a means of binding people together as they work in teams to fulfil the Ministry of All Believers. The Sunday evening informal Eucharist was started by Norman late in 2016, and the numbers have grown as this service provides more contemporary music and more intimate worship style for those who are unable to attend the morning services.

The new Godly Play style of Sunday School teaching was also introduced to the parish, and Adele, together with some of the other Sunday school teachers, attended the workshops and have begun this form of presentation to the children.

He has completed an Electro Mechanical Diploma, a Higher Educational Diploma and a Theological Diploma. Before fulltime ministry Norman qualified as a Signal Technician on the South African Railways. He later taught at a Technical high school. He moved on to gain management skills in support and backup services as a Warehouse manager for an office furniture company. He went on to lecture in the Further Education and Training Field, where he worked his way up from Lecturer to Senior Deputy Rector. He assisted in getting a variety of vocational educational courses off the ground. He headed a Tri-relational mentoring program between South Africa, Canada and Zimbabwe. He led a team in Change Management when Further Education and Training Institutions were amalgamated

Norman is married to Adele. They have two Children; a son Michael who is married to Charné and a daughter Jolene