Art curator, theatre director, teacher, literature student and cat lover: the new Dean to be installed at Griffith's St Alban's Cathedral is waiting impatiently to get to know his new community - and he's heard a thing or two about our talents.
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Father Thomas Leslie has a passion for the arts, culture and history. In fact, he believes it was what helped him to finally discover his calling in the church.
"I left school thinking I was going to do museum studies so I started an arts degree at Sydney University in English literature and medieval studies," Father Thomas explained.
"Through the process of my undergraduate degree and volunteering as a Sunday school teacher I realised a lot of the things I was interested in and good at were involved in the church.
"So I foolishly decided to set myself a test and do a year of theological studies and just see how I went."
Suffice it to say that Father Thomas shone in this area of study and this lead him in 2007 to pursue a life in dedication and service to the church.
"The church is something I have always been passionate about and it's an institution that enshrines a lot of the cultural values that are important in society like ethics, history, music and art - all of these things which give us life in abundance," he said.
"So it was a place in which was not only a good fit for me but one where my gifts and talents were of use."
Father Thomas was ordained in 2010 to the diocese of Wangaratta and 'four wonderful years of ministry' followed he said. He was involved as school chaplain at Holy Trinity school and served as art curator at the Holy Trinity Cathedral where he put together a number of artistic and historical exhibitions, including one of wedding gowns through the ages.
"They had me running the school musical theatre productions as well and at one point I was teaching a drama class," he said.
Arriving in Griffith on Friday accompanied by his cat 'Jael', Father Thomas will be installed as Dean of St Alban's on Febraury 5 at the 6pm service.
"It's going to be really exciting to get to know the individuals of the cathedral and the gifts and talents they bring to the ministry," he said.
"I believe there is a really strong amateur theatre group in Griffith and I know there is a regional theatre which has some really interesting looking productions... And a fabulous regional art gallery facility with wonderful collections there too."
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