Coralie Ling

Coralie is a tall, purple loving older woman who lives in St Kilda next to the botanical gardens. She was the first woman ordained as a minister in the Methodist church in Melbourne 1969.

What is your involvement with St Kilda Uniting Church?

I have been attending St Kilda Uniting Church since I moved to St Kilda in 2004, though from the sixties I was friends with Ian Williams, former mayor of St Kilda and minister of the St Kilda Methodist Church and we had a ginger group that met regularly in the church.

What does having faith mean for you?

I call myself a Christian because I am in that faith tradition. I am close to the ancient tradition of understanding the divine as Holy Wisdom, Sophia which is an inclusive way of life and justice, hospitality and action, enquiry and creativity. This tradition has often been suppressed or ignored in the mainstream.

What is something that you’re looking forward to?

I am looking forward to a time when ecofeminism is taken seriously and there is full equality for women and we live respectfully with the creation.