Living authentically

Saint Mark’s is one of those luminous and sacred places that has a profound impact on those who come to worship or work here. Our lives change and are deepened and find purpose – new or renewed. There are countless stories, and on this page, we feature some of those stories in written or video form. 

Three priests here tell some of their story: Dr Stephen Ames, Fr Tony Noble and Fr Stuart Soley and they illustrate the desire to live authentically and in response to God’s call. 

Dr Stephen Ames

Fr Stephen grew up in the parish and it was in Saint Mark’s that he felt the call to be a priest. In early 2021, Fr Stephen celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination as a priest with a Mass of Thanksgiving in Saint Mark’s. The anniversary was 25 July 2020 but had to be deferred due to the restrictions on public worship brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. He prepared this autobiography, and you can read some of his story here. 

At the Mass of Thanksgiving at Saint Mark’s on 25 January 2021, the Dean of Saint John’s Cathedral Brisbane, the Very Reverend Dr Peter Catt preached the homily. The theme was ‘The Church in the 21st Century’. 

Fr Tony Noble

Fr Tony was parish priest from 1985 to 2003 and guided and inspired Saint Mark’s with great energy and imagination through those 18 years. In particular, during Fr Tony’s incumbency a major restoration of the church was undertaken, and the years were marked by an extraordinary ministry to those who were suffering from the HIV-AIDS epidemic. During 2020, Fr Tony recorded this interview with his long-time friend David Hunt. David is an excellent interviewer and is well known in Melbourne particularly for his work on Bent TV and JOY-FM. 

Fr Stuart Soley

Fr Stuart is our present incumbent. Fr Stuart came to Saint Mark’s in 2011 and speaks about his experiences as a gay person growing up and working in the church. Fr Stuart also talks about what drew him to accept the invitation to be the nineteenth Parish Priest of Saint Mark’s. Fr Stuart was also interviewed by David Hunt in February 2019 and you can watch the interview here.