An active voice

Rick still singing and speaking about his faith and his church

Rick Ferret (BA Theol, 1984) is a throat cancer survivor who continues using his voice to sing and speak about his faith and his church.

An itinerant music minister, Rick performs and tours with vocal ensemble Covenant Quartet. He’s done the same this year in a show band as part of Lindsay Butler Studio Music’s 30th anniversary celebrations. The impact of making regular appearances at the Tamworth Country Music Festival and interviewing musicians on his 2CHR radio show: a new network of contacts and friends. Rick has also recorded seven albums.

Research continues into retirement. Growing out of his PhD, Rick’s monograph, Seventh-day Adventist Health Reform: A Crucible of Identity Tensions, explores the relationship between church pioneer Ellen White and the charismatic John Harvey Kellogg. A lifelong learner, Rick says tertiary education helps us grow. “Never despise the opportunity to be challenged.”

Rick came to Avondale as a registered nurse. “My mother, most of my siblings and my wife have had careers in nursing.” Despite his status as a married student, Rick, with Jenny, connected with on-campus life at Avondale. He performed and toured with the Avondale Quartet and Avondale Singers. And he remembers the personal care of academic and professional staff members. “Friendships continue to flourish after 40 years.”

After graduating, Rick pastored local Adventist churches in northern New South Wales. Then came calls to the Pacific, on Pitcairn and as secretary of the church’s Eastern Highlands Simbu Mission in Papua New Guinea. A return to field ministry in Australia coincided with further study—a master’s in religion from La Sierra University (CA, USA). The degree enabled a move into education, as a lecturer and chaplain in the nursing school on Avondale’s Sydney campus. Rick would complete a Sydney College of Divinity doctorate in sociology and religion while pastoring in northern Australia. A 10-year tenure as a lecturer in the seminary at Avondale followed.

“No one’s an island,” says Rick, “and I’m indebted to the many people who’ve made an impact on my life.”

The Class of 1984 honours Dr Rick Ferret for his pastoral care of church and community and his ability to move between the two.