A Soulful Story by The Reverend Peter Landry, Chaplain, Overnewton Anglican Community College
Wherever the Spirit Leads
I’ve always been intrigued by how people discern God’s call. For some, it’s a clear and lifelong direction. For others, like me, it’s a winding path, shaped by divine interruptions, strange coincidences, and the quiet leading of the Holy Spirit.
I grew up in South Africa, in a family that was outwardly Anglican on Sundays but contradicted the core principles of the Bible the rest of the week. Living in post-apartheid South Africa, surrounded by poverty and injustice, left me deeply suspicious of religion. That suspicion hardened into atheism. I couldn’t reconcile a good and loving God with the suffering I saw, or with the challenges of growing up with untreated and severe ADHD in a rigid educational system that didn’t make space for neurodiversity. Though I succeeded academically and socially, I felt like an outsider, unseen and out of place.
Then, at 15, I encountered the living God. I still can’t fully explain what happened, but at my point of disbelief, God met me. I experienced unconditional love, radical acceptance, and a sense of purpose I’d never known. It was as though someone turned on a light in a pitch-black room. The promises of Romans 8:14–17 became real: I was God’s child. From that day on, I knew I wanted others to meet this God of transformation too.
For the next two decades, I followed that calling across the world. I led youth transformation projects in southern Africa, earned a theology degree, became a licensed Baptist minister, and served in reconciliation ministries with prisoners and the homeless. I worked as a school chaplain in South Korea, a youth pastor in London, and later, a Priest in the Church of England after completing my Master of Theology at Durham. Most recently, my family and I moved to Melbourne, where I now serve as College Chaplain at Overnewton Anglican Community College.
While I understand that a life marked by constant change can be typical for people with ADHD, I’ve also come to see that God delights in using diverse parts of the Body. In John 6, Jesus didn’t create something entirely new, He took what was offered and multiplied it. That’s what I believe God continues to do with my life. The Holy Spirit takes our small, inconsistent offerings and uses them for His transforming purposes.
In my current role, I see how my varied experiences have prepared me to serve a generation of young people who are socially aware, critically engaged, and deeply sceptical of institutional religion. Yet, they still long for something real. I believe God has placed me here to walk alongside them, and to help them encounter the transforming love of Jesus Christ.