It is with sadness that the Australasian CPE family learnt of the death of Rev David Larsen on Saturday, February 24th, 2018, in St Andrews Hospital, Toowoomba.
David was a long-time supervisor and member of the Queensland Institute for CPE, and of ANZACPE. He was 81 years of age.
We extend our sympathy to Audrey and their family, and pray God’s comfort on them in their grief.
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We invite you to use this page as a way of sharing your tributes to David. You may do this simply by accessing the ‘Leave a Reply’ segment at the bottom of this page, and your contribution will then be added to this page.
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From Judith Peterkin, President of ANZACPE:
David was a long-standing and faithful member of QICPE and ANZACPE. He was a Queensland representative in the early discussions around forming ANZACPE held in 1986-1989. From the formation of ANZACPE in 1990, David has attended and represented QICPE at almost all our Supervisory Conferences and AGMs. For many years he was the ANZACPE Treasurer.
Later in his CPE journey, David ventured into the supervisory training of new supervisors, gaining Level III supervisory accreditation. In 2008-9, he graciously took up the invitation from ACPEWA to engage with a successful supervisory training programme in Western Australia, being responsible for the nurture and formation of three supervisors. Similarly, in Queensland, he has been the backbone behind their supervisory training programme and the developing strengths of QICPE.
At a personal level, David demonstrated his love of Christ, as well as his ability to engage with other faiths. He was known for his gentle and insightful supervisory conversations and in his building of supervisory alliances. There was no pretentiousness with David in the grounded way he demonstrated his presence with us. We will miss him.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Audrey and their family members and loved ones, as well as all our colleagues in QICPE, in this time of grief and mourning for David in their loss.
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From long-time friend and colleague, Jenni Wegener:
Since my first connections with David in 1977, I experienced him as a “Pastor” in the true sense of the word. His fierce independence together with growing compassion for his fellow travellers fuelled his constant desire to learn and understand more about how people experience and interact with each other and their God.. For David the heart of being a parish pastor meant preaching the liberating grace of God’s love and keeping up contact with those in his care – responding quickly to moments of crisis, as well as the ordinary moments of people’s lives. His interest and care was accompanied by a phenomenal memory for names and significant events and relationships in their lives.
Already involved in CPE in its rudimentary form, he experimented with different models of individual and group learning and facilitation, often on the edges of acceptance and without recognition by pastor colleagues and leadership in the Lutheran Church. In spite of this, many pastors continued to take their own CPE journeys with him. I began my own CPE journey with one of his groups in 1980. It is a mark of David’s humble, generous and hospitable spirit, that he could move with such easy openness from being one of my earliest supervisors, to seeking consultation with me as an Educator peer in later years, avidly mining resources I had come across for his own ongoing learning, on many occasions.
Geographical isolation from CPE peers did not discourage him, utilising first phone and then Skype and face time for his own supervision and with some supervisees, and to maintain connections with valued colleagues. As CPE horizons expanded, David became the first supervisor that I am aware of to actively support and foster to the point of accreditation, a supervisor from a non Christian tradition. Working with Buddhist nun Nina Davis, he embraced the challenge of discovering the places of connection and divergence in their espoused values and beliefs, demonstrating how the gifts of Grace and new Life stretch and transcend religious boundaries enriching pastoral identity. At an ANZACPE conference in Brisbane, he and Nina presented the outcome of this engagement with typical humility and frankness. His faithful participation in the CPE community invigorated him. David was always ready to respond to another’s invitation, offering supervisory and educational support to supervisors and directing CPE units in Darwin and Perth. In the same way he worked to expand the QICPE community, fostering the development of the association, its standards and processes with local colleagues, as well as the opening of new centres across wider Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Toowoomba and in 2018, plans to conduct a regional unit in south east Qld.
David has been one of our CPE fathers, a quiet pioneering presence not seeking recognition, yet richly deserving of the outpouring of respect for his integrity and courage from many colleagues. Always alongside has been Audrey, a backbone of hospitality and warmth, with her own wisdom and love for those she met through David’s ministry.
Dave was firstly my and Gordon’s wise mentor and friend, someone who cared deeply about our life and wellbeing. Dave was a man who reflectively championed my development as a pastor with my own call, before I saw this would be lived out through chaplaincy, supervision, and as a Clinical Pastoral Educator. We have been greatly blessed to know him and Audrey so well, and will miss his earthy, blunt, compassionate presence deeply.
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At the bottom of this page. . . From:
Michelle Benjamin (WA CPE)
John and Margie Virgin (SA/NT CPE)
Rosemarie Say (NSW CPE)
Cathy Ridd
Thich Thong Phap (SA/NT CPE)
Remembering David…..with deep gratitude for his wisdom, his sharing of his supervisory practise and his support over the years together with Audrey for the hospitality of her home and heart. Michelle Benjamin ACPEWA Inc.
We remember David with deep respect for his wisdom, generosity and warm hospitality, and are grateful for the blessing he was in our life.
At an ANZACPE Conference in Adelaide several years ago, a representative of each member association was asked to bring water from their state to add to the “blessing bowl” for our daily worship. Queensland was in severe drought at the time. Memories of David pouring precious water from the small bottle which he’d carried faithfully from such a distance spoke profoundly of his loyal commitment to the life of our CPE community which he never failed to honour. We will miss him and send our love and gratitude to Audrey for her loving support of him.
John and Margie Virgin SANTACPE Inc.
I have just heard the sad news of David’s death. He was, indeed, a great ANZACPE character and, especially on the Queensland scene, contributed so much to the organisation and its members.
I was privileged to be in his post-Conference Supervisory group at the Gold Coast Conference, and, as an external Supervisor, his encouraging feedback contributed to my making the step towards presenting as a Level 2 Supervisor.
My thoughts and condolences are with you all in QICPE, and especially with Audrey.
Rosemarie Say (NSWCCPE)
I remember David with gratitude that he offered his God-given gifts with such generosity. His wisdom, openness and gentleness transformed my ministry. David, it was an honour to learn from you. See you on the flip side, brother.
I only met David once at the ANZACPE conference in Melbourne in 2014. He attended a supervision session of a piece of work I shared. David impressed me as a lovely, gracious and kind man, full of wisdom and one who, if he had been my supervisor, would naturally have been on my side. Vale, David. Thich thong Phap.
We have wonderful memories of visiting David and Audrey and extended family when we traveled from Des Moines, Iowa USA to Australia in 2011. David is my 2nd cousin and our grandparents were born in Denmark and we share a great family legacy in Australia, United States and Denmark.
David and Audrey visited us and all our many cousins in Iowa, Minnesota and the west coast in 2015. After our time together, they traveled to the San Francisco area to attend a training session for CPE.
We are thankful for his commitment to the church and his loving family. He will be remembered fondly. Love and peace to all of his family.