Deidre Palmer was the President of the

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Uni ...

from 8 July 2018 until 17 July 2021. She is a counsellor,

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, and social worker. She was the Moderator of the Uniting Church's Synod of South Australia from 2013 to 2016.

Education

Palmer has a Master of Religious Education from Duke University, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Religious Education and Theology from Boston College and a Master of Social Work from Flinders University.Deidre Palmer
Uniting Women 2016 website, accessed 16 July 2015 Palmer is on the academic faculty at the

Uniting College for Leadership and Theology The Uniting College for Leadership and Theology in South Australia is a Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) theological college for the education and training of both lay people and those for specified ministries including the diaconate and yout ...

(Parkin-Wesley) in the

Adelaide College of Divinity Adelaide College of Divinity (ACD) is an accredited higher education provider offering diploma, associate and bachelor's degrees, graduate diplomas, master and doctoral degrees in ministry, it is also a Registered Training Organisation offer ...

of Flinders University (

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

). She has previously had a teaching role at the

Perkins School of Theology Perkins School of Theology is one of Southern Methodist University's three original schools and is located in Dallas, Texas. The theology school was renamed in 1945 to honor benefactors Joe J. and Lois Craddock Perkins of Wichita Falls, Texas. De ...

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , ...

, (

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, USA).

Uniting Church in Australia

Palmer’s roles within the Uniting Church in Australia have included: * counsellor with the Uniting Communities childhood sexual abuse counselling team * serving on Assembly Committees including the Uniting Education Reference Group, the Board of Coolamon College, the Assembly Commission for Mission, National Mission and Evangelism, and the Assembly Commission for Liturgy * member of the Assembly Standing Committee, the Formation, Education and Discipleship Working Group, the UCA's National Task Group responding to the

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to inquire into and repo ...

, the Church Polity Reference Committee, and the Assembly Business Committee * Moderator of the Synod of South Australia (2013–2016)

President of the Assembly

Palmer was elected at the 14th Triennial Assembly on 16 July 2015 to become President-elect to commence her term as president in 2018.President-Elect announced

, 16 July 2015 She was installed as President at the opening of the 15th Assembly, at a worship service at

St Michael's Uniting Church, Melbourne St Michael's Uniting Church is a church in Collins Street in central Melbourne, Australia. Originally the Collins Street Independent Church, a Congregational Union of Australia Church, and later Collins Street Uniting Church, St Michael's has be ...

. Palmer was the second woman to be appointed to the role of President, following Dr Jill Tabart who served in the role from 1994 to 1997. A few days after her installation as President, Palmer presided over the election of her successor. Reverend

Sharon Hollis Sharon Hollis is an Australian Minister and the 16th President of the Uniting Church in Australia. Early years Hollis grew up from 8-13 in Keilor Park in Melbourne, Victoria. From 13, the family lived in Finley, a town in the Riverina region ...

, the moderator of the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania, was elected to take on the role of President from the beginning of the sixteenth assembly to be held in Queensland in 2021, however, due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

the event was hosted there but held online.Welcoming the 16th UCA President
Uniting Church in Australia, July 2021, accessed 2021-07-18

Personal

Palmer is married to Lawrie Palmer and they have two adult daughters. They attend Rosefield Uniting Church in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Deidre Living people Uniting Church in Australia presidents Australian Protestant religious leaders Year of birth missing (living people)