The Reverend Ron Ashford in “tent-maker” ministry mode, restoring this kauri bookcase in his workshop.
The Reverend Ron Ashford in “tent-maker” ministry mode, restoring this kauri bookcase in his workshop.
The Reverend Ron Ashford has spent much of his life following his passions of helping people and working with his hands to create and restore wooden objects.
He’s combined both of late, restoring furniture severely damaged by the Cyclone Gabrielle floods.
Owners of furniture warped and damaged by weeks sitting in water and silt have been sent from Hawke’s Bay to his business RoNZ Furniture Hospital in Dannevirke, and after experimentation, he has found ways to restore them to pre-flood condition.
Ron studied education in Portland, Oregon, where he took up furniture restoration before migrating to New Zealand in 1974.
He then started a nursery at Onaero Beach in North Taranaki raising trees and shrubs for sale to anyone wanting to replant landscapes cleared of trees.
Conservation was not a strong national habit in those days, he says, but his nursery was so successful he was awarded government contracts to promote conservation and teach horticultural and building skills to young people.
Feeling the need to help people in other ways, Ron answered the call to train as an Anglican priest at St John’s Theological College. He became a vicar and then Archdeacon of Whanganui District, serving eight years.
During that time he also became the chaplain for Whanganui RSA, running the Anzac Service which grew every year in popularity.
Seeking further challenges, Ron attended the University of Otago, gaining a masters (with distinction) in bioethics, which helped him gain the position of chaplain for mental heath for the Auckland District Health Board - a role which he found both challenging and rewarding, looking after groups with different mental health issues.
In 2013 Ron and his wife Monique settled in Dannevirke, attracted by its low-cost housing and friendly population. Here he resumed his furniture restoration business and again took up the role of chaplain, this time of the Dannevirke and Districts RSA.
At over 70, Ron is still immersed in his horticulture, his woodworking, and his caring for people’s needs.
One of those needs, he says, particularly among the elderly, is a traditional prayer book service with hymns, prayers, scripture, and communion.
Ron Ashford in cassock and in his garden with the Bible and Prayer Book he will be using at the Pilgrims’ Chapel.
To this end, Ron is starting the Pilgrims’ Chapel - which will use a traditional prayer book service from 1662. In the Book of Acts, the Apostle Paul is described as having a “tent-maker” ministry, earning his living by his own hands, so as not to burden the congregation for his keep.
Ron says he sees a parallel in his work as a furniture restorer, working with his hands to provide a “tent-maker” ministry.
The first Pilgrims’ Chapel Service will be held on April 7, the first Sunday after Easter. All are welcome.
Dave Murdoch is a part-time photojournalist based in Dannevirke. For the last 10 years he has covered any community story telling good news about the district.
