Introduction
Sarah Penwarden is a practising counsellor, supervisor, Anglican priest, and part-time Lecturer in Theology. She teaches practical theology, focusing on counselling integration, mental health, grief, and loss. Her work bridges theology, counselling, and qualitative research, providing students with tools for ministry and pastoral care.
Quote
“I aim to integrate theology and counselling, helping students explore how ordinary life and the hope of the Gospel can be held together.”
Something Personal
Sarah enjoys writing, travelling, and mentoring students in academic and spiritual growth.
Qualifications
PhD, University of Waikato, 2018 (Noeline D. Alcorn Award for Best Doctoral Thesis)
MCouns – Master of Counselling, University of Waikato, 2002
PGCertEd – Postgraduate Certificate of Education, University of Bath, 1996
BA (History) with Honours, University of York, 1993
Professional Experience
Lecturer, School of Theology, Laidlaw College
Practising counsellor and supervisor
Anglican priest
Journal Essays
Edited Books
2025 Gregory J. Liston, & Sarah Penwarden (eds.) Hope: Growing Flourishing Church Communities that Transform and Heal People (Wipf & Stock: Eugene, OR, 2025).
Book Chapters
2026 “Silences and Voices: Considering the Potential for the Diary of a Nineteenth-Century British Missionary to Recount the Perspectives of Taranaki Māori.” In Whatua te Kākahu: Christianity, the Māori World and Colonialism in Aotearoa New Zealand. Edited by Samuel Carpenter, Bradford Haami, & Tony Ballantyne. Wellington, New Zealand: Te Herenga Waka University Press, 20262024 “A Means of Grace: A Pastor’s Listening Within a Church Community as a Way of Sustaining the Body of Christ.” In Hope: Growing Flourishing Church Communities that Transform and Heal People, pages 164-182. Edited by Gregory J. Liston and Sarah Penwarden. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2024.
2024 “Listening ‘as if at a Poetry Recital’: Finding Poetry in Talk and Reflecting on it as a Way of Knowing.” In Poetic Inquiry Atlas. Vol. 1: A Survey of Rigorous Poetics, pages 213-226. Edited by Adam Vincent, Wilmington, DE: Vernon Press, 2024.
2022 “Grief as the Sounding of Multiple Notes: Grief and Loss as Seen Through the Movements of the Triduum.” In Practicing Faith: Theology and Social Vocation in Conversation, pages 162-178. Edited by Lisa Spriggens and Tim Meadowcroft, Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2022.
2022 “Response 2: Formation: Quests and Questions.” In Practicing Faith: Theology and Social Vocation in Conversation, pages 91-99. Edited by Lisa Spriggens and Tim Meadowcroft, Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2022.
Conference Presentations
2025 “A Means of Grace: A Church Community Listening to its Own Vision as a Way of Sustaining the Body of Christ.” Plenary paper presented at The Hope Conference, Laidlaw College, March 27th.
2024 “Navigating Internal Dissonance: A Supervisor’s Tale.” Paper presented at International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, Champaign Illinois, USA. May 19th.
2024 “Unsettled Settler Decolonial Yearnings.” Paper presented at International Symposium of Poetic Inquiry, AUT, October 22nd (with Esther Fitzpatrick).
2022 “Stitching Others' Words into a New Garment: The Ethics of Composing Found Poetry from Interviews as Data.” Online paper presented at the European Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, February 4th.
2022 “Coming to Know Myself as a Pākehā Settler: Writing a Personal History for the Future through Poetic inquiry.” Online paper presented at International Symposium of Poetic Inquiry, Cape Town, South Africa, May 26th.
Teaching & Expertise
Practical theology
Integration of theology and counselling
Grief and loss
Qualitative research methods (interviews, focus groups)
Counselling and psychology topics
