Ministry Matters - 22 Sept 2025

Unfortunately, due to unexpected personal circumstances for our presenter Megan Best, we have had to postpone the upcoming seminar and livestream events which were previously advertised. Please do accept our apologies for any inconvenience.

Our hope is that we will be able to reschedule them for the first half of next year, when Megan will be able to join us.

In September and October of this year Trinity Theological College, along with the Perth Gospel Partnership, will host two events which are intended to help us reflect biblically, wisely, pastorally, and compassionately on the topic of in vitro fertilisation. Our presenter for these events will be the renowned Christian bioethicist, Professor Megan Best (best known for her book Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: Ethics and the Beginning of Human Life, published by Matthias Media).

The first event will be an in-person, day-long seminar with Professor Best, intended for pastors and other ministry workers. This will take place on Monday the 22nd of September, at Trinity Theological College. The second event will be a live webcast, held in the evening of Wednesday the 29th of October. This is intended for congregations, and our hope is that congregations will meet to view this together. The rationale of this design is that the first event will help to prepare pastors and ministry workers to care well for their congregations as they view the webcast, and in the conversations that will follow from it.

IVF is a topic which is ethically challenging, pastorally sensitive, and which touches many of us personally. It is also one on which evangelical Christians take a range of views. The aim for these events is therefore not to be overly prescriptive. Rather, it is to equip and inform us with the biblical, theological, scientific, and pastoral understanding we need in order to think and live faithfully, wisely, and lovingly in a world in which IVF is available to us.

Dr Megan Best has over 30 years of experience in palliative care and medical ethics teaching, research and practice. She has taught medical ethics at tertiary level since 2001 and is currently Professor of Bioethics at the Institute for Ethics and Society at The University of Notre Dame Australia. She is internationally known for her work in Christian bioethics. Her research has focussed on bioethics at the beginning and end of life, and in the areas of genomics and palliative care. She has also researched extensively in the areas of spirituality in healthcare, whole person care and psycho-oncology. She is the author of two books on ethics at the beginning of life: ‘Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: Ethics and the Beginning of Human Life’ (2012), and ‘A Life Already Started’ (2013). She also co-wrote ‘A Framework for Young Children’s Spiritual Capabilities’ (2024) and was Editor of ‘Spiritual Care in Palliative Care’ (2024). Throughout her career she has engaged with evidence-based health policy development, making important contributions to palliative care strategy and health legislation.

If you have any questions about the event, please email events@ttc.wa.edu.au