My Journey Here - Philip Shepherdson

You may know Philip Shepherdson as a quiet and serious diocesan treasurer. But there is another side of Philip. He's an adventurer who has visited an impressive number of amazing places in the world, including Mount Everest. He's also worked in finance all over the world. 

LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND
All of Philip's great-grandparents left the UK and Ireland for New Zealand in the early 20th century. He was born in Wellington in 1965, the second of four children. His father was a builder, and later in life, worked in building construction stores. After that, his parents, Geoffrey and Pauline, bought a bakery, where Philip often helped out.

"I had a typical upbringing," he said. 

In 1983 Philip began management studies at Hamilton University, graduating in 1988 with a major in accounting. Then it was off to an accounting firm in the auditing department, often auditing five-star hotels on-site.

After four years, Philip qualified, through exams, as a chartered accountant. But what might have become a quiet, stable career in New Zealand was not to be.

TRAVEL
"I got itchy feet," said Philip. "I decided I wanted to go off and do some travelling. I thought I'd go for a couple of years and then come back."

Because his grandparents had English passports, Philip qualified for a "right to remain" permit and went to work in London, eventually for worldwide management corporation Ernst & Young.

Looking for a new adventure, Philip asked about posts in the Middle East, where income was tax-free. Instead they had a vacancy in Libya.

He accepted the offer, which turned out to be a major turning point in his life.

It was 1994. The Americans had been kicked out by dictator Moammar Gadhafi, but the Brits and Italians were still there. It was a wealthy, oil-rich country, although ruled by a brutal dictator.

The four Ernst & Young employees, all men in this male-dominated society, rented a villa and hired a personal assistant and a cook. Life was good.

It was in Libya, a most unlikely place, that Philip met his future wife, Maria, at a darts league. She was there on a teaching contract.

"I had just done a trip through Egypt, Jordan and Petra," he said. "I showed her photos of my trip."

SPIRITUALITY
They became a couple and later decided to head back to London. But before that, Philip had a six-week trip planned to Africa, so off he went.

He visited a game reserve in Kenya, admiring the lions and hippos. 

From there he travelled to Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls, South Africa and Malawi, where he contracted dysentery.
"When I came back, Maria said I was skin and bones," he said.

While in Tanzania, he left his tour group and decided he'd like to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. He joined a climbing group which made it to the 5,895-metre snowy summit.

"Spiritually, I've always gotten a lot out of mountains, more so than other places," he said. "I feel closer to God."

Philip's family was a mix of Catholic and Anglican and he was exposed to both, as well attending a Baptist and a Methodist church, depending on where they lived and what was available.

"There was a period between high school and university that I didn't go to church, but when I met Maria, she had a strong faith," he said. 

MARRIED LIFE IN ENGLAND
Philip and Maria were married in 1997 at a church called St. Martin in the Field, which Philip describes as Maria's spiritual home. Born a Catholic in Ireland, Maria had discovered and embraced Anglicanism, though her family did not approve and did not attend the wedding.

The couple settled into married life, Maria in the education field, and Philip working for Halliburton in the internal auditing department. They bought a house in Wimbledon, but for three years, Philip was barely home to enjoy it.

His work took him to Nigeria and Gabon in Africa, Norway, Russia, Scotland, Houston, Texas and all around the UK. 

"In our first year of marriage, Maria said 'I saw you two weekends.'"

The accountant with travel and adventure in his blood was having a bit too much travel. However, together they were able to visit Philip's family in New Zealand,  as well as Peru and the Galapagos Islands.

LEAVING LONDON
At the turn of the century, two things were apparent: they'd had enough of the pace London demanded, and Maria was hearing God's call on her life.

"By 2001 we'd done six years in London," said Philip. "We wanted a different quality of life, so we opened a map."

Philip got a job in Bristol with Atkins, a civil engineering consultant group, and Maria was hired as the head teacher for a Church of England primary school.

"We bought an old farmhouse, and we joined the local Church of England church," said Philip.

It was here that Maria came to terms with what God wanted for her — fulltime priestly ministry. She was ordained a deacon in 2007, a priest in 2008 and continued to serve in the Bristol area.

As Maria moved on to an incumbency in Avebury, Atkins was acquired by SNC-Lavelin, and Philip's travel began once again, this time to the Middle East: Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Eastern Saudi Arabia. 

"I looked after a team predominantly in Bahrain," he said. 

EVEREST BECKONS
You might call it a mid-life crisis, but Philip had a dream he could not shake — a trip to the base camp of Mount Everest in Nepal. He didn't want to climb the highest mountain in the world. That would cost too much money and take too much time. But he did want to get close.

He took three weeks off and climbed Kala Patter, at 18,180 feet, with stunning views of the Himalayan mountains, including Everest.

"I needed to recalibrate and get my spirituality back," said Philip. "I was able to just stop, be in nature. You couldn't do anything else but be in the moment."

He enjoyed it so much, he returned in 2019 to do it again.

"For me it's a spiritual thing," he said, adding he was buoyed by the fact that the first person to climb Everest and get back down safely was Sir Edmund Hilary, a fellow New Zealander. 

"I knew what I was getting myself into," he said of the second trip. "It was less exhausting. I found it much easier."

NEW OPPORTUNITIES
In 2019, Philip was made redundant, so he moved into consultancy work, opening his own company. He provided financial services to a call centre, a freight distribution company, a veterinary practices company, a German machinery firm and a care home.

By the time Philip was working for the care home, Maria was applying for the rector position in the Parishes of Woodstock and Richmond in New Brunswick. During the summer of 2023, they spent a day with Archbishop David and Debbie Edwards, who were in the UK on vacation. It was a chance for each to check out the other.

By late fall, the move to New Brunswick was in the works, but Philip was left with the question of his own career. He knew he could work because of Maria's work permit, but opportunities were scarce, and doubt began to creep in.

Just as they questioned this major life move, Archbishop David called to tell Philip of an opportunity with the diocese. The treasurer had left; might he be interested in applying for the job?

"It was a whole series of God incidents that told us it was meant to be," said Philip. "Why did these doors open? You can't say it wasn't God!"

So the couple began to disassemble their life in the UK and prepare for a new adventure in Canada. They arrived in Fredericton Feb. 27, one year ago.

That first day was a blur: they flew in from Toronto, picked up a rental car, followed the archbishop to the diocesan office, did some paperwork, went out to lunch, met the diocesan team, went to Service Canada for more paperwork, bought two mobile phones, and set out, in a snowstorm, for Richmond, near Woodstock.

"We had two suitcases each," said Philip.

Their container of goods arrived in good time and they were able to unpack quickly.

"We feel we've settled in very well," said Philip. "We both feel we're doing something worthwhile. It's been a good move. We hope and pray we're making a difference in people's lives."

Philip has joined the Rotary Club in Woodstock, having been a member in the UK. In the past year they've visited Prince Edward Island, Maine and Newfoundland.

"We'd been to Canada twice before, and we said if we'd ever get back, we'd hire an RV and tour the country," he said. "Then all of a sudden, this opportunity comes. We never, in our wildest dreams, thought we'd have this fantastic opportunity to explore Canada. We want to make the most of it."

Their next adventure is a trip to Ottawa and Quebec this spring. Cape Breton is also on their list. And they may get the chance to host family, as Maria has a niece and nephew in Vancouver. 

PHOTO CAPTIONS:
1.   Philip and a climbing buddy at the Everest base camp in Nepal.
2.   Philip with a Galapagos Islands tortoise in 2003.
3.  Philip speaking at a recent Diocesan Council meeting. (McKnight photo)
4.  Philip with his grandparents, Mildred & Herbert Shepherdson, at his university graduation in 1988.
Photos courtesy of Philip Shepherdson.