Wanganui Presbyterians can celebrate the return of a prodigal son now that the Reverend Stephan Van Os has returned to his birthplace.
He held his first service at St Andrew's Church at 42 Glasgow St last Sunday morning.
After spending the past 30 years as a padre for the British Army, Mr Van Os says the move back to Wanganui gives him a feeling of life coming full circle.
"I have a wonderful sense of being back in the place where I started from."
Mr Van Os remembers living in the house his father built on Bastia Hill and going to St Anne's School, when it was in Kawakawa St.
"I was taught to swim by Ingleby Morrison, who later became known as the swimming grandmother," he recalls.
The family moved to Tokoroa when Mr Van Os was 8 and he grew up there.
After leaving school, he studied at Otago University.
"I discovered my calling there and transferred to Knox College to study for the ministry."
Otago was where Mr Van Os met his wife-to-be Margaret and after he was ordained in 1980 they decided to head overseas. "The big OE became a long-term life journey that lasted for 30 years," he said.
They went to Northern Ireland, where Mr Van Os became parish minister in Newtonhamilton, which had been the scene of fatalities during the Troubles in the 1970s. "It was known as bandit country and nobody else wanted the ministry there."
The couple stayed there for four years until the British Army made an offer and Mr Van Os was recruited to work with its transport division.
Working with the driving regiment took the padre to Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The work in Bosnia was hearts and minds stuff, helping people rebuild their lives after some of them had lost everything.
"I have been to Iraq twice and I went to Afghanistan with the Royal Irish Regiment.
"It is a young man's job. I was the oldest person on the last trip and I really felt the physical demands of being bounced around in trucks."
The minister's most recent assignment was in Worthy Down, Winchester, where he worked with defence personnel training as chefs, clerks and in specialised trades.
"I now look forward to working in the Wanganui community and getting to know everyone," he said.
The Wanganui landscape is still familiar to Mr Van Os and he can still remember the streets and intersections of the city.
Settling into the manse and getting used to cooler temperatures is just part of the re-assimilation.
"One thing I notice, being back in New Zealand, are the multiple layers of loyalty. I have Dutch heritage, so I supported Holland in the football World Cup. My wife has Scottish heritage and she is a Southlander, so she supports the Otago Highlanders at rugby while I support the Waikato Chiefs."
There will be a 10am service at St Andrew's on Sunday for those who cannot get to the earlier one and Mr Van Os says all are welcome.