Ron Browning is an Australian Anglican priest who mainly has served in parishes as well as taught theology. In recent years he has ministered among the resettled Karen refugee people from Myanmar and in their refugee camps.
Ron was born and raised in rural Victoria and educated at Geelong Grammar School. He studied for degrees at the Australian National University, Edinburgh and Yale. Having trained for Anglican ordination in Scotland, he returned to Australia to serve in parishes in the Diocese of Melbourne.
As a young priest Ron helped inaugurate a combined parish, Anglican and Uniting Church, in an inner-city context. Interest in community work developed and also a hands-on practice of the catechumenate, introducing and forming adults in the Faith. For some years he taught sacraments and missiology in theological education. With the resettlement of Karen refugees to Australia, he took on project work in their communities, both in Victoria and in the refugee camps on the Thai–Myanmar border, jointly establishing the Australian Karen Foundation. Over the years, attracted to writing, his recent books include (on the catechumenate)Taking the Plunge andThe Apocalyptic Heart, a refugee contextual interpretation of the Book of Revelation. He is a Benedictine oblate and a keen bushwalker, belonging to a dedicated hiking group of six friends for 30 years.
Ron has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for his services to the Karen community. He is a scholar of the Melbourne University of Divinity.
