fellow workers

fellow workers 1

fellow workersVol. 4 No. 3

November 2007

News from around the Presbyterian Church of Victoriaa publication of the pcv state news committee

fellow workers 7 denman avenue, balaclava 3183 editor rev tony johnsonphone (03) 9527 3270 email fellowworkers@pcvic.org.au

website www.fellowworkers.pcvic.org.au

Idon’t understand. Every now andagain, when I’m about to say some-thing, people start laughing at me.It’s usually just after I start a sen-tence saying, ‘I think…’. What’s so

funny about that?I do think. We all think. It’s a wonder-

ful gift God has given us. That’s onething that separates us from the animals.We alone of all of God’s creatures

reflect upon the nature of our existence.Human beings alone are concerned withthe big questions of life: why am I here,what am I, what am I meant to be doing?With the fall of humanity into sin,

these questions bounce around in ourheads like ping pong balls in a bath tub.We have been separated from God andhave lost our sense of identity andbelongingness. It’s as though we haveforgotten who and what we are. We don’tthink straight any more. We are now des-perately trying to rediscover ourselves.In 1 John, the Apostle’s readers had

been struggling with the same sorts ofquestions. Who am I? Where do I belong?In 5:18–20, he writes a series of ‘weknow’ statements. In verse 18, he writes,‘we know that whoever is born of Goddoes not continue in sin’. So we have ourChristian lifestyle defined for us. In verse20, he writes, ‘we know…him who istrue’. We don’t just know about him; weactually know him.In verse 19, John tells us about our

identity and belongingness. ‘We knowthat we are of God, and the whole worldlies in the wicked one.’ This is somethingJohn wants you to think straight aboutand be sure of.

What are we? We are ‘of God’. Towhom do we belong? We belong to God.We are ‘of’ him. I’m not sure how this fitswith the oft-repeated slogan that ‘you’vegot to be your own person’. We are fun-damentally defined by our relationship toanother. You are defined by the Godwhom you worship.You are who you are, because of

whose you are. You know who you are,because you know whose you are. This isthinking straight.Being ‘of God’ defines you in numer-

ous ways. You are the creature, and he isthe Creator. You are the image, and he isthe original. You are the subject, and heis the ruler. You are the worshipper, andhe is the worshipped. These things definewho and what you are.To continue the list, you are the sinner,

and when in Christ, he is the Saviour.You are the sheep; he is the Shepherd.You are the child; God is the Father. Youare the justified; he is the justifier. Youare the sanctified; he is the sanctifier.And so on. You are defined in all thoseways. This is who you are. This is whatyou are. This is your identity.Everyone is similarly defined by an

overarching, dominating relationship. Thecatch here is that not everyone is ‘ofGod’. A perverse, twisted relationship hascome into existence. If you are not ‘ofGod’, who are you of? ‘We know that weare of God, and the whole world lies inthe wicked one.’We are different to ‘the whole world’.

There are two communities: theChristian, believing community, and theworld’s not-believing community. The titleof a recent book puts it well: this is John

contributeYour contributions to fellow workers

are welcome! fellow workers is now

published every quarter (March, June,

September & December). All copy and

enquiries should be sent to the editor

(contact details above). The deadline

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10th March 2008. Photographs should

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who am i?indexWho am I? 1A royal audience 2New ministers hit the groundrunning 3PYV news 4PIM at sunny Terrigal 5Around the church 6PTC mission Malawi 2007 9Wisdom for today 10PWMU serving thePresbyterian Church 12School chaplaincy 13A few minutes with the pastmoderator 14‘Coming and sharing’ 15APWM 16

Continued page 16

2 fellow workers

At about 7:20 pm on theevening of Saturday August 4,I was personally introduced toHer Majesty Queen Elizabethin the drawing room of

Balmoral Castle, Royal Deeside, Scotland.It is the single greatest honour that I havehad in my life and to my mind it demon-strates once again the amazing provi-dence of God because the seeds for myeventual invitation to Balmoral Castle canbe traced through a sequence of eventsthat date back to before I was born … butperhaps that story can wait for anothertime.Every year the Queen takes up resi-

dence in Balmoral Castle for about 8weeks and during that time she attendsthe local parish church in the village ofCrathie. In many ways this is a perfectlynormal little country church, strugglingwith all the usual problems of gathering aviable congregation and paying itsexpenses.During her stay, there is a long stand-

ing practice of the minister inviting guestpreachers to occupy the pulpit and TheQueen in turn invites them to spend sometime with her at the Castle. It is, however,important to note that both the Queen andthe minister are very careful to respect oneanother’s proper jurisdiction. They have nodesire to revisit the problems of patronagethat gave rise to The Disruption in 1843,so it is the minister who first chooses whohe wishes to preach and the Queen’s invi-tation is only to the Castle, not to the pul-pit.It is only in recent years that such an

invitation has been extended to ministersfrom beyond Scotland, with a couple ofpeople coming from Church of Scotlandcongregations in Europe. I have created anew record, one that will be difficult tobeat, for distance travelled to accept theinvitation.I was of course nervous before being

introduced to Her Majesty, but I needn’thave worried. The basic protocol is not sodifficult to learn and essentially boils downto good old fashioned manners andrespect. The Queen is incredibly well prac-tised in leading the conversation andputting guests at their ease.Hospitality in the Castle is impressive. I

had my own appointed valet, Matthew,who made sure that my clothes wereunpacked in drawers before I arrived atmy room. He ironed my shirts, pressedmy suits and polished my shoes beforeeach meal, and dried out my clothes after

a rather wet walk through the estate onSunday afternoon. I’m sure he would haverun my bath and scrubbed my back had Idared to ask him!I stayed two nights and dined with the

Queen for three meals, Saturday dinnerand Sunday lunch and dinner. There wereno other guests there and no other mem-bers of the Royal family. We were accom-panied at all times by her lady-in-waitingand equerry, but even so, I had the almostunbelievable experience of sitting besidethe Queen and chatting very personallywith her for the best part of 10 hours intotal.We spoke about all manner of subjects,

but one of the most important pieces ofRoyal protocol is that what is discussed inthe drawing room stays in the drawingroom! All I will say is that the Queen wasremarkably open about many subjects thatI would not have imagined she would dis-cuss with a stranger.On reflection – although it wasn’t put to

me this way beforehand – I have won-dered whether she views this as part ofher own pastoral care, to create opportuni-ties to speak more candidly with ministersthan she might otherwise. This couldexplain why spouses are not included inthe invitation to the Castle. It is not asocial visit but a pastoral one.I was much less nervous about the ser-

mon than I thought I would be. Havingalready met the Queen the evening beforeI felt quite comfortable that she under-stood what I understood about Christianworship, which is that we are all equal inthe eyes of God and the Word of God isover us all.She is very humble in not wanting a

fuss made of her at church. For securityreasons she does of course have her ownpew, and out of respect the congregationsings the NationalAnthem (God Savethe Queen) at thevery end of the ser-vice, but other thanthat she makes nopageant of herarrival, which is adisappointment tothe crowd of touristswho gather outsidebut see little of her.The Queen expectsno special considera-tion in the service.I preached on

Colossians 3:1-17.

Some of the important points I madewere:• you cannot take the moral imperativesof chapter 3 out of the gospel context ofchapter 1;• it is the person and work of Jesus inchapter 1 that sets Christianity apart fromall other religions, even if they share simi-lar moral imperatives to those found inchapter 3;• the moral imperatives are not a pathwayinto heaven, but they are the only properresponse of gratitude that arises out offaith in Jesus;• newborn faith is not instantly perfect inits moral character, so it is the Christian’sduty to work towards, strive for and aspireto the character of Christ which is whatthe moral imperatives amount to.My biggest fear was running over the

allotted time, which I did of course do. Iam forever grateful to the minister, RevKen McKenzie, who then abbreviated theremainder of the service and perhapssaved me a stint in the Tower of London!After breakfast with the lady-in-waiting

and equerry on Monday morning, I wasdriven in one of the Queen’s fleet of LandRovers back to the manse where my wifeand son had enjoyed the fabulous hospi-tality of Ken and Jane and their childrenover the weekend.Eventually we took our leave and drove

away from the beautiful scenery of RoyalDeeside, leaving behind an outstandingexperience and taking with us manyenduring memories.

Rev Douglas RobertsonMinister, Scots Church, Melbourne

a royal audience

Balmoral Castle

fellow workers 3

willem vandenberghorsham presbyterianchurch

On the 9th of January 2007 I began aninterim supply posting at HorshamPresbyterian Church. Pam and I received avery warm welcome, in both senses – themercury was often above 35o C and thepeople at Horsham were also very friendlyand welcoming. Over the seven weeks ofour supply we were privileged to visit allthe parishioners, and other contacts, intheir homes, including visits to Marnoo,Minyip, Stawell and Warracknabeal.Towards the end of the seven weeks

the congregation resolved to apply for anexit student to be appointed to Horsham,and as a result we returned toNunawading only to pack our belongingsand move to Horsham in mid-April.How did I like the transition from

College to Parish work? No more assign-ment deadlines to meet! Instead the joyand privilege of weekly sermon prepara-tion, leading Bible Study groups, visitingparishioners, extending hospitality, and fol-lowing up contacts in the community –now doing full-time what in the past, asan elder, I could only do on a part-timebasis.Do I miss Melbourne? Not a lot! We are

happy to do without the smog and thetraffic snarls. We do miss our children,grandchildren, parents and friends, whoare indeed a long way away, but the tele-phone and email help us to keep in touch,and we have had the pleasure of quite afew visitors from Melbourne already. LastFriday night (7 September) was one suchoccasion. A goodly number of family andfriends made the journey to come to theservice of ordination and appointment ofmyself to the Horsham and Marnooparish. That was an encouragement forthe congregation as well as for us.Moving to a country parish can appear

a big challenge and adjustment, but as inthe past we have seen God’s hand inevery aspect, he has gone before and pre-pared the way. We are never left alone,and we see the work of interim modera-tors, presbytery, and the church office asvaluable. Ballarat Presbytery has made usvery welcome, and its meetings are anencouragement as we have opportunity tomeet with fellow-workers.With God’s guidance and enabling my

desire is to preach and teach the wholecounsel of God, and to encourage the folk

in their daily walk with the Lord – ‘equip-ping the saints for works of service’ (Eph.4:12). I ask your prayers that God willkeep us faithful as we seek to serve himin serving his people here at Horsham andMarnoo. It is a small church, but it isGod’s church, and the folk here are con-stantly acknowledging God’s blessings onhis church. Together we are praying andworking for spiritual growth and that Godwill add to our number.We thank God for bringing us to the

Wimmera.

RevWillem Vandenberg

miles fagannoorat presbyterian church

Robyn, Rebecca, Joel and I have beenin Noorat for eight months now. Therehas been a great amount of activity bothin our lives and the life of the Church. Forus there have been major movements andchanges. For the church there was muchactivity, and together the ministry of thegospel is of first priority.Moving from an inner-west Melbourne

suburb to a rural community sounds like amammoth change – and it has been – butthrough prayer and God’s grace, it feels asif we have always lived in the rural town-ship of Noorat.Moving out from a life of study at PTC

and Robyn working two part-time jobs tonow being involved in a parish has been ablessing as our resources can be concen-trated. The time spent at PTC and earlierin our careers in shipbuilding and librariescertainly has prepared both of us for themany challenges that have come our wayalready. Being organized, flexible andcommunicating within a family and min-istry structure has been a key to managingour time and resources.Rebecca and Joel have moved from a

city school that was 200 metres from ourhouse, thus leaving home as close to 9:00am as possible, to catching the school busat 8:15 am. The school transition hasbeen fantastic.When we arrived on the 10th January

and unloaded the trucks on the 11th, theManse was in sparkling condition. Thechurch community had worked tirelesslyto make the manse feel like our home. Itwas a wonderful reception. The congrega-tion have welcomed us with open armsand hearts.

The church buildings are in good con-dition. The level of care that is shown tothe grounds and buildings is testament tothe level of care that they show to individ-uals. Noorat has been a great example toboth the many visitors of this parish andto us.The Apostle Paul lays a pattern for min-

istry, that of preaching, visiting and out-reach. The preaching of Christ and his sal-vation is my first priority. Therefore, prayer,study and writing are three importanttasks that take priority. However, I am notpreaching to an empty building, so duringthe last eight months I have been visitingthe congregation in a systematic way.This has been a blessing. The congrega-tion does not live in a vacuum. Just asPaul would visit the market place to meetpeople, so I have gone to the ‘marketplace’ to meet new people and build rela-tionships. The market places for me arethe sporting clubs (Auskick and basketballcoaching), the CFA, the schools (CRE).The congregation have great hope and

much enthusiasm to press towards thefuture and seek God’s timing in our nextsteps forward. We continue to worshipGod and take the message of the Gospelto the people that are placed amongst us.

RevMiles Fagan

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pyv volleyball 2007 –a player’s perspective

PYV Volleyball 2007 was a brilliant suc-cess in all aspects. It was up to a stan-dard that anyone looking for some good,entertaining, and moderately competitivevolleyball would have enjoyed. It was thisstandard, along with the fact that the peo-ple playing were all from Presbyterianchurches across Melbourne who sought toplay in a Christ-like manner, that made itsuccessful.I think that the most important thing

about the day is that the competitors werenot playing for any self-glory, but rathertried to play fair, and let everyone have ago. In a sense, the day is an opportunityto apply what we have all learnedthroughout the year in the youth groupswe attend in a sports scenario. It is a greattradition that is looked forward to, and Ihope will remain popular throughout theyears to come.In the end, it was the boys from

Burwood who took home the much-cov-eted Men’s trophy, but they had better

watch their backs, as great potential liesin so many of our churches to win it nextyear. The winners in the mixed competi-tion were Croydon Hills, while Surrey Hillsproved too strong in the cheerleading fortheir formidable opposition.

Michael Johnston

pyv girls day out

On the 16 of June this year about 30girls from all over Victoria came toHeathmont Presbyterian church for PYV’sannual girls day out. Our speaker wasMichelle MacIntosh who gave two talksover the day. The first talk was aboutRuth: how she gave up everything to bewith God and is an example of what weshould try to be like. The second talk wasfrom Genesis 1:27-31, about how every-one is made in God’s image and thus weshould see them in that way. Over all, theday was a success great! The talks werevery challenging and it was great to catch

up with everyone! And there was alsoheaps of junk food and we got Subway forlunch!

Jess Cafarella

pyv junior camp –breaking news

When this has gone to print, camp willhave come and gone. As I write, how-ever, we are preparing for the largestJunior Camp ever. Over one hundredcampers are enrolled, in addition to overthirty leaders – representing almost atripling of the camp size since 2004. Welook forward to receiving clear teachingfrom Bill Medley, who will be speaking onthe gospel of John. We also look forwardto having fun and making new friendsthrough group activities and free time.

Andrew Vines

looking ahead

PYV Summer Camp is just around thecorner. Running over the usual dates of27th Dec - 1st Jan, the speaker will beJohn Stasse. He will look at the “oneanother” sayings of the New Testament,while Prof Allan Harman will lead theintensive stream through a course onChristian doctrine. The activities will bebased on an “Aussie Outback” theme, soput your Akubra, catch a crocodile and geton down to Summer Camp 07/08.

Andrew Vines

pyv news

4 fellow workers

PYV boys and girls

PYV trophy

fellow workers 5

At the start of September theTerrigal Presbyterian Church(NSW Central Coast) washost to a gathering of thePatrol teams of the

Presbyterian Inland Mission fromthroughout Australia.Even though they have often talked on

by phone or HF Radio, it was the first timethat some of the PIM family had met eachother. It was a particular joy to welcomeour youngest PIMer, John Purcell, thebaby son of Andrew and Kerri fromCharleville. There was great encourage-ment from the Scriptures through devo-tions led by Ken Rathbone and MaurieCropper (ministers from neighbouringparishes) as well as input on grief andstress, Bush first-aid, and suicide preven-tion led by various local experts in thesefields.

It was particularly enjoyable to havethe privilege of meeting Mr Fred Baird.Fred is a local church member fromTerrigal and the nephew of Rev Dr JohnFlynn. Fred delighted us with many yarnsfrom his boyhood of life with John andJean Flynn. He also had many preciousitems of correspondence and memorabiliaof the Flynns.On the Saturday of the Retreat, we

were blessed with many people from sur-rounding churches coming for a PIM Open

Day. It was a show-ery day. Some of thepatrol teams seemedquite perplexed bythe strange way thatwater was falling outof the sky – it was along time since theyhad seen that hap-pen! It was also aday of great encour-agement as peoplefrom the widerchurch showed theirsupport and interestin the work of PIM.One of our work-

ers was left speech-less when astranger came up to him and said ‘I amvery pleased to meet you; I pray for youevery day before breakfast’. What a bless-ing to have him and many others inter-ceding regularly for this important gospelwork before the Throne of the King ofKings!Our padres do not have the opportunity

for fellowship with their fellow workersthat most of our ministers take for granted,

so these times are very precious. Sadly itwent by all too quickly and we revert tocommunication restricted to phone, radioor email, but we look forward to anothergathering in another place in a year ortwo.

Rev Rob DuncansonConvener. PIM

pim at sunny terrigal (joke!)

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John Purcell, youngest member of PIM

Cameron and Carmel Mackenzie (SA) withFred Baird – showing him the vehicle usedin the Flynn Patrol

Glenn Samuel, Laurie Pye & Laurie Peakehaving a chat at the Open Day

6 fellow workers

ordination at Noorat

It was with great pleasure that on Fridayevening, 1st June 2007, at the Niel BlackPresbyterian Church, Noorat Victoria, thePresbytery of Kilnoorat ordained Mr MilesFagan as a Minister of the Word andSacraments and inducted him into thepastoral charge of Noorat. The Rev J PWilson was invited to come and preachthe occasional sermon and charge to theminister and congregation. He offered achallenging word from 2 Chronicles 17under the title: ‘Godly Church Leadership’.The service was followed by supper andspeeches. All went home filled, blessedand encouraged in the Lord.

myrtleford doubleanniversary

On 25th March, with the ModeratorGeneral, Rev Bob Thomas, as the GuestPreacher, St Andrew’s PresbyterianChurch, Myrtleford combined two anniver-saries. Though not lengthy milestones, thecelebration of twenty-one years since there-formation of a Presbyterian congregationand ten years since the move to the pre-sent premises, are of significance to thesmall congregation. A total of 70 peoplecame for a special service.Among the guests were Mr Neil and

Mrs Denise Mansfield and Mrs MargaretSmith and Mrs Anne Phillips. Neil wasinstrumental in the re-formation of thecongregation as part of the WangarattaRegional Parish, and Margaret and Annewere amongst the founding members.Members of the two other congrega-

tions in the parish (Yarrawonga andWangaratta) joined with the people of StAndrew’s, as well as a number of peoplewho were members of St Andrew’s prior tothe formation of the Uniting Church andone-time members of St Andrew’s whonow live elsewhere.Those with a connection were asked to

fill in questionnaires about their involve-ment – who and what they remembered –and to provide photos if possible. Theresponse led to a photographic display ofmany significant events and lots of tripsdown ‘Memory Lane‘. This includedthoughts on the formation of the UnitingChurch and the re-formation of thePresbyterian Church. These have nowbeen placed in a scrapbook. A leaflet wasalso prepared and distributed on the dayas a keepsake.

’Tis Jesus the first and the last, whoseSpirit shall guide us safe home. We praisehim for all that is past and trust him for allthat’s to come.’

Rev Neil Harvey.

centennial celebration atsunshine

The Lord poured out many blessingsthroughout the centennial celebrations ofSunshine Presbyterian Church, McKayMemorial, during events held from 23June to 1 July, 2007. It is a privilege toacknowledge one hundred years of faith-ful, consistent worship and service in thecity of Sunshine in such a young country.Tribute was paid to the memory of the

well known industrialist, Hugh VictorMcKay, whose philanthropy and inventivegenius was used by God in the establish-ment of Sunshine and the founding ofSunshine Church. The name Sunshinewas inspired through a sermon heard byHugh and preached in Ballarat by the lateDr Thomas Dewitt Talmage, a Presbyterianevangelist from the USA. (refer historybooklet & CD).*On Saturday, 23 June, a community

barbeque, organised by the planning teamled by Pastor Cor Vanderhorn, provided awide range of activities for nearly 200 visi-tors. The free event provided the localcommunity with a variety of food anddrink, jumping castle, varied entertain-ment for children, including music withethnic input by Sudanese singers and acomprehensive historical display arrangedby the Planning Committee Convener,Bronwen Merrigan.Ninety local and interstate guests

attended the Centennial Dinner, onWednesday, 27 June, at the SunshineMotor Inn. Distinguished guests included

the Mayor of the city Cr Margaret Giudice,Professor Allan Harman, Dr Mairi Harman,the Moderator of the PCV Rev Grant Lawryand Anne Lawry.Kate Rice and Tim Campbell provided

musical items and background musicwhich appealed to all ages. The historicalbooklet and CD were presented byBronwen Merrigan and Joan Vanderhornwho had spent many months of intenseresearch and preparation with technicalaid from Tony Galea, Fran Munro and Rev.Michael Wharton. Undoubtedly the high-light of the evening was the historicaladdress given by Dr Mairi Harman on oursuperb Scottish heritage tradition and ourconcurrent responsibility. Pastor Corshowed a remarkable film of earlyMelbourne and the anniversary cake wascut by elders Colin Phillips, BobMacdonald and Gilbert Bell.A pleasing number attended a historical

presentation on Thursday, 28 June in theSunshine Church. Former member, RayBrowne, presented the story of H. V.McKay’s family. As a gifted inventor andproducer of farm machinery, Hugh’s per-sonal attitude was always: ‘There must bea better way to do this.’ Ray’s talkenhanced our celebrations in acknowledg-ing the role of the McKays in the early lifeof our church and Sunshine.Rev. Dr Allan Harman preached at the

Centennial Service, on 1 July 2007, from1 Corinthians 15 to an attentive congrega-tion of almost 250 people who were wel-comed in three languages, English, Koreanand Arabic. The Sunday School sang ‘TheGreat Southland’. The music team pre-sented ‘Dwelling Place’ and accompaniedCor as he recited Rev. S. M. Lockridge’spoem ‘That’s My King’, challenging hear-ers to know the King personally.The catering team organised refresh-

ments and a 100th birthday cake. Peoplecongregated in the hall and the marquee

around the church

Sunshine centenary BBQ faces

fellow workers 7

set up in the church feature garden, whilemany viewed the photos and other memo-rabilia in the board room. A rich time ofrenewing friendships and recalling pastfellowship ensued with former membersand their families, past office bearers,descendants of former ministers andmembers of the McKay family in atten-dance. Many were deeply touched and itwas evident that the Holy Spirit was atwork.Some comments from former parish-

ioners:I remain grateful for support from

Sunshine when I went to work in Pakistan(Rev. Dr Geoff Thompson).I feel that the hand of the Lord was

with all your planning as everything wasperfect (MayMulholland ).The singing of the last two hymns will

be a lasting memory; in fact I was hum-ming the tunes for a number of days(busy surgeon, Mr Graeme Thompson).You can take the boy out of Sunshine,

but you can’t take Sunshine out of the boy(Dr Blair Currie).From a local clergyman: To be in a situ-

ation of celebrating 100 years of proclaim-ing the Good News of Jesus Christ is anenormous blessing to you and to thewhole Sunshine area (Fr Peter HoangOMI).This week of celebration testified to the

value of many members choosing taskssuiting their individual gifting and experi-ence. We express appreciation for the con-stant prayerfulness of our beloved churchfamily who faithfully prayed for over a yearthat the whole celebration would glorifyGod and him alone. It is our convictionthat the prayers were answered. TheSunshine Presbyterian Church communitymoves into the future in faith, continuingthe work that our Lord and Saviour, JesusChrist, has set us to do until his tri-umphant return.* History Booklets and CD’s may be

sought through Pastor Cor Vanderhorn,9311 1661; Session Clerk Gilbert Bell,9311 4103; Celebration ConvenerBronwen Merrigan, 9311 2397.

Isabel G. Bell

a faithful servant of thelord Jesus

As the Clerk of the Kirk Session of theMoorabool I would like to celebrate the lifeof the Rev Stephen Sasdy and offer ourcondolences to Gizella, Ilona, Bill andfamilies on behalf of the Presbyterian

Church of Victoria. Mr Sasdy passed on.The people of the Moorabool Charge

remember with great affection Mr Sasdy’s23 years of ministry in our three congre-gations: Anakie, Batesford and Russell’sBridge.Mr Sasdy often told of his traumatic

experiences during the War years and howhe escaped to come to Australia. Heworked in the Mines of Mt. Isa, for twoyears. He came with his brother to Victoriaand both obtained a bush block in theDandenongs. They cleared it with a horseand their bare hands.He was an ordained Minister of the

Presbyterian Church in Hungary and hisdesire was to serve the Lord in that capac-ity. He undertook a refresher course at theTheological College in 1959 and there hemet his first wife, Joan, who was secretaryto the Moderator and she taught him theEnglish language. He was inducted intothe Parish of Romsey in 1961. TheMoorabool Parish became vacant in 1967when the Rev. E. Johnson left. Rev. A.Hilliard was the Interim Moderator duringthe vacancy. A Selection Committee wasformed and visited the Mansfield Churchto hear Steve preach, as a result we calledhim to minister to this parish. He wasinducted on 9th February, 1968 and,together with his wife Joan, started whateventuated to 23 years of Ministry.I found Steve to be a bit of a character.

He was also a bit of a ‘villain’! He took onmany ventures which surprised most of us– a bluestone building in Geelong calledthe Chas. Cole building, was to be demol-ished. He talked the owners into allowinghim to acquire the stones which he num-bered so he could build a replica of itsomewhere in Batesford. He had thestones carted to a vacant block next to theChurch. His plan never eventuated. Healso helped to demolish the old CourtHouse in Colac and had the materialbrought to Batesford and stored in a shedon Mr. Hill’s property. Unfortunately it wasnot used either, except the slate, some ofwhich was used to build the porch overthe vestry here at Batesford just recently.He purchased a dairy farm at Connewarre,employed a manager with whom he hadtrouble. The manager was selling thecalves for himself, so Steve sold the farmand purchased another block atBirregurra, built pig pens himself; that wasnot viable either, so that was sold, and hethen purchased a 5 acre block in the area.His wife Joan passed away in 1978

and he was devastated as she did somuch for him with the congregations,filled in as organist etc. He remarried in

1989 to Gizella at Scots Church,Melbourne. He sold the 5-acre block andthey purchased a house of their own inQuamby Avenue, Hamlyn Heights,Geelong.Steve was very patriotic, obtained the

Australian Flag through Mr. GordonScholes, who was a politician, attendedDawn Services every Anzac Day. He cre-ated an elaborate Christmas Carol Serviceevery year. Different members of the con-gregation would take their truck toDurdewarra to collect Christmas trees.They were huge, they had to be perfect.We walked around to select the right ones,then placed them perfectly on the pulpit.He would decorate them himself. Heinvited singers to take part, accompaniedby our talented organist, Mrs. BettyWarner. He loved chocolates, gave themaway by the boxful. He would go to theVictoria Market, buy fruit and vegies togive away. He purchased and collected ahuge amount of books, built bookshelveseverywhere in the Manse. It was anotherhuge job to clear them after he left!He was inducted as the Moderator of

Presbytery on 3rd February, 1991 and thiswas his last ministerial post before heretired at the end of December of thatyear, 1991. After retirement he graduallybecame crippled with arthritis, spent sometime in hospital and the Mckellar Centre,before entering Glenburn Nursing Home.His wife Gizella was admitted to a nursinghome in Melbourne where he eventuallyjoined her some nine months ago. I keptin touch with him through his stepdaugh-ter, Ilona and he passed away on 12thJuly, 2007, in his 94the year. I was privi-leged to be associated with such a won-derful man.

Mr Colin E BakerSession Clerk, Moorabool Parish.

extensions at malvern

On Sunday 19th August 2007 theModerator General, the Rt Rev BobThomas, preached at the service of wor-ship in which the Malvern congregationgave thanks to God for the opening of itsnew foyer and crying room. The Moderatorpreached on 1 Peter 2, reminding us thatbelievers are living stones. He also encour-aged the people to view the new foyer assymbolic of combining the old with thenew in the spiritual life of the church. Forthe first time in the history of the one hun-dred year building complex it was possibleto walk from the church building to

Continued page 8

8 fellow workers

Church House under cover for morningtea. The structure is an impressive roomwith several glass features including theentrance and exit doors. There is also asloped glass roof which retains the stainedglass feature on the eastern side of thechurch.The service was also a means of giving

thanks for the complete refurbishment ofthe church complex over the last severalyears. Works included the painting of bothbuildings, significant roof, floor and struc-tural repairs, new carpet, heating, wiring,lighting and seating. The completion of theworks sees the culmination of the hopesand prayers of the Malvern congregationover many years and is a testimony to thegrace of God. May he use it and his peo-ple for the growth of his kingdom and forthe furtherance of the gospel of our LordJesus.

Rev Philip DaffyMinister of Malvern Presbyterian Church

faithful servant retires

The Rev Robert Boan has retired as theminister of the Morwell PresbyterianChurch. The Gippsland Presbyterydeclares that the Morwell parish will bevacant from the 7 January, 2008. MrBoan was inducted into the charge in April2001 and has faithfully served the LordJesus Christ in both Morwell and thePresbyterian of Victoria as a whole.Although, Mr Boan has officially retired hewill continue to serve on the GippslandPresbytery as well do supply preaching atMorwell and in other congregations.Robert and his wife Mary plan to move toMirboo North in their retirement. We wishRobert and Mary all of the Lord’s blessingsas they now begin to enjoy their retire-ment.

Mrs Sabine Bruce

ordination at Noorat

We give thanks and praise to the Kingand Head of the church, the Lord Jesusfor the ordination of the Rev WillemVandenberg. Willem was ordained by thePresbytery of Ballarat and appointed to theHorsham-Marnoo Appointment Parish on7th September 2007.

The Service of worship was trulypraiseworthy, with the Rev Len Pearcepreaching the occasional sermon titled:‘Mending The Saints’. The scriptures

were read by the Session Clerk ofHorsham-Marnoo and the InterimModerator Ian Hutton, with theModerator of Presbytery Mr George Smithand the Rev Dr. John Woodward con-ducting the ordination. It was wonderfulto see members of Willem and Pam’sfamily bring musical leadership to theservice.

A packed church was testimony to theblessing and encouragement Willem andPam have already been to the Parish.Willem and Pam are looking forward tomany years of fruitful service in the workof kingdom.

Rev JohnWoodwardClerk of the Presbytery of Ballarat.

a time to celebrate atcaulfield presbyterianchurch

On the 16th of September 2007, thecongregations of Caulfield-Elwood PC cel-ebrated the baptisms of AikoYoshibayashi and Amanda Tey atCaulfield Presbyterian Church. The ser-vice was conducted by our InterimModerator, the Rev Dr Botros Botrosdief.The service was attended family andfriends of both the baptismal candidatesand they all enjoyed witnessing this spe-cial occasion. There was a wonderfulopportunity for both Aiko and Amanda toshare their faith and testimonies in fromof their families and friends who are non-believers. Aiko and Amanda both spokeof their love for and devotion to theirSaviour flowing out of deep gratitude toHis dying on the Cross of Calvary andbeing raised from the dead for their sins.As Aiko and Amanda spoke of the beautyand glory of Jesus Christ, it gave the restof the church an opportunity to reflectupon their own commitment to our Lordand Saviour. Following the Lord’s Servicethe celebration continued with a sumptu-ous fellowship luncheon.

MrSam LimRuling Elder, Caulfield Presbyterian Church

Baptism at Caulfield

Malvern service

continued from p. 7...

Presbyterian Theological College

master of arts in theology20th Century Theologians TH754

Lecturer: Professor Douglas MilneLecturer in Theology and Ethics, PTC Melbourne

Professor Milne is Principal of PTC Melbourne and author of Let’s Study Lukeand other commentaries. He has a passion for biblical, historical and systematic

theology, and is currently doing research on aspects of Barth and Thielicke.

The lectures will be given in week-by-week modefrom Feb 14, Thursdays 2–4pm

A detailed outline of the content, assessment and bibliography for this subjectis available upon request from

PTC 684 Elgar Road Box Hill North03 9898 9384 or info@presbyteriancollege.org

www.presbyteriancollege.org

fellow workers 9

This has been an amazingly sat-isfying three weeks in Africa.Hard for those who were sepa-rated from their wife and family;hard because of some living

conditions (read: no plumbing); testing aswe watched a tummy bug go through halfthe group; tiring as we drove for days on acrowded bus – but most satisfying. We areso grateful to the Lord our God for allow-ing us the privilege to learn from ourAfrican brothers and sisters and to beinvited to share in their ministry of thegospel and to gain such insight into howthey evangelise and grow the kingdom ofGod in Central Africa. The 13 of us arechanged people. The Presbyterians inMalawi and in Zambia are teaching usabout kingdom work – a work that doesn’trely on resources, money or facilities. Allyou need for God’s work is a big heart forJesus, lots of people and the power of theHoly Spirit.

Overall, the trip worked out even bet-ter than I had hoped for. All the men ofthe group had ample opportunities toteach, preach and lead within an Africansetting and culture. Some said that theyhad never before had the chance to teachso many times in such a short time-frame. Some of them reflected on howthey were challenged by the differentinvitations to speak – often with littleadvance notice.John Dekker showed remarkable gifts

and graces as he taught biblical theologyat the inauguration of CTC (ChasefuTheological College) Zambia. Other menshone during this teaching week at collegeincluding Clinton Le Page, Dean Carroll,Simon Veerhuis, Mark Smith, Cam Garrett,Hui Lim and Toby McIntosh. Clinton andSimon inspired the team in languagelearning – speaking to local Christians inthree different languages! Toby and Huidemonstrated their many talents by takingtheir turn at driving the CCAP Zambianbus. Joel Mestry helped many in localcongregations by giving his testimony (andencouraged us on long bus trips with hisrendition of the Mauritian nationalanthem).The two ladies had great opportunities

ministering to women’s groups (sometimesin very remote villages) and to young peo-ple at schools. Krissy and Sandy loved thewomen and children … and they wereloved by them.Team spirit was remarkable. There

were no complaints, no anger or disputes,despite testing times, changes of plan,

physical exhaustion and living closelytogether for three weeks. Each memberrose to the occasion to take the leadwhen it was needed. Each memberlooked out for each other with Christ-likecompassion. If this is an indication of theleadership of the Presbyterian Church ofVictoria in ten years time then we will bewell served. Thank you to all the PCVchurches and individuals who supportedthis venture. Your contribution has beenfor the service in the kingdom of the LordJesus Christ. Every dollar has been usedfor the glory of God in Africa (firstly) …but also it is an investment in future min-sters’ lives. The denomination hasinvested in nine future ministries withinthe PCV.The suggestion has been strongly made

that we should think of providing thisMission Trip once every 3 years in order togive the opportunity for every theologicalstudent at PTC to attend once in theirtraining. It would be a big commitment(for funding) by the denomination, but ifwe think the investment is for the glory ofGod, then we should find a way.Please pray for the CCAP Blantyre

Synod, for:its General Assembly meeting in

August every second year (to which wehave been invited) where there will be theelection of new leadership, especiallytheir General Secretary and Deputy andtheir Moderator and Vice; these areimportant decisions for the Synod; please

pray with us for the election of evangeli-cally minded and spiritually discerningmen to these positionsColin and Shirley M’Bawa and the

strategic ministries of theological trainingat the Resource Centre and for theirchurch’s orphan care ministry and visionto buy and run an orphanage in BlantyreFor the ministry of the Women’s Centre

(Chigodi) which is not well supported bysynod, yet it conducts a strategic ministryto the women of surrounding villages forthe gospel under the sacrificial leadershipof GracePlease pray for the CCAP Zambia

Synod, especially for:• its Moderator: Victor, General Secretary:Lazarus and Treasurer: Isaac; these arehumble, gracious, faithful and hard work-ing men who lead their small denomina-tion with spiritual discernment andcourage• its new Theological College at Chasefu(far NE Zambia), and for their vision ofbuilding new buildings at this historic site• the use of the synod bus “All ForJesus” donated courtesy of St Kilda /Malvern / Wangaratta churches, as ameans of multiplying their ministries andkeeping in contact with churches andprayer houses scattered over such a largecountry

Rev John PWilsonLecturer, Presbyterian Theological College,

Melbourne

ptc mission malawi 2007

Malawi mission team

1 0 fellow workers

Dr Longman recently delivered MA lec-tures at PTC on “Preaching Psalms”

Dr Longman, would you tell us some-thing of your background and how youcame to faith?I grew in Columbus Ohio and first went

to a Billy Graham crusade when I was in6th grade. I remember going forward andstudying the Bible after that. But duringHigh School I ignored my faith. Then aBaptist minister became interested in ourAmerican football team, Gridiron and heshared the Gospel with a bunch of us andsome of us became Christians at thatpoint. We went off to College. At thatpoint, I started attending College lecturesby a visiting theologian named R C Sprouland showed me that the ReformedTheology was the most consistently bibli-cal form of theology out there. My wife

also had becomea Christian inHigh School andwe met inCollege. She hadbecome aChristian throughstudents atWestminsterSeminary, includ-ing some who arenow professors,like AndrewLincoln. It wasshe that to gotme connected tothe OrthodoxPresbyterianChurch (OPC) inPhiladelphia.

What Church did you attend as ateenager?As a teenager I went to what was then

the United Presbyterian Church, nowknown as the PCUSA. They tend to be ofdifferent stripes and this one was anorthodox congregation but did not makemany demands on its members.

Where do you worship now?I am back in the PCUSA, but it is an

evangelical congregation and Reformed inits theology. It is typical of SouthernCalifornia Churches to be more conserva-tive and evangelical than those on theEast Coast. Our congregation is a small,with largely older members. It was ourfriends and colleagues who invited us to

fellowship. Upon visiting the church mywife, Alice and I thought that it would bean encouragement to the church for us tomake it our home, and especially so sinceAlice and I are two of the younger mem-bers.

With whom do you hold your ministerialcredentials?I am not ordained as a minister. I am

ordained as a ruling elder. I was ordainedas a ruling elder in New Life PresbyterianChurch where a man named John Millerwas minister. He has written a number ofbooks about the church life.

Is it common the US to become a lec-turer in a seminary without beingordained as a teaching elder (minister)?It is an interesting subject because the

reason I didn’t become an ordained minis-ter is because I didn’t have a call to a par-ticular church. The issue of people whoministering as teaching elders in theChurch by lecturing in the Seminary was aquestion that was discussed in the 1970sand early 1980s in the PhiladelphiaPresbytery where there were many minis-ters teaching at Westminster Seminary,and this overloaded the Presbytery withteachers who weren’t engaged in day-to-day ministry.

Of which denomination was thatPresbytery a part?When I first started worshipping at

New Life Church it was a part of theOrthodox Presbyterian Church. Then in themid 1980s there was an attempt to mergethe OPC with the PCA which failed. Thena number of the churches in the OPC uni-laterally left to join the PCA and New Lifewas one of them. This was significantsince New Life had a membership ofabout 1000 people and the OPC wasabout 15,000 members in total. I as aruling elder argued against that move,thinking that we should not leave adenomination with which we were alreadyassociated. I lost that and New Life joinedthe PCA.

What are you doing at the moment?My day job is Robert H Gundry

Professor of Biblical Studies at WestmontCollege, which is a small, at least byAmerican standards, Christian liberal artscollege. Westmont College is constructedalong the lines of the model of Wheaton orGordon-Conwell. Westmont has about

1200 students andit only offers under-graduate studies.Consequently, I do alot of intensivecourses (such as theone this week atPTC) at seminariesto keep my finger inseminary education.

You used to teach at WestminsterTheological Seminary, is that correct?Yes, for 18 years I taught at

Westminster. From 1981 to 1998 I wasProfessor of Old Testament and for the lastfew years (1993-98) the chairman of theOld Testament department.

How would you describe your time atWestminster Theological Seminary?My experience was wonderful, espe-

cially my first 15 years. In my mind, I hadwonderful colleagues, a wonderful library,and great students. There was a periodwhere there was a lot of internal theologi-cal controversy among the faculty. Thiswas the case when I first arrived. It was atthe end point of the so-called NormanSheppard controversy. But after that fin-ished, there was a wonderful collection ofteachers and people such as SinclairFerguson, Harvey Conn, Ray Dillard,Bruce Waltke, and D Moses Silva, TimKellar. I could have happily continued atWestminster, but I decided that after 18years of teaching I would try somethingnew and teach in the undergraduate pro-gram at Westmont. I still go toWestminster, Philadelphia and teachcourses.

You have focused your scholarly studiesin the field of wisdom literature, howdid come about?It came about in that I did my doctoral

dissertation on fictional Akkadian autobi-ographies. This sounds esoteric, but theform of some of those texts is similar tothe form of the biblical book ofEcclesiastes. That got me interested inEcclesiastes on a scholarly level. Of courseEcclesiastes is one of the most interestingbooks in the canon of Scripture. Eerdmansasked me to write a commentary onEcclesiastes and on the Song of Songs.Following from that I wrote a commentaryon Proverbs for Baker Books and rightnow I am working on a commentary onJob.

wisdom for todaywith dr tremper longman III

Wisdom is askill of living

that givesguidance on

how to live lifein a way thatconforms to

God’s will forus and also

leads tosuccess.

fellow workers 1 1

Christians often find wisdom literaturedifficult. How would you describeWisdom literature?You cannot encapsulate it in a couple

of sentences because Proverbs,Ecclesiastes and Job work together to for-mulate our ideas about wisdom. Wisdomis a skill of living that gives guidance onhow to live life in a way that conforms toGod’s will for us and also leads to suc-cess. But of course biblical wisdom ismore than just that; it is more deeplyabout a theological relationship. You donot get to square one in wisdom unlessyou have the ‘fear of the LORD’. The bookof Ecclesiastes and Job, on the otherhand, remind us that there is no auto-matic or mechanical connection betweengodliness and reward in this life. I findwisdom literature fascinating because ofthe different contributions that these threebooks make to what wisdom is.

For whom is wisdom literature written?Wisdom literature is written for the

Christian, who is the one who fears Godin the biblical sense. The formula, “thebeginning of Wisdom [or the beginning ofknowledge] is the fear of the Lord” is say-ing that you cannot really be wise unlessyou have a relationship with God.

Is biblical wisdom literature unique ordoes it have some connection withEgyptian wisdom literature of thattime?An interesting facet to Old Testament

wisdom literature is it appears fromEgyptian wisdom literature that there issome connection between the two.However, I would say that this is the casebecause the Egyptians were keenobservers of life. I would also add that thebiblical sages would judged the Egyptianwise men as ultimately being fools, andthat is the case because Egyptian wisemen did not have a relationship with thetrue God.

Let’s now come to the individual bibli-cal wisdom books. The book of Job puz-zles many Christians. How would yououtline the message of the book of Job?Job’s basic message is that God has

wisdom and strength, and you only havewisdom and strength if God grants orgives it to you. The movement within thebook of Job is from wisdom to faith. Jobhas a problem and Job’s three friends pre-sent themselves as wise men who areable to guide Job out his problems. Then

Elihu comes along who also has an argu-ment for Job. However, it is not until Godspeaks out of the whirlwind and says thatI am the One with wisdom, that we gain acorrect perspective. What we learn is thatwe sometimes we do not know why wesuffer, but we certainly cannot attribute allsuffering to sin. Even though sin can leadto suffering, it does not meant that all suf-fering is a result of a particular sin.

Is the Song of Songs allegory and howdo you preach on it?In a word, no! The Song of Songs is

not allegory, but it certainly has a theologi-cal dimension to it. By this I mean that asthe Song describes human love, it is usinghuman love and marriage to describe therelationship between God and his people.The more we learn about love, the morewe learn about our relationship with God.So when I preach on the Song of songs, Istart out talking about human love rela-tionships, marriage and things like that,but I always bring it back to our marriageto God. So although Song of Songs is notallegory, there are theological dimensionsto the book. I also apply the message ofthe Song to the church’s relationship toGod, but not like the allegorist does. Theallegorist takes the details of the Song andwrongly derives theological meaning out ofthem, and that is what I mean by sayingthat it is not allegory.

Many Christians see the book ofEcclesiastes as wholly negative book.Do you agree with this outlook, andhow would you respond to such aclaim?I believe that Ecclesiastes ends very

positively, fear God and obey the com-mandments. Although, if you isolate partsof the Preacher’s speech, it certainly ispessimistic, but you are not to read theconclusion, ‘Meaningless! Meaningless!Everything is meaningless’, apart from themessage of the whole book. The messageof Ecclesiastes as a whole is that if youput your fear in the Lord and obey hiscommands, you will find meaning there.You will not find meaning in work or inwealth; you will never find ultimate mean-ing in those things.

What do you think is the value of thebook of Psalms for today, living as wedo so long after they were first penned?First of all I think that John Calvin was

right when he said that the Psalms are amirror of the soul, that is, that as we read

the Psalms and put ourselves in the placeof the Psalmist, the Psalms express emo-tions that we have that we find difficult tofind words to express.The Psalms minister to us as they

move us toward God as we express ouremotions toward God. I think also that thePsalms point us to Jesus.

What is the valueof the Psalter forour corporateworship on theLord’s Day?The Psalter had

its original settingin the corporateworship. It wasused in privatedevotions as wellas you can tellfrom Hannah andJonah, but it wasthe hymnbook ofthe ancientIsraelite commu-nity of God. ThePsalter gives us aprayer book. Itought to be read,preached on, and sung now. It encouragescongregations to sing a lot together. I per-sonally do not believe that we should onlysing the Psalms, but they should be sungin worship.

In some Christian circles the book ofProverbs is used to preach a ‘healthand wealth’ gospel, namely if you arefaithful, you will be healthy andwealthy. How does the book of Proverbsguard us from falling into ‘health andwealth’ preaching?Proverbs guards us against such teach-

ing in three ways. One is to recognise thatProverbs are not making promises. That isnot what Proverbs do. What they do is tosay that if you adopt a certain form ofbehaviour it will lead to a certain conse-quence, all other things being equal. But itis not making a promise that if you dosomething, you are going to end up withmaterial success. Secondly, you need toremember stories like the Joseph story,where Joseph does the right thing accord-ing to Proverbs, yet by rejecting theadvances of Potiphar’s wife’s, Joseph doesnot gain wealth, he gets thrown into gaol.This reminds us that in the book ofProverbs you have what is called ‘betterthan’ proverbs. These are Proverbs that

Continued page 12

...Of coursewisdom ismore than justthat; it is moredeeply about atheologicalrelationship.You do not getto square onein wisdomunless youhave the fearof the LORD.

1 2 fellow workers

say something like, ‘better wisdom withlove than money with strife’. These ‘betterthan’ proverbs, of which there are a largenumber, probably 25 to 30 in all. Theyindicate that sometimes the wise personhas to make a choice between wisdom orgodliness versus money. Then most point-edly we have the books of Job andEcclesiastes, both of which raise questionsabout this idea of a perfect correlationbetween wisdom and wealth. Proverbsitself will talk about how the wicked getwealthy, it may be short lived but they stillmay get wealthy.

Coming back to wisdom literature as awhole, what would you say are themost common abuses of this type ofbiblical literature?We have already pinpointed a big one

and that is using it for a ‘health andwealth’ kind of teaching. Another commonabuse is to treat Proverbs as if they arealways true. Proverbs are true when theyare applied in the right circumstances andthat is why you get proverbs that seem to

contradict each other, but they really don’t,like Proverbs 26.4-5: ‘Answer a foolaccording to his folly…’ and ‘Don’t answera fool according to his folly…’.

Speaking generally, what do youbelieve are the main issues to considerwhen preaching from wisdom litera-ture?The main issues are keeping in mind

how wisdom literature works, namelysome of the things we have already talkedabout. We need to keep in mind the theo-logical dimension of wisdom and remem-ber the Christological dimension of wis-dom, which is that the New Testamentpoints to Jesus as the very Wisdom ofGod. There are a number of NewTestament texts, like John 1.1 andColossians 1.15-16 that describe Jesus inlanguage that is very similar to Proverbs 8and the figure of Woman Wisdom. Youhave to avoid the danger of thinking thatProverbs 8, Woman Wisdom is some kindof prophesy of Christ. It is not identifyingJesus as Women Wisdom, it is associating

the two. Of course if you identify themand treat the language literally you willend up an Arian (Jehovah’s Witness)Christ, so is an important thing to be verycareful about.

Finally Dr Longman, from the variousbooks you have written, which one ortwo would you particularly recommend?Let’s say that I only had enough moneyto buy one of your books, which oneshould I purchase?Well, that is like asking me which one of

my children I prefer (Tremper laughs). Itdepends on what a person is interested inand what they want to learn about. Amongmy commentaries, I would recommend oneon Proverbs. Among the books I have writ-ten with the psychologist Dan Allender, Imay suggest a book called Cry of the Soul.Finally, I would recommend Introduction tothe Old Testament because it gives an intro-duction to all the books of the OldTestament and it has been recently updated.

Interviewed by Rev Tony Johnson

If the ladies who began thePresbyterian Women’s MissionaryUnion in 1890 with a £50 dona-tion could see the organization as itis now, they would be astonished. If

they could understand the world we nowlive in they would surely nod their headsin approval. PWMU has a long history,but that does not mean that it is behindthe times or irrelevant. It still does all thethings that it set out to do when it wasformed, but has changed again and againto meet each new circumstance in mis-sionary work.In the early days of the Union, PWMU

was instrumental in sending out mission-aries to Korea. Now it supports Victorianmen and women from Presbyterianchurches who become missionaries underthe auspices of APWM and other agen-cies, and who work in many differentcountries, including Australia. It supportsPresbyterian women who are training formissionary service, and those who under-take short term mission work. As well,PWMU sponsors bursary students – menfrom other countries or aboriginals whoare brought to Victoria to study at the

Presbyterian Theological College for a timeso that they are better equipped to minis-ter in their homelands. Currently, PWMUhas two bursary students in Melbourne,Rev Michael Ngaiyeye from Malawi andSuraj Chellaiah who has come from Indiawith his family.There is a strong emphasis in PWMU

on active and pro-active support for mis-sionaries through the dissemination ofinformation, prayer and finance. Regularmeetings are held at branch, Presbyteryand State level which aid this process.Missionaries are asked to speak as oftenas is practicable when they are home.This is just one way that members canget to know the missionaries and theirneeds. PWMU members are also in regu-lar personal contact with all the mission-aries by letter or email.Today there is the added dimension in

that PWMU administers the interest fromfunds which were generously donated inthe past through legacies and trusts.Some of these have very specific pur-poses, but most have wide application.Every Victorian Presbyterian missionaryhas been blessed and will continue to be

blessed by the application of these fundsto specific needs at specific times.Sometimes they don’t even have to ask:the members note a need or activity andask for funds to be applied for this pur-pose.The monthly PWMU newsletter

appears to be the only regular digest ofnews on Victorian missionaries. Thisnewsletter is sent free to all our mission-aries as is fellow workers. The PWMUnewsletter can be made available to any-one who wishes to subscribe to it, notjust to members. ($15 for 10 issues perannum). It aims to provide readers withinformation that will enable them touphold missionaries in prayer. It is alsoone of the ways that the governing bodyof PWMU, the State Council, keeps mem-bers up-to-date with its activities.We would encourage all women in the

denomination to take an active interest inPWMU which is the major women’sorganisation in the Victorian state church.Those involved in it find it an exciting andvital part of the work in God’s Kingdom.

Esther VayneSecretary, PWMU

pwmu serving the presbyterian church

continued from p. 11...

fellow workers 1 3

‘As a teacher I see the friendship, uncondi-tional love and giving attitude that chap-lains give to school staff and students.They have certainly added to the educa-tional standard and the ethos of myschool.’ Sarah Coleman, (Regents Park)

Throughout Australia schoolchaplains are making their markin their communities. TheFederal Government’s $30 mil-lion funding of school chap-

laincy has opened new opportunities forthe Church. But what does school chap-laincy look like? How can we get involvedor support it? School chaplaincy is a cut-ting edge ministry that takes the messageof Christ into the community.The term “chaplain” comes from the

story of Martin of Tours, a Roman solider,who stopped to help a shivering beggar. Inan act of kindness he cut his cloak (calleda chappella) in half and gave it to thebeggar. As the legend records it, Martin ofTours had a vision that night and sawChrist wearing that cloak he had given thebeggar. The event turned him to serveChrist as a “chaplain” in the army.Chaplaincy has grown in many areas

but the central philosophy is to “beChrist” in the community. Today we seechaplaincy throughout our community.Traditional forms of chaplaincy see menand women ministering in hospitals, pris-ons, police stations, and the AustralianDefence Force. Newer forms of “urban”chaplaincy have seen chaplains minister-ing in sporting clubs (e.g. MelbourneFootball Club), industry (e.g. Kodak),SES.

“Chaplaincy is the means for taking theMessage to themarket.”

Chaplains in public schools haverecently become a major focus because ofthe Government’s funding. TheGovernment has identified a need withinour post-Christian society. Christian chap-lains provide an answer, taking the Churchinto the community. Chaplain PaulCameron describes chaplaincy as, “themeans for taking the Message to the mar-ket.” The church has identified the need tobe relevant to a changing culture andchaplaincy has provided a vehicle to takethe unchanging message of salvationthrough Christ to a changing culture.Chaplains take the Church into the com-munity and reach people who would notnormally enter a church building. It is a

cutting edge ministry with amazing storiesof Jesus changing hardened hearts.

School Chaplaincy: Making a differencein our communityThe PCV’s Health and Community

Chaplaincy Committee commissionedIntegrated Chaplaincy Training (ICT) to berun through the Presbyterian TheologicalCollege. ICT, developed by Rev. Dr. DavidWilson, has proven valuable in exposingstudents to a wide range of chaplaincyareas, including school chaplaincy. ICTlecturer, defence force chaplain and schoolchaplain Rev. David Horne has been aschool chaplain for over seven years. Hedescribes his role as a blessing but onenot without its struggles. “It took time todevelop trust among the staff and stu-dents.” David’s main role is counsellingand listening to a myriad of issues of bothstudents and staff. Relationship concernswith friends and family, moral issues,stress and depression, and faith issues arejust a taste of the issues he hears. Davidalso runs lunch time Christian programsand a “Men of Steel” program bringingfathers and sons together after school formanual arts projects. As a school chaplainDavid provides a unique service to theschool and wider community.

David’s chaplain tips:David’s school chaplaincy, he says, can

be summarized in one word: Servanthood.Mark 10:45 explains that the King ofKings came not to be served but to serve.David shows his servant heart through thelittle things such as:• Filling up the teachers coffee/tea sup-plies in the staff room• Arriving early to school to meet and chatwith teachers as they arrive at work• Developing a tree planting project for theschool grounds. This includes growingplants in the school greenhouse• Walking around the grounds at lunchtime chatting with students• Driving the school bus to events• Going on camps to mentor studentsThese little tasks have shown the

school that he is serious about servingthem. The trust this has developed isreflected in the large number of studentswith no Christian background coming tochat to him.

Case study:Rev. Tony Salisbury is an ordained

Minister to the Surrey Hills PresbyterianChurch deaf congregation. He faithfully

serves the members of this congregation.However, he has a deep desire to pro-claim Christ in the wider deaf community.This passion has seen his appointment asuniversity Chaplain at RMIT to the deafstudents. He describes chaplaincy as aministry of “being there” for the students.He has had the privilege of listening tostudents problems, to pray and supportthem in the stresses of university life, andoffer guidance on moral and life issues.Without Tony, most of these deaf studentswould not have a caring person to talk to.They would have no one representingChrist in their lives. Recently Tony andwife Anne have begun the process ofapplying to a local secondary college as achaplain to the deaf students. “The deafcommunity can be isolated. Working as aschool chaplain offers me the opportunityto open this community to the love ofChrist. Most of these students don’t haveknowledge of Jesus and what he hasdone for them.” The HCCC thanks God forthe ministry of Tony and Anne and theirdesire to serve Christ and their commu-nity in schools.

What do you need to do to become aschool chaplain?Tony fits the requirements for school

chaplaincy having a tertiary degree withsubjects in two out of the three areas:TheologyPastoral Care or CounselingEducationACCESS, formerly CCES (telephone 03

9601 3777) can provide more informa-tion on chaplaincy vacancies and fundingfor your school chaplaincy position. ThePresbyterian Theological College offersdegree level theology, pastoral care, coun-seling subjects, along with ICT subjects.Contact Academic Dean Rev. John Wilson(03 9898 9384). Remember your Health& Community Chaplaincy Committee isalso here to help.

Have you considered supporting schoolchaplaincy?Prayer is vital for school chaplains,

future school chaplains and the Councilfor Christian Education in Schools (CCES)Financial support for school chaplains

is essential, even with the Government’sgrant.The need is great but the workers are

few. Have you considered becoming aschool chaplain?

school chaplaincy

1 4 fellow workers

Grant, tell us about your travels, dutiesand responsibilities during the pastyear as your served as the Moderator ofthe Presbyterian Church of Victoria?Apart from chairing the October

Assembly meetings and the MayCommission of Assembly, the duties of theModerator are to visit the congregations inthe presbyteries allocated to him by theAssembly, and in my case, I visited thepresbyteries of Melbourne North andBendigo. I also represented the Assemblyat special services within the life of thePCV, at certain events at our schools andin the life of the wider Church, for exam-ple, I attended the Heads of Churchesmeetings. In addition, in recent years eachModerator has visited PCV missionariessomewhere overseas, as well one of oursister churches overseas. In my case, Iwent to Southern Sudan to establish for-mal links with the Presbyterian Church ofSudan and then went on to Burkina Fasoto visit Elspeth Slater, a member ofCanterbury Presbyterian Church, who is amissionary with SIM.

How much time did you spend awayfrom your congregation, CanterburyPresbyterian Church, and to what

extent was your family involved in yourwork as Moderator?By the end of my moderatorial year I

will have been away from Canterbury for27 Sundays. Anne has accompanied meon all but one of my visits to congrega-tions. I was away for nearly six weeks onmy trip to Sudan and Burkina Faso andspent ten days in north-western Victoriavisiting the Sunraysia and Swan Hill con-gregations, as well as going out withMichael Willsmore on his PIM patrol. Thishas been difficult both for our congrega-tion and for Anne and me. You certainlymiss being away from your own congrega-tion so frequently. Our two younger chil-dren, Geoff (21) and Jenny (19) camewith us to Burkina Faso and Jenny stayedon for an extra week with Elspeth. It wasa great blessing and privilege for us to beable to go as a family. In Burkina Faso itwas seen as a mark of great respect forElspeth that the manse family of her homechurch would visit.

What do you consider the main high-lights of your past year?There were many highlights; amongst

these was the Opening Service of the2006 General Assembly of the PCV. Some

other highlights include: the commission-ing of Elaine Collins as the 10th Principalof the Presbyterian Ladies College, repre-senting the PCV at the installation of theMost Rev Philip Freier as the 10thAnglican Archbishop of Melbourne, spend-ing four days with the Rev MichaelWillsmore on his PIM patrol in WesternNSW, my visits to congregations inMelbourne North and Bendigo, beinginvolved in the opening of new churchbuildings at Donvale and Shepparton, andvisiting Elspeth Slater for two weeks inBurkina Faso.

What were the most challengingaspects of your moderatorial year?Probably the biggest challenge was my

visit to the Southern Sudan. Having saidthat, the Lord’s provision and protectionwas remarkable. Although it was a chal-lenge, I believe it was very worthwhilefrom the PCV point of view and certainlyan encouragement to the PresbyterianChurch of Sudan. Other challenges weretrying to balance my role as Moderatorwith maintaining an effective involvementin my own congregation at Canterbury. Itwas challenging to provide pastoral sup-port for some in the ministry of our church

a few minuteswith the past moderator of the presbyterian church of victoria,

the reverend grant lawry

2007 graduationPlease join us for the final event of the College year

guest preacher: Rev Andrew ReidLecturer in Old Testament and Hermeneutics at Ridley College,

author of several books

Presbyterian Theological College8.00pm

Friday 30 November 2007

Venue: Canterbury Presbyterian Church146 Canterbury Road Canterbury (Melway 46 C11)

Enjoy supper and fellowship with us• interviews with exiting student families• presentation of prizes to achieving students• review the year with the Acting Principal

Presbyterian Theological College

2008 Ministry ConferenceTuesday 8th April until Thursday 10th April

visiting speaker: Dr Robert FyallDirector of Rutherford House, Edinburgh. Rutherford House

is a centre for Theological study and research.

• gain valuable insights that you can usein your own ministry

• public meeting (no charge)on Wednesday evening April 9th at 7:30pm

Presbyterian Theological College684 Elgar Road Box Hill North Vic. 3129

03 9898 9384info@presbyteriancollege.org

fellow workers 1 5

who are suffering or struggling for variousreasons

As you have traveled around thePresbyterian Church of Victoria, whatdo you think are our strong points,what are we doing well as a Church?One of the strong points of the PCV is

the clear awareness of the need for evan-gelism in almost all of the congregationswe visited. There is a growing number ofcongregations engaging in cross-culturalministry. As a church we have an excel-lent group of students, six in all, who areexiting the PTC this year. The work of theChristian Education and NurtureCommittee, as well as Presbyterian Youthof Victoria, in equipping people for min-istry and leadership is a real encourage-ment.As a denomination one of our great

strengths is the leadership we have takenamong the conservative ChristianChurches through the work of Church andNation Committee (CNC). The CNC isproviding a high standard of input onmatters of public interest, especially inthe areas of social and ethical concern.We are also witnessing growing relation-ships with sister churches in Africa.Finally, the provision of diaconal aid andthe generation and release of more fundsfor gospel ministry through the work ofthe Trusts Corporation and the Board ofInvestment and Finance is a strength aswe press forward with the work of thegospel.

Having spoken about the strengths ofthe PCV, what are some of the chal-lenges we face as a church? What canwe do better?As I traveled around the PCV I noticed

a weakness in the area of training andequipping for living the Christian life, whatsome call ‘lifestyle evangelism’. We needto find ways to offer greater support tocountry congregations and presbyteries. Asa church we need to provide greaterencouragement and facilitation forwomen’s ministries. The one-day confer-ences held at Melton and Donvale were agreat start in this area. Another weaknessis that some of our congregations areinward looking.As a Church we need to provide better

pastoral care for our ministers and theirfamilies. There is a need to exercise trueservant leadership in some of our congre-gations. Finally, we ought to examine linkswith sister churches in the Asian region.

As Moderator did, you have the mediaapproach you at any time? If so, whatwas your experience with the media?Aside from being interviewed on Light

FM about my trip to Sudan, I had to dealwith the media over two issues: the Telstratower at the Auburn Presbyterian Churchand the ‘Fellowship’ issues. Sound adviceand some practical training are crucial indealing with the broader media. In thatregard, Penny Mulvey of Positive Mediawas most helpful in providing soundadvice and practical tips. Of course, this is

an area in which expertise counts.

Finally, were there unexpected opportu-nities for ministry and witness as a con-sequence of being the Moderator of thePresbyterian Church of Victoria?There were a number of unexpected

opportunities. I was asked to provide,along with the other Heads of Churches,a one-minute devotional message foreach of Christmas Day, Good Friday andEaster Sunday for Light FM. I was alsointerviewed on the breakfast program ofLight FM about my trip to SouthernSudan. I have had opportunities outsideof the PCV to speak about my trip toSudan. As Moderator of the PCV, andhence a member of the Heads ofChurches, I was consulted as part of thestrategic review of the word of CCES(Council for Christian Education inSchools). Having taken part in thatprocess, it was exciting to represent thePCV at the launch of ACCESS Ministries(the new name for CCES) at CamberwellHigh School in June.During the year, I was able to facilitate

a presentation by the Rev David Palmerand Rev Nicholas Tonti Filippini to theHeads of Churches meeting in July of adiscussion paper on the Law ReformCommission’s final report on AssistedReproductive Technology and Adoption.Finally, I have been involved in the earlystages of planning for the MelbourneConference in Ethnic Evangelism, which isdue to be held in October 2008.

The motto of the Home MissionWorker’s Association is “Caringand Sharing.” This is a privi-lege we have to be able toshare in God’s work in the

Home Mission Stations and to care for theHome Missionaries and their congrega-tions together with the Theological stu-dents.This year we were able to care and

share as we assisted with financial sup-port towards the following work:- Scot’sChurch West Footscray- replace Mansefencing and double gates. Kaniva/Nhill –bathroom renovations, Skipton/Lismore –Bathroom renovations. Castlemaine –painting of water-damaged wall in

church, Sale – Painting of externalweather boards, Clarinda – re-surfacingof church car park, Cranbourne - towardsinstalling double glazed windows inManse to reduce traffic noise, andEaglehawk - the installation of a toilet forpeople with a disability.We were also pleased to assist stu-

dents and Home Missionaries with bookgrants and Christmas cheques. Whilst re-location grants were given to three stu-dents as they completed their studies forthe ministry and moved to their firstparish..The H.M.W.A. operates with Links

who are appointed by the Minister andSession. Links letters are sent out twice a

year to inform them and their congrega-tions of functions and activities. Lately thenumber of Links has declined so theCommittee is looking to new ways tokeep the congregations informed.The Thanksgiving & Dedication Service

will be held on 8th. November in Scots’Church, Melbourne at 11.am. TheModerator, Rt Rev Graeme Bradbeer willattend and the guest preacher will be RevDouglas Robertson. All are welcome anda BYO lunch will be held afterwards inScot’s Church Hall.

B.FirthHonorary Secretary,

HomeMissionWorkers Association

‘caring and sharing’ – HMWA news

1 6 fellow workers

Time spent in prayer isnever...

The other day, some members ofour church family spent 3 hoursin prayer together one fineSaturday afternoon. Though thatmight sound like a long time

and rather laborious, it was, in fact quiterefreshing and the time went past all tooquickly! More than that, instead of feelingexhausted by the whole process, we allagreed that whole experience had beenreinvigorating and that it would be good todo it all over again – which we hope to doin a couple of months time.

Whoever it was that said, ‘Time spentin prayer is never wasted’ was surely right.Most of us would agree with the statementwith our heads and give mental assent toit as fact, but do we know the truth of thatstatement in our lives? If time spent inprayer is never wasted, why are we soreluctant to pray? There are lots of reasons

why we find prayer hard. I do not wish towrite about them here, but simply wantyou to consider if your attitude to prayermight need readjusting? It is hard – but ithas to be done! This is especially so whenit comes down to our missionary team onthe field. While not all of us are in theposition of being able to offer financialsupport to them, there are none who canbe excused from the responsibility of offer-ing prayerful support to them. Our mis-sionaries do not write prayer letters fromtheir fields of service just so we can havethe joy of getting an email or so we cancollect some fancy stamps! To state theobvious, our missionaries rely upon theprayer support of God’s people back hometo keep them out on the field. More thanthat, the amazing thing is that while theyare in their various parts of the world, wedo not have to leave our homes (or evenour bedrooms) to do the best thing we canpossibly do for them!So what’s happening around the state

in relation to praying for missionaries?

Well, from time to time I get emails fromvarious places asking for the latest prayerrequests that our missionaries have sub-mitted. As well, I hear news of congrega-tions around the state, who (like ourparish) have set up prayer meetings thatare exclusively for the purpose of remem-bering our missionaries and their needs.Since mid-last year, the APWM Vic.Committee has called people together topray for missionaries on the 5th Saturdayof the month at various locations aroundMelbourne (no country ones as yet).These developments are all very encourag-ing and yet they are not the whole story,nor can it be the end of the story. Thework of prayer must go on. There is muchground to take! Our missionaries not onlyneed our prayers, God himself demands it!Will you consider it a priority to take on

board? Remember, it will never be timewasted.

Philip BurnsConvener

APWM–Mission Partners

apwm

the Sectarian who is writing this. TheApostle John sees the division clearly.We know the love of God, but ‘the

whole world’ still needs to come to knowthat love. The whole world is in an alter-native definitional relationship to us. Itlies in the wicked one. What a frighteningand horrific relationship that is! You arethe tempted, and Satan is the tempter.You are the liar, and he is the father oflies. You are the abused, and he is theabuser. You are the destroyed, and he isthe destroyer. You are the fool, and he is

the master of fools. You are the rebel, andhe is the rebel leader.As a human being, you are not your

own. You are either God’s or Satan’s.How can you know that you are ‘of God’?How can you think straight on this? Forthat, you need to read through the wholeletter of 1 John and pass the tests writtenin it. Do you believe that Jesus is the Sonof God who came as a real person tomake atonement on the cross? Are youdemonstrating that faith by living a life oflove? By these things you can know andbe assured that you are ‘of God’.

The believer in Christ is one who fun-damentally belongs. You know who andwhat you are. You are not primarily a stu-dent, an employee, or a retiree. You are‘of God’. Let this self-consciously be howyou define yourself. Within your own psy-che, at the forefront of your mind, think ofyourself in this way.

Rev Jared HoodMinister,

Moe/Yarram Presbyterian Church

continued from p. 1...

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