the gippsland anglican, september 2012

Volume 109, Number 8 September 2012 Published in Gippsland Diocese since 1904

The Gippsland Anglican is your award winning newspaper: Best Regional Publication Silver Award (ARPA) 2011; Item or Feature thatshows the most originality Highly Commended (ARPA) 2011; Best Social Justice Story Highly Commended (ARPA) 2004; Best RegionalPublication (ARPA) 2003; Most Improved Newspaper (ARPA) 2001.

Jesus Christ inCroajingolong parish

pages 5 to 8

Faithful families areintentional

Page 4

Award-winningchristian literature

pages 18 & 19

ABOVE: St George’s Wonthaggi has recently started a weekly main-ly music session which has proved to be very popular. Parents andcaregivers bring their pre-school children to a 30-minute session ofmusic and movement, sharing an instrument, doing actions witheach other, sitting together and having fun; followed by morning teaand play with toys and puzzles. Kate O’Halloran (left) is group leaderof the helpers, including Jane Peters (right).

Photo/Contributor: Jill Price

New principalfor GippslandGrammarTHE Chairman of Gippsland

Grammar School, Bishop JohnMcIntyre, has announced theappointment of David Baker tobe the new principal of theschool, from January 1, 2013.David has been the deputy

principal of Mentone GrammarSchool, Victoria since 2008. Hewas Head of Senior School atThe Peninsula School, Victoriaand taught there and at thePrahran campus of WesleyCollege.David is well qualified with a

Masters of Education, GraduateDiploma in EducationalAdministration and Bachelor ofEducation (Mathematics andScience). “David demonstrates well

developed leadership, educa-tional, strategic and organisa-tional skills and understands wellhow all elements of a school fittogether,” said Bishop John. “He has a solid track record of

staff management and develop-ment, on building capacity inothers, inclusiveness and ofinstilling in his team a strongunderstanding of their value andcontribution to the school. “David brings to Gippsland

Grammar a very good grasp ofcontemporary teaching andlearning. It is his view educa-tional success requires a wholeof school approach to teachingand learning that integrateseach age and stage to create acontinuum of experiences thatchallenge, empower and nurtureeach child. He is skilled inengaging students in education,creating a sense of pride in theirschool and their own sense ofacademic achievement.“David also offers Gippsland

Grammar a keen sense of theresponsibilities and challenges ofthe commercial aspects ofschool management. As deputyprincipal, he participated instrategy development and suc-cessfully implemented agreedinitiatives, including involvementin building programs.”Bishop John said David has a

demonstrated record of commu-nity involvement and is commit-ted to supporting and promotingthe Anglican ethos of the school,to students and the community.David and his wife, Jane, have

two children, Caitlin and Amy.Next year, Caitlin will attendGippsland Grammar School inYear 8 and Amy in Year 5. “As a family, we are very excit-

ed about the move to GippslandGrammar. In particular, we arelooking forward to the newopportunities the school willoffer and involving ourselves inall aspects of the local communi-ty,” David Baker said.

Children tune to musicTHE very popular Babies Prom,

also known as the Children’sMusic Prom, will begin at 11am,at Gippsland Grammar onSunday, September 2, atGarnsey Hall in McGhee Street.Aimed at children aged two to

six years, the Prom is a dynam-ic, entertaining and interactiveconcert introducing young chil-dren to music and instrumentsof the orchestra. It is open toeveryone; tickets are $5 eachand children under the age oftwo are free. Bookings andenquiries to the music depart-ment, telephone 03 5143 6381.

2 Our Diocese - Missions and Ministries September 2012

The Gippsland Anglican

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IndexNew principal 1

Letters to the editor 2

Vale, Colin Harvey 2

The Bishop writes 3

Faithful families 4

Honoring soldiers 4

Croajingolong parish 5 to 8

Color in picture 9

GFS news 10

Talented writers 11

Perspective 12

Elwyn’s ministry 13

Clergy news 14

Diocesan calendar 15

Rwandan links 16

Parish news 17

Award winning books 18

Fay writes music 19

Orbost shines 20

Letters to the EditorWell done, Bishop Dear Editor, Please print this letter in

The Gippsland Anglican.Dear Bishop John,It is with sadness I see all

the outspoken commentson your appointment ofgay people in the churchministry. I feel so muchabout the treatment youare receiving that I wantedto pen some thoughts ofmy own to support you inthis difficult time.I have been an Anglican

all my long life and it is myunderstanding that one ofthe fundamentals of ourChristian faith is to loveour neighbour as our-selves. While many quote pas-

sages from the bible, Iknow it has many contra-dictions; but to treat a fel-low human being as anoutcast is surely not ourChristian way?At the heart of this whole

issue, to me, is ‘whatwould Jesus have done inthis circumstance?’. He reached out to those

who were spurned andoutcast … as you havedone by including gaymembers of our faith inour leadership. Surely this is not what

Jesus would have wantedus all to do? They are part of our com-

munity; people with faith,love and integrity. Theyknow discrimination anddifficult times; and are justas qualified to help us ex-perience God’s love asanyone else.I have found it very sad

to know that some peoplehave chosen to leave theAnglican church on the ex-cuse that gay peopleshould not be allowed inthe church leadership.Surely, tolerance and loveshould be paramount onthe road of true Christianfellowship.I pray for your strength in

these challenging timesand that the church com-munity and leadership willcome to understand yourcompassion and trueChristian vision for an all-embracing Anglican fellow-ship … to lead us in thefuture.Thank you for caring

about our whole churchcommunity, not just some.Yours faithfully,Grace Gray,SaleAged 96 years.

New instrumentDear Editor,I have been the organist

at St Barnabas since thebuilding was brought fromBundalaguah to A’BeckettPark in 1990.The original antique bel-

lows organ came with thebuilding. It was a ratherornate pedal organ thatneeded to have the bel-lows replaced.Reverend Ken Campbell

modified it by replacingthe bellows with a pipeconnection through thewall of the building to avacuum cleaner locatedoutside; so when it wasswitched on, it providedunlimited air to the organ,with no peddling required.This organ lasted for

many years before it be-came unreliable and wasapt to give unwantedsquawks.It was followed by several

pre-loved donated organs,all of which had their ownidiosyncrasies and were in-clined to fail at the mostinappropriate times.Now, through a donation

by Mrs Georgina Evans,made in memory of herhusband, Scott, we have anew Arius Digital Pianothat has two very niceOrgan voices and other in-teresting musical sounds. It’s simplicity of settings

will enable it to be playedby others when appropri-ate.The new piano was dedi-

cated by Bishop JohnMcIntyre on July 25, 2012,when it was first used.I give thanks for the gen-

erous donation that willassist in worship at StBarnabas.Yours faithfully,Judy Rennick,Paynesville.[Editor’s note: The dedica-tion of the organ was re-ported in The GippslandAnglican, August issue.]

Letters to the editor arewelcomed but may be ed-ited for space and gram-mar. Letters that areabusive will not be printed. The inclusion of letters in

The Gippsland Anglican issubject to the normalterms of a newspaper pub-lication; viz, the views ex-pressed are the opinion ofthe writer and do not nec-essarily reflect the views ofthe editor, the diocese orthe printers.

DANCE AND PRANCE THE NIGHT AWAY

with the

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Saturday, September 8

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Vale, ColinTHE earthly life of Colin

Harvey ended on Tuesday,March 27, three days be-fore his birthday this year.As a member of an SEC

family, Colin was born andraised in Yallourn and wasbrother to Ralph and Jan.From an early age, Ralph,Colin and Jan attended StJohn’s Yallourn. Colin wasalways deeply interested inthe teachings of the Churchand he valued the scriptureand sanctity of the wor-ship.He trained as a mathe-

matics and science teacherbut lef the Education Department to join the SEC in1960. Colin worked in several areas, finally joiningthe power division. When he retired, he was com-missioned to write A history of the Yallourn PowerStation. His book was launched the day the SECceased operations.With the demise of the Yallourn township, Colin re-

located his family to Newborough, where theyjoined St Aidan’s church. He served his church withenthusiasm, as a lay reader, Rector’s Warden, parishsecretary, on Cursillo teams, at Synod and in vari-ous diocesan activities.Colin was an active member of the Full Gospel

Business Men’s Fellowship, which encouraged his in-terest in the Charismatic Movement and interchurchunity. He served in leadership positions and as anenthusiastic and articulate speaker in Victorianchapters.A talented cornetist, Colin acquired a trumpet

which he enjoyed playing hymns and choruseswhenever he could. He loved to sing and lead thecongregation in a wide variety of praise and worshipsongs.To quote the author, Barbara Johnston: “Death is

not extinguishing the light: it is turning down thelamp, because the dawn has come.”Colin’s family take comfort in these words and the

knowledge he lived his life through his church andby faith in Jesus, his Lord and Saviour.Colin William Harvey, March 30, 1934 to March 27,

2012; he is survived by his wife, Annette, and fam-ily, Tim and Kaye, Carolyn, Kelvin and Ruth, Chris,Belinda and Cameron Harvey.

Contributor: Annette Harvey

September 2012 Our Diocese - Missions and Ministries 3


THE centrepiece of the re-cent Houston Report is aproposal to develop an ap-propriate regional systemto respond to those seekingasylum and to increaseAustralia’s intake ofrefugees from 13,750 to20,000 a year. This issomething that has beenoverlooked in most re-sponses to the report. Thisis unfortunate, becausecreating a workable ‘queue’in the region at least standssome chance of stoppingdesperate people gettingonto leaky boats and risk-ing their lives and the livesof their families in the hopeof finding asylum.The reason Australia, dur-

ing the Fraser era [Aus-tralia’s prime minister from1975 to 1983], was able sosuccessfully to receivenearly one quarter of a mil-lion refugees from Indo-China was preciselybecause there was a func-tional regional system inplace. Unlike today, backthen there was actually aworkable queue.The real problem with the

Houston Report is thattoday the politics aroundasylum seekers is sofraught it is hard to imagineits centrepiece of a work-able regional queue willever be put in place. Thereis so much political point-scoring going on, no-onesees the bigger picture.In the meantime, the im-

mediate outcome of the re-port is a system full of riskand danger to asylum seek-ers, both physically andpsychologically. The interimachievable measures the

report recommends are es-sentially a return to the so-called ‘Pacific Solution’ ofthe Howard era, with theincarceration of innocentpeople ‘out of sight and outof mind’ on Nauru andManus Island. There is nolimit to how long people willbe held in detention thereand, because they are noton Australian soil, there willbe little impetus for Aus-tralia to fulfil its interna-tional obligations to asylumseekers, including those inrelation to the rights of chil-dren.Furthermore, the interim

measures are unlikely toput a stop to the tragic re-cent reality of hundreds ofdesperate people drowningat sea while attempting tofind asylum in Australia.Those who claim the ‘PacificSolution’ in its time suc-ceeded in turning the boatsback, forget the greaterreason for the reduction ofboats in that era was thefall of the Taliban. As MrFraser has recently noted,“the numbers of refugeesgoing to Europe fell just asdramatically at the sametime and no country in Eu-rope had yet introduced the

punitive measures thatAustralia introduced”.In his criticism of the

Houston Report, Mr Frasercomes to the key point bysuggesting if white farmersfrom Zimbabwe had fledpersecution to Australia byboat they would be ac-cepted. In so doing, he con-demns the report as “racist”and damaging of Australia’sinternational reputation.Sadly, it is hard to disagreewith him.It is blight on our nation

that racism is the underly-ing reason for our inabilityto respond more immedi-

ately and with humanity tothe plight of asylum seek-ers. Those politicians whowould wish to do better forasylum seekers have theirhands tied by those whocallously exploit the racismof the electorate for politi-cal gain. In the meantime,asylum seekers continue toboard leaky boats if there iseven a whisper of hope ofasylum in Australia. Such istheir desperation.Let us pray against the

odds that, despite their ob-vious deficiencies, the newmeasures may at least stopsome people from boarding

boats. More importantly, letus do all we can to defy themindless racism blinding usto the truth. Let us speak out against

those people who charac-terise asylum seekers as il-legal immigrants or play onour unwarranted fears thatpeople fleeing persecutionare a threat to us. Let usdare to believe that show-ing compassion to asylumseekers is not a sign ofweakness on our part andseeking justice for them isnot just political correct-ness. Above all, let us workfor structural change to cre-ate an accessible systemthat guarantees justice forasylum seekers seekingrefuge in our land. By these means, let us be

a sign of hope to these des-perate people in the nameof Jesus, who, as a smallchild himself, with his fam-ily, sought asylum andfound refuge among those

who were the traditionalenemies of his people. Inthis central story of ourfaith, where a small Jewishfamily finds refuge amongEgyptians, we find the un-comfortable challenge ofour God to go beyond ourprejudices and to reach outto those in need, no mattertheir creed or tradition.

Pray against theodds for the truth

Right Reverend John McIntyreBishop of Gippsland

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4 Our Diocese - Missions and Ministries September 2012


JAN Misiurka and KarinMcKenzie attended themeeting of Mothers’ UnionAustralia Council in May thisyear. Karin is the MU Gipp-sland president and Jan isan MU Australia executivemember and past Gipps-land president.Other attendees were MU

Australia executive mem-bers and diocesan presi-dents, spiritual advisors, aguest speaker and openday visitors.Stephen Harrison, from

Queensland, was guestspeaker. He has been work-ing in full time youth andchildren’s ministry for thepast 15 years and is cur-rently the Director of Mis-sion for the AnglicanSchools Commission.Stephen has a passion for

helping young people en-gage with the bible and thechurch and to passionatelylive out their faith. KarenMcKenzie writes here aboutthe session on Faithful Fam-ilies led by Stephen Harri-son.A common question asked

by parents is: ‘Will my chil-dren have faith?’ John Wes-tahoff says this is the wrongquestion. Do not dwell onthe question; rather, ask:‘Have we been faithful withour children?’. Faith is a giftfrom God, so children havea chance of having faith.What makes a vibrant

faith? Many ideas were putforward ... belief and trust,prayer, enthusiasm, fellow-ship, absolute conviction,living, active ... and moreideas. Stephen suggestedthere are three interrelatedfacets to faith:1. Faith is an affair of the

heart involving the emo-

tions and passions.2. Faith is a commitment

of the mind through know-ing and trusting.3. Faith results in good ac-

tions; it is not just internal;it motivates us to live in adifferent way.Yet, faith is much greater

than the sum of these. Chil-dren need faith to be tangi-ble; to see, to feel, to benatural. Otherwise, they donot notice it.Stephen told a story as il-

lustration. Little fish says tomum: “What’s water?”“Water is all around you.Stick your head outside thepond,” responds Mum. Inthe family home, our faithshould permeate every-thing so when the childrengo elsewhere they noticethe difference.Intentionality is impor-

tant; a course of action oneintends to follow, an aimthat directs action. Inten-tion, ‘stretching towards’,demonstrates we arereaching to mature the faithof our children. It does notjust happen, but takeschoice, commitment andplanning.The National Church Sur-

vey statistics for significantaction and significant peo-ple in the development offaith in Protestant and An-glican churches are as fol-lows: children under 10years, parents 75 per centinfluential, Sunday schoolless significant; childrenaged 10 to 20 years, par-ents 49 per cent influential,greater than the minister orchurch service.Families are the greatest

influence on the faith life ofchildren. Young peoplevalue family relationships.However, many mainlinechurch families no longerpray, read the bible or talkto God, or do these thingsonly in church.Families have always been

diverse and messy; theychange. There is no perfecttime or family. What theydo is more important thantheir structure.Some of the key issues

facing families today in-clude the sexualisation ofchildren; absent fathers;effects of technology; work,financial and time pres-sures; divorce; lack offaith; individualism, offer-ing no clear picture of fam-ily, lifestyle, employment orvocation; ‘frozen bloke’ ef-fect; outsourcing of repro-duction. Where is thechurch in all this and whatare we doing?Parenthood is a high call-

ing in scripture, so parentsneed to be intentional in

their practice of parenting.Parents must give whatthey have, trusting God forthe outcome and not abro-gate their responsibility toothers. Families need sup-port and the church canhelp. [Deuteronomy 4:6-9,Proverbs 22:6, Psalm 78,Exodus 18:20, Isaiah54:13.]It seems like children have

faith, but they lose it. Fam-ilies are critical to their chil-dren’s faith journey.Vatican II, Constitution of

Church, stated: “The familyis, so to speak, the domes-tic church. In it parentsshould, by their word andexample, be the firstpreachers of faith to theirchildren.”What can families do in-

tentionally?1. Story: scripture, your

own story, the child’s story,stories of faith. Stories arecentral to who people thinkthey are. Movies and songstells stories. Who is tellingthe stories in your family?2. Ritual: family practices

and habits, scripture andprayer, seasonal celebra-tions, rites of passage, fam-ily sharing time. A saying:Do something once and it isan event, do it twice and itis an experience, do it threetimes and it is an expecta-tion, keep doing it and it isa practice.3. Service: this has a mas-

sive impact on children; forexample, the whole familybeing involved in service in-side or outside the church.4. Closeness: spending

time together at mealtime,on holiday, weekly ‘funnight’, story, game, share,pray.The church can make a

shift from having the pri-mary role to a supportingrole by educating parents,intergenerational biblestudies, resourcing, ideas,and more. Young familiesneed to be able to do fam-ily. ‘Soft sell’ makes a dif-ference.Stephen was a vibrant

speaker and Mothers’ Unionmembers can look forwardto reading more of his ideasin future copies of the MUmagazine, Mia Mia; avail-able through your nearestMU branch or the MU MiaMia coordinator, Jan Misi-urka, telephone 03 51271879 or [email protected]’ Union is hosting

an evening family forumwith adolescent psycholo-gist, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg,on October 9 at St Paul’sAnglican Grammar School,Traralgon. Contact 03 51341356 or 03 5156 1949.

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VP Day at BairnsdaleVP Day (Victory in the Pa-

cific) was celebrated on Au-gust 12 at St John’sBairnsdale. This service hasbecome a yearly event, to-gether with the RSL andBairnsdale Primary SchoolChoir. Two Australian Army Re-

serve cadets, Josh Fieldingand Graham Pickering, car-ried the flags into thechurch which were then re-ceived back into the War-riors’ Chapel by ReverendTony Wicking (above).There was a good congre-gation and the singing wasenhanced by 20 youngvoices, especially when thechoir sang the ANZAC Songwhile people lined up tolight candles in memory ofloved ones. Speakers were the RSL

president and a member ofthe police force who spokeabout his involvement tak-ing a group of local Aborig-inal youth to walk theKokoda Trek. The group toured the Mel-

bourne Shrine of Remem-

brance as part of theirpreparation. He has hopesfor a great future for theseyoung people. One of this group, Travis

Blackburn, spoke in detailabout what the experienceof preparing for and partic-ipating in the Kokoda Trekmeant to him. He felt it hadchanged his thinking; alsothat all the group had foundthe memorial service in avillage close to the trailvery emotional and enlight-ening. Travis is 20 years old and

working as a park rangerand is studying for a degreeat university.Members of the choir read

two bible readings and alsospoke of their personal ex-periences at the schoolcamp in Portsea and what agreat time they experi-enced. A special collectionwas taken for this worth-while project. The servicefinished with the playing ofthe Last Post and Reveille.

Contributor/Photo:Ursula Plunkett

MU and faithful families

September 2012 Our Diocese - Jesus Christ Here and Now for Croajingolong parish 5


By Jeanette Severs

THE County of Croajingo-long, or Croajingalong as itis also known, is one of the37 counties of Victoriawhich are part of the cadas-tral divisions of Australia,used for land titles. It is themost easterly county andincludes the CroajingolongNational Park. Its westernboundary is the SnowyRiver. The county was pro-claimed in 1871 togetherwith others from the Gipps-land district. Some earliermaps showed proposedcounties of Howe andCombermere occupying thearea of Croajingolong.Croajingolong parish is

spread among the smalltowns of Mallacoota, Genoaand Cann River. It was orig-inally part of the Orbostparish, established in 1884.Before it became part ofGippsland diocese, it wasmost likely serviced on oc-casion by travelling minis-ters from the Maneroo (orMonaro) parish. The CannRiver parish was formed inabout 1910.Mallacoota, the main cen-

tre of Croajingolong parish,is a small town in the EastGippsland region of the dio-cese. At the 2006 census,Mallacoota had a populationof 972 people. At holidaytimes, particularly Easterand Christmas, the popula-tion increases by about8,000. Mallacoota is one of the

most isolated towns in thestate of Victoria, 25 kilome-tres off the Princes High-way; it is 523 kilometresfrom Melbourne, Victoriaand 526 kilometres fromSydney, New South Wales.The church in Mallacoota,St Peter’s, with cooperatingcongregations, was built onland owned by the Anglicanchurch.St Peters Mallacoota pro-

vides a weekly Sundaymorning service for the An-glican and Uniting congre-gations. St Colman’sCatholic community attend5pm Sunday and Thursdaymorning services. St Peter’sprovides services at Christ-mas and Easter , for locals,tourists and campers, ecu-menical services at AshWednesday, Easter (GoodFriday) and Carols atChristmas and assist inleadership of ANZAC serv-ices at dawn and 11am, onRemembrance Day and forspecial RSL services.An annual Scripture Union

Family Mission is held be-tween Christmas and NewYear, for holiday campersstaying in Mallacoota; alongwith an annual ScriptureUnion THEOS mission toteenagers and youngadults.There is a weekly mainly

music program with thelocal Assembly of God andsupport from the Catholiccommunity, which has beenoperating since 2010. Otheroutreach services includefunerals and communitymemorial services, homegroup bible studies, a BCAmission weekend and StPeters Op Shop.Genoa is on the Princes

Highway where the travellerturns off for Mallacoota. Itis close to the New SouthWales border where thehighway crosses the Genoariver. The town is an impor-tant access point to theCroajingolong NationalPark. At the 2006 census,Genoa and the surroundingarea had a population of304 people. The Genoa PostOffice opened on April 9,1888.In 1972, the earliest fossil

trackway of primitivetetrapods were found in theGenoa River Gorge, datingback 350 million years.

The Genoa hall, both pastand present, has been thelocation for services, funer-als and weddings and con-tinues to offer regularSunday worship, on thesecond Sunday of themonth. The small congre-gation is also involved withactivities at St Peter’s Mal-lacoota.Cann River is at the west-

ern end of the parish and isa town located on the CannRiver at the junction of thePrinces Highway andMonaro Highway. At the2006 census, Cann Riverhad a population of 223people. Cann River is close to Lind

National Park, Coopracam-bra National Park and Croa-jingolong National Park andis a popular rest stop fortravellers between Mel-bourne and Sydney usingthe Princes Highway route.The Post Office opened onJuly 1, 1890.At Cann River, the Church

of St John the Evangelistoffers services for the An-glican and Uniting congre-gations on most Sundays ofthe month. It also providesfunerals and communitymemorial services andhosts a BCA mission week-end. Outreach includeshome bible study groups.An op shop operated for

many years on the churchsite, but has now closed.The lych gate at the

church is dedicated “to thememory of the pioneers,Robert Martin, John Sack-field and Edith Reece”.Robert Martin was the firstclergyman appointed to Or-bost parish when it includedCroajingolong. Edith Reecehad a considerable historywith Cann River (see sec-tion: Women’s ministry inCroajingolong).Places other than Cann

River, Genoa and Malla-coota at which serviceswere held have includedClub Terrace, Combienbar,

Road Camp CRB, Wangra-belle, Gipsy Point, CabbageTree, Noorinbee, NoorinbeeNorth, Wallagaraugh andinto New South Wales. In the past decade, Angli-

can ministry in the parishhas been provided by Rev-erend Elwyn Sparks, Rev-erend Graham Knott and,currently, in an honorarylocum capacity by ReverendRoger Jackman. ReverendGreg Jones, of Bush ChurchAid, has regularly spenttime in the parish in recentyears, supporting the min-istry of the BCA and Angli-can ministries.

BCA and CroajingolongIN 1920, Bishop George

Harvard Cranswick of theAnglican Diocese of Gipps-land, invited the newlyformed Bush Church Aid tothe region; and so a nurseand a deaconess set upheadquarters at Cann River.About this time, he went toEngland and recruited sixmen for a bush brother-hood, deaconesses andnursing sisters and MissEdith Myvanney Reece.On Bishop Cranswick’s in-

vitation, Bishop Sydney JKirkby, Bush Church Aus-tralia Organising Missioner,travelled by rail from Syd-ney to Nimmitabel, thencaught a bus for the 54 milejourney through Bombalato Delegate; then walked

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A unique parish

ABOVE: Christmas angels in Mallacoota, conceived by Reverend Graham Knott, createdby local school children and made as wooden structures by local craftspeople; they areerected throughout the public space surrounding the church at Christmas time.

Photo: Graham Knott

continued next page

6 Our Diocese - Jesus Christ Here and Now for Croajingolong parish September 2012


from previous page

or, when possible, accepteda lift through to Bendoc andCann River.He held services and

taught the faith whereverhe went, staying in familyhomes, distributing litera-ture. At Genoa, a place offour farms and a pub, peo-ple gathered in the diningroom for worship.Bishop Kirkby also visited

the lakes at Croajingolongand Mallacoota. He rodethere from Cann River on aborrowed horse and foundjust a few dwellings and de-clared it a place of excep-tional beauty and that itwould make “a wonderfulholiday resort”, which ithas. Sunday services atTonghi and weeknight serv-ices at Combienbar were“spendidly attended”. Road-making camps and mininghuts were also visited.“In all places there was

unmistakable evidence ofspiritual need. There is noshame of face or diffidencein talking religion. The topicis natural,” he wrote in hisdiary.Bishop Kirkby recom-

mended “a mobile ministrycomposed of keen and ac-tive men who will go out tospecialise in personal evan-gelism and pastoral work …free to go where they areneeded”.So began a remarkable

ministry. By 1925, theparish, centred on CannRiver traditionally but morerecently on Mallacoota,hosted a nursing sister, adeaconess and Miss EdithReece. They lived in tents inharsh and foreign sur-roundings and ministeredto the medical and spiritualneeds of the sparse and

widely-scattered popula-tion.With its isolated setting so

far from Melbourne andSydney, the area was char-acterised by tall timber andforestry in the hills as wellas dairy and farming on therich and fertile river flats.These industries have now

declined but in those daysbrought many individualsand families to the region,people in need of medicalsupport and a place to wor-ship and come to know Godin a deeper way. BCA was able to partner

with Gippsland diocese andprovide some assistanceacross the years. The CannRiver ‘Bush Clinic’, set inplace by BCA Field Staff inthe 1920’s, continues todayas a modern, locally runand State government sup-ported medical post. BCAwas also able to provideclergy stipends until 1957.They also supported theMail Bag Sunday school(1920 to 1923) developedby Deaconess WinifredShoobridge.The basic ministry strat-

egy set in place by BishopKirkby and Bishop Cran-swick involved coupling ofmedical ministry with spiri-

tual support. This led toBishop Cranswick sendingout Deaconesses andNurses as working teamsand the setting up of bushclinics, with the occasionalsupport from a clergymanto foster church activities. The travelling van min-

istries, usually staffed withtwo women or two men andoccasionally a married cou-ple, fostered work with theisolated people. Manywomen and children foundfaith and spiritual nurturefrom these teams. It was allpart of the foundationalministries of BCA in theearly days. The early years in Croajin-

golong were importantyears for BCA that set thetone or missional DNA inplace for many years to fol-low and in places across thebreadth of Australia. Croa-jingalong began a co-oper-ating ministry in 1969, with

provision for the ministry toalternate every three yearsbetween the Anglican and(then) Methodist churches.At the time, the parsonage,or Manse, was located atNoorinbee, about 80 kilo-metres from Orbost andmore than 10 kilometresfrom Cann River.There were six centres in

the parish. Cann River wasa timber town, with about300 residents at the time.Noorinbee is a dairy andbeef district in the CannValley, with then about 100residents. Mallacoota wasand remains a tourist town,with then about 600 resi-dents.Genoa, another cattle dis-

trict, had about 100 resi-dents. Club Terrace, then atimber settlement in therainforest, had about 100residents. Combienbar, atimber settlement, wasvery isolated, with about100 residents.Reverend Barry Rainsford

was the Anglican incumbentliving at Cann River from1976. He wrote that some-one reported “on a typicalSunday the minister startedoff at St John’s Cann Riverwearing Anglican robes, be-fore changing to an aca-demic gown at NoorinbeeUniting Church. In the af-ternoon he wore a suit inthe Genoa hall and at nighthe wore nothing …”.Rev. Rainsford also re-

ported Bishop Graeme Del-bridge paid regular visits tothe parish, staying at leasta couple of days each timein order to participate in theparish routine.

ABOVE: Reverend Sydney JKirkby, of BCA, walking from Ben-doc to Cann River, November,1920.ABOVE right: Sydney J Kirkbytelling a wayside bible story, wtha picture roll. W Fleming (BCA) infront of van. Cann River area,circa 1925 (photo: Mrs M Wheat-land, 1999, daughter of W Flem-ing).RIGHT: Service in the bush(photo from Mrs Wheatland).

Photos: BCA

September 2012 Our Diocese - Jesus Christ Here and Now for Croajingolong parish 7


from previous page

Croajingolong parish is aco-operating parish withthe Uniting church. Duringthe time of Graeme andJune Knott in the middleyears of the past decade,there was some very signif-icant growth in numbers,community engagement,spiritual depth and biblicalunderstanding. During that time, a local

man was encouraged to gointo ministry and now a fewyears later, he is ordainedand offering ministry in asignificant way.The most recent BCA in-

cumbent was ReverendRowena Harris, a UnitingChurch in Australia FrontierServices appointee, whomoved in May this year toOrbost. Reverend RogerJackman is currently hon-orary locum of Croajingo-long parish for the interimperiod.

Women’s ministryin CroajingalongBISHOP George Harvard

Cranswick envisioned theordination of women andrecruited women to live inthe remote, largely unex-plored, forest areas andoutposts and sawmillingtowns of East Gippsland,especially Croajingolongparish. Bishop Cranswickwas a young family manand the isolation experi-enced by the pioneers andtheir families, particularlythe women, weighed heav-ily on his heart, accordingto reports.As already mentioned, he

sent out Deaconesses andNurses as working teams

and he supported settingup bush clinics in the iso-lated areas of Gippsland,particularly far east Gipps-land. They had the occa-sional support from aclergyman to foster churchactivities. The Church News of De-

cember 1918 reported onthe first deaconesses re-cruited for Gippsland: ABush Deaconess! What isshe, and what does she do?The simplest answer is thatshe is a woman missionary,going about among the iso-lated English speaking fam-ilies, reminding them oftheir early home trainingbefore they went so farback in the bush, andteaching the little oneswho, for want of Sundayschools and church serv-ices, are so often growingup ignorant of the SaviourWho died for them. DrCranswick, Bishop of Gipps-land, realising the needs ofthose living in the outlyingparts of his diocese, issending a Bush Deaconessto help in whatever way atrained woman worker can.The role included medical

and spiritual aid, preparingpeople for confirmation,leading meetings of moth-ers and girls, teaching Sun-day school, providingChristian literature, prepar-ing and leading churchservices of morning andevening prayer, conductingfunerals and baptisms, pre-siding over parochial coun-cil meetings and, on theoccasion a clergyman wasvisiting, assisting him inperforming his duties. Shewould also assist a visitingbishop or archdeacon byserving at Holy Communionand reading the Gospel.Miss Edith Reece, an Eng-

lishwoman recruited to bean Anglican deaconess,served in Cann River from1925 to 1933. She was agentlewoman already agedin her middle years and ofindependent means. Sherode many long distanceson bicycle or horse in hercommitment to minister tothe sick, troubled and iso-lated folk; often encounter-ing women who had notspoken to another womanfor many months.She took the church serv-

ices at Bemm River andMallacoota and organised acirculating library for thebush families.The books were collected

by BCA supporters and sentby ship to Eden from Syd-ney or Melbourne; and thenby motor vehicle to CannRiver, where Miss Reecesaw to the distribution.Miss Reece gave the

money to build St John’sCann River in 1928. Thededication explains thechurch was erected byEdith M Reece, in memoryof Mary Anne and Gwendo-line Mary Reece (hermother and sister). In 1930, she returned to

England to visit her familybut came back to CannRiver in 1932, bringing Sis-ter Bazett. They settled atCann River in a cottage ona property along the CannValley Highway (nowMonaro Highway). Miss Reece conducted her

last service at Cann Riveron June 26, 1933 and re-turned to England that year.She died in England duringWorld War II.Miss Edith Reece also

gave, through her estate,£100 towards building achurch in Mallacoota; thiswas part of the funds to

build St Peter’s Mallacootain 1973. Mrs Edith Cole, ofMallacoota, a foundingmember of St Peter’s, wasgiven the honor of openingthe doors on the day thechurch was consecrated.Sister Ivy Gwynne gave 17

years of service in theparish and was the longestserving nurse from BCA atCann River, from 1940 to1962. Sister Gwynne was

highly respected for hernursing skills and for herstrong Christian witness. In 1977, incumbent Rev-

erend Barry Rainsford col-lated a list of thoseministering to the people inCann River; he includedSister Gwynne as a churchleader between 1942 to1955 and in 1958.

LEFT: At the blessing of theWinifred Shoobridge Mothers'Union Van, Sister Winifred Holton,Deaconess Rodgers, DeaconessPayne, Miss Eileen Ellis, GC Love-grove, CB Alexander, DB Black-wood and WE Spencer. Deaconess Shoobridge was or-dained in Sydney on July 25, 1917and invited not long after, byBishop Cranswick, to undertakeministry in Gippsland, licensingher in December 1918. Deaconess Shoobridge had the

task of contacting families living inthe bush. She recorded everyvisit, noting the name of everychild and individual characteristicsthat would help her in her inter-cessions. Bush women wouldgreet her with pleasure. She made links with Mothers'Union in England and encouragedwomen to correspond with eachother. She visited with literaturefor the women and children. By1920, there were 16 MU groups inGippsland.

ABOVE: Sister Bazett outside StJohn's Cann River, 1930.RIGHT: The beginning of the Med-ical Service in Cann River.FAR right: Sydney J Kirkby andMiss Edith Reece outside her tenthome at Cann River, circa 1925.

Photos: BCA

BELOW right: Sister Ivy Gwynne, Cann River, was thelongest serving nurse from Bush Church Aid, from1940 to 1962. She was highly respected and valued,for her nursing skills and her strong christian witness.

continued next page

8 Our Diocese - Jesus Christ Here and Now for Croajingolong parish September 2012


from previous page

Mrs Harriet Connleyserved in the Croajingalongarea from 1934 to 1936 asthe nursing sister with BCA,based in Cann River. Shetravelled by bicycle, horse,borrowed buggy, fish truckor butcher cart to see peo-ple in Mallacoota, Wangra-belle, Genoa, Combienbar,Club Terrace, Bellbird, CannRiver and Noorinbee.Mrs Connley also helped

the vicar with church serv-ices, played the organ andtaught Sunday school.“My nursing skills at first

were slight, as I was justout of training school, but intime I could adapt to treat-ing anything with confi-dence and helpfulness,” MrsConnley wrote in memoir.She treated “one patient

gored by a bull 100 milesfrom a doctor; another pa-tient 90 years old withacute pneumonia who re-fused to give up smokingher long clay pipe; anotherwho chopped her leg withan axe and I had to sew itwithout painkillers.“The doctor was 50 miles

away in Orbost, contactableby telephone that was sel-dom working as the wireswere strung on trees. How-ever, we were able to givevery satisfactory service.”Sister Dorothy Allmond

was not without some vigorin looking after the peopleof Croajingalong. An Eng-lish newspaper clipping ofJanuary 5, 1924, tells thestory of a woman whose lifedepended on urgent med-ical attention. SisterDorothy rode a horse fromCann River to Bemm River,a distance of 40 miles, infive hours. She organisedeight men to carry thewoman on a stretcher in afierce storm along a 16miles bush track to Bellbird,with Sister Dorothy provid-ing medical aid. They weremet at Bellbird by a doctorfrom Orbost.On another occasion,

when Bishop Cranswick wasvisiting Cann River, SisterDorothy persuaded him toride horseback to a bushhut to help her set a man’sthigh.Using the bush telegraph,

Sister Dorothy would findout when a doctor was trav-elling through the regionand organised groups ofpeople to receive roadsidemedical treatment alongthe highway route.An extract from the

Evening Sun of that perioddescribed Sister Dorothy,who had served in WorldWar I, as “one whose nameis forever written in puregold”.From 1954 to 1957, serv-

ices and ministry at CannRiver was led by DeaconessLS Luck. She was followedby Deaconess Payne.Deaconess Sheila Payne

came to Gippsland in 1947,serving in Traralgon andYarram parishes before shewas appointed Minister inCharge of the Cann Riverparish. She had a great loveof the bush and people who

lived there and exercisedministry in the isolated dis-trict from 1959 to 1964.Deaconess Winifred Shoo-

bridge also visited Croajin-golong and found herselfteaching Sunday school in adugout at Cabbage Tree.She thought there must bea better way for the chil-dren to learn. She con-ceived administering theMail Bag Sunday school, ina similar scheme to one of-fered in Canada. By 1920,34 senior papers and 112junior papers were beingsent out by mail eachmonth. By 1958, nearly2000 subscribers were en-rolled. The Mail Bag Sundayschool closed in the 1990s.

The BrotherhoodTHE Brotherhood of St

John the Evangelist, adopt-ing a program delivered atLongreach, in Queensland,was the dream of BishopCranswick to provide clergyacross the diocese and par-ticularly in the more remoteregions. The foundationmen were recruited in Eng-land in 1920 by BishopCranswick, under the usualbrotherhood obligations ofeconomy, celibacy and obe-dience.Their pattern of work was

to alternate a few monthsof training in Sale with afew months of work, inpairs, in the bush, with theexpectation they wouldeventually be ordained.They served mainly in East

Gippsland.In Croajingalong, more

than 50 children were bap-tised by the brothers in ashort space of time, manyprepared for confirmationand services were fort-nightly or monthly at adozen locations.The brothers used a van

drawn by two horses fortransport; called the vic-arage on wheels. Eventu-ally, Australian men wereinducted into the brother-hood.December, 1922, The Vic-

arage on Wheels, Croajin-galong: “Camping andtravelling between each lit-tle group of settlers and thevisiting of lonely familiesisolated by distance fromtheir neighbours, demandsevery ounce of energy fromman and beast. For threemonths life has been livedunder canvas. A centralstore, or ‘dump, was badlyneeded. At last an idealplace was discovered … ashingle roofed building, va-cant but for swagmen… it isour home, church andstore. The few families liv-ing nearby make an effortto attend [services], bring-ing their little ones withthem … even on a dark andwet night … by the light of ahurricane lamp… there ishere real inspiration andworship”.Unfortunately, most men

did not seek ordination andthe venture was admitted afailure by Bishop Cranswickto Synod in 1924.Sources: Reverend Canon

Brian Roberts, former BCA

National Director and Hon-orary Archivist.Elliot, R (1996) The Dea-conesses of Gippsland.The Gippsland Anglican,February 2009 & May 2010Australian Bureau of Statis-tics website

Maddern, IT (1977) Light &Life: A history of the Angli-can church in Gippsland.Gibson, E (ed.) (2002)Great Faithfulness: A cente-nary publication of the dio-cese of Gippsland 1902 –2002.

ABOVE: At St John's Cann River with Bishop John McIn-tyre recently are (back) Ian Quick, Val Mitchell, JeanKnox, Sharon Kalz, Max Kalz, (front) John Colman, KayHenderson, Anna (absent: Beau). On the upper left is thepicture of the last supper that draws the eye on enteringthe church.

Photo: Roger Jackman

Covenanting CongregationsIN Victoria, covenanting covers a range of relationships;

between congregations, between parishes and betweenclergy. Both metropolitan and country churches are in-volved. Some covenants are longstanding; others havebeen developed much more recently. The Trinity Declara-tion and Code of Practice between Anglican and UnitingChurches provides guidelines and ongoing support for co-operating congregations.In Gippsland, Churchill cooperating parish is between

three traditions, Anglican, Uniting and Church of Christ.Here the Anglican church is used and the Uniting churchprovides the manse.At Mallacoota, Croajingolong cooperating parish has

three cooperating congregations, Anglican, Catholic andUniting churches. A community church was built on theAnglican site, raising problems of how other churches putmoney on to this site.Boolarra-Yinnar cooperating parish and Neerim South

and District cooperating parish are also in Gippsland. Bothcurrently have Uniting Church clergy.Westernport parish, at the western end of Gippsland dio-

cese, also recently took on the responsibility of minister-ing to the local Uniting church congregation as well. Bruthen parish has for many years, in agreement with

the Presbytery of Gippsland, supported a Uniting churchcongregation at St Matthew’s Anglican Church in Bruthen.It also provided the church for use by the local Catholicfaithful.The Presbytery of Gippsland covers approximately one

fifth of Victoria and extends from Koo Wee Rup and LangLang in the west through to Croajingolong in the far east;and from Philip Island and the Bass Coast in the south tothe Victorian High Country in the north. It is the only areain Victoria where the people are known by the samename, ‘Gippslanders’. The only ecosystem missing fromour area is a desert; otherwise Gippsland really does ‘haveit all’.The Presbytery of Gippsland has 28 parishes, making ap-

proved specified ministry placements for 29 people; somepart-time, some parishes being linked for shared ministrypurposes.The Presbytery includes 82 congregations and two faith

communities. Chaplaincies in the Presbytery include Ful-ham Correctional Centre, Monash University (ecumenical)and the RAAF Base East Sale .The Presbytery has formed a partnership with Frontier

Services to provide ministry in the Orbost parish, in theOmeo-Swifts Creek parish and in the Croajingolong coop-erating parish. It shares ministry in the growth corridorbetween Pakenham and Drouin with the Presbytery of PortPhillip East.Within the Presbytery, there are a number of cooperat-

ing Parishes: Neerim South co-operating parish, Boolarra-Yinnar parish and Croajingolong parish are all Anglicanand Uniting church congregations; the co-operatingchurches in Churchill are UCA, Anglican and Churches ofChrist congregations.There are also 11 congregations with a covenanted

agreement or arrangement to share in, offer to or receiveministry or hospitality from other denominations: Angli-can, Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran and Presbyterian.The Presbytery includes within its borders the campsites

of Lake Tyers camp and caravan park in the east andGrantville Lodge in the west.

Gippsland Home Mission Fund:‘Gippslanders helping Gippslanders’THE Gippsland Home Mission Fund (GHMF) is a fund es-

tablished by Gippsland Anglican Diocese to raise fundsfrom parishes and individuals to support ministry in themore isolated areas of the diocese. Parishes to benefitfrom the fund in recent years include Boolarra/Yinnar,Bruthen, Croajingolong, Omeo, Orbost, Moe, Paynesvilleand Neerim South. The fund also helps support specialministries for the Aboriginal and Sudanese communitiesin the diocese.Administered by Bishop in Council, the fund is a way of

sharing resources particularly with communities wherethere is a need for the face of the church to remain. It isa visible sign of hope in difficult times.October is the month when parishes and individuals are

encouraged to give generously in support of the fund.

ABOVE: A service at St Peter’s Mallacoota to thank emer-gency service volunteers and workers.

September 2012 Our Diocese - Children, Family and Youth Ministries 9


By Dr Belinda Garth

WHEN asked ‘what I do’for work, I invariably havea selection of titles fromwhich to choose: social sci-entist, qualitative re-searcher and occasionallyuniversity lecturer andtutor. The majority of my‘work’ of late has been as amother of three beautifulboys, aged one, three andfive years. For this article, Iwill replace my mummy hatwith my professional one.I graduated with a Bache-

lor of Health Science (Hon-ors) and went on tocomplete my PhD, where inthe process I taught sub-jects in ‘sociology of health’and ‘research methods inhealth sciences’. One component of my

teaching was getting stu-dents to wrap their headsaround theoretical perspec-tives in health sociology,one of them being post-modernism, which assumesno single reality or univer-sal truth. “What’s true for you is

true for you and what’s truefor me is true for me”. Thiswas taught in the context ofa range of social theoriesthat try to explain and un-derstand social life. To me,this theory was akin tocatching clouds. But, from time to time, I

found myself in conversa-tion with people whoaligned with postmodernityand were happy to pick as-pects of various faiths orphilosophies, that suitedthem, and live according tothose principles. This was quite different to

how I approach my faith,which I believe is based onreason and evidence (giventhe evidence, it is morereasonable than not to con-clude that God exists andthat Jesus is the Son ofGod). Regarding universaltruth, either God is there orHe is not. There cannot be two

truths in this instance.There can be different per-ceptions or interpretations,yes, but not differenttruths. Granted, I had a few

interesting conversations.Being a follower of Jesus

Christ undergirds every-thing I do in the workplace,including how I treat othersand being truthful in log-ging my hours. My recentwork has mostly involvedinterviewing participants fora research project (relatedto how same-day appoint-ments are managed in gen-eral practice), analysingdata from transcripts andwriting up results in theform of research papers(for publication in peer re-viewed journals). No faith-workplace chal-

lenges there! If anything,this work compliments myfaith, since I have the op-portunity to connect withpeople and identify veryspecific areas of life and so-ciety that can be improvedto benefit people. I once worked with a

Christian academic in LosAngeles who encouraged usto pray together beforemeetings and share gracebefore lunch; this was workand faith intersecting in a

positive way.It was not until I had chil-

dren that I had to make de-cisions about where tospend most of my time.How could I best honor Godat home and at work? Whatwas the right balance forme and my family, at thisstage in our lives? The world of academia can

be diverse and while it hascertainly allowed me flexi-bility to work from home ona casual basis, what comeswith academia is the exces-sive quest for publicationsto prove one’s worth in re-search and to ‘climb high

up the academic tree’. While I see nothing wrong

with progressing in my ca-reer (and I hope to do so,to some degree, when ourchildren are in school), I didnot think it should be doneat the expense of my youngfamily. So, how does my faith in-

form what I do at work? Itprovides me with some per-spective about what is re-ally important: family,people, integrity, truth,compassion. While I doenjoy my work, my valueand my worth are firstfound in God.

Color in picture: follow JesusNo Turning Back “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. John 6:67-68 (NIV)Match the words in the box with the correct definition.

ETERNAL DISCIPLES BELIEVE TEACHINGHARD FOLLOW LEAVE TURN

1. The original followers of Jesus

2. To reverse directions

3. To accept as true or real

4. Difficult to understand, accomplish, or finish

5. To come after; to go behind someone

6. Sharing knowledge with others

7. To go away from; depart; abandon or forsake

8. Continuing forever

Copyright: www.sermons4kids.com

Christianity and the workplace

Puzzles

Maze

10 Our Diocese - Children, Family and Youth Ministries September 2012


AT the end of last term, collection tubswere overflowing with pencils, books andall types of stationery from each of the 19classrooms at St Gabriel’s school, Traral-gon. Materials were collected to support alocal charity, the Bor Orphanage Project,working towards establishing a school fororphaned children of Bor in South Sudan. The school community recently heard

about this project and invited its projectteam members to speak to the students.The staff and students were so moved bytheir story, St Gabriel’s decided to partici-pate in this worthy cause through a schoolwide collection of stationary supplies. Thematerials were formally handed across toproject team leaders at an assembly(above).A locally based Sudanese, Reverend Abra-

ham Maluk of Moe parish, returned to hishome town of Bor for a visit after a 23 yearexile. He found a situation that is common

in Sudan, a village almost without adults.Nearly 60 children were trying to build aschool and teach the younger children. The mud and grass huts they were build-

ing leaked with water and when the rainscame, the buildings washed away. The chil-dren would build and rebuild. They wrotewith sticks in the hard ground but theywere enthusiastic, according to Rev. Abra-ham. He believes the Bor project is ‘investing

in the children’ and this will create a morepositive future for the area. He is happy totalk to schools and different organisationsabout the project.The governing body of Bor has given this

registered charity a parcel of land to assistin its endeavor to raise money to build theschool. (For more information, please ex-plore its website www.bororphanage.com)Article first published in Catholic Life, Au-

gust 2012; reprinted with permission.

From children to children

ON Sunday, August 19, atNewborough, five new GFSmembers were welcomedduring the morning worshipservice at St Aiden’s. Nya-pany, Nyaration, Simone,Nyabhan and Georgia areregular worshippers at StAidan’s and join in the ac-tivities at Moe GFS Kid-splus+. Father Fred Morrey pre-

sented the certificates andmembership badges to thegirls, watched on by StAidan’s congregation andvisitors from Moe parishsupporting the girls.

Photo: Matthew ProsserContributor: Mary Nicholls

A SOUP and hot dog lunchwas enjoyed after the fifthSunday combined worshipat Moe. During the service,several new members ofGFS were welcomed by thecongregation. Families remained after

lunch to watch the movie,Cool Runnings, which fit-tingly supported ourOlympic theme during thisterm. Our Sudanese chil-dren, in particular, enjoythese Sunday fellowshiptimes after combined wor-ship. The parish celebrated a

number of occasions re-cently including the annualWinter progressive dinner,attended by 30 people; andthe St James’ Day PatronalFestival at Hill End, whichwas also followed by lunchin the hall.

The parish’s ‘Angel’sTreasures’ opportunity shopis going from strength tostrength in its new locationin Fowler Street. Easily ac-cessible for visitors and do-nation drop offs, we are

GFS active girls

LEFT: Bishop John McIntyre andReverend Greg Magee officiatedat a comfirmation service at StAugustine’s in August. Three chil-dren were confirmed, from ayoung family that worships withthe congregation at Newhaven.The parents are Cathy and KevinWoollen and the children areSam (right), Jackson (back) andGrace (back). They are with theiryoung sister, Ruby, (front) andgrandmothers Joyce and Shirley.Joyce, Shirley and Cathy werethe sponsors.

Contributor: Roma Caulfield

Olympic theme at Moe

enjoying increased trading.

TOP: Families remained inSt Luke’s Hall after lunch towatch the movie, Cool Run-nings, which fittingly sup-ported our Olympic themeduring this term. Our Su-danese children, in particu-lar, enjoy these Sundayfellowship times after com-bined worship. ABOVE: Thursday Moe GFSgirls competed in Olympicchallenges.

Photos: Mary NichollsContributor: Mary Nicholls

September 2012 Our Diocese - Children, Family and Youth Ministries 11


TWO students from Gipps-land Grammar are amongthe top 10 winners of TheSunday Age Ultimate Storycompetition, presented bythe MS Readathon. Thecompetition involved Pen-guin Book authors writingthe first five chapters of anew story, with entrants re-quired to write the conclu-sion. Grade four student,Hannah Husodo, wrote theoverall winning sixth chap-ter of the extraordinary, fic-tional tale. Millie Dunnett,of grade six, also placed inthe top 10. This is a re-markable result for thegirls, who were competingagainst 700 students acrossVictoria and including sec-ondary students up to year11. Head of St Anne’s Cam-

pus, Mr Greg Thomson,said: “Creative writing andwritten expression in gen-eral have always been astrong priority at thisschool. Students with an in-terest in writing are encour-aged to develop theirtalents and enter variouscompetitions. Hannah,along with Ruby McNeillJohnson (grade five) andBen Rich (grade three), wasalso awarded a distinctionin the University of NewSouth Wales Writing Com-

petition recently. We arevery proud of our students’achievements and congrat-ulate them.”Hannah’s winning chapter

was published in The Sun-day Age and the girls willsoon participate in a writ-

ers’ workshop for the top10 winners with authorGabrielle Williams. They willeach receive $200 worth ofPenguin Books.

ABOVE: Millie Dunnett andHannah Husodo.

Ultimate storywriters

Back to traffic schoolKIDSPLUS+ Gippsland will revisit Morwell Traffic School,

following the popularity of this venue for our diocesanfamilies at the beginning of the year (above). The dioce-san Kidsplus+ network again invites parish families to joinus for an afternoon ‘on wheels’ or enjoying games equip-ment at the Morwell Traffic School, Princes Highway op-posite Kernot Hall, in Morwell. On November 18, from 3.30pm to 5.30pm, the afternoon

will include a free sausage sizzle. Groups are welcome toattend, this being particularly appropriate for many of ourgrowing parish mainly music, playgroup, junior churchand Sunday school participants.

Contributor: Mary Nicholls

12 Our Diocese - Perspectives September 2012


By David John Battrick

ALL local congregationsare organised around agroup of activities that flowfrom their vision of what itmeans to be the Churchand which dictate how theymake use of their re-sources. If you want to know the

priorities of any local con-gregation, one of the bestplaces to start is to look atthe bank statements and todiscover how people areencouraged to use theirtime.Never mind the one-line

mission statement at thetop of the pew slip, the pri-mary activities of any con-gregation help us tounderstand what that com-munity of Christians believetheir God-given calling tobe. In other words, how a

local congregation spendsits time, energy and re-sources is the clearest indi-cator of its vision andpurpose.These core activities have

often been called the ‘or-ganising functions of theChurch’. As Anglicans, theFive Marks of Mission helpgive further clarity to ourcalling to share in God’smission of loving and sav-ing the world.At the most basic level the

list of functions that weprobably aspire to be or-ganised around might bedescribed as somethinglike: gathering to worship God; living as a community in

which we are cared for andcare for each other; being a community of dis-

ciples in which we aregrowing in faith throughlearning and encourage-ment, and serving the world around

us through local missionand global mission partner-ships.But the problem is that for

many of us the time andenergy needed to creativelyfocus on these activities iscrowded out by the moreurgent tasks of housekeep-

ing. We may be custodiansof beautiful buildings re-quiring our constant atten-tion, we might need tofundraise to supplementour giving in order to bal-ance the budget. Simply maintaining what

we have, which is a sign ofgreat faithfulness in itself,often leaves little room foranything else.In Newcastle diocese, we

have been developing aframework for both ministryand maintenance called‘Becoming Ministering Com-munities in Mission’ whichseeks to help us to concen-trate the limited resourcesavailable within a local con-gregation in a more bal-anced form.In parishes that have

adopted this vision, theparish council now consistsof two teams. The Resourc-ing Team is elected at theannual general meeting andis focused upon mainte-nance, finance and admin-istration, working alongsidebut separate from the Min-istry Team commissioned tofocus on mission and min-istry. Around half theparishes in the diocesehave made a formal com-mitment to develop leader-ship in this new frameworkand, of those that havemade this commitment,most now have commis-sioned teams in place.By separating the atten-

tion given to each of thesetwo clusters of importantwork, the hope is congrega-

tions will be able to give ap-propriate and balanced at-tention to both, rather thanto just one of them.Of course some congrega-

tions have done this effec-tively for many years byhaving particular groupswithin the local church toconcentrate on an evangel-ism project or children’sministry or a building pro-gram. Some parish councilshave, for many years, di-vided into sub-groups togive attention to both main-tenance and ministry.The Ministering Communi-

ties in Mission frameworkseeks to replicate that kindof a possibility across thediocese, so in every parishthe organised focus on ad-ministration and mainte-nance is supplemented byan equally energetic focuson local ministry, missionand discipleship.Are the defining activities

of your congregation fo-cused on maintenance orministry? It does not haveto be an either or choice.We can do both.

Fr David John Battrick BSGis Diocesan Ministry Devel-opment Officer, AnglicanDiocese of Newcastle and Director, Newcastle Schoolof Theology for Ministry.This article first published

in The Anglican EncounterAugust issue, newspaper ofthe Anglican Diocese ofNewcastle; reprinted withpermission.

Balancing demands ofministry and maintenance

By Michael Harvey

PERSPECTIVE comes originally from the Latin per-spicere, ‘to see through’. We need to see people inour congregation, better than they presently are.Very often I hear church leader’s say to me: “I cansee invitation work well over in that church overthere ... but you should see my congregation!”I can almost hear Jesus saying, “you should see my

disciples!”Jesus ‘saw’ Simon differently than he saw himself.

In fact, he renamed him ‘Cephas’, the rock. It is justthat Simon didn’t act like a rock. He was all over theplace. But Simon Peter became very influential forChrist.Never underestimate the power of perspective. In-

deed, the perspective influence of those around us isso powerful. Many times we do not even realise weare being strongly affected, because influences gen-erally develop over an extended period of time. I have been concerned for a while that we have a

tendency to write off our congregations that have amajority of senior citizens. In a recent study ofchurches, the Back to Church Sunday Team in theUnited Kingdom, we discovered that even if a con-gregation is senior it can still have powerful influ-ence over younger people. In fact, the survey found 60 per cent of those in-

vited by our senior congregations were under theage of 50. Why is this so? I think we have for far too long called our congre-

gations elderly, rather than elders. There is a differ-ence between the two. Elders have respect andhave, over a long time, done a lot for their kith andkin. Therefore, their adult children and grandchil-dren will often be open to an invite from Grandmaand Grandpa. It may well be by using phrases like aging and eld-

erly that we have spoken death to the church andmany of our best people have become ‘Road’ Chris-tians (Retired on active duty). We need to re-recruitthe senior members of the congregations and envi-sion them in their position of elders and of theirpowerful influence on those around them.Everyone ought to have a dream which leads to a

perspective that lasts beyond a lifetime, to leave alegacy behind. A legacy is something that someonehas achieved that continues to exist after they die. Many of us are someone else’s legacy. We were

probably invited by someone to enable us to crossthe threshold of a church building and many of uswould not be here if someone had not come along-side us, at key points in our spiritual life.Jesus, of course, left a massive legacy behind but

I want to finish on his final vision: Go therefore andmake disciples of all nations, baptizing them in thename of the Father and of the Son and of the HolySpirit. This legacy has led down the years to you andme.Now we have a chance to leave our own legacy be-

hind by offering an invitation that may very well lastbeyond your own lifetime and, remember, Jesusends his final words of legacy by saying (and as yougo): ‘lo I am with you always’ Matt 28:20 KJVBorrow my eyes and gain a new perspective to see

beyond your fear and offer an invitation which mightalso change the perspective of your friend or rela-tive.

Michael Harvey is founding member of Back toChurch Sunday.

The power ofperspectivein invitation

September 2012 Our Diocese - Celebrating Ordained Women 13


By Jeanette Severs

IT was Mothers’ Union thatled Elwyn Sparks into min-istry as a hospital chaplainand, eventually, to be or-dained a priest. As Elwyntells her story, it is obviousthere are still painful mem-ories, about the path towomen being ordained firstas deacons and then aspriests. However, she moves past

this pain and speaks joy-fully about the work shehas done for God.In 1980, Elwyn felt a

strong call to ministry. Shewas involved with Mothers’Union in her parish andidentified the need for anevening group; Elwyn be-came coordinator of thisgroup.Along with Beth Hookey,

she went to a pastoral careweekend retreat led byJohn Bell and Charles Bay-ley.“There was a strong sense

of God’s presence with usthat weekend,” Elwyn said.“That weekend changed

many people’s lives, includ-ing mine.”John Bell was then Angli-

can chaplain and coordina-tor of the chaplaincydepartment at Royal Mel-bourne Hospital. He recom-mended Elwyn study aclinical pastoral education(CPE) unit at RMH.Elwyn also began studying

theology part time by cor-respondence. By 1982, shewas studying full time. When she finished her cor-

respondence studies, Elwynbegan working in a chap-laincy role at RMH and atthe end of 1982 she movedto a short term role as fulltime chaplain at Prestonand Northern CommunitiesHospital, or PANCH as itwas known.Shortly after taking up this

role, early in 1983 Elwynbegan studying theologypart time at Ridley College.“It was at PANCH I did my

first baptism,” Elwyn said.“It’s something I’ll never

forget.”Later in 1983, she moved

to the Alfred Hospital, stillin hospital chaplaincy, andtook on studying the thirdunit of CPE.Opportunities continued to

develop for Elwyn. GeraldBeaumont, at Holy TrinityEast Melbourne, offered hera role of hospital ministry atthe Freemasons Hospitaland she remained in thisrole until the end of 1988.Then the greatest, until

then, opportunity of all, asElwyn was ordained a dea-con in 1989. She continuedin hospital chaplaincy andalso took on the role of cu-rate at St Paul’s Ringwood.For Elwyn, being ordained

a deacon was a culmina-tion, of sorts, of her pathuntil then. She had felt allalong that God was calling

her to the priesthood but,of course, there were peo-ple in Melbourne diocesewho were waging a robustand, at times, threateningcampaign against womenbeing ordained as morethan a deaconess or trainedwoman worker. Elwyn wasone of many women whowere well educated and wellcredentialled for ministry inthe Anglican church butwere marginalised due tochurch politics.Finally, Synod passed the

motion for women to be or-dained deacons. Elwyn wasthere and she rememberswith pain the resolutionthat saw people stand upand move to one side or theother of the room, based ontheir view.Becoming a deacon was a

joyous occasion for ElwynSparks.“I’d been considering be-

coming a priest for manyyears. It was a very painfultime in Melbourne diocesebefore the decision to or-dain women was made.“I was on the fringes of

the Movement to OrdainWomen, not actively in-volved, but I attended thefirst meeting in Melbourne.“I was at the Synod that

finally decided on ordainingwomen, it was a verypainful and upsetting time,”Elwyn said.

Hospital ministryIN another accomplish-

ment, Elwyn was asked togo to Caulfield Hospital, ascoordinator of its chap-laincy program and as theAnglican chaplain. As coor-dinator, she also had an ec-umenical role, liaising withother Anglican chaplains,Jewish rabbis and Catholicpriests. While in this role,she oversaw the develop-ment and furnishing of thehospital chapel.Elwyn moved from this

role to Maroondah Hospitalin East Ringwood, again ascoordinator of the hospitalchaplaincy program and asAnglican chaplain. Again,she oversaw the develop-ment and furnishing of achapel at this hospital.“Every hospital was differ-

ent. But at the Alfred hospi-tal I worked in the hearttransplant unit, spendingtime with heart transplantpatients; that was veryspecial,” Elwyn said.“I was also pleased to be

able to get two chapels de-veloped and to see hospi-tals support the role ofhospital chaplains.“Being a hospital chaplain

was a privileged role, justincredible, ministering topeople.”After 19 years as a hospi-

tal chaplain, Elwyn was duefor long service leave andher husband, Terry, was re-tiring. They decided to

spend some time at PhilipIsland, in their holidayhouse. It was a move thatopened up more opportu-nity for Elwyn.

A priest at lastIT was in Gippsland that

Bishop Arthur Jones offeredto ordain Elwyn, as a priest. In February 2000, she was

ordained and the followingday she was inducted asthe priest-in-charge ofCroajingolong parish. Itwas not just a sea change,it was a life change, asElwyn and Terry moved tothe remote eastern com-munity of Victoria.For Bishop Arthur, it was a

strategic move, knowingElwyn had a long career in-volvement in working withecumenical congregationsand well developed peopleskills.The Croajingolong parish

is a co-operating parish,with the Uniting Church.For 3.5 years, Elwyn min-

istered to the congregationsof Mallacoota, Genoa andCann River, before she re-tired after serving fivemonths as locum ofBoolarra Yinnar Churchillparish.“Croajingolong was an in-

credible parish. I’d had somuch experience working ininterfaith roles and inter-church as a hospital chap-lain. That background wasideal for being a priest in aco-operating parish.“Gippsland was so differ-

ent [from Melbourne]. Icouldn’t get over thewarmth of the people,”Elwyn said.“At Croajingolong I learnt

so much about the threecongregations and aboutcountry people.

“We decided Gippslandwas the place for us and wewouldn’t return to Mel-bourne.”In particular, Elwyn re-

members Peter Wallis, thenRegistrar of Gippsland dio-cese, and his care for theclergy.“Peter Wallis would ring

me up regularly and keep intouch.“Other clergy were very

welcoming. I made friendswith Heather and LaurieBaker, who were atBruthen; every time I hadto travel to Bairnsdale, Saleor further west, I wouldstay with them. We becamegood friends.”

Caring ministryRETIREMENT for Elwyn

simply means she is not infull time ministry. She isstill licensed for Gippslandand Melbourne and holds arole with the Cowes RSL aschaplain and on the welfarecommittee. She is alsochaplain for the SouthGippsland sub-branch ofthe National Servicemen’sAssociation. They are rolesshe takes seriously, usingher counselling skills incommunity outreach.She is also involved in

ministry in Bass Phillip Is-land parish, co-ordinatingthe three weekly servicesfor aged residents.Locum work beckons oc-

casionally and Elwyn hasstood in at Westernport,Leongatha, Korumburraand Yarram.She is a caring person

who, after work in thehealth industry as ayounger woman and acounselling course, foundher calling in the priest-hood, albeit most of the

time without the privilegeof being ordained.“Mothers’ Union gave me

the opportunity to grow intochaplaincy work. ThroughMU, I felt my calling intoministry and heard thethree day chaplaincy coursewas on. It was a very spiri-tual weekend; the presenceof our Lord was very muchthere,” Elwyn said.

Family ministryELWYN is also remarkable

in that her two daughtersand a granddaughter havelives in ministry. Herdaughter, Helen Phillips,was a school chaplain inSydney and is now in Mel-bourne, the priest-in-charge of St Dunstan’sCamberwell. Helen is alsoan examining chaplain inMelbourne diocese. Helen ismarried to John Phillips,also a priest in Melbournediocese.Elwyn speaks brokenly of

her pride seeing Helen or-dained, even though Elwynhad not been offered thechance to be a priest at thattime.Elwyn’s other daughter,

Debbie, is a doctor and ismarried to Reverend Em-manuel Carrington, whohas just been appointed aspriest-in-charge of Hamp-ton parish.Helen’s daughter, Heather

Cetrenganglo, is in teamministry at St Mary’sCaulfield andpriest-in-charge of StCatherine’s Elsternwick.Heather is married to AdamCetrenganglo, who will bepriested later this year.“Each one of us, our min-

istries are so different; andI am so proud of them,”Elwyn said.

Elwyn’s ministry came from MU

ABOVE: Reverend Elwyn Sparks (right) with her daughter, Rev. Helen Phillips andgranddaughter, Rev. Heather Cetrenganglo.

Photo: Terry Sparks

14 Our Diocese - Clergy News September 2012


THE Reverend DeaconessNancy Drew, who died atLatrobe Valley Village inMoe on August 5, 2012, ledan eventful, challengingand fulfilling life in ministryand as a member of her ex-tended family. From Dea-coness House in Sydney toOenpelli, back to Sydney,then to Nowa Nowa and theLake Tyers Mission and fi-nally to Morwell, her lifewas one filled with somenotable adventures andwith much love and com-mitment to the communi-ties she served. Ordained Deaconess in

Sydney Diocese on March5, 1950, Nancy’s first ap-pointment was as Chaplainto the Oenpelli Mission Sta-tion in remote Arnhem Landnear the East AlligatorRiver. After a time in theNorthern Territory, Nancymoved to the Parish of Red-fern in Sydney for a yearwhile she studied in the De-

partment of Anthropologyat Sydney University. In 1957, the Bishop of

Gippsland offered Nancy anappointment as Deaconessin Charge of Nowa Nowaand Missioner to the LakeTyers Aboriginal Reserve.During her eight years asMissioner, Nancy endearedherself to the people of EastGippsland. The Aboriginalcommunity regarded her astheir deacon. Nancy lovedthe Aboriginal people andthey loved her. In 1965, Nancy was ap-

pointed to a newly createdrole, Family Welfare Officerfor the Anglican Church inthe Latrobe Valley, based inMorwell. This includedbeing the adoptions officerfor the Latrobe Valley areaand she placed about 50children in new and lovinghomes. She was also a probation

officer; involved with theestablishment of Lifeline inthe Latrobe Valley; secre-tary to the Diocesan Com-mittee for SocialResponsibility, which agi-tated for a number of proj-ects for the localcommunity including theestablishment of the Traral-gon Crematorium. Among Nancy’s ‘first’ ac-

complishments includedfirst woman elected as Cler-ical Synod representativeon Bishop in Council for 10years; first woman to beelected rural dean in Gipps-land; and first woman ap-pointed by the Bishop as anexamining chaplain.In 1971 her book, The Art

of Being Single, was pub-lished, attracting muchmedia attention. In 1973,the media descended againwhen she became the firstwoman to be made a ruraldean.Nancy’s final appointment

was as Maryvale minister.She pioneered a new con-gregation in Morwell Eastand held service in the li-

brary of Maryvale HighSchool. In 1984, shehanded the work to Rev-erend John Gale and re-tired, continuing to live inMorwell and be involved inthe parish and the commu-nity. In 1998, she was awarded

a Rotary International PaulHarris Fellowship. Alto-gether, a quite remarkableministry and career.Gippsland and the com-

munity of the Latrobe Val-ley have lost a championand a good friend. Welldone, good and faithful ser-vant. We give thanks for Nancy

Drew, for her faith and herfaithfulness, her commit-ment, her intelligence, herdetermination and forti-tude, her pioneering spirit,her wit and her twinklyeyes; and for all that shemeant to her family and herfriends. We give thanks sheis now at rest with theChrist she has loved andserved for all these years.

LEFT: Deaconess NancyDrew on duty in Morwellparish as she would be re-membered by many peo-ple.ABOVE: Deaconess NancyDrew in a recent photo-graph.

Vale, Deaconess NancyIT is with great pleasure

the congregations ofChurchill, Boolarra and Yin-nar parish announce theappointment as our newminister, Reverend BrendaBurney (right). She willtake up her appointmentlate in October. We look for-ward to her ministry withmuch anticipation.There has been a varied

worship schedule. The sec-ond Sunday was CRE(Christian Religious Educa-tion) Sunday. Two peoplefrom the church share theresponsibility of CRE atChurchill and Hazelwood North primary schools.The service was based on a CRE lesson and in-

volved the children as much as possible. It also en-couraged the congregation to support the CREteachers with their prayers and in practical ways.The annual Winifred Keik service, written by the

Queensland Unit of Australian Church Women, wastaken by the members of the Ladies’ Fellowship. Thisservice is written especially for the occasion andbeautifully delivered by the women of the parish. A retiring offering is sent to support three women

who are doing studies in theology or related fields.Members of the parish express our sympathy to the

families of Georgina Jinks, Robern Lubawski’smother and Barbara Massey, who was a longtimefaithful parishioner until going into Heritage Manor afew years ago.

Contributors: Ruth Place and Rae Billing

Brenda will be welcome

A RELIC of Jesuit mission-ary St Francis Xavier willvisit Gippsland on October5 to 7, as part of the Aus-tralian Catholic Church’sYear of Grace celebrations.St Francis’ right forearmwill tour Australia Septem-ber 16 to December 4.The forearm is the arm

with which St Francisblessed and baptised peo-ple during his lifetime.Honor guards line the roadand entrance to each stop.The forearm will be at St

Patrick’s Catholic Church,Pakenham, on October 5for mass celebrated byBishop Christopher Prowse.It will travel through Gipps-land to St Mary’s CatholicCathedral, Sale for an after-noon mass and quiet time.It will return through Gipp-sland to St Francis XavierCollege, Beaconsfield for aprayer evening, mass andovernight vigil.On the Saturday morning,

October 6, the relic will be

moved to Our Lady Help ofChristians parish, NarreWarren, for prayers andmass. In the afternoon, itwill go to St Agatha’sCatholic Church, Cran-bourne, where the Catholicdiocese expects many peo-ple will make pilgrimage tosee it during evening prayerservices, mass and anotherovernight vigil.On the Sunday morning,

following early morningprayers, the relic will betransferred to Melbournediocese.St Francis Xavier was,

along with St Ignatius ofLoyola, among the foundersof the Jesuit Order. Hespent much of his life inIndia and Asia in the 16thcentury. From 1927 to1976, when Australiaceased to be a missionarycountry, St Francis Xavierwas co-patron of Australiawith St Therese of Lisieux.

Source: Catholic Life, August 2012 issue.

Relic tours Gippsland

BISHOP John McIntyre leda Quiet Day for associatesof the Anam Cara Commu-nity, at St Mary’s AnglicanChurch, Mirboo North onAugust 11, on the theme‘Struggles With God’. He took as his main text

Genesis 32:22-32, thestory of Jacob’s all-nightstruggle with God and hisperseverance with God, de-

spite his own brokenness,until he received God’sblessing.In the period before lunch

attendees had opportunityto meet with Bishop Johnfor private interviews.In the afternoon, Bishop

John led a lively discussionon Mark 5:21-43, on theraising of Jairus’ daughterand the healing of a woman

in the crowd.A period of reflection and

meditation followed beforemore discussion.The picture, above left,

that evoked discussion isLutte de Jacob, or seen asJacob struggling with God,or an angel. It is online athttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lutte_de_Jacob_avec_l%27Ange.jpg

Bishop talks about struggle

September 2012 Our Diocese - The Abbey of St Barnabas at A’Beckett Park 15


MEN arrived from acrossthe diocese to a retreatheld at the Abbey from Au-gust 3 to 5. The retreat wasled by Anglican priest, Rev-erend John Stewart, Direc-tor of the Living Well Centrefor Christian Spirituality,based in Melbourne.The theme of the retreat

was the injunction by Jesusfor his followers to love; toLove God, to Love yourneighbors and to Loveyourself. One of the attendees,

Robert Fordham, said: “Foreach of the sessions, JohnStewart made a presenta-tion on an aspect of theLove theme, relating it tothe issues men of our eraface in their daily lives.After a period of individualreflection the group wouldthen re-assemble to discussthe implications both for in-dividuals and the church.“The hospitality at the

Abbey was also an impor-tant feature of the pro-gram, particularly thewonderful food providedthroughout the retreat pe-riod by David and DebChambers.“Overall, it was a great ex-

perience of men being ableto pray, work and socializetogether in this way.”Another retreat for men

will be held next year.

Later in the month, theAbbey hosted a writer’sworkshop on the weekendof August 17 to 19. Hostedby Archdeacon Philip Mus-ton and Sue Fordham andattended by eight enthusi-astic writers, it turned outto be a weekend of fun,laughter and creativity.The workshop concen-

trated on the symbol of fire,began with exploring thepositive, negative and neu-tral aspects of the symbol;then looked at how variouswriters used that symbol tomotivate their work.Some wonderful writing

resulted from the weekendof inspiration and partici-pants were treated to the

gourmet cooking of Davidand Deb Chambers and DebRobinson. Everyone com-mented on the luxury of thenew accommodation andthe privilege of being ableto take time out to write,inspired by the grazing kan-garoos, the koalas and theteeming bird life.David and Debbie Cham-

bers have volunteered tocook for workshops to beheld at the abbey in Sep-tember. See the diocesancalendar for details.

TOP: At the men’s retreatwere (back) Reverend BrianTurner, Robert Fordham, BillDavies, Paul Selliani, BruceArmstrong and (front)Bruce Armstrong, Ian Little,Rev. John Stewart (retreatleader), Alex Griffith andJohn Mee.

Photo: Bruce ArmstrongABOVE middle: Maurs Rod-well, Phillip Muston and JanCropley at the writing work-shop.

Photo: Edie AshleyABOVE: David Chambersand Deb Robinson volun-teered in the kitchen.ABOVE left: Debbie Cham-bers checks a short storyshe wrote and discussed atthe writing workshop.

Photos: Jeanette Severs

Owned and operated by Ray & Maree Anderson

With care & dignity, we serve South Gippsland and Phillip Island

Main Office: WONTHAGGI/INVERLOCH (03) 5672 1074 176-178 Graham Street, Wonthaggi, 3995 Fax: (03) 5672 1747

PHILLIP ISLAND (03) 5952 5171 15 Warley Avenue, Cowes, 3922 (by appointment only) Email: [email protected]

Pre-paid & pre-arranged funeral plans available.

CARING & PERSONAL 24 HOUR SERVICE

2012

International Year of People of African Descent, Na-tional Year of the Farmer, National Year of Reading

SeptemberAug. 31 to Sept. 2 Retreat on the Spirituality of

Spring, led by Reverend Anne Turner; Abbey of St Barnabas, A’Beckett Park; telephone 03 5156 6580

2 Children’s Music Prom, Gippsland Grammar, Garnsey Hall, McGhee St, Sale; 11am; telephone 03 5143 6381; $5 each, children under two years free.

8 St James’ bush dance, St James’ church hall, Orbost; 7.30pm; telephone Bevil, 03 5154 1085; $10 entry includes supper; BYO drinks.

9 Back to Church Sunday11 Mothers’ Union Gippsland annual general

meeting; Leongatha; 9.30am; Karin McKenzie, telephone 03 5662 2148

14-16 Workshops on Wind and Music, led by Fay Magee and Dean Dr Don Saines; Abbey of St Barnabas, A’Beckett Park; telephone 03 5156 6580

14-16 CMS Spring Conference, Latrobe Valley.22 Celebrating 20 years of women’s ordination,

10am to 5pm; Old Warden’s Lodge, Trinity College Theological School, Parkville. $50/$40. Bookings essential, telephone 03 9348 7127, email [email protected]

23 Deconsecration of Dargo church; 3.30pm; telephone Reverend Brian Turner, 0408 216965

25-28 Mothers’ Union invitation week, A’Beckett Park; telephone 03 5156 6580

October6 Open garden for Morwell parish mission to St

Margaret’s Hospital, New Guinea; 60 Cooloongatta Drive, Tyers; 1pm to 5pm; Cost $10 per person, children free.

7 Feast day of St Francis of Assisi9 Family Forum, with Dr Michael Carr-Gregg,

sponsored by Gippsland Mothers’ Union; 7.30pm; St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School Traralgon campus; telephone 03 5134 1356 or 03 5156 1949

12-14 Workshops on Earth and Art, led by Dr Pene Brook; Abbey of St Barnabas, A’Beckett Park; telephone 03 5156 6580

13 Anam Cara Community contemplative encounter, Windows into Judaism; Trafalgar South, 10am; telephone 03 5634 7616

15–18 Annual clergy retreat; Pallotti College27-29 Women’s and Men’s Lay Retreat; Palotti

College. Leader, Bishop Michael Hough. Contact Gwyneth Jones; telephone 0421 501 024, email [email protected]

Diocesan Calendar

Not AloneINFLUENCED by DH

Lawrence’s belief that, ulti-mately, man is alone, oneparticipant at the writingworkshop at the abbey,wrote the following poem.

I am the solace in the midstof flame.I am the comfort in thestorm.I am the friendship of kind-ness.I am the delight of laughter.I am with the beloved inthe pain, in the sorrow, inthe joy, in the laughter.I am love. I surround you.I encompass you. I enfoldyou in the everlastingarms.I love you in the darkesthour.I love you in the sweetestmoment.I love you.I do not falter.I do not forget.I love you, beloved childrenof my heart, my hand, mydesire.All are wanted, all areloved, all are grieved for.All are mine, mine, mine.My creation, my joy, mine.

Workshops at the Abbey

16 Our Diocese - Linking with Rwanda Diocese September 2012


By Janet Wallis

FROM June 23 to July 15,six members of the Angli-can parish of Leongathavisited our link diocese ofGahini in Rwanda and ourlink parishes, Karangazi andMusenyi.We went with the clear in-

tention of getting to knowsome of the people we sup-port and have supportedduring the 12 years thatGippsland diocese has beenlinked with Gahini. Our preparation for the

trip included speaking toseveral people who have al-ready visited Rwanda andreading books aboutRwanda and its history, in-cluding Bishop Alexis’ book,Rescued by Angels. We arrived in the capital,

Kigali, after a 23 hour planeflight. We expected to bemet at the airport, but afterwaiting a while, we organ-ised for a taxi to take us toSeeds of Peace, the dioce-san conference centre.That was smooth enough(although not cheap), butwhen we arrived, the rea-son we were not met wasrevealed. The president was in

Gahini, as part of the an-nual anniversary celebra-tions. When we arrived, westill had to wait for nearlytwo hours, until the Presi-dent left, before we couldmove into our accommoda-tion. The Bishop really en-courages people who arevisiting to come during thethird week in June, so theycan participate in this gath-ering and celebrate with thediocese the beginning ofChristian revival in Rwandaand the ongoing ministry ofthe Diocese of Gahini. We were blessed to be

housed in the ‘roundhouses’ at Seeds of Peacefor most of our stay. Thesetwo bedroom bungalowshave beautiful views ofLake Muhazi and plenty ofspace in the lounge area. Half our team was moved

into Gippsland House forpart of the second week.This is extremely comfort-able and provides individualensuite facilities. Food was plentiful, but we

ate much the same eachday; omelette and bread forbreakfast, rice and beans ora plate of chips for tea. Forlunch we visited local shopsin Gahini and bought freshbread, avocado, tomatoand bananas. Sometimeswe ate pineapple.Each day we would meet

in the outdoor dining roomfor breakfast, then walk upthe hill, about a kilometre,to the diocesan centre.From there, we were ableto go to the hospital, whereDr Graham Toohill joinedthe medical team and as-sisted a plastic surgeon atwork. We visited the rehabilita-

tion Centre and ‘played’with the children, encour-aging them to throw balls,do puzzles, talk or just havefun. Our main project, how-ever, was to help developthe library. A university student from

America, Evan Hewitt, wascompleting a two year proj-ect to build a public library,only the second to beopened in Rwanda. Thebooks had been stacked onthe shelves and the officialopening had taken place,but his time was up and hehad to return to America. Pam, one of our team, had

worked in a school libraryand it seemed a completelynatural thing for us to helpwith the labelling and de-velopment of the library.Books had been sorted intofiction and non-fiction bysubjects. Using a basic Dewey Sys-

tem, which we color coded,we set about labellingbooks so that when theyare borrowed and returned,they can be shelved in thecorrect place. Fiction was sorted accord-

ing to reading level, to givereaders an idea of the sortof book they might be ableto enjoy. We were also ableto commission an extrabookshelf to house booksabout Rwanda or books inthe local language, Kin-yarwanda. We look forwardto this being filled in the fu-ture. Whatever we were doing,

we would meet together forlunch. While the food wasthe same, we shared thepurchase of it. There was areal sense that we ‘had allthings in common’ Acts2:44.On two very special occa-

sions we were able to visitour link parishes. This gaveus opportunity to meet thelocal pastors and to talk tosome of the local people. Each church setting in-

cluded a school, which wasobviously an important partof the ministry. School con-ditions were very basic. Atone school, the children saton benches, with no desk orother resource and only asingle blackboard on whichwork could be written.We were wonderfully

looked after on these occa-sions. We ate with the localpeople, an abundant supplyof beans, rice, bananas,sauce, some meat, eitherbeef or goat, and chips(french fries).Where-ever we went,

someone was there totranslate. Often this was ayounger person or one ofthe pastors. On our first Sunday in

Rwanda we worshippedwith the parish ofKarangazi. It was a specialdistrict service and thelaunch of their buildingproject. The church building, which

was a solid but basic brickstructure, is to be replacedby a larger, more asceticbuilding. Everyone was en-couraged to contribute tothis project. According to their means,

people pledged significantamounts. We were happy tobe able to do so, too. Oneof the marvellous com-ments made during thisservice was by an olderwoman, who said: “I don’thave any money, but whenGod gives me some, I com-mit to contributing it to thisbuilding”.We attended choir practice

with Rays of Hope. Many inGippsland will remembertheir visit here in 2004.Their singing in local lan-guage is inspiring. We joined them to learn a

song in English and weremade honorary members.We sang with them at thecathedral on our secondSunday in Rwanda. Theyare planning to make a newCD and go on internationalmission tour in 2013. We hope they will be able

to come to Gippsland andshare their experience ofthe love of God with us.We were encouraged to

see people were generallywell fed and there are manynew schools open so eachchild can get an education. However, we were also

aware that many familieslive hand to mouth. Theyhave little or no income,simply the food they cangrow themselves andmaybe a little cash fromselling some at the market. This is only part of the

story. We met people alongthe main roads, wheretransport and access totowns is readily available.Graham and Luke were ableto visit a child they supportthrough Compassion. Theydrove as far as possible,then had to walk down asteep embankment and upthe other side to reach thisfamily, whose land barely

supported them and whoseonly ‘income’ was the ma-nure from two goats and acow they looked after. On our final day in

Rwanda, we went to twoGenocide memorials andthe Kigali Genocide Mu-seum. These places verygraphically tell the story ofGenocide. Shelf after shelfof human bones, pile afterpile of bloodstained clothesvividly recall a dark chapterin the country’s history. We also heard of the hope

that is emerging, thatRwanda can recover andrebuild. That past differ-ences are not part of theancient history of this landand a united Rwanda can

emerge and develop.Our lasting memory of

Rwanda will be of beautifulpeople and wonderful wel-coming smiles. It is a landwith a heartbreaking his-tory and a marvellous fu-ture. We pray for thepeople, the Church and thegovernment policies seek-ing to emphasise the unityand hope which can be ex-perienced through forgive-ness and reconciliation.

TOP: Luke Toohill and Ver-ity Morris organising the li-brary shelves.MIDDLE above: School chil-dren.ABOVE: The group met forlunch every day.

Rwanda: forgiveness, unity and hope

September 2012 Our Diocese - Parish News 17


VP Day in Bairnsdale

ABOVE: Bairnsdale parish celebrated VP (Victory in the Pacific) Day on August 12 at StJohn’s church. The Bairnsdale Primary School choir attended as guest singers. Membersof the choir also read two bible readings and spoke of their personal experiences at theschool camp at Portsea. A special collection was taken to support this project.BELOW: Travis Blackburn with Australian Army Reserve cadets, Josh Fleming and Gra-ham Pickering. Travis was a guest speaker at the VP Day anniversary and spoke of hisexperience training for and travelling on the Kokoda Trek with other Aboriginal youth andmentors. Josh and Graham participated in the VP Day service.

Photos/Contributor: Ursula Plunkett

RIGHT: On July 22, BishopJohn McIntyre and his wife,Jan, attended both servicesat St John’s Bairnsdale. Atthe 10 am service theBishop received a parish-ioner, George Bowles, intothe Communion of the An-glican Church of Australia.The Bishop preached atboth services, played hisguitar and sang with thechildren. During the coffeebreak between the twoservices and lunch was agood time for catching upwith people. (front) JanMcIntyre and Ron Cookeand (back) June Gale andPeter White enjoyed fellow-ship between the services.

Photo/Contributor: Ursula Plunkett

ABOVE: In Croajingolong parish, mainly music is a multi-denominational supported activity. Recently, mainly musicheld a ‘pirates and princesses’ theme at Mallacoota. A fea-ture on Croajingolong parish is on pages 5 to 8 of thisissue of The Gippsland Anglican.

Photo: Roger Jackman

Christmas in Julyat Swan Reach

18 Our Diocese - Literary and Media Reviews September 2012


THE Australian ChristianBook of the Year was an-nounced in Melbourne re-cently. Gumbuli of Ngukurr(Acorn Press), written byMurray Seiffert, wasawarded ahead of morethan 40 entries submittedthis year.Second prize was awarded

to A Short History of Chris-tianity (Viking) by GeoffreyBlainey. Love, Tears and Autism:

An Australian mother’sjourney from heartbreak tohope (Ark House) by CecilyPaterson took third prize.The Australian Christian

Literature Awards includesprizes for unpublished man-uscripts by young writers.Faith like a mushroomearned Claire van Ryn theYoung Australian ChristianWriter Award. Daniel Li wasawarded the AustralianChristian Teen Writer Awardfor his work, A short walk.Visit www.spcka.org.auWhat the judges had to

say about Gumbuli ofNgukurr: Few indigenousAustralians have been thesubject of so rigorous a bi-ography. This is a uniqueand timely contribution tothe story of Aboriginal en-gagement with western cul-ture and Christianity. Always informative, it

sometimes, makes for pro-foundly uncomfortable andprovocative reading. Thissingular story of indigenousprotagonism, self-determi-nation and leadership in the

face of overwhelming ob-stacles; hostile opposition,blind ignorance and numb-ing indifference; maps away forward for the peopleof this continent.

ReviewTWO stories overlap and

interweave in this biogra-phy of Gumbuli of Ngukurr.One is of a remarkable Abo-riginal elder, Michael Gum-buli Wurramara, whoseearly life was spent on re-mote islands in the Gulf ofCarpentaria. As a teenager,he moved to the RoperRiver Mission, that becameknown as Ngukurr undergovernment control. Gumbuli was one of the

community leaders whofought hard to achieve localdecision-making at thistime of dramatic change.He became the first Abo-

riginal Anglican priest in theNorthern Territory and formore than 30 years, leaderof the Arnhem Land Angli-cans and ‘architect’ of theKriol Bible Translation Proj-ect. He faced many of thechallenging issues arisingfrom traditional Aboriginalways meeting Western cul-ture and the Christian faith.The second story de-

scribes the Ngukurr com-munity in the second half ofthe 20th century, as itseeks to achieve a mix ofancient and modern cul-tures. Along the way, issuesarise such as health, em-ployment, economics, wel-fare, Stolen Generation,polygamy, alcohol and Abo-riginal spirituality. The pleaof ‘Why don’t you ask us?’seems to fall on deaf ears ineach generation.Extremely readable and

thought-provoking, thiswork is based on extensiveinterviews, observation andarchival research. It chal-lenges many assumptionsabout the relationships be-tween government, mis-sions and Aborigines. Acollection of photographs,many of historical impor-tance, accompanies thetext.

In this centenary year ofthe surrender of the North-ern Territory from SouthAustralia to the Common-wealth, we reflect on those100 years and the 50,000years of stories of Aborigi-nal people. Gumbuli ofNgukurr is one of those in-spiring stories. An incredi-ble man and outstandingleader for Arnhem Land,Groote Eylandt and Gulfcountry region, his is astory to be shared by allAustralians.

Author: The HonMalarndirri McCarthy, Member for Arnhem,

Northern Territory.

Cracker tale

Blainey, G (2011) Ashort history of Christi-anity. Viking.

A CONSUMMATE story-teller takes on the greateststory ever told. GeoffreyBlainey deftly weaves to-gether epic events, devel-opments and movements.He pauses, when instruc-

tive, to examine sometimesobscure episodes and peo-ple. The result is a simple,yet breathtaking, narrative.Blainey’s impartiality is es-

pecially evident in his treat-ment of major conflicts,such as the Reformation. Itis significant in an increas-ingly Christophobic society,that a prominent historianat the peak of his prestigehas written an accessiblehistory that places Jesus atthe centre of human his-tory.

Transformation

Paterson, C; Love,tears and autism: AnAustralian mother’sjourney from heart-break to hope. ArkHouse.

A TRANSPARENT and grip-ping testimony of radicalpersonal transformationunder stress. Cecily Pater-son shares how her experi-ences with her son,Cameron, challenged herown faith, pride and needfor control and enabledthem both to grow. In a culture which denies

suffering and devalues thelives of people with disabil-ities, the story of Cecily andCameron is a powerful andnecessary witness.

Short-listed

Witt, S; Teen Talk. Par-ent Talk: A commonsense guide to raisingyour teenager. Collec-tive Wisdom.

SHARON Witt is a second-ary school teacher, motherand author of best-sellingbooks for teenagers. With this book, she be-

friends parents just as thechallenge of parentingreaches its climax. Herhumor, enthusiasm andconfidence are infectious.Biblical values, boundaries

and unconditional accept-ance combine to provide a‘soft place to land’ for par-ents and teenagers alike.Witt engages social media

and a resource list and linksto her web pages.

Clifford, R; Apologeticpreaching and teach-ing: For the church &the marketplace. Mor-ling Press.

ROSS Clifford offers a sys-tematic and practical guidefor evangelists and preach-ers, addressing a pluralisticsociety and unsympatheticculture.Particularly refreshing and

useful is the exhortation torespect our audience by ac-knowledging personalitytypes (intellectually oremotionally oriented), un-derstanding the listeners’context and not misrepre-senting their beliefs ... orour own.

Semmens, C (ed) Thezoo in you: Faith les-sons on the wildnesswithin. Crooked NoseWisdom

TIGER. Turtle. Tadpole.Trout. The stimuli are zoo-logical. The results are orig-inal, engaging andinsightful.

This surprising volume ofmeditations, edited byCameron Semmens, is asvaluable as it is rare; 24Autralian christian musi-cians, writers and leadersgrapple with doubt, grief,yearning, grace and morein an intimate and reflectivemood.

Joseph, S; Colourworms: Learn coloursthe fun and easy way.Growing Faith.

SHAN Joseph uses vividcolors and simple rhyme toawaken the imagination ofpreschool readers, usingthe color worm.

The Church, over the years, has been blessed with the generosity of Anglicans and others in support of its mission. One way you can support this ideal in a relatively easy way, is to make a gift through your will. In the first instance, of course, you will consider carefully the needs of your immediate family and friends before proceeding with a bequest to the church.

We offer a way of helping you to carry out your wishes. Your gift, through your bequest, will be very much appreciated. You may wish to support the Diocese of Gippsland as a whole, or your own parish, or for a particular purpose.

Making your bequest in your Will is a simple procedure, although in preparing or amending your Will you should always consult a solicitor. The Registrar of the Diocese of Gippsland has information to assist you in making a bequest, including the form of words you and your solicitor might want to use.

Telephone Brian Norris on 03 5144 2044, or go to www.gippsanglican.org.au

A LASTING GIFT: A bequest to the Anglican Diocese of Gippsland or your parish

Awards for Christian writing

September 2012 Our Diocese - Literary and Media Reviews 19


THE 2012 Young Aus-tralian Christian WriterAward was announced inAugust at the AustralianChristian Literature Awards.The awards are an activityof SPCKA (The Society forPromoting Christian Knowl-edge Australia Inc.). Seewww.spcka.org.auThe winner of the unpub-

lished manuscript wasClaire van Ryn with Faithlike a mushroom. This col-lection of thoughts servesas a companion on the pathto christian maturity. Thewriting is inquiring andphilosophical, but above allit is practical.The writer’s voice is strong

and impressive breadth ofhistorical and cultural en-gagement is put to gooduse. This is writing foryoung adults who want tomake their faith more thanjust a set of inert beliefslocked safely away in theirhearts. It calls us to under-stand the christian faith asa worldview seeking actionand transformation.Second prize was awarded

to Miriam Dale with Sugarand salt: Honesty in faith.Third prize went to Darren

Wright for St Patrick’sChurch. Part Two.Claire van Ryn’s Faith like

a mushroom follows:‘Among Arthur Boyd’s tap-

estries interpreting the lifeof St Francis, there is a fas-cinating depiction of theWolf of Gubbio fable. To un-derstand his artistic state-ment, you must first befamiliar with the story.It goes something like

this: There once lived afierce wolf in the little townof Gubbio that was so rabidwith hunger, it terrorisedthe villagers. It ate animalsand humans alike and thepeople were terrified.Francis decided to ap-

proach the wolf, seeking aresolution to the problem.He could find only one com-panion to accompany himoutside the town gate.They ventured forward

and it was not long beforethe wolf lunged at themfrom the woods, caninesbared, growling.Bravely, Francis called out:

“Come to me, Brother Wolf.I wish you no harm.” Andthe wolf lay down at hisfeet.

Francis gave the wolf a bitof an earbashing, tellinghim of the punishment hedeserved, before offering apeaceful resolution. Thetownspeople would feed thewolf each day and cease tohunt him, in return for theirsafety, acknowledging thatthe wolf’s actions were outof hunger.Francis and the wolf shook

paw and hand and the townadopted the wolf, feedinghim daily until his death.So goes the tale.It has been told and re-

told as an example of theneed to resolve differences,to seek reconciliation. As itis written in Ephesians4:32, ‘Be kind and compas-sionate to one another, for-giving each other, just as inChrist God forgave you’.Boyd’s tapestry, however,

serves a different lesson.The 1974 artwork shows

the figures of St Francis andthe wolf melded into onebeing; a distinct divergencefrom traditional artwork onthe topic, which typicallyshow the saint and beastshaking hands.It asks the viewer to con-

sider the wild wolf is withinSt Francis, within all of us,representing the internalstruggle between good andevil. And that is an uncom-fortable moment of intro-spection.Rather than seeing our-

selves as the saint, haloadorning the cranium, crossin hand, battling the forcesof darkness, Boyd’s inter-pretation turns the story onits head. He acknowledgeswe are all capable of malev-olence when pushed to cer-tain limits.That, in turn, reminds us

we need to daily climbabove selfishness if we areto overcome the humancondition. Something Jesushad down to a fine art.He urged people to spend

less time worrying aboutthe wolves around us andmore time taming the wolfwithin. In Luke 6:41, Jesussays: “Why do you look atthe speck of sawdust inyour brother’s eye and payno attention to the plank inyour own eye?”.Or, as Boyd inferred, it is

not the wolf at the citygates that should alarm somuch, as the wolf within.’

By Fay Magee

WHAT happens when wesing? This is actually a crit-ical question for the ongo-ing practice of includingcongregational song in anykind of worship setting. It isa particularly important ex-ample of how we inevitablybring our culturally-deter-mined attitudes intochurch, whatever ‘church’may be. The music we like to listen

to and sing or play has in-creasingly become a ‘prod-uct’, a commodity we buy,something we use to defineourselves or our lifestyle. It becomes natural for us

to decide what we like andthen assume those criteriamean it is also good. So ourmusic is ‘good’ and some-one else’s could be not sogood. At the same time we have

a cultural history which,most recently, encouragesus to think of music as anemotional tool, somethingwe use to create a certainmood, particularly to makeus happy. In the everyday world of

music, we find increasingfragmentation of the mar-ket, symbolised by the ‘per-sonal music device’ or iPodwhich allows me to listenjust to ‘my music’. Friends share music but

young people do not oftenfind their musical prefer-ences extended or chal-lenged unless they areactually ‘making music’.This is the broad cultural

backdrop to what we bringto ‘church’, what we mightbe expecting music to dofor us in worship. However,there is a lot more to musicin ‘church’ and particularlysong, that is, music with

words added. Like the flow of liturgy,

music in worship is part ofthat taking us throughtime, taking us into the nar-rative and the actions whichare worship. It is music directed to a

greater range of emotionsand responses to the gospelstory acted out in the Eu-charist. Because it is music in

which we are participants,it becomes an embodiedexperience which makes itsimpact over time, far moresignificant in forming usand our community.What happens when we

sing in church? We can andshould expect it to besomething different, partic-ularly in the way it func-tions. There should besurprises and challenges aswell as the comfort of thelong traditions.

Young Christianwriter award Grimmond, P. Suffering Well: The

Predictable Surprise of ChristianSuffering. Matthias Media.

By Paul Cavanough

SUFFERING happens. If you find your-self personally confronted with the real-ity of suffering, then a book with thetitle Suffering Well tends to catch theeye. It is especially attractive that thebook is part of a series titled Guide-books for Life. If you are like me, you will find yourself

looking for a book like this when timesare tough for you or the people youlove. Obviously I went to the last pageto see if I could expect to be disap-pointed. I found this: ‘My prayer is that this

book might spur you on to know God;to know him as he truly is and to live inthe light of his generous revelation’(p165). This book is only 165 easy-to-read, story-filled pages of insightful andbiblical reflection on the topic of suffer-ing.The author touches on some examples

of suffering which were unexpected byme. For example, do you know folk whoare suffering because their children andgrandchildren reject Christ? I have beenpraying for my brother to turn to Jesusfor 35 years. This book insightfully ac-knowledges the deep nagging pain thatresults for so many of us. ‘…there is something very sad about

seeing family and friends and even justcasual acquaintances living sinfully…Itsimply brings disappointment and sad-ness’ (p121). How did we ever get the idea that life

should be a breeze? The author sug-gests that, like television shows, we allplay stories in our head which are cre-ated by the world we live in. One exam-ple is that anything causing sufferingmust be bad because suffering is point-less. The biblical perceptive, which the au-

thor drives home, is that God uses suf-fering to build perseverance, characterand hope in his people (Romans 5:3-4). Biblical illustrations and current stories

are powerfully mixed to drive home thefoundational realities of the impact of

sin in our world and the power of God inour lives. The author touches on the re-alities of physical suffering such as ter-minal illness, natural disaster andmartyrdom. I found comfort, challenge and encour-

agement in his conclusion that: ‘Theworld experiences suffering not becauseGod is out of control but because God isin control. And the solution to sufferingin not to see everything sorted out inour time, but to wait patiently for Godto act according to his character’ (p41).So you think suffering is no big deal for

you? No great struggles or persecutionin your life? This book will challenge youdeeply as it asserts: ‘The great dangerfor Christians living in the West is notphysical death at the hands of persecu-tors but slow spiritual death of a thou-sand tiny compromises crouched at ourdoor, waiting to devour our hearts’(p97).This book draws answers for the deep-

est questions from the biblical text. Al-though not perfectly structured attimes, the author’s key points and ar-guments are easily accessible for anyChristian with a love for the Bible and adesire to understand God and his ways.I loved this read. It helped me through

a time of deep questioning.

God and the tough times

Making music in church

Children at Orbost listen to a story,during activities in the church hall.

20 Our Diocese - Pictorial September 2012


ORBOST celebrated its pa-tronal day with a brilliantcabaret on July 21, when StJames’ church held theirannual theme dinner. Thisyear, the theme was Ara-bian Nights.St James’ hall was elabo-

rately decorated with mid-dle eastern themedecorations and 160 guestsjoined in the fun of theevent, arriving in some fan-tastic costumes. There wasa prize for the best dressedguest.As usual, the catering

team produced a superbthree-course dinner, fol-lowed by entertainmentthroughout the evening.First on stage was the

Nowa Nowa Mens Choirwho sang brilliantly and en-gaged the audience withtheir causal style. The St James’ Players pro-

duced another hilariouspantomime performance.This year it was ‘Ali Baba,Genie and Others’. Variouscharacters acted out thecrazy plot, including a stel-lar performance by Humpythe camel.Cabaret Diva, Brigid de

Neefe, and jazz musician,Jonathan Harvey, travelledfrom Melbourne to enter-tain the guests. Both haveextraordinary talent andwere well received.Congratulations to all in-

volved. The popularity ofthe event has increasedeach year and this yearprobably reached maximumseating. Good feedback hasfollowed the function, withpeople wanting to book fornext year already.I wonder what the theme

will be next year? Watchthis space.

Contributor: Bevil Lunson

ABOVE right: Anne Wilson,Janice Armistead and Mer-rill Herbert were very color-ful.RIGHT: Brian Blakeman(winner of the best dressedguest), Reverend Bevil Lun-son and Dr Elizabeth Blake-man.FAR right: Claire Witteveenand Claire Griebenow.BELOW: The Nowa NowaMens Choir in full voice atSt James’ patronal cabaret.

Photos: Barbara Lunson,Julie Young and

Snowy River Mail

ABOVE: Jason Griebenow.LEFT: The decorated halland some of the attendees.BELOW: Vicki Coote, Mack-ayla Coote and WendyLavell looked like Arabianprincesses.

Photos: Barbara Lunson,Julie Young and

Snowy River Mail

Orbost brilliant at cabaret

the gippsland anglican, september 2012

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