The Gippsland Anglican - February 2013

Volume 110, Number 1 February 2013 Published in Gippsland Diocese since 1904

The Gippsland Anglican is your award winning newspaper: Best Regional Publication Bronze Award (ARPA) 2012; Best RegionalPublication Silver Award (ARPA) 2011; Item or Feature that shows the most originality Highly Commended (ARPA) 2011; Best SocialJustice Story Highly Commended (ARPA) 2004; Best Regional Publication (ARPA) 2003; Most Improved Newspaper (ARPA) 2001.

Celebrating ordainedwomen’s ministry

Pages 6, 7 & 9

VCE success in ourschools

Page 2

Les Miserablesinspires song

8

Mothers’ Unionmembers helpin fire crisis

2 Our Diocese - Celebrating Success in Schools February 2013

The Gippsland Anglican

The GippslandAnglicanPrice: 90 cents +gst each

$25 +gst annual postal subscriptionMember of Australasian Religious

Press AssociationMember of Community Newspapers

Association of VictoriaRegistered by Australia Post.

Print Post Number 34351/00018

The Gippsland Anglican is the official newspaper of and is published by

The Anglican Diocese of Gippsland, 453 Raymond St,

Sale, Victoria, 3853,www.gippsanglican.org.au

Editor: Mrs Jeanette Severs,PO Box 1254, Bairnsdale, 3875

Tel: 0407 614661Fax: 03 5144 7183

Email: [email protected] all parish reports, all articles, photographs, advertisements and

letters to the Editor. Photographs asjpeg files. Articles as .doc or .txt files.

Advertisements as PDF files.

Printed by Latrobe Valley Express P/L21 George Street, Morwell, 3840

All contributions must be received bythe Editor by the 15th day of the monthprior to publication. Contact the Editorto discuss variation to this date. TheEditor reserves the right of final choiceand format of material included in eachissue. The Gippsland Anglican and theEditor cannot necessarily verify anymaterial used in this publication. Viewscontained in submitted material arethose of contributors.

Advertising Rates:$6.80/cm deep/column black & white.

Color is an extra $130.Contact the Editor in the first instance

for all advertising submissions, cost-ings and enquiries, including about in-serts in the newspaper.

For Sale Classifieds:Parishes can advertise items for

free, for sale at prices up to $100.Email details to the Editor.

IndexTop VCE students 2

Bishop’s message 3

Extra, extra ... news 4,5

Mitres, wimples and ... 6,7

Be fire alert 8

Celebrating women 9

Youth trip to Rwanda 10-12

Fun in Seaspray 13

Pondering Christmas 13

Three trees at Moe 14

Churches pass on 15

Vale, Elizabeth 16

Diocesan calendar 16

Men, food and fun 17

Well done, Robert 17

Grommets and surf 18

Hear the people sing 18

Craft on show 19

Parish fairs fare well 20

THE Dux of St Paul’s Angli-can Grammar School for2012 is Stephanie McKelvie,from Yarragon. Stephanieobtained an outstandingATAR score of 99.9, includ-ing two perfect scores of 50in Psychology (in 2011) andEnglish Literature, as wellas three scores over 40.Stephanie plans to studymedicine at either MonashUniversity or MelbourneUniversity.Close behind Stephanie

were Aaron Kovacs fromTraralgon (99.55), LauraRemyn from Warragul(99.35) and Duncan Hamil-ton from Warragul (99.1).Other very high achieverswere Jessica Kamphuisfrom Traralgon (97.75),Luke McNabb from Drouin(96.45) and school captainTaylah Purcell from War-ragul (96). Ten studentsachieved scores above 95;27 students obtainedscores over 90, puttingthem in the top 10 per centof the State, while 46 percent obtained an ATAR

score over 80, placing themin the top 20 per cent; 94per cent of students placedin the top 50 per cent.This year’s results are an-

other strong performancefor St Paul’s students. Theschool’s mean ATAR scorewas an impressive 75, whilethe median score was 78.2. In terms of study scores in

individual subjects, Princi-pal Lisa Moloney and teach-ing staff were delighted 65per cent of the scores wereabove the state average of30, while more than nineper cent of the scores wereover 40 and will be pub-lished on the VCE highachiever’s list. A perfect score of 50 was

obtained by Aaron Kovacsin English and English Liter-ature.The Dux of Gippsland

Grammar for 2012 is Ma-tisse Valette, from Maffra.Matisse obtained an ATARscore of 99.25, with fourscores over 40, including 47in French, obtained in2011. Matisse also passed

the Melbourne UniversityMathematics Extension Pro-gram. Earlier this year, Matisse

was chosen to attend theEuroscience Forum inDublin, after attending theNational Youth ScienceForum in Canberra. The 2012 results are an-

other strong performancefor the school. The school’smean ATAR score was 78.5,well up with the average

from the past 10 years,while the median was81.65. Twenty-four per centof students obtained anATAR score more than 90,putting them in the top 10per cent of students of thestate; 55 per cent obtainedan ATAR score in excess of80, placing them in the top20 per cent. Ninety-threeper cent of GippslandGrammar’s year 12 VCEstudents placed in the top50 per cent state-wide. Close behind Matisse were

David Commins from Ensay(98.15), Jack Andersonfrom Flynn (97.95), Caro-line Lee from Sale (97.85)and Ryan Howard fromYarram (97.65). Schoolcaptain, Jack Dawson fromTraralgon, earned a score of96.85; 18 more studentsachieved scores over 90.In study scores in individ-

ual subjects, the staff andexecutive of GippslandGrammar were delighted67 per cent of scores wereabove the State average of30, while more than 10 percent of scores were over 40and will be published on theVCE high achiever’s list. In 2013, Gippsland Gram-

mar welcomes new Princi-pal, David Baker, whosechildren will attend theschool.

ABOVE: St Paul’s principal,Lisa Moloney, congratulatesStephanie McKelvie on herhigh VCE score.

Top students of VCE

FRONT page: Pat McKe-own, secretary of Moth-ers’ Union EastGippsland, with boxes oftoiletry bags for men,women and children,made up by MU mem-bers for people affectedby the fires in Welling-ton Shire. The 17 MUmembers and friendsdonated toiletries and StJohn’s Bairnsdale do-nated $200 to purchaseextra; local pharmaciesalso donated goods. An-nually, MU East Gipps-land donates about 270bags to the local hospi-tal and refuges; thesebags are additional do-nations to that work.Photo: Jeanette Severs

February 2013 Our Diocese - Bishop John’s message 3


PRAYER is the expressionof our relationship withGod. It is our life sharedwith God in every moment.Life lived with God is thesource of godliness in ourlives, godliness in all we sayand do and godliness in theworld. Prayer is the heart-beat of life. To pray is topractice the presence ofGod. This is why St Paulcalls us to: ‘Pray withoutceasing’.Let us make 2013 the

‘Year of Prayer’ in our dio-cese. Of course, every yearshould be the year ofprayer. But in a year whenwe are looking to launch anew strategic plan for thenext five years, we need toremind ourselves, particu-larly, that prayer is vital. Inour planning we may comeup with all kinds of goodideas and innovativeschemes. But withoutprayer they will come tonothing.In prayer we acknowledge

that apart from God we can

achieve nothing. There aredimensions to human exis-tence which only the powerof God can address. St Paulreminds us: ‘Our struggle isnot against enemies of fleshand blood’ but takes placein the realms of life in whichthe power of God alone iseffective. So he says: ‘Prayin the Spirit at all times’.Prayer grows the primary

relationship of our life, ourrelationship with God. Thecapacity to grow in everyother relationship in ourlives comes from growth inour relationship with God.In prayer, our relationship

with self is transformed bythe grace we know fromGod in Jesus Christ, whogave his life that we mighthave life. We are remindedto be loved with such a loveis to be valued as a belovedchild of God. In prayer, wediscern the part which eachof us is called to play in thenew life of God’s restoredcreation.In prayer, our relationships

with others are transformedand we are called to live bythe same grace which Godhas shown each of us inJesus Christ. We are calledto love others as we havebeen loved and to give ofour lives that others mighthave life.In prayer, our relationship

with God’s world is trans-formed as we participatewith God in the renewal ofthe whole creation by Godin Jesus Christ. We are re-minded to take up our re-sponsibility to act for God inGod’s world and to work forthe healing and restorationof God’s creation.Prayer empowers us in all

our relationships and re-sponsibilities precisely be-cause it grows andstrengthens our relation-ship with God. As our rela-tionship with God growsand strengthens, so all ourrelationships grow andstrengthen. The closer wecome to God in prayer, themore fully human we be-

come in God’s world. Themore fully human we be-come, the more we play ourpart in the renewal of allthings in Jesus Christ.Only when we pray will our

ideas and innovativeschemes reflect the will ofGod. Then and only thenwill our plans fulfil theprayer which Jesus taughtus to pray: ‘Your will bedone, on earth as it is inheaven’.I invite you all to pray in

the Spirit without ceasing.

Year of Prayerin our diocese

Right Reverend John McIntyreBishop of Gippsland

4 Our Diocese - Commemorating 110 years of diocesan news February 2013


By Jeanette Seversand Tim Gibson

THE first diocesan news-paper in Gippsland waspublished on March 1, 1904and, in what is remarkable,it is the only issue includingan article by Bishop ArthurWellseley Pain, the diocesefirst bishop. Headed ‘Letterfrom the Bishop’ and onpage one, he wrote: “Oneof the first wishes ex-pressed to me upon my ar-rival in the Diocese was thata Diocesan Newspapermight be brought into exis-tence.” He went on to tell how the

Church Assembly, prede-cessor of Synod, “unani-mously requested theBishop in Council to takethe matter in hand … andwith a deep sense of re-sponsibility”, the newspaperbecame a reality andBishop Pain urged the read-ers to become subscribers.There is no record of whothe first editor was, unfor-tunately. The newspaperwas half-tabloid size withthree columns per page andprinted at the GippslandTimes office in Sale.Advertisers in the first and

consequent issues includedJames E Loder, an opticianin Sale; Gippsland College,Sale, headed by Robert Sil-lett and Girls’ High School,Sale, headed by MissesToomath and Dobson; andSilver Star Starch who tookout an entire page, continu-ing to do so for many years.Advertisements included in-dustry, with John Thomas,a Tailor and Habit Maker atSale (late of St Kilda); theX Ray Bicyle made by GRLoder and Company ofSale; and the Steel StarWindmill, available fromJohn Danks and Son, in

Melbourne. Advertisementsincluded undertakers, gen-eral merchants, drapers,plumbers, photographers,Saunders Coffee Palace,patent medicines, financebrokers and an architect,George H Cain, of Sale.Caulfield Grammar Schoolplaced regular advertise-ments with the notationtheir patron was the Bishopof Gippsland.Regular columns included

reports on The Financial Po-sition of the Diocese, Les-sons for Sundays and HolyDays and Moonlight timesto enable planning formeetings and travelling (re-member, this was beforeelectric torches and streetlighting, much less cars).The Residence and Endow-ment Fund and Home Mis-sion Fund were regularlyreported. Diocesan Newsreported where the Bishophad visited and when itemssuch as certificate andprizes had been sent toparishes; and Inter-Dioce-san News reported on otherdioceses. Home News re-ported overseas news, par-ticularly from London.Frank Lynch provided a

poem for publication in thefirst issue and, from the be-ginning, there were lettersand a regular section forparish news. Annual sub-scribers were named on thefront page of the newspa-per each issue. By issuetwo, there were 450 sub-scribers and by issue fourthere was 700. Improvingstories were also commonlypublished, usually withnom-de-plumes. By thethird issue, the Archdea-con’s Canvass provided reg-ular reports on hisextensive journeys aroundthe diocese, raising moneyfor the Endowment Fundand to pay for the building

of Bishopscourt (erecteddebt free in 1904), thencalled Bishopscote.In the July 1904 issue,

Archdeacon Hancock wrote:“When the diocese of Gipp-sland was formed aboutfour fifths of our immediateneeds were provided by themother diocese [Mel-bourne]. Our Bishop’sstipend is secured for alltime and we receive atpresent about £800 annu-ally in addition, which ispractically the nucleus ofour Home Mission Fund.The Bishop, found, how-ever, on coming into thediocese, that there was notone penny available formanagement expenses, fortraining of clergy and so on.An office has to be main-tained for the purpose ofconducting the necessarybusiness affairs of theChurch in Gippsland.” Hancock went on to com-

mend Mr CW Bell, who tookon the registrar’s role in anhonorary capacity. Hepointed out the need totrain and appoint moreclergy across the dioceseand support of many of theparishes, both of which ne-cessitated raising funds(this support of parisheswas an ongoing issue, withmost provided out of theHome Mission Fund). Healso acknowledged “thevaluable and sympathetichelp constantly given to usby the officers of theMother diocese, since wehave been set up in life forourselves. It will surprisemany of our readers tolearn that we receive fromMelbourne a minimum fixedincome, for all time, of£1311 annually” and de-tailed additional grants.The third session of the

first Church Assembly, fore-runner of Synod, is re-

ported on in a Supplementto the Church News of No-vember, 1904, including thePresident’s address. Amongthe subjects in his address,Bishop Pain spoke of “Thespiritual life of the Dioceseneeds to be requickenedand raised to a higher level.We have to meet indiffer-ence, manifested by agrowing disregard of theLord’s Day, a decrease inattendance at public wor-ship and a general aloof-ness from religion”; theimportance of scriptureteaching in schools, sup-ported by a referendum of10,000 people; and the im-portance of Sundayschools. The issue of January, 1905

contained The Story of ourMission to the Aborigines byReverend John Bulmer,touching on the inception ofthe idea of teaching Chris-tian religion to Aborigines,the 50 years since the mis-sion was established anddiscussing some of the be-liefs and traditions of Abo-riginal people. Rev.Bulmer’s article detailsWillie Wimmera, a young

boy abandoned in Mel-bourne by bullock driversand taken up by Rev. Septi-mus Lloyd Chase, who tookhim to London. Willie even-tually died of consumptionand was buried in ReadingCemetery; but he re-quested “that some ofGod’s people would go to[his people] with the gospelof love”, leading to a focuson teaching religion to Vic-toria’s Aborigines, the con-version of NathanaelPepper, a near relative ofWillie’s and the beginning in1854 of the Church of Eng-land Mission to the Aborig-ines, recruiting THGoodwin.Bulmer joined Goodwin in

the Murray River region in1855 and in June 1861 hebegan the journey toBairnsdale and Lake Tyers,setting up the mission sta-tion in 1862. In 1905, hewrote of the many Aborig-ines he had known who be-came Christians and somesimilarities between theChristian faith and the con-cept of God, heaven andsouls to language and be-liefs already held by thelocal people.The issue of March, 1905

was graced with an adver-tisement on the front pagefrom Brooks, Robinson &Co., Ltd, Designers andCraftsmen in Stained Glassand Lead Glazing. Theycontinued to place this fullpage advertisement forsome decades and, coinci-dentally, many of thechurch windows in Gipps-land diocese are their work.Also in this issue is a poemby Mary Grant Bruce who,of course, grew up in Gipp-sland. Headed Prize Poemand titled A Dead Garden, itbegan ‘They were men ofthew and sinew – they werewomen fair and gay; Theylaugh’d in the face ofHeaven, living their littleday’ and continued for 16verses; unfortunately thereis nothing to state whatprize it won.

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

SUBSCRIPTIONto The Gippsland Anglican

Get The Gippsland Anglican posted direct to you

Name ......................................................................

Address ..................................................................

.................................................................................

Telephone ...............................................................

Yes, I would like a one year postal subscription to The Gipps-land Anglican, costing $27.50. I enclose a cheque/postalorder, made out to the Anglican Diocese of Gippsland. Send to TGA subscriptions, Anglican Diocese of Gippsland,PO Box 928, Sale, 3850. Enquiries, telephone 03 5144 2044.

110 years of news in GippslandThis year, 2013, marks 110 years since Gippsland diocese began producing anewspaper. Each month we will review and highlight a decade of news.

ABOVE and right: Two ofthe first and long term ad-vertisements in the news-paper.

continued next page

February 2013 Our Diocese - Commemorating 110 years of diocesan news 5


from previous page

In the issue of September,1906, was a tribute to thelate Bishop of Bendigo,Henry Archdall Langley,who was the first Archdea-con of Gippsland diocese,from 1890 to 1894. Langleywas remembered as leavingan “impress of a strenuousand faithful ministry”, “fear-less in uttering what heheld as truth, he was notintolerant” and “blessedwith a kindly nature, hewas ever prompt with assis-tance … a strong, brave,gentle man”. From Gipps-land, he took on theArchdeaconry of Melbournebefore becoming Bendigo’sfirst bishop in 1902. Painwas vigorously sought toreplace Langley as Bishopof Bendigo, but declined.In his President’s address

in 1906, reported in the No-vember issue that year,Bishop Pain paid tribute tothe Sunday schools; in theprevious year, 28 prizes and101 certificates were issuedas the result of examina-tions. About 2000 syllabiwere issued each year. Rev.AL Kent suggested a chil-dren’s column and ques-tions on Sunday schoollessons be included in eachissue of Church News; Rev.GH Smith was identified asthe newspaper’s editor; andBishop Pain said “the paperwas a source of satisfactionto himself and we should becareful lest any changesmade were not for the bet-ter, but for the worse”. At this Synod, Archdeacon

Hancock moved “That thisSynod place on record itsdeep sense of thankfulnessto Almighty God at the re-cent decision of our Bishopin declining the See ofBendigo and most earnestlyprays his Lordship may begranted many years offruitful work in the Dioceseof Gippsland.” Bishop Painwent on to work for Gipps-land until 1917.Advertisers in the newspa-

per included water filters to‘avoid typhoid, hydatidsand other diseases’; cocoa;Electrine candles, that burnwithout smoke, odour orwaste; piano and organagents; ironmongers; andHA Peck, hairdresser andtobacconist. A milking ma-chine, Alfa-Laval separatorand farm telephone wereadvertised in Novemberand December, 1907, is-sues.There was also a list of

‘What to Read’: If you havethe blues, read Psalm 27; ifyour pocket-book is empty,read Psalm 37; if you arelosing confidence in man,read 1 Corinthians 13; ifpeople seem unkind, readJohn 15; if you are discour-aged about your work,Psalm 126; if you find theworld growing small andyourself great, read Psalm19; if you cannot have yourway in everything, keepsilent and read James chap-ter 3 in its entirety; if youare all out of sorts, read

Hebrews 12.Church News of Septem-

ber, 1907 reported on theHome Mission Festival, heldat Traralgon on August 21in the Mechanics Hall (andperchance also the Bishop’sbirthday). “All the five ta-bles provided by the Traral-gon and Glengarry ladieswere twice filled during thetea” presided by BishopPain, Archdeacon Hancockand other clergy. BishopPain pointed out “Bairns-dale, Sale and Maffra werethe only places not beingassisted” by the Home Mis-sion Fund “and in manycases the grants were quiteinadequate”. Amusementsduring the evening includedSt James Choir, solos andmusic played on organ andpiano. In this same issue ofthe newspaper, Port Albertreported its 50th celebra-tion of the first service, onJanuary 11, 1857, held withsix in attendance and Rev.W Bean.In 1908, the newspaper

reported in great detail onchurch openings in War-ragul, Nilma (Bloomfield)and Briagolong. The sameyear, the inspiring and con-troversial Canon Nash wasappointed to Sale parishand Pain appointed himArchdeacon, replacing Han-cock who had left Bairns-dale for a Melbourneposting.By 1909, the subscribers

had grown to 850 and thisnumber remained fairlystatic. This year saw muchreflection on the seventhanniversary of the foundingof the diocese which nowpossessed 69 church build-ings, 28 Parochial districts,with 39 clergy or readersand 24 parsonages. Han-cock was praised for pro-moting the EndowmentFund that had raised 75 percent of the target of£10,000. The Home MissionFund was strongly pro-moted.The year 1910 saw the de-

parture of John King, re-spected layman of Metung,to live in Geelong. CW Bellresigned as honorary regis-trar on his appointmentwith the Bank to Melbourneand his daughter, who hadbeen registrar’s clerk for sixyears, resigned too. Bellwas also a staunch sup-porter of St Paul’s, servingas churchwarden and treas-urer. The Powlett River CoalMines were opening uparound what we know asWonthaggi and this createdchallenges for the church inwhat became a tent town ofa few thousand people.Bishop Pain took leave for

the bulk of 1910 and whilehe and a daughter sailed toBritain, Mrs Pain and an-other daughter stayed inSydney. While he was away,from March to the middle ofNovember, he wrote regularletters to Church News re-porting on his program inBritain. It was not all holi-day, as he was seeking fi-nancial support for clergytraining and other projects.

It was Pain who selectedRev. George Aickin, Vicar ofUpton, Birkenhead to bethe first Principal of RidleyCollege in Melbourne. Priorto Ridley, clergy traininghappened via Moore Col-lege in New South Wales.Bishop Pain’s homecoming

in November was markedby a Garden Party at Kil-many Park, to coincide withSynod.The opening of St Barn-

abas, Bundalaguah, re-ceived a full page report. Areport from Boolarra inApril 1910, commenting onthe church bazaar and howfunds are raised, made thestatement “Lotteries oranything which might havea shadow of suspicion ofbeing speculative were ofcourse strictly excluded”.Gambling and games ofchance were frowned upon,as backed up by theTrustees and Vestries Act,and was only repealed in1994. Annual church fetes were

popular and towns such asHeyfield would invite a localluminary to open them. MrsHagenauer from Sale puther motor car at the Hey-field fair committee’s dis-posal in 1910, offeringmotor car rides.Rev. EF Pelletier, as pro-

moting secretary for theHome Mission Fund, tookon touring the diocese de-livering lectures and lanternslide nights titled ‘The Way-backs of Gippsland’. Thefund was supporting areassuch as Powlett, Orbost,Cann River, Bendoc andBuchan. It was mooted thatif Mallacoota timber wasneeded for Melbourne Har-bor improvements, then aminister would be neededthere. In time, provisionwas made for supplying aminister to the men work-ing on the Bairnsdale to Or-bost railway line.Gippsland has always had

a history of moving churchbuildings. At Jindivick in1910, a team of 34 bullocksmoved St James to a bettersite in that area. Strongwinds at Yarragon that yearblew the belfry over andbroke the bell. At Benam-bra, the church of five yearswas cracking badly andwould eventually have to bedemolished. At Drouin, se-vere winds damaged ChristChurch so badly the roofwas replaced, re-pitchedand the chancel, porch andbelfry altered. Church hadto be held in the new Lodgeroom at the Mechanics Hallwhist these alterations wereprogressing. Towns such asWalhalla were sufferingfrom a general exodus ofpopulation due to a declinein mining activity and thiswas true of other areas ofGippsland.Christ Church Boolarra,

designed by the diocesanarchitect, George Cain ofSale, was opened by theBishop in 1911. A report inNovember 1911 from Yin-nar illustrated the vagariesof transport and who minis-

ters depended upon to fulfiltheir duties: “A muchneeded stable has beenerected at Yinnar churchand the minister’s horsecan now be comfortablyhoused during the service.The example of Yinnarmight well be followed atevery place where servicesare held: even the roughestbush shelter would be aboon to the poor dumbhelper, whose severest dayis Sunday.”The Vicar of Foster, travel-

ling between Toora andWelshpool, lost his horse inan accident and the parishhad to rally and supply an-other means of transport.Even Bishop Pain was notimmune to accidents get-ting around his diocese. Inlate 1911, at Cunninghame(Lakes Entrance), he wasthrown from his jinker, in-juring his leg. Bishop Painwas a great user of the rail-way network gettingaround Gippsland andwhere the railway did notreach, parishioners wouldassist him getting to placeshe needed to go.The new Bishop of

Bathurst, appointed in1911, Canon GM Long, wasa pioneer clergyman inSouth Gippsland. By 1911,in some towns, electricitywas being connected andchurches at Yarram and Ko-rumburra were connectedto the grid. The church atWelshpool was dedicated.In August 1911, the Arch-bishop of Sydney and Pri-mate of Australia attendedthe Home Mission Festivalat Sale.Early in 1912 saw the

marriage of Miss Elsie Pain,third daughter of Bishopand Mrs Pain, to DrMatthews in St Paul’s, Sale.The couple was later totravel to China as mission-aries. The same year, Dr EMaynard Pain, a son and

missionary based in Cairo,died suddenly, aged 39years. The same year sawthe passing of the Hon. TCHarwood, MLC, first chan-cellor of the diocese. PercySergeant, of Traralgon, re-signed as advocate and re-placed Harwood in thechancellor’s role andWilliam Bruce was ap-pointed advocate.Archdeacon Nash, facing a

nasty libel case, resignedfrom Sale and wasfarewelled. This caused are-shuffle of personnel withRev. Godfrey Smith resign-ing as registrar to take onSale parish. Rymer was ap-pointed Registrar. An appealwas made for a tent to as-sist Mr George Prickett,who was ministering to thenavvies working on the EastGippsland railway.A trip of hazards was fully

reported of Bishop Pain’sjourney to Bendoc in April1913. It included a journeyby rail, foot and horse andincluded weather condi-tions, clearing of roads andtracks and other events,along with the various peo-ple he stayed with.The death of John Bulmer

of Lake Tyers was in August1913, ending 50 years ofwork with Gippsland’s Abo-rigines. The Old Guild Room(former St Paul’s, Sale) andsite was sold to the dioceseby Sale parish for £300 andthe proceeds were to go to-ward building a new parishhall in Marley Street.Demolition of the old St

Paul’s saw opportunity tobuild the long awaitedGippsland Divinity Collegeon the same site. The foun-dation stone was laid in No-vember, 1913. The DivinityCollege was designed byfirm Clegg, Miller and Mor-row. Plans for the newparish hall in Sale weredrawn and the contractawarded to Mr Wain of Sale.

ABOVE: The Primate's visit to Sale, in 1911. Bishop Painand Mrs Annie Pain are far right front of the picture. ThePrimate and his wife are front centre.BELOW: Outside St Columb's church, Swan Reach, a con-firmation group, attended by Bishop Pain, who is seen inthe centre of three men in the entry to the church, righthand side; taken on April 27, 1907.

6 Our Diocese - Celebrating Ordained Women February 2013


EARLIER this year (2012),in the United States ofAmerica, a group calledChristians for Biblical Equal-ity celebrated Women’s His-tory month by tellingstories of women in thechurch. Mariel Mastroste-fano, a former intern atCBE, introduced this con-cept with words that Iwould like to share. Shesaid: “Many people believe

women have very little im-pact on the church, sittingsilently as men directedtheir lives, both physicallyand spiritually. They thinkthat while some women didrise up from their place,they were few in numberand of little significance inthe narrative of history.” Mariel claims she was one

of these people, but as sheresearched, she changedher mind. She went on tosay:“What I discovered

through this process waswomen have always playedan important role in thechurch. They have servedas leaders, theologians,preachers and reformers.Only when I took a closelook at the story, did I seehow women fitted into thepicture. Often womenserved alongside men, butthey are not discussed intraditional histories. “Clare worked with Francis

of Assisi leading monasticorders and writing instruc-tions on how to live a sim-ple life of prayer andpoverty. But she is rarelymentioned. We all knowabout Martin Luther, arenowned theologian of theReformation, but much lessis known about his wife,Katherine von Bora, whostood beside him managinghis estate and organisingcare for the sick and forrefugees. (Luther called her“My Lord Katie!”) “She helped define what

clerical marriage lookedlike, yet she is never dis-cussed. The tragedy is,there are so many storieslike these which go untold.” (Taken from CBE newslet-

ter on March 2, 2012.)The 10 women ordained in

Perth on March 7, 1992, the33 ordained in Melbourne inDecember 1992 and the 92ordained altogether in Aus-tralia by the end of 1992,are part of a rich and variedhistory of women leaders inthe church. Bendigo Dio-cese, too, was open to or-daining women as priests. It is my aim today to help

raise our awareness of afew of the amazing womenwho have been leaders inthe Christian church overthe centuries: to givethanks to God for them andto inspire us in the future.Starting with the fledgling

Christian church we havethe husband and wife teamwho ministered together toshare the Gospel with oth-ers in the first century:Priscilla and Aquila. Theywere from a Jewish back-ground and became Chris-tians in Rome, beforemoving to Corinth wherethey met with Paul. They shared with Paul in

the trade of leather workingand later moved on withhim to Ephesus. Paul wasconfident to leave thechurch which met in theirhouse in their combinedcare. Paul mentions themtogether and obviously re-spects Priscilla as well asAquila. Paul mentions them six

times altogether, threetimes with Aquila first andthree times with Priscillafirst; most unusual for thatera. Whether or notPriscilla’s head was veiled,she was able to reach out tomen and women and sharethe Gospel with Aquila andthem. They had a ministryof quiet instruction to Apol-los, as they led him intofurther understandingabout being a follower ofChrist. (see Acts 18:1-26,Romans 16:3, 1 Corinthians16:19 and 2 Timothy 4:19). Other women are men-

tioned by Paul as being partof the young church. Iwould like to mention justtwo more. The first is Phoebe, whom

Paul described as his sisterin the Lord. She came fromCenchrea near Corinth (seeRomans 16:1-2). Phoebeheld some kind of office inthe church, many think asdeacon, and was commis-sioned by her church to goto Rome for them. Paul hadconfidence that she couldundertake this mission fortheir church and was grate-ful for her help and leader-ship in the church. Lydia was Paul’s first con-

vert in Europe (see Acts 16:14-15, 40). She was a Godfearer who came from thecity of Thyatira and was asuccessful businesswomanas a seller of purple cloth,which was a luxury itemthen. Lydia is described asmistress of her household,which could include familyand slaves. We see her as aspiritual leader, meetingwith the women of Philippifor prayer, both by the riverand then in her house;which became the meetingplace for their church andalso where Paul and hiscompanions stayed while inPhilippi. We see her as strong,

competent, warm andopen-hearted, as she wasable to work with Paul inbuilding up of the church inPhilippi. There is no men-tion of her husband; shemay have been married,widowed or single, but it isLydia that Paul talks aboutas a leader of the churchthere. So from the earlydays of the church, womenhave been involved as lead-ers; singly or with theirhusbands. In the first 10 centuries of

the church, religious com-munities developed, bothmale and female. One ofmy favorite and extremelytalented women in thetwelfth century is Hildegardvon Bingen (or Hildegardfrom the town of Bingen),born in what is now Ger-many in 1098, as theyoungest of 10 children.When she was only eightyears old, her family senther to Jutta, who was ananchoress at a town calledDisibodenberg, to be edu-cated in the Benedictineway of life, one of the mainmonastic orders.

When she was 18, she be-came a Benedictine nun.Twenty years later whenJutta died, the sisterselected Hildegard to betheir new abbess. Hildegardcommitted herself to a pub-lic and literary career and,in the next 40 years, shewrote three theologicaltreatises, a medical and sci-entific encyclopaedia, po-etry, music and the firstEuropean morality play,plus mystical treatises. I remember hearing a fas-

cinating documentary abouther knowledge of herbs andhealing plants and potions;with various remedies stillused today. I also love lis-tening to the music shecomposed in the style ofGregorian or plain chant;still a firm favourite withmany people more than800 years later. She de-scribed herself as “a featheron the breath of God” andthere is a CD of that namewith her music on it. By the time Hildegard

died, when she was 81, shehad founded two monaster-ies, gone on several majorpreaching tours, counselledmany pilgrims and visitorsand maintained an exten-sive correspondence. Hilde-gard was a visionary,preacher, writer, prophetand mystic. She becamementor and adviser to vari-ous male church and politi-cal leaders, includingBernard of Clairvaux,Thomas Beckett and thePopes Eugene III, Anasta-sius IV, Adrian IV andAlexander III. What awoman. Hildegard was not afraid to

challenge leaders and peo-ple alike about the state ofthe world and the church.She warned the bishopsabout corruption in thechurch. Bernard Scholzcomments that “Her cease-less complaints about a so-ciety run and ruled by menseemed to reflect a pro-found disillusionment with asocial order which gavewomen few rights and nopower. “She saw her gender as an

essential ingredient of herprophetic call, because shebelieved she lived in suchan effeminate age that God

had to call women to domen’s work.” (Bridget Mee-han, Praying with Passion-ate Women: Mystics,martyrs and mentors,Crossroad, 1995: page 55.) Hildegard received 26 vi-

sions on a variety of topics,including the love of God forhumanity in creation, salva-tion and the church, andshe wrote them down in herfirst prophetic book calledScivias. She wrote a pre-cautionary note at the be-ginning of this book, sayingto her readers: Let thosewho see the inner meaningof Scripture, yet do notwish to proclaim or preachit, take instruction, for theyare lukewarm and sluggishin persevering the justice ofGod. She also complained about

the lack of zeal in maleprelates and teachers andsaid: Nowadays theCatholic faith wavers andthe Gospel limps among thepeoples and the food of life– the divine Scriptures –has grown tepid. God, shesays, instructs her to pro-claim the Word, eventhough she is trampled un-derfoot by men because ofEve’s transgression. Archbishop Henry of Mainz

declared her spiritual writ-ings as authentic. In 1979,Pope John Paul II on the800th anniversary of herdeath called her an “out-standing saint, a light toher people and her time,who shines out morebrightly today” (Meehan:56).It has taken many cen-

turies, but she has just veryrecently been proclaimedan official saint in theRoman Catholic Church. Hildegard von Bingen was

obviously very creative, in-telligent, artistic and spiri-tual. She was also a bornleader who was not afraidto be a leader and mentorto men in a man’s world.There have been manyother women who wore thewimple, a sign of being in areligious profession, orwere mystics and exertedmuch influence on others intheir life style and writings. These include people like

Hilda, Abbess of Whitby in

Mitres, Wimples and women’sother hats: Christian womenleaders through the centuries

LAST year was the 20th year since women were first ordained to the priesthood, in the AnglicanChurch of Australia. Services of thanks and recognition were held across Australia, including inGippsland, at St Paul’s Cathedral Sale on December 2. Victoria’s first Bishop, Barbara Darling,addressed a number of meetings throughout the year about the ministry of women. Following isan edited transcript of her speech at a seminar in Bendigo on November 4.

By Bishop Barbara Darling, Bishop of the Eastern Region, Melbourne, Vic.

continued next page

February 2013 Our Diocese - Celebrating Ordained Women 7


from previous page

Yorkshire in the UnitedKingdom, in the seventhcentury, who founded adouble monastery with bothmen and women, livingseparately and coming to-gether for the offices of thechurch. In the tradition ofCeltic monasticism, it wasnot unusual for women topreside over such a mixedcommunity. Hilda set astandard for holiness, wis-dom and scholarship andserved as a spiritual direc-tor both within themonastery and beyond, in-cluding giving advice tokings and church leaders. The historian, the Venera-ble Bede, said of her that“All who knew her calledher Mother”. The abbey waschosen as an appropriateplace for the Synod ofWhitby which met in 664 todiscuss tensions betweenthe Celtic and Roman tradi-tions of the church. Hildawas a significant person inreligious habit whose wis-dom, spirituality and com-mon sense commended heras a leader. (Robert Ells-berg, Blessed among allwomen, Dartman, Longman& Todd, 2006: page 219.)Julian of Norwich was a

medieval mystic who livedin the mid-14th century asan anchoress in a smallroom attached to a churchin Norwich, England. Hersevere illness led to 16powerful revelations ofGod’s love which she wroteabout later as her DivineShowings.Julian is famous for her

development of the notionof the motherhood of Godand she wrote, concerningthe Trinity: As truly as Godis our Father, so truly isGod our mother. To theproperty of motherhood be-long nature, love, wisdomand knowledge, and this isGod. (Bridget Meehan,Praying with PassionateWomen, Crossroad, 1995:page 96.)Many years later, Sister

Rosalie CSC was anotherwoman who wore the wim-ple or more commonly re-ferred to by the Sisters as a‘gopher cap’ with no hairshowing and a black veil,black habit and white collar.All of this was in the warmPerth climate where shewas one of the first threeSisters of the Community ofthe Sisters of the Church,who came out in responseto the Diocese’s invitation

to found schools for girls inWestern Australia; havingdone so already in otherstates in Australia. Born Mabel Nicholas, she

entered the CSC aged 26 in1892 in England, was pro-fessed in 1895 and trainedas a teacher and commu-nity worker. In 1902, SrRosalie helped found andthen remained at Perth Col-lege for 57 years, seeing itdevelop and grow. She be-came its Principal for nearly20 years and oversaw itsfund raising and buildingdevelopments. At the time of her death,

aged 92 in 1958, Arch-bishop Moline of Perthwrote: “She won the admi-ration and affection of gen-erations of girls who cameunder her spell at PerthCollege. Loved by all whoknew her, highly respectedby those with whom shehad business dealings andhonored by the Crown,(with an OBE in 1949), shewill be remembered as oneof the great women of hertime whose personal charmand deep spirituality werecombined with outstandinggifts of heart and mind.She was a member of theadvance Guard of the Sis-ters’ expedition to WesternAustralia in 1902 and shealone survived to partici-pate in the Perth CollegeJubilee in 1952.” Rosalie House, one of the

boarding houses at PerthCollege, was named afterher. Sr Rosalie representsthe many women who wereleaders in the religious pro-fession and leaders in edu-cation and teaching. Angelina Noble is an ex-

ample of someone whowore neither mitre norwimple, but had variousother skills. She could haveworn a nurse’s veil. I hadnot heard of her until Arch-bishop Philip Freier men-tioned her to me. I hadheard of her husband,James Noble, who was bornin North Queensland andspent some time as astockman there and nearScone, in country NewSouth Wales; where he wasbaptised and confirmed in1895 when about 20 yearsold. He moved the next year to

Yarrabah, an Anglican mis-sion station near Cairns,working with ReverendErnest Gribble. He was ex-tremely valuable in reach-ing out to the Aboriginalpeople there and was li-

censed for this work as alay reader in Cairns in1901. James married Angelina

(born about 1879) after hisprevious wife died. Angelinawas an Aboriginal womanfrom Winton in Queensland.She had been abducted bya horse dealer and dressedas a man to be in disguise,but was discovered by thepolice and sent to Yarrabah. Angelina was a key person

in the mission work to Abo-riginal people that Gribbleand the Nobles were in-volved in. They went on anexpedition to the MitchellRiver and negotiated withthe local Aboriginal peoplethere. In 1908 the Nobleshelped pioneer a CMS mis-sion station at Roper Riverin the NT. Angelina used herskills as linguist to helpcommunicate with the peo-ple and was also involved intheir medical care. In 1913, at Gribble’s re-

quest, the Nobles went tothe mission station at For-rest River on the Cam-bridge Gulf in WwesternAustralia. They constructedbuildings and overlandedcattle. Angelina treated sickpeople and learned theirlanguage while raising atleast two sons and fourdaughters. Noble was madelay reader in 1925 and, on13 September 1925, be-came the first Aboriginalman in Australia to be or-dained as a deacon in St

George’s Cathedral in Perth,before returning to ForrestRiver, where they served fora total of 14 years. He didnot go on to be priested. Angelina was the only

woman missionary duringtheir time at Roper Riverand then for the first sixyears at Forrest River. Shecontinued nursing, taughtthe mission children, bakedthe mission bread andcooked for the staff. Shewas significant as the sup-port person for her husbandJames, but was also agifted linguist and was usedas an interpreter and some-one who was able to com-municate effectively withthose on the mission sta-tion. Later they went back to

Yarrabah with a brief periodministering at Palm Islandoff the coast of Queensland.James Noble died in 1941but Angelina lived until Oc-tober 1964 and died atYarrabah. Angelina represents to me

some of the thousands ofwomen who worked effi-ciently as wives, mothers,nursing sisters, teachers,missionaries, translators,interpreters and acted ashonorary curates to theirhusbands. She was alsodistinctive as being Aborig-inal and able to be a linkwith the indigenous peoplewith whom they lived, butalso using European meth-ods and understanding of a

mission station. Now to two of our ‘living

treasures’. Elizabeth Alfredwas born 98 years ago andfirst felt a call to ministrywhen 17 years old. Shegrew up in country Victoria,moving from Bairnsdalewhen she was 10 years oldto Bendigo, where her fa-ther was the bank manager.She enjoyed her teenageyears in Bendigo, attendingstate school until she won ascholarship to go to GirtonCollege, the Anglican schoolfor girls in Bendigo, whichincluded boarders. She was good friends with

her school mate CatherineBaker, daughter of theBishop of Bendigo, DonaldBaker. It was at this stageof her life that Elizabethbegan her involvement withGuiding, which she has keptup all her life. Elizabeth moved to Mel-

bourne in 1932 when shewas 18 and later studied forher ThA, then went on tostudy at Deaconess Houseand Ridley College, com-pleting her ThL. She wasordained as a deaconess in1944 and worked in min-istry for many years in Mel-bourne in parishes and withthe Mission of St James andSt John. Elizabeth then spent some

time ministering in Englandbefore returning in 1959 toteach Divinity for more thantwo years at Girton College.

Mitres, Wimples and women’s other hats

ABOVE: Some of the women priests at the celebration at Sale on December 2 last year.More photographs on page 9.

Photo: Jeanette Severs

continued page 9

8 Government Summer Fire Awareness Advertising Campaign February 2013


It could be herein minutes.

The best way to prepare for this ! re season is to stay informed and plan to leave early, before you see smoke or ! re.

Plan to leave early:

Talk to everyone you live with so you all know when you’re going to leave and where you’re going to go if a ! re starts.

Pack a relocation kit with important documents and essential items. On high-risk days, check Fire Danger Ratings and ! re warnings on the CFA website and

listen to local radio. Don’t wait and hope for the best. Visit the CFA website to ! nd out how you can be FireReady.

If you’re in two minds, leave early.

visit cfa.vic.gov.aucall 1800 240 667

Plan to leave early

February 2013 Our Diocese - Celebrating Ordained Women 9


from page 7

While there she alsotaught English and Geogra-phy and seems to havebeen very adept throughouther life at changing hatswhere necessary.The Archbishop of Mel-

bourne asked her to be-come the Principal ofDeaconess House, whereshe stayed for eight yearsand then became one of thefirst women to be a hospitalchaplain, for nine years andalso for several years theHead Deaconess. She re-tired officially in 1979 butwas still involved in ministryand was ordained as a dea-con in the first Melbournegroup in 1986. At the age of 78, she was

very fittingly with her sur-name starting with the let-ter ‘A’, the first woman tobe ordained priest in Mel-bourne on December13,1992. She is still alert andactive in reaching out toothers at the Benetas homenear St Paul’s Frankstonand hopes to celebrate HolyCommunion on her 100thbirthday in 2014. She has been a beacon of

hope for many women inMelbourne. Elizabeth repre-sents the many women whohave been leaders and wasnot afraid to follow her callin a time when that was notunderstood by the church.Her attire changed fromthat of a lay woman, to thatof a deaconess, then dea-con and, after many years,her stole was worn priestwise: a great symbol! Finally, to the mitre! Kay

Goldsworthy was the firstwoman consecrated bishopin the Anglican Church inAustralia. Kay grew up inMelbourne and studied atTrinity College, was made adeaconess in 1984 and thena deacon in 1986 andserved at first in parishes inMelbourne. Kay moved toPerth as chaplain to PerthCollege in 1988. I am sureSr Rosalie would have beenhappy about that. Kay was in the first group

of women ordained in Perthon March 7, 1992. Afterseven years at Perth Col-lege, Kay moved on to bothparish and Archdeacon’s re-sponsibilities and then wasappointed Administrator forthe Diocese. Then, whenthe legislation allowed,Archbishop Roger and thesynod were quick to ap-point Kay as Bishop. Her consecration in May

2008 was a joyful occasionfor Perth and for many inthe rest of the Australianchurch. Kay’s leadershipand wisdom, her experi-ence and pastoral care andher grace have helped peo-

ple realise what a good fitthe mitre can be for womenas well as for men.In Bendigo Diocese, I

know your recently retiredDean of Bendigo, PetaSherlock, who was ordainedas a priest with ElizabethAlfred, Amy Turner, HeatherMarten and I in the firstservice in Melbourne in De-cember 1992. Peta went onto be a school chaplain, toserve in parishes in Mel-bourne, to gain her Doctor-ate and then to Bendigo.Likewise Willy Maddock wastrained and served in Mel-bourne before having sucha valuable ministry inBendigo. Since then, otherwomen have been trainedfor Bendigo and servedfaithfully as priests. Deaconess Wirth was in

Bendigo in the 1950s to1970s as a pioneer womanminister. Lillian Doble wasthe Diocesan Registrar inthe 1970s and Bishop An-drew Curnow believes shewas the first woman Regis-trar in the Anglican Churchin Australia. So we come to the end of

our fly past of some of ourwomen leaders across thecenturies … a glimpse of themany different kinds ofwomen God has called toleadership and ministry inthe church. Meanwhilethere are growing numbersof women in leadership po-sitions in politics, educa-tion, medicine and healthprofessions, research, layleadership in the churchand in community services. As we rejoice that it is 20

years since women wereordained priest in Australia,we give thanks for thefaithful ministry, leadershipand service of women overthe ages. There is still roomfor greater opportunities forwomen and greater repre-sentation at the leadershiplevel, but this is increasing.We thank God for this andfor all the hats that womenhave worn and the waysthey will contribute in thefuture.

Mitres, wimples andwomen’s other hats

RIGHT: ReverendCanon BarbaraLogan andA r c h d e a c o nHeather Martenprocessed into StPaul’s Cathedral atthe service on De-cember 2 lastyear.

LEFT: Reverends Brenda Bur-ney, Anne Turner and MarilynObersby were at the service ofthanksgiving on December 2last year.

Photos: Jeanette Severs

LEFT: ReverendHeather Cahill(recently or-dained priest),Reverend Jan StJames and CanonBarbara Logan.BELOW left:Archdeacon EdieAshley and Mar-garet Mynard.BELOW: Rev-erend Jo White,Ken White andtheir guest, Eliza-beth Ajiel.Photos: J Severs

LEFT: Marion Jones and Gwen Dyer,served by Georgie Boyce, were at StPaul’s Cathedral on December 2 lastyear to celebrate the 20 years ofwomen ordained priest in the Angli-can Church of Australia and, morebroadly, women’s ministry.


10 Our Diocese - Missions and Ministries February 2013


LATE last year, senior stu-dents from GippslandGrammar and St Paul’s An-glican Grammar Schoolonce again travelled toGahini diocese for a twoweek Rwandan adventure.Eight students, six fromGippsland Grammar andtwo from St Pauls, were ac-companied by Lisa Moloney,principal of St Pauls, andthree more adults.The first team took suit-

cases of books for the pro-posed library and this teamwas challenged to continuecataloguing the books andshare their own love ofreading with the local com-munity. Previous teams hadworked in the hospital andreported the limited re-sources, so we filled oursuitcases with hospitalgowns, sheets and medicalsupplies. We also took toysfor the rehabilitation centre,skipping ropes for thediocesan youth camps,mattress underlays andprotectors to complete thebeds at Gippsland Houseand other donated items.Following are extracts

from the diary kept by thetravellers.

Sally Irvine: DAY one, I’m covered in

bites and there are firefliesdancing around the bushesnear Gippsland House.Today started with boiledeggs and bread, then wemet the village people. Thekids were hesitant at first,but one young brave girl ina black and orange dresscame up and hugged meand then hugged everyoneelse. After she broke theice, the other kids startedto warm up to us and weplayed ‘slaps’ and we learnta new handshake gamethat ended with the phrase,‘Praise the Lord’. We allended up giving the kidshigh fives, trying to learnRwandan. I tried to draw a

picture of a girl from the vil-lage who took photos of herfriends wearing my hat andglasses, but it didn’t workout as well as it could have.I wish I brought some pen-cils. At the rehab centre,two of us stayed and playedwith the kids. There weretwo boys in the playroomwho couldn’t walk on theirown. We played with plas-ticine and one boy drewpictures in my journal. Itaught him how to write hisname. The boys were sohappy to see us and grate-ful for the company.

Tim Stokoe:DAY two has been fantas-

tic. It started the same asevery day; I woke up andspent 30 minutes prayingand reading the bible in theearly hours of the morningby the lakeside. What Iprayed for came true overthe course of the day! Itwas fantastic. We had alovely breakfast as usual;they truly spoil us. We hadomelette with bread andcondiments. We then pro-ceeded to a large openwalled room where theyhold big receptions andgatherings here at Seeds ofPeace, to help with a youthholiday camp. The youthvaried in age from 14 to 18years. We joined the morn-ing praise and worship ses-sion. The Rwandan youthand their leaders sangsongs in Rwandan whilejumping and clapping. Theywere truly making a joyfulnoise before the Lord. I re-ally enjoyed clapping myhands and jumping withthem and while I didn’t un-derstand what they weresaying I occasionally saidmy own praise and worship.After the session the youthleaders started preaching; Itried to work out what theywere saying but I didn’thave much success. Wethen introduced ourselves

and they were so friendlyand welcoming. We thenwent with the differentgroups and participated intheir activities. I went withthe group that was doingsoccer. I’m not particularlygood at soccer, but I put myall in. I kept falling over,much to the amusement ofthe Rwandans. It amusedme too. Later, I went to therehab center and into theplay room where I saw ayoung kid and was movedby pity as he appeared tohave a lack of motor controland was unable to speak. Ihelped him use duploblocks to build a smalltower. I held the tower se-curely and helped twist theblocks so they could locktogether. I then helped himtake it apart. We must havebuilt that tower about 20times, each time we built it,it seemed his motor controlskills were slightly better.Eventually he could buildthe tower on his own but ittook a long time and hismotor control skills stillneeded a lot of improve-ment. We went back toSeeds of Peace for lunch,before walking up the hill tofind where the choir was re-hearsing, giving some kidspiggybacks. Choir practicewas amazing. I loved it. Itreminded me of my child-hood in the church. I amreally looking forward tosinging with the choir againand to be honest – I can’twait.

Elyza Day: DAY three started like the

day before, worship anddance with the children’scamp. Oh my goodness, theamount of energy theyhave still has me lost forwords and when we join inmy cheeks actually hurtfrom smiling! The groupsthen went down to thebeach for their activities. Itwas around 3pm when we

made our way to the vil-lage. On the way up,James, one of the childrenfrom the camp, invited usto his home. The house wasa little larger than the oth-ers, holding James and thenine others in his family.

We were greeted by James’sister, Peace. We spoke toher for a while, she told usabout her family andschool. James’ father is 63,unemployed and in awheelchair, but his kind

The Anglican Diocese of Gippsland does not tolerate abuse, misconduct and harm in its Christian community.

The Diocese is committed to ensuring all people in contact with the Church can participate in a safe and responsible environment. If you may have been harmed by a church worker, or know someone who has, please come forward. The Director of Professional Standards, Cheryl Russell, is available, and will maintain confidentiality, on telephone 03 5633 1573, on mobile 0407 563313, or email [email protected]

OFFICE OF THE ! Director of Professional Standards

Youth learn from Rwandan trip

ABOVE: Annie Cornwall, Queen from Rays of Hope Choirand Elyza Day.BELOW: Isaac Guppy teaches swimming at the youthcamp.

continued next page

February 2013 Our Diocese - Missions and Ministries 11


from previous page

words and smile make meforget that. James’ motheris 43 and was wearing abeautiful skirt and top andgreeted us with a big hugand said the words, thankyou, over and over again.Then we went to the rehabcenter to play with the chil-dren and learnt how tomake beads out of paper. Iwill definitely make thesewhen I get home. Dinnerwas the highlight of myday. The Rays of HopeChoir joined us. We dancedand sang with them beforeand after we ate. I havefound a friend in one of thechoir members, Queen.Queen is 20, Keri 26 andBosco is 24. This remindedme that they were youngchildren at the time of thegenocide.

Heather Toms: DAY four, we went through

the genocide museum andthis certainly challenged, Ibelieve, each of us. BeforeI left the room where thephotos were displayed Istopped still and prayed. Icould only hand this terribletragedy over to God andpray that those who com-mitted these terrible actsare called to account. Aftersupper I needed to take inthe day and spent timethanking God for our safetyand provision. The genocidememorial certainly helpsyou to understand a littlemore of the people andtheir country and struggles.The young people on thisteam are beautiful youngpeople with a heart for thepeople of Gahini.

Julia Despard: DAY five was an early

start, with a 7am churchservice at the hospital inthe village. The chaplain,Emmanuelle, tried veryhard to speak English to us,but he could speak Frenchbetter so I was asked totranslate for him. After theservice, we went into someof the wards and prayed forthe health of the patients.Afterwards I went to theyouth camp and helpedteach the groups to swim.It was so much fun. Afterlunch, two of us went to thelibrary and helped the li-brarian, Richard, cataloguebooks. We will try nextweek to do most of the li-brary as there are too manybooks for Richard to doalone. We had choir prac-tice with the Rays of Hopeand learned a song we aresinging at church on Sun-day. We made up somedance moves to make itmore fun. We also taughtthem Lean on Me, whichRichard decided we couldalso sing at church. We leftsome song books withthem. At dinner, BishopAlexis and his daughter,Anne-Marie, came. It wasthe last time we would seehim before we leave. Hethanked us for our work. Hetalked about the genocide

and said: “A precious metalmust go though fire to be-come stronger”. To end awonderful day, we startedworking on a wall hangingfor the rehab center.

Sara Evison-Rose: DAY six, we woke up to

the news our plan to go to atown called Kibuye on LakeKivi, was a no-go due to awarning from the Australiangovernment; the fighting inthe Congo was getting tooclose. We decided to go toAkagera Wildlife Park,where we saw baboons andmonkeys and hundreds ofbird nests above the en-trance centre. We sawcountless antelopes, butter-flies playing everywhereand heaps of biting horse-flies. After passing the fish-ing area where there werelots of strange birds, we ap-peared to be following atrail of huge poo. Eventuallyour way was blocked by ahuge African elephant. Itwas beautiful and I realisedwhy I had wanted to go onsafari since I was five yearsold. We stopped at hippobeach for lunch and sawhippopotami. It was amaz-ing; so were the crocodiles.On the way back, we saw agiraffe. It was beautiful andso is the way they run.From there on there wereanimals everywhere! Zebra,more giraffe, warthogs, thisstrange bird, a differentform of antelope, then fur-ther on there were ele-phants in a herd that Ispotted, water buffalo andyet another antelope.

Isaac Guppy and AnnieCornwall:DAY seven; after another

freezing shower (I think I’mgetting better at havingcold showers) it was boiledeggs with bread again forbreakfast. We walked upthe hill (some at Rwandanpace) for the English churchservice. We assisted Abra-ham and other churchmembers in setting up. TheEnglish service was quiteshort, for most Rwandansdon’t speak English. Follow-ing the service we wit-nessed a baptism. We thenattended the Rwandanservice, starting at 10amand finishing at 1pm. Wesang and danced and lis-tened with no clue of whatwas actually being said;however there was a deepsense of faith in the hall. Nowords can properly describethe energy being created.Three of us were also in-vited to Sunday school. Itwas a pleasure to see allthe little smiling faces. Wevisited a little boy, James,and his family and deliveredphotographs of his family,which was quite rewarding.We spent some time at the‘beach’ with Dr Wim, DrBertha and their visitors. Itwas a bizarre yet incredibleexperience, Australians ona Rwandan beach withSouth Africans, Canadiansand a Dutch couple.

continued next page

ABOVE: Isaac Guppy, Richard the librarian, AnnieCornwall and Tim Stokoe.LEFT: Julia Despard at the rehabilitation center.BELOW: Dr Bertha with Don Leeson, a teacher fromSt Paul’s Anglican Grammar School.

12 Our Diocese - Missions and Ministries February 2013


from previous page

Annie Cornwall:DAY eight and “Morning”

beamed the ever reliablemorning greeting of Isaacat my sick and slug-likebody tangled in the mos-quito net. Later, I metQueen and her beautifulsmile beamed. She pre-sented me with a Rwandanbible in which she had speltmy names together with‘from a friend to a friend’. Ifelt so enriched by her gift.She is wonderful and I willtreasure both her and hergift forever. For dinner theRays of Hope choir came tosay goodbye. We sang anddanced and relaxed andprayed. Some of theyounger members openedup about their past andwhat their daily life is like.Rwanda has taught me justhow important people andrelationships are. Later wecaught up with the othersand one of the choir mem-bers caught a firefly andplaced it in my hands, say-ing “goodnight”. There aretimes when I have felt com-pletely out of my comfortzone, but I am embracingevery moment of this mag-nificent adventure.

Lisa Moloney: DAY nine and it would be

fair to say that although wewere hungry the group hadreached the point of no re-turn about eggs and breadfor breakfast. We could notcontain our delight when 12pancakes arrived at thetable. The energy in the

room was incredible andthe smiles on our facesbroad as we loaded ourpancakes with fresh bananaand jam. We went to theKayonza markets to pur-chase fabrics, shoes, beadsand the like. Everywherewe went we were watchedand trailed by the localsand there was much discus-sion about ‘m’zungu’. In Ki-gali we headed for theMinistry of Education wherewe waited for the minister…and waited… and waited.Once it was past ‘Rwandantime’ and we had still notseen the minister, it wasexplained the Prime Minis-ter required the Minister ofEducation to attend his of-fices and we would meetwith the Director of Educa-tion and some staff. Our meeting in a large air

conditioned boardroom(complete with juice andwater) was incredibly in-formative and interesting;Rwanda takes educationvery seriously and, in thewords of the Director, “is avery ambitious country”.They have already met themillennium goals of nineyears compulsory and freeeducation for every childand are striving for 12years. Short term goals in-clude the enhancement ofthe vocational and tradesectors and a focus on earlylearning (nursery schools).Two of the team had aneven more eventful day, asthey were interviewed forRwandan TV regarding howsafe they felt while visitingRwanda (and the next day

many people commentedon having seen them onTV). It is hard to believethat this trip to Rwanda isdrawing to a close and eachday we become more at-tached to the country andits people.

Sarah Gover: DAYS 10 and 11. Last

night the team sat downand talked about what giv-ing money they hadbrought and who theywanted to give it to. Wealso talked about the re-sources and gifts we hadbought over and where wewould give them, based onvarious experiences amongthe team. We ended up giv-ing a number of girl’s schooluniform dresses to Berthato be used as uniforms forsome new nursing assis-tants they are hoping toemploy at the hospital. Theyear nine students at StPaul’s Warragul had made alarge number of awesomedecorated pencil cases thatwere filled with pencils,rulers, scissors, notepadsand pens. The leaders atthe Sunday school wereshort about 50 gifts for chil-dren at Christmas, so thesepencil cases were a verywelcome answer to prayer. The hospital often hosts

medical interns and we leftsheets and money to pur-chase a water tank for theinterns’ house. At the rehabcenter we left a large bag ofneedles and thread, an-other bag of zips, threebags of buttons and someribbon, beads and puzzlesand games; more gamesand puzzles will be used byoutlying medical clinics. Weleft a very large suitcase ofsports items for the highschool. Financially, we wereable to help Rays of Hopego to the East Africa Choircompetition in 2013, buysome new Rwandan booksfor the library and helpMothers Union buy materialto make bags to sell. Bishop Alexis’ wife, Grace,

and others from MothersUnion showed us the newknitting machines theyhave been using to makeschool uniform jumpers.

Don Leeson: DAY 12 and waking from a

sound sleep in theMethodist Guest House inNairobi brought with it theexciting expectation of lux-uriating in a good, hotshower and breakfast withjuice options, baked beans,cereal, croissants and muchelse on offer. One of theteam had a sleepless nightenriched by talking withguards, a guided tour, fel-lowship with a cat hedubbed Jasmine and timeon a computer. It was soon time to depart

and head for Nakuru andthe Great Rift Valley. Afteralmost three hours of driv-ing we arrived at the lodge.After lunch and a rest, wewent on tour, seeing ba-boons, zebra, rhinos, mon-keys, impala and manyother animals including alion devouring prey. Pho-tographers had a field dayas we took many many pic-tures of the fantastic sightsfor evidence for ourselvesto be sure it was all true. The next day included the

Sheldrick elephant orphan-age that cares for baby ele-phants up to the age of twoyears, giving them threehourly feeds 24 hours aday, before they are readyto begin their rehabilitationback into a wild elephantherd. The next stop was theRothchild giraffe centre tohand feed the giraffes. Aftermany giraffe kisses it wastime to get back in the ve-

hicles, a quick stop for pizzathen to the airport for thelong journey home.

Josh Darby: FINAL thoughts: The

Rwandan experience hastaught me a lot of newthings and views on life.First and mainly is the ideaof being poor. In a Euro-pean society, poor is some-one who cannot supportthemselves financially, arehomeless or live in a ‘poor’area. In Rwanda I wouldnever consider their societyas being poor; regardless oftheir economic status theyare the happiest people Ihave ever met. It has reallyopened my eyes to our so-ciety and our massive focuson material objects.This has then brought me

to my next realisation. I canget annoyed or as upset asI want at our society forbeing so heavily focused onmaterial things, but it’s allin vain because it is simplyhow we are brought up. If Icould give everyone in Aus-tralia the same eye-openingexperience and teach themto learn to love each otherand donate what they don’tneed to those who do, thenI would; but it is clearly un-realistic, so there is nopoint in getting angry atpeople who spend moneyon ridiculous things. In-stead I think it’s best I con-tribute as much as I can tothose in need. One way isbuying souvenirs from theRwandans/Kenyans and notbargaining down so much,because, in honesty, ninetimes out of 10 they willspend the money in morebeneficial ways than I will.

Youth learn from Rwandans

A ‘PHONE CALL AWAY!One of the many advantages of an Account with the Anglican Devel-opment Fund (ADF) is access to your money is only a telephone callaway, on 03 5144 2044. We can transfer funds from your ADFAccount to your personal Bank Account the same day or arrange toissue a cheque for a specific person or company and post it for you.

Make deposits (no minimum amount) with the Anglican Development Fund, save withguaranteed security and serve the church at the same time. Our interest rates arecompetitive. Interest rates for deposits with the ADF are:

3.75% At Call 4.75% Term Deposits to $20,0005.00% Term Deposits $20,000 +

Consider also there are No Fees or Charges to operate your Account with the ADF. It’sFree! Open an Account with the ADF today. Telephone us on 03 5144 2044 or write toThe Registrar at PO Box 928, Sale, Vic. 3850; or you can drop in to the Diocesan Reg-istry office at 453 Raymond Street, Sale, for an application form to open your Accountwith the ADF.Note: Neither the Anglican Diocese of Gippsland nor the Anglican Development Fund - Gippsland is prudentially su-pervised by APRA. Contributions to the Fund do not obtain the benefit of depositor protection provisions of theBanking Act 1959.

Bishop Alexis and Lisa Moloney.

ABOVE: Sally Irvine with the banner made by the team.ABOVE right: A Mothers’ Union member with a jumper.BELOW: Lisa Moloney, Josh Darby and Isaac Guppy being‘kissed’ by a giraffe.

February 2013 Our Diocese - Children and Family Ministries 13


THE seventh ‘Summer inSeaspray’ program, run byvolunteers from St Paul’sAnglican Cathedral in Saleand funded by a WellingtonShire Event SponsorshipGrant, was again very suc-cessful during the Christ-mas and New Year period.More than 200 children

and their families attendedthe six days of free chil-dren’s activities held duringthe week. Program coordinator,

Christine Morris, said fami-lies really appreciated hav-ing a place where theirchildren could participate ina variety of activities, craftand games and manywanted it to continue forthe whole holiday period.

ABOVE right: Sally Shana-han and her cousins Lydijaand Zane Petrovic, fromSale, at the Summer inSeaspray program.RIGHT: Anabelle, Jasmine

and Will Taylor, fromMitcham, enjoyed playingsoccer while holidaying atSeaspray.

Photos: Christine Morris

Summer fun in Seaspray

CHRISTMAS services were well attended and there wasplenty of variety to suit all members of the family. A fes-tival of Nine Lessons and Carols was held on December16 at Yinnar and Carols by Candlelight at Monash Univer-sity Auditorium that evening, where a collection was takenfor the school breakfast clubs. On Christmas Eve, a cribservice was held at Churchill and then Anglican holy com-munion service at Boolarra. On Christmas Day there was a Uniting Church commun-

ion service at Churchill and a Christmas service at Yinnar.Parish members also attended the various carols servicesin the district. Thanks to all who organised these seasonalcelebrations. The final service for 2012 was at Holy Inno-cents Yinnar South.During January there was only one each Sunday in the

parish, at Churchill, then Boolarra, then Churchill, thenYinnar. Our parish annual general meeting will be held onFebruary 17. We need to think and pray about the com-ing year.

Contributor: Rae Billing

ABOVE: New priest in charge of the parish, ReverendBrenda Burne,y with the children at the Churchill cribservice.

Photo: Ruth Place

Crib service a partof Christmas joy

ABOVE: Sale parish participated in the district’s an-nual Christmas parade and won a trophy (inset) fortheir entry, that included a camel.

THE Childrens’ Crib Serv-ice was again a wonderfulcelebration to begin theChristmas season at StPauls in Korumburra, with130 adults and childrencoming together to hear theChristmas message ofJesus’ birth in word andsong.On arrival, everyone was

given a ‘star’, an ‘angel’ or a‘sheep’, pictures we had tohold up when the narratorsaid any of these words. Allattendees participated withenthusiasm as the Christ-mas story was re-enacted.The 11.30pm service was

a sung Eucharist with asolo, O Holy Night sungbeautifully by GrahamHastie. We followed with acommunity lunch in the hall

for anyone on their own onChristmas Day.

Contributor: Lyn GilbertPhoto: Jenny Ramage

Holy night in Korumburra

“WHAT do you like mostabout Christmas?” a childasked me. I pondered thequestion, there are somany good things aboutthe Christmas season.“Hmm,” I replied, “I likehearing the story of thebirth of Jesus again”. “Re-ally, is that the one with thestar in it?” he responded. This interaction reminds

us how important it is forchurches to provide oppor-tunities for children to hearabout Jesus and the pre-cious gift He is to each ofus.In Westernport parish the

after school program, JAF-

FAS, had their break upparty on December 5, cele-brating with a Christmasparty for the children andtheir families (above), by

making Christmas crafts,decorating star shaped bis-cuits, dancing and watchingThe Christmas Story.

Contributor: E Lawrence

Pondering Christmas star

14 Our Diocese - Children and Family Ministries February 2013


ADVENT is a wonderfulseason in the Church yearas we prepare our heartsfor the coming of Christ-mas. Although it is such abusy time, in our prayerswe wait with joy and expec-tation for Christ’s coming.Every year the setting up ofthe Advent wreath is a re-minder of our time ofprayerful waiting. This yearMorwell parish simplifiedthe Advent wreath, makingit with plants growing up tothe circle of candles, re-minding us again the storyof the coming of Christ. Each week the reading of

the prayers and the lightingof the candle for that Sun-day was carried out bymembers of the congrega-tion. Everyone presentjoined in the communityprayer, sharing the prayerwith all people across theworld.The Children’s Pageant is

always a highlight of theAdvent season. The chil-dren who attend the weeklychildren’s ministry put on awonderful pageant foreveryone at church. Thepageant was read so thechildren acted in silence. We had many angels and

several kings, some ofwhom were older girls fromthe youth group. The actorsheld posters which added to

the meaning of the story.The children shared in themusic and the readings. The doll chosen to be baby

Jesus was dark skinned.This was especially mean-ingful to the Sudanese chil-dren who are members ofour congregation and whoparticipated in the pageant.

Contributor: C Raymond

Pasquali, E (2012)Jonah’s IncredibleJourney. Oxford: LionHudson plc.THIS board book is made

for interactive reading withyoung children. The pic-tures are simple, colorfuland attractive, the text iseasy to read and each pagehas a simple interactive ac-tivity. If you read this bookwith a toddler or youngchild, before long they willbe participating in the story.

Kempf, J and Sharp C(illus) (2011) Some-

times Life Is Just NotFair. Indiana: Our Sun-day Visitor Inc.THIS hardback illustrated

book is written to helpadults help children throughgrief and loss, with reflec-tions, prayers and activi-ties. It includes an audioCD.

Jurd, P (2012) ToStrengthen and En-courage: Sharing faithwith young people.Preston: ChallengeBooks.EASILY laid out chapters

and reflections highlightthis book, written from aLasallian perspective. It iswritten for parents, teach-ers, clergy and other edu-cators who want to drawout the best in young peo-ple, that they may truly livethe gospel.All books are available

from Mosaic Books,www.mosaicresources.com.au or Christian bookshops.

Color in the picture Three trees at Moe

ABOVE: In Moe parish, children and youth from the GFS,BAMM and Sunday school combined to present theChristmas story of The Three Trees. St Luke’s Hall wascomfortably filled with an audience of parents, friends andparishioners, who enjoyed supper after the performance.Photograph of actors in a scene of Three Trees ChristmasPlay.

Photo: Matthew Prosser

Sudanese included in pageant Literary reviews

February 2013 Our Diocese - Deconsecrated Churches 15


MINISTRY at St Peter’s,Won Wron, began on March22, 1921 and ended on De-cember 16 last year, whenit was deconsecrated. Thechurch building was conse-crated on March 1, 1938,by Bishop George HarvardCranswick (then Bishop ofGippsland) and, sadly, dueto the lack of a viable con-gregation, the Licence wasrevoked on December 16,2012 by Bishop John McIn-tyre.Many felt that sadness of

the passing of an era asparishioners and visitorsjoined in a celebration ofholy communion led by thelocum priest, ReverendJohn Grace. Elaine Wright,a Won Wron resident, wasthe lay reader and musicwas supplied by Linda Bow-den, also from Won Wron,on her guitar. Among the visitors were

descendants of familieswho had donated furnitureand fittings to St Peter’sover time. Several of theseitems have been retainedby the families and otherswill go to the Yarram His-torical Society.One piece which will stay

in the Won Wron commu-nity is the bell. This origi-nally came form the WonWron Primary School whenit closed in 1995 and hasnow been given to the WonWron hall and CFA. Thebeautiful St Michael’s lead-light window, above thealtar, is still under consider-ation.Contributor: M Stackhouse

ON January 20, 2013,Bishop John McIntyre leddeconsecration of St Mar-tin’s church at Lindenow,open since July 1898. Angli-can services began in the1840s when the Rector ofCooma travelled throughGippsland and held serv-ices, baptising and marry-ing people at manylocations as far as Port Al-bert.St Martin’s church was

named for Robert Martin,who came to the district asa stipendiary lay reader andretired sea captain. Hebought property at Wy Yung

and after his death in 1918,his daughter retained theland, eventually selling it tothe church for the founda-tion of Clifton Waters Vil-lage, in 1953. Since 1989, the Anglican

and Uniting congregationshave been worshipping to-gether, alternatingchurches. With the closureof St Martin’s (in Bairnsdaleparish) the Anglican con-gregation will worship atthe Uniting Church Linde-now. A mural featuring theLindenow flats, given byartist Margaret Alexander,and four windows given bymembers of the congrega-tion, will be relocated to theUniting Church, along withother furniture.

Contributor: Ted Gibson

OTHER churches to closerecently include St Peter’sat Dargo, which went toauction in January; andChrist Church, MardanSouth. St Peter’s Dargoopened in 1897 and, again,due to declining numbers, adecision was made to closeand deconsecrate it lastyear.Christ Church at Mardan

South opened in 1934. Atthe deconsecration serviceon December 2 last year,John Smallman orated ahistory of the church andcommunity, enjoyed bythose present.

ABOVE: Linda Bowmanplays music while the altaris stripped after St Peter’sWon Wron was deconse-crated.BELOW: Kevin Slater andWarren Peart at ChristChurch, Mardan South.

Valley Funeral Latrobe

Services

! Qualified, experienced and caring staff

! Modern chapels! Refreshments and catering

facilities available! Secure, guaranteed, pre-paid

and pre-arranged funeral plans

! Over 70 years of service to the Latrobe Valley

MORWELL 5134 4937MOE 5126 1111

TRARALGON 5174 2258

Owned and operated byPaul and Katrina McInnes

Proud member of theAustralian Funeral Directors

Association and the Australian andBritish Institutes of Embalming

MARKRIDDLEConsultant

JOHNGALBRAITHConsultant

PAULMcINNESDirector

2002900

Sad to see Church era pass

ABOVE: John Smallman (on the right) orated a history of Christ Church at Mardan South,during the deconsecration service on December 2 last year. He is watched by ReverendGeoff Pittaway.BELOW right: At the community dinner at Christ Church Mardan South on December 2.

Photos: Jan McIntyreBELOW left: Bishop John McIntyre and Reverend John Grace during holy communion atthe deconsecration service for St Peter’s Won Wron, on December 16 last year.

Photo: Miriam Stackhouse

16 Our Diocese - Features February 2013


Elizabeth Crighton,31.8.1944 to27.10.2012

By Ethel Armstrong

ELIZABETH was a daugh-ter, sister, wife, mother,grandmother, nurse,kindergarten assistant andespecially, as I knew her, afriend to many. Although, Ithink, she would be sur-prised to hear it said, shepacked so much into herlifetime on earth.Everything she undertook

to do, she did it to the verybest of her ability, throwingher whole self into the taskin hand. She studied eachsituation, researching the‘pros and cons’, prayingabout it , before making acommitment to act. Shewould know the rules aboutevery job she did, often tothe exasperation of those ofus who would like to getthings done more quickly.She volunteered her abili-

ties in many ways in ourparish (St Paul’s Warragul);in the diocese through Cur-sillo; serving on ServantCommunity and AnglicanWomen of Australia on theexecutive committee; andin the community, espe-cially on Chaplaincy Com-mittee and helping withcatering, waitressing andother tasks to fundraise.She was in the group from

Gippsland Diocese whotravelled to Rwanda, shar-ing her experiences on herreturn.

Elizabeth was a generousperson with her time: child-

minding, cookingcasseroles for unwellfriends and providing trans-port when needed. She al-ways had time to fit in thecare of another who neededtime and a shoulder to cryon. She appreciated beingthe recipient of help whenshe, herself, needed it.

I am sure there wereother ways she contributedin the background; otherswould know and be able toshare these stories.She could be both serious

and fun-loving and coped,in the long-run, with all lifethrew up at her.She always knew ‘the cor-

rect way’ to do things: topeel the vegetables, ironshirts, wash dishes, care forchildren; and taught theseskills to her family andfriends.During the last months of

her life, she was practicaland determined to follow all

instructions from the med-ical profession in her fightwith Leukaemia. I am sureshe lived out her Christianfaith as a ministry to all shecame in contact with whilereceiving treatment in War-ragul and Melbourne.It was said at Elizabeth’s

funeral service that “sheshowed us the way a Chris-tian woman should die”; atribute, indeed.We miss Elizabeth’s friend-

ship and company and arepleased to have had theprivilege of knowing her alittle in many and variousdifferent ways.

ABOVE: Elizabeth Crighton(back left), with friends andfellow members of the ex-ecutive committee of Angli-can Women of Australia,Denise Rich, Pat Cameron,Carolyn Raymond and EthelArmstrong.


The AMF exists to resource employment of Aboriginal people in ministry; training of Aboriginal people for ministry; development of Aboriginal ministry in the community; the planting of Aboriginal churches; & education of the Diocese about Aboriginal issues. Be a part of achieving these aims. For more information, contact the Diocesan Registry Office at 453 Raymond Street, Sale, Victoria PO Box 928, Sale, 3853 Telephone 03 5144 2044 Fax 03 5144 7183 Email [email protected]

Diocesan calendar2013110th year of The Gippsland Anglican diocesan news-paper

February2 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm3 St Philip’s Dedication Festival, Bass Phillip

Island parish; guest speaker, Archdeacon Edie Ashley

March1 ‘Australian Voices’ performance at Cowes2 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm20 Mothers’ Union Lady Day; St Paul’s Cathedral

Sale; 10am; guest speaker, Marilyn Oulds, Worldwide Mothers’ Union; BYO lunch

25 Catholic v Anglican and others Golf Day, Sale Golf Club; Registry office, 03 5144 2044

26 Renewal of ordination vows and Blessing of oils service; St Paul’s Cathedral, Sale; 11.30am

29 Good Friday30 Easter Book Stall, St John’s Metung, Patterson

Park, Metung31 Easter Day31 Easter Book Stall, St John’s Metung, Patterson

Park, Metung

April1 Easter Book Stall, St John’s Metung, Patterson

Park, Metung6 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm25 ANZAC Day

May4 Shared spiritual Art festival at St Philip’s and

St John’s, Bass Phillip Island parish4 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm17-19 Gippsland Anglican 37th annual Synod, Sale;

St Paul’s Cathedral, Friday evening; then St Anne’s campus of Gippsland Grammar, Sale.

25 Ordination service for priests; St Paul’s Cathedral, Sale; 11am; Don Saines, 03 5144 2020

June1 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm3-5 Clergy conference, with Charles and Peta

Sherlock12 Mothers’ Union June Join-in; details TBC23-26 Quadratos in an Australian context, a retreat

organised by Anam Cara Community; Palotti College, Millgrove

27-29 Growth in Ministry intensive; Bishopscourt; Sale

29 Anam Cara Community annual thanksgiving eucharist; St Mary’s Morwell; 11am

July6 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm

August3 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm16 Clergy Wellbeing Day, Traralgon

September8 Back to church Sunday

Details as provided to The Gippsland Anglican

Vale, Elizabeth, agood friend to many

February 2013 Our Diocese - Missions and Ministries 17


THE Anam Cara Commu-nity’s major program in2013 is ‘School for Prayer’(SfP). Every person is bornwith a yearning for com-munion with God. In theChristian tradition, the wayof communion with God isknown as prayer, said DrColin Thornby, Soul Carerwith the Anam Cara Com-munity.Because we are not always

good at prayer and becauselots of things often get inthe way, we need to keepcoming back to the simplic-ity and heart of prayer, hesaid.SfP is a year long program

of events, teaching and in-formation aimed at comingback to the simplicity andheart of prayer; being in re-lationship with God, wholoves us and desires to bein communion with us.There is something in SfP

for everyone, whether youhave been praying for fiveweeks or 50 years. You cancommit to the whole pro-gram or attend events thatappeal to you. You can alsouse Anam Cara Commu-nity’s online resources tobrush up on prayer. Joining

in events means you will bewith others who are com-mitted to the way of prayerand who, like you, areyearning for communionwith God.So, make some time and

space for God this year, andtry out SfP. The first eventis on February 16 at9.30am, at Bishopscourt inSale. The day will be led byBishop John McIntyre andfocus on prayer and beinghuman.Bishop John said: “I am

more and more convincedthat without prayer nothingof any value ever comesinto being. This year welaunch a new diocesanstrategic plan, but withoutprayer it too will come tonothing. We can be clever.We can be wise. We cancome up with all kinds ofgood ideas and innovativeschemes as part of theplan. “But without prayer it will

mean little. Paul said, ‘Praywithout ceasing’ preciselybecause he knows thatwithout prayer nothing wedo will achieve anything forGod.“I’m delighted the Anam

Cara Community has de-cided to run a School forPrayer in the same year aswe launch the new diocesanstrategic plan. It could notbe more timely. No matterhow well versed we are inprayer, there is alwayssomething more we canlearn about it and there isalways the need to be en-couraged in our ongoing ef-forts to pray withoutceasing.“Please join me at 9.30am

on February 16, 2013 atBishopscourt when I will belaunching the School forPrayer in the first of a seriesof sessions throughout2013 calling us all toprayer.”The Anam Cara Commu-

nity will also run the regu-lar series of events,interspersed with the SfPprogram. Information aboutthe Anam Cara program isalways available atwww.anamcara-commu-nity.org, or from the SoulCarers, Jane Macqueen andColin Thornby (soulcar-e r s @ a n a m c a r a -gippsland.org or 0411 316346).Contributor: Colin Thornby

Anam Cara has anew prayer program

THE Abbey program gets underway justafter Easter this year, beginning with ayouth camp and following up with a pho-tography workshop and a retreat investi-gating the ‘Dark Ages’ of history. Allactivities will be held at the Abbey of StBarnabas at A’Beckett Park, on RaymondIsland near Paynesville.The diocesan vision for A’Beckett Park is

an international Christian residential cen-tre for spirituality and the environment anda place of pilgrimage, reflection, healing,learning and recreation. The diocesan’sstrategy is to develop A’Beckett Park as anicon of the church’s commitment to and ra-tionale for the care of God’s creation, bothin its built and natural environment and inthe facilities, services and programs it of-fers to visitors.For details of any of the workshops, con-

tact Sue Gibson, telephone 03 5156 6580.

Youth camp RICH Lanham with his youth ministry

team will be running an Easter youth campat The Abbey, starting Tuesday, April 9,until Friday, April 12. The camp is a ‘must’for all talented, fun loving, risk taking orcautious, active or quiet 11 to 17 year olds. Activities at the Abbey will include games

and fun; canoeing and swimming; highropes (if it is not too windy); walking andfishing and eating and talking; and talkingand eating; and asking some God ques-tions together.

Photographic workshopROBERT McKay, an experienced photog-

rapher and teacher and lecturer in photog-raphy, has offered to conduct a photo-graphic workshop at the Abbey, April 19 to21. The workshop will offer a great oppor-tunity for beginners or photographers withexperience. It will cover some theory on using ad-

justable digital cameras and how to usethe camera, as well as lots of hands-onpractical photography; with advice, tutor-ing, suggestions and assistance. The work-shop will cover taking photographs ofwildlife, natural history, events and land-scapes; portraiture and wedding photogra-phy; photojournalism; and nightphotography; all in the most amazing en-vironment at the Abbey.

Rescuing the Dark AgesJUNE Treadwell, a local history ‘buff’ and

teacher of Medieval and Renaissance his-tory for many years, will lead participantson a Dark Ages adventure at the Abbey onMay 10 to 12. June’s major interest is inthe period 500 to 1000 AD and the ways inwhich Western European culture survivedthe ‘barbarian’ invasions. At the workshop, we will look at the role

monasteries played in rescuing our historyand examine manuscripts such as the Bookof Kells and artifacts, which were pre-served in remote places such as Iona andLindisfarne and in islands off the Westcoast of Ireland. Participants will examine the manuscripts

were produced and expert demonstrationsin manuscript binding and calligraphy willtake place.

Contributor: Edie Ashley

Easter youth camp at Abbey

Men with food,friends and funON the evening of Tues-

day, December 11, theparish hall in Cowes wasonce again the venue forthe Men’s Fellowship Christ-mas breakup dinner. As thismuch anticipated event wasalso a ladies invitationnight, the numbers swelledto close on 80 for dinner. While much of the attrac-

tion was the first classcooking by Terry Sparksand his able crew, the en-tertainment by local a cap-pella group Vivace was alsoof great merit (above).Three courses of multiplechoice comestibles, inter-spersed with brackets ofmediaeval and more mod-ern and well known compo-sitions, made the time fly. Thus, the well tested for-

mula of good food, fine en-tertainment plus greatcompany was put to thetest with a result that leftno one dissatisfied. Themembers of the Men’s Fel-lowship committee, JohnDawson, Tom Caulfield,Alan Williams, Ralph Led-itschke and Les Ridge, wereto be congratulated on anevent exemplifing the na-

ture of men’s fellowship.Contributor: Les Ridge

TOP:Gerald Wall, RomaCaulfield and Allan Row-lands.ABOVE: Terry and ElwynSparks, with Margaret Har-rison.BELOW: Don and Val Wil-son, Barbara and DennisPayne.

Photos: Robert McKay

Congratulations, RobertROBERT Fordham, of Pay-

nesville parish, became aMember of the Order ofAustralia (AM) in the recentAustralia Day awards, onJanuary 26. His commen-dation was for significantservice to the Parliament ofVictoria, to the AnglicanChurch of Australia and totourism and economic de-velopment.Robert is a past deputy

Premier of Victoria (1982 to

1989), serving with theAustralian Labor Party formany years and in officefrom 1970 to 1992. Hisservice with the AnglicanChurch includes local par-ticipation, diocesan partici-pation and Australianrepresentation.Robert was chairperson of

East Gippsland Water formany years and he and hiswife, Sue, owned a localvineyard for some years.

18 Our Diocese - Media and Literary Reviews February 2013


Webb, V (2012) In De-fence of Doubt: an in-vitation to adventure.Victoria: Mosaic Press.

By Noel Preston

THE quest for certainty isseemingly part of thehuman condition. It is ulti-mately an illusion; an illu-sion which reinforcesanother delusion: the de-sire to be in control of ourlives. However, the realityof life’s circumstanceseventually overtakes us,not all questions can be an-swered, the seemingly un-acceptable cannot bechanged. This can be a very unset-

tling experience, especiallyin the domain of religiousor theological belief. ForChristians, doubting thecertainties of belief we oncetook for granted may takeus to the precipice of amore authentic faith, per-haps beyond the bounds oforthodox and creedalpropositions: the infallibilityof scripture? the virgin birthof Jesus? his bodily resur-rection? the existence of atheistic supreme being? Onthe edge of that precipicesome have floundered tothe rocks below, while oth-ers soar into a new experi-ence of faith. Val Webb explores this ter-

ritory in her latest book InDefence of Doubt: an invi-tation to adventure (a re-vised and fresh edition of a1995 publication). ForWebb: “Doubt is the gracethat allows us to escapefrom prisons of inadequatebelief systems” (p49). In large part this text is a

self exposure, a personal

testimony to how the au-thor has honestly faceddoubts which, in turn, hasled to a richer and morecredible faith development. Following a discussion on

‘doubt’, the book movesinto narrative mode, givingan inspiring and very read-able overview of many sig-nificant figures whosedoubts led them to a re-vised faith. Because, asshe says, women haveoften been left out of thenarrative about the sur-vivors of doubt, there is anentire chapter canvassingthe stories of women.Tellingly, many on this listwere unknown to this re-viewer. The chapter, ‘Doubt and

the God question’ is pivotalin Webb’s analysis and pro-vides a very useful sum-mary of “process theology”and how doubt about the-ism (the divine being outthere) can open the way topan-en-theism (the divinepresence in all). The Val Webb story is re-

markable. In her Brisbaneyouth she embraced a tra-ditional Presbyterian Chris-tianity, trained as ascientist, married, raised afamily and worked in exec-utive roles within theQueensland Uniting ChurchSynod. Subsequently, in theUnited States of America,she completed a PhD intheology. For almost twodecades she has been amajor contributor as authorand lecturer to what isknown as the ProgressiveChristianity movement. On the prospects for this

movement she writes(p169) “Progressive (theo-logical) thinking has beenaround for centuries in dif-

ferent pockets and places.The difference today is thatthis movement is beingnamed and responsibilityfor its survival is in thehands of the laity as well asclergy who will not be si-lenced into blind obedienceand belief.” That said, Val Webb’s own

theology is not presentedas a new creed. Her missionhere is to defend and affirm‘doubt’ as a positive neces-sity to credible and contem-porary faith. Sometimesthis is called “living thequestions”, an adventurewhich may lead down vari-ous pathways. So, In De-fence of Doubt is directedto a wide readership; and itis an inspiring gift, particu-larly, for those wanting todiscern a credible approachto belief and faith. Rev. Dr Noel Preston AM

(Cert.Teaching, BA, BD,MEd, ThD) is an ethicist,theologian and social com-mentator, currently AdjunctProfessor in the Key Centrefor Ethics, Law Justice andGovernance, Griffith Uni-versity.

By Fay Magee

WITH the recent releaseof the movie Les Miser-ables, some of the out-standing songs havecome back to promi-nence. Do you hear thepeople sing is a great ral-lying chorus and remindsus of ways in which amovement can be ignitedby such a song, the thrillas well as the danger ofbeing part of a groupunited in a significantcause. It is incredible that, as a nation, we do not sing com-

munally; except for our football songs and only whenwe win. Within popular culture, singing is more aboutspectacle and image and convinces so many youngpeople they cannot sing.Our recent experience of the Christmas season

might have seen us more involved in communalsinging than usual as one of the ongoing traditions inthe broader culture, but it only happens once a year.This can be very frustrating for Christian communi-

ties who have much to sing about. Just as importantis the fact the singing experience is a vital commu-nity-building component of our life together. Singingwithout accompaniment is one of the best ways toencourage the voice of the people and their passionabout God’s mission in the world. The community music-making model which is cer-

tainly spreading throughout Victoria provides somegood clues. It only takes one or two confident singersto lead a group, particularly when no single voice isamplified. A positive attitude and a few rehearsals issometimes all it takes to encourage others to ‘findtheir voice’. Singing in a circle is also another way of producing

a more encouraging sound and incorporating a rangeof voices into one confident sound. This can perhapshappen most easily with a parish activity of gettingtogether once per month to sing the congregationalsongs which have been selected for the next fewweeks. This can also encourage the discussion of howthe songs will contribute to the whole liturgical expe-rience.On a regular Sunday morning, a good start is to try

one verse of one of the hymns without accompani-ment. It is unlikely everyone will go wildly out ofpitch; something dreaded by musicians. From justone verse most weeks, there may be progression tousing some of the chants and rounds which can beparticularly effective in many worship settings. Aboveall our aim is to be inclusive and to encourage every-one to ‘find their voice’.

Hear thepeople sing

Webb may standin Galileo’s shoes

Davis, B (2012)Groundswell: TheChristian Surfers Story

By Kara Martin

BOOKS that are historiesof Christian organisationscan be incredibly inspiringor mind-numbingly boring,in spite of the best inten-tions. It is particularly a riskif the writer is the personwho began the organisa-tion, as they can be blindedby their own involvement. They often romanticise the

past, gloss over mistakesand get bogged down in de-tail of interest only to thoseclosely involved. So, it waswith some trepidation Ipicked up Groundswell: TheChristian Surfers Story,

written by the organisa-tion’s founder, Brett Davis.However, it was a pleasantand encouraging read by areluctant leader who writeswith humility.Davis was wise to take this

on as a writing project andinvite contributions frommembers of the organisa-tion. Substantial quotesfrom others help to diver-sify and illuminate thestory.‘Christian surfers’ was one

of the pioneers of sportsministry and seems to havealmost happened by acci-dent: Davis and a mate de-cided to meet together andrun Bible studies with invi-tations to other Christianswho surfed.The idea caught on, with

the group helping to pro-

vide an alternative to asubculture in southern Syd-ney that was rife withdrugs, alcohol, sex and an-tisocial behaviour. The re-cent television series,Puberty Blues, captures theatmosphere and lifestylevery accurately.Fast-forward 45 years to

today and Brett Davis isleader of a global move-ment that has successfullyreached hundreds of thou-sands of people; includingsuccessfully bringing thestory of Jesus to countrieswhere gospel work hasbeen difficult, such asJapan and Indonesia.One of the particularly

useful features of the bookis a collection of core valuesthat have undergirded themovement’s success:

• Surfing! Any sport or vo-cational ministry should ac-tually value the activitypeople gather around, withthe proviso the activity issubmitted to Jesus and per-formed for his glory.• Partnering with the local

church, building a bridgebetween the group and thechurch.• Evangelising in culturally

relevant ways. • Serving others, building

relationships and nurturingtrust. • Empowering members

and helping them fulfil theirpotential. • Praying for individual

and cultural transformation. • Gathering as an interna-

tional family of missions. Davis writes with great

honesty and simplicity, of

difficult moments, rapidgrowth and success for‘Christian Surfers’. First published in Southern

Cross, December 2012.Reprinted with permission.

Grommets, warts and all

February 2013 Our Diocese - Parishes 19


Identifying prioritiesABOVE: Parish Council Planning day washeld on January 12 in Korumburra parish.We enjoyed a time of fellowship, learningand identified the priorities for the parish in2013. We came away from the day withsome clear goals for the year, to discussand implement throughout the year. Thefive priorities identified were: worship,

growing spiritually, youth, social activitiesand fundraising. At the end of the day,everyone was still smiling. Pictured areRobyn Mills, Andy Wilson, Kris Creigton,Peter Gilbert, Margaret Vassil, DorothySlacther and Fiona Beggs.

Contributor: Jenny RamagePhoto: Jenny Ramage

Thanks to emergencyservices and volunteersA SERVICE of tribute to our emergency

services was held in Bairnsdale parishon Sunday, December 2, where Rev-erend Tony Wicking posed the two ques-tions: ‘Why do you do what you do?’and ‘What do you get out of it?’ All se-vices in attendance had much the sameanswers ‘...giving back to the commu-nity, fellowship with one another, be-cause we care, in response to whatothers have done for us,’ and the listwent on. Attending were representatives from

Bairnsdale Fire Brigade, DepartmentSustainability and Environment, RedCross, Ambulance Service and Region11 Country Fire Authority Brigade.The ambulance service (not pictured)

was represented by Peter Sullivan andNell Sutton.

ABOVE right: Representing Red Crosswere Beth Emonson, Ann Guy, BarbaraShugg, Anne Macarthur, Angela Bird,Brenda Murray and Skye.RIGHT: Representing fire services wereSarah Van Der Delden, Ken Wyld, LesBeechey, Graeme East, Peter Brand,Kevin Giblin (DSE), Joseph Bandiera,Krissy Vaughan, Allan Cracknell, JoanYoung and Felicity Wilson.

Contributor/Photos: Judi Hogan

Craft on show

ABOVE and below: Moe parish hosted a Showcase of Artand Craft as a fundraiser late last year. A wonderful dis-play included quilting and patchwork, ceramics, Frenchbeading, Sudanese traditional crafts, cottage craft, wood-work and much more. A wine tasting and gourmet cakesales added to the evening’s success. This was the secondsuch craft showcase to be hosted in St Luke’s hall and par-ticipants and exhibitors are looking forward to futureevents.

Contributor: Mary Nicholls

ABOVE: On Christmas Eve, Jessica McIntyre and MarionJones in the stable at St Alban’s, Kilmany; Bishop JohnMcIntyre led the Christmas eve service.

Photo: Jan McIntyreLEFT: Bishop John McIntyre and his wife, Jan, were at NarNar Goon on November 25 last year. They are pictured(back right) with the congregation after the service.

Bishop John’s travels

20 Our Diocese - Parish fairs fare well February 2013


Fairy floss, cakes,crafts and more

THE St Nicholas church Lakes En-trance held its annual fete on January5, attracting crowds of holiday makerswho enjoyed all kinds of activities fromsausage sizzles and Devonshire teas,cake, craft and plant stalls and a petparade.

RIGHT: At the cake stall were DianneFord, Gabrielle Minchin, Pat Arnold andLesley Williams.LEFT: Reverend Canon Barb Loganwith Fairy Floss.BELOW: The craft stall with GlendaJones.

Photos: Sandra McMaster

Sunny day, sobring on the fairIT WAS a beautifully sunny Thursday

morning on January 10 and BassPhillip Island parishioners thoughtthere could be no more fitting an ac-tivity than a parish fair in the groundsof St Philip’s Cowes. Indeed, whereelse could you expect to tuck into afreshly baked mini-quiche, makefriends with a mouse, say hello to aclown and pick up a Can-Can scarf? Hot dogs, pot plants, pre-loved fur-

niture, face painting, books and man-chester; the list goes on and on. Ifyou throw in granny’s treasure chest,a variety of crafts, toys and preserves,that just leaves us with the ubiquitouselephant in the room, which in thiscase was an interesting shade ofwhite. For the multitude of holiday makers

and local folk who investigated all ofthe above and perhaps invested theirremaining loose change in a raffleticket or two, there was respite fortheir feet and refreshment to be hadin the Devonshire teas area. At timeslike this, a little background music canprovide the finishing touch to an al-ready pleasant experience. So ourthanks go to Mr Wayne Hyslop for hismasterful renditions on the organ,contributing to the atmosphere with-out ever intruding. While thanking folk, we must re-

member those who set up all of thestalls, transported and unpacked a

huge range of ‘goodies’ and those whostaffed the various stalls and attrac-tions. From the perspective of ‘out ofsight – out of mind’, it would be soeasy to forget the team who workedtirelessly away in the kitchen produc-ing all manner of yummy food. There is still one more person who

deserves a big thankyou; that lovelylady who kept all of the stall holdersrefreshed and fortified with tea, cof-fee and foods all through the event. Itwould seem fair to say the ultimatesuccess of the day was mainly the re-sult of planning and preparation put inby the parish fair committee; RomaCaulfield, Loorain Hope, Ida Hyslop,Chris Wickes, Les and Sandy Ridge.Congratulations one and all!

Contributor: Les RidgePhotos: Robert McKay

The Gippsland Anglican - February 2013

Documents

Transcript of The Gippsland Anglican - February 2013