The Gippsland Anglican, June 2013

Volume 110, Number 5 June 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.

Hands up forKidsplus+ fun

Pages 11 to 12

Clothesline makesa difference

Pages 12 to 13

Gippsland diocese1944 to 1953

Pages 17 to 19

Aboriginalministry isnow corebusinessBy Jeanette Severs

ABORIGINAL ministry became core busi-ness for the Gippsland Anglican Diocese asa result of this year’s Synod. GrahamKnott, of Maffra parish, successfully pro-posed a notice without motion that unusedland and buildings in the diocese be usedto fund Aboriginal ministry. Edie Ashleyseconded the motion.Aboriginal ministry has been heavily

dependent on parish contributions throughmission fundraising and special projectsand has been shored up by annual dioce-san contributions. This now changes thelandscape so Bishop in Council will have toensure core funding is committed toAboriginal ministry.Reverends Phyllis Andy and Kathy Dalton

were ordained deacons in February 2010and priested in February 2011 specificallyto provide Aboriginal ministry acrossGippsland.In other news from Synod, the second

session went into recess to enable thedraft strategic plan to be workshopped anda series of questions endorsed by GeneralSynod in 2004 were criticised for their rel-evance. The questionaires were placed onthe agenda because Gippsland has norecord of endorsement, even though theyhave been used in this diocese since 2004.Gippsland Synod debated the intent of

the questionaires and some questionstherein, asking if the respondent has beencharged with any offences, even if notprosecuted or found guilty.A motion proposed by Mark Woods

regarding renewable energy was passedand will enable the appointment of a work-ing party to assist parishes in utilising solarand other power alternatives. Full reportson Synod in the following pages.

YOUNG people from across thediocese, aged six to 18 years,enjoyed the Kidsplus+ camp heldrecently near Stratford. Amongthe participants were some SouthSudanese refugee children whosefamilies have settled inGippsland. More photographs andthe camp report inside, alongwith the Kidsplus+ annual reportto Synod in May.

2 Our Diocese - Features June 2013

The Gippsland Anglican

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IndexSynod wrap-up 1

Grafton bishop resigns 2

President’s charge 3-10

Kidsplus+ fun 11

Hands up for fun 12

Anglicare focus 12

Clothesline project 13

Cathedral mission 14

MU serves 15

Cursillo report 15

Synod resolutions 16

Diocesan history 17-19

Synod pictorial 20

Diocesan calendar 20

FOLLOWING the resigna-tion of the Right ReverendKeith Slater as Bishop ofthe Anglican Diocese ofGrafton, on Friday, May 17,Archdeacon Greg Ezzy willfulfil the role of Administra-tor until the appointment ofa new bishop. On behalf of the interim

leadership, ArchdeaconEzzy stated: “We regret theserious error of judgmentmade by Bishop KeithSlater, when he respondedto complaints of abusewhich occurred at the NorthCoast Children’s Homesome decades ago but wecommend our Bishop for hishonest acknowledgementof mistakes in this regard. “We support the genuine

apology he has made tosurvivors of abuse. We af-firm him in his generosityand courage in resigning hisEpiscopate as an expres-sion of the serious effectsthese decisions may havebrought about for some ofthose survivors.”Right Reverend Keith

Slater resigned, effectiveimmediately, on May 17.Following is a public state-

ment by Bishop Slater re-garding the management ofclaims of abuse by the Dio-cese of Grafton at the NorthCoast Children’s Home inLismore NSW. “Since 2006, Grafton dio-

cese has received a numberof claims alleging acts ofphysical, psychological andsexual abuse at the NorthCoast Children’s Home inLismore NSW. The abusetook place over a number ofdecades (1940’s to 1980’s). “The alleged perpetrators

included staff at the Home,visiting clergy, members ofholiday host families andother residents. “When the claims were ini-

tially received, it was nec-essary to clarify thediocese’s legal liability forthe actions at the Home.Legal opinion stated thediocese did not have a legalresponsibility.

“However, given theChurch’s recognised con-nection with the Home, thediocese resolved it did havea moral responsibility to re-spond to these claims andchose to settle them as ex-pediently as it could. “In 2007, the diocese set-

tled 39 claims through apayment negotiated withthe solicitors acting for theclaimants. Two otherclaimants were not ready tosettle at that time. “In the cases of sexual

abuse and where the per-petrators were identified,the diocese informed thePolice and received advicethat police investigationshad been instigated. Thisrelated specifically to alle-gations against two mem-bers of clergy who were stillalive at the time the claimswere presented. “After the majority of

claims were settled, sevenmore people came forward.The diocese received theseadditional claims between2008 and 2011, somethrough a solicitor; somecomplainants chose to writedirectly to me as bishop. Afew, but not all, allegedsexual abuse while residentat the Home. “In 2004, the diocese

adopted a ProfessionalStandards Ordinance andProtocol which outlines theobligations and processesfor managing complaints ofsexual abuse. An importantobligation in the protocol isthat all matters are referredto the Professional Stan-dards Director to ensurethe complaint is managedand investigated in a waythat provides support to thecomplainant. “In November 2012,

Bishop-in-Council of theGrafton diocese resolved tosupport the work of theRoyal Commission and, inpreparation, undertake anaudit of the management ofall Professional Standardsmatters in the diocese. “The audit is still in

process and the final find-ings are not yet known.However, some initial find-ings in January 2013 indi-cated that the ProfessionalStandards Protocols hadnot always been applied,specifically in matters asso-ciated with claims of abuseat the North Coast Chil-dren’s Home. “I acknowledge I was re-

sponsible for ensuring fullcompliance with the proto-col and I failed in this duty.Some matters detailingsexual abuse at the NorthCoast Children’s Home,were not referred to theProfessional Standards Di-rector as they should havebeen. “I apologise to those com-

plainants who were notgiven access to the Profes-sional Standards Director. Ialso acknowledge that, bynot referring these matters,the Professional StandardsDirector was not providedwith information that couldhave assisted ongoing in-ternal and police investiga-tions. All information hasnow been provided to theProfessional Standards Di-rector, who is currently li-aising with the police toensure all relevant informa-tion has been provided tothem. “The Diocese responded to

the additional claims re-ceived between 2008 and2011 in different ways.Some were finalisedthrough a financial settle-ment, which met the re-quest of the complainant, ina manner similar to the ma-jority of claims settled be-fore them. Others wereadvised Grafton diocesewas no longer willing tomake financial settlementsin regard to claims associ-ated with the North CoastChildren’s Home. “While I responded to

some of these complaintspersonally, others were re-ferred to the diocesan solic-itor for response. Iacknowledge Grafton dio-

cese should have receivedand investigated each newclaim put before it andthere was no justificationfor the decision new claimswould not have access tothe same financial settle-ment process made avail-able to the earlierclaimants. “I acknowledge our offer

of a pastoral care packagewas poorly communicatedand did not provide an ade-quate response to meet theimmediate needs of thecomplainants. I acknowl-edge my pastoral failings inadopting this approach. “I apologise to those who

bravely came forward to telltheir story of abuse andwere turned away. I ac-knowledge the pain andfurther damage this re-sponse may have caused.These people have nowbeen contacted by the cur-rent Professional StandardsDirector and Grafton dio-cese will now respond tothem appropriately andmanage their complaints inaccordance with the proto-col. “It is difficult to reflect on

how these failures ofprocess and pastoral re-sponse happened. Graftondiocese had never beforedealt with complaints ofsuch magnitude as thoseassociated with the NorthCoast Children’s Home. “The immediate question

of legal liability had initiallyclouded the matter. As theclaimants were representedby a solicitor, the dioceseengaged a solicitor to facil-itate the process. This set aprecedent of responding toall subsequent claims withthe support and advice of adiocesan solicitor. “This does not excuse the

failings I have detailed as,even though the financialsettlements were being ne-gotiated through solicitors,those claims alleging sexualabuse, should have beenconcurrently managed inaccordance with the Profes-sional Standards Ordinanceand protocol. “Information on the fail-

ings identified in January2013 has been referred tothe Royal Commission intoInstitutional Responses toChild Sexual Abuse. Both Iand others in Grafton dio-cese are committed to sup-porting the work of theRoyal Commission and arewilling to provide furtherassistance as required. “I acknowledge and apolo-

gise for my past failings inthe management of claimsof abuse in the Diocese ofGrafton. I acknowledge andapologise for the additionalpain and damage my deci-sions have caused to thesurvivors of abuse whocame forward to share theirstory with me and seek as-sistance.”

Grafton bishop resigns

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June 2013 Our Diocese - Gippsland’s Synod 3


AS WE come together forsynod this year, uppermostin our deliberations to-gether must be the futuredirections we look to underGod in the life of our dio-cese for the next five years.For the past five years, wehave sought to focus ourendeavors in ministry andmission through a diocesanstrategic plan, Jesus Christ,Here and Now, for Gipps-land. I think it can bedemonstrated the plan hasgiven greater intentionalityto what we have done aschurches over those years;and significant new ministryinitiatives have resultedfrom the plan being inplace. In contemplating a new

strategic plan, I have be-come aware that, morethan a common plan, therole of the diocese as awhole is to agree on com-mon strategic directions.Each congregation shouldthen be encouraged to de-velop their own particularplans for ministry and mis-sion in light of the direc-tions on which we have allagreed. To introduce our discus-

sion on strategic directions,let me reiterate what I saidin calling the diocese toprayer earlier this year. Atthe time I said: “In a yearwhen we are looking tolaunch new strategic direc-tions, remember, prayer isvital. In our planning, wemay come up with all kindsof good ideas and innova-tive schemes. But withoutprayer they will come tonothing”.The focus of the vision to

shape our strategic direc-tions for the next five yearsis to discover in Jesus Christ

what it means to be fullyhuman. Being human iswhat we have in commonwith every other person inthe world and most humanbeings are on a journey todiscover the full potential oftheir humanity. This givesopportunity for us to en-gage with others on com-mon ground, as people whopoint to Jesus Christ, as theone in whom the humanityin which all people sharefinds its fullest expression.If we are to do that well,

we must be absolutely in-tentional in pointing toJesus Christ in all we are,do and say. Otherwise, howwill people see him or howwill people be given oppor-tunity to respond to him infaith, or to join us in follow-ing him together? The ca-pacity of our churches to behealthy primarily dependson our willingness to takeup the challenge of con-stantly pointing to Jesus inways accessible to others.I refer you here to the re-

flections on the draft strate-gic plan you received aspart of your synod papers.This contains a draft of sug-gested priorities for newstrategic directions for TheJourney Inward, The Jour-ney Outward and The Jour-ney Together, as well as therationale behind them. Ihope you have read thesepapers in preparation forour discussions as in thissynod session we move toadopt strategic directionsfor the next five years.I do not intend to rehearse

those reflections at thispoint but there is one mat-ter I wish to highlight fromthem and that is the criticalneed for change if the bulkof our congregations across

the diocese are to have afuture, let alone to grow. In those reflections I

noted: “Change in the wayin which we express what itmeans to be church and inthe ways in which we pointothers to Jesus Christ, willonly arise in a contextwhere, as Christians, weare each prayerfully openourselves to being changedor transformed by God.New insight will only comeas we deliberately seek tobe open to God’s Spirit inour reading of the Bible andin reflection on our faith.Only as each of us takes therisk to go to the new placesto which God is taking uswill the things of God beborn in us; in our worship-ping communities and inthe communities in whichwe worship”.This is why The Journey

Inward remains a vitalcomponent of our newstrategic directions. Anychanges we contemplate inThe Journey Outward andThe Journey Together willinevitably only come tofruition in light of our will-ingness to ourselves bechanged by God and, inturn, to be open to thechanges necessary to fur-ther our ministry and mis-sion as church.The changes we must con-

template are certainly chal-lenging. They require usnot to think of ourselvesand our own needs but torespond to the call to followJesus Christ in first servingthe needs of others, despitethe cost to ourselves. As wecontemplate these realitiesI am reminded of the wis-dom of a former Archbishopof Canterbury, William Tem-ple, who said: “The church

is the only voluntary organ-isation that exists for thebenefit of non-membersonly”. We need to make this a

reality in our life as churchin every dimension of ourministry and mission. I lookforward to our discussion inthis synod session of thenew diocesan strategic di-rections for 2013 to 2017.

Aboriginal MinistryA MATTER continuing to

test us in the life of the dio-cese is our capacity to sus-tain the financial viability ofAboriginal Ministry. TheAboriginal Ministry Fundstill does not attract sub-stantial sustained giving,except by a few. One sug-gestion I would offer to ad-dress this vital need in ourdiocese regards the saleover recent years of variousland in parishes across the

diocese. In some cases, thishas been by decision of theparish to divest itself of anunder-utilised church orother land. In other cases,the people of the parishesin which thise land was lo-cated were not even awarethe land was there. In a few further cases,

even when parishes weremade aware of this land,they failed to act and theregistry staff has completedsales to the benefit of thoseparishes. We are especiallyindebted to the registrar,Brian Norris; to ourarchivist, Tim Gibson; andto my former personal as-sistant, Kerrie Schmidt, forthe work they have done inthis regard.The combined value of the

land sold from 2004 until2011, now realised andheld in trust, is more than$1.5 million. Since then,

President’s charge

Be a part of supporting the Aboriginal Ministry Fund

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. Contact the Diocese of Gippsland 453 Raymond Street, Sale, Victoria PO Box 928, Sale, 3853 Telephone 03 5144 2044 Fax 03 5144 7183 Email [email protected]

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4 Our Diocese - Gippsland’s Synod - President’s charge June 2013


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further land has been soldor is about to be sold inother parishes. It is truethat some of this capitalmay have since been spenton capital works by thoseparishes for which it is heldin trust, but a substantialamount would still remainheld in trust.I suggest this synod re-

solve to ask Bishop-in-Council to establish aworking group to exploreviable ways of ensuring theongoing financial sustain-ability of Aboriginal ministryinto the long-term futurebased on these land sales.It could well be the parishesfor whom the realised valueof sold land is held in trustwould be willing to con-tribute all or some propor-tion of the capital held intrust for them to an invest-ment fund for the supportof Aboriginal ministry. In line with diocesan in-

vestment policy, 80 percent of the income earnedfrom this fund would thengo into The Aboriginal Min-istry Fund, with the remain-ing 20 per cent capitalisedto build the investmentfund. Furthermore, thoseparishes with significant in-vestments due to bequestsmade to them from the saleof land could also be invitedto participate in thescheme. I think this pro-posal has the potential toestablish a solid foundationfor the financial sustainabil-

ity of Aboriginal ministry inthe diocese.An attractive aspect to the

current proposal is it is tiedto land. Perhaps the great-est impact we have had onthe indigenous people ofAustralia was unjustly todeprive them of the land ofwhich they are the rightfulcustodians and on which,by tradition, they havebeen dependent for sur-vival, sustenance and cul-tural identity. Wealthderived from land is a mostfitting way of supportingAboriginal ministry and oneway of giving back fromthat which in the first placewas wrongfully taken. Icommend this suggestionto you. If, after examina-tion, it proves not to be vi-able, I think we have noother choice than to includethe full support of Aborigi-nal ministry as a line itemin the annual budget; apossibility I suggested inmy address to synod lastyear.

The AbbeyI AM delighted the devel-

opment application for theAbbey has finally comethrough after nearly threeyears of hard work by thoseinvolved in this ministry,people both within ourmidst and from the widercommunity, who have of-fered assistance in so manyways. The huge challengenow before us is to raise

the capital needed to buildwhat has been approved.Our plan is to seek dona-tions and grants from arange of sources beyondour own resources, as thisis the only hope for theproject to be advanced.The Abbey is very much

both a model of a new wayof being church and also ofengaging with those out-side the church around is-sues we share in common;in this case, environmentalconcern. It is the lead min-istry of the diocese in line

with the Fifth Mark of Mis-sion of the Anglican Com-munion, which relates toour environmental respon-sibility as Christians. It is,furthermore, a whole dioce-san response to the sug-gested second priority inThe Journey Outward in thedraft new strategic direc-tions, which is ‘Being opento new ways of engagingwith our communitiesaround their needs’. While the Abbey is very

much part of the ministryand mission of Paynesville

parish, to which they havestrongly committed, theysee this also as their contri-bution to a whole diocesanministry and mission. Forthem and for the Abbeypriest, Edie Ashley, encour-agement, commitment tothe vision and willingness tocontribute to its develop-ment from others acrossthe diocese is essential tothe success of this ministry. I encourage you and your

parish to consider ways youcan join this endeavor to

ABOVE: Edie Ashley, June Treadwell and Barbara Logan are served dinner on theFriday evening after Synod’s first day.

Photo: Christine Morris

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June 2013 Our Diocese - Gippsland’s Synod - President’s charge 5


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establish a centre for spiri-tuality and the environmentin our diocese. It is an op-portunity too good to missand a gift not just for Gipp-sland but potentially formany people from far be-yond our borders. To date,the weight of responsibilityfor this ministry, approvedeach step of the way by thissynod, has largely beenborne by only a few fromwithin the diocese. If thenext steps forward are tobe taken successfully, wewill all need to share theload.But it is not all about work.

Another vital way to sup-port the Abbey is throughattendance at its variedprogram, looking at issuesof spirituality and the envi-ronment by using all kindsof media and activities,from music and art throughto writing and dance, aswell as providing for retreatand contemplation. Buildingup attendance at the vari-ous events at the Abbey notonly builds its life but alsoprovides income vital to itsgrowth. Beyond all that, Ihave yet to meet the per-son who has not beenblessed simply by beingpresent in the glorious

godly space that is theAbbey of St Barnabas atA’Beckett Park.

Same-sex attractedpeopleON matters in the wider

church, it is clear to me wemay never, in the AnglicanCommunion, find agree-ment on the place of same-sex attracted people in thelife of the church. At thesame time, it is clear to mean enormous amount oftime, energy and resourceshave been poured intolocal, national and interna-tional attempts to find acommon way forward onthis matter. We simply can-not afford to keep goingthis way, largely becausethose who bear the pain ofour lack of resolution arethose same-sex attractedpeople still struggling tofind full acceptance in ourchurch. The impasse we have

reached suits those who donot want to give a full placeto same-sex attracted peo-ple in the life of the churchbecause it continues thestatus quo that excludesthem. This is entirely unac-ceptable as a matter bothof compassion and justice.

The debate on the place ofsame-sex attracted peoplein the life of the church isnot a simple matter, partlybecause of its own com-plexities but also because ithas focused a range ofother issues in the life ofthe Anglican Communion,not least how we read theBible. It is even more com-plex than that. Underlyingcurrents to the debate in-clude the dynamics ofpower and control in the lifeof the Anglican Commun-ion, as well as within thevarious provinces of thecommunion, including ourown in Australia.This debate has become,

for some, an occasion forattempting to assert controlin the life of the church.This has a sinister dynamicto it. There are those whoseem to think if they cangain control of the churchthey can ensure its purity.For those who think thisway, the quest for purity ofthe whole is essentially thequest for their own salva-tion. With impurity comesthe threat of damnation.The purity of the whole de-mands the purity of everypart of the whole. The im-purity of one in their midstthreatens the purity of thewhole. That in turn threat-

ens the salvation of thewhole. Because those whoseek control of the whole toensure its purity ultimatelyseek their own salvation,they have no choice but toexclude those they considerimpure.In the end, the quest for

control to ensure purity is aquest that is, by definition,self-concerned. It is the an-tithesis of the teaching of

Jesus who said: ‘Those whowant to save their life willlose it’. In other words, ifyour intention is to ensureyour own salvation, you donot understand the truthwhich Jesus speaks and youlose out on the life he of-fers.These same dynamics

were present in the con-frontation between Jesus

ABOVE: Peter Anderson and Wendy McBurnie, both ofWonthaggi/Inverloch parish, at Synod dinner.


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and the religious authoritiesof his day and are ad-dressed in a number of hisparables. Perhaps most po-tent is the Parable of theFather and his Two Sons,the younger of whom isprodigal and the older ofwhom is diligently dutifulwith a view to his own fu-ture security. The older sonis highly indignant with thefather who in grace forgivesand includes his brother,whom he considers im-moral. He refuses to join inthe celebration where hisbrother is not only includedbut is the guest of honor.The message is clear to

the self-righteous religiousleaders of Jesus’ day,whose prime concern is tomaintain the purity of thewhole for fear of losing theirown salvation. With passionand intensity they opposeall Jesus stands for in hiswelcome of those they con-sider to be sinners, largelybecause they see their ownsalvation to be at stake ifthey are made impure byconsorting with them.It strikes me there are

quite a few older brothersand sisters in our churchtoday. Their presence con-tributes to the intensity ofthe debate on the place ofsame-sex attracted peoplein the life of the church andto our incapacity to find away forward together.Having said this, I do

recognise the need to seekthe truth and to affirm theministry of those whose re-sponsibility in the church isto seek the truth in humil-ity and with meekness. Irecognise I am amongthose who bear that re-sponsibility. We are underauthority to do this, notonly for the sake of thechurch but for all to whomwe minister in the name of

Jesus Christ. I acknowledgethose who continue to takethat responsibility with theutmost care and serious-ness, for it is a serious vo-cation and a graveresponsibility. I recognisealso there are conscien-tiously held views on bothsides of the debate we needto have on human sexualityand those views are heldwith integrity. The problemI see is we limit our capac-ity to find a way forwardwhen we get caught up in abattle for control.Complicating matters fur-

ther is the way in which thedebate about the place ofsame-sex attracted peoplein the life of the church hasbecome the issue chosenby the Global South mem-bers of the Anglican Com-munion, particularly thosein Africa, to challenge thepower and control of theGlobal North in the life ofthe communion. I have alot of sympathy with theanti-imperial and anti-colo-nial sentiments of theGlobal South, but I think ita tragedy the lives of same-sex attracted people aresacrificed on the altar oftheir aspirations for libera-tion from our ongoing cul-tural imperialism.This complex picture mili-

tates against genuine de-bate and the hope offinding a way forward in thelife of the communion thatdoes not further divide usbut rather brings hope, es-pecially to those most ad-versely affected by ourexclusion of them. If we are to find a way for-

ward together in the com-munion, I suggest we needonly to look to our Anglicanroots in the birth of theChurch of England. Whenwe do, we discover much ofthe cause for the divisionsin the emerging Church ofEngland had similar dynam-

ics to the current context.Certainly there was a gen-

uine quest for truth in themix. The Reformation un-leashed a whole raft of newpossibilities for understand-ing Christianity. Certainlythere was intensity andpassion in that quest. Pro-tagonists on either side ofthe debate even gave theirlives in the quest for truthas they understood it. There was also a battle for

control going on. The even-tual struggle for control wasbetween those whoyearned for the past gloryof the Holy Roman Empire,the Mediaeval Papists andthe most extreme of thoseemboldened by the new re-forming theologies, the Pu-ritans. There was a complexmix of agendas to do withthe rise of nations eager torid themselves of theshackles of empire, mingledwith the quest for truth andthe desire for control andpurity. It was at least ascomplex a picture as the

situation we face in our owntime; a mix of motivesgood and bad and of pas-sion and intensity.The solution lay in the his-

torical genus of Anglican-ism, common prayer.Through the Acts of Unifor-mity, leading to the 16thCentury Elizabethan Settle-ment and ultimately to TheRestoration of 1662, com-mon worship for all was es-tablished by the law of theland. Those who disagreedvehemently with each otheron all manner of thingswere required to worshiptogether with an authorisedliturgy and no other. Thisbecame the basis for aunity grounded in JesusChrist worshipped togetherand not based on agree-ment with each other on allmatters of faith and prac-tice.Theological reflection on

this leads us to the gracewhich lies at the heart of allwe believe. In worship wesit together under the graceof God. Not one personpresent is accepted by Godon the basis of right doc-trine or practice and cer-tainly not on the basis ofwho they happen to be.Each person is acceptedalone by the grace of Godthrough the response offaith. When we acknowl-edge grace alone is thebasis of our own inclusionby God and grace alone isthe basis of every otherperson’s inclusion by God,then we must acknowledgegrace alone is the basis ofour necessary inclusion ofeach other. We cannot beanything other than an in-clusive church.Grace, then, is the theo-

logical foundation of theunity in Christ affirmed incommon worship. On thisfoundation lies the hope wemight love and acknowl-edge the integrity of oneanother. On this foundationlies the hope that none willseek to root out those withwhom they disagree onmatters of faith and prac-tice, but acknowledge tolive by grace is to include alland any.It is sadly true that not all

people remained in the

unity first established bycommon prayer in formertimes. Those who could notabide the fact there re-mained in the church so es-tablished those whom theybelieved to be wrong, re-fused to enter it or later leftit. They excluded them-selves. Essentially, they intheir day were the olderbrother of Jesus’ parable,who refuses to go into thefeast.Today we do not have the

equivalent of a Head ofState who has the authorityto impose legislated de-mands on the church fromoutside the structures ofthe church. What we dohave, however, is the her-itage of the key elements ofthat solution by which wemight discern how we canexpress our unity in JesusChrist in current times.

Those principles begin incommon worship and in ouracceptance in grace of eachother in Christ. This enablesdiscourse on commonground that is commonlyaffirmed; faith in JesusChrist. It enables compre-hensiveness; the inclusionof all those who wish to beincluded and who accepttheir own inclusion is bygrace alone. It gives noroom for judgement of oth-ers, also accepted by gracealone. It does not demandagreement on every matterof faith and practice be-cause it recognises unity isa gift of God in Jesus Christ,not a product of agreementachieved by human en-deavor. It requires trust of each

other to be true to JesusChrist in the different con-texts in which we find our-selves. It accepts no-onedictates to another and au-thority is dispersed, notcentralised. It affirms diver-sity as godly. It demandshumility and a graciousrecognition of our own fail-ings and of the limits to ourown understanding. It pro-motes listening to eachother with respect and ac-knowledging the integrity ofthose with whom we dis-agree. It is not exclusive orexcluding.

ABOVE: Barbara and Bevil Lunson, of Orbost parish, with Rowena Armstrong, Chancel-lor of the Gippsland Synod.


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In fact, these principlescannot be imposed fromwithout. To implementthem requires a disciplineof life as a communion thatcan only come from within.Historically, the AnglicanCommunion has sought tolive by these principlesgrounded in grace throughits, so-called, ‘Instrumentsof Communion’, more re-cently known as ‘Instru-ments of Unity’. These arethe Archbishop of Canter-bury, as the one with whomwe are all in communion;the Lambeth Conference,held every 10 years andcomprising all the bishopsof the international Angli-can Communion invited toattend by the Archbishop ofCanterbury; The PrimatesMeeting and the AnglicanConsultative Council,which, as well as bishops,includes clergy other thanbishops and lay people asits members. A Joint Stand-ing Committee, made up ofmembers of the PrimatesMeeting and the AnglicanConsultative Council, alsomeets to assist the goodworking of the instruments.None of these bodies lays

down law. Graham James,Bishop of Norwich, sug-gests what they do is ‘re-solve to confer and conferto resolve’, even if the finalresolution of a particularmatter is not reached. This,he suggests, is ‘due to thevery provision-ality of theAnglican tradition’.Last year at its meeting,

the Anglican ConsultativeCouncil received a reportfrom the Inter-AnglicanStanding Commission ofUnity, Faith and Orderwhich emphasises this pro-vision-ality and revisits therationale behind the instru-ments of the communion,while acknowledging theirneed for renewal. In itsconclusion, the reportrecognises the instrumentsas a gift to the life of thecommunion by which weexpress our koinonia orcommunion with eachother. It suggests a return to the

original terminology of ‘In-struments of Communion’,rather than the more recentterminology of ‘Instrumentsof Unity’. This better em-phasises their role is tomaintain communion witheach other through rela-tionships and their role isnot to attempt to enforceunity, as though they weremechanisms of legal devis-ing. Finally, using the anal-ogy of an orchestralsymphony, the report sug-gests the renewal of the in-struments will only occurwhen there is a move to-ward a greater harmony ofworking between the in-struments, made possibleby better relationships be-tween all those who partic-ipate in the life of theinstruments and, indeed, ofthe whole communion.The emphasis in the report

is on relationship and dis-course as opposed to legalinstrument and debate.This seems to me to beconsistent with the heart ofhistorical Anglican polity. Ifthe Anglican Communionmoves in this direction,trusting and respecting oneanother and mindful of oneanother in all we do andsay, it strikes me that, evenwhen we do differ stronglyon some points of faith andpractice, we can continue tobe in communion with eachother.This is true for any num-

ber of issues, not least howwe understand the place ofsame-sex attracted peoplein the life of the church. Ourresponses to issues will be

different, but no one re-sponse to any one matterwill dominate the whole.Certainly we should neverseek to establish mecha-nisms to impose uniformityin the communion.Were we today to embrace

our historical Anglican her-itage fully, I believe wewould go a long way to re-moving the unnecessaryconflict and division in theAnglican Communioncaused by the current de-bate about the place ofsame-sex attracted peoplein the life of the church. Itwould set us free to affirmthe significant presenceamong us of same-sex at-tracted people, both lay andordained; with some living

in faithful life-long relation-ships. In grace, we wouldopenly welcome these sis-ters and brothers in Christinto our churches and cele-brate their presence amongus as part of the God-givendiversity of our communionin all its richness. I have no doubt this would

enhance the whole of ourministry and mission as achurch. Our loving accept-ance of each other, acrosssignificant differences infaith and practice, would bea sign in our communitiespointing to Jesus Christ, theone who affirms the hu-manity of all people and inwhom we are, each andevery one, transformed intothe fullness of our God-

given humanity; and theone who gifts us with aunity transcending all ourdifferences and affirms ourdiversity.

RefugeesMOVING now to matters in

the life of the world, themost disturbing ongoing as-pect of Australian politics isthe recalcitrance of bothmajor political parties intheir hard-line approach tothe plight of asylum seek-ers. Thousands of peopleare still fleeing persecutionin their own land and seek-ing asylum in safe placesaround the world. Interna-

9 May 2013

ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF GIPPSLAND

Editor

An editor is sought for The Gippsland Anglican, the newspaper of the Diocese of Gippsland. The newspaper is the main means of communication within the Diocese. It seeks to inform readers about the mission and work of the Anglican Church in Gippsland. It also seeks to engage with the wider community on issues of broader concern and to promote the values and challenges of the Kingdom of God.

The editor will have the task of taking the paper into a new era as a 12-16 page tabloid colour wraparound published monthly in conjunction with The Melbourne Anglican.

To be successful in this role, the applicant will have an interest in and enthusiasm for the Anglican Church and a passion to communicate within the Anglican community and beyond. A background as an active member of the Anglican Church would be an advantage though a willingness to understand and work with the culture of the Diocese and the Anglican community would also be well regarded.

We seek a person with concise writing and story-telling skills along with relevant computer production skills. The successful applicant will be guided by an editorial committee chaired by the Bishop of Gippsland. The editor will be expected to work closely with the committee.

The position will be part-time and appropriate conditions of service will be negotiated with the right person.

For confidential enquiries please contact PhilIp Muston on (03) 5622 3503 during office hours or by email at [email protected]

Applications should be sent to:

The Registrar, Diocese of Gippsland, PO Box 928, Sale, Vic 3850

Applications close on 30 June, 2013.

ABOVE: Synod is an opportunity for people from parishes across Gippsland to join together.Photo: Christine Morris

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tional law says it is not ille-gal for them to do so. Incontrast to many otherparts of the world, thenumber seeking asylum inAustralia is extraordinarilysmall. Even so, we stillstruggle to accommodatethem, largely due to igno-rance and fear and thecomplicity of politicians inusing these people as op-portunity for electoral gain.Unless and until there is

genuine commitment to along-term regional solutionto this matter of life anddeath for so many people,this issue will continue tofester among us. But farmore importantly, innocentpeople will continue to die.It is hard to deny Aus-tralians are complicit inthese deaths so long as weturn a blind eye to theirneeds.One very troubling matter

in regard to our policies onasylum seekers involvesthat group of people nowliving in Australia who havebeen granted asylum asrefugees and yet remain in-carcerated, in some casesfor up to four years, be-cause ASIO will not givethem a clearance. Thesepeople, to date, have noright of appeal regardingdecisions made about thembehind closed doors, withno requirement for thosedecisions to be justified inany public context. They are doomed to re-

main locked up for the restof their lives unless some-thing changes. They cannotbe returned to their countryof origin because, in beingaccepted as refugees, it hasbeen determined it wouldnot be safe for them to doso. Yet, in Australia, theyhave no freedom becausethey are presumed guiltywithout redress to justice.It is beyond imagining thatwe are not up in armsabout this.If it is really supposed

they are guilty of crimesthat would prevent theirsafe release in Australia,why are they not being

charged and tried? Thatwould, at least, give themrecourse to justice. Butworse is the very real pos-sibility innocent people re-main incarcerated on thepresumption of unprovenguilt.This, of all issues, is surely

a ‘no-brainer’ for Christians.How can we not speak outagainst such cold-heartedinjustice and lack of com-passion? In writing recentlyon this matter, former Lib-eral Prime Minister, MalcolmFraser, said: “Ever since theTampa incident in 2001,government ministers bothLiberal and Labor, havesought to demonise boatpeople and make Aus-tralians fear them”.Fraser goes on to ask:

“Are we prepared to allowour government to estab-lish a regime so brutal thatthe terror it creates wouldrival the terror from whichthese people fled?” High-lighting our mutual com-plicity in hypocrisy acrosspolitical and religious di-vide, he reflected in thesame article on TonyAbbot’s suggestion all Aus-tralians should be taughtabout Christianity. Frasersaid: “Since Abbot has in-troduced the question ofChristianity into public de-bate, it may be worth ask-ing ourselves where he canfind any justification forAustralia’s refugee policieswithin Christianity or anyother religion.” Perhaps thatis a question we Christiansshould be answering.

Coal Seam GasYOU will be aware explo-

ration for Coal Seam Gas(CSG) is now very much onthe agenda in Gippsland.The reversal of fortuneswith regard to the availabil-ity of gas for consumptionin the Unites States ofAmerica (USA) is verymuch a driving force behindthe quest for CSG in Aus-tralia. Up until quite re-cently, the USA was lookingdown the barrel of expen-sive imports to maintain

their gas supplies. Now, be-cause of CSG, they are ex-porting gas. This kind ofpossibility is certainly a keyeconomic driver in thesearch for CSG here, bothfor oil and gas companiesand for those responsiblefor Australia’s economic fu-ture.Clearly, if a safe way of ex-

tracting CSG could befound, it would bode wellfor companies and for thecountry, as well as for Gipp-sland. Add to this the factburning gas is far more en-vironmentally friendly thanburning coal, as well as theopportunities for new jobsand you have, for some, anunassailable argument forCSG exploration in Gipps-land.The critical question, how-

ever, is in regard to thesafety of extraction meth-ods. Hydraulic Fracturing(Fracking) is sometimes re-quired to extract CSG.Fracking involves largeamounts of water mixedwith sand and one to threeper cent of various chemi-cals, of which chemicalsonly 60 to 80 per cent is re-covered from the coalseam. Industry points outmany of the chemicals usedappear naturally or as addi-tives in products used ineveryday life in commonhousehold goods. What is not known, how-

ever, is the potential forcontamination when thesechemicals are present inamounts not controlled ortargeted for their use inhousehold goods. Unantici-pated seepage into ground-water and the food chain isa real possibility for thosechemicals not recoveredthrough the extractionprocess. Accordingly, theimpact of potential contam-ination on people, livestockand the environment islargely unknown. Evidencefrom other parts of Aus-tralia where CSG extractionis underway certainly re-veals that impact is notgood. We have been told Frack-

ing may not be required inGippsland due to the qual-ity of the coal, thus avert-ing these particularpotential contaminationproblems. Nevertheless,any extraction of CSG alsoraises the possibility of therelease of toxic chemicalsand heavy metals alreadypresent in the coal seam.

Whichever way you look atit, exploring for and ex-tracting CSG is a potentiallyrisky process.The Victorian Government

has committed to hasteningslowly on CSG explorationand has put a limited mora-torium on Fracking for thetime being. In fact, it fin-ishes very soon. Both Stateand Federal governmentsalso have responsibility tomaintain guaranteed safetyfor water supplies, ground-water being most at risk inthe exploration for and ex-traction of CSG. There is nodoubt water security is acritical issue for Gippsland,especially in those parts de-pendent on aquifers for thewater supply.I acknowledge the issues

around CSG are complex,but I think, for Gippsland,they can be reduced to oneimportant question. Why, inone of Australia’s most pro-ductive agricultural regions,would anyone even think ofputting our water supplyand agricultural lands andlivestock at risk, not tomention people lives, nomatter how small that riskis said to be? I do not think it possible

for any company to give a100 per cent guaranteethere will never be a risk toour water security were

CSG exploration and ex-traction to take place inGippsland; and 99.9 percent is not enough.If there is a genuine desire

to reduce the environmen-tal impact of the burning ofcoal and a real concern tofind alternative employ-ment possibilities for thoseimpacted by a reduction inmining and power produc-tion in Gippsland, why notconsider the possibilities ofdeveloping new sources ofpower generation from re-newable resources? Peoplestill need to be employedfor these new industries tobe developed and they donot produce carbon dioxide.

Growth in FIFOIN regard to employment

opportunities for people inGippsland and, especially,those living in the LatrobeValley, traditionally depend-ent on the mining andpower industries, I havebeen interested to learnthere has been a significantgrowth in the number ofFly-In-Fly-Out (FIFO) work-ers in the Valley. The Valleyis a sending community forthese workers going toother parts of Australia toearn a living.While there has been sig-

nificant research into com-munities on the receivingend of FIFO workforces,there is not so much knownabout the sending commu-nities. The Gippsland Tradesand Labour Council hasidentified this issue as amatter of concern for agrowing number of familiesin the Valley. It is not diffi-cult to see the potential is-sues, especially for youngfamilies, that would arisefrom the bread-winnerbeing away for significantamounts of time, only to re-turn for extended home-time before disappearingagain for a long time.

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ABOVE: Juliet Bond listens intently to Graeme Peters dur-ing the session where synod representatives went into re-cess to discuss the draft strategic plan for the diocese.

Photo: Jeanette Severs

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It strikes me this givesgreat opportunity for us tofind ways of responding tothe needs of these familieson our doorstops in ways toprovide support to themand build communityamong them in their specialcircumstances. Workingwith other partners, such asthe Trades and LabourCouncil and other serviceproviders, this is surely oneway in which we can fulfilour commitment aschurches to our communi-ties.

Voting & PoliticsAS WE are all required to

vote in Federal electionsthis year, the questionarises as to how best weascertain the policies ofeach party and by what cri-teria we make our assess-ment of them. AsChristians, I suggest ourcriteria are concern fortruth and a commitment tojustice and compassion. Ac-cess to the detail of partypolicies is a challenge andfor most of us what weglean will be from the dailymedia. That, in itself, is an issue

when the media is so easilydistracted by trivia andtheir reports interpretedwithin the constraints oftheir editorial policies. Inthe first place, discernmentin what we read and whatwe watch or listen to is vitalin gaining a real apprecia-tion of the issues at stakeand the significant differ-ences between the policiesof the parties.One key measure often

proposed and almost uni-versally agreed as a meas-ure for good government, isthe capacity of a govern-ment to govern for all Aus-tralians. From a Christianperspective, I suggest thebest indicator of this meas-ure is what favors thosemost vulnerable in thecommunity. Jesus’ clear preference

was for the poor and, alongwith the ancient prophets,the wellbeing of the poorand vulnerable is his litmustest for whether there isjustice and compassion forthe whole of society. Wherethe poor and vulnerable aretreated with justice andcompassion, it is guaran-teed the same will be truefor the rich and powerful.But where the rich andpowerful are treated withjustice and compassion,there is no guarantee thepoor and vulnerable will beincluded. Hence their condi-tion becomes the true indi-cator of the health of thewhole.On the matter of the re-

cently proposed disabilitylevy, then, both major par-ties have withstood thecries of ‘unfair’ and deter-mined they will support thislevy on all Australians as ameans of ensuring thoseamong us who are disabled

are better able to engage inand contribute to the com-munities of which they area part. That is encouraging.

Nevertheless, there areclear differences in relationto other policies of the var-ious parties. On education,for example, the Gonski Re-view has identified a clearand growing divide in Aus-tralia into a two-tiered, un-just education systemfavoring the rich over thepoor. The report has led toproposals for reform in edu-cation funding to redressthat divide. A politicalparty’s response to Gonskiis therefore another meas-ure of how well it will gov-ern for all Australians.So it goes for a whole

range of policies. To namejust one more example, theCoalition proposal to lowerthe tax threshold from$18,000 to $6,000 wouldbring more than a millionlow-income earners backinto the tax system and in-crease taxes for six millionAustralians earning lessthan $80,000 per annum.Against a backgroundwhere a recent report re-veals a large number ofthose earning more than$1million per annum payabsolutely no income tax,while paying out millions ofdollars to the accountantswho advise them on taxavoidance, it is a troublingpolicy.These are just some ex-

amples and I am certainlynot here to tell you how tovote. What I do suggest,however, is each of usshould think seriously aboutthe effect of any proposedpolicy on those most vul-nerable and poor in ourcommunities. Do not betempted into supportingsimply what may work bestfor you. Unfortunately,much political rhetoric andcommentary focuses onhow voters themselves arepersonally affected.A Christian response is to

ask a far more significantquestion. What gives thegreater opportunity for allpeople, beginning with thepoor and vulnerable, tohave access to services andto be able better to con-tribute what they have tooffer to the whole? I com-mend this matter to yourprayer and reflection as theelection approaches.

People mattersI move now to people

matters in our diocese.Among the clergy, BrianTurner has come out of re-tirement to take up ministryas Priest-in-Charge part-time in Avon parish. BrendaBurney has moved fromWesternport parish to be-come Priest-in-Charge ofthe Cooperating parish ofChurchill/Boolarra/Yinnar. Recently, Jo White has ac-

cepted my offer to be li-censed as Priest-in-Chargepart-time in Yarram parishand will take up her duties

of office there in June.Sadly we will soon farewell

Don Saines as Dean. Inwhat has been a short in-cumbency, Don has offeredus much in ministry, notonly as Dean and parishpriest in Sale but also inwhat he has given towardstraining in ministry for bothordinands and in lay min-istry development. PeneBrook also departs withDon, having offered herresignation as ecumenicalchaplain at the Churchillcampus of Monash Univer-sity. We will miss them both

and their contribution inministry to us and we wishthem well in their futureministries in Melbourne dio-cese, Don as Dean in theUnited Faculty of Theologyand Pene as Chaplain atOvernewton AnglicanSchool. Michael Hough hasfinished his time in theEpiscopal District of Bunyip.I have appreciated the timeand energy he has put intoexploring with the localpeople news ways of beingchurch. Malcolm Wilson hasrecently resigned for per-sonal reasons from the

Episcopal District of Nar NarGoon. We pray for him andFrankie as they look to thefuture.Janet Wallis resigned in

the last year from her du-ties as Regional Dean of theSouthern Region. I thankJanet for her faithfulness inministry in this role. GeoffPittaway stepped into thebreach to serve as RegionalDean of the Southern Re-gion and is already makinga great contribution todiocesan ministry in thatrole.We continue to depend

heavily on retired clergy toassist us with locums, bothwhen clergy are on leaveand also between the min-istries of permanent clergyin parishes. Those whohave acted in these longerministries over the pastyear have been Brian andAnn Turner at Avon; MarilynObersby at Churchill/Boolarra/Yinnar; RogerJackman at Croajingolong;Fred Morrey at Newbor-ough; Elwyn Sparks atWesternport and Ken Petersand John Grace at Yarram.I thank them all for theircommitment to these min-

istries. I acknowledge alsothe ongoing willingness ofothers among our retiredclergy who continue to giveof themselves in ministry inother ways around the dio-cese, too various to men-tion individually. Thank you.We continue to be blessed

with those who answer thecall to ordained ministrywithin our diocese. In thispast year, Pene Brook, FranGrimes and Katie Pekenwere ordained deacon andHeather Cahill as priest. During this past year,

Maryann Ashton and VonDubbeld have been in dis-cernment for ordained min-istry and Sharlene Asmus,Richard Lanham and DavidPerryman are our ordina-tion candidates. Pene Brookand Katie Peken will be or-dained as priests thismonth.Among our stipendiary lay

parish workers, AmandaBallantyne resigned as Chil-dren and Family Workerpart-time in Bairnsdaleparish and John van Merelwas commissioned as YouthWorker part-time in NeerimSouth parish.

ABOVE: Kim Easton (Bairnsdale), Jon Tay-lor (Sale) and Tony Wicking, Peggy Arthurand Bill Davies, all of Bairnsdale parish,discuss the draft strategic plan duringsynod.BELOW: The far west meets far eastparishes: Judy Collins (Nar Nar Goon),

Chris Bennie and Raelene Carroll (both ofBunyip) and Roger Jackman and EileenThoroughgood of Croajingolong parish,joined together to discuss the draft strate-gic plan during a recess in the synod ses-sion.

Photos: Jeanette Severs

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At Gippsland Grammar,Mike Clapper resigned asprincipal to go to a positionin Canberra with the Mathe-matics Foundation, a veryfitting role for him. Mikemade a great contributionto the school in every as-pect of its life and will begreatly missed, as will hiswife, Jo, a friend to many ofus and a valued communityworker in Sale. We welcomed David Baker

as the new principal andlook forward to the contri-bution he will make to theschool. He, Jane and theirdaughters have settled inwell and, under his leader-ship, the school is lookingto the future with great op-timism.Throughout the past year,

various people among ushave received awards fortheir contribution to the lifeof the communities ofwhich they are a part. OnAustralia Day 2013, RobertFordham AM (above left),from the Abbey Parish ofPaynesville, was made amember in the General Di-vision of the Order of Aus-tralia for significant serviceto the Parliament of Victo-ria, to education, to the An-glican Church in Australiaand to tourism and eco-nomic development. Mark Woods, from Traral-

gon parish (above right),was announced as the 2012recipient of the Law Councilof Australia President’sMedal. The President’sMedal is an annual award

recognising an Australianlawyer’s outstanding contri-bution to the legal profes-sion. Mark was cited as oneof the professions’ mostvalued members with areputation of excellence inthe profession. Alan Price, from Won-

thaggi/Inverloch parish,was awarded the NationalMedal for his long and out-standing service in the CFA.Keith Chenhall, from Traral-gon parish, received a La-trobe City Australia DayAward for his service to thecommunity of Traralgon asan active member of theTraralgon Apex club, Traral-gon Chamber of Commerceand Cemetery Trust; as thecreator of his own KeithChenhall Charitable Foun-dation; and for providing fi-nancial assistance to manycommunity events.Congratulations to these

people for their outstandingcontributions in the com-munity. This is very muchtheir ministry in the life ofthe world. Their contribu-tion as church members isa witness to the faith we,together, express as Chris-tians and a valued meansby which the faith we pro-fess is expressed to othersin the community.After 15 years of faithful

and significant service toLeongatha parish, Elizabethand Russell Conway haverelocated to Melbourne. Theparish Certificate of Appre-ciation given to themstated: “Thank you for un-dertaking these and otherduties and responsibili-

ties: Warden, Parish Coun-cillor, Bishop-in-CouncilMember, Chair of ParishCouncil, Chair of Chancel-Sanctuary Sub-Committee,Chair of CommunityKitchen Sub-Committee,Member of Clergy Appoint-ments Board, Photographer,Sound Adviser, TechnicalAdviser. Thank you forbeing generous, encourag-ing, inclusive, caring, wel-comers, mentors,hospitality team members,small group members, peo-ple of sound counsel andpeople with suggestions fordevelopment”; a fitting ac-knowledgement of theircontribution both to parishand diocese.As always, each year sees

the death of beloved andvalued members of ourparishes. We note in partic-ular the death of ReverendDeaconess Nancy Drew inAugust 2012. With herdeath came the passing ofan era in the life of our dio-cese. The deaconesses ofthis diocese were significantpioneers of ministry andNancy was very much aleader among them. The attempts of Bishop-in-

Council to have Nancy in-cluded in the list ofsignificant Australian minis-ters noted in the Australianlectionary was foiled by atechnicality requiring actionby General Synod, but it isindicative of the high regardin which Nancy was heldright across the diocesethat the attempt was made. Determined to find a way

to honor Nancy’s contribu-tion to the life of the Aus-

tralian Church through herministry in Gippsland,Bishop-in-Council has rec-ommended an inclusion inour own Diocesan PrayerCycle remembering withthanks the ministry of thedeaconesses of the dioceseand, in particular, Nancy’slife and ministry.Others sadly missed in

parishes across the diocesesince their deaths over thepast year include, fromChurchill/Boolarra/Yinnarparish, Betty Reid and JeanBrick, a member of the firstcongregation in Churchilland a tireless worker agedwell into her 90’s, especiallyfor missions; from Korum-burra parish, long timeparishioners Eric and DorisBilling; from Leongathaparish, Dianne Appleyard, along term parish councillorand lay reader who was re-sponsible for the congrega-tions at Meeniyan andDumbalk; and Nancy Em-bleton, Gail Wisdom andMadeline Graeley, who wereall very involved membersof the parish and its min-istry teams; Joy Grimshaw,a well-loved member of StMary’s Mirboo North, a gra-cious and simple-heartedlady of 94 years who confi-dently faced death knowingshe was “going home” toher Lord; Denis Gardenerfrom Bass/Phillip Islandparish; Norman Stuckey,Ulla Rathjen, Ian Radfordand June Ross, all commit-ted members of Rosedaleparish, both within the lifeof the church and in thewider community; fromWarragul parish, Elizabeth

Crighton, who had an activeinterest in Cursillo and theRwandan partnership andNorman Tolley, a parish-ioner for more than 50years and a former church-warden of St Paul’s; andfrom Wonthaggi/Inverlochparish, my old sparringpartner, Ted Rock, a pas-sionate advocate for eco-nomic justice for all, aposition steeped in his faithand profoundly Christianvalues. We acknowledgetheir priceless contributionto the life of our diocesethrough faithful parish andcommunity ministries.In conclusion I return to a

simple appeal to each andevery one of you, as welook to future directions inthe life of our diocese, to beopen to the changes God isworking among us;changes in ourselves as weare transformed by God’sgrace into the fullness ofour humanity and changesin the way in which we ex-press our life as God’s peo-ple in worship, ministry andmission as God’s Spirittakes us to new places.Grace and peace be withyou all.

Bishop John McIntyreGippsland

RIGHT: Katie Peken, or-dained priest at the end ofMay and Jo White, newlyappointed priest-in-chargein Yarram parish.BELOW: Bruce Charles,Beryl Brien and DeirdreMcLean, of Moe parish,joined together with Jan Mi-siurka, Helen Davis andHeather Quake, of Newbor-ough/Yallourn North parish,to discuss the draft strate-gic plan for the diocese,during synod.




By Lauren Kitwood,Chairman

THE GFS Kidsplus+ Net-work in Gippsland exists toserve individuals andparishes. It has been theonly continuing diocesannetwork offered in Gipps-land over many years andcontinues to minister in thefollowing ways.Provision of an annual

camp for children andyouth. Support of parishbased GFS, Kidsplus+ andother affiliated children’sand youth groups (throughleader fellowship, resourc-ing, newsletters and train-ing). Sponsoring specialactivity days and picnics fordiocesan partipation. Linkto wider diocesan, State,National and world ministrygroups for support, pro-grams, education, trainingand to keep informed ofcurrent ministry trends.It has been a more per-

sonal conduit of informationregarding changing recom-mendations and require-ments for those consideringleadership. It provides fel-lowship, nurturing and fo-rums for discussion throughthe Adult Friends Fellow-ship.KidsPlus+ Gippsland has

had a very productive year.We have a number of adultmembers registered againthis year and parishes haveaffiliated with us. Many ofour adult members are ac-tive leaders in their ownparishes in children andyouth ministries. KidsPlus+affiliations help offer sup-port and encouragement toall those connected with ourministry, including leader-ship training, resources(equipment, programs) andinformation on upcomingevents.We aim to outreach to as

many parishes as we can;that is where our affiliationsare vital, to offer informa-tion to parishes. Each year,we hope and pray moreparishes will connect; thiswill help us broaden our re-sources so we can all con-nect as one ministry. Weare all aiming for the samething and provide ministryto all ages; if we can shareideas, imagine how muchmore we can all do. Money we receive for affil-

iations is used to purchasenew equipment for thetrailer, for parishes to use. Our adult friends group

meets three to four timeseach year; most recently inMirador Springs (Trafalgar),a beautiful cottage with asecret garden, lake andfarm animals. Lots of fun,fellowship and a beautifulafternoon tea was had byall who attended. This fellowship group is a

wonderful way to connectwith one another, one of theonly chances many of us

have to see one another. Each year we have ourThanksgiving lunch/dinner.This year we held the serv-ice at St Luke’s Moe, fol-lowed by lunch at OldGippstown Moe. It was a great time of fel-

lowship together, followedby lunch and an opportunityto explore Old Gippstown.This is certainly one of thehighlights for many of ouradult members. The AdultFriends of GFS Kidsplus+social worship and fellow-ship events, along with theregular Prayer Diaries pro-duced through Melbourne,give us a good support baseand an opportunity to out-reach at a more seniorlevel. These are distributedthroughout the diocese soall members can assessthem.Our activity trailer has

been well utilised byparishes throughout Gipps-land. In the past year wehave purchased moreequipment for the trailer.We aim to provide equip-ment that is suitable for allages and abilities. We findthis is a vital ministry weoffer; it allows KidsPlus+ toconnect with parishes andfor parishes connect withour network. The more we can share

with parishes, the moreproductive and supportivewe can be for one another.This year, our activity trailerhas been used in many ofour parishes for a numberof different events includingholiday programs, commu-nity carols, Australia Dayactivities, parish camps,fetes and special group pro-gram nights. On AFL Grand Final day

last year, 20 leaders andyoung people headed toBlackburn North to cele-brate 50 years of GFS inMelbourne, Ballarat andBendigo. Our trailer wasalso used for the event,showing it is well used withall connections. The GFSWold President, GlenysPayne, attended the eventas part of her very busy triparound Australia. It waswonderful to share thegreater world of GFS withsome of our younger mem-bers.The location of our annual

picnic was changed lastyear. The decision wasmade because of decliningnumbers attendingCowwarr Weir in the pastfew years. After a success-ful family day at the Mor-well traffic school, wedecided to use this venueas our end of year picnic. The decision to change lo-cation was not an easy de-cision although one thatreally did make a differ-ence. We had all ages attend

and a very successful picnicwith more than 70 children

and adults attending, in-cluding representativesfrom other diocesangroups, Sunday schools andThorpdale’s mainly musicprogram.We are very thankful our

decision for change was inthe right direction and wewere able to connect withnew families and ministerto existing members.We have just experiencedcamping at CoonawarraFarm Resort (near Strat-ford). It is one of the high-lights for our young peopleand leaders each year. Much work, planning and

preparation goes into ourcamp each year. We arevery fortunate to have agood team of leaders tohelp plan our events. Manyattend to help and supportthe children and youngpeople, even those who donot have children’s min-istries in their ownparishes. We again appreciate the

subsidy for specialist activ-ities and bus hire receivedfrom Melbourne CEBSSmall Grants for Children’sand Youth ministry.In April, we hosted GFS

state day, at Old Gipp-stown, Moe. Members fromall over Victoria attendedthe event, which is held ina different diocese eachyear. This meeting allowsmany of us to make deci-sions as a state, reconnecttogether and discuss whatdifferent dioceses are doingwithin their ministries. We decided to include our

young people in the event,to join them into the widerGFS family. A wonderfulday was had by all in thebeautiful surrounds of OldGippstown. We were all saddened by

the passing of Ian Radford.Our prayers and sympathycontinue to be extended tothe Radford family on therecent death of Ian: fatherto Stanley, Jeanette andLeah, husband to Jenny.The family have had longassociations with our Net-work.Many of us are looking for-

ward to the GFS midtermconference in June, provid-ing another opportunity toshare ideas and connectwith the wider AustraliaGFS family. We, again, areexcited about being able totake some younger mem-bers of GFS with us so theycan also begin to connectand become more excitedabout the GFS family andwhat it has to offer them.Ministry in our parish Kid-

splus+, GFS and affiliated

groups is indeed varied tomeet the needs of the localcommunities; however theopportunity to share anddevelop our ministrythrough the network is in-valuable and we encourageothers to be part of that. Itis exciting to see youngermembers from our GFS andKidsplus+ groups lookingforwards and, in somecases, taking up leadershipresponsibilities in theparishes.

Lauren Kitwood

Kidsplus+ fun in Gippsland

ABOVE: Natalee, of Sale,tries out the senior flyingfox, at Coonwarra camp re-cently.RIGHT: Melinda, of Traral-gon, tries her hand atarchery at Coonawarra.FRONT page: Enjoyingpaddling the canoe wasAchol (10) from Moe.

Photos: Mary Nicholls

12 Our Diocese - Gippsland’s Synod June 2013


AT Gippsland’s Synod,Lauren Kitwood, chairmanof Kidsplus+ Network inthis diocese, mentioned theannual camp. The report ofKidsplus2013 camp follows.The Gippsland diocesan

Kidsplus+ camp, held inearly May, will be remem-bered as a highlight for theyear by many of the 37 par-ticipants. Our leadershipteam commended the chil-dren and youth for theirfriendly, co-operative andenthusiastic spirits.The Coonawarra campsite

was an excellent facility,catering for our wide agerange of participants , chal-lenging each individual toatempt physical, mentaland team activities. All pro-vided activities weregreeted with enthusiasm,including the ropes courses,flying fox, horse and ponyrides, high swing, canoeing,giant games, volleyball, hutbuilding, photograph trail,craft, campfire, games anddiscussions on our theme,‘Who’s behind the Door’. Here we explored the need

of looking beyond the obvi-ous, challenging one an-other to explore our faith,seeking to know God better,so that ‘life’ might beopened to us. Our youngcampers decided that suchexploration might involvetheir commitment to mak-

ing themselves available toGod; through going tochurch, acknowledging himwith thanks and worship,meeting with others, atchurch groups, religious ed-ucation in schools, learningwith families, reading thebible and obeying him incaring for others and hisworld; and praying for hishelp in doing all this. Recognising that, as our

creator, saviour and being‘almighty,’ we have lots tolook forward to. Readers ofthis article may well beurged to continue theirprayerful support of theseyoung people, their friendsand families, that theirdreams may be realised.

The Kidsplus+ team arealready planning the loca-tion and date of the 2014diocesan camp. Sugges-tions and expressions of in-terest for leadership for thisevent are welcome. Themajor participation resultedfrom personal invitations tochildren and teenagersfrom youth leaders; churchparishioners with the bestinvitations being thosewhere the leader has beenable to say, “Come alongwith me”. In celebrating our wonder-

ful weekend we acknowl-edge the generoussponsorship received fromGippsland Water, Latrobe

Shire, Hungry Jacks (sam-ple bag materials), South-ern Rural Water, Stockland’sTraralgon, Yarragon Bakery,Life FM, Melbourne CebsThe Anglican Boys Society(for a grant toward special-ist activities at the campand bus hire). The May andDennis Buxton MemorialFund, Graham Budd,Matthew Prosser and TheGippsland Anglican (EditorJeanette Severs) for help-ing sponsor participants orby promoting this ministryto the wider diocese. Thanks also to our special-

ist water safety leader,Lydia Jacka, Dean Prosser,our sponsorship convenorand to all the team from theGFS Kidsplus+ Network.Contributor: Mary Nicholls

ABOVE: Participants andleaders at the camp were(front row) Cloe and AriPrice, MaryAnne Om,Chelsea Zekic, AmalieNicholls, Lia Penrose, AboukMajik, Noah Jankovic, Is-abella Jankovic, NoahNicholls, Charlie Robins,Lydia Jacka, Cooper Purcell,Stanley Radford; (secondrow) Achol Majik, HelenBayes, Sophie Robinson,Natalee Johnstone, PaulByl, Dana Jankovic, AyenRiak, Vanessa Jankovic,Courtney Havis, MelindaWass, Jackson, Bailey andCatherine Purcell, JacobRobins, Lauren Kitwood;(back row) KathrynBartlett, Dean Prosser, Wil-low Buglar, CameronNicholls, Jenny Toma, GaryProsser, Nicholas Cunning-ham, Rachel Akon (hidden)and Mary Nicholls.

By Jane Anderson,Regional Director,Gippsland

THE past year has beenone of opportunity andchange for Anglicare Victo-ria. The increased aware-ness of areas withinGippsland with high com-plex needs has resulted inincreased government pro-grams and funding and suc-cessful parish partnershipactivities. There is significant policy

intent within the commu-nity sector to ensure pro-grams respond to individualneeds and the increasingexpectation to be flexibleand creative in that re-sponse is welcomed. Thisresponse is influenced bythe innovative practicewithin parish partnerships.Due to the growth in pro-

grams, the new FamilyServices support structurein Gippsland was imple-mented with the appoint-ment of Senior Services

Manager Family Services,Tim Pedlow. This includedthe successful appoint-ments of Program ManagerFamily Services, JosieStubbes and Program Man-ager Family Support, An-drew Cawood. These new positions were

created to improve out-comes for clients, improvecapacity for risk manage-ment and quality improve-ment through greaterleadership. The new Cradle to Kinder

(C2K) program was suc-cessfully set up in the Mor-well office. The program isa new ante and post natalsupport service providingintensive family and earlyparenting support to vul-nerable young mothers andtheir children. Support foryoung parents and theirfamily commences at preg-nancy and continues untilthe child reaches four yearsof age.The team has a vast array

of experience in differentareas and these experi-ences will complement eachother, for the benefit offamilies. C2K is a providedthrough a partnership ofservices, including Angli-care Victoria as the leadagency, Queen ElizabethCentre and Quantum Sup-port Services. Anglicare Victoria received

advice from the Depart-ment of Justice (DOJ) thatits application to continueto deliver the Victims Assis-tance and Counselling Pro-gram in the Gippslandregion was unsuccessful.There was positive feed-back from DOJ regarding

Hands up for fun

ABOVE: Barbara and Bevil Lunson were representing Or-bost parish at synod. Orbost has an active youth ministry.


Anglicare focus ison parent and childin its synod report

continued next page



from previous page

the huge amount of effortundertaken by the VAPteam, led by the programmanager, instigating signif-icant changes in relation tointake systems, data accu-racy and brokerage ex-pense directed atre-orientating the programto more closely match therequirements of the De-partment. Staff within the Victims

Assistance and CounsellingProgram (VACP) continuedto maintain a clear clientfocus as they effected theclosure and transition of theprogram by June 30 lastyear.The Settlement program

was unsuccessful in its ap-plication for further fundingin the Central Gippslandarea. Although unsuccess-ful, it is clear from the feed-back obtained the programhas been viewed very posi-tively by DIAC, which (on aState level) was supportiveof funding continuing. Theprogram met or exceededall the agreed targets andhad developed positiveworking relationships withmany service providers andthe community it was work-ing with.Positive news was re-

ceived with respect to asubmission for Communityfor Children funding in EastGippsland. The submissionwas successful in securingfunds for two years, to-talling $120,000.In April 2012, the Regional

Manager, Program Managerand CEO received a ‘con-gratulations’ email from theDHS Manager Child Youthand Family acknowledgingthe extraordinary perform-ance of the foster care pro-

gram in achieving a year todate performance of 95 percent. Parentzone began ses-

sions at an Aboriginal Par-ent Group coordinated byRamahyuck District Aborig-inal Corporation in Drouin.This is the first time Parent-zone has been invited toprovide our service to Abo-riginal parents in Baw Baw. Group Coordinator, Kellie

Sexton, has emailed to sayhow grateful they are tohave a Parentzone workerattend sessions. Kellie saidthe Warragul Parentzoneworker is a natural commu-nicator with a great deal ofexperience and knowledgeand she had an instant con-nection with the partici-pants.Inner Gippsland has been

chosen by the DHS as anew site for Stronger Fami-lies and Aboriginal StrongerFamilies. Stronger Familiesis a progression of the Fam-ily Coaching Victoria pilotsthat were introduced as anintegrated placement pre-vention and family reunifi-cation service providingintensive case work supportto vulnerable families aswell as specialist youth,therapeutic and early par-enting support.As Anglicare Victoria is the

Families First provider inGippsland, we have beeninvited through submissionto lead the development forthe new mainstream serv-ice. Ramahyuck has beenconcurrently invited to pro-vide the Aboriginal StrongerFamilies service in InnerGippsland. We are currentlyexploring how these twoservices will interrelate.The Gippsland Manage-

ment Team recently at-tended a two day session to

develop a Gippsland plan toimplement the AnglicareVictoria strategic plan. Theteam developed the follow-ing three strategic inten-tions, to form the basis ofthe Gippsland actions:The needs of our clients

determine how our pro-grams integrate and worktogether; we work with ourpeople to create an envi-ronment that empowersthem to achieve their best;and we work together tocreatively respond tochange in our community.

Chairman’s awardsTHE Anglicare Victoria

Chairman’s Awards wereheld on September 12 lastyear and there were a num-ber of nominees from Gipp-sland with winners in theInnovation and OutstandingVolunteer Categories.Parentzone Gippsland won

the Innovation award, forthe parenting activity con-ducted with Orbost Re-gional Health Service inconjunction with the EarlyYears Aboriginal HealthWorker and women fromthe Orbost Koori Mum’s andBub’s Group. The activityinvolved making a FamilyBook with mothers who areAboriginal or mothers ofAboriginal children. This activity has increased

Parentzone’s engagementin this Aboriginal commu-nity and resulted in a num-ber of parents fromAboriginal families havingcontact with the Parentzonemainstream service and be-coming more familiar withthe services provided byParentzone and staff mem-bers. The parents have nowrequested Parentzone pro-

vide parenting programs fo-cused on parent educationcontent.Naomi Murphy (right) won

the Outstanding Volunteeraward. During the year,Naomi began as a commu-nity volunteer with Kom-mall, a gathering place forthe Koori community in theLatrobe area. Naomi is amember of the local com-munity who brought for-ward ideas and enthusiasmto support the needs oflocal Indigenous children. From the outset, she pro-

vided critical energy for thecommunity to rally arounda number of important cul-tural activities. Naomi isone of the first communityvolunteers to maintain anongoing involvement withthe Kommall project andhas joined in meetings ofthe Kommall AdvisoryGroup.Work was undertaken in

conjunction with LatrobeCity, the Centre for Multi-cultural Youth and LatrobeRegional Gallery to run anexhibition of art by mem-bers of the refugee andCALD community as part ofRefugee Week, June 17 to23. The event was a hugesuccess, with about 80community members gath-ering at the RegionalGallery to view art by stu-dents from local primaryschools and enjoy singingby students from Traral-gon’s Liddiard Road primaryschool.In the Settlement pro-

gram, 15 people attended aHow to get Glasses Day inMay, held at Latrobe Com-munity Health Services andhosted by Anglicare; offer-ing a number of ways toprovide affordable eye wearto children and adults. Thesettlement program wasable to facilitate affordableeye care services to five in-dividual clients, who arenow enjoying their glasses.‘The Clothesline Project’

was a significant event inOctober, increasing aware-ness of family violence inthe community. An exten-sive display at a local shop-ping centre included t-shirtspainted by local survivors offamily violence, as well asrelevant service informationfrom Anglicare and Quan-tum Support Services. In launching the project,

Gippsland Community LegalService Community Lawyer,Jessica McCartney, gave avery informative speech;and an article in a localnewspaper brought atten-tion to the devastating im-pact of family violence,both locally and generally,as well as the services pro-vided by GCLS and Quan-

tum. The photograph fromthe launch (left) wasreprinted in the lead-up toWhite Ribbon Day on No-vember 25.

Parish communitydevelopmentTHIS year has been a

good year for parish part-nerships. The Parish Part-nerships steeringcommittee has providedgrants to parishes of Won-thaggi, Heyfield, Korum-burra and Maffra, to helpsupport their communities.It is exciting to see themany varied and excitingideas parishes are utilising,including strategies to em-power young people, com-munity drop-in centres,community meals pro-grams, after school clubs,preschool music programs,community Christmas par-ties, community dinnersand No Interest LoansSchemes. A decline in grant applica-

tions has been experiencedand this possibly indicatesthere are challenges otherthan just money preventingparishes developing com-munity projects. The Com-munity DevelopmentOfficer will be working to in-vestigate and address thisin 2013/2014.mainly music continues to

be used by a number ofparishes, with an averageof more than 150 familiesattending weekly preschoolmusic programs in the dio-cese. mainly music hasbeen a valuable means ofstrengthening relationshipsbetween the communityand the church. A number of these

parishes have expandedtheir program to includeparenting programs, play-groups, community daysand family support pro-grams. The groups havebeen supported with asmall FaHCSIA grant thatwill enable the mainly

ABOVE: Anglicare Victoria Gippsland Community Legal Service Intake Coordina-tor, Letitia Naidu, team member, Irfan Yusuf, and lawyer, Jess McCartney, withthe clothesline project. See Anglicare’s report to synod for details.

Photo: Latrobe Valley Express

Local clothesline project depictsimpacts of domestic violence

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By Don Saines,Cathedral Dean

REPORT to synod 2013from St Paul’s Cathedral.

Mission 2012IT IS a less than 18

months since we began ourmission project, MISSION2012, the beginning of athree year project to trialministries to help youngpeople and families connectwith the church and itsgospel.This project was achieved

with financial support fromthe Diocese ($42,000 eachyear for three years) andBush Church Aid Society($25,000 each year forthree years). Funds werealso raised within theCathedral parish ($16,165in 2012 with equivalentamounts promised for thenext three years).This funding enabled em-

ployment of Rich Lanham.Rich and Julie Lanham havenow been part of ourCathedral and diocesanministry team for this pe-riod. The ground work hasbeen undertaken with ef-forts to:Develop and nurture the

faith and leadership of acore of young family lead-ers and youth.Develop the Cathedral’s

connection to ministry inlocal schools and especiallyGippsland Grammar.Develop the Cathedral’s

connection to young peopleand families in the townmore generally.Be a resource for Youth

and Family ministry in thediocese.The Youth Hut has been

refurbished, with thanks fordonations of $2000 fromthe Friends of St Paul’sCathedral, the generous

support of a number ofyoung people and businesspeople in Sale and two BCANomads, Barry and PatSchmidt from Brisbane,(above) who saw our needin the BCA newsletter andarrived to help paint theoutside of the youth hut inthe heat of March this year.

Ministry team MINISTRY at the Cathedral

continues to run smoothly,thanks to the team of ableand committed members.During 2012 we also wereblessed to have ReverendCaroline Nancarrow with usand paid her a smallmonthly fee for service,though Caroline put morepastoral and sacramentalministry into the parishthan this suggested.Rev. Lloyd George took

leave from the Cathedral in2012 to minister at GoldenGrove Healing Centre inSydney. Lloyd and Judy re-turned this past Easter.We are thankful to the

Cathedral lay readers (MikeChadwick, Marion Jones,Brian Norris) and honorarydeacons (Dr Pene Brookand Jonathan Taylor) fortheir very willing and sup-portive ministry.We are also thankful for

the many lay ministers whoput their hands up to help:Christine Morris and RoVerspaadonk (Sunday

club); Karen Taylor and theteam who run mainlymusic; Jan Lear and teamwho run Tadpoles play-group; Julie Irving, treas-urer, Colin Irving,fundraising and helpinghand; Helen Gardiner asVerger and general assis-tance; office volunteers, es-pecially Mark Butler who isalso Chapter Clerk in 2013;Grant and Michelle Wool-cock for vacuuming andGrant and others for lead-ing the St Paul’s men’sbreakfast group; pastoralministry teams led by Mar-ion Jones, Heather StewartandHelen Gardiner. There are many others

who assist as sacristans,cleaners, welcomers, read-ers, morning refreshmentsand so on. I am especiallythankful for the lay canons:Ann Miller (retired 2012),Josef Sestokas (2013),Arthur McPherson and PamSchmack.

Cathedral worship WE continue our Anglican

liturgical worship, both tra-ditional and contemporaryliturgies, particularly in theSunday evening services.

Average attendance dur-ing 2012 at St Paul’s Cathe-dral services remains at aweekly average more than120 people. We currentlyhave an average of 190worshippers who attend atleast once a month acrossall centres including mid-week services and nursinghomes..

Christian formationHOME and other study

groups have continued tobe a source of Christian for-mation. This includes KYBgroups and one Educationfor Ministry group of eightpeople, which is now into itsthird year and mentored bythe Dean and Rev. HeatherToms. Groups are also heldweekly with Kate Campbelland Rich and Julie Lanham(Christianity explored). TheDean also ran a groupcalled Embracing AdultFaith.

Cathedral eventsNUMEROUS diocesan and

parish community eventswere held at the Cathedralin the past year and the fol-lowing are some of thehighlights: the Cathedralfair, October 20; commis-sioning of the Rwanda teamfrom Gippsland Grammarand St Paul’s Grammarschools; teaching day withRev. Dr Dorothy Lee fromTrinity College on Readingthe Bible (above right); or-dination of four deacons,November 17 and priests,May 25; St Paul’s men’sbreakfast group eveningand dinner with Dr ChrisLaming; Third Sunday Fo-rums with speakers, includ-ing Gippsland Grammarprincipal, David Baker anddiocesan Bushfire Commu-nity Worker, David Wilcox;Lady Day celebration andMothers’ Union gathering,March 26; Easter art show,March 27 to April 5; theAnam Cara School forPrayer, April 6; annualmeeting of the Friends of

the Cathedral.We are thankful to the

Friends of St Paul’s Cathe-dral who attended the AGM.Each year the Friends do-nates funds toward theCathedral’s upkeep andministry. This year theyvoted to give $1000 to helpdefray the cost of electriclighting, with the purchaseof LED lights for DelbridgeHall.

Financial ReportFINANCIALLY, the Cathe-

dral parish is in a sound po-sition, though Chapter hasrecognised the need to givesome attention to financialstewardship, as funding be-came tight in early 2013.The month of April wasgiven over to reflectingabout our giving to parishand other mission. Wethank Julie Irving, ourtreasurer.

ResignationI TENDERED my resigna-

tion as Dean of St Paul’sCathedral and as rector ofSale parish to the Bishop,effective from the end ofJune this year. I will miss my ministry as

Dean of St Paul’s Sale andpriest to the Cathedralparish and my collegialministry with Bishop Johnand colleagues, lay and or-dained across Gippslanddiocese. These past threeyears have, indeed, been amost happy and rewardingexperience.I will finish my time at St

Paul’s Cathedral parish atthe end of May. I am mostgrateful for the people ofthe Cathedral parish andthank God for them daily.

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music volunteers to attendthe annual mainly musicconference.The Community Develop-

ment Officer has also beenworking with the broaderAnglican community, in-cluding Gippsland Gram-mar, St Paul’s Grammar andthe chaplain at Fulhamprison. This work has led toa ‘schoolies’ alternative tripto Gahini, homeless experi-ence programs for yearnine students and a parent-ing program for prisoners.Through the trips to Gahini,the Community Develop-ment Officer has also beenable to work with parishesto help strengthen their re-lationships with their linkparishes.

Four parenting programs,each of six weeks duration,have been sucessfully deliv-ered in Fulham prison. Av-erage attendances of eightparticipants and evidenceof positive outcomes fromthis program have been en-couraging. One participantsuggested to his partnerthat she might enjoy doinga parenting course; so shecontacted Anglicare in Mor-well and enrolled in a par-enting course available tomembers of the commu-nity. The two parents were then

able to discuss the coursematerial together. Whenthe prisoner was releasedthey had developed a com-mon understanding andgoals for their parenting.A partnership agreement

between Fulham prison,Anglicare ParentZone, theAnglican prison chaplainprogram and communtiydevelopment has been es-tablished to provide four,six week courses annuallyinside Fulham prison.The Community Develop-

ment Officer spent twoweeks in March workingwith Anglican Board of Mis-sions and Uniting OneWorld to deliver a series offive conferences for yearsnine to 12 students in Syd-ney, Brisbane, Perth, Ade-laide and Melbourne. The conferences high-

lighted the progress madeon the world millenniumdevelopment goals and fa-cilitated discussions aboutwhat comprise good com-munity development.

ABOVE: Representing Sale parish at Gippsland’s synod were Pene Brook, JosefSestokas, Pam Schmack, Julie Irving, Don Saines and Julie Lanham.


Mission to allat Cathedral



THE President of Mothers’Union Gippsland, KarinMcKenzie (right), com-mended Jeanette Severs forher ongoing, committedcoverage of MU in TheGippsland Anglican; a cov-erage which is remarkablefor Anglican dioceses, Karinsaid, presenting the annualMU report to Synod.In Karin’s report, high-

lights of MU Gippsland weremany. This year, MU Gipps-land supported Kairos In-side, a ministry at Fulhamprison, by sponsoring aleader to Kairos 14, prayingduring the retreat and writ-ing notes of encouragementto participants. Kairos lead-ers will speak at June Join-in this year, on June 12 atNewborough.David Spitteler, from the

Asylum Seekers Centre atDandenong, spoke at lastyear’s June Join-in (at Mor-well), about assisting on-shore applicants for refugeestatus with material aid andreferrals to other agencies.The collection of food he re-ceived at the Morwell gath-ering was distributed thevery next day.Dr Michael Carr-Gregg’s

presentation at the MUFamily Forum in Octoberwas supported by morethan 200 people and thefeedback was all good. Thepartnership with St Paul’sAnglican Grammar Schoolwas much appreciated, aswas sponsorship from thediocese and others.The theme of MU Gipps-

land this year is ‘Bringingour gifts to vision 20/20’.Wendy Mayer, MU AustraliaEducation Coordinator,spoke at Lady Day celebra-tions at Sale about usingour gifts and talents forGod. An extensive reportcan be found in the Apriledition of The GippslandAnglican.MU Gippsland members

support the Overseas andNorthern Outreach MU Fundand allocations in 2013within Northern Australiaare: $12,000 to enableclergy and church workersto attend the second yearlyconference in Perth; $2000to support travelling ex-penses for the Bishop’swife, Christine Nelson, tovisit clergy wives and fami-lies.In the Northern Territory

diocese, $10,000 will en-sure regular support andtraining is offered to allclergy in remote communi-ties by ministry develop-ment officers andarchdeacons; $3675 willassist translating parts of

the prayer book into Kriol,to assist Indigenous clergy;$10,000 to help Indigenouswomen receive resourcebooks and attend transla-tion classes and pre-schoolmusic education programsin Geraldton and thewomen’s seminar for theBroome and Kimberley re-gions; $10,000 to enableMU executive members toattend conferences andmeetings in North Queens-land.The MU Australia overseas

project for 2013, which MUGippsland supports, is ‘Lit-eracy in Ethiopia’. This pro-gram will empower womenby equipping them withbasic literacy and numeracyskills. Gender barriers,poverty and ignorance willbe focal points, too, in thehope conditions in thehome and society as awhole will improve.MU Gippsland members

supported those people im-pacted by the fires lastsummer with pamperpacks.The MU family retreat will

be held again in September.Three families were invitedto the abbey last year andthe Langshaw family hostedthe retreat. The cost was$1575 and this was do-nated by MU members inGippsland.

Parish by parishCOWES branch made spe-

cial baptismal cards and aMU member will attendeach baptism service andpresent the card to the par-ents. Sprays and simnelcake were made for Moth-ers’ Day.Drouin branch heard from

Anne Connelly, sharing afilm about an English coun-try garden; and HeatherToms, speaking about herwork as a prison chaplain.

ABOVE: Bev Littlejohn,Beryl Brien and Jan Misi-urka, at Gippsland’s synodin May.ABOVE left: Karin McKen-zie, president of Mothers’Union Gippsland, presentedMU’s annual report tosynod.RIGHT: Tom Killingbeck andLyndon Phillips, spiritual di-rectors for Cursillo, atsynod. Lyndon also pre-sented the Cursillo reportto synod.


By Lyndon Phillips

AT Synod 2012, it was ex-pected two Cursillos wouldbe held during 2012. Unfor-tunately, I must advisethat, due to a lack of candi-dates for the Men’s Cursillo,the secretariat determinedto cancel the weekend.Secretariat was apprecia-tive of the team’s commit-ment to re-schedule Men’sCursillo to April 4 to 7. Again, it was cancelled

due to the limited numberof candidates, lack of a sec-ond spiritual advisor andunavailability of some teammembers. There are noplans for Cursillo weekendsto be held during the 2013calendar year.During the past 12

months, Ultreyas were heldat Traralgon and Drouin. Atthe Ultreya held in April atSt James’, Traralgon, wefarewelled Liz Hall who hasfilled the role of lay co-di-rector and secretary of Cur-sillo, Gippsland for the pastfive years. Jeff Richardsonand Amy Turner were de-commissioned from theirroles of spiritual directors of

Cursillo, Gippsland. We thank each of these

people for their willing andcommitted service to theCursillo Movement in Gipp-sland. Jennifer Merriel was com-

missioned into the role oflay co-director and secre-tary with Tom Killingbeckand Lyndon Phillips com-missioned into the role ofspiritual advisors. Unfortunately, due to a

change in leadership andalso a mis-communicationregarding dates, AnglicanCursillo, Gippsland was notin attendance at the Na-tional Gathering which washeld in Perth, West Aus-tralia. The main focus of theNational Gathering was theneed to re-address the fun-damentals of Cursillo, in-cluding developing newvisions for Cursillo in Aus-tralia.Communication with

parish co-ordinators re-mains an ongoing issue, asis recruiting people to serveas members of the servantcommunity and on secre-tariat. We are thankful toLindsay McKay and JenniferMerriel for their willingness

to serve by taking on theshared role of lay co-direc-tor; and Tom Killingbeckand Lyndon Philips for theirwillingness to serve as spir-itual directors. This year, Julie Bruce has

continued in the role oftreasurer. We continue toseek people to take on roleson secretariat and servantcommunity, as many mem-bers are filling multipleroles.Secretariat is keen to fill

the role of ARCO publisher;due to health concerns, BobTutty is finding it difficult tofulfil this role; we thankBob for his diligence in fill-ing this onerous task. ARCOis emailed, with the distri-bution of hard copies beingthe responsibility of parishcoordinators.It should be noted that

Cowwarr, the youth versionof Cursillo in Gippsland, re-mains in recess. It is hopedthis will be revived in thenear future.We appeal for people in-

terested in serving as partof a servant community, tocome forward and supportCursillo with their gifts andskills.

Cursillo and UltreyasSpeaker encourages people to bring their gifts and skills to serve

MU membersserve withgrace and faith

continued next page



158/13 Bishop-in-Councilreport:Resolved that this synod re-ceives the report of theBishop-in-Council coveringthe work of the councilsince the last session ofsynod.Proposed Action: No actionrequired.159/13 2011/12 Annual Ac-counts of the diocese:Resolved that this synodadopts the diocesan ac-counts for the year2011/12.Proposed Action: No actionrequired.160/13 2013/14 Diocesanbudget:Resolved that the diocesanbudget for 2013/14 beadopted.Proposed Action: Bishop-in-Council to implement thebudget.161/13 BIC/5 Resolution155/12 – overseas andAboriginal missions:That in response to synodresolution 155/12, thissynod accepts the advice ofBishop-in-Council that:It is not appropriate to putAboriginal ministry supporttogether with support foroverseas missions notingthat the diocese has madeconsiderable financial con-tributions to aboriginal min-istry in the diocese from thediocesan budget.In relation to overseas mis-sions the view is expressedthat:It is not a function of thediocese to contribute tooverseas missions as it is acentral service organisationsupporting parish ministryand that it is the role ofparishes to support mis-sions;If the diocese was to in-clude an item in the budgetfor this purpose then parishcontributions would need toincrease as a consequence.

162/13 The abbey:The synod welcomes thesignificant progress of theabbey made in the previous12 months towards the im-plementation of the dioce-san vision for A’BeckettPark:Encourages the work of thechapter, recognises thecontribution of the abbeyparish of Paynesville. Commends the abbey as akey component and expres-sion of the diocesan strat-egy and recognises itscontribution to the diocesancall to explore differentways of being church.Encourages individuals andchurches to make their con-tribution to this diocesanmission through: friends,volunteers, participation inthe abbey program, use ofthe site, overnight stays.Notes with pleasure thatthe planning permit hasbeen issued by the EastGippsland Shire and ea-gerly anticipates the pro-posal for next stagedevelopments at the site tograsp the opportunity formission afforded by theoriginal vision.Proposed Action: Bishop-in-Council to continue to takethe matter forward to-gether with the abbeychapter. Parishes have beenadvised through synodmembers.163/13 Bishop’s presiden-tial address:Mrs Val Jones moved thatthe Bishop be thanked forhis Presidential Address toSynod.Proposed Action: TheBishop has noted the mo-tion.164/13 The strategic plan:That this synod notesprogress and commendsthe direction being takentowards the implementa-tion of a strategic plan for

2013-18 and encouragesthe bishop to implementthe plan by 1 July, 2013.Proposed Action: Thebishop to take the matterforward.165/13 Solar power:Resolved that this synod re-quests Bishop-in-Council toappoint a working party toassist parish councils inter-ested in installing solarpower with a view to pro-viding a project specifica-tion for each parish.Proposed Action: Bishop-in-Council to appoint a work-ing party.166/13 Social media guide-lines:Resolved that this synod:(a) requests Bishop inCouncil to prepare, as amatter of priority, a set ofguidelines for the use of so-cial media by parishionersin leadership positionswithin Parishes; and(b) further requestsBishop-in-Council to publishsuch guidelines for the in-formation of Anglicanswithin the diocese as soonas possible.Proposed Action: Bishop-in-Council to arrange for the

preparation of guidelines.167/13 Professional Stan-dards:Resolved that this synod:Adopts the amended Powerand Trust protocol (2005);andRequests the ProfessionalStandards Committee, orsuch other body as theBishop-in-Council may de-termine, review the ques-tionnaires set out on pages40-44 andConsult with parish coun-cils, clergy and paid churchworkers, thenSuggest a revised set ofquestionnaires for adoptionby this synod; andRecommend same to Gen-eral Synod for adoption;andAdds the following words toSection 3A.1 of the Powerand Trust Protocol as a finalsentence:“All safe ministry question-naires, where there are‘yes’ answers to any ques-tion, be presented to theSafe Ministry Administra-tion Committee for consid-eration before any finaldecision on the appropri-ateness of licensing of any

particular person be ap-proved or denied.”Proposed Action: Bishop-in-Council to determine theway forward.168/13 Diocesan data toassist parishes:That the diocese circulatesan analysis of significanttrends in all its numericdata in order to help eachparish understand its widercontext.Proposed Action: Bishop-in-Council to clarify the scopeof this task.169/13 Aboriginal ministry:That this synod resolves toask Bishop-in-Council to es-tablish a working group toexplore viable ways of en-suring the ongoing financialsustainability of Aboriginalministry into the long-termfuture including the use ofor the sale of unused land.170/13 Motion of Apprecia-tion:Resolved that this synodexpresses its appreciationto:[The various people and or-ganisations involved in set-ting up and running synodwere thanked. Letters weresubsequently written.]

from previous page

East Gippsland branchheld a service of holy com-munion in the bush outsideBruthen. At another meet-ing, a policewoman spokeabout the Special YouthTarget Force.Leongatha branch held a

well-attended lunch withSue Jacka as guest speakerand a film night, showingFireproof, a story ofrestoration within a domes-tic relationship.Several times a year, Maf-

fra branch serves afternoontea at the local aged-carefacility and their Christmasfair raises funds for theirparish, selling Christmascakes and puddings, craftand sundry goods.Moe branch uses St

Patrick’s day as their mainfundraiser. Cleaning brassand supporting all parishactivities is their regularfocus.Morwell branch members

enjoy fellowship throughchurch catering, visiting atthe nursing home, flowerarranging and workingbees. Baptismal folders andbooks are given to the re-cently baptised.Newborough branch has

enjoyed studying the ‘Faith-ful Relationship’ theme,learning how to recogniseand experience God’s faith-ful presence. Membershosted Elizabeth and heardher story as a Sudanesewoman.Warragul branch members

knit beanies and rugs forAnglicare and the Youth for

Christ centre. They madespecial laminated book-marks with the names ofchurch families on them;these are kept in bibles andprayer notes as a reminderto pray. A DVD sale raisedmoney for the MU familyretreat fund.Wonthagg i / Inve r l o ch

branch sent a donation tothe Joyce Erbs Fund, inmemory of esteemed latemembers, May Brooks,Norma Johnston and HazellCatell. This fund givesmusic scholarships to Gipp-sland Grammar and StPaul’s Anglican Grammarschools. Members also help with

the weekly communitymeal at their church, whichfeeds more than 100 peopleon some nights.

ABOVE: Fran Grimes, Wendy McBurnie and Tim Fletcher, at synod, held this year at StAnne’s campus of Gippsland Grammar, in Sale.


The resolutionspassed at Synod

June 2013 Our Diocese - Commemorating 110 years of diocesan news 17


By Jeanette Severs

THE Church News changedshape to a broadsheet withthe publication of the May1942 issue. WL McSped-den, rector of Drouin, wasthe editor and assistant ed-itor was WJB Clayden, rec-tor of Bairnsdale.This was the issue an-

nouncing the appointmentof Donald Burns Blackwoodas the third Bishop of Gipp-sland and the close toBishop Cranswick’s episco-pate. Blackwood was achaplain in the AustralianInfantry Forces duringWorld War I and wasawarded the Military Cross. He would have been a

good choice for a large ruraldiocese such as Gippslandwith its history of militaryservice and the many cler-gymen from the region whoserved as armed serviceschaplains in both wars. Blackwood was a rector in

Hobart from 1924 until hisappointment as bishop ofGippsland. He also had un-derstanding and experienceof remote communities,both in Tasmania and withhis daughter and her familyin Western Australia, hiswar experience and his sonstill enlisted.In the February 1943

issue, a report on the 50thanniversary of St Thomas’Toora contained recollec-tions from Harry Alpin, 82,a resident: “I cut the scrubfrom off the church block,”he said.The January 1944 issue

listed McSpedden as editorstill, but JD Sansom, rectorof Leongatha, had becomeassistant editor.Of note was coverage of

Miss Constance Tisdall’sfarewell from St Anne’safter 10 years’ devotedservice as principal. “Underher guidance, St Anne’s hasnot only become estab-lished but has the reputa-tion of being one of the bestgirls’ schools in Victoria,”according to the newspaperreport.The bishop endorsed these

words and announced MissLorna Sparrow as her suc-cessor. He also wrote therewould be three graduates ofthe school on the teachingstaff and a kindergartenleader at the start of theyear.The summer of 1944 also

saw the first Gippslandsummer school for clergyand teachers, held at StAnne’s between Christmasand New Year.This summer was also a

bad one for bush fires overtwo months and loss of life,stock and property at Mor-well, Rosedale, Yallourn,Yarram and districts sur-roundings Sale and Traral-gon.

Bishop Blackwood wroteabout his own journeythrough the fire affected re-gions and encouragedchurch people to serve onthe committees responsiblefor allocating assistance, toensure that everyone wastreated equally and thesame assistance was givento each person affected bythe fires, irrespective of cir-cumstance.Sister May, one of the

Deaconesses, was also ac-tive in visiting and minister-ing with people affected bythe fires.The March 1944 issue in-

cluded news of the conse-cration of Geoffrey FCranswick, in WestminsterAbbey, as Bishop of Tasma-nia. He was the brother ofGippsland’s second bishop,George Harvard Cranswick,now chairman of AustralianBoard of Missions.As Gippslanders came to

terms with the latest bush-fires, there were still re-ports of locals lost in war. InWelshpool, Mr and MrsThomas Truscott heardtheir second son was lost inan air battle over Germany,one year after hearing theiryoungest son was killed inaction in New Guinea. Bothyoung men were members,from childhood, of St Paul’sWelshpool.The April 1944 issue re-

ported Les Fletcher, ofYarragon, a member ofTrafalgar parish, won ascholarship for a course inscience at Melbourne Uni-versity; the scholarship re-sults from a recent bequestby the late Davydd Lewis,of the parish.The September 1944 issue

led with a long article about‘the role of women now andin the post war world’ andsuggested the time for con-sidering this was past.However, the author (theeditor, AE Clark, of War-ragul), unequivocally statedthe role of woman was inthe home; conceding that

recent years showedwomen could also interestthemselves “in numerousspheres of usefulness andinfluence”, so long as it wasin voluntary roles, not paidwork.Clark goes on to write that

physical work was not goodfor women, not becausethey could not do it but be-cause physically they arebuilt for more taxing work:the procreation of thehuman race and thereforethey should care for theirbodies and not waste en-ergy in other endeavors. Of the women who do not

marry, he suggests “theycan be most helpful wherethey can retain the truecharm of womanhood”which he still believes is as“a Home Maker; when sheceases to be this, then itwill be a sorry old world inwhich to live”. [It is interesting to read

these actual words writtenas beliefs in a reflectivesense in 2013; Editor.]December 1944 saw the

consecration of St James’church at Orbost, describedas having a picturesquesetting near the SnowyRiver. Of not is the tower,erected to honor war serv-ice of men in the district.At synod 1945, Bishop

Blackwood, in his presi-dent’s charge, wrote: “Thehardest trial is the anti-reli-gious and demoralising ef-fects of a long war: theperplexity and despair anddissolute morals.” The time for a recall to

faith was of great need, hefelt. “The spiritual declineconstitutes our challengetoday,” he wrote.He challenged the diocese

to build 30 small churchesin country centres acrossGippsland and larger cen-tres in the large towns, toprovide a place that “canmore easily be the gate ofheaven”, a place for Sundayschools, youth buildingsand sanctuaries. He alsocautioned that many recto-ries in the diocese “are notworthy of our church”.

He announced building akindergarten and prepara-tory school would shortlybegin at Warragul, by Mrand Mrs AJ Harris, in mem-ory of their late daughter,Elizabeth Dulcie Harris. Itwas subsequently opened,fully furnished by the Har-ris’s, in May 1949.“This is a fine example.

The challenge of our day isto go forward in thechurch’s educational work,to build a strong spiritualfoundation in the lives ofthe oncoming generation.” He stated the buildings

needed to be supplementedwith consecrated men andwomen to provide educa-tion.The November 1945 issue

of The Church News in-cluded an advertisement forSt Anne’s Sale: the Councilof the school continued tooffer one full and two halfscholarships for entry eachyear.The newspapers of 1946

contained information

Blackwood one of Christ’s soldiersContinuing our look back at Gippsland diocese: this month, the decade 1944 to 1953

ABOVE: Communion service, St Matthew’s Bruthen, 1944.BELOW: Tarraville church, 1947.

Photos: Diocesan archive

ABOVE: Miss Lorna Sparrow.

continued next page

18 Our Diocese - Commemorating 110 years of diocesan news June 2013


from previous page

about the Christian SocialOrder Movement and itsfocus on welcoming sol-diers, war workers and pris-oners of war back to theirhome parishes and how tomeet their spiritual needs.The August 1946 issue

mentioned Reverend GWEdwards, vicar of Bass, hadan accident which causedhim to lose one of his eyes.In Sale parish, a memorialto the late Archdeacon JHBlundell was dedicated inthe Cathedral by BishopBlackwood. The memorial isa blackwood sedilia, withkneeling rail to match,placed in the sanctuary forthe use of the clergy.The September 1946 issue

of The Church News saw itsreturn to a much smallerformat and a different lay-out. AE Clark was still theeditor. It contained thenews the bishop was ap-pointing a committee toarrange for observance ofthe centenary, in 1947, of“the church’s ministrationsin Gippsland”.It will be in conjunction

with publication of Clark’shistory of ‘100 years ofChurch Life in Gippsland’, awork he had researched forthe past two years and duefor publication in April1947.The October 1946 news-

paper heralded a new gen-eration in printing. Thefront page was almost cov-ered with a photograph of“Early Church Leaders:Very Rev. Dean Vance, Ad-ministrator Diocese of Mel-bourne; Bishop Armstrongof Wangaratta; Bishop Lan-gley, Bendigo. Seated:Bishop Payne, First Bishopof Gippsland, 1902.”So began a focus on using

the front page to show alithograph or photograph ofinterest.Included in this issue was

a report of more than 50Sunday school teachersgathering at St John’s hall,Yallourn, for a conference.Bishop Blackwood opened

the conference and Miss BLGlascodine, organiser ofSunday schools in Mel-bourne diocese, outlined“the aims and motives ofteaching” and set the tonefor the conference atten-dees.The article stated the gen-

eral opinion the conferenceshould become an annualevent “and so help developthe work”.In other news, there was

an announcement the an-nual summer school for ed-ucators and teachers wouldnot be held in 1946/47 andintending participants wereencouraged to attend thedeanery conference for fel-lowship and instruction.The November 1946 issue

began a new Children’sPage, with ‘Paula’ responsi-ble for girls and ‘Tim’ re-sponsible for boys. Theywere to be contactedthrough Rev. HarveyBrown, rector of Yallourn.This issue also saw the ap-

pointment of a new editor,JH Brown, who commendedhis predecessor for steeringthe newspaper through, inparticular, the war years.The May 1947 issue saw a

report from DeaconessLucia Koska, from March, ofthe diocesan youth organi-sation. She wrote of hervisits to various parishesand links with Mothers’Union, Ladies’ Guild andclergy and donations to theMail Bag Sunday school.She encouraged a focus onproviding a suitable vehicleto reach the children in out-lying areas.On July 26, 1947, a church

community hall was openedat Morwell. It was the firstchurch community centre inthe diocese and would fea-ture a children’s andyouth’s library. RWG Phillipsappealed for donations ofbooks.The first Anglican Boys

Camp to be held in the dio-cese since 1942, was heldon Raymond Island. OnJanuary 14, 1948, duringheavy rain, 93 boys, aged11 to 16, arrived for the

camp. What followed wassix days of “the most per-fect summer weather thatGippsland can produce”, al-lowing the full program ofswimming, games and con-certs, along with daily biblestudy, prayers and Sundayservices. “A cricket competition was

kept going throughout theperiod of the camp and waskeenly contested.”The December 1948 issue

of The Church News con-tained an article on mar-riage guidance, written byRev. FW Moyle. He was con-cerned that many coupleswho seek marriage guid-ance from the church, seekit too late and he wrotestrongly of the reasons whydivorce should be recom-mended.“I give it as my judgement

that there are some mar-riages, even where thereare children, which ought to

be ended chiefly becausethey ought never to havebeen begun. Marriage wasmade for man and woman,not man and woman formarriage. We have Christ’sauthority for refusing tosacrifice human beings andhuman needs to institu-tional requirements,” Moylewrote.He also strongly recom-

mends parent’s take re-sponsibility for teachingtheir offspring the facts oflife truthfully, so they donot grow up with misper-ceived ideas of married life;and education for marriage,before marriage takesplace.“I attach more importance

to education before mar-riage than to any rescuework which some of us aretrying to do, often when itis too late,” he wrote.Dorothy James, diocesan

youth organiser, in her re-port, recommended youthleaders and Sunday schoolteachers attend the annualholiday workshop at StAnne’s, Sale, from Decem-ber 27 to January 4, 1949. She also recommended

the annual youth camps atRaymond Island, “for ladsand lassies from the ages of15 to 24”, for girls aged 11

to 15 and for boys, all to beheld during January 1949.The front page of March

1949 carried a photographof The Gippsland, a motorlaunch bought be thechurch people of Gippslandfor Reverend Hugh Andrew,a missionary in NewGuinea.In December 1949, Won-

thaggi’s young rector, WHChilds, made the metropol-itan newspapers, along withmany at the WonthaggiWorkmen’s Club, when heled Christmas carols onChristmas eve from the barof the club. There were 500miners jammed into thebar, drinking, but they allstopped when Childs begansinging and, baring theirheads, joined in, accordingto the report in The ChurchNews of February 1950.Childs also led them in the

Lord’s Prayer and spokeabout the Christmas festivalof the new baby.The June 1950 newspaper

announced the appoint-ment of RM Southey as as-sistant editor. JH Browncontinued as editor.On October 7 and 8, 1950,

was the dedication of win-dows at St John’s LangLang, in memory of fallen

ABOVE and below: Dedication service for the Elizabeth Dulcie Harris Kindergartenand Preparatory School, at Warragul, next to the church, built and furnished by Mrand Mrs AJ Harris in memory of their daughter.

Photos: Diocesan archive

ABOVE: Gippsland diocese still hadan active presence at Lake TyersAboriginal Mission. Sister WinifredHolton was at Lake Tyers as assis-tant chaplain, ministering particu-larly with the Koori women.

ABOVE: Henry, Mabel and Hilda Fenton and DotMobourne, after their confirmation service in1948, with Bishop Blackwood.

Photo: Diocesan archive

Lake Tyers

continued next page

June 2013 Our Diocese - Commemorating 110 years of diocesan news 19


from previous page

soldiers from local families.A number of old parish-ioners and their families at-tended the ceremony, ledby Bishop Blackwood. Rev.GJ Prickett, who was rectorduring World War I, wasable to attend and unveilthe window in the porch onOctober 7. The remainingwindows were dedicated onOctober 8.Bishop Blackwood spoke

about the need to look afterthe churches and meet theneeds of a growing popula-tion, as industry saw thebeginnings of rapid growthin the Latrobe Valley.In the November 1950

newspaper, the BushChurch Aid Society adver-tised it would pay the train-ing fees of men and womenwho wish to train as clergyand deaconesses.The year 1951 began with

Rev. Hugh Andrew, long-time missionary in NewGuinea, touring Gippslanddiocese and speaking abouthis work.Bishop Blackwood wrote

about his experience ofGeneral Synod, where theArchbishop of Canterburypreached the opening ser-mon and addressed the firstsession; and of his ownChristmas visits to Dargoand Waterford, where heattended parties for chil-dren; and the blessing ofthe fleet services at Port Al-bert and San Remo.The October 1951 news-

paper returned to the largerbroadsheet format and bet-ter photographs began tobe printed.Gippsland hosted the

Archbishop of York in late1951. The newspaper’sfront page of March 1952was a tribute to the lateKing George VI and the newQueen Elizabeth II : “It isbecause the King was soobviously a good man, aChristian both in belief andpractice, that he was ad-mired so much. It is be-cause the new Queenpossesses to the full thosesame qualities of sincerityand goodness”.The March 1952 newspa-

per congratulated the manyGippsland men who had

achieved in the AustralianCollege of Theology exami-nations the previous year.The August 1952 newspa-

per announced KBE Raffwas the new editor, whileRM Southey continued asassistant editor. Warraguldeanery formed a lay read-ers group in July to regu-larly meet for instructionand discussion.In his letter in The Church

News of December 1952,Bishop Blackwood wrotethat, although he some-times had to go outsideGippsland, he felt “abishop’s real work is mainlyin his own diocese, eventhough he is a bishop of thechurch of God”. He also wrote: “In duty

bound I felt it a privilege torepresent Gippsland at thesplendid services and func-tions” in connection withthese visits.The June 1953 newspaper

contained details of theproposed new nave (tocomfortably seat 200 peo-ple), sanctuary, baptisteryand vestries of St Peter’sLeongatha. The spire andstudy centre would be builtwhen funds permitted.A lay readers guild was to

be formed in Warraguldeanery. Extensions werecompleted to St John’sBoys’ Hostel in Bairnsdale,enabling more boys fromremote East Gippsland tolive in Bairnsdale and at-tend trade and high school.

ABOVE: Confirmees from St Aidan’s Newborough, with Bishop Blackwood, at St John’sYallourn, on August 30, 1953.BELOW: Bishop in Council members meet on site at Morwell to discuss the need for newchurches in the diocese as industrial development, particularly in the Latrobe Valley,saw a rapid growth in population. Bishop Blackwood said churches needed to providebuildings, sanctuaries, kindergartens, Sunday schools and community meeting places,to meet the people’s needs.

Photo: Diocesan archives

ABOVE: Bishop Blackwood.

LEFT: Archdeacon LWA andMrs Benn; he served asRegistrar, 1946 to 1952.ABOVE: In 1953, BeverleyAnne McFarlane at herchristening at St Columb’sSwan Reach, with her par-ents, Albert and Dorothy.

ABOVE: Sister May Lambert and a car to take her to visit isolated childrenand women with the Sunday school mailbag and Mothers’ Union material.

20 Our Diocese - Gippsland’s Synod Pictorial June 2013


2013110th year of The Gippsland Anglican diocesannewspaper

June1 Open day, Abbey of St Barnabas, A’Beckett Park,

Raymond Island; demonstrations of spinning, weaving, landcare, organic agriculture, chooks, sheep shearing, craft, jams, preserves; games for children; food to purchase; enquiries Ann Miller, 03 5144 3597, 0427 445866 or [email protected]

1 Anam Cara Community School for Prayer Day; Christ Church Drouin; 9.30am to 4pm; enquiries, Jane Macqueen, 0411 316346 or email [email protected]

3-5 Clergy conference, with Charles and Peta Sherlock12 Mothers’ Union June Join-in; 9.30am for 10am

service; Newborough; guest speaker, Tim Rock from Kairos

14-16 Residential writing workshop, Abbey of St Barnabas, Raymond Island; with Sue Fordham and Archdeacon Philip Muston

22 Basic Training Program for Volunteer Pastoral Care Visitors; St Paul’s Cathedral parish; RSVP 03 5144 2020; workshop 2, 10am to 12noon.

23-26 Quadratos in an Australian context (a retreat), Anam Cara Community; Pallotti College, Millgrove

27-29 Growth in Ministry intensive; Bishopscourt; Sale29 Anam Cara Community annual thanksgiving

eucharist; St Mary’s Morwell; 11am to 2.30pm; enquiries, Jane Macqueen, 0411 316346 or [email protected]

30 Jindivick Antique and Collectibles Fair; Jindivick hall; St James’ Ladies’ Guild fundraiser; 9.30am to 3.30pm; $3 entry; Fay, 03 5628 5229

July 6 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm;

enquiries, Jane Macqueen, 0411 316346 or email [email protected]

August3 Anam Cara Community School for Prayer Day; St

James’ Traralgon; 9.30am to 4pm; enquiries, Jane Macqueen, 0411 316346 or email [email protected]

8 Mary Sumner Day, Mothers’ Union 16 Clergy Wellbeing Day; Latrobe Convention Centre,

Traralgon17 Basic Training Program for Volunteer Pastoral Care

Visitors; St Paul’s Cathedral parish; RSVP 03 5144 2020; workshop 3, 10am to 12noon.

20 Mothers’ Union executive meeting, Morwell, 9.30am

22 Celebrating 50 years of Mothers’ Union at Leongatha; guest speaker Libby Cross, MU Australia president.

September7 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm;


8 Back to church Sunday13-15 Anam Cara Community retreat, Abbey of St

Barnabas, A’Beckett Park; ‘Living as a contempla-tive in the world’; enquiries, Jane Macqueen, 0411316346, [email protected]

17 Mothers’ Union Gippsland AGM, Warragul21 Basic Training Program for Volunteer Pastoral Care

Visitors; St Paul’s Cathedral parish; RSVP 03 5144 2020; workshop 4, 10am to 12noon.

30-Oct. 3 Clergy retreat; Pallotti College, Millgrove. TBC. (Alternate dates, October 14 to 17.)

OctoberSept. 30-Oct. 3 Clergy retreat; Pallotti College, Millgrove5 Anam Cara Community School for Prayer Day;

Bishopscourt, Sale; 9.30am to 4pm; enquiries, Jane Macqueen, 0411 316346 or email [email protected]

26 Basic Training Program for Volunteer Pastoral Care Visitors; St Paul’s Cathedral parish; RSVP 03 5144 2020; workshop 5, 10am to 12noon.

November2 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm;


Diocesan calendar

ABOVE: At synod, held atSt Anne’s campus of Gipps-land Grammar, at Sale,were Beth Delzoppo OAMrepresenting Neerim South,Rowena Armstrong AO,Chancellor of Synod andJohn Delzoppo OAM, Chair-man of Committees.RIGHT: Bill Davies andRoger Jackman talkingabout the far east of thediocese.RIGHT: Greg Magee andAmy Turner.


LEFT: BruceCharles and Mar-garet Hancock.BELOW left: ErenaLawrence and EricKent.BELOW: PhyllisAndy.

Photos: JeanetteSevers

The Gippsland Anglican, June 2013

Documents

Transcript of The Gippsland Anglican, June 2013