'The Gippsland Anglican' March 2013

Volume 110, Number 2 March 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.

Waiting for cake atNeerim South

0

Ministry withMothers’ Union

Page 8

The reason forShrove

Page 9

First intern atthe Abbey ofSt Barnabas

2 Our Diocese - The Abbey of St Barnabas at A’Beckett Park March 2013

The Gippsland Anglican

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

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IndexFirst intern at abbey 2

Bishop’s message 3

Reconciliation 4,5

Vale, Jim 6

Diocesan calendar 6

Ambassadors on PI 7

Mothers’ Union 8

Shrove Tuesday 9

Parish news 10

Feeding donkeys 11

Writing workshop 12

Bunyip 110 13

Climate change now 14

Heart meditation 14

The news, 1914-1923 15-17

Emergence Christianity 18

Women’s footprints 18

The bible in V8 racing 19

Memorial windows 20

LOUISE Burgess, a youngwoman from Bristol, Eng-land, has just completed afour month internship atthe Abbey of St Barnabas,on Raymond Island. She isnow on the next leg of heradventures in Australia.During the past four

months, Louise made agreat contribution to theabbey, working with SueGibson in reception, organ-ising accommodation book-ings and welcoming guestsand attending to their vari-ous needs. Louise sorted cupboards,

attended to laundry andspent days cleaning andsetting up for the groupswho used the facilities dur-ing the summer months. Louise teamed up with

Lydia Jacka, Sam Wong andStan Radford to plant treesand just recently the fouryoung people spent about aweek together painting theIllawarra conference room(see page one).Louise’s photography work

is now displayed on the

newly painted walls inIllawarra (above) and shehas left the abbey with aportfolio of photographs.

Contributor: Edie Ashley

SEE the diocesan calendarin this issue of The Gipps-land Anglican for more ac-tivities on at the Abbey ofSt Barnabas.

Next month, an Easteryouth camp at the abbey,from April 9 to 12. Activitieswill be organised for 11 to17 year olds.A photography workshop

will be offered from April 19to 21, led by Robert McKay.From May 10 to 12, June

Treadwell will lead partici-pants in an investigation

into the dark ages and therole of monasteries in pre-serving history, including il-luminated manuscripts. The Anam Cara Commu-

nity is hosting two retreatsat the abbey, May 24 to 26and September 13 to 15. For further details about

workshops and retreats,telephone 03 5156 5680.

The first Abbey intern

GIPPSLAND ANGLICAN AGED CARE LTD

GENERAL MANAGER Gippsland Anglican Aged Care Ltd is seeking a General Manager to manage and develop the operations of the Villages at Clifton Waters Village, Bairnsdale and Botterill Court, Morwell. The successful applicant will be a strategic planner, self-motivator and have business acumen. They will bring personal qualities that promote a positive working environment for staff and a relaxed and enjoyable living environment for the residents. Qualifications in Business Management/Accounting and experience in the retirement village sector would be an advantage. Active membership of a Christian community is desirable. For further information and position description contact: Chairman, Gippsland Anglican Aged Care Ltd. Attn: The Rector PO Box 667 Bairnsdale VIC 3850 Telephone 03 5152 3133 Email [email protected]

POSITION VACANT

ANGLICAN PARISH OF NEWBOROUGH/YALLOURN NORTH

PRIEST (0.5 EFT)

The Anglican Parish of Newborough/Yallourn North, incorporating Erica, Rawson and Walhalla, is seeking a priest for a part-time vacancy (0.5 EFT), which has recently become available.

For information regarding this position, please direct inquiries to the Parish Secretary, Mrs Jan Misiurka, telephone 03 5127 1879 or email [email protected]

POSITION VACANT

ON February 16, BishopJohn McIntyre and mem-bers of the Anam CaraCommunity (ACC) leader-ship team launched the2013 School for Prayer(SfP) program at Bishop-scourt. ACC soul carer, JaneMacqueen, provided an in-troduction to SfP and to theday’s theme ‘Prayer andBeing Human’, followed bymorning worship in thechapel. SfP is a year long program

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

In the morning session,Bishop John presented thefirst of two talks on prayer,using a reflection on thereadings from Transfigura-tion Sunday. Bishop Johnsaid: “To pray is to came face to

face with God. Face to facewith God, we are transfig-ured into the fullness of ourhumanity. To pray is to betransfigured into Christ-likeness; to grow in theSpirit; to discover our iden-tity as fully human in JesusChrist.”Bishop John quoted

William Butler Yeats’ po-etry: “I’m looking for theface I had before the worldwas made”.

“Whether Yeats meant itor not, it is a beautifulimage of prayer. Our trueidentity as created by Godis being recovered by Godin Christ through the powerof the Spirit each time wepray,” he said.In Bishop John’s second

talk in the afternoon, hequoted from spiritual writerHenri Nouwen’s bookReaching Out and encour-aged us to use the ‘JesusPrayer’ as one powerful wayof praying. Bishop John provided at-

tendees with written hand-outs summarising hisreflections. It was a very appropriate

way to begin the year-long

SfP program, dovetailing asit does with the diocesanstrategic plan in a Year ofPrayer in 2013. The next SfP day will be at

St Paul’s Cathedral in Saleon April 6, 9.30am to3.30pm. Reverend AnneTurner will lead the day onthe theme ‘Praying theScriptures,’ a day when wewill have many opportuni-ties to practise creativeways of praying the scrip-tures. (See diocesan calen-dar for more information.)For more information and

to hear the audio recordingof Bishop John’s reflec-tions, go to the SfP websiteat www.schoolforprayer

Contributor: Brian Turner

ACC discerning Year of Prayer 2013

Tenders, addressed to the secretary, are invited for one or more pews, in existing condition, located at the former St Peter s Anglican Church, Won Wron. Tenders to be posted to Parish Secretary, PO Box 3; Yarram, 3971. Tenders close at 4pm, Friday, April 12, 2013. The successful tenderer/ tenderers will be contacted after acceptance by Parish Council. Inspection by appointment. Contact, telephone 03 5182 6631 or 03 5182 5117. M Stackhouse, Parish Secretary.

March 2013 Our Diocese - Bishop John’s message 3


I BELIEVE prayer is ab-solutely vital to our journeytogether in ministry andmission. Because of this, Iwant to continue to reflecton prayer with you. But,most importantly, I con-tinue to call you to prayconstantly.Luke’s Gospel informs us

that it was in prayer thatJesus was transfigured(Luke 9:28-36). He tookPeter, John and James upthe mountain to pray.Now you would be pro-

foundly mistaken if youthought the transfigurationof Jesus was the manifesta-tion of his divinity. On thecontrary, it is the manifes-tation of the glory of thefullness of his humanity.This in no way denies thedivinity we ascribe to Jesus,but Luke’s emphasis here ison the fullness of his hu-manity. He reinforces this inpointing out also the hu-manity of Moses and Elijah,who appear with Jesus inthis glorious vision.The glory of the humanity

of Jesus is revealed as heprays. Prayer is the contextin which his humanity is re-vealed in all its fullness. Thekey point here is that asJesus, Moses and Elijahstand face to face with Godin prayer, they are all seenin the fullness of their hu-manity; and their full hu-manity is a glorious thing,for it is in and through thembeing fully human thatGod’s will is done in theworld, for them and forthose to whom they minis-ter.The story of the transfigu-

ration of Jesus informs usabout how to pray as well.Luke’s account of it is full ofJewish imagery. This im-agery indicates reflectionon scripture critical to ourprayer life. As we reflectprayerfully on scripture, sowe learn the will of God inand through prayer. Prayeris certainly not just aboutus talking to God. It is firstand foremost about us lis-tening to God to learn howwe should be and what weshould do to fulfil God’spurpose in the world.Using this Jewish imagery,

Luke wants us to under-stand that, as an integralpart of praying, Jesus andthe three disciples were re-flecting on ‘The Law and theProphets’, the term Jesusoften uses to refer to thescriptures. This is whatJewish people do in theFeast of Tabernacles, wherethey also recall the eventsof the Exodus, including theestablishment of the

covenant between them-selves and God, giventhrough Moses at MountSinai.So, while Jesus and the

disciples are reflecting onthe Law and the Prophets,the Lawgiver Moses and theProphet Elijah are seen bythe disciples to be in con-versation with Jesus. Lukealso tells us they are speak-ing of Jesus’ Exodus or de-parture, recalling God’ssaving act in the Exodusand in the establishment ofthe Mosaic covenant andpointing to God’s saving actin Jesus and the establish-ment of the new covenantthrough him.All of this makes Peter’s

response understandable.He suggests the building of‘tabernacles’ for Jesus,Moses and Elijah. What bet-ter opportunity to hear andlearn about God’s will? Thisis a chance to truly hearGod’s law and prophecyfrom those through whom itwas originally imparted totheir forebears.The climax of Luke’s ac-

count comes with the voiceof God emerging from thecloud, in Jewish imagerysignifying the presence ofGod. “This is my Son, myChosen; listen to him”.

When the voice has spoken,Jesus stands alone. Themessage is clear. If the dis-ciples want to know whatGod is saying to them, allthey need do is listen toJesus. This now is an affir-mation of the divinity ofChrist. If you want to comeface to face with God and inprayer to learn from God,you do so in and throughJesus Christ.In writing to the

Corinthian Christians, Paulincludes all of us in thetransfiguration of Jesus.Standing face to face withGod, as God is revealed inJesus Christ, we too arebeing ‘transfigured’ into theglory of our humanity, ascreated in the image ofGod. Paul sees this as thework of the Spirit in andthrough prayer (2 Corinthi-ans 3:18). In prayer, weenter into the presence ofGod. In the presence ofGod we are transformedinto the fullness of our hu-manity. To pray is to behuman.This is what it means to

pray in the name of Jesus.It is to pray in reflection onGod’s Word as we see thatWord in Jesus Christ, towhom the scriptures bearwitness. In prayer we come

to discern what it means tobe fully human in the wayJesus was fully human andwe receive that humanityas gift. In prayer we growin the Spirit into Christ-like-ness. In prayer we arebeing transfigured into thefullness of our humanity. Inprayer we are being recre-ated into the image of God,that image that was fullyrevealed in Jesus Christ. Inprayer we become thosethrough whom God is atwork in the life of the worldtoday.The Irish poet, WB Yeats,

has a delightful way of ex-pressing this quest to befully human, to be renewedinto the image of God. Ithink it is a beautiful imagefor prayer, in which we are

being transfigured into thefullness of our humanity inJesus Christ. He says: “I’mlooking for the face I hadbefore the world wasmade”. We find that ‘face’ inprayer. In finding it, we be-come instruments of God’speace in God’s world.

Year of Prayervital for journey

Right Reverend John McIntyreBishop of Gippsland

Art Exhibition 2013

Friday 19 April to Sunday 21 April

.

Artists of any medium are invited

to submit works on the theme

Creative Spirit .

All details available online at bass-phillipis.gippsland-anglican.org

or telephone 03 5952 2508

This art exhibition is part of the Creative Spirit Festival weekend

Church, Cowes.

Creative Spirit Festival

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4 Our Diocese - Perspective March 2013


By Justin Welby

Ruth 1:15-18, Luke 10:29-37

IT IS a pleasure beyonddescription to be back inthis wonderful Cathedral,where I have fallen asleepso often. The worst timewas when leading even-song, which is very visible.I slipped over sideways andwoke as the Magnificatended. As I woke, I won-dered if I could pretend thiswas merely an unusual po-sition for prayer, but the sti-fled laughter by the vergersoon stopped any pretence. As usual, each time I

come in the breath-takingand austere beauty ofstructure ruined and rebuiltcatches my imaginationafresh. In the golden an-niversary service last year,Rowan Williams preachedmemorably on the concretetext around us. Yet there is an irony, for

the symbol stands as one ofthe greatest Cathedrals ofan age for Christianchurches that appears toooften to think the words“Father forgive” are mereformality. In blunt terms,we have this conference be-cause conflict is so muchpart of our lives. That is all wrong. I do not

mean conflict is wrong, butour fear of it, our sense ofit being wasted time and ef-fort, is wrong. So often weseek like mindedness so wecan get on with the job ofworship, of making disci-ples, of serving otherhuman beings. Becauseconflict in the church is timeconsuming and destructive,we turn from facing it andinstead seek those withwhom we agree. In Indiana, there is a town

called New Harmony. It isthe rebuilt Harmony, whichfell into disrepair when theoriginal Harmonists fell outand left. It is the spirit ofmuch Christianity: make anew frontier when things donot work out with every-one, move on with thosewho agree; again andagain. Conflict arises from the di-

versity in which we havebeen created. When weseek to find a way of lifethat avoids it we deny thethree realities of our fallen-ness, our present diversity,and the tension betweenthe realised present andanticipated salvation of ourfutures. Reality is lived as part of a

people united by the factthey call on God. Ruth andNaomi were exiles, first onethen the other, economic

migrants whose suffering ismatched by many of thosewho seek new lives today. Caught up in famine and

war, families destroyed bydisease, they come to across roads. Ruth’s unitywith Naomi is establishedby the words “your God willbe my God”. From that mo-ment on, a moment ofchoice in love, respondingto love, they are one farmore deeply than as familyin Moab. That is passive unity,

being part of the one fam-ily. But when we call on Godhe “calls us to his side asheralds of reconcilia-tion”[1]. There is active co-operation with the life ofGod in our lives now. Welive and we serve. Therecognition by the Samari-tan of the other as hisneighbour leads to action,not mere existence. He be-comes a herald of reconcili-ation.In the old expression, we

can choose our friends butwe are stuck with our fam-ily. So, by calling on God weare bound into a fellowshipof being heralds of the rec-onciliation we have re-ceived. We had better getused to it because it lastsfor ever. In 1980 and 1981, Caro-

line and I were involved in

taking bibles to Eastern Eu-rope, then under Commu-nist and Soviet domination.The two trips we madewere remarkable, becausethrough them we metChristians of all denomina-tions and all sorts and per-sonalities. Very often wespoke neither their lan-guage nor shared their as-sumptions about the world.But we found ourselvesamongst family. I still recall clearly an

evening of total non-com-prehension and profoundfellowship on the sixth floorof a tower block with awoman and her friends whowere working with youth inthe local church. For thiscrime they were made tosuffer. We feasted on familyreunion as we responded tothe Spirit of God in each ofus. Reconciliation is recogni-

tion of diversity and atransformation of destruc-tive conflict to creativity. Itholds the tensions and chal-lenges of difference andconfronts us with them,forcing us to a new way oflife that accepts the powerand depth and radicality ofthe work of the Holy Spiritin our conversions. We speak often in foreign

policy of failed states, orfailing states. Their com-mon characteristic is the in-ability to manage diversityand grow with it, enabling itto change them signifi-cantly into better places.The core of the Americansense of exclusivism isoften found within that vo-cation of being a diverseand thriving nation. If the Church is not a place

of reconciliation it is notmerely hindering its mis-sion and evangelism, ap-palling as such hindrance is,but it is a failing or failedchurch. It has ceased to bethe miracle of diversity inunity, of the grace of Godbreaking down walls. But how do we escape the

reach of these demons? Be-cause by the grace of Godwe are defined as familywith a call to action in rec-onciliation, then we have tofind not only the call butalso the means of beingreconcilers, when our in-stincts and passions oftenlead us in the opposite di-rection. Circling the wagonsand self-defining as thosewho are of one mindagainst the rest of theworld has a noble feeling.Hollywood inspired, it givesus the feeling this is a good

day to die hard: hard ofheart and hard in action. By contrast the process of

reconciliation seems weakand unprincipled, alienatingus from everyone involvedin quarrel. It is a real workof grace, with all the ab-sence of gratitude for gracethat God Himself has expe-rienced. I find myself oftendoubting myself deeply:have I become totallywoolly, taken in by the nice-ness of bad people, trappedin an endless quest for illu-sory peace rather thantough answers. That is a question that all

involved in reconciliationshould be asked and heldaccountable to, but it is alsopart of the process. Bonho-effer, reflecting on the GoodSamaritan, speaks of “thecrooked yet straight path ofreconciliation”[2]. The Priest and the Levite

travelled straight on, theSamaritan turned aside. Hispath to the neighbor wasstraight to God. Grace filled reconciliation

begins with hospitality.Hospitality is a manyfaceted virtue, which re-flects the doctrine ofCatholic social teaching ofthe universal destination ofgoods. Because God offersenough for all, in our com-passion we share what wehave received as stewardsof a great gift. It is not amatter of calculation of po-tential return but of gratu-ity, of grace. “To understand another’s

distress as one’s own is torecognise the other as aneighbor, whether they arefamily, a friend or astranger”[3]. Grace is livedin lavish recognition of ourcommon receiving. TheSamaritan turns aside,recognises the stranger,tends and nurses him atrisk and cost and provides. Reconciliation is painful;

grace is something that issqueezed out of our mixedmotives. A church withwhich I worked had comenear to absolute division.The challenge was to find ameans of speaking truthsafely to each other. Thevicar and those who op-posed him were in manycases truly heroic in beingwilling to listen and willingto change. They saw the distress of

the other, recognised thecall of God and the de-mands of grace and re-sponded. But it was neitherquick nor universal. Grace

Reconciliation transformsIn the final Eucharist of the Faith in Conflict conference at Coventry Cathedral, the Archbishop ofCanterbury, Justin Welby, gave an address on the theme of reconciliation, describing it as “recog-nition of diversity and a transformation of destructive conflict to creativity. It holds the tensions andchallenges of difference and confronts us with them, forcing us to a new way of life that acceptsthe power and depth and radicality of the work of the Holy Spirit in our conversions”. The text ofhis address is included here.

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continued next page

March 2013 Our Diocese - Perspective 5


from previous page

crept into the cracks of thechurch and began to healthem and the space forgrace was opened by theirown knowledge of the loveof God. Pope Benedict XVI wrote:

“Awareness of God’s undy-ing love sustains us in ourlaborious and stimulatingwork for justice and the de-velopment of peoples, amidsuccesses and failures, inthe ceaseless pursuit of ajust ordering of human af-fairs. God’s love calls us tomove beyond the limitedand the ephemeral, it givesus the courage to continueseeking and working for thebenefit of all,”[4]. The failing church fails be-

cause it is not open to thelove of God. Success hasmany faces, but all of themare rooted in finding thelove of God at work in usand seeing it in others. The complexities of grace

are experienced not only inour inner resistance anddesire to circle the wagons,but also in grace having tobe expressed as we jour-ney. The Samaritan movedon and came back. Hisjourney and business con-tinued and yet he found thecrooked, straight path.Journeys are periods ofchanging context.

For me, the journey toparts of Africa, often made,is always a time of tension.The context will shift sorapidly between boardingthe aircraft and arrivingthat I feel fear and weak-ness, not of what I will findbut of the challenge ofadapting. A South African Islamic

scholar reflecting on theways of understandingtexts in times of oppressionwrote: “People’s lives arenot shaped by a text asmuch as shaped by thecontext”[5]. The church is called to ex-

press reconciliation on theroad together, in commonjourneying. We come to ourtexts and find massive dif-ferences in understanding,but as the recent Bible inthe Life of the Church re-port shows, context deeplyaffects how we understand.Ruth does not speak of un-derstanding but of journey:“where you go, I will go;where you lodge, I willlodge; your people shall bemy people and your God,my God.” Accepting we belong to

God together because ofHis action, determined toexpress the common gift ofgrace and the universalgoodness of what we havereceived, we journey to-gether with much difficulty.

We are many tribes, butone people. For that tohave any possibility of suc-cess, the journeying mustbe in truth, responding tothe Spirit of God in us call-ing to the Spirit of God ineach other. In journeying we must

speak to each other. Silenceis not peace. The QuakerFaith and Practice[6] booksays “by their silence theprogress of world peace hasstood still”; there is a needto name issues, to listenand to let go of fear. A German Quaker in 1958,

speaking with the experi-ence of a defeated and di-vided nation said: “Thesecret lies in the way inwhich truth is spoken”[7]. But speaking is not end-

less discussion. “Care for the sick and the

poor, hospitality tostrangers, educational ini-tiatives and peace-makingendeavours are all exam-ples of ways in which thechurch hosts the life to-gether of its neighboursand enables that life to bearwitness to its eschatologicalpossibilities”.[8] We are in a very demand-

ing, common journey andfear is an ever present real-ity. Fear is the opposite oftrust[9] and our context isone of fear, a context whichinfiltrates the church. We

do not trust the sciences onearth science, or the politi-cians, or the journalists orthe Bishops or the bankers. The absence of trust ren-

ders all decision making amatter of law and all lawsan attempt to cover everypossible contingency, acomplete impossibility in aworld of change and jour-ney. The possibilities open to a

church of reconciled recon-cilers are more than we canimagine. Reconciliationtouches every aspect of ourlives and society and everyaspect of our creation andliving in our world. We canbe reconcilers of the envi-ronment and natural order,of families and communi-ties, of economies and fi-nancial services, of familiesand nations. We willweather the issues of poli-tics and flourish in thestorms of societal change. If we can name and listen,

be in conflict but not de-struction, take the crookedstraight path of reconcilia-tion, we can establish apattern and model of trustfilled living drawing on thegrace of God, a model thatchanges the world. Cap-tured by the grace of Godthe church has done it be-fore, many times. Different yet feasting to-

gether we must be gluttons

of the grace of God, likechildren at a grand birthdayparty sharing messily whatwe have been given. Glut-tony and grace go togetherin worship to create trust,and the grace of the Eu-charist is where we begin.

References:[1] Karl Barth, ‘ChurchDogmatics’, IV, 3.2 page607, ISBN 0 567 09044 2,T & T Clark 1962 [2] Dietrich Bonhoeffer,‘Life Together’, FortressPress 1996, ISBN 0-8006-8305-6, page 100 [3] Luke Bretherton, ‘Hos-pitality as Holiness’, Ash-gate 2006, page 127, ISBN0-7546-5372-2 [4] Caritas in Veritate, 2009para 78 [5] Farid Esack, ‘Qur’an Lib-eration & Pluralism’,Oneworld 1997, page 44,ISBN 1-85168-121-3 [6] 1995, 2005, YearlyMeeting of the Religious So-ciety of Friends (Quakers)in Britain, para 1.2.32,ISBN 0-85245-375-2 [7] Idem para 24.34 [8] Bretherton op. cit. page150 [9] Kurt Cardinal Koch,‘Trust as the basic attitudein a Culture of Humanity’,Cambridge Lecture at theWoolf Institute in St Ed-munds College, Cambridge,26 February 2013

conflicts into creativityIf we can name and listen, be in conflict but not destruction, take the crooked straight path ofreconciliation, we can establish a pattern and model of trust ... the church has done it before.

6 Our Diocese - Features March 2013


2013110th year of The Gippsland Anglican diocesan newspaper

March1 ‘Australian Voices’ performance at Cowes2 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm; enquiries Jane Macqueen,

0411 316346 or [email protected] Mothers’ Union Lady Day; St Paul’s Cathedral Sale; 10am; guest speaker,

Marilyn Oulds, Worldwide Mothers’ Union; BYO lunch25 Catholic v Anglican and others Golf Day, Sale Golf Club; Registry office, 03

5144 204426 Renewal of ordination vows and Blessing of oils service; St Paul’s

Cathedral, Sale; 11.30am to 3.30pm; lunch at Bishopscourt.29 Good Friday30 Easter Book Stall, St John’s Metung, Patterson Park, Metung30 Easter Fair, St Columb’s Swan Reach31 Easter Day31 Easter Book Stall, St John’s Metung, Patterson Park, Metung

April1 Easter Book Stall, St John’s Metung, Patterson Park, Metung4-7 Cursillo, Men’s 34; Blackwood House, Gippsland Grammar, Sale; contact

Lindsay McKay, email [email protected] or 0403 1703206 Anam Cara Community SfP Day; 9.30am to 4pm; Praying with Scriptures,

led by Reverend Anne Turner; St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Sale; BYO lunch, bible and journal. RSVP Jane Macqueen, 0411 316346 or [email protected]

19-21 Creative Spirit Festival art exhibition; St Phillip’s Cowes20 Avon parish garden bus trip; contact Lorraine, 03 5145 691125 ANZAC Day

May4 Shared spiritual Art festival at St Philip’s and St John’s, Bass Phillip Island

parish4 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm; enquiries, Jane Macqueen,

0411 316346 or [email protected] Working with Complex and Chronic Mental Health workshop, Rosedale;

RSVP by April 26 to Sarah Gover, 0458 45037017-19 Gippsland Anglican 37th annual Synod, Sale; St Paul’s Cathedral, Friday

evening; then St Anne’s campus of Gippsland Grammar, Sale.24-25 Anam Cara Community retreat, the abbey of St Barnabas, A’Beckett Park;

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

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

June1 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm; enquiries, Jane Macqueen,

0411 316346 or [email protected] Clergy conference, with Charles and Peta Sherlock12 Mothers’ Union June Join-in; details TBC14-16 Residential writing workshop, Abbey of St Barnabas, Raymond Island; with

Sue Fordham and Archdeacon Philip Muston 23-26 Quadratos in an Australian context (a retreat), Anam Cara Community;

Pallotti College, Millgrove27-29 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]

July 6 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm; enquiries, Jane Macqueen,

0411 316346 or [email protected]

August3 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm; enquiries, Jane Macqueen,

0411 316346 or [email protected] Clergy Wellbeing Day; Latrobe Convention Centre, Traralgon

September7 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm; enquiries, Jane Macqueen,

0411 316346 or [email protected] Back to church Sunday13-15 Anam Cara Community retreat, Abbey of St Barnabas, A’Beckett Park;

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

BORN March 24, 1914, atRosedale, Henry AlfredCairns was baptised andconfirmed at St Mark’sRosedale. Known as Jim, hewas accepted as a studentto study in Melbourne withthe view to being ordained. He spent the years 1935

to 1939 at Ridley Collegeand then was sent to Bun-yip, from 1939 to 1940,Buchan 1940 to 1941, dea-coned by Bishop Cranswickin 1942 and priested thefollowing year by BishopBlackwood. In 1942, Cairns was sent

to Bass/Blackwood Forestuntil 1944, when he wastransferred to Moe. It waswhile at Moe Cairns organ-ized the rebuilding on anew site of St Matthew’sCoalville and this was com-pleted in 1947. That year he and his

young family moved toHeyfield, where he servedtill 1952. In 1952, Cairnsaccepted Leongatha parishand it was in this periodthat the building of a newchurch of St Peter wascompleted.Cairns served in chap-

laincy positions in Mel-bourne diocese beforemoving to live in Britain. Hekept in contact with manyGippsland friends, particu-larly from his years atLeongatha. He died peacefully at St

Alban’s, Hertfordshire, Eng-land in late 2012 and is sur-

vived by his children,Jonathan, Julian and Angelaand four grandchildren.

Contributor: Tim Gibson

Vale, Jim Diocesan Calendar

Information as provided to The Gippsland Anglican by print deadline.

Reverend Henry Alfred Cairns

March 2013 Our Diocese - Missions and Ministries 7


By Janet Milne

THE thought of a beachholiday at Phillip Islandseemed appealing, particu-larly after the lack of sum-mer last year, so a campingholiday at ‘Summer underthe Son 2013’ (SUTS) con-ference was planned. Theflyer has been on ourchurch noticeboard everyyear but I really did notknow much about theChurch Missionary Society(CMS) or what to expectover the next five days asour little group from StJames’ set out from Traral-gon. What ensued was a won-

derful time of learning,prayer, worshipping insong, meeting lots of lovelyChristian brothers and sis-ters, all in an atmosphereof fun and relaxation, withlots of yummy food andmore and even more food.The camp was in a beauti-

ful and tranquil settingwhere it was possible to gofor relaxing walks withplenty of wildlife to look at.Friday night for us startedwith supper and an intro-ductory summary aboutSUTS. We were reminded itwas a holiday and we couldpick and choose which ses-sions we would attend andwhen to take free time. We all could see it was

going to be difficult choos-ing which of the four inter-active streams we would goto each evening; either‘From Everywhere to Every-where’, ‘Connecting CrossCulturally in Australia’, ‘TheJourney’ or ‘Revive, Thriveor Nose-dive’.Each morning there was

opportunity to join in withprayer for missionariesaround the world, followedby Bible study, with somewonderful music before andafter. The band, led byNicky Chiswell, was fantas-tic, singing and playingdrums, bass, keyboard andguitars. This year’s bible study se-

ries was on 1 Kings, ablyled by Reverend PaulBarker, a missionary whohas taught post-graduatetheology in a range of se-cure locations. The biblepassages were brought

alive through biblical story-telling from some very tal-ented actors.At 11.30 each morning

were presentations by mis-sionaries in the field,speaking about their expe-riences in the countriesthey were assigned to, withsome very informativevideos. It was apparentthese brothers and sistershave such courage andfaith to be working wherethey are, to bring aboutCMS’ goal of ‘A world thatknows Jesus’.Although none of our

group required childcare,we could see the childrenwere very well catered forand it was not just a child-minding service; on the lastday the different groups ofchildren, from as young aspreschool, performed whatthey had learned. The secondary school age

group was at another cam-pus in Cowes, while theyoung adults had their ownspecial fellowship time inthe afternoon and at the UpLate Café and were alsowelcomed into all confer-ence sessions.Our parish group took the

afternoon as free time,going into Cowes for a walkalong the beach and even aswim on one of the warmerdays. There were alsogroup meetings for anyone

to attend. At 5pm each day, there

were more discussions ledby wonderful overseasspeakers about living as aChristian minority and thework they were doing tochange this. It is difficult toput into words the impactthese particular sessionshad. It certainly made usfeel both lucky in the free-dom we have to practiceour faith, but also chal-lenged to go out of our owncomfort zones and spreadthe word to those we comeinto contact with every day,both strangers and familiar.

Beach holiday with mission

ABOVE: Jane Lloyd, Janet Milne, Liana Milne and KarenHenderson from St James’ Traralgon at Summer under theSon 2013, held for possibly the last time on Phillip Island..

ABOVE: Some other Gipps-landers at SUTS 2013, Stanand Robyn Bruhn from StPaul’s Sale.

Ambassadorson Phillip IslandTWO parishioners of

Cowes Phillip Island parishwere honored on AustraliaDay for their volunteerwork across the commu-nity. They are MargaretGardiner (right), namedArts and Cultural Ambassa-dor and Margaret Hancock(below right), named Envi-ronmental Ambassador ofthe Year.Margaret Gardiner is coor-

dinator of the Corinella andDistrict Community Cen-tre’s Traditional Art Show,held in June each year. Theshow has produced morethan 20 years of excep-tional art shows. The Corinella Art Show

provides an opportunity foremerging artists bothyoung and older to showtheir work in familiar sur-roundings, along with carefrom Margaret and thecommittee to give themconfidence.Seeing a need for an op-

portunity to showcase artthat might be consideredoutside the traditional for-mat, Margaret establisheda new show held in Januaryeach year, for contempo-rary art, photography andcrafts. This show has beenvery successful and is gain-ing wider recognition.Margaret has also been in-

volved in her community inmany other ways: throughactive membership of theCorinella and District Com-munity Centre, St George’sAnglican Church, GrantvilleMemorial Park Committee,Grantville Progress Associ-ation, Bass Valley HistoricalSociety and Girl Guides’Trefoil Guild.Margaret Hancock has

been deeply involved withconservation issues in thePhillip Island community formore than 40 years. Thereis not a group on the Islandwith a conservation direc-tion to which Margaret hasnot made a contribution.

For more than 30 years,Margaret was president ofthe Phillip Island Conserva-tion Society. Margaret hasbeen actively involved withthe Phillip Island NatureParks for many years, as amember of the steeringcommittee and a commu-nity representative.Margaret has also been a

member of the Friends ofthe Golden Cypress inCowes and Friends of theKoalas. She is a wonderfullady with years of dedica-tion to maintaining and im-proving the environment.

Contributor: Les RidgePhotos: Robert McKay

8 Our Diocese - Missions and Ministries with Mothers’ Union March 2013


MOTHERS’ Union Gipps-land members are holdingtheir next diocesan gather-ing on March 25 with thetheme, Bringing Our Giftsto Vision 20/20. Faith, love,family, hospitality, fun andfellowship are just a few ofthe gifts within MU Gipps-land, according to presi-dent, Karin McKenzie.“Through bible studies,

discussions and events wewill be seeking to continuefinding and celebrating ourgifts, but instead of lookingback, we will look forwardto begin the process of dis-cerning what we would likeMU to look like by the timewe get to 2020, as MU Aus-tralian president LibbyGrossman said.“I thoroughly recommend

the studies for StrategicPlan 2013. These work-sheets will help inform ourfaith and action as MUGippsland implements itsmission and objectives inthis diocese,” Karin said.The first diocesan event of

the year is Lady Day, onMarch 25 at St Paul’s Angli-can Cathedral in Sale, withguest speaker, WendyMayer, MU education officer.Wendy works part time asthe women’s worker at StStephen’s Normanhurst(NSW) and as education of-ficer for MU Australia andMU Sydney.“My aim for the education

department is to supplybranches with materials in-tended to make runningbranches easier. The re-sources are varied, includ-ing programming ideas forbranches, bible studies, achecklist on how to treat aspeaker, devotions, servicesand copies of What in theWorld is MU Doing?,”

Wendy said.“The network of MU is oneof its great strengths. Wedon’t have to battle onalone because we have thecombined resources of allour groups in all the Aus-tralian dioceses, as well asour world wide network, todraw on for support and in-spiration.”MU Australian president,

Libby Grossman, will visitGippsland diocese onThursday, August 22. This year, MU Gippsland

will again offer a family re-treat at The Abbey of StBarnabas on Raymond Is-land, Paynesville. Two orthree families will be invitedto have a holiday, usingfunds raised by MU. Clergy are asked to con-

tact Reverend ThelmaLangshaw (Omeo parish) orKarin McKenzie (telephone03 5662 2148) with namesof possible participants.Please do not speak to anyfamilies without the priorconsent of the MU repre-sentatives, as consultationneeds to take place first.In partnership with St

Paul’s Anglican GrammarSchool, another FamilyForum will take place laterin the year. Watch TheGippsland Anglican for de-tails. All MU events are in-cluded in the diocesancalendar in The GippslandAnglican; and all are wel-come to attend theseevents.

High teaAS part of their ongoing

commitment to theMother’s Union holiday pro-gram for Gippsland familiesin need of ‘time out’, War-ragul MU members held a

High Tea to raise funds forthis project. This fund en-ables MU to provide a shortbreak at The Abbey of StBarnabas at A’Beckett Parkon Raymond island for twoor three families each year.Late last year, the women

of Warragul parish were in-vited to dress for the eventand they certainly did, ac-cording to Jenny MacRobb. “Ruth wore her fur jacket,

Beryl wore her wedding hatfrom the 1960’s. Bev wasresplendent in a large pinkhat and Katie was able toair her new hat she hadbought because she liked itand then hadn’t had an oc-casion to wear it to,” Jennysaid.“The silverware polishing

and rediscovering of thebeautiful china hidden inthe back of the cupboardresulted in afternoon teatables adorned with deli-cious food displayed on ourbest crockery and silver-ware, including a beautifultiered cake stand which hadbelonged to Ethel’s grand-mother.“We enjoyed afternoon tea

and Bev’s tea quiz; andwere able to admireWendy’s collection ofteapots, on display alongwith some of Roma’s RoyalDoulton cups, saucers andplates.”The organisers are consid-

ering repeating the event in2013.

Literacy programMU Gippsland’s overseas

project this year is Literacyin Ethiopia. “Female literacylevels in Ethiopia are amajor concern, with justover 35 per cent of womenin the country thought to beliterate. In regions such asGambella, it is thought tobe even lower than this. ForMothers’ Union in Ethiopia,the first step towards build-ing up leadership qualities,communications and con-flict resolution within com-munities is to begin totackle the problem of illiter-acy,” said Karin.“The Mother’s Union Liter-

acy Program will empowerwomen by equippingwomen with basic literacyand numeracy skills.Through this program it isanticipated that family andcommunity relationshipswill be transformed as liter-ate learners take part inlocal community develop-ment. “Gender barriers, poverty

and ignorance will be focalpoints in the hope that liv-ing conditions in the homeand society as a whole willimprove.”

World wideMOTHERS’ Union is a non-

government organisation inconsultative status with the

Economic and Social Coun-cil of the United NationsCommission on the Statusof Women. MU has submit-ted a statement to thisgroup for the 57th session,March 4 to 15 this year, onthe subject, ‘Eliminationand prevention of all formsof violence against womenand girls’.Some of the issues raised

are:1. Challenging underlying

attitudes and prevention:the Mothers’ Union Literacyand Financial EducationProgram and the Family LifeProgram have led to im-proved relationships withinfamilies.2. Awareness raising:

through workshops, eventsand protest marches. Mem-bers ran a Human RightsAdvocacy Project in PapuaNew Guinea and theSolomon Islands.3. Support and Provision:

MU members stand along-side women experiencingviolence with direct sup-port.4. Enforcing legal frame-

works: calling on govern-ments to tackle the issuethrough enforceable guide-lines.

NationalACROSS the 23 dioceses

of Australia, MU memberssupport the Overseas andNorthern Outreach Fund.In 2013, this fund will allo-cate resources both over-seas and to the Diocese ofNorth West Australia.A total of $12,000 will en-

able clergy and churchworkers to attend the sec-ond yearly conference inPerth. A further $2,000 willbe donated towards travel-ling expenses for theBishop’s wife, Mrs ChristineNelson, to visit clergy wivesand families.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. Also, $3,675will be allocated toward thetranslation of parts of theprayer book into Kriol to as-sist Indigenous clergy. An allocation of $10,000

to training funds for Indige-nous women will go to-wards resource books,translation classes and at-tendance at the pre-schoolmusic education program inGeraldton and the women’sseminar for the Broome andKimberly regions.

Contributors: K McKenzieand J MacRobb

All welcome to join in Lady Day Celebrations

for 2013 On Monday, March 25, 2013

9.30 - 10.00 am: Refreshments 10.30 am: Eucharist 12 noon: Lunch 1.00 pm: Speaker

Please BYO Lunch

149 Cunningham Street Sale

For further details contact: Jan, telephone 0414 254740

Guest Speaker: Mrs Wendy Mayer (Australian MU Education Officer), from Sydney.

Wendy has written many valuable resources for MU Australia, including MU Unwrapped and

What in the world is MU doing?, as well as several Bible Studies. She is an excellent

motivational speaker, who has some great innovative ideas to share.

ALL ARE WELCOME TO JOIN MU GIPPSLAND MEMBERS ON THIS DAY.

MU Gippsland Theme for 2013:

TOP: Hazel Carne, Jean Williams and Laurice Fullgrabe atthe high tea hosted by Warragul Mothers’ Union.ABOVE left: Katie Peken and Jenny MacRobb.ABOVE right: Jenny MacRobb and Beryl Goodridge.

Photos: Ethel Armstrong

Lady Day is a mission highlight

March 2013 Our Diocese - Shrove or Pancake Tuesday 9


PANCAKE Day or ShroveTuesday was held on Febru-ary 12 this year and is tra-ditionally the last daybefore Lent begins formany Christians. Many Aus-tralians make and sharepancakes on Shrove Tues-day and selling pancakes toraise money for charity is apopular activity amongsome churches, businessesand charities.Shrove Tuesday is deter-

mined by Easter; its datechanges annually. The ex-pression ‘Shrove Tuesday’comes from the wordshrive, meaning confess.Related popular practicesare associated with celebra-tions before the fasting andreligious obligations associ-

ated with the penitentialseason of Lent. The practice of the last

night of eating richer, fattyfoods before the ritual fast-ing of the Lenten season,which begins on AshWednesday, is rarely ob-served among the generalpopulation in Australiathese days.The word shrove is the

past tense of the Englishverb shrive, which meansto obtain absolution forone’s sins by way of confes-sion and doing penance.Thus Shrove Tuesday getsits name from the customfor Christians to be ‘shriven’before the start of Lent.Shrove Tuesday is the lastday of ‘shrovetide’.

Pancakes are associatedwith the day preceding Lentbecause they were a way touse up rich foods such aseggs, milk and sugar beforethe fasting season of the 40days of Lent. The liturgicalfasting emphasised eatingplainer food and refrainingfrom food that would givepleasure. In many cultures,this means no meat, dairyor eggs.In Newfoundland, small

tokens are frequentlycooked in the pancakes.Children take delight in dis-covering the objects, whichare intended to be divina-tory. For example, the per-son who receives a coin willbe wealthy; a nail meansthey will become or marry acarpenter.Shrove Tuesday is exactly

47 days before Easter Sun-day, a moveable feastbased on the cycles of themoon. The date can be be-tween February 3 or March9, inclusive. For the remainder of this

decade, Shrove Tuesdaywill occur on these dates:March 4, 2014; February17, 2015; February 9,2016; February 28, 2017;February 13, 2018; March5, 2019; February 25,2020.

LEFT: In Maffra parish, StJohn’s parish family en-joyed Shrove Tuesday withpancakes in the parish hall.

Photo: Jean Heasley

ABOVE: Pancake Day at StJames’ Orbost meant abusy kitchen and more than90 people for lunch .

Photos: Barbara Lunson

Shriving with pancakes

10 Our Diocese - Parishes March 2013


TWENTY years ago, theold church of St John’s inNeerim South parish wasreplaced with a new build-ing. A joyous celebration tomark the consecration of 20years of the new churchwas held on November 17and 18 last year.Bishop John McIntyre and

his wife, Jan, attended abirthday tea on the Satur-day evening, along withmore than 80 guests, in-cluding former clergy andtheir wives. Entertainmentwas provided by CatherineConnelly, who played theharp and by children of theSunday afternoon group,who showed their skill withdrums and song.A birthday cake made and

decorated by Mrs CherylRoss was cut by ReverendJack Goodridge, who wasthe incumbent in the parishwhen the church was built.A thanksgiving service was

held at St John’s on Sundaymorning, with Bishop Johnpreaching the sermon andfollowed by fellowship withformer parishioners.Contributor: Joy Andrews

Owned and operated by Ray & Maree Anderson

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

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

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

Pre-paid & pre-arranged funeral plans available.

CARING & PERSONAL 24 HOUR SERVICE

ABOVE: Hugh and Ruth Faulkner with John Delzoppo.BELOW: Reverend John Batt, Rev. Jan St James and Janand Bishop John McIntyre.

Photos: Cheryl and Dennis Ross

Birthday cake for 20 years

WHEN newly appointed layreader, Kevin Kramer, waspresented with his stole, hewas delighted to know itwas previously worn by thelate Cliff Gaunt. Many readers of The Gipp-

sland Anglican will remem-ber Cliff as a lay reader inMirboo North, circa 1950.He was also a lay reader inTraralgon in 1956 and a layreader in Lakes Entrancefor several years. Cliff was a loved member

of the congregation at StNicholas’ Lakes Entranceuntil he passed away inJanuary 2010. His wife,Olive, died shortly after andis also sadly missed.

Cliff’s family donated hisstole to St Nicholas’ andReverend Canon BarbaraLogan and the other layreaders thought it fittingthat Cliff’s stole be handedonto Kevin. On Sunday, February 3,

Kevin felt very humble andprivileged to have Cliff’sstole to wear on the occa-sion of his first service. Ken and Ruth Gaunt

(Cliff’s son and daughter-in-law) were holidaying inLakes Entrance and weredelighted to be able to at-tend this special service(right, pictured with Kevinon the left).

Contributor: S McMaster

ABOVE: After the combined service in Yinnar, manyparishioners took the opportunity to have a picnic andbarbecue in Yinnar Memorial Park.

Photo: Ruth Place

Kevin humbled by stoleABOVE: Elizabeth Spunner, a member of Maffra parish andchurch organist, was baptised recently in the pool at herhome (inset, with Reverend Graham Knott). Afterward,attendees enjoyed a barbecue lunch and fellowship.

Contributor: Jean HeasleyPhotos: June Knott

ABOVE: Reverend Lyn White, of St Mary’s Morwell, andLorraine Peake admire the produce for sale in aid of theparish mission project.

Contributor/Photo: Carolyn Raymond

March 2013 Our Diocese - Family, Youth and Children’s Ministry 11


THE GFS Kidsplus+ adultfriends and supportersgroup held a pleasant after-noon at Trafalgar’s MiradorSprings. A group of about20 adults and their childrenenjoyed afternoon tea(below), strolled aroundthe mountain top gardenand went on a hunt for the‘secret garden’ (belowright). The children fed donkeys

(right) and saw a localechidna and other farm an-imals. Participants werefrom the parishes of Trafal-gar, Moe, Traralgon, Maffraand Sale. Any adults interested in

joining this fellowship andsupport group for our chil-dren’s youth and familyministry, can contact GaleMowat, telephone 03 51441220.Contributor: Mary Nicholls

Photos: Lauren Kitwood

SUBSCRIPTIONto The Gippsland Anglican

Get The Gippsland Anglican posted direct to you

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

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

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

ABOVE: Kidsplus+ leader, Liz Watkins, assists with a craftactivity at Inverloch. Summer holidays are over and thatmeans the Kidsplus+ group at Inverloch is underwayagain. Some of the girls from last year’s group were soenthusiastic they did not want a break over summer.Meeting together for an hour and a half after school onThursday each week, the group enjoy games, singing,craft and some teaching from the bible. As a special ac-tivity, the group performed at the Inverloch CommunityCarols last year and were quite a sensation.

Photo/Contributor: Jane Peters

Color in the picture

Copyright: Spicciati-De Angelis (2010)

Feeding donkeys TRARALGON’s community of St James’ has been busyupgrading areas in and around the church, aiming to bemore visible to the people of Traralgon. The grounds havebeen cleaned up, which included tree removal, installationof a new sign and repainting the exterior of the church.More recently, we installed a new tin roof in the middlesection of the building and new carpet was laid through-out. An upgrade of our kitchen facilities is planned. Many parishioners helped in the huge task of moving the

furniture out and as it was moved back in a lot of springcleaning occurred. All this activity has given us a realsense of excitement and purpose as we move into a newyear of ministering to the people of Traralgon district.

ABOVE: Members of the 7pm congregation while the oldcarpet was pulled up and before the new carpet was laid.

Contributor/Photo: Shelley Cooper

12 Our Diocese - Features March 2013


AN exhibition highlightingthe artist’s dual commit-ment to scientific accuracyand art will be at Fish Creekfrom the beginning ofMarch.Renowned botanical artist,

Celia Rosser, who is mostcelebrated for her work TheBanksias, a three-volumeseries of watercolor paint-ings depicting every knownBanksia species, will haveher work on display in theCelia Rosser Gallery.Custodians of The

Banksias, the Monash Uni-versity Museum of Art(MUMA), together with theCelia Rosser Gallery, willpresent the exhibition of 23watercolor paintings and atapestry, Banksia Serrata,completed in a collabora-tion between Rosser andthe Victorian TapestryWorkshop in 1995.Rosser dedicated more

than 25 years to this proj-ect, begnning when shewas appointed as MonashUniversity Botanical Artistin 1974.A rare opportunity for art

and botanical enthusiastsalike, Rosser’s passion forbanksias is evident in everywatercolor. Painted at life-size scale, Rosser built thecomplex tonal qualities ofAustralia’s iconic wildflowerlayer by layer.With around 77 species of

the banksia genus nowidentified, the most re-cently discovered, Banksiarosserae, was named in herhonor.Born Celia Elizabeth Prince

in 1930, she began paintingAustralian wildflowers earlyin her artistic career. Shebegan painting banksiasafter seeing a Banksia ser-rata near her home in Or-bost, Victoria. Her firstexhibition was at LevesonGallery in Melbourne in1965 and included threewatercolors of banksia

species. Two years later shepublished Wildflowers ofVictoria.In 1970, Celia was ap-

pointed Science FacultyArtist at Monash University.She illustrated PeterBridgewater’s The Salt-marsh Plants of SouthernAustralia and The Mosses ofSouthern Australia byGeorge Scott and IlmaStone.In 1977, she was awarded

the Linnaean Society ofLondon’s Jill SmythiesAward for botanical illustra-tion and, in 1995, wasawarded a Medal of theOrder of Australia. MonashUniversity awarded her anhonorary Master of Sciencedegree in 1981 and an hon-orary PhD in 1999.The Celia Rosser Gallery

was established in 2007 bythe artist’s son, AndrewRosser, with philanthropicsupport from the late DameElisabeth Murdoch. Rosser,now 82, regularly visits thegallery to explain her tech-niques and recall stories ofher adventures collectingthe samples for each paint-ing to visitors.The Banksias will be on

display from March 1 toMay 27 this year at theCelia Rosser Gallery in FishCreek, South Gippsland.

Orbost artist’swork on show By Sue Fordham

GOOD stories, like an ele-phant calf, take time to pro-duce. Everyone has lots ofgood stories to tell. Most ofus use our creative urges toembellish and perfect.Do you have a good story

you would like to write? Ifso, you will need a coupleof months to prepare for awriting workshop at theAbbey of St Barnabas atA’Beckett Park, on Ray-mond Island. Do these ring bells for

you?Let me tell you about the

time …My mother had a pair of

ancient brass candlesticksand she promised them toeach of her children whenshe died …It wasn’t so much the

smell as the hideous …Do these part sentences

remind you of real or imag-ined things you think might

make a good story? Do youhave the story but do notknow how to tell it to bestadvantage? If you would like to turn

ideas into stories, then theweekend residential writingworkshop at the abbey onRaymond Island on June 14to 16 is just right for you.All you need to bring are

writing materials and anobject or photograph or pic-ture that has a story at-tached to it. For example, there is a 60

year old photograph in myfamily album of 10 people.One of those people is mygrandmother and the othernine are her grandchildren.Two of the grandchildrenare being carried; mycousin, Donald, is in mygrandmother’s arms and Iam in my older sister’sarms. There is a hole pickedin the photograph rightwhere Donald’s foreheadought to be. There is a long

story of family division andbetrayal attached to thatphotograph. I’d like to tellyou that story.Think about your photo-

graph album or somethingin your home with signifi-cance attached to it: a stat-uette, a framed print, thehat your mother wore toyour wedding, yourmother-in-law’s love let-ters, the scar on your rightforearm. They all have sto-ries behind them. If youcannot decide which tobring, bring several.The workshop will be led

by Archdeacon Phillip Mus-ton, one-time journalist atthe Herald-Sun and me,Sue Fordham, journalist,teacher of non-fiction writ-ing and editing and dabblerin memoir writing.If you are interested in re-

ceiving information andregistering for the work-shop, contact Sue Gibson atthe abbey, 03 5156 6580.

Write for joy and memoir

March 2013 Our Diocese - Parishes 13


ON Sunday, December 30,2012, St Thomas’ Bunyipcelebrated its 110th an-niversary. The church wasfull with past and presentparishioners, clergy andfriends, to give thanks for along and faithful witness. Bishop John McIntyre

presided at the eucharistand preached a thought-provoking sermon. He wasassisted by Father AlanJones. Among other specialguests, Cardinia Shire wasrepresented by CouncillorGraeme Moore.Following the service,

lunch was served and thehall contained a display ofhistorical photographs and

documents concerning StThomas’ early history and acontinuously running slideshow with additional photo-graphs. The weather enticed many

people to eat their lunchunder the trees, where ta-bles were set up.Copies of the parish his-

tory, produced for 100thanniversary, were availablefor purchase, as well as thecook book produced lastyear, The St Thomas’ Bun-yip Cook Book. Copies arestill available from theparish secretary, at $15each plus $2 postage.

Contributor: Chris BenniePhotos: Chris Bennie

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Bunyip celebrated110 years beforenew year 2013

RIGHT: Terry McMaster, co-ordinator of NicholasJohnOp Shop with Sue Hine.The op shop committee ofLakes Entrance and Metungparish, recently donated$500 to assist Sue Hine andher husband to enter the‘Bird Man Rally’ as part ofthe Moomba Festival in Mel-bourne over the March longweekend. Sue chose thePeter MacCallum Hospitalas their charity to raisemoney for.

Photo/Contributor: Sandra McMaster

Op shop supportslocal Bird man

AT the beginning of February, the children’s ministryteam decided to collect produce from the gardens of thefamilies who attend St Mary’s Morwell and sell it in aid ofour mission project for this year, raising money for solarlights for a school and for families in Tanzania. Much of the produce came from the rectory garden. The

young people who attend children’s ministry sold the pro-duce, asking people for a donation.Lent has begun. Archdeacon Heather has encouraged us

to approach Lent as a time of a combined retreat. Webegan the retreat with prayerful Ash Wednesday services. The services on the second week in February were taken

by the Growth in Ministry Group. We were delighted tohave Bishop John and Jan with us for the 10am service.

Contributor: Carolyn Raymond

Morwell’s mission

14 Our Diocese - Perspective March 2013


By Clare Boyd-Macrae

AS a much youngerwoman on retreat at aBenedictine monastery,more than a little uncertainabout what I should bedoing, I pulled a randombook off the shelf. It was Inthe Stillness Dancing, a bi-ography of Dom John Main,written by Canadian broad-caster Neil McKenty. As I devoured the book, I

discovered something I hadlong been looking for. Allmy life I had known it wasimportant to pray; here, atlast, was someone suggest-ing a way to do it; and itwas simplicity itself.John Main was the

Irish Benedictine monkwho did so much to re-discover the practiceof Christian meditationin the 1960s and ‘70s.As a young man work-ing in the British CivilService in Malaysia, hehad found learning to use amantra from a Hindu swamirevolutionised his prayerlife. Returning to England and

taking religious orders,however, he abandoned thepractice that was seen, atthe time, to be somethingbelonging to ‘Eastern reli-gions’. Frustrated by his struggles

to connect deeply to God inprayer, he eventually dis-covered silent prayer andthe use of a mantra was, infact, part of the Christiantradition too; taught byJohn Cassian and theDesert Fathers and Mothersin the fourth and fifth cen-turies. Main spent the rest of his

life spreading the word toChristians the world over. Main died of cancer in

1982 at the age of 56. Hisprotégée and successor asthe Prior of the Benedictinecommunity dedicated topromoting Christian medi-tation, was 31-year-oldEnglishman, Father Lau-rence Freeman. Freeman went on to found

the World Community forChristian Meditation(WCCM), which now hasnearly 3000 small groupsmeeting in 100 countriesaround the globe. There are500 in Australia alone;groups meet in most Mel-bourne suburbs. The WCCM and its branch

the Australian ChristianMeditation Community(ACMC) recommend theuse of a mantra, two 20 to30 minute periods of medi-tation each day and meet-ing with a group weekly.Last year, the ACMCbrought Freeman to Mel-bourne to lead a week-longsilent retreat. Freeman agrees more

Christians seem to besearching for depth and

stillness in a chaotic andfast-paced world. “The message of the prac-

tise of meditation seems tobe touching a deep chord incontemporary people,” hesays. “It’s quite clear when you

read the Sermon on theMount that Jesus is ateacher of contemplationand I think more Christiansare aware of that and oftheir own historical traditionof contemplative prayer.” In Freeman’s book, Jesus

the Teacher Within, he ex-amines Matthew chapter 6as evidence Jesus was acontemplative. The Lord’sPrayer, he writes: “sums up

Jesus’ advice that prayershould be direct, sincereand brief”.He then lists four charac-

teristics of prayer as taughtby Jesus in that chapter.Firstly, prayer must be sin-cere rather than ego-dri-ven: it needs to bepractised in solitude and in-teriority (verses 5 and 6). Secondly, in verses 7 and

8, Jesus emphasises verbaleconomy in prayer. Thirdly,in verses 25ff, Jesus en-courages radical detach-ment from preoccupationwith anxieties about mate-rial things. Fourthly andlastly, pure attention to Godas the heart of all reality inverse 33. “The Sermon on the

Mount,” writes Freeman,“summarises prayer as aspiritual practice transcend-ing egotism and thereforedissolving fear and desire.It combines interiority, sim-plicity, trust, attention andbeing in the present mo-ment.”When I asked if meditation

is for everybody, his answerwas emphatic. “I think … that meditation

is relevant for Christians ofall shapes and sizes. In theCatholic Church, contem-plation was always re-spected but it wasmarginalised, specialisedand rather an elitist thing.We now can see this is ateaching of the gospel[and] of the tradition that ismeant to be lived by allChristians in all walks of lifeto some degree.”This is borne out, he says,

by his experience of teach-ing it in the classroom.Catholic schools, particu-larly in Townsville, havemeditation as a regular partof the curriculum. “I see an amazing spec-

trum of people, both interms of their personal

background, social back-ground and age, who cantake up the practise anddiscipline of daily medita-tion. That becomes veryvivid in a classroom com-posed of 20 to 30 very dif-ferent little human beings,but they all seem to be ableto sit and meditate togetherand enjoy it. “I think that is the micro-

cosm that reflects thelarger picture of the univer-sality of meditation.”A significant part of Free-

man’s work consists of pro-moting inter-faith dialoguewith other religious leaders,like the Dalai Lama. “I would say what makes

meditation Chris-tian is first of allyour faith inChrist; your medi-tation is then con-sciously aboutdeepening thatfaith so it doesbring you into a

closer personal relationshipto Jesus and I think that’sthe heart and essence ofChristian meditation. “But also it’s the fact

you’re in an historical Chris-tian tradition of meditation,you can trace the linage allthe way back to the teach-ing of Jesus himself, youare meditating with fellowChristians and where two orthree are gathered togetherin his name, there he is.”The use of a prayer word

or mantra, Freeman says, isparticularly apt for Chris-tians. “God spoke the Word and

it was made and then Godspoke his Word to theprophets and then God’sWord became flesh ... TheWord is a very central, richtheology and, in medita-tion, by saying the word,you’re concentrating thewhole of that theology ex-perientially; it comes alivein experience.”Christian meditation is

more about experiencingand deepening a relation-ship than about belief,maintains Freeman, but on-going practice tends todeepen and enrich not onlybelief but also other typesof personal prayer, worshipand community life. Above all, Christian medi-

tation is opening ourselvesmore and more to God’slove. “A Christian ought to be

able to come to meditationwith much less self-con-scious striving to succeed,”says Freeman.“Because it is not a tech-

nique we have to becomesuccessful at, it’s simply away of opening ourselves inlove to the loving presenceof Christ in us.”This article also published

in The Melbourne AnglicanAugust 2012 issue and isreprinted with permission.

Opening ourselves toGod is heart meditation

“meditation is relevantfor Christians of allshapes and sizes”

By Kate Higgins

STANDING on a remotecoral atoll in the PacificOcean watching childrenplay, it was deeply sadden-ing to realise they will soonhave to leave a place thathas been home to theirpeople for thousands ofyears.Ontong Java, the most

northerly part of SolomonIslands, is on the frontlineof climate change. The ris-ing seas are eating awaythe land and growing foodis now almost impossible assalt poisons swamp taro,the staple crop. After 2000 years of settle-

ment, it is increasinglylikely Ontong Java’s 2000inhabitants will be its lastand bear the unenviablelabel of being one of thefirst communities in theworld to be completely re-settled as a result of cli-mate change.I recently travelled to On-

tong Java, more than300km from the Solomons’main islands, as a guest onan annual trip led by theAnglican Church of Malaitaand a provincial healthteam. My aim was to see ifmy organisation, AnglicanOverseas Aid, could do any-thing to support the peopleof these islands. I quickly discovered very

little can be done, apartfrom ongoing talk about re-settlement between the is-land communities, theAnglican Church and thegovernment. Days after leaving Ontong

Java, I landed in Brisbaneto find a local nationalnewspaper had publisheddetails of a leaked climatechange report predicting $1billion in damage to water-front properties in Victoriaover the next 90 years,from severe storms and ris-ing sea levels. The contrast was striking.

Clearly, climate changethreatens seaside commu-nities all around the world.

But in Australia we have theluxury of time to adapt andwe can also afford it. The two main ‘waterfront’

communities in OntongJava, Luaniua and Pelau,are facing increasingly des-perate conditions, but it ishappening now, not in 90years’ time. Many peoplehave already moved to Ho-niara, the capital city of theSolomons; and rising seashave also forced movementwithin communities. Families in the Pelau com-

munity have been squeezedon to one atoll after thehouses on another col-lapsed as the sea erodedthe land.Attempts by the Anglican

Church to help communitieshave only delayed the in-evitable. In Pelau, a seawall was built to combat therising tides but “the sea iseating it” according to onecommunity member. The church supported in-

novative permacultureprojects to increase foodproduction but after har-vest the plants were unableto continue producing.There was too much salt. Though they lack many

things, the people of On-tong Java are rich with in-tegrity, they are wise andthey are resilient; and theyknow they have to move. But finding a place to

move to is an extremelycomplex process; there aresuggestions they might re-locate to the Melanesian is-land of Malaita, the mostheavily populated island inthe country, already wit-nessing disputes over land.The plight of the people of

Ontong Java highlights thecomplexities of climatechange now and the impor-tance of urgent action toprevent the need for massrelocations into the future. It means more investment

in helping communities toadapt to the impact of cli-mate change and to relo-cate in ways that upholdtheir dignity.

Climate changenow for some

March 2013 Our Diocese - Commemorating 110 years of diocesan news 15


By Jeanette Severs

IN Drouin, the congrega-tion gave a present of a sil-ver teapot and afternoonteaspoons to Mr and Mrs FJHiggs on the eve of theirdeparture from that parish.Misses Eva and DorrieHiggs were given a silverbacked hand mirror and ajewel case respectively. Atthe Harvest evening servicethe following day, Mr CParry performed a violinsolo (reported March 10,1914).Wonthaggi parish saw the

departure, from Grantville,of “esteemed reader, MR CROelrich. For 13 years, MrOelrich has been the faith-ful pastor of this interest-ing, beautiful and historicdistrict of Bass”. The con-gregation sent he and hisfamily off with a multi-de-nominational social gather-ing, a purse of sovereignsfrom the congregation and,from the chairman of theparish council, a furtherwallet of sovereigns. MissIsabel Oelrich was pre-sented with a travellingcase in appreciation of herwork with the Sundayschool (reported August 12,1914).ABM reports (October 13,

1914) that St Luke’s Day,October 18, is the day ob-served specifically to bringbefore God the needs ofAboriginal missions. “Hos-tility in the secular presshas been bitter and igno-rant. Missionaries havebeen maligned and theirwork derided,” according tothe writer, admonishingChristians not to “form theirjudgement from prejudicedand poisoned sources”.In the issue dated Novem-

ber 10, 1914, the editorwrites about the aggressivedivisions of both war andthose being experienced inarguments about educa-tion. The education de-bates, based on secularlegislation, have causedschism between so-calledrationalists and ArchbishopClarke, Archbishop Mannixand Reverend JosephNicholson and betweenLabor and Liberal politi-cians.The editor writes, about

the war, “the manifesto is-sued by the German theo-logical professors … theirrecent attempt to justifythe doings of their nation isno doubt perfectly sincereand honest but they havewritten either in strange ig-norance of the appallingfacts … or a blind patriot-ism” referring to “Niet-zsche’s teaching upon the

German nation and showsits true bearing upon thepresent conflict”.The first session of the

fourth synod of Gippslanddiocese was held in late1914.On December 15, 1914,

Cunninghame parish re-ported both morning andevening prayer was beingheld every Sunday through-out the parish during thewinter and “was well at-tended”. Mr Ardy Wilhelm,church organist and Sundayschool teacher at Kalimna,passed away on November8 and “left behind a goodname”.On January 12, 1915, Sale

parish reported the ladiesguild held a fete in aid ofthe building fund raised£43, reducing the debt tobuild the parish hall to £400(the total cost of the build-ing opened in May 1914was £1300).In Stratford, “the annual

meetings have passed offtoo quietly, few peopletroubling themselves to at-tend” leading to the vestryreducing its numbers toeight at Stratford and in-creasing to eight at Clyde-bank, while Briagolongremained at 12 members(reported April 16, 1915).Trida reported that socials

and concerts had raised £4,with a further amountraised at Seaview at a so-cial evening, towards buy-ing a horse for the reader,Mr WC McPherson (reportedApril 16, 1915). In thesame newspaper, Ellenbankreported it was consideringbuilding a church and sev-eral pieces of ground wereunder offer.The June 15, 1915 issue of

the newspaper devotedsome space to temperanceand alcohol. A bill was be-fore parliament in Victoriato fix the hour of closing abar. While, in England, theArchbishop of Armagh wasquoted stating “the war wasproving a blessing to theEnglish people. Men’s eyeswere open to the desolatingeffect of intemperance. So-cial antagonisms and classhatred were losing their bit-terness and emphasis”.Temperance was also the

subject of the newspaperpublished July 16, 1915, in-cluding the following disser-tation on Kansas (USA).“Few persons realise thewonderful record thatKansas shows at the end ofthe 30 years’ prohibition ofthe sale of alcoholic liquors.In 87 of her 105 counties,Kansas has no insane; in 54of these counties there areno feeble-minded; 96 of her

counties have no inebri-ates; 38 of her countypoorhouses are empty; 53of her jails were recentlyempty and 65 counties hadno prisoners in the Statepenitentiary; the entirenumber of paupers in theState falls short of 600;some counties have notcalled a Grand Jury to try acriminal case in 10 years;only two per cent of thepopulation is illiterate; themortality rate has droppedfrom 17 per 1000 people,to 7 per 1000; and theState had $200 million inthe banks, her farmersowned livestock valued at$225 million and in oneyear the people had added$45 million to their taxableproperty.”War deaths were begin-

ning to be noted in reports.On September 14, 1915,Drouin parish reported “thisplace has been a centre ofsore trouble for a time,owing to deaths by reasonof the war and the awfulcomplaint of melingitis”(sic), the author going on toname three men recentlydead from the former andfive people from the latter.Korumburra reported “bi-

weekly services of interces-sions for peace and for thesoldiers and sailors of theEmpire” and at BrandyCreek a retiring offertorywas held for the Red Crossfunds. Lang Lang reportedtheir incumbent, ReverendG Prickett, “has enlisted forservices at the front as aprivate … preaching hisfarewell sermons to largecongregations”.The Childers congregation

had purchased a secondhand building at Walhalla,to be moved to a block ofland purchased from thecouncil, for use as a church.The report noted the devo-tion of Mrs Cooper as or-ganist, who traverseddifficult country to the cur-rent building to perform herduties.The Church News of July

14, 1916, reported Toora,in Foster parish, farewelledMr HC Busby for the Divin-ity Hostel in Sale, with amulti-denominational gath-ering in the hall. He waspresented with a bound ref-erence bible from the choirand a set of theologicalbooks from the parishionersand friends. In the same issue, readers

were encouraged to beginprayer meetings, wherepeople can come togetherand pray “really pray andthrow our troubles on theCross of Christ”. The editorencourages people, “if your

From Pain to CranswickThe second decade of Gippsland’s diocesan newspaper, 1914 to 1923, was largelythe World War I and post war period. In this month’s series, we look at variousparish and diocesan happenings during the decade.

continued next page

BELOW: A regular one-page advertisement in this decadewas for Hearne’s Bronchitis Cure. The cure was depictedas a knight and the afflicted was even sometimes depictedas haunted by evil.

16 Our Diocese - Commemorating 110 years of diocesan news March 2013


from previous page

minister has not got aprayer meeting, give himno peace till he has one” or,“if he won’t, then meet inyour own house”.On August 14, 1917,

Bruthen parish reported thevisit of Bishop Pain overseveral days in late July.Bishop Pain confirmed can-didates at Tambo Upper andBruthen and preached atthe silver anniversary of StMatthew’s church atBruthen and at LowerNicholson, “to which placehe was motored comfort-ably by Mr Sherrington”.At a final social gathering

at Bruthen on the Mondayevening, Reverend JH Blun-dell “spoke feelingly of thelove for the Bishop whichhe had found in every partof the diocese” and BishopPain “referred to his 15years in Gippsland as thehappiest of his life and ex-pressed sorrow at thethought of parting with thediocese”.Bishop Pain had spent

time earlier in the weektouring and preaching inLakes Entrance parish, in-cluding at Metung andSwan Reach. A motor carwas provided, thanks to thegenerosity of Miss Robert-son and Mr Fish, for theBishop’s comfortable trans-port around the parish.The Church News of No-

vember 13, 1917, reportedan all day of prayer inBairnsdale parish on Octo-ber 22, beginning on theSunday night and goingthrough to a 7.30 meetingon Monday evening. Bairns-dale parish “still continuesto pay a heavy toll in thefield of battle … out of 80names on our honour roll,over 20 have already madethe supreme sacrifice”.This issue of the newspa-

per also reported on the re-

tirement of Bishop Pain andin detail on the consecra-tion of Reverend GeorgeHarvard Cranswick as thesecond Bishop of Gipps-land.The first diocesan summer

school was held at LakesEntrance in January 1918and reported in the news-paper of February 12,1918. Both Bishop Cran-swick and the editor pro-vided long reports on thecamp, the teaching andspeakers. The Church Mis-sionary Society and Angli-can Board of Mission werewell represented in the pro-gram and the congrega-tions of St Nicholas’ LakesEntrance and St John’sMetung were commendedfor their hospitality.Bishop Cranswick began

the habit of the bishop writ-ing a monthly article in thediocesan newspaper; hisfocus was on detailing hisvisits and experiences.“When I was driving my carfrom Bruthen to Buchan,one of the roughest moun-tain roads that even Gipps-land can produce, a terrificthunderstorm, with a del-uge of rain, made thingsvery unpleasant. Afterstruggling through 20 mileswith chains on the backwheels, over a bush roadthat was nearly washedaway, the car stopped halfway up a steep, sticky hilland refused to proceed.Pitch darkness … supportedby the bushman’s philoso-phy, we trudged three milesthrough the slush and mudto one of the only twohouses to be found along adistance of 32 miles.”“The call of the bush and

its courageous people haslaid hold of me. More thanever, I am convinced thecountry people are thebackbone of Australia,” hewrites with genuinewarmth, rather than com-

plaint of the conditions,urging the need to betterminister to the remote loca-tions of Gippsland diocese.On March 12, 1918, the

congregation of Rosedalereported Harvest Thanks-giving Services were heldduring the week with con-tinued success, at Willungand Rosedale, while Flynn’sCreek continued on a Sun-day.On September 10, 1918,

the editor, Rev. AEF Young,of St John’s Bairnsdale,urged readers to supportthe Home Mission Fund ofthe diocese through a“week of self-denial” andsuggested £1000 couldagain be raised this year.The newspaper also de-voted a page to a tablecalled God’s Income TaxReturn, for all Anglicans inGippsland to fill in.The October 15, 1918,

issue contained a letterfrom Bishop Pain, express-ing he and his wife’s thanksfor letters sent from variousmembers of Gippsland dio-cese and a tribute in theprevious issue, on his son’sdeath in the closing days ofWorld War I.On December 10, 1918,

Yarragon, Trafalgar andMoe (combined) parish re-ported “the church hasplayed a large part in thedue and reverent celebra-tion of the great news ofvictory … through unitedservices of thanksgiving inthe street and in publicbuildings and our ownchurch”. A Home MissionFestival was held as adiocesan gathering atTrafalgar on Wednesday,

November 20. Speeches,musical items, tea tablesand prayers were high-lighted by addresses fromBishop Cranswick, Archdea-con Pelletier and DeaconessShoobridge.In a new column, Dea-

coness Shoobridge’s workwas reported, includingGirl’s Friendly Society andwomen’s meetings and theformation meetings on No-vember 23, 1918, of theDiocesan Council of the GFSand, on November 27, theDiocesan Council of Moth-ers’ Union.In 1919, Bishop Cranswick

began writing two monthlycolumns, one in generaland one for children. OnSeptember 9, 1919, BishopCranswick wrote of his up-coming journey to England,for the Lambeth Confer-ence, and encouragedGippsland Anglicans to givehim letters, messages andpresents they would likehim to give to their familyand friends in England.“I have already a goodly

number of such commis-sions, but I am hopeful thatyou will so take me at myword that in every part ofEngland that I visit I canlook forward to makingfriendships,” he wrote, en-couraging his parishionersto think of him as a ‘link’between them and their“people in the old country”.The Church News of May

20, 1920, reported the pop-ularity of the Deaconess atSunday school, especially ifshe brought pictures andscriptural games with her.In the January 1921 news-

paper, Bishop Cranswick re-

ported on his work in theBuchan district, organisingthe Brotherhood. “The com-pensations for the fatigueentailed [from the roadsand distances] are therugged beauty, quite oftenthe grandeur, of the countryand the heartiness of thepeople, amongst whom it isalways a great pleasure tobe”.Also in this issue, the an-

nual Strawberry Fete wasreported from Trafalgar,held in aid of St Mary’s Sun-day school. Net takingswere £42.The February 1921 news-

paper reported “a numberof Gippsland laymen, inorder to mark their appre-ciation of the work of theBishop … presented himwith an Abbott buggy and apair of handsome dappledgrey ponies”. A report from the Board of

Finance stated the stipendwould now be paid throughthe registrar and that theparish quota should be sentin at the end of eachmonth, unifying and consol-idating the work of pay-ment and making thematter of payment to clergya diocesan rather thanparish matter.The annual tea meeting

and concert in Yarragonwas reported on September13, 1921. Performances in-cluded recitations, musicalitems, dialogue and piano.Miss Mary Redmond, Sun-day school teacher for 15years, retired due to illhealth and scholars gaveher a silver-backed hairbrush and comb.

The second decade ofLEFT and below: Brooks, Robinson& Co Ltd continued to take the frontpage of the diocesan newspaper asan advertisement every month, asmentioned in last month’s article.

continued next page

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


from previous page

In The Church News ofJanuary 13, 1922, CanonHaultain urged parish cor-respondents to send theirreports to the Rectory atSale [he was responsiblefor the parish reports butArchdeacon AEF Young ofBairnsdale was still the edi-tor]. Boolarra’s correspondent,

Rev. BB Lousada, wroteabout the history of StJames’ Delburn, believed tobe named for Bishop Moor-house and one of the his-toric treasures of thediocese, built in 1884.Bishop Moorhouse lecturedon Evolution in the local halland proceeds of the servicewere put towards buildingthe church.Rev. Lousada mentions

the graves of two pioneersand a child are under itsshadow. “The Sargeants,the Tomlinsons, the Norths,the Oslers, the Oxenbury’sand others have dweltaround it since they erectedit with their own hands inthe early Eighties,” hewrites.The Church News of Octo-

ber 13, 1922 reported theremoval of the Brotherhoodand the Warden from Kil-many into the Bruthen Rec-tory. Orbost parishfarewelled Rev. AR Ray-mond, with a social withmusical performances. Hewas presented with a walletcontaining £38 in notes andMrs Raymond was given asuit case and an envelopeof notes. At Newmerella, alarge crowd presented himwith another wallet ofnotes. At Bete Bolong, theState school children gaveRev. Raymond a leatherbag and, at another musicalsocial, the residents gavehim another wallet of notes[final total believed to be£63]. They were moving toTatura. On October 14, 1922,

Bishop Cranswick laid thefoundation stone for theAnnie Pain MemorialKindergarten Hall, to bebuilt in the ‘carriage pad-dock’ facing Market Street.A Christian Healing Mis-

sion was held at St Paul’sCathedral, Sale, on March19 to 23, 1923. In thenewspaper of January 20,1923, Bishop Cranswickwrote many pages of infor-mation about what to ex-pect and what was to beorganised for the mission.The Bishop Pain Memorial

Fund was also reported onin this issue, with the con-ditions of its use. To be ad-ministered by Gippslanddiocese, a grand total of

more than £1000 wasraised from Gippslanders.Apart from £100 used for amemorial to Bishop Pain inthe Cathedral in Sale, thebalance of the money wouldbe spent on a scholarship tobe awarded “from time totime by the Bishop of Gipp-sland to men desirous ofentering the ministry of theChurch” to undertake “botha theological and universitycourse” and that “theholder of such scholarshipmust if possible be a Gipps-lander”. The recipient wouldbe expected, after “ordina-tion to service in the min-istry of the Diocese ofGippsland for a period ofthree years at least”.

the diocesan newspaper

ABOVE and left: There was an emphasis on health inmany of the advertisements during this past decade, 1914to 1923.

18 Our Diocese - Media and Literary Reviews March 2013


Women’s footprintsFOOTPRINTS was

launched in 1998 by a smallgroup of Christian womenwho saw a need for an Aus-tralian magazine that en-tertained, informed,inspired and uplifted. Sincethen, the vision has grownto include a website, blog,monthly e-magazine, guestspeakers and books to nur-ture the feminine spirit. Youcan also follow Footprintson social media.Footprints, issued quar-

terly, exists to encourageAustralian women to seekand follow Jesus Christ inevery area of their lives.There are articles for

mothers of young children;for women isolated by ill-ness, distance or disability;

for women in the outback ofAustralia; for all women.Stories, poetry, recipes,

and makeup advice inter-mingle with reflections on arange of interests and is-sues relevant to women, allwritten in an easy to readstyle, often with humor.For aspiring writers, the

magazine takes contribu-tions from new and estab-lished writers. Small groupsfind the articles in the mag-azine provide a basis forbible study and discussion.Footprints Women’s Min-

istries Inc., PO Box 1962,Cleveland, Queensland,4163; online at www.foot-printsaustralia.com or emailed i to r@footpr in tsaus-tralia.com

Tickle, P (2013) Emer-gence Christianity:What It Is, Where It IsGoing and Why It Mat-ters. Baker Books.

By Nick McKenzie

THIS is a follow-up to2008’s The Great Emer-gence, wherein Tickle de-scribed 500 year cycles ofhistory and argued we arenow in the midst of anothergreat turning, like the onethat occurred during theProtestant Reformation. Such generalisations are,

of course, dangerous, butTickle is, nevertheless,backed up by historians andsystems theorists, such asHarvey Cox, who describesa move from an age of doc-trine to an age of spiritual-ity. This new book covers

some of the same groundbut is an update on whathas been happening to thephenomenon known asEmergence Christianity, aswell as providing more de-tail on what it is exactly.Indeed: what exactly is it?

Considering its growing in-

fluence, we in the mainlinechurches may be surpris-ingly uninformed, thoughwe may be familiar with theplayers even while we wereunaware they fell under thebanner of Emergence Chris-tianity. It is an amorphous entity,

but it would be fair to de-scribe Emergence churchesas house churches and al-ternative churches, fo-cussing strongly on socialjustice issues; they aregenerally progressive, in-cluding in liturgy, yet oftenenthusiastic about traditionin liturgy and trappings. They are not Pentecostal

megachurches; neither aretheir members Sunday-onlyChristians. Their model isthe early church, while em-bracing technology in acommunal, rather than in-dividualistic way. A typical group may rent a

worship space, fill it withcouches and candles andthe next day be running afood pantry for the poorfrom the same space. Pas-tors may be part-time only. One Emergence church

runs a coffee house/jazzclub which functions largelyas a ‘virtual’ church online.

And, Tickle tells us, whiletraditional Christianity likesstructure, EmergenceChristians are comfortablewith fluidity. The movement is not with-

out its controversy, like thatwhich followed Emergentpastor Rob Bell’s 2011 LoveWins book, roundly criti-cised for advocating univer-sal salvation. It seemsTickle believes this is thefuture of Christianity, atleast in the West.

Emergence Christianity:an amorphous entity?

Lindsay, E and Scarfe,J (eds) (2012), Preach-ers, Prophets andHeretics. UNSW Press.

By Sue Fordham

PRODUCED to celebratethe 20th anniversary of theordination of women to thepriesthood in Australia, thiscollection of essays is re-markable both in thebreadth of its coverage ofwomen’s ministry, but alsofor the stellar cast of con-tributors. Primates, bishops, priests,

historians, theologians,lawyers, religious broad-casters and laypeople, allpre-eminent in their fields,bring their perspectives tothe topic.The collection is divided

into four sections: Context,Controversy, Changingmetaphors and. finally,Changing times. The firsttwo are generally prewomen’s ordination, thelast two, generally, post or-dination. I say ‘generally’, because

attitudes against women inpositions of leadership didnot altogether change justbecause the initial battlewas won.

These categories, though,have a useful sequentialand thematic logic to them.This is the sort of book youmight dip into if, for argu-ments’ sake, you wanted toremind yourself of the the-ological arguments broughtto bear to ‘keep women intheir place.’It is a bit of a shock to see

how embarrassing some ofthose arguments were. Inthe Roman Catholic part ofthe Church, for instance,and supported by conserva-tive Anglo Catholics in theAnglican Church, the focusis on tradition; that is, thatJesus called 12 men, notwomen; and that faithfuladherence to that traditiondemands we do likewise.The fact he called 12 MiddleEastern Jews, though, doesnot seem to lead to theconclusion the priesthoodmust be not just male, butMiddle Eastern and Jewishas well. Katharine Massam, Profes-

sor of Church History at theUniting Church TheologicalCollege. writes a poignantand pessimistic account ofCatholic feminism whileStuart Piggin, senior aca-demic and administratorwrites with a deft touchabout the Sydney scene.It is interesting to com-

pare the accounts given byPrimates Carnley andRayner of the lead up to thefirst ordinations. Arch-bishop Rayner earned thesobriquet of ‘cautious Keith’due to his reluctance to acton the issue, even thoughhe was a clear supporter. But he argues that his po-

sition on the Appellate Tri-bunal and the complex webof constitutional and otherlegal matters, not to men-tion his need to hold thedisparate parts of thechurch together, in a sensehamstrung him. Perth diocese’s establish-

ment not under secular law,meant the Perth ordinationscould not be effectivelychallenged in the courts.Archbishop Carnley hadmore room to move; andmove he did.Keith Mason, current Pres-

ident of the Appellate Tribu-nal gives a chilling warningabout recourse to secularcourts in his concluding re-flection (p. 92): “Neverthe-less, over the centuries,believers who have invokedthe secular arm to compeluniformity have tended tofind that opposition hardensand, whether successful ornot in the immediate con-flict, they can erect barriersthat can harm brothers or

sisters or establish prece-dents or practices thateventually harm them-selves.”Those of us who belonged

to MOW (Movement for theOrdination of Women) orjust supported its work willthrill to the accounts of itsbattles and the role playedby heroes such as Dr Patri-cia Brennan. What is sur-prising, is the diversityamong women in their re-action to feminism. While Dorothy Lee, Dean

of Trinity College Theologi-cal School, saw many ex-pressions of feminism asalienating (particularly fem-inised language for the trin-ity) and the tendency offeminist arguments to di-vert from a God focus, oth-ers such as Janet Scarfeand Elizabeth Smith sawthe language of worshipand the language withwhich we conceive God asbeing integral to the en-gagement of women in thesalvation story.The final section of essays

is noteworthy for the chill-ing description by MurielPorter about a backlashagainst women in leader-ship roles. While it is nosurprise this is most trench-ant in the Sydney diocese,she writes that their com-

plementarianist/headshipargument is being inten-tionally taken into otherdioceses. She focuses on Melbourne

diocese and claims RidleyCollege, the Australian Fed-eration of Evangelical Stu-dents and aggressiveCalvinistic Protestantgroups in America are re-sponsible for this targeteddrive in Australian dioceses. She quotes a Seattle pas-

tor, Mark Driscoll, who railsagainst women in positionsof power and claims menwho remain in the churchare ‘a bunch of nice, soft,tender, chickified churchboys’; he claims real menavoid the church because itprojects a ‘hippie, queerChrist that is no one to livefor and no one to die for.’ When the Episcopalians in

the USA installed KatharineJefferts Schori as PresidingBishop, the same MarkDriscoll commented thatshe was like a ‘fluffy bunnyrabbit’ trying to lead ‘God’smen.’ The drivers of thebacklash are playing forkeeps.This is a marvellous book

with not a pedestrian chap-ter in it. It does a greatservice in documenting andreflecting on a momentoustime in the church’s history.

A momentous time in church history

March 2013 Our Diocese - Media and Literary Reviews 19


By Fay Magee

IN earlier times, perhaps100 years ago, my grand-mother’s generation werejust as familiar with theirhymn books as with thescriptures they regularlyread. Perhaps today’sequivalent is found in theCDs of various types of sa-cred music or favoritehymns which we can con-stantly access on our per-sonal musical devices.However, I suspect there

is still much to be gained byspending time with a songor hymn other than just aslong as it takes to play orsing.For some Lenten reflection

time, I would like to offer atleast two songs to have re-cently come to mind on thistopic. In each case, withthe depth of the contentand span of the lyrics andthe whole experience of thesong, we have somethingworth reflecting on.‘Jesus Christ is waiting,

waiting in the streets; no-one is his neighbor, allalone he eats…’ is theopening of a song by JohnBell, set to an old French

carol tune Noel Nouvelet.It is number 665 in To-gether in Song. There are five verses,

each one taking a theme ofJesus’ life and ministry,loneliness, injustice, heal-ing, peace and askingwhere we are in response.The fifth verse invites us tofollow, ‘walk one step be-fore me; I will follow you’. In my mind, this tune also

links wonderfully to EasterDay when my local congre-gation often sings the text‘Now the green bladerises…’ to the same tune.Graham Kendrick’s song

‘The Servant King’ leapsacross the time from Jesus’birth to his death yet con-nects to his having been at‘the beginning’ of creation.Against this backdrop, weare asked to affirm ‘this isour God, the Servant King’and our response is aboutour service. The melody and harmony

work well with the struc-ture, not taking us into theusual melodramatic heightsfor the chorus which manyof this genre do. It is well-made for quiet but confi-dent reflection.

Sing a songfor Lentenreflection

ANDREW Fisher has given the newly launchedThe Prize Sports New Testament a more glori-ous start. Last December, at Homebush, Fisher(right) raced to fourth position overall in the V8Ute Championship 2012, his ute emblazonedwith The Prize livery. Fisher is one of 13 Christian sportspeople fea-

tured in The Prize, a paperback from Bible So-ciety Australia that combines the athletes’testimonies with the New Testament. “Sports are a great way to connect with people

and share the gospel with them,” said RugbyLeague player, David Simmons. “Unlike some bibles, this one is easy to read

for a first timer. I hope Christians will give ThePrize to their friends who are keen on sports butnot so keen on going to church and use the tes-timonies and New Testament to start a conver-sation with them.”Other athletes who tell their story of coming to

Christ are Aaron Baddley, Allison Shreeve,Rachel Campbell, Brad Thorn, David Pocock,Deborah Acason (nee Lovely), Jason Stevens,Johnny Mannah, Mark Seaby, Sekope Kepu andTatafu Polota-Nau. They represent a range ofsports from rugby to women’s weightlifting,windsurfing, surfing and golf.Jason Stevens, former rugby league star, is a

keen supporter of The Prize. “When I became a Christian, I received a

sportsman’s bible and it greatly encouraged meto know there were other athletes who had

made the same decision,” he said.“I hope The Prize gets into the hands of those

who need encouragement and those who playsport but don’t think they can reach greatheights while staying true to their faith. Hope-fully they’ll discover the exact opposite, thatdrawing close to God is the best way to achievesuccess in this life and the next.”Champion weightlifter Deb Acason believes

The Prize New Testament is vital. “It’s got these stories in it from everyday peo-

ple who have achieved something amazing, butthat achievement has not been the most impor-tant thing in their life. It’s refreshing to readhow these high achievers always give God thehonor for what He has done,” she said.

“I hope Christian kids who might not beachieving their full potential can read this andbe inspired to work harder and be the best theycan be, to achieve their best for God’s glory, nottheir own.”Rachel Campbell, a champion Aussie surfer

said: “My faith in Christ gives my life hope andpurpose. The Prize shares the stories of sports-people living for more than things of this world.”As for Andrew Fisher, a Christian competing in

the high-stakes world of motor racing, his tes-timony in The Prize explains his overall aim inlife is to make an impact by being counted forChrist. The Prize, at www.biblesociety.org.au or tele-

phone 1300 242 537.

The Bible in V8 racing

Hiramine, J (2011) Culture Shock:A survival guide for teens. Ohio:Standard Publishing.

POPULARITY, temptation, technology,obscenity, relationships, sex, media inter-pretations ... these are all issues thattoday’s teenager have to grapple with.Add a Christian faith, or an evolving ques-tioning stepping into asking ‘What is thisGod thing about?’ Culture Shock aims todiscuss these questions and issues.The book is written to enable an individ-

ual or a discussion group to consider thequestions and issues raised and formulateanswers, particular to each individual.

Lawson, M (2007) Through Zoe’sEyes: When my Mum got sick... .Melbourne: Brolga Publishing.

A SIMPLE, beautifully illustrated bookfrom Monica Lawson, When my Mum gotsick is written from her first person expe-rience of cancer and searching for litera-ture to help her daughter deal with thechanges about to occur in her life.This is very much a book for Australian

children, with references to local culture.The book is written from the perspective

of Zoe and it speaks with the child’s voiceof the child’s observations.

Stella, M, Christie, K and Parman,MM (2007) I Love U by God. In-donesia: Bright Idea Publishing.

DISCOVER creative ways to introducethe love of God. Curious, three-year-oldKyla Christie asks: ‘Does God love me?’and ‘How much does God love me?’.This board book has simple text, well

drawn illustrations, pop-ups and movingparts to illustrate the answers. I Love Uby God is a fun book for parents to readto and with babies and toddlers; and foryoung children to read aloud themselves.

Piper, S and Ruta, A (2012)Psalms, Prayers and Praises. Eng-land: Lion Hudson.

CHARMING and lightly drawn illustra-tions support Psalms, Prayers andPraises, written for children. There aretexts and prayers taken from the psalms,some taken from other works such as StFrancis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Sun, orfrom Revelations, Luke, Micah or otherbiblical texts.

For youngreaders

20 Our Diocese - Parishes March 2013


By Iris Maxfield andRosemary Blackley

DURING March 2013, asignificant anniversary willbe marked at Christ ChurchDrouin.Forty years has passed

since Sunday, March 4,1973 when the rector,Canon EG Gibson, con-ducted the Dedication serv-ice for three stained glasswindows situated in thenorth-east wall of the naveof Christ Church Drouin. The inscription on the win-

dows appropriately reads:To the Glory of God and inMemory of Richard andMary Ann Higgs, EarlyBenefactors of this Parish.The Gift of Priscilla andWilliam L Kraft.That service honored the

important historical connec-tion between Christ Churchand the pioneer family ofRichard and Mary AnnHiggs. The first building for

Drouin Christ Church cameabout from a generous gift,in 1879, of a parcel of landin Grant Street; given byparishioner Mary AnnHiggs, wife of RichardHiggs, to become the site ofa dedicated place of wor-ship for the Church of Eng-land in Drouin. A short timelater, a timber church build-ing was completed, largelybuilt by volunteers and con-secrated in 1880.Richard Higgs had ac-

quired a reputation of beinga major figure and pioneerof the Brandy Creek, DrouinWest and Drouin districtand he is recorded as beinga sawmiller, hotelier andfarmer; and provider ofmuch needed employmentin his enterprises. Conse-quently, he and his wife,Mary Ann, have a notableplace in the history and de-velopment of Drouin fromits beginning as a small rail-way camp on the Moe line. Step forward to 1972

when Canon Ted Gibsonspoke with William L Kraftand his wife Priscilla (neeHiggs), a descendant ofRichard and Mary AnnHiggs. Canon Gibson recalls the

topic turned to the Krafts’intention to move fromDrouin in the near futureand Mr Kraft expressedtheir wish to gift a memo-rial to Christ Church inhonor of his wife’s pioneer-ing family and, especially,the gesture of Mary AnnHiggs, which had influenceddevelopment of the Churchin Drouin district. After discussion an appro-

priate memorial was rec-ommended and CanonGibson and Fred Armstrongwere asked by Mr Kraft toseek a craftsman who coulddesign and execute stainedglass windows for ChristChurch, which would ex-press beauty, remembrance

and spirituality. Then followed an investi-

gation of stained glass win-dows in Gippslandchurches. A number of ex-amples were found in Angli-can churches in Bairnsdale,Kooweerup, Poowong,Stratford and Yarram andthe name of Jean Orval be-came known to them. Canon Gibson, Fred Arm-

strong and Noel Housdentravelled to visit Jean Orval,a renowned Glass Artist, athis studio and workshop inHamilton. From his design-ing, cutting of glass, paint-ing and baking, it quicklybecame clear to them thatJean was a master of theskills and methods requiredin the ancient craft ofstained glass windows. In 1953, Jean Orval

brought his wife and familyto Australia from Hollandwhere he worked in com-mercial art and in the stu-dio of a stained glassdesigner and painter. Insome ways his early yearsin Australia were disap-pointing due to little workbeing available in the fieldof stained glass windowsand he returned to housepainting, signwriting,teaching art at HamiltonHigh School and, at onetime, window dressing. By the time the rector and

parish councillors of ChristChurch Drouin visited JeanOrval in 1972, his stainedglass art had won widerecognition. After years ofstriving to have his workacknowledged, an invitationto exhibit at Hamilton ArtGallery in 1962 broughthim to public notice. Then followed exhibitions

in Melbourne and Adelaideand commissions fromchurches in several Statestogether with private or-ders. He was able to oper-ate a full time glass studioand employ one of his sonsas his assistant. In October 1972, a sub-

committee of F Armstrong,B Drysdale and G Robertswas formed to collaboratewith Mr Kraft for the proj-ect. The December 1972parish council minutesrecord the design submit-ted by Jean Orval was ac-cepted and permission wasgranted by Bishop Garnseyfor the work to begin. On completion, the three

tall windows were fixed inthe northeast wall of ChristChurch’s 1936 building.The design created depictsthe Nativity, the Betrayaland the Crucifixion. Tall,and bordering on narrow,each has a strong spiritual-ity in simple yet powerfuliconic images made inglowing glass of rich pri-mary colors (above right). In an art form that dates

back to the 12th century,Christian images in illu-mined stained glass spokeeloquently to the people

then, just as they do for ustoday. Plans were made for the

dedication service at ChristChurch, with services at10am and 2pm and a Pleas-ant Sunday Afternoon pro-gram featuring an organrecital by Geoffrey Revell.The Register of Services forthe day shows 137 peopleattended, including Williamand Priscilla Kraft andmembers of the Higgs fam-ily. Canon Gibson was theofficiating clergy. The new memorial win-

dows of Christ Church werewarmly received by parish-ioners and public and ap-preciated by all who viewedthem. Sincere praise wasexpressed to glass artist,Jean Orval; for the pieceshe had created from a firstidea and carried through tothe final stage of fixing intothe church wall, resulted inoutstanding examples of hisart and a fitting expressionof remembrance and spiri-tuality in glowing color. The Higgs’ memorial win-

dows marked a new era inchurch decoration at ChristChurch. Canon Gibson be-lieved it was time to expandthe collection and JeanOrval was commissioned for12 stained glass windowsfeaturing the Apostles infigurative and symbolic rep-resentation. With encour-agement by Canon Gibson,co-operation and generoussupport from parishionersand the ladies of thechurch, the 12 windowswere installed and dedi-cated by the end of 1979. In 1978, Jean Orval was

commissioned by parish-ioner, Don Roberts, for twostained glass windows ded-icated to the memory of hiswife, Marjorie, and theirson, Graham. Conse-quently, Christ ChurchDrouin achieved a signifi-cant collection of stainedglass windows by JeanOrval. Jean Orval created a cruci-

fix and presented it toCanon Gibson and his wife,inscribed, In Gratitude inJanuary, 1976, in apprecia-tion of their hospitality andsupport during the periodsof installation of the churchwindows. Canon Gibsonand Annabel graciously pre-sented this piece to ChristChurch Drouin in 2002 andit is a meaningful additionto the work of Jean Orval,held by the church. All stained glass windows

described in this articlewere installed in the 1936Christ Church at the time oftheir dedication. In 2007, anew worship centre was ad-joined to the 1936 churchbuilding and as a result, sixof the Apostle windowswere moved into the newbuilding (top photo, forthree of these windows).Sincere appreciation is ex-

pressed to Noel andRachael Orval, for their visitto Christ Church in June2012 and the informationthey shared with us. Thefamily has a website tributeto their father, Jean, and hislife’s work. Further informa-tion about Drouin ChristChurch windows and JeanOrval, together with an ex-tensive record of hisstained glass art, can befound on the internet. Christ Church Drouin

gratefully acknowledgesTed Gibson who providedmuch appreciated informa-tion and insights for the de-velopment of this article.Appreciation is expressedto the Christ Churcharchives group, ReverendAmy Turner, Rosalie Murphyin the church office and TimGibson, for valuable infor-mation and support.

Higgs’ memorial windows at Drouin

'The Gippsland Anglican' March 2013

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Transcript of 'The Gippsland Anglican' March 2013