The Gippsland Anglican, February 2011

Volume 108, Number 1 February 2011 Published in Gippsland Diocese since 1904

The Gippsland Anglican is your award winning newspaper: Most Improved Newspaper (ARPA) 2001; Best Regional Publication (ARPA) 2003; Best Social Justice StoryHighly Commended (ARPA) 2004.

Celebrating 80 yearsof Brotherhood

page 4

Women: beyond thecomfort zone

Page 3

Abbey Program takesvision forward

page 7

Bishop Parkes leads Anglicanson Australia Dayhonors list

ABOVE: Tom and Tanya Killingbeck, along with their children, Calime, Tristan and Chiara, were atthe Australia Day breakfast and ceremony at Bruthen. The family recently moved from Warragul parishto Bruthen, where Tom will be the part-time incumbent. On February 19, Tom will be ordained deaconand Phyllis Andy and Kathy Dalton will each be ordained priest. The ordinations will be at St Paul’sAnglican Cathedral, Sale, beginning 11am. The Killingbeck family enjoyed meeting local parishionersand other community members at the Australia Day ceremony, and saw Helen Pollard receive a specialLions award. Other Australia Day awards were made to many prominent Australian Anglicans (seestory left). Photo: Jeanette Severs

BISHOP Anthony John Parkes,of Wangaratta Diocese, has beenhonored for his achievements asan Anglican priest. He leads a listof Anglicans who were recog-nised for their community serviceat the recent Australia Day cere-monies across the nation.

In announcing the Australia Day2011 Honors List, the Governor-General, Her Excellency QuentinBryce AC, Chancellor of theOrder of Australia, commendedthe 441 recipients, who receivedawards in the general division ofthe Order of Australia, in recogni-tion of their diverse contributionsand service to fellow citizens inAustralia and internationally.

“I want to give my strong sup-port to the awards made throughthe Australian Honors System’,Ms Bryce said. “They elevate theconcept of giving to others. Theyheighten our respect for oneanother and they encourageAustralians to think about theresponsibilities of citizenship inour democracy.”

“Awards in the Australian honorssystem represent the highest levelof recognition accorded by ournation for outstanding achieve-ment and service, recognise com-munity values and celebrate whatis important and unifying inAustralian life,” Ms Bryce said.

The Honourable Peter HowardCostello, of Camberwell Victoriawas awarded the Companion (AC)of the Order of Australia. He wasrecognised for his eminent serviceto the Parliament of Australia.

Costello was educated at CareyBaptist Grammar School and isknown to attend Baptist andAnglican churches.

Among those awarded Member(AM) of the Order of Australiawere prominent Anglicans,

Emeritus Professor KennethRaymond Dutton OAM, ofNewcastle NSW; Mr GeoffreyVictor Kells, of Cremorne NSW;Mr Andrew George McCallum, ofDrummoyne NSW; Mr SidneyHordern Myer, of ToorakVictoria; The Right ReverendAnthony John Parkes, of Bishop’sLodge, Wangaratta Victoria.

Bishop Parkes was awarded forservice to the Anglican Church ofAustralia, particularly throughcontributions to the completion ofSt John’s Cathedral, Brisbane.Currently the Bishop of theDiocese of Wangaratta, since2008, he was previously AssistantBishop, Diocese of Brisbane, andDean, St John’s AnglicanCathedral, 2004-2007.

He promoted fundraising proj-ects that enabled completion ofbuilding works on the Cathedralwhich is now a venue for the arts,hosting concerts, recitals, exhibi-tions and other events.

Anglicans among those awardedMedal (OAM) of the Order ofAustralia, were Mr Ian LindsayCarrig, of Glen Osmond SA; MrBrian Arthur Corless, MalvernEast Victoria; Mrs Susan Diver, ofDarling Point NSW; MrsMarguerite Lily Eldridge, StanleyTasmania; Mr Ronald Fife Fallaw,deceased, late of MorningtonVictoria; Ms Elizabeth LeightonFlint, of Kensington Gardens SA;Mr Barry John Hirt, of GisborneVictoria; Mrs Jeanette LorraineHolland, of Taree NSW; MrWilliam James Humphreys, ofKiama NSW; Ms Lexie FayJorgensen, of Toowoomba Qld;Mr Albert Anthony Manning, ofTumut NSW; Dr Ian JamesMitchell, of Ferny Creek Victoria;Mr Rodger Gregory O’Hara, ofEaglehawk Victoria; Mrs Alice

Arnott Oppen, of Hunters HillNSW; Miss Elma MargaretProellocks, of Toowoomba Qld;Mrs Gwenda Rees, of KapundaSA; Mrs Jocelyn Clare Ross, ofGeraldton WA; The ReverendWilliam Arthur (Bill) Ross, ofGeraldton WA; Mr Walter JohnWilliamson, of Maroubra NSW.

AWA recognisedMRS Jeanette Lorraine Holland,

of Taree NSW, was recognised forher role with Anglican Women ofAustralia, among other church

organisations, in the AustraliaDay honors. Mrs Holland wasawarded the Medal (OAM) of theOrder of Australia, for service tothe community, particularlythrough Quota International, andto a range of church and serviceorganisations.

Mrs Holland has been NationalTreasurer, Anglican Women ofAustralia, 2000-2003; DiocesanPresident, 1996-1999. ParishRepresentative, Synod ofAnglican Diocese of Newcastle;Bishop’s Representative, 1999-2001; Member, Anglican Parish

Council and the AnglicanWomen’s Fellowship.

Rallies in MarchTHE Gippsland AWA Deanery

rallies will be held February 28 toMarch 3. Beth Hookey, ofAngliCORD, is the guest speaker.The rallies, open to all women,will be held at Metung, Yarram,Newborough, Bunyip andKorumburra. Contact CarolynRaymond, telephone 03 51919343; more information on page 3inside TGA.

2 Our Diocese - Missions and Ministries February 2011

The Gippsland Anglican

The Gippsland

AnglicanPrice: 90 cents each

$25 annual postal subscriptionMember of Australasian Religious Press

AssociationRegistered by Australia Post.

Print Post Number 34351/00018

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

The Anglican Diocese of Gippsland, 453 Raymond St, Sale, Victoria, 3853,

www.gippsanglican.org.au

Editor: Mrs Jeanette Severs,PO Box 928, Sale, 3850

Tel: 03 5144 2044Fax: 03 5144 7183

Email: [email protected] all parish reports, all articles,

photographs, letters and advertisements to the Editor.

Photographs should be jpeg files.Articles should be .doc or .txt files.Advertisements should be PDF files.

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

All contributions must be received bythe Editor by the 15th day of the monthprior to publication. Contact the Editor todiscuss variation to this date.

The Editor reserves the right of finalchoice and format of material included ineach issue. Although all efforts are made toensure accuracy, The Gippsland Anglican andthe Editor cannot necessarily verify anymaterial used in this publication. Viewscontained in submitted material are thoseof the respective contributors.

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

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

for all advertising submissions, costings andenquiries, including about inserts in thenewspaper. All advertisements should bewith the Editor by the 10th of the monthprior to publication.

For Sale Classifieds:Parishes can advertise items for free, for

sale at prices up to and including $100.Send details, including contact name andtelephone number, to the Editor by 10thof the month prior to publication.

IndexBishop receives AM 1

Beyond comfort zone 3

80 years for Brotherhood 4

Flood relief appeal 5

Summer Sonlight 6

Abbey finds its feet 7

First Abbey program 8

MOPS cubby 9

Prizes for children 10

Puzzles & color in 11

Farewell with flowers 12

Diocesan Calendar 13

Lenten studies 13

Christmas in parishes 14

Parish fairs 15

Parish missions 16

PERHAPS it is because I am a ‘meat andthree vegetables’ man from way back, that Ihave never understood why anyone would wantto watch a television cooking show, let aloneget excited about it. So imagine my surprisewhen cooking shows top the TV ratings.

Sure, I do now appreciate the wider range offoods available because of our growing multi-cultural society, but from my perspective (bor-ing, I know) food is for sustenance notadulation.

There is an even more serious side to all thisthat troubles me deeply. While we in wealthycountries get excited about cuisine, strugglewith obesity and throw out tonnes of fooddaily, lack of food and poor nutrition con-tributes to the deaths of millions of people eachyear across the world.

This stark contrast is even more telling in thecontext of the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs), which in the year 2000, world leaderscommitted to achieve by the year 2015. Thefirst listed of those goals is to ‘Eradicate ex-treme poverty and hunger’.

It seems to me, symbolically at least, the vastarray of cooking shows on TV laughs in theface of that intent. It is little wonder we are offthe pace in achieving the MDGs by 2015.

In a recent newspaper article by Melbournewriter Jane Cafarella, I was delighted to find Ihad a travel companion on this issue. She in-forms us of some mind-boggling facts. To cite

just a couple, in our world where there aremore than 1.1 billion overweight people, poornutrition contributes to half the 10.9 millionchild deaths each year. There has to be some-thing wrong here!

Her analysis is that our obsession with cook-ing and eating is “a symptom of how self-ab-sorbed and over indulged we are” and that it is“just making us fat and boring”.

Even more importantly, she points out “thereare almost as many hunger sites (on the web) as

cooking shows (onTV)” and suggests we dosomething about it.

That is pretty good advice, and for us asChristians it is fundamental to what we believe.When Jesus said: “You always have the poorwith you, but you do not always have me”, hewas not saying, as some would suggest, there isnot much you can do about the poor and weshould just concentrate on him, as if that meanswe can ignore the poor.

In fact, he was quoting the scriptures whichstate: “Since there will never cease to be somein need on the earth, I therefore command you,‘Open your hand to the poor and needy in yourland’.” Deuteronomy 15.11

It would seem to me that here Jesus is simplysaying that if we value him and what his pres-ence with us means, we will show this by livingas he lived. As he gave his life that we mighthave life, so we will give of our lives so thatothers may live.

Where the life of another is in any way underthreat, we will live our lives in such a mannerthat we contribute to the removal of that threat.Certainly we will never live in a manner thatadds to that threat.

So, because our over-indulgence as Aus-tralians arguably contributes to the hunger ofothers in the world, we as Christians can donothing other than to desist from over-indul-gence and anything that encourages it. Then wecan use the wealth thereby saved to offer lifeand hope to those most in need.

That makes for a pretty good New Year’s res-olution. Maybe you could symbolise that reso-lution by watching less TV cooking shows.

The Right Reverend John McIntyreAnglican Bishop of Gippsland

A hungry resolution

“there are almost as many hunger sites as cooking shows”

Gippsland Grammar ...we make a di!erence

Students and Sta! areto congratulated

James Gray(Tinamba)

99.9Agnik Sarkar

(Sale)

99.4Sarah Christie

(Bushy Park)

99.1April Rowe

(Sale)

98.0Hayden Meade

(Sale)

97.9

Gippsland Grammar celebrates the success ofthe Year 12 class of 2010

11% of students had an ATAR above 9521% of students had an ATAR above 9038% of students had an ATAR above 8095% of students had an ATAR above 50

www.gippslandgs.vic.edu.auPhone 5143 6388

The Anglican Diocese of Gippsland

takes complaints of abuse and harm

seriously.

If you may have been harmed by a Church worker, or know someone who has, please come forward. All complaints will be treated sensitively and confidentially. The Director of Professional Standards, Cheryl Russell, can be contacted on telephone 03 5633 1573, on mobile 0407 563313 or email [email protected] The Anglican Diocese of Gippsland does not tolerate any harassment or abuse in its church community.

February 2011 Our Diocese - Missions and Ministries 3


AFTER the October AWA Rallyheld in Sale last year, many peoplein Gippsland thought the local An-glican Women of Australia (AWA)group would no longer exist or beable to run its annual programsacross the diocese. This is NOT so!The Deanery Rallies will go on asthey have for many years, underthe organisation of an AWA work-ing group.

This year, guest speaker, MrsBeth Hookey, from the overseasaid organisation, Anglicord, willattend all five Deanery Rallies.Beth (right) will speak about inspi-rational women she has come toknow through her work.

These women are making ex-traordinary decisions to live outtheir faith in action. These womenwork across the world in suchcountries as Africa and Israel. Theyare reaching out to their neighboursin refugee camps in conflict zonesand with people who have lived forgenerations with extreme poverty.

They are women who are livingand working in cities, in rural areasand with desert nomads. Beth willalso be speaking from her own ex-perience about how her work hastaken her beyond the comfort zonethrough her work with Anglicord.

The Rallies will start in the eastof the diocese at Metung, on Mon-day, February 28, beginning 10 am.

The next Rally is in the parish ofYarram on Tuesday, March 1, be-

ginning 10 am. In the evening ofMarch 1 is the evening rally, atNewborough from 7pm.

On Wednesday, March 2, atten-dees will meet at Korumburra at10am.

On Thursday, March 3, womenwill gather in the far west of thediocese, at Bunyip, from 10am.

All the Deanery Rallies beginwith a refreshment, then attendeescelebrate the Eucharist together.There will be a meeting after eachservice to find out what AWA isdoing this year and to plan for thefuture. This meeting will includeinformation on AWA’s missionproject for the year. After lunch,the guest speaker will deliver an in-spirational address before the dayfinishes with more refreshments!

All Anglican women are auto-matically members of AWA andthe Rallies are normally very wellattended. Women are encouragedto put these dates in your diariesand come together in worship,service and fellowship.

For further information, contactCarolyn Raymond, telephone 035191 9343.

Comfort zonesBETH Hookey is the Anglicord

Small Grants Manager and hertopic for the AWA Deanery Ralliesis ‘Beyond the comfort zone: inspi-rational Anglican women today’.

Beth’s experience has led her tobelieve that around the world, An-glican women are taking bravesteps beyond their comfort zone toshow the love of Christ to theirneighbours in refugee camps, con-flict zones, and poverty.

An Anglican overseas aid worker,Beth has met some inspirational‘ordinary women’ making extraor-dinary choices to put faith into ac-tion in love. Beth will also speak ofher own unexpected journey be-yond her comfort zone, through herwork over 20 years with Anglicord,an Australian Anglican overseasaid organisation.

Women: beyond the comfort zone

Locally owned by Tom & Dale Dooley

Pre-arranged & Pre-paid plansFriendly & understanding advice

30 Victoria St, Bairnsdale 3875Ph: 5152 4596 (All hours)

E: [email protected] W: www.silverliningfunerals.com.au

EAST GIPPSLANDS FUNERAL PROFESSIONALS

SUBSCRIPTIONto The Gippsland Anglican

Get The Gippsland Anglican posted direct to you

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

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

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

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

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

Communitysupports theinner journey

THE Anam Cara Community is adiocesan ministry that seeks tosupport and care for those who feelcalled to make the inner journeyinto God. The diocesan strategicplan encourages all members of thediocesan family to pay attention toboth their inner and outward jour-neys.

The Anam Cara Community pro-vides events (quiet days, retreatsand workshops), resources (web-site, newsletters, library), support(spiritual direction or soul care andteaching) and fellowship to thosewho feel led to follow Jesus’ callto lives of deep prayer.

Some people are a little uncertainabout the Anam Cara Community.Some mistakenly think it is onlyfor those interested in mysticalideas or even an expression of ‘newage’ thinking. Nothing could befurther from the truth. A carefulreading of the brochure titled‘Anam Cara Community State-ment’ (available from parish clergyand the diocesan registry office)shows this.

The Anam Cara Community is agroup of people in Gippsland, andthe wider Australian church, whoseek to live prayerful lives, re-sponding to Jesus’ call to love Goddeeply and expansively and to de-vote themselves to service of theirneighbour. The Anam Cara Com-munity understands itself to have aspecial ministry to those who feeldistant from the church, or ‘on theoutside’ and seeks to provide a safespace for everyone to explore theinner journey. The Community iscommitted to ministry to the Dio-cese, one part of which is to holdthe diocesan family before God inprayer.

The Community is led by the Ser-vant Leaders, who in 2011 areAnne Turner, Jane Macqueen,Marion White, Jo Inglis, KateCampbell, Carolyn Raymond, Jan

Huggins, Sue Hopkins, BrianTurner and Colin Thornby. TheCommunity commissioned theServant Leaders in late November,at the Annual Thanksgiving Eu-charist, held at St Paul’s Cathedralin Sale. At the Eucharist the Com-munity also welcomed and af-firmed new associates, andrededicated itself to the journey.

Everyone is welcome to attendAnam Cara Community events,and to access the resources andservices. The Community gener-ally holds Quiet Days each month,between February to November.

The best way to keep up to datewith Anam Cara Community hap-penings is to visit the websitewww.anamcara-gippsland.org. Youcan view the calendar, find outmore about ACC, read newsletters,access resources, and contact Com-munity members.

The first Quiet Day for the yearwill be hosted by the Sale MeetingPlace on Saturday, February 26,with the theme ‘The creative Spiritof God in you’, led by Kate Camp-bell.

Contributed by Anne Turner, andColin Thornby.

ABOVE: Servant Leader AnneTurner speaks about the AnamCara Community.

Lady Day in MarchAT the annual general meeting of Mothers’

Union Gippsland, held late last year, the committeefinalised arrangements for Lady Day, on Friday,March 25 and other activities for the year. Guestspeaker at Lady Day is Mrs Marilyn Oulds, MUAustralia member and general Trustee of World-wide Mothers’ Union.

Marilyn will speak on her experiences within theWorldwide Mothers Union. Lady Day is held an-nually in late March, at St Paul’s Anglican Cathe-dral in Sale.

The day begins at 10am and attendees are advisedto bring their own lunch.

Outgoing president of MU Gippsland, and newlyelected MU Australia Caritas leader, Jan Misiurka,expressed her appreciation, on behalf of the exec-utive, for the coverage and promotion of Mothers’Union in The Gippsland Anglican.

“On behalf of the executive and myself, I want tothank you for the most positive promotions youhave provided for MU over my time in leadershipof Gippsland MU, and for enlightening the widerreadership to the role and work of MU. We haveappreciated it immensely. I am sure Karin McKen-zie will provide you with many opportunities in thefuture,” Jan said.

ABOVE: Jan Misurka with Nell and Marge at theMaffra MU Christmas lunch last year.

ABOVE: Attendees at the 80th an-niversary of the Brotherhood ofSt Laurence had plenty of reasonsto celebrate on Wednesday, De-cember 8 last year. See story andmore photographs on page 4.



AS one of Australia’s most inno-vative and respected welfare organ-isations, the Brotherhood of StLaurence had plenty of reasons tocelebrate its 80th anniversary onWednesday, December 8 last year.

The day was marked by an after-noon service at St Paul’s Cathedralin Melbourne, featuring manymemorable highlights.

Several descendants of Fr GerardTucker, the Brotherhood’s founder,attended the service, with eachfamily member presenting a sym-bol of Fr Tucker’s ministry. Thiswas followed by a liturgical pro-cession led by students from Gee-long Grammar School and aWelcome to Country by Indige-nous soprano and Melbourne en-tertainer, Deborah Cheetham.

After a sermon from the RightReverend Bishop Philip Huggins,the Choir of Hope and Inspirationsang Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah,led by the Brotherhood’s Ambas-sador, Jonathon Welch AM. Exec-utive Director, Tony Nicholson,spoke of the organisation’s historyand achievements and the FreehillsChoir performed the Toto classic,Africa. The Final Blessing was de-livered by the Anglican Arch-bishop of Melbourne, Philip Freier.

“It was wonderful to see so manypeople help commemorate thismilestone,” said Fr Jeff O’Hare,head of the Chaplaincy team at theBrotherhood of St Laurence.

“The service gave everyone at theBrotherhood the chance to thankour donors, volunteers, supportersand colleagues, and to think aboutwhat we hope to achieve in the fu-ture. It also gave supporters oppor-tunity to celebrate theBrotherhood’s past achievements,and their part in these successes.

“The Brotherhood has helpedthousands of Australians to freethemselves of poverty and build abetter future, which is somethingwe can all be very thankful for.”

The Brotherhood of St Laurencewas founded by Fr Gerard Tuckeron December 8, 1930, in the Angli-can parish church of St Stephen in

Adamstown, a working-class sub-urb of Newcastle, New SouthWales. Fr Tucker was a man whobelieved in putting his Christianfaith into action by campaigningfor justice and social reform.

Executive Director of the Broth-erhood, Tony Nicholson, says thepioneering spirit of the Brother-hood is reflected in its early his-tory.

“Many of Fr Tucker’s ideas werewell ahead of their time,” he said.

For example, in 1943 the Broth-erhood of St Laurence employed asocial research officer to investi-gate the causes of poverty – an un-precedented appointment for that

time. Fr Tucker also used dramaticand confronting films to illustratethe terrible living conditions ofpoor families.

In 1946, the Brotherhood estab-lished Victoria’s first senior citi-zen’s centre, the Coolibah Club,which continues to operate todayas the Coolibah Centre.

“It’s little known that Fr Tuckerfounded the Food for Peace Cam-paign in 1953. It became Commu-nity Aid Abroad in 1962, and later,Oxfam,” said Tony Nicholson.

“When you consider the socialand economic policies, programsand initiatives the Brotherhood hasimplemented and helped shape in

80 years for Brotherhood Carers supported

Be a part of supporting the Aboriginal Ministry Fund

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

‘Australia, it’s clear how ground-breaking the organisation has beenin helping lift disadvantaged Aus-tralians out of poverty and givingthem a voice. Many programs andrecommendations pioneered by theBrotherhood have been adopted bygovernment and community organ-isations, and this is something ofwhich we are enormously proud.’

‘Much has been achieved, butthere is still plenty of exciting andchallenging work ahead for theBrotherhood.’

ABOVE: Students from Geelong Grammar at the celebrations.BELOW: Brotherhood Chaplain, Debra Saffrey-Collins; Brotherhood Ex-ecutive Director, Tony Nicholson; Chair of the Brotherhood’s Board, TheRight Reverend Philip Huggins; Brotherhood General manager of Chap-laincy, Father Jeff O’Hare.

By Lisa CowellBenetas Australia

CARERS of people with demen-tia in Orbost have received a help-ing hand with the opening of a newsupport group. Not-for-profit agedcare provider, Benetas, partneredwith Alzheimer’s Australia Victo-ria last year to establish supportgroups for carers of people withdementia living in Gippsland.

The first group opened in LakesEntrance following numerous re-quests for support from the re-gion’s carers. A second group heldthe first meeting in December forlocal residents of Orbost.

A recent report by Alzheimer’sAustralia has predicted the numberof regional Australians with de-mentia will increase by more than350% between 2009 and 2050. InVictoria alone, the numbers arepredicted to quadruple to 77,890.While these statistics are startling,they point to the importance ofplanning services to ensure resi-dents of regional Australia haveequal access to dementia care.

Both carer support groups at Or-bost and Lakes Entrance meetmonthly, giving carers the opportu-nity to share experiences and infor-mation.

“Carers are not often prepared forthe role. They ‘fall into it’ and as aresult find they have nowhere togo, need information and need sup-port. That’s where Benetas is try-ing to help,” said Benetas CEO,Sandra Hills.

For details about the monthlymeetings in Lakes Entrance andOrbost, please contact Benetas at03 5155 6000. Please note the carersupport groups are specifically forcarers, not the person living withdementia.

Recognising the best ANGLICARE Australia CEO,

Kasy Chambers had a starring roleat member agency and aged careprovider Benetas’ annual staffawards events in December. Kasytravelled to Melbourne to play hostfor the evening at the 2010 BenetasTeam Member Awards.

The event is held annually tothank Benetas staff members whohave made particularly special con-tributions to the organisation and tocaring for older Victorians. Eightindividual and team awards werepresented on the night. BenetasCEO, Sandra Hills opened theevent, telling her team: “I am in-spired by and truly appreciate your

dedication.”Of special mention on the night

was a team of Benetas case man-agers recognised for their effortsworking with the Victorian Depart-ment of Human Services (DHS)following the Black Saturday(2009) bushfires. The team wasseconded to the Victorian BushfireCase Management Service(VBCMS) for 18 months followingthe devastating fires that occurredin February 2009. Staff membersJulie McConville, Fiona Moss,Jane Furey, Kay Donnelly andmanager Helen Brightman (above)all accepted the ‘Health Super Out-standing Partnership Award’ pre-sented to them for theirunwavering commitment duringsuch tragic times. Helen Brightmansaid it was a challenging experi-ence for everyone involved.

“All our case managers weregiven a list of names and phonenumbers and they had to ring thepeople to find out what they coulddo for them,” she said.

“DHS was working as fast as itcould to put in the procedures tohelp us work with them but wewere pretty much operating blindlyfor a couple of months until all thesystems were put in place. “

Older AustraliansAGED care provider, Benetas, re-

cently welcomed the draft recom-mendations released by theProductivity Commission today inresponse to their inquiry into ‘Car-ing for Older Australians.’

Benetas CEO, Sandra Hills con-gratulated the Commission for lis-tening to the industry andaddressing the main issues outlinedby previous reviews of the sector.

“It’s great to see the focus beingplaced back on people’s needs,providing them with the type ofcare that suits them, rather thanforcing them to fit into a predeter-mined model,” said Ms Hills.

“We strongly support the recom-mendations to remove the existingdifferentiations between levels ofcare, and provide services basedpurely on individual needs.”

Other areas supported by Benetasinclude the proposed AustralianSeniors Gateway Agency to pro-vide a ‘one-stop’ entry point intoaged care; the attention to creatinggreater consumer choice and inde-pendence; unbundling accommo-dation and care costs;improvements to workforce in-cluding competitive wages andskill development; and the creationof a new regulatory agency, theAustralian Aged Care RegulationCommission.

“An opportunity does exist, how-ever, for the Productivity Commis-sion to recommend how we canimprove public attitudes towardsolder Australians and ageing ingeneral. Our research shows signif-icant ageist viewpoint in society.”



www.broughtonpublishing.com.au

A GIFT PRAYER BOOK(APBA) 1995

AVAILABLE DECEMBER 2010

Senior’s day: plans to repeat in 2011THE inaugural Gippsland Cursillo Senior’s Day was

held in November. The theme for the day was ‘Chris-tians do not have a used by date’. More than 40 people(above) joined together to enjoy a fun day of reflec-tion, learning singing, fellowship and some great food.

Participants travelled from across the diocese, as di-verse as Mirboo North, Drouin, Warragul and Bairns-dale. The event was due to the enthusiasm and supportof June Lawson. Due to the positive feedback, we arehoping to organise two similar days during 2011.

UltreyasTHE secretariat is going to trial a new method for or-

ganising Ultreyas for 2011, beginning in February.The Diocesan Ultreya Coordinator will develop ros-ters for each of the four diocesan areas with a Parishin each area being responsible for the running of anUltreya on a rotational basis.

This means there will be no need for Area Ul t reyaCoordinators with the responsibility being sharedacross the diocese.

Parishes Coordinators will receive more informationand rosters in the near future.

Travelling AustraliaNINETEEN of the 23 dioceses in Australia have

some form of Cursillo active in them. If you are trav-eling interstate or around Victoria and would like tocontact local representatives, or attend one of theirevents, search on the internet for ‘Cursillo’ and go tothe website of the Anglican Cursillo Movement ofAustralia for more details.

Click on the ‘Diocesan Reps’ button for contacts andthe ‘Weekend’ button for events. You will also findsome diocesan Cursillo websites on the internet.

Contributed by Jodie Pincini

ABOVE: June and Stuart Lawson with Neville andJodie Pincini at the Gippsland Cursillo Seniors Day.TOP: The crowd that attended the Seniors Day.

Photos: Christine Morris

LEFT: Mothers’ Union Gippslandlife member, Gladys Vardy, ofBairnsdale, celebrates her birthdayin December, and was happy to cutthe cake at the Maffra MU Christ-mas lunch. The next diocesanMothers’ Union gathering is LadyDay, on March 25, at St Paul’s An-glican Cathedral, Sale.

Photo: Jean Heasley

Flood reliefappeal open

THE Archbishop of Melbournehas launched a Victorian Flood Re-lief Appeal.

“I am pleased to announce thelaunch of the Archbishop of Mel-bourne’s Victorian Flood ReliefAppeal. Flooding has devastatedparts of the Province, in particularin Bendigo and Ballarat, and con-tinues to affect people in the state,with many homes and businesses,including farms, inundated.

“We understand that severalchurches and vicarages have beenaffected, even apart from thethreats to lives and homes,” saidArchbishop Freier, when helaunched the appeal.

“The Diocese of Melbourne iscommitted to assisting those whohave been affected by floods in ourneighbouring dioceses in Victoria.

I urge you to give generously. “Country dioceses are still recov-

ering from the effects of drought.The impact of the current floods onchurches and parishioners alreadyhit hard by drought and loss ofcrops will be severe. Parishes in thediocese of Melbourne are encour-aged to make retiring offeringsand/or hold special appeals or pro-mote individual giving.”

Donations can be forwarded toThe Archbishop of Melbourne’sVictorian Flood Relief Appeal, c/-The Melbourne Anglican Founda-tion, 209 Flinders Lane, Mel-bourne, 3000.

Tax deductibility is not availablefor this Appeal. For anyone whorequires tax deductibility, there isinformation on the attached form(below).

Archbishop of Melbourne’s VictorianFlood Relief Appeal

How You Can Donate

FOR GENERAL DONATIONS

I wish to give $ ___________

to the Archbishop of Melbourne’s Victorian Flood Relief Appeal

to support the Dioceses of Ballarat and Bendigo

[ ] Please find enclosed my cheque. (Please makecheques payable to Melbourne Anglican Foundation)

[ ] Please debit my Visa/Mastercard

Amount $____________________

Card Name: __________________________________

Card No: __ __ __ __/__ __ __ __/__ __ __ __/__ __ __ __

Expiry date: __ __/__ __

Please send the receipt to:

Name:_______________________________________________________

Address:_______________________________________________________

Send to: The Executive OfficerMelbourne Anglican Foundation209 Flinders LaneMelbourne VIC 3000

or Fax to: 03 9650 5237or Email: [email protected] Telephone: 03 9653 4286

FOR DONATIONS REQUIRING TAX DEDUCTIBILITY:Please give directly to the Bendigo Diocese Flood

Relief Appeal by contacting 03 5443 4711.


SOCIAL Justice coordinator forthe diocese, Reverend Sue Jacka, issupporting a non denominationalappeal for ‘complementary protec-tion’ for refugees. Sue has pro-vided the following informationabout petitions in support of the in-troduction of a formal process bylaw for considering ‘complemen-tary protection’ for people seekingsafety in Australia.

This would apply to cases wherea person does not meet the defini-tion of a refugee under the UnitedNations Convention on the Statusof Refugees, but would face gravedanger to their life or well-being(such as torture) if sent back totheir country of origin. Such caseshave arisen for women facing fe-male genital mutilation if sent backto certain African countries.

In such cases it is currently en-tirely at the whim of the Ministerfor Immigration if the person willbe granted sanctuary in Australiaor sent back to the danger they mayface. The Federal Government haspromised to introduce legislationinto the Parliament early this yearthat would change this so that thereis a formal process that will con-sider such claims for protection,rather than leaving it entirely to rel-evant government minister.

We are keen for this to be an ecu-menical effort, and so would like toinvite St Mark’s and St Mary Mag-

dalene Anglican churches to col-lect signatures on the petition to bepresented to the local Federal min-ister. Your church would keep thepetitions until a day when theycould be presented collectively bychurches across the electorate.

Anything you could do to encour-age other local churches to collectsignatures on the petition would begratefully received. Mr RussellBroadbent MP has indicated he issympathetic to the issue and we be-lieve the petition provides him withfurther support for his position.

Pakenham, Moe and Newbor-ough Uniting churches have allcollected signatures and Leon-gatha, Inverloch and WarragulUniting churches have indicatedthey are likely to collect signatureson the petition.

The following link provides astory of a case in which this type ofprotection would be considered(dating from September 2009). Thestory is about two women whofaced return to Kenya where theyfeared being subjected to femalegenital mutilation. Seehttp://www.theage.com.au/na-tional/huge-support-for-kenyan-fugitives-20090922-g0jd.html

Contributed by Sue Jacka

ABOVE: Teresia Muturi and GraceGichuhi, of Kenya, seek protectionfrom female genital mutilation.

Save lives Summer Sonlight at Phillip Island

WITH CARE & DIGNITY WE RESPECTFULLY SERVE THE DISTRICTS OF:

LEONGATHA/KORUMBURRA (03) 5662 2717 Paul and Margaret Beck

FOSTER (03) 5662 2717 Paul and Margaret Beck

WONTHAGGI/INVERLOCH (03) 5672 1074 Ray and Maree Anderson

PHILLIP ISLAND (03) 5952 5171 Ray and Maree Anderson

MEMBER OF AUSTRALIAN FUNERAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION

Your Local MPin Gippsland

Philip DavisMember for Eastern Victoria

Serving the communities ofGippsland in State Parliament

Advocating for Gippsland

Putting your concerns to the State Government

Authorised by Philip R. Davis MPShop 2, 424 Raymond Street

PO Box 9210 Sale Vic 3853 — (03) 5143 [email protected]


ALTHOUGH sunlight was, atbest, transient between January 14and 19 on Phillip Island, the an-nual CMS gathering, SummerUnder the Son (SUTS), was illu-mined and warmed by the presenceof God. The theme was All forChrist, Christ for All.

About 900 people registered to bepart of the five-day gathering,which lived up to the fine reputa-tion it has built up, and what a startto a new year it was. SummerUnder The Sun is a fully cateredresidential five-day getaway with aChristian program for childrenranging from babies to grade six, aself-contained youth camp at anearby site and an adult programthat has special segments for youngadults.

With all this available, it is no sur-prise that participants often includefamilies of three, even four, gener-ations. The conference is sitedwithin walking distance from a surfbeach, adjacent to a fun park andopposite a nature park, with shop-ping and sheltered beaches a shortcar trip away.

People from throughout Victoriaand Australia gather together. Thechildren are treated to lots ofmusic, games and craft relating to aJesus-led life. Over time, thesechildren grow to look forward tosharing such activities annuallywith their SUTS friends, until theyare eligible to be part of the youthprogram.

The youth program intertwinesmission and Bible teaching withteenage activities. This year,skilled leaders led 189 young peo-ple through a fantastic, much ap-preciated program (top right).

With the young people busily en-gaged in a wide range of fun andlearning activities, the adults par-ticipated in Bible studies, presen-tations from serving missionariesand those shortly heading overseas,keynote speakers and seminar dis-cussion streams. The morningBible studies were presented byHugh Palmer, rector of All Souls,Langham Place, London.

Hugh (above right) focussed onCorinthians passages that were firstpresented in dramatic recitation byRob Turnbull. A total of six studiesprovided a very rich and challeng-ing continuity over the duration of

the gathering. John and Jill Morshead, Faye

Donaldson, Ian and Fiona Oates,Tim and Catherine Walker, Charlieand Kathryn Fletcher, Peter andIneke cook, Ken and AlisonThompson and Tavis and KateBeer informed attendees of Christ-centred work being conducted infaraway locations and inspiredpeople to offer various forms ofsupport.

The privations that can be facedby missionaries were personablyexpounded by author, Naomi Reed(above left) who spent six years inNepal. Development and Caring,Church-based Ministry and Lead-

ership andtraining Student Min-istry were broad topics addressedby speakers who then invited dis-cussion in evening sessions.

The excitement of mission possi-bilities amidst current global tur-moil and uncertainties wasemphasised by Steve Maina, theKenyan born National Director ofNew Zealand CMS. A supportivemusic ministry was powerfully fa-cilitated by Shaun Islip and hischoir of enthusiastic volunteers.

A nightly treat was Up Late Cafewhere SUTS participants relaxedover coffee and enjoyed the consid-erable musical talents of thoseamong their number.

The CMS Victorian branch staffensured everything ran smoothlyso that, with the adjuncts of com-fortable accommodation and beau-tiful meals as well as free time toenjoy local attractions, all individ-uals had to do was turn up at ap-propriate times.

Stimulated by mission informa-tion, Biblical teaching and thefriendship of fellow participants,2011 attendees will have returnedto their routines relaxed and rein-vigorated in faith and general well-being. Missionaries will havereturned to their posts feeling up-lifted by the teaching and by thesupport of all who shared in SUTS.

For those who did not attend thisyear, please consider doing so nextyear, January 13 to 18, 2012 andwatch for registration informationin The Gippsland Anglican in Au-gust/September. Peter, Adam, Prin-cipal of Ridley College,Melbourne will deliver the BibleStudies.

Contributed by Margaret and Rob Gaulton, Yallourn North

Photos: Chris White, CMS



The Abbey finds its feet, and invitesyou to make your own pilgrimage

THE Abbey of St Barnabas atA’Beckett Park, a Centre for Spiritual-ity and the Environment, has takennearly four years in planning, develop-ing the vision and engaging its poten-tial users to bring us to this momentwhen we can begin to implement thefirst mini-version of The Abbey of StBarnabas.

“We need to plan well, seek all therelevant government and planning ap-provals and accreditations and wemust operate on a financially sustain-able basis. The Abbey of St Barnabasis far more than just a business.” saidproject manager, Reverend Edie Ash-ley.

Bishop John speaks about the visionof A’Beckett Park as a Centre for Spir-ituality and the Environment as a giftfrom God. ‘A’Beckett Park – Its Fu-ture’ the vision and strategy was pre-pared by Bishop John and adopted byBishop in Council in February 2007. Itwas endorsed by Synod in May 2007.

A further time of discernment andprayer in September to December2007 brought support from across thediocese and more widely. This offereda framework for developing the vision.

During the past four years, while thisnew vision was taking shape, A’Beck-ett Park has continued to operate as asite for school, church and familycamping and outdoor education activ-ities.

The summer camping program con-tinues through to May this year.

With time and prayer our understand-ing of the vision has grown. During thepast four years we have lived intoGod’s call for A’Beckett Park. In Au-gust 2009, A’Beckett Park became TheAbbey of St Barnabas at A’BeckettPark.

On the one hand, the name ‘St Barn-abas’ is obvious, it was the name of theChapel at A’Beckett Park. On the otherhand, while not so obvious, the name‘Barnabas’, derived from the Hebrewword for prophet, reflects the life of aperson who was a risk taker for thekingdom. At the Abbey of St Barnabaswe too are wanting to be a communitythat is not afraid to find its propheticvoice as we respond anew to God’scall to ‘safeguard the integrity of cre-ation and to sustain and renew the lifeof the earth’.

In using the term Abbey, we aredrawing on the old celtic notion of thechristian abbey as a place of worship,hospitality, learning, art and commu-nity. The old celtic abbeys were opento travellers and neighbors, inquirersand those seeking help along the way.At the Abbey of St Barnabas we wantto be open to welcome pilgrims andtravellers.

This notion of the Abbey of St Barn-abas as the prophetic place where pil-grims gather holds before us the dreamfor the restoration of the deep balanceof all creation. Climate change and theoveruse of non renewable energy jeop-ardises the wellbeing of creation and

poses questions about the legacy leftfor those who follow in our footsteps.For many people today the voice ofGod seems to have become muffledand our past understandings of Godoften fail to engage these current is-sues.

At The Abbey of St Barnabas we livewith these questions as we seek:

To hear the Spirit of God and in freshways to understand ourselves in rela-tion to our world and to our God;

To work with others who share a con-cern for the environment to demon-strate sustainability practices and tocare for the natural environment of TheAbbey and its surrounds;

To learn practical skills, techniquesand technologies that will enable us to;

Re-fashion our living so that we canlive within and care for creation in away that will enable creation itself tosustain and nurture us and the life ofthis planet;

To share what we learn.At the Abbey of St Barnabas at

A’Beckett Park eight refurbished motelstyle accommodation units and thewest cottage upgrade opens the wayfor us to take the next exciting step: a‘first-taste-mini-version’ of the Abbeyof St Barnabas at A’Beckett Park.

During the winter months, May toOctober, 2011, we are planning to triala ‘first taste - mini version’ of TheAbbey of St Barnabas implementingthe first Abbey program and the Com-munity of St Barnabas.

ABOVE: Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral in Sale, Reverend DrDon Saines, has found The Abbey inspires him to composemusic and song.BELOW: Wildlife abounds at The Abbey.

Photos: Jeanette Severs

continued on page 8



WITH eight refurbished motel-style units (including disabled ac-cess) and a renovated west cottage,the Abbey Community is ready toexplore a program of small envi-ronmental workshops and retreats.

The first Abbey program willcomprise retreats and workshopsfollowing the four themes:

Hospitality: being welcomed bythe environment; Journey: allowingthe environment to nurture you;Sustainability: water, power, wasteand fire; and Natural Environment:caring for flora and fauna.

Some of the workshops and re-treats envisaged include: open anddirected retreats; welcoming thestranger; justice and the environ-ment; vocation: issues of meaningand purpose; journey to hope: liv-ing with grief and loss; water andtextile work and prayer; air, windand music and theology; fire anddance; earth and art and spiritual-ity; pilgrimage; plants and animalsof Raymond Island.

There will also be ‘work weeks’and ‘environment weeks’.

The Community of St Barnabas isto include short term or two-weekpraying communities.

From May 2011, the Communityseeks to establish a more regularpresence of prayer and support.Alongside the development of thefirst Abbey program, from May toOctober, 2011, we are seeking toestablish a pattern that includesshort term or two-week prayingcommunities living in EnaSheumack House.

Presently, there are no full timeresidents. At the Bishop’s invita-tion, visitors are invited to stay atEna Sheumack House, to pray in StBarnabas Church and to care forthe Abbey. We anticipate this pat-tern will continue until May 2011.

During the next few years it is en-visaged the Community of StBarnabas will evolve as a small,full time residential Christian com-munity, living in Ena SheumackHouse and committed in prayerand practice to the work of theAbbey of St Barnabas.

Now is the time for the diocesanfamily to work and pray together aswe take this next crucial step to-wards the future of the Abbey of StBarnabas at A’Beckett Park. If youor a group in your parish or com-

munity are inspired to become partof this ongoing vision, please con-tact Rev. Edie Ashley, telephone 035156 0511 or mobile 0423 400359.

The first Abbey program or theCommunity of St Barnabas: Youare invited to pray, participate inone of the workshops or retreats aspart of the first Abbey program, oryou may like to offer to co-ordinateone. Or maybe you feel inspired tobecome involved in a short termcommunity at Ena SheumackHouse.

Contact Rev. Edie Ashley, tele-phone 03 5156 0511, mobile 0423400359 or email : [email protected]

Environment TaskforceFOR people with a special inter-

est or expertise in environmentalmatters and a desire to work withothers to care for our environmentat the Abbey of St Barnabas atA’Beckett Park.

Contact Ann and Iain Miller, tele-phone 03 5144 3597 or [email protected]

Volunteer Work CrewIN the present, as in the past,

there is always maintenance andgrounds work needing to be doneat the Abbey of St Barnabas. BrianTurner is keen to hear from willingvolunteers.

Contact Rev. Brian Turner, mo-bile 0408 216965 or [email protected]

Bequest & DonationWE invite you to give a lasting

legacy. In time, we are looking tobuild another 32 accommodationunits, new meeting rooms and up-grade the A-Frame to ensure ap-propriate accommodation, tominimize our environmental foot-print and to demonstrate sustain-ability options.

You are invited to take your placewith Beatrice A’Beckett, the Prattand West families whose visionand generosity gave birth toA’Beckett Park and enabled itsgrowth along the way.

Contact Registrar, Brian Norristelephone (03) 5144 2044 or [email protected]

t NighdooGVs : BlesdoG

&tl 2oV

etnasoMndantonveCniyatsot UK, ncFra

neOp ma01 - oMmp5teretSghiH805 ,

Ph sredroeno 9470ciasom.www cruoser

$ 59.23yre , p secal

ce ndalreI&

yadno - F yidarontsreP

0 6650 a olsuam.oc.sec

First Abbey program

2319First Parade Raymond Island

A'Beckett Park

copyright

MP2.24/05/2009

Sedunary Lake & PartnersT 03 5153 1010 :: F 03 5153 1020Level 2/ 111 Main StreetP.O. Box 655, Bairnsdale Vic 3875ACN 005 645 812www.slaparchitects.com.auPerspecitve View

TOP: The existing A-frame and the Chapel of St Barnabas.Photo: Edie Ashley

ABOVE: A perspective of the new entry, incorporating the A-frame.BELOW: One of the recently refurbished Numby Numby ensuite rooms,now available for accomodation at the Abbey of St Barnabas.

Photo: Jeanette Severs

ABOVE: Swans quietly sail in thesunset on Lake King at the Abbey.

ABOVE: The pathway from theChapel of St Barnabas to LakeKing, at Raymond Island.

Photo: Colin Thornby

At the dedicationof Numby Numby

ABOVE: Bishop John McIntyre with Dr Rus-sell and Elizabeth Conway.BELOW: Mary Foster with Reverends BarbLogan and Geoff Pittaway.

Photos: Jeanette Severs

ABOVE: Philip Davis MP.BELOW: Anne and Iain Miller.

LEFT: Viv Bra-ham, diocesan so-licitor, with SueFordham, archi-tect AnthonyLake and plannerMichael Sadler.

Photo: J Severs

February 2011 Our Diocese - Family, Children and Youth Ministries 9


MONEY MONEY MONEY

Money is the root of all evil . No,

The love of money is the problem. Money can be your Master

or your Servant. A deposit with the Anglican Development Fund can solve the problem. It enables you to control your money and not let it control you.

You can save for yourself and let your money be a servant to

the Anglican Church in Gippsland at the same time. The current interest rates for deposits in the Anglican Development Fund for Gippsland Diocese are:

3.75% At Call 4.75% Term Deposits to $20,000 5.00% Term Deposits $20,000 +

The period for a term deposit is 12 months with a minimum amount of $100.

Consider also there are No Fees or Charges to operate your

Account with the ADF. Access to your money is only a phone call away.

Open an Account with the ADF today. Phone us on (03) 5144

2044 or write to The Registrar at: PO Box 928 Sale, Vic. 3850, or you can drop in to the Diocesan Registry at 453 Raymond Street, Sale, to open your Deposit Account with us. Note: Neither the Anglican Diocese of Gippsland nor the Anglican Development Fund Gippsland is prudentially supervised by APRA. Contributions to the Fund do not obtain the benefit of depositor protection provisions of the Banking Act 1959.

Valley Funeral Latrobe

Services

! Qualified, experienced and caring staff

! Modern chapels! Refreshments and catering

facilities available! Secure, guaranteed, pre-paid

and pre-arranged funeral plans

! Over 70 years of service to the Latrobe Valley

MORWELL 5134 4937MOE 5126 1111

TRARALGON 5174 2258

Owned and operated byPaul and Katrina McInnes

Proud member of theAustralian Funeral Directors

Association and the Australian andBritish Institutes of Embalming

MARKRIDDLEConsultant

JOHNGALBRAITHConsultant

PAULMcINNESDirector

2002900

THE playground at St Mary’sAnglican church, in Mirboo Northparish, has recently acquired a wel-come addition to the children’splay equipment. One of the chil-dren’s carers at the fortnightlyMOPs (Mothers of Pre Schoolers),Norma Beard, donated a very wellconstructed cubby house, locatedat Norma’s previous family homein Pound Creek. All that wasneeded was to make the cubbymoveable and then transport it toits new home.

A crew of willing workers arrivedon site at Pound Creek some weeksago and set about freeing the cubbyfrom its original foundations andgetting it into position for JohnHelmuth to put his truck-mountedcrane to work and raise it onto thetruck. The work went well and thecubby was soon on its journey toMirboo North.

Once at St Mary’s, John againwent to work with the crane swing-ing the cubby over the playgroundfence and into position.

Thanks to Geoff Pittaway, DavidPearn, Ian and Mick Bristow andJohn Helmuth who all got togetherto make it happen and a specialthanks to Rob who is presently liv-ing in Norma’s old home and pro-vided his dingo machine to helpget the cubby into position for thecrane.

St Mary’s would like to thankNorma for her very kind donation,the MOPs children have alreadydecided the cubby is just ‘the best’addition to their playground.

Photo and contributed by Pam Pincini and Kate Bristow

ABOVE: The cubby in its newhome in the playground, with lotsof happy children using it.

MOPS has ‘best’ cubby

Youth excel in educationTHIS year, Anglican and other

churches celebrate a 200 year his-tory of their role in providing edu-cation to children and buildingschools. In England and Wales,February 20, the ninth Sunday be-fore Easter, has been set aside as anoccasion to celebrate and note thechurch’s involvement in educatingchildren; as Education Sunday.

In Gippsland, the two Anglicanschools, Gippsland Grammar andSt Paul’s Anglican GrammarSchool, have celebrated and notedthe achievements of students at theend of last year, followed by uni-versity offers to many in January.

In addition, St Paul’s AnglicanGrammar School recently cele-brated the graduation, as joint dux,of Megan Brown (nee Farmer),from the MBBS medicine degreedelivered by Monash University.

Dr Brown’s award was an-nounced at the Monash Faculty ofMedicine, Nursing and Health Sci-ences awards night on December 9.

Dr Brown grew up in Drouin andwent to secondary school at StPaul’s Anglican Grammar Schoolin Warragul. She undertook muchof her study through the MonashUniversity Gippsland RegionalClinical School, completing herYear 3 studies at the Warragul cam-pus.

She also completed a number ofYear 4 and 5 rotations at Traralgonand Warragul under the rural place-ment program run by Monash Uni-versity, which allows students toexperience rural medical practiceduring their course.

Gippsland Regional ClinicalSchool Director, Associate Profes-sor Daryl Pedler, expressed his de-light with her award. “To be Duxof the entire course is a real featherin Megan’s cap,” he said. “It alsodemonstrates that the regional clin-ical school model can play an im-portant role in student success,while also producing well roundedmedical graduates.”

Dr Brown tied with Dr MelissaNorthcott, who studied in Mel-bourne, for the Dux.

As well as Dux, Dr Brown (aboveright) won a string of prizes fromthe University, including the Be-linda Farrell Community MedicinePrize, the Neil Carson Prize inCommunity Medicine, the RobertMohr Humanitarian Award, theSophie Davis Memorial Prizeaward to the student with the high-est marks and the Southern HealthBoard of Management Prize.

James is school duxGIPPSLAND Grammar Princi-

pal, Mike Clapper, announced the2010 year 12 results were anotherstrong performance for the School.The School’s mean ATAR (for-merly ENTER) score was 75.4,well up with the average over thepast 10 years; 21per cent of stu-dents obtained an ATAR score ofover 90 putting them in the top 10per cent of the state.

The Dux of the School was JamesGray from Tinamba, with an ATARof 99.9. Close behind was AgnikSarkar from Sale (99.4) and SarahChristie from Bushy Park (99.1).

James Gray obtained a perfect 50in International Studies, to matchthe one he obtained last year inMedia Studies, while SarahChristie and Isobel Hangar ob-tained scores of 50 in English.

Amelia into medicineAT St Paul’s Anglican Grammar

School, the end of year results foryear 12 students was anotherstrong performance for the School.The School’s mean ATAR scorewas 72.9; 22 per cent of studentsobtained an ATAR score of over 90putting them in the top 10 per centof the state.

The Dux of the School wasAmelia Harrison from Korrum-burra with an ATAR of 99.5. Closebehind were Tim Kallady fromBayles (98.7) and BarnabyMatthews from Maryknoll (98.7).Perfect scores of 50 were obtainedby Amelia Harrison (HumanHealth and Development), EmmaBechaz (Media Studies) andAlexandra Gummer (Psychology).

Amelia Harrison was recently of-fered (and accepted) a place in theMBBS medicine program atMonash University.

Church schools: 200 yearsof education for all children

IN England and Wales, the one million pupils who at-tend Church of England schools will play their part inthis year’s celebrations, on February 20, to mark thefounding of the Church of England’s National Societyin 1811 offering education to the poor in every parish,50 years before the state joined in.

More than 15 million people alive today had the ben-efit of a church school education in England and Wales,including celebrities and leading figures in public life.

Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, Pres-ident of the National Society, said: “Universal free ed-ucation in England began when the Church of Englandintroduced schools in every parish, more than 50 yearsbefore the provision of state education. Two hundredyears later, church schools continue to serve their com-munities, providing an inclusive education with a dis-tinctive Christian ethos. I am immensely appreciativeof the National Society’s history and its continuing rolein supporting Church of England schools.”

Today, more than 1,000 of the CofE’s 4,700 primariesare small schools providing vital education provisionin isolated rural areas and working closely with theirparish church to serve the local community.

In Gippsland, education was taken into remote areasby the Deaconnesses commissioned by Bishop DrCranswick. Marie Temple, whose cousin was an Arch-bishop, was one Anglican who founded a number ofschools in Gippsland and Melbourne. Bishop Cran-swick began St Anne’s school, which was the acornfrom which Gippsland Grammar school grew.

10 Our Diocese - Family, Children and Youth Ministries February 2011


Children win prizes andsay thank you with gifts

IN Bairnsdale parish, the end of the year SundaySchool presentation to parishioners took place after amorning service and the children proudly produced abeautifully made banner ‘Joy to the World’ witheverything well rehearsed and presented.

Every parishioner was given a Christmas present, alittle package of sweets tied up with ribbon, theirrecognition of an appreciative audience to all the chil-dren’s presentations. Every child was rewarded for at-tendance with a prize. The Sunday School teachers(below) were thanked by Reverend Tony for theirfaithful work with the children throughout the year.

Christmas services were well attended, the crib serv-ice was as popular as ever. Candles on all the windowsills lit up the church for the Midnight Sung Eucharist,a beautiful sight. A Watchnight service was held onNew Year’s Eve followed by supper.

In late November, St John’s Christmas float in theannual Bairnsdale Christmas Parade, held on the Sat-urday of the Victorian election, was topical as it en-couraged people to vote ‘1’ for Jesus’.

ABOVE: Jamie receives a prize for participating in StJohn’s Sunday school throughout the year.

Photos and words contributed by Ursula Plunkett

ABOVE: Great grandparents nurse babies during a Making Musicsession at St John’s Maffra. The Making Music group met informallyduring the holidays and the normal program has resumed. The programhas a large number of grandparents and great grandparents who competeto see who gets to nurse the babies.

Photo: Jean Heasley

Young people move out of aged careANGLICARE Tasmania is play-

ing an important role in providingyoung people with disabilities withthe support they need to stayhealthy and connected with thewider community.

For the past five years, theYounger People in ResidentialAged Care (YPIRAC) program, ajoint initiative of the Australian,State and Territory governments,has seen hundreds of people relo-cated from aged care facilities orprovided with additional disabilitysupport services.

In southern Tasmania, Anglicareis responsible for the day-to-dayrunning of a purpose-built home atChigwell, in Hobart’s northernsuburbs. Under the YPIRAC pro-gram, six people chose to movethere from residential aged care.

“I’m happier here where the peo-ple are my age,” said resident,Jenny Bradbury.

“I like singing and I like rock androll, and I like my music loud!”

This type of supported accommo-dation offers new options toyounger people with high careneeds resulting from an acquiredbrain injury, stroke or multiplesclerosis. There is a focus on com-munity participation and socialisa-tion.

A study has shown that 34 percent of young people in residentialaged care almost never participatedin community activities and 21 percent went outside the home lessthan once a month. The support of-fered by Anglicare at the Chigwellhouse aims to maintain good healthand incorporates a range of therapyprograms for residents.

Dr Bronwyn Morkham, nationaldirector of the Young People inNursing Homes National Alliancesaid young people with disabilitiesmade up five per cent of aged careplaces nationally.

“The targeted YPIRAC program

has shown we can intervene andhave positive results,” she said.

“When it began, very little wasknown about the needs of thisgroup and the issues were poorlyunderstood. A light was shone intothis dark corner and people arenow more aware.”

“However there still needs to bebetter integration of services andbetter collaboration betweenhealth, disability, aged care andhousing.”

Dr Morkham said aged care facil-ities were not resourced to supportyoung people with disabilities whoneeded social interaction, specialistequipment, and rehabilitation serv-ices.

“Because of this, some youngpeople don’t recover at all and ac-tually start to deteriorate.” DrMorkham said service providerslike Anglicare could provide ap-propriate support and care toclients with complex needs.

Beat boredom THE Playford Youth Network

(PYN) ‘Boredom Busters’ pro-

gram was active again this summer. The10-week program, aimed at

school-aged young people, wasloaded with activities includingswimming, bowling, games arcade,eight-ball and Daytona challenges.

Since its inception in late 2009,more than 900 youths have jumpedinto Boredom Busters, which of-fers opportunities to get involved inlocal activities at reduced prices.

Anglicare’s Reconnect Youth andParent Worker, Tina Macpherson,and Freemont Elizabeth City HighSchool Youth Worker, SarahGraetz, identified a need to combatyouth boredom, with research re-vealing boredom contributed tovandalism and destructive activi-ties around the area.

“Sarah and I had the same visionfor an activity-based program inthe north, to keep kids entertainedwhile keeping them safe. BoredomBusters was born out of that collab-oration,” Tina said.

“I have seen the dark side ofyoung people who are now gettinginvolved in the good clean fun ac-tivities of Boredom Busters.

Photo: www.anglicare.asn.au

AT St Paul’s Anglican Grammarschool this year, video conferenc-ing with students in Pakistan, aTeddy Bear Exchange with aschool in Slovenia and sendingChristmas cards to Morrocco andSierra Leone have be come all in aday’s work for iEARN (Interna-tional Education and ResourceNetwork) captain, Year 11 studentSamantha Atkinson.

iEARN is a non-profit organiza-tion made up of more than 30,000schools and youth organisations inmore than 125 countries. iEARNsupports teachers and young peo-ple to work together online usingthe Internet and other new commu-nications technologies. St Paul’shave been involved with iEARNfor about 15 years.

Earlier in the year, Saman thaplayed host during the book launchof Kindred, the fourth edition toshare stories of how the events ofworld and local history affect the

family members of the students inour schools.

Samantha has helped spread theiEARN word in the Junior School,joining year five students who usethe iEARN forum to exchange in-formation with their Slovenianpartner school, Osnovna solaAnice Cernejeve Makole. Re-cently, the students received a bearcalled Medi and sent a Koala andits joey which the students namedAussie and Vicky. The project willcontinue next year with more con-tact between students.

Year 7 Japanese students were ex-cited when Samantha visited theirclass to explain to them about theHoliday Card Exchange. St Paul’shas partners located in Morocco,USA, Sierra Leone, Taiwan, Braziland Slovenia. The students andteach ers prepared cards (above) tosend to their partner schools, as aform of cultural exchange to learnabout each other’s celebrations.

Samantha’s focus is global

February 2011 Our Diocese - Family, Children and Youth Ministries 11


Color in picture - The Sermon on the Mount Word search

See how many words you can find in this puzzle.

www.sermons4kids.com

Diocesan camp for boys, girls and youthsGIPPSLAND’S KidsPlus+ network

of children‘s and youth ministersand leaders, other interested adultsand many enthusiastic young peopleare preparing for another year of fel-lowship fun and challenges. In Janu-ary, a camp planning meeting and ageneral network meeting were heldand organisers are looking forward toreceiving further returns of the formsexpressing your parish’s interest inlinking with the network in supportof one another.

Affiliation Forms and Informationwere mailed to all parishes just be-fore Christmas. The mailing includeda list of resources and equipment theKidsPlus+ network makes availablefor parish programs.

There has been a steady request forthese resources during the holidayperiod from the parishes of Sale,Leongatha, Drouin and Trafalgar(above right), for special programs,community events, the Seaspray mis-sion and parish children’s holidayprograms.

Camp on soonFOREST Edge Diocesan Kid-

sPlus+ Camp open to boys and girlsaged between six years and 18 years

will be held from March 4 to 6. For-est Edge is located at Neerim East.Application forms were mailed to allparishes in November and should bereturned to PO Box 224 Moe by Feb-ruary 10. If you know someone inter-ested but the time line is short, pleasetelephone Carol Johnstone on 035174 8445 or [email protected].

Our diocesan network has made re-quests for donations to subsidisesome children with financial difficul-

ties to attend. This may include, ofcourse, some Gippsland Sudanesechildren who have recently movedinto parishes. If you feel this is some-thing you want to contribute to,please use the same contacts.

We have indeed been appreciativeof a grant from the executive of Mel-bourne CEBS The Anglican BoysSociety, to enable us to offer spe-cialised instruction for the camp’schallenging high ropes and climbingwall activities, available for second-

ary school-aged campers. Thissupport has enabled us to main-tain the camp costs at a mini-mal $95 per head. Any youth leader (obviouslywith the required Working WithChildren card) who would liketo accompany children fromtheir parish or come along tojoin the team would be mostwelcome. Please contact us assoon as possible so our bookingcan be made appropriately.

Ceremony of LightFELLOWSHIP and Worship

through a Ceremony of LightService is being planned foradult friends and leaders of ourdiocesan network for chil-dren’s, youth and family min-istry. This will be on Saturday,February 19, from 5pm, at St

Aiden’s Newborough. The service will be followed

by light refreshment at thechurch then dinner at a localrestaurant. Contact GaleMowat, telephone 03 51441220, for further details. All arewelcome.

Our Thanksgiving service,held at Gippsland Grammarschool chapel, was our last‘Friends of the Network’ wor-ship service and was followedby lunch in Sale, with about 40attendees representing presentand past leaders and friends.

Contributed by Mary Nicholls

ABOVE left: Trafalgar parishheld a school holiday programat Thorpdale, Trafalgar andYarragon in January, with Kid-sPlus+ network resources help-ing the program’s success.

12 Our Diocese - Clergy News February 2011


MARILYN Obersby retired fromCathedral ministry at the end oflast year and was officiallyfarewelled from Sale parish at aservice on Boxing Day.

Reverend Marilyn has worked thepast two years with the cathedralparish and retires officially in earlyMarch, after long service leave.

Rev. Marilyn will continue as alocum in the parish of Heyfield.

“I enjoyed my two years of min-istry at the cathedral, with the peo-ple there, and being there for theretirement of the old dean and theinstallation of the new dean. Be-cause I had already worked there10 years before, I felt very much athome,” said Rev. Marilyn.

“Seeing mainly music and theplaygroup get off the ground werehighlights last year and being in-volved in Summer in Seasprayover Christmas of 2009 was a goodexperience.

“I will miss everyone in the faithcommunity there, but will stay in

contact with that part of my ‘fam-ily.”

Rev. Marilyn will organise an-other celtic pilgrimage to theUnited Kingdom, in Septemberthis year. Interested people shouldcontact her on 0402 103879 or 035195 5530 or Caroline Nancarrowon 03 5145 7066. Rev. Marilynrecommends texting or leaving arecorded message for either her orCaroline if neither is availablewhen you telephone. The tour isorganised for a maximum of 21people.

In past years, the pilgrimage hasbeen joined by people of a varietyof ages and abilities, includingpeople of advanced age.

ABOVE: Dean of the Cathedral,Reverend Dr Don Saines, presentsa large bouquet to Rev. MarilynObersby on Boxing Day, duringher official farewell from theparish.

Photo: Christine Morris

Farewell with flowers

Missionaries return toBurkina Faso, West Africa

Malcolm, the eldest son of Canon Clem Watts, together with his wifeJenny and their daughters, Erinn and Alicia, are missionaries serving withSIM (Serving in Mission) in Burkina Faso, West Africa. A number ofparishes in the diocese, along with a number of individuals, support thefamily with their prayers and gifts.

Malcolm was actively involved in the diocese in the 1990’s with YouthSynod, being Chairman of Youth Council, and in other roles.

Malcolm and Jenny and their daughters returned to Burkina Faso onDecember 30 last year for another four year term.

Contributed by Clem Watts

ABOVE: At Melbourne Airport before they leave for another four yearsin Burkina Faso, West Africa, are Gippslanders Michael, Jenny, Erinnand Alicia Watts.

Photo: Clem Watts

Clergy newsin brief

TOM Killingbeck will be or-dained deacon and Phyllis Andyand Kathy Dalton will be ordainedpriest on Saturday, February 19 inthe Cathedral church of St PaulSale at 11am.

Bishop John McIntyre is de-lighted to announce SharleneAsmus from the parish of Western-port has been accepted as a dioce-san ordination candidate.Gippsland’s ordination candidatesare Sharlene Asmus, HeatherBlackman, Roger Jackman, andDavid Perryman.

Tom Killingbeck will be inductedas Deacon-in-Charge of the parishof Bruthen soon after he is madedeacon on February 19. At the timeof TGA going to print, a date is stillto be confirmed.

John Batt from the Diocese ofMelbourne was inducted into theparish of Neerim South on Friday,January 21.

Jo White from the Diocese ofMelbourne will be welcomed intothe parish of Traralgon in Januaryas part time Assistant Deacon.

Marilyn Obersby will retire fromstipendiary ministry in March andcompleted her part time ministrywith the Cathedral at the end of lastyear.

Caroline Nancarrow will retirefrom stipendiary ministry andcomplete her incumbency at theparish of Avon at the end of May.

Hugh Brown, Monash UniversityEcumenical Chaplain recently re-tired from the university chap-laincy.

The National Aboriginal Bishop,Jim Leftwich, retired on December31, 2010.

Parish mattersTHE parish of Bunyip has agreed

to a new way forward in ministryin that part of the diocese wherebyBunyip will go it alone as a parttime ministry with a new vision forministry and mission in Bunyipand Garfield, while Nar Nar Goonwill explore new ministry initia-tives in Nar Nar Goon and the newhousing estates east of Pakenhamcentred on Cardinia Lakes estate.Nar Nar Goon will do this in part-nership with the parish of Warraguland under the leadership ofArchdeacon Philip Muston, with anew part time position yet to befilled at Nar Nar Goon.

Children’s ministryON February, 26, a ‘mainly

music’ training day will be held atSt John’s Maffra; a networking andtraining day for all churches. Con-tact Sarah Gover, 03 5144 1100 or0458 450370.

Also on February 26, a ministryto children conference, ‘Footprints– leading the way’ will be held atMt Evelyn. From 9am to 6pm;Careforce Church, 89 MonbulkRoad, Mt Evelyn.

Vale Fr BillFATHER Bill Shanahan, a

Catholic priest who served inBairnsdale and the greater Salediocese, passed away on January27 after a short period of ill health.Fr Bill’s family was from Omeo,where he spent some time as achild and young man.

Jim is wellLEFT: Jim Cairns was recentlyhost to the Edney family, who weretravelling overseas and visited himat his home in St Albans, outsideLondon, England. Reverend HenryAlfred ‘Jim’ Cairns served inRosedale, Nowa Nowa, BassBlackwood Forest, Moe, Heyfieldand Leongatha. During his tenurein Leongatha parish, St Peter’schurch was built. Rev. Jim wasborn on March 24, 1914, so theEdney family, who have kept incontact with him, were pleased tofind him well and still active inministry. He recently participatedin the funeral of Judy ‘Ruth’ San-som, another ex-Gippslander.

Ridley bookshop closesMELBOURNE clergy and students may find it harder to browse and

purchase theological textbooks and other academic theological publica-tions, with the closure of Ridley Bookshop in March.

Acting Principal of Ridley Melbourne, Reverend Dr Tim Foster, saidrecently the closure was due to declining sales, and even reducing staffingand days open had not been enough to keep it viable.

“The mission of Ridley Melbourne is to equip men and women for min-istry and mission in tomorrow’s world, rather than subsidise the sale ofbooks. W we consider we are left with no option but to face this difficultdecision and close the bookshop in mid March 2011,” said Dr Foster.

Dr Foster said buying habits amongst customers had contributed to thedrop in sales, such as online purchasing. A closing down sale began onMonday, January 31. All gift vouchers and credit balances can be usedduring the sale or a refund received.

“The bookshop has been part of Ridley community life for many yearsand has provided a rich range of Christian literature to individuals andconferences,” he said.

www.melbourne.anglican.com.au

Vale Bishop JohnBishopDr John Warwick Wilson,

a past student and teacher of theold testament at Ridley Collegepassed away on January 22. Hewas priested in 1964 and worked inthe diocese of Armidale. He movedto the USA to complete his doc-toral studies.

On returning to Australia, he wasinstrumental in establishing the Ri-dley bookshop, including chairingthe committee. Bishop John (right)was made Bishop of the SouthernRegion in 1985.

He was an early champion ofwomen in ministry and promotedoutreach education and ethics, in-

cluding setting up of the Centre forApplied Christian Ethics (CACE).

He established Acorn Press topromote christian scholarship. Theforthcoming Lenten studies, TheOld Testament on the Way to theCross will be his final publication.

February 2011 Our Diocese - Lenten Studies 13


Diocesan Calendar2011

TBA Blessing of Ena Sheumack House; Abbey of St Barnabas atA’Beckett Park, Raymond Island

February2 – 4 Vocational Training Day, Growth in Ministry; Bishopscourt,

Sale.12 – 13 Growth in Ministry intensive19 Ordinations, St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Sale; 11am; Tom

Killingbeck will be ordained deacon and Phyllis Andy and Kathy Dalton will each be ordained priest.

19 Ceremony of Light service for adult friends and leaders of the diocesan network for children’s, youth and family ministry; 5pm; St Aiden’s Newborough; followed by light refreshment and dinner; contact Gale Mowat, tel. 03 5144 1220.

22 Refugee Network; Drouin; 11am – 2pm; A gathering for Anglican churches working with refugees; contact Sarah Gover, tel.. 03 5144 1100 or 0458 450370

25 – 27 Cowwarr reunion for past youth and leader participants; The Abbey of St Barnabas, A’Beckett Park; telephone Jeanette 0409 482924 or Shelley 0412 588317.

26 ‘mainly music’ training day, St John’s Maffra; a networking and training day for all churches; contact Sarah Gover, tel. 03 5144 1100 or 0458 450370

27 – March 4 Bishops Conference26 Ministry to children conference, ‘Footprints – leading the

way’; 9am to 6pm; Careforce Church, 89 Monbulk Road, Mt Evelyn

28 Anglican Women of Australia Gippsland Deanery rally; St John’s Metung; 10am; speaker Beth Hookey, AngliCORD

March1 Anglican Women of Australia Gippsland Deanery rally;

Yarram; 10am; speaker Beth Hookey, AngliCORD1 Anglican Women of Australia Gippsland Deanery rally;

Newborough; speaker Beth Hookey, AngliCORD2 Anglican Women of Australia Gippsland Deanery rally;

Korumburra; speaker Beth Hookey, AngliCORD3 Anglican Women of Australia Gippsland Deanery rally;

venue TBC; speaker Beth Hookey, AngliCORD4 – 6 Kidsplus+ primary and secondary aged diocesan camp;

Forest Edge, Neerim South; contact Carole Johnstone, tel. 03 5174 8445 or email [email protected] Annette Lade, PO Box 574, Traralgon, 3844 or Mary Nicholls, tel. 03 5127 2929.

4 – 6 National Cursillo Secretariat Meeting, Latrobe Valley Convention Centre; hosted by Gippsland Cursillo

8 Shrove/Pancake Tuesday9 Ash Wednesday25 Mothers’ Union Lady Day; St Paul’s Cathedral Sale; 10am;

guest Marilyn Oulds, Worldwide MU; BYO lunch26 Mental health training day, Warragul; open to all diocesan

people, clergy, lay and Anglicare staff; contact Sarah Gover, tel. 03 5144 1100 or 0458 450370

29 Retired clergy lunch; 11am – 3pm29 – 30 ACOSS Conference (Australian Council of Social

Service); 9am; Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre; http://acoss.org.au/nationalconference/register

31 Quiet Day, A trinity of saints – John Donne; Abbey of St Barnabas, Raymond Island; contact Caroline Nancarrow, tel. 03 5145 7066 or email [email protected]

31 – April 1 Bishops Conference

AprilMarch 31 – April 1 Bishops Conference3 Mothering Sunday9 Quiet Day, A trinity of saints – Dietrich Bonhoeffer;

Abbey of St Barnabas, Raymond Island; contact Caroline Nancarrow, tel. 03 5145 7066 or email [email protected]

9 – 10 Growth in Ministry Intensive17 Palm Sunday19 Renewal of Ordination Vows and Blessing of Oils service;

St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Sale21 Maundy Thursday22 Good Friday23 – 25 Annual book stall, Metung, organised by St John’s23 Craft, cake and plant stall; St Nicholas’ Lakes Entrance24 Easter Day25 ANZAC Day

May7 Quiet Day, A trinity of saints – Julian of Norwich; Abbey

of St Barnabas, Raymond Island; contact Caroline Nancarrow, tel. 03 5145 7066 or email [email protected]

13 – 15 Gippsland Anglican 36th annual Synod, West Gippsland;

‘SET Free by God’s Grace’ is the 2011 study forLent written by Bishop of Gippsland, Right ReverendJohn McIntyre. The study encourages readers to getexcited again about their faith and to rediscover thetrue religion that lies behind mere religiosity. Thesestudies invite reflection on the life of faith as a livingencounter with the God of Grace.

Like those who met with Jesus in his earthly life, wemeet the God who transforms us in the embrace ofgrace and offers us the gift of life in all its fullness.This is a sure way to counter the tired old stereotypesof religion that so many today have pushed to the side-lines of their lives.

Bishop Johnwrites lentenstudy

By Dr Steven Ogden

MY wife calls me ‘the kiss ofdeath’. This term of endearmentcame out of our experience of at-tending wedding receptions. As apriest, I participate in many ofthese festive events. Typically, aswe enter the reception room, thefirst thing we do is look for the dis-play board and the incomprehensi-ble seating arrangements.

Invariably, we are placed on table17, the miscellaneous table. Thistable is situated toward the back ofthe room, next to the table wherethe three-piece wedding band ad-journs for a beer and chips. I usu-ally wear a clerical collar with mydinner suit. This means that as wemeander across the reception roomtoward our table, the guests freezewith dread suspecting that thepriest is coming to sit at their table.

As we pass by successive tables,their sense of relief is palpable, andin some cases audible, as guestsmutter what sounds like a profanitybut could be a prayer: “Thank God.He’s not sitting here.”

We arrive at Table 17. Our tableparty consists of Uncle Bob a re-tired engineer, Trevor the familyaccountant, Shona the bride’s long-lost girlfriend and an aloof cousinfrom Manchester. They are politebut uncomfortable, as they try invain to mask their misfortune.They soon relax; however, as weshare in the table banter and in-dulge in a glass of wine. Withoutfail, the guests proceed in turn to

announce “I am not religious” or“I’m spiritual, but I don’t go tochurch”.

We end up, however, having awonderful evening full of animatedconversations about families, work,success, failure, life and death.When the evening concludes, ourcompanions say in all sinceritythey enjoyed our company andwere surprised we were normal.

The term ‘the kiss of death’ is aform of gallows humor. Sure wehad some laughs, but the weddingexperience reminds us that the pub-lic image of the Church leaves a lotto be desired. For many people, re-ligion is an embarrassing, evenvexing phenomenon.

The main stumbling block is theGod problem, which can besummed up by the question: “IfGod is a loving and powerful God,why do bad things happen?”

My grandfather died when I wasnine years old. I did not attend thefuneral, which was not unusual, butI recall with clarity my parents re-turning. What struck me then andstill affects me now was a roguethought, seemingly from nowhere,saying: “so much for God”.

God’s silence was deafening. Inthe end, we owe it to ourselves, aswell as the guests at table 17, to behonest. From Auschwitz to earth-quakes, the history of sufferingrepresents a serious judgment onthe God of Christianity.

In the past, the Church believed ithad all the answers. As individualChristians, we also thought we had

to have all the answers. But life hastaught us otherwise. We now ap-preciate the difficulty of addressingthe question of suffering. In thepast, God was portrayed as perfectin the sense of being separate fromor immune to suffering.

But surely, if the cross has taughtus anything, it is that God is not in-different to our predicament. Onthe contrary, God feels for us andwith us in our suffering. As a con-sequence, instead of thinking Godis impervious to human anguish;we take heart in the pathos andcompassion of God. Instead ofthinking God is controlling, wefind hope in God’s vulnerability.All this represents a major shift inour thinking from God as a powerover us to God as grace among us.

Table 17 reminds us most peopleknow firsthand the pain of the ab-sent God. But there is a word ofhope. Out of the shadow of thecross, new light has come. And forus, Jesus is a potent and impas-sioned symbol of this hope. Suffer-ing is a reality.

There are no simple answers, butthere is the hope the present suffer-ing does not have the final word.We cannot go back and repair thepast, but with God’s grace we canmove forward with hope.

Dr Steven OgdenPrincipal,St Francis Theological CollegeBrisbane, AustraliaAuthor: Love Upside Down:Life, Love and the SubversiveJesus (March 2011)

God as Grace among us

HOUSEHOLD music and DVDcollections could be a good startingpoint for studying the Bible thisLent, through a new five weekcourse called ‘Exploring God’sMercy’, compiled by the Bishop ofSheffield, Dr Steven Croft. Suit-able for church groups, couples orindividuals, the course prepares usfor the festival of Easter by remind-ing us just how much God loves us,using Scriptures, specially filmedYou Tube videos, podcasts foriPods, group discussions andprayer.

It recommends playing popularsongs or DVD clips at the start ofeach session, to set the scene forthat week’s theme.

The book is inspired by a partic-

ular period of prayer and reflectionbefore Steven Croft became aBishop when he was on study leavefive years ago. It bears witness toDr Croft’s wide experience as aparish priest, as warden of Cran-mer Hall theological college and asArchbishops’ Missioner and leaderof Fresh Expressions before be-coming Bishop of Sheffield.

“The depth, strength and con-stancy of God’s love is of course alifetime’s journey,” he said, “andExploring God’s Mercy is de-signed to take groups or individu-als further on that journey.”

Communicating a timeless mes-sage by modern means, ChurchHouse Publishing’s most digitalLent course yet focuses on five im-ages of salvation: the weekly ses-sions are entitled Lost and Found:Hungry and Satisfied; In Prisonand Set Free; Sick and Made Well;Storm Tossed and Comforted; Liv-ing the Fruitful Life.

Each session contains a readingfrom Psalm 107; a testimony basedon Mark’s Gospel focusing on theministry of Jesus; and a New Testa-ment passage looking at Christ’spassion, death and resurrection.

Lent in the digital age

14 Our Diocese - Christmas in the Parishes February 2011


Bruthen carols joy to the worldEliza Tarpey (right), a

professional internationalsinger who was raised inBruthen, sang at the Christ-mas carols on December22. Eliza also sang at theChristmas Day church serv-ice at St Matthew’sBruthen.

The church enjoyed a con-gregation of about 30 peo-ple at the 8.30amChristmas morning service,a very happy family affairwith Rosie Ramsay, aged 6(left), in the role of Mary inthe nativity scene. Rosiewas visiting with her familyfrom Perth, Western Aus-tralia for a family Christ-mas at Bruthen.

Afterward, Rosie wrote:“I rilly like baby Jessis.. Iwood like to be Merrieagen!”

While the Bruthen parishhas been without an incum-bent, a number of retiredministers have acted aslocum. On November 28,with the news that TomKillingbeck would be tak-ing up the incumbency ofBruthen parish in the newyear, Archdeacon Ted Gib-son was farewelled at thatservice (right). Bill Pilgrimgave a gift from the parishto Ted and his wifeAnnabel.

Kathy Holland and JackSoar (left) were enjoyingthe Australia Day celebra-tions at Bruthen.Photos: Jacki Walker, PamAnswer, Jeanette Severs

CHRISTMAS services began atSt. Paul’s, Korumburra with 107people attending the Childrens’Crib Service. The children weregiven a riddle and had to follow thethree kings on their journey(around the church building) thenback into the church to discover theanswer.

Then another riddle, and anotherjourney when they saw the star andfollowed it, and the next journeytook them to visit Herod.

The answer to the final riddle wasthe discovery of Jesus in the stable

with Mary and Joseph (above).Whilethe children were on theirjourneys the adults sang Christmascarols.

It was a wonderful, interactiveservice with children of all ages,some little ones accompanied by aparent, with each child carrying asafety candle to light the way onthe journey of discovery followingthe star with the three kings.

The final song was the ‘LittleDrummer Boy’ with two younglads accompanying on their drums. Contributed by/Photo: Lyn Gilbert

Follow the Kings

Outdoor eucharist with birds

THE annual Outdoor Eucharistand Picnic was held at Moe Botan-ical Gardens, the week after Christ-mas. More than 30 parishionersgathered with the voices, chairs,rugs and picnic baskets (above).Rector Bruce Charles, multi-skilled as he is, provided accompa-niment to the hymns on his flute.Birdlife in surrounding trees joinedthe congregation in song.

The Moe Crib Service continuesto attract people of all ages onChristmas eve. Photographed(right) are children of the Riek,Maluk and Jankovic families(front) with John and NancyeGoodman in the background.Contributed by Sandra Tomlinson

Photos: Mary Nicholls

The sheep weren’t stolen

THE Morwell community carolservice was held at St Mary’s withthe Latrobe City band making thechurch ring with joyous music. Be-fore the service the Rotary Club ofMorwell provided a barbecue. It isa privilege to host the Carol servicefor the community.

The Christmas eve crib servicealso reached out to the community.All the children entered into thetelling of the Christmas story withgreat joy and enthusiasm. Every-one dressed up and there weremany angels, shepherds and sev-eral wise men. The story was ac-companied by Pam Lane andConnie Neumann singing with theorganist, Elaine Quirk.

The people of St Mary’s aregoing to see the film, The King’sSpeech as a fundraiser. Several dol-lars from every ticket will go to ourmission project, Training of Teach-ers in the Southern Sudan.Contributed by Carolyn Raymond

Photo: Sandra Tomlinson

Angels at St Mary’s

THE St James Anglican ChurchTraralgon 2010 Christmas Pageantwill be remembered for years tocome as the time when the countryreally did come to the city! Called‘Jordan’s Christmas Pageant’ thestory was about a young person(Jordan), a member of the church’syouth group, responsible for organ-ising a Christmas play. Jordan wasin charge of finding a sheep for thestable scene.

After locating the sheep (right),the story changed focus and cen-tred on a farmer who had lost hissheep. He was determined to findit and involved the police, local andinternational news reporters (viapre-recorded DVD and data projec-tor), the Mothers Union until fi-nally some local people reportedseeing the sheep being, taken byJordan, to St James’ church.

The farmer stormed into thechurch in the middle of the Nativ-ity play, demanding the return ofhis sheep, but realising the animalswere in the Nativity play he al-lowed them to be in the stablescene. The Pageant was a greatsuccess and the sheep left only asmall reminder of their presence,quickly cleaned up by the less thaneager stage hands.

‘Jordan’s Christmas Pageant’ waswritten and directed by 15 year oldMatthew Phyland. The DVD wasperformed by Emma Richardson(Lois Lane, the reporter), JohnPritchard (farmer), JeffersonDaniel (Indian overseas reporter)and Marilyn Kennedy (MU mem-ber). Jordan was play by JordanBreed. The rest of the cast weremembers of St James’ congrega-tions. The sheep were provided byTraralgon AOG Pastor Rick.

Contributed by Geoff PittawayPhotos: Graeme Bayley

February 2011 Our Diocese - Parish Fairs 15


Lakes Entrance

LEFT: Bruce Arnup provided ap-praisals on unique and antiqueitems, including (inset) a dressingroom door tag for Humphrey Bog-art.ABOVE: Reverend Barb Loganfound the fairy floss stall.BELOW right: The plant stall.BELOW left: The bookstall wasvery popular.

Photos: Valerie Jones

LEFT: The produce stall was fullof baked goods.BELOW: The raffle stall.

Photos: Valerie Jones

Maffra parish

ABOVE: The craft stall had a vari-ety of goods for sale.RIGHT: Dave entertained on theunicycle.BELOW: The sausage sizzle wasbusy.

Photos: Jean Heasley

Orbost clearing sale

ABOVE The St Mark’s Yarragon congregation recently farewelledGwen Perkins, a long time valued member of the parish. Gwen hasmoved into residential care in Bairnsdale parish. Members of St Paul’sWarragul Mother’s Union also attended the farewell function, asGwen had been a member of the group for many years.

Combined carols at Orbost

LEFT: A combined children’s choirperformed in the hall of St James’church in Orbost.ABOVE: Musicians perform at theOrbost combined carols, held in StJames’ church hall.

16 Our Diocese - Parish Missions and Ministries February 2011


School holiday fun inTrafalgar parish

TRAFALGAR parish held aschool holiday program in eachcentre on two consecutive morn-ings from 10am to 12 noon. InThorpdale, on January 11 and 12an ecumenical team bringingloads of fun, with games, stories,fruit, songs, crafts and woodwork.The team was able to present theChristian message in a fun way.We held the program in the Unitingchurch.

Trafalgar held their two morningson January 13 and 14. There was ateam of volunteers including twoyoung folk who did a wonderfuljob. Some of the mothers broughtpreschoolers who joined in the ac-tivities and had a great time. It is agreat way for the mothers to makenew friends and for the church toconnect with new families. Onceagain we held the mornings in theUniting church hall.

On January 19 and 20, the pro-gram was held at Yarragon at StMark’s. This is a real step of faith

as the little church at Yarragon hasnot had any children attending for avery long time. The equipmentfrom the Gippsland KidsPlus+trailer has been very helpful for theschool holiday program.

Farewell to GwenON January 16, a special service

and a bring and share lunch washeld to honor and farewell GwenPerkins. It was great to have anumber of community membersand friends from the WarragulMother’s Union join the congrega-tion. Gwen lived in Yarragon formore than 30 years. She was a verycapable treasurer for the church formany years, a member of theMother’s Union at Warragul, sac-ristan at St Mark’s and member ofthe St Mark’s Ladies Guild. Gwenhas moved to the ‘Domain’ atBairnsdale, and will be missedvery much by all her friends.

Contributed by Marg Clarke

Summer fun for 100 childrenTHE fifth ‘Summer in Seaspray’

program with more than 30 volun-teers from St Paul’s AnglicanCathedral, was again very success-ful between the Christmas andNew Year period. The programwas funded by Wellington Shiregrants and sponsorship.

More than 140 children and theirfamilies attended the free activitiesduring the week, including fourchildren’s activity morning pro-grams, a family fun day on NewYear’s Day, a barbecue on NewYear’s Eve and a community dancewith the Lakeside Rockers. A wor-ship service on the Sunday at TheEpiphany church at Seaspray con-cluded the program.

Coordinator of the program,Christine Morris, said families re-ally appreciated having a place togo where their children could par-ticipate in a variety of activities,craft, games and see Millie thepuppet.

Daily attendance ranged from 33to 82 children. The fun day, onNew Year’s Day, saw more than100 children, hungry teenagers andtheir families enjoying the crafts,games, jumping castle and the bar-becue food.

The community dance was ex-tremely popular; more than 50children and many adults attendedthe dance which catered for allages. The Lakeside Rockers werereally appreciated.

Many locals and visitors were soimpressed with the communityprogram, they wanted it to go forlonger.

TOP right: Enjoying the BBQ onthe family fun day.RIGHT: Fun activities at the Sum-mer in Seaspray mission program.

Photos: Christine Morris

ABOVE: The residents of Clifton Waters Village in Bairnsdale parishpresented a very enjoyable‘We Wish You A Very Merry Music Hall’ withmany old songs and skits bringing back memories of old.

THE Anglican Diocese of Gippsland‘Seeds of Peace’ raffle was drawn atthe Nicholson Retreat Hotel on Janu-ary 21 after entertainment by the tal-ented jazz group ‘Four HeapedTeaspoons’. Peter Down, organiser ofthe raffle, was embarrassed when hisname was drawn from a huge bag oftickets to win first prize, a Mazda 3.

Peter and Margaret Down (right), ofSt John’s Bairnsdale, donated the carback to the dealer, gaining additionalfunds for the project. Neville and LynBeaty will travel to Rwanda to overseecompletion of the special buildingproject for the community of the link

Raffle winner donates prize to ‘fund’

diocese of Gahini, to be knownas ‘Gippsland House’. The raf-fle raised $54,444,38.

Community Christmas with meals and book sales

ORBOST parish has been busy in the summer monthswith a focus on community outreach. The St James'parishioners organised a Christmas dinner (above left)and a Christmas lunch for youth (below right). The an-

nual book fair (above right) and a clearance sale(below left) in January were very successful. A suddendecision to run a sausage sizzle in Orbost's main streetraised $1,408 for flood relief in Victoria.

Documents

The Gippsland Anglican, February 2011