Tidings (June–September 2014) – page 1

SAINT THEODORE’S TIDINGS

Patronal Festival issue June – September 2014 The Anglican Church of St. Theodore

Cnr. Swaine Avenue and Prescott Terrace Toorak Gardens, S.A.

Website: www.theodores.org

TRANSITION In a time of great change, decline and confusion in the

Church, I have found helpful insight in the writing of a Canadian scholar, Alan Roxburgh.

He describes the dominant experience of contemporary life as discontinuous change – meaning uncontrollable change that comes from all directions at once, with no discernible pattern or obvious future outcome. Its magnitude and pace exhaust our personal, corporate and institutional resources. We experience discontinuous change in all areas of our life, including the Church.

For the Church this is an age of transition – a time where control, stability and predictability have disappeared; a time of confusion and uncertainty because all the road signs have gone, and there is no discernible future to aim for. Not surprisingly it is highly stressful, especially for those in leadership. Two powerful temptations emerge under this stress: • To attempt to go back to the ‘good old days’ – to try to

regain the remembered stability of previous times by recreating old ways and old models. But it is impossible to do because contemporary society will not play ball.

• To make a grab for the future, generally involving a radical dumping of existing patterns and past tradition in the wholesale adoption of something entirely fresh and new. This too is impossible, because the future is not yet apparent. In the past decade we have become very aware of the

desire to cling desperately to the past and most parishes like ours know that we cannot live that way. However, this second temptation – to grab for the future – has had less critique, and yet it is very strong in both Parish and Diocesan life.

The unbearable stress of decline and confusion mounts to such a level that the irresistible urge is to resolve the pain and uncertainty with action . . . “We’ve got to do something . . . anything!” And so when a new scheme, program or ‘slogan’ appears, we grab for it desperately and proclaim it as our future, even as our salvation. But in an age of transition, most long-term forward planning and strategy is impotent . . . simply because God’s future is not apparent at this point. We cannot plan or strategise for something we cannot see.

So what is the answer? Well that is part of what we need to accept ! there is no answer . . . yet! There is no immediate solution to resolve the stress and confusion we feel. This is not a problem that can be quickly fixed. It is not possible to devise an escape strategy – no new program or structure, no increase in knowledge or information can rescue us. But the word used for this time, transition, is a positive word that implies movement and an eventual destination. God is present and at work in this age as in all

ages, bringing a new future to birth. So there is faithful work – including experimentation, growth and evolution – to be done in this time. It is a time of opportunity . . . not a time to do nothing.

Instead of trying to escape backwards or forwards, we need to trust the work of the Spirit and intentionally stay engaged in the experience of transition, no matter how uncomfortable it feels. Roxburgh places his confidence in local church communities like ours, who stay faithful to the task of connecting our human story (especially our current experience of discontinuous change), with the divine story told in Holy Scripture. He is confident that with time – considerable time, measured in generations – God’s future will emerge from the process.

So I suggest the following principles that might help us live faithfully in the coming decade. • Let us recognise this age of transition, accepting the

discomfort . . . trusting that the Spirit is working in us through this process. This includes an intentional commitment to engage with and live in this time of history and not any other.

• Everything should be regarded as transitional and provisional except God Him/Herself and the Gospel we receive from Jesus Christ.

• We should be essentially conservative in continuing investment in the core elements of our Christian life – worship, prayer, study of scripture, theology and tradition, community and justice ! which may include substantial reinvestment in some dimensions of our life which have been let to slip. We should not be distracted from these traditional places of encounter with God.

• We should practice careful discernment in all things, being very cautious about which new programs, schemes and structures we introduce. We should indeed experiment and explore new things, but no one thing should be heralded as our future or salvation.

• We should be critical of what we cling to, mindful of the temptation to escape backwards into reminders of a past stability and comfort. Where something has clearly ‘finished its race’, we should be willing to celebrate its gifts, farewell it with honour and wait for the next new thing to which the Spirit calls us.

• We should do less rather than more, in order that a much higher proportion of our energy, time and resources can be dedicated to our core business.

• We should do as much as possible with good spirit and good humour, laughing at our own inadequacies whilst celebrating the merciful goodness of God’s ultimate control of all destiny.

Love and peace Fr. Grant Bullen

Tidings (June–September 2014) – page 2

St Theodore’s

SPIRITUAL GARDEN

"Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest" (Mark 6:31).

In 2002, the parish of St. Theodore’s accepted the challenge of the Archbishop of Adelaide to make their church and grounds an oasis that drew people from the wider community into an opportunity to explore spirituality. A team of people from within and outside the parish prepared a landscape plan which included the development of the Community Spiritual Garden, which was then discussed with parishioners and neighbours. Some of those beautiful skethches from the original plans are shown below.

Some twelve years after the Community Spiritual Garden commenced, it is still being well cared for and is still a place of tranquility and reflection, of peacefulness and beauty.

The Head of the Parish Landscape Team, Susie Herzberg, comments that “those of us who drop in to do a few hours of peaceful garden care regularly meet members of the local community enjoying that stillness. We frequently hear stories of visitors who find this garden a welcome refuge at times of need. The Garden remains listed with the Quiet Garden Movement and we are aware of various overseas visitors who have been attracted by this listing.”

As with most gardens, plantings are not fixed in time. Since the garden was established, several droughts and heatwaves have led to changes. Our ‘borrowed landscapes’ have been much reduced as trees from our neighbours have been removed and adjacent buildings increased.

Such changes have been an opportunity to review our planting plan and to propose new plantings in the northern ‘wild’ garden which will provide greater enclosure, stronger edges ! and in time increased summer shade. We continue to aim for foliage contrasts, and some colour whatever the season: oleanders and agapanthus flower in summer; abelia, pink geranium, purple hypoestes and the spectacular yukka are at their peak in autumn; the viburnum and clivia in the winter; while spring continues to provide a mass of colour as native frangipani, cistus, Indian hawthorn, roses, daisies and many more are all blooming.

We aim to continue our low water use and low maintenance, informal rambling theme. Anyone who would like to help maintain this garden is welcome to join the landscape team. For information, contact Fr. Grant. Happening at St. Theodore’s . . . . A QUIET DAY: The Spiritual Garden will be a feature of the Quiet Day to be held at St. Theodore’s on Saturday, May 31st, conducted by Rev’d. Lesley McLean. It will be a time of reflection stirred by St. Joan of Arc. Details are available at the Church, or from Rev’d. Lesley McLean (Email: revlesley@adam.com.au or by mobile phone on 0429 188 604.) THE HAYDN ORCHESTRA comprises a group of local musicians, who specialise in string music, and derive their name from the fact that their first concert was a Haydn cello concerto. They were given the opportunity by Fr. Peter Thomson to use St. Theodore’s Church to rehearse, and have been together for over ten years. They play one concert a year – and this year it will again be at St. Theodore’s on the afternoon of Sunday, June 8th, starting at 2.30 pm. Although they usually include one Haydn work, they are breaking that tradition this year . . . as indicated in the program below:

Percy Grainger - “Mock Morris” Edward Elgar - “Serenade for Strings” in C minor Op. 20 Antonio Vivaldi – “Concerto for two Trumpets” in C major Tchaikovsky – “Souvenir De Florence”

Please join us for this wonderful event – tickets cost $10 and are available at the door, or advance ticket enquiries may be made to Chris Fanning (8357-0820).

Tidings (June–September 2014) – page 3

Fun for Kids Holiday Program St. Theodore’s Fun for Kids Holiday Program had

its origins in 2006 when the idea was developed as an outreach to help parents with young children within the surrounding area.

It actually started in July 2008 with ten children on very cold and wintery days – Ian Campbell kindly brought in his outdoor heater to help warm the large hall – and the emphasis was on creativity and games.

Since then, the Fun for Kids Holiday Program has been held for four days in the first week of every school holidays (in September 2008 and January 2009 after the initial program, and from then on four times a year).

The program started off with a simple Bible story, and over the years the children participated in a few plays, of which the most successful were Jonah and the Whale, and one on the story of Noah where the children wore face masks to become animals.

For a couple of our Programs, we were very

fortunate to have a volunteer (Carol Hopkins) who bought in a horse for the children to learn to ride and understand horses for half of one of the days, which was a highlight.

Within programs, cooking was a part of every day under the guidance of Di LePoidevin, and we produced a small cookbook for sale as well. In winter the children made Minestrone or Pumpkin soup; other times they made foccacia, zucchini slice, cheese muffins, fruit and oat cookies.

There were science experiments conducted by Robyn Needs, and the favourites were were the ‘Kitchen el Niño effect’, balloon surfing, the fog in a jar, bath bombs, Borax crystal snowflakes, making slime, firing a balloon rocket, the egg in a bottle, and a kaleidoscope of colour with full cream milk and food colouring!

Sally Porter’s talent for making jewellery was well accepted by the young girls, and Di Thorpe worked with children on a number of games. There was lots of jigsaw, ‘snakes and ladders’, and a monopoly game. We also did origami folding ! and in fact some children taught us more advanced origami folding. All children loved the paper hockey we played in the big hall. Other popular games included the tissue and straw race, Simple Simon, ‘Duck duck goose’, the cat and mouse game, and ‘I spy’.

Pleasingly, we often had children coming back each holiday as they had enjoyed the program so much – a nice measure of succes.

Recently, it was determined that the Program may no longer be fulfilling its orginal aims, and that age (and commitment) was telling on those involved in running it, so that – with some sadness – we have decided to move on. In meeting with Fr. Grant, the first step in this will be devoting our efforts to offering a service to the children who are coming with their parents to church.

I would like to sincerely thank the volunteers that who have helped along this journey - Di LePoidevin, Carol Hopkins, Charlene Helbig, Di Thorpe, and Sally Porter.

Robyn Needs Coordinator, Fun for Kids Holiday Program

Special Services - Feast Days {8.00 am - Holy Communion; 9.30 am - Sung Eucharist}

! June 8 ! Pentecost ! June 15 ! Trinity Sunday ! August 17 ! Mary, Mother of Our Lord (August 15) ! September 21 ! Patronal Festival of St. Theodore of Tarsus

(September 19)

“Child Safe Environments” Training ! June 14 (Saturday), 10 am to 4 pm - for all Level 1 license

holders (clergy; youth and children's workers; pastoral care visitors).

It was then that Desmond realised that

total immersion was not for him

(From the “Church Times”)

Tidings (Feb 2014 – May 2014) – page 4

St. Theodore’s Parish Council – in their own write

I was born into a committed Anglican family and our parish church of the Good Shepherd, Plympton was my ‘second home’. I was involved in all the usual activities – CEBS, YAF, Sunday School (as a student then a teacher), serving, choir and eventually Parish Council. I always loved the church, but it was an unwelcome surprise when I first heard a call to the ordained ministry at age 15. By this time I was at Pulteney Grammar where I discovered a gift for writing and public speaking.

After school there was a Bachelor of Arts at the University Adelaide before the progression of a Bachelor of Theology at St. Barnabas, deaconing at 23 and priesting at 24. I did the usual Assistant Curate stint (at St. Francis, Edwardstown), then dropped out for a couple of years, hitch-hiking around Europe, being part of an ashram in India and then living in an alternative commune at Melrose. I returned as a priest in the Stirling Parish with responsibility for Bridgewater which lasted a few years (and included a Bachelor in Social Work from Flinders University) before a two-year stint as Manager of the Elizabeth Mission. Then there was a similar time beginning the experimental parish of the Emmanuel, Wayville while also being University Chaplain at Flinders and Adelaide.

By this time I was in my early 30’s . . . and I dropped out again, working mainly as a social worker and with the Drop-In Centre and Collective at St. Mary Magdalene’s. I was surprised – along with many others, I suspect – that when Fr. Graeme Kaines left I became the Rector for ten challenging but happy years . . . with a six-month stint in New York included. Then it was to St. Stephen and St. Mary, Mt. Waverley in Melbourne for another ten fruitful years . . . before arriving to be priest of St. Theodore’s in March 2013. I am also currently the Director of Formation in the Diocese of Adelaide.

Fr. Grant Bullen

Mr. Ian Campbell

I was born in Booborowie (mid-north) in 1950 and spent my early formative years on a sheep station. Booborowie had a small Anglican Church (St. Edmund’s) where my father was the lay reader on alternate Sundays. I actually attended the Methodist Sunday School to join most of the other kids in the town! I spent six years at Prince Alfred College, and as a boarder we attended Wesley Kent Town Uniting Church on Sundays. After leaving school I spent two years in the bank at Booborowie, then twenty years in the Finance industry, ten of which were in Victoria. I married Pat (we met at a school dance while at boarding school) in 1972, and each of our three boys ! Greg, David and Chris ! were born while we were in Victoria. We moved back to Adelaide in 1990 with my work at RAA and reside in Ormond Grove, Toorak Gardens. We have attended St. Theodore’s since arriving here. I have been the Priest’s Warden for Fr. Mark, Fr. Peter and now Fr. Grant and for most of my time here a member of the Parish Council, and have been involved in developing the grounds. We feel so privileged to have had St. Theodore’s as our place of worship and being involved with the wonderful community it supports.

I am 60 years old, and have been married to Robyn for 36 years – we have two daughters . . . Katherine (31; who is married to Matthew) and Olivia (28). I am the Financial Operation’s Manager SA/WA for Ingham’s Enterprises Pty Ltd.

My association with St. Theodore’s began when I was baptised by the then Rector, T.T. Reed, who later went onto become Bishop (and the first Archbishop) of Adelaide. The main influences of my early days at St. Theodore’s were through my mother (Joan) and maternal grandmother (Stella Warner), who faithfully attended St. Theodore’s for many years. I attended Sunday school in my early life and was confirmed in August 1966; Robyn and I were married in St. Theodore’s on the May 13th, 1978.

We moved to Redwood Park and attended St. Wilfred’s Anglican Church at Tea Tree Gully, until we returned into the Toorak Gardens area in 1996 and resumed our attendance at St. Theodore’s, when Fr. Mark Sibly was Rector.

Currently I am the Peoples’ Warden, and both Robyn and I are Lay Assistants.

Mr. John Needs

Mr. Stewart Perkins

After completing National Service – where he first dabbled with organ lessons with the organist at St. James’ Cathedral, Townsville – Stewart took up studies with prominent Adelaide organist Ashleigh Tobin (and later David Merchant), during which time he gained diplomas from the Australian College of Organists (now defunct) and Trinity College of Music, London. During this time, in 1972 he became Organist at St. Paul’s, Port Adelaide. His employment during this time was with the Education Department and Scotch College. In 1976 he became Organist at St. Theodore’s, Toorak Gardens. After an extended holiday in the UK in 1980, Stewart commenced work at the Canterbury (Anglican) Bookshop in Adelaide, later becoming Manager – a position he held for over 20 years, until the shop was closed in 2002. He then returned to the Education Department as a school bursar. Since his retirement in 2009 he has continued his connection with school finances by helping out in a part-time capacity at Plympton Primary School. At St. Theodore’s, Stewart has been a Parish Councillor (twice), and is currently a Synod representative and a member of the Nomination Committee. In 2010 he took over the responsibilities of Parish Treasurer.

George is a long-term member of the 8.00 am congregation at St. Theodore's where he regularly serves as a Lay Assistant.

Mr. George Abrams

Tidings (Feb 2014 – May 2014) – page 5

Dr. Martin Godfrey

I grew up in Hitchin, a small market town about 50 km north of London in the UK. Christian artefacts have been found in the town dating back to Roman times. The current church stands in the centre of the town and dates back to the 11th century, but was mainly built in the 13th and 14th centuries. I attended the primary school alongside the church and sang in the church choir. Sarah and I met when we were at Loughborough University in the Midlands. After university we moved to Harlow in Essex and attended a joint Anglican-Methodist ecumenical parish. In 1992 we resigned from our jobs and migrated to Australia. We initially lived in Toorak Gardens and started attending St. Theodore's as our local church. Over the years I have been on Parish Council several times and have also been Priest's Warden. I work as a research scientist doing a mix of electronics and physics for a government department. In my spare time I enjoy pottering round the garden and fixing broken things.

Angela has been a member of Saint Theodore’s since birth. She was baptised, confirmed and married here and has served in a variety of roles over the years. She attended Sunday School (and later taught as well), dancing classes, the badminton club, sang in the choir, and was involved in the Young Anglican Fellowship, both at Parish and Diocesan levels. She has been a Synod Representative, during the 1980’s and more recently. During the 1990’s she took up a position as Lay Assistant and helped to run the Alpha Course with Fr. Mark Sibly. She has been on Parish Council, served as a Warden and is currently Secretary. During 2012 she was part of the Nomination Committee who chose Fr. Grant as our Priest. Currently, she is the Publicity Officer for the Cursillo Movement in the Province of South Australia.

Away from St. Theodore’s, she has worked as a teacher, teacher/librarian, library technician and cataloguer and is currently employed at the library in the City of Salisbury.

Ms. Angela Jones

Dr. Richard Keene

Richard is the son of Frank and Janice Keene – who were long-term parishioners of St. Theodore’s. Baptised at St. Theodore’s, he grew up in Adelaide and attended King’s College (now Pembroke School) and the University of Adelaide (BSc and PhD). Richard married Cheryl Jones (eldest daughter of Rowley and Erica Jones) – at St. Theodore’s in 1972 – and after periods in Canberra and North Carolina (USA) they settled in Townsville in 1978 following Richard’s appointment to the staff in the Chemistry Department at James Cook University. He retired as a Distinguished Professor from JCU in 2012 and returned ‘home’ to Adelaide and St. Theodore’s. While in Townsville he was closely associated with St. James’ Cathedral as a Eucharistic Assistant, Co-editor of the parish magazine (for 32 years!), and had periods on the Parish Council and as Warden among other things: he had some Diocesan responsibilities (including as a Synod representative, member of the Ordination Discernment Committee, and Lay Director of Cursillo in North Queensland). Richard and Cheryl had three (now adult) children, one of whom – the youngest, Nicola – also lives in Adelaide. His present involvement with St. Theodore’s includes being the Editor of “The Tidings”, Manager of the Memorial Garden and a Lay Assistant/Lay Reader. Cheryl died from a brain tumour on Good Friday, 2007.

From childhood to when I was married, I attended Black Forest Presbyterian Church and was very

involved in church activities, including services, choir, Sunday School, youth group, netball and tennis. Church was really the hub of most of our social activities.

My first association with the Anglican Church was with my husband Peter, who was brought up an Anglican, and my first teaching position which was at St. Peter’s Anglican Girls School. I grew to love the formal liturgy and service which was in stark contrast to the services I had been used to.

I first attended St. Theodore's in 1983, and my two sons and I were confirmed a year later. Father Anthony was the priest and he was very supportive of our involvement with the youth. We started the youth group which had about 20 members, and formed an orchestra which played at a few special services. At Christmas time we would sing at nursing homes in the district.

After an absence of many years I returned to St. Theodore's in 2013, and reunited with Father Grant who I had known at St. Mary Magdalene’s previously. As soon as I returned I felt I had never left, such is the friendliness and camaraderie of the parishioners. Lesley Taylor Maddern used to say that church people were the salt of the earth. I think she was correct.

It is a privilege to be elected to the Parish Council and I will enjoy helping to do my bit.

Mrs. Cjay Taylor

Congratulations, Rev’d. Dr. Lesley McLean !

We are proud to acknowledge that one the parish’s Assistant Priests, our much-loved Lesley McLean, has just been awarded her PhD by Flinders University. Her thesis was undertaken in the School of Theology and was entitled “No Coward Soul: A biography of Alison Gent, radical feminist and activist for the ordination of women”. Some readers will have known Alison Gent (née Hogben), who was a wonderfully interesting, generous and challenging person who struggled for justice for women in the church and society . . . I can hardly wait for the book that might follow!

The accomplishment has a particularly strong link to St. Theodore’s parish, in addition to Lesley being an Assistant Priest. It turns out Alison Gent’s ashes are interred in our Memorial Garden, as are those of her mother (Lavinia Makin), her two older sisters (Elizabeth Hogben and Janice Keene – Richard Keene’s mother), as well as those of Alison’s eldest son (Timothy) and Tim’s wife (Elizabeth Gent). {Ed.}

Tidings (Feb 2014 – May 2014) – page 6

From the Editor’s desk . . .

Song to the Holy Spirit

The prayers in ‘A New Zealand Prayer Book’ are of course similar to those in ‘A Prayer Book for Australia’. However, in some of the prayers there is a wonderful sense of cultural setting and inclusiveness, shaped by the environment and the New Zealand people (and the Maori relationship with nature). One of my particular favourites is the ‘Song to the Holy Spirit’, and with our celebration of Pentecost coming early in June, I take the opportunity to share it with you.

Lord, Holy Spirit , You blow like the wind in a thousand paddocks, Inside and outside the fences, You blow where you wish to blow. Lord, Holy Spirit, You are the sun who shines on the little plant, You warm him gently, you give him life, You raise him up to become a tree with many leaves. Lord, Holy Spirit, You are like the mother eagle with her young, Holding them in peace under your feathers. On the highest mountain you have built your nest, Above the valley, above the storms of the world, Where no hunter ever comes.

Lord, Holy Spirit, You are the bright cloud in whom we hide, In whom we know already that the battle has been won. You bring us to our brother Jesus To rest our heads upon his shoulder. Lord, Holy Spirit, You are the kind fire that does not cease to burn, Consuming us with flames of love and peace, Driving us out like sparks to set the world on fire. Lord, Holy Spirit, In the love of friends you are building a new house, Heaven is with us when you are with us. You are singing your song in the hearts of the poor. Guide us, wound us, heal us. Bring us to the Father.

James K. Baxter

The book ‘Taking Flight’ contains a collection of over 250 story meditations written by Anthony de Mello, grouped together under the themes of prayer, awareness, religion, grace, the saints, the self, love and truth. They are taken from a variety of countries and cultures, but share the spiritual language and humour of the human race. With each story there is a lesson. Here is an example from ‘Awareness’.

Taking Flight

A priest was sitting at his desk by the window composing a sermon on providence when he heard something that sounded like an explosion. Soon he saw people running to and fro in a panic and discovered that the dam had burst, the river was flooding, and the people were being evacuated. The priest saw the water begin to rise in the street below. He had some difficulty suppressing his own rising sense of panic, but he said to himself, “Here I am preparing a sermon on providence and I am being given an occasion to practice what I preach. I shall not flee with the rest. I shall stay right here and trust in the providence of God to save me.” By the time the water reached his window, a boat full of people came by. “Jump in, Father,” they shouted. “Ah no, my children,” said Father confidently, “ I shall trust in the providence of God to save me.” Father did climb to the roof, however, and when the water got there another boatload of people went by, urging Father to join them. Again he refused. This time he climbed to the top of the belfry. When the water came to his knees, an officer in a motorboat was sent to rescue him. “No thank you, officer,” said Father with a calm smile. “I trust in God, you see. He will never let me down.” When Father drowned and went to heaven, the first thing he did was complain to God. “I trusted you! Why did you do nothing to save me?” “Well,” said God “I did send three boats you know.”

Richard Keene

Tidings (Feb 2014 – May 2014) – page 7

Our Patron Saint . . . . Theodore was of Byzantine Greek descent, born in

Tarsus in Cilicia (the native city of the Apostle Paul). His childhood saw devastating wars between Byzantium and the Persian Sassanid Empire, which resulted in the capture of Antioch, Damascus, and Jerusalem in 613-614. Persian forces captured Tarsus when Theodore was 11 or 12 years old, and Theodore had experience of Persian culture. It is most likely that he studied at Antioch, but he also knew Syrian culture, language and literature.

The Arab conquests drove Theodore from Tarsus in 637, when he would have been about 35 years old. He studied in the Byzantine capital of Constantinople, including the subjects of astronomy, ecclesiastical computus, astrology, medicine, Roman civil law, Greek rhetoric and philosophy, and the use of the horoscope.

At some time before the 660s, Theodore travelled to Rome, where he lived with a community of Eastern monks, probably at the monastery of St. Anastasius. At this time, in addition to his already profound Greek intellectual inheritance, he became learned in Latin literature.

Now when the pagan Anglo-Saxons invaded England, they drove the native Celtic inhabitants north into Scotland and west into Ireland, Wales, and Cornwall. The Anglo-Saxons were subsequently converted to Christianity by Celtic missionaries from the north and west, and Roman and Gallic missionaries from the south and east. As a result, they ended up with different ‘flavours’ of Christianity. The Synod of Whitby (664) confirmed the decision in the Anglo-Saxon Church to follow Rome in 667, when Theodore was 66. Soon after, the Archbishop of Canterbury died, and the English elected a successor, Wighard, and sent him to Rome to be consecrated by the Pope. Wighard died in Rome before he could be consecrated, and the Pope (Vitalian) took it upon himself to choose a man to fill the vacancy. He consecrated Theodore of Tarsus, who was a learned monk (but not a priest) then living in Rome, as we noted above. This surprising choice turned out to be a very good one. Theodore was (as the Venerable Bede wrote in his Ecclesiastical History) "the first archbishop whom all the English obeyed." Having made a tour of his charge, Theodore filled the vacant Bishoprics and in 672 presided over the first council of the entire English Church, at Hertford. He established definite territorial boundaries for the various

Dioceses, and founded new Dioceses where needed. He found the Church of England an unorganised missionary body, and left it a fully ordered province of the universal Church. The body of Canon Law drawn up under his supervision, and his structure of Dioceses and Parishes survived the turmoil of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and are substantially intact today.

He founded a School at Canterbury that trained Christians from both the Celtic and Roman traditions, and did much to unite the two groups. Theodore also taught sacred music, introduced various texts, knowledge of Eastern saints, and may even have been responsible for the introduction of the Litany of the Saints, a major liturgical innovation, into the West. Pupils from the School at Canterbury were sent out as Benedictine abbots in southern England, disseminating the curriculum of Theodore.

Theodore called other Synods, in September 680 at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, and around 684 at Twyford, near Alnwick in Northumbria.

Theodore died on September 19th, 690 at the remarkable age of 88, having held the Archbishopric for twenty-two years, and he was buried in Canterbury at Saint Peter's Church. The Patronal Festival of St. Theodore of Tarsus

is September 19th.

(From the “Church Times”)

Theodore of Tarsus Archbishop of Canterbury

Tidings (Feb 2014 – May 2014) – page 8

St. Theodore’s Crest The crest of St. Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury, reflects the qualities for which he is known and revered. His great achievement was to give unity, organisation, and scholarship to a divided Church on the edge of the civilised world. He was also a scholar, and established an important School at Canterbury which soon gained a reputation for excellence in all branches of learning, and where many Bishops and other leaders of the English and Irish Churches were trained. It is said of him that there is possibly no other leader to whom English Christianity owes so much. The mitre and chasuble are symbols of him as a Priest and Bishop, and the quill and scroll symbols of him as a scholar and adminstrator. The left half has a blue ! and the right half a green – background.

The picture show a embroidered version of the coat-of-arms which is currently in the Vestry, although it was featured in the Rectory for a number of years. A former Rector of St. Theodore’s – Thomas Thortonton Reed – who became Bishop of Adelaide (1957-1970) and then its first Archbishop (1970-1975) – had a considerable knowledge of heraldry, and it is thought he may responsible for the aquisition of this beautiful piece.

2014 - St Theodore’s Centenary Celebrations

What’s in a date? You may well ask . . . why October? Some of you will have noticed the commemoration stone on the outside of the western wall of the church (photo at left), which records the consecration of St. Theodore’s on February 7th, 1914 when the foundations were laid. The Patronal Festival of St. Theodore is on September 19th, and yet our Centenary celebrations will take place over the period October 12-18th. Confused? Well it turns out that the original church was built in a little over six months, and the first service – and Dedication – occurred on Wednesday October 14th, 1914. That day was “Eight Hours Day” – the precursor of what we now call Labour Day.

Date-savers for the very special occasion Our Centenary celebrations will very soon be upon us! In 2014, we are looking at four main components to mark

the achievement – worship, social, renewing the internal walls of the church and a charitable project. A small Sub-Committee formed from the 2013 Parish Council will manage these projects and those involved are Fr. Grant Bullen (worship), Ian Campbell (church walls), George Abrams (charity) and Chris Fanning (social).

There will be a week of celebrations starting with a Sung Eucharist to be held at 9.30 am on Sunday 12th October 2014. Archbishop Jeffrey Driver has already accepted our invitation to be with us on that day. The service will be followed by a brunch in the main hall with a glass ! or two ! of celebratory champagne. To finish off the week, we will hold a dinner on Saturday 18th October. Distinguished guests and past parishioners will be invited to both events to help us celebrate this wonderful milestone in our parish life.

The venue for the dinner will be the Belair Park Country Club. Among our guests will be Fr. Anthony Taylor and his wife Valerie: Fr. Anthony – a former Rector – will be our after-dinner speaker. This is a very special occasion in the history of the parish, and there will be a limit to the number of tickets available (80) so please do not delay in making your booking when they become available: they will be on sale from about July at a cost of $60. Ticket enquiries can be made through Chris Fanning (8357-0820).

St. Theodore’s – Contacts Parish Priest: Fr. Grant Bullen (Office - 8333-1567) Associate Priests: Rev’d. Natasha Darke Rev’d. Dr. Lesley McLean Rev’d. Peter Anson Priest’s Warden: Ian Campbell Peoples’ Warden: John Needs

Parish Council (2014) – Fr. Grant Bullen, Stewart Perkins

(Treasurer), Ian Campbell, John Needs, George Abrams, Martin Godfrey, Angela Jones (Secretary), Richard Keene, Cjay Taylor.

“The Tidings” Editor: Dr. Richard Keene