Lady Day 2014 - focus on the Karen

Beth Hookey, guest speaker at the 2014 Lady Day service, spoke of the hard life

faced by displaced Karen people. She has visited their camps along the Thai-Myan-mar border. The Karen, many of whom are Christian, have faced much hardship, espe-cially from the Burmese army.

Elay Kunoo, of St Paul’s Cathedral MU, reads the Gospel in the Karen language at the Lady Day service.

The service was held on 26 March at Holy Trinity Flora Hill, led by the Revd Barry Rainsford and Bishop Andrew.

Karen women from St Paul’s Cathedral congregation participated. Elay Kunoo

continued on page 4

MONTHLY MAGAZINE FOR THE ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF BENDIGOwww.bendigoanglican.org.au Issue 100 May 2014

Inside this issue:• Centre-pages:

The Spirit prospers after 100 issues!

• ‘Jewels of Faith’ shine in Mooroopna

• SInging and soaring at Cowra Station women’s retreat

and all your favourite regulars!

The deacons and priests of the diocese gathered with Bishop Andrew at St Augustine’s Inglewood on the Monday of Holy Week, 14 March.

St Augustine’s glows for clergy renewalOn Monday 14 April at St Augustine’s,

Inglewood, early in Holy Week, the clergy of Bendigo diocese gathered to renew their ordination promises. Bishop Andrew led the service and presided at the eucharist dur-ing which this significant event took place.

St Augustine’s, soon to celebrate 150 years since opening, glowed with the light from the beautiful historic stained glass windows. The red stoles of the clergy added to the co-lour of this service, which has come in recent times to be celebrated during Holy Week.

Afterwards, the parish catering group served a delicious lunch in the old hall, and everyone welcomed the opportunity to spend time with colleagues from all areas of the diocese.

Before leaving for their home parishes, cler-gy collected their newly consecrated oils for use during the year to anoint people coming to baptism, and those in special need. q

Christine Kimpton

33rd ANNUAL DIOCESAN CMS AUTUMN WEEKEND Theme: “God’s Own Heart” 

                                  Studies in 1 & 2 Samuel led by Andrew Grills Friday 23 to Sunday 25 May 2014 

at Holy Trinity Flora Hill Meet three missionary families from Cambodia, Congo & S.E.Asia 

Registration forms available from your parish or Barry on 5448 3912 

151 McCrae Street Bendigo12 Victoria Street Eaglehawk

P. 5441 5577www.williamfarmer.com.au

A tradition that continues...

Caring at a time of need

2 The Spirit May 2014

Dear FriendsWelcome to the 100th edition of The Spir-it! In 2005 I think I can claim it was my idea to reintroduce a diocesan paper, and The Spirit was born. Now some 3000 cop-ies a month circulate around the diocese.

The principles behind The Spirit were to introduce a magazine look publica-tion that would cover diocesan news only, leaving national and international church news to publications like TMA and internet sites. The Spirit was designed to cover major events in the diocese, par-ish news and have articles as well.

I think it has been a great success, and I hope you the readers do as well. Late last year the diocese invited a media consul-tant to review The Spirit and this has now happened. A readers’ survey was under-taken, as well as meetings with the cur-rent Editorial Committee, and a report written with recommendations.

You will begin to see the impact of these recommendations in the months ahead with a redesign of The Spirit. It was decid-ed to leave the 100th edition in the familiar format of the past three years, to honour the present design and all who have con-tributed to it. I would particularly like to thank our Editor, Dr Charles Sherlock, and the team that work with him.

We are now into May, and winter is not far ahead. For us as a diocese

all the attention this month is on prepara-tion for Synod which will be held on 30 and 31 May. In a first for the diocese it is being held over two sites. On Friday we will meet at Holy Trinity South East Bendigo, where Synod has been held since the cathedral has been closed, and on Sat-urday we will meet at the new St Mary’s Kangaroo Flat, where Synod members will have an opportunity to see and use the new parish complex since its opening.

The main focus of Synod this year will be legislation to enable the incorporation of the diocese as a company limited by guarantee. This will be one of the most significant developments for the diocese in its 114-year history, and has come

about for three reasons. First, the recent Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into In-stitutional Child Abuse recommended that churches and voluntary bodies not incorporated should do so. This was to basically make a diocese accountable for its actions and give complainants a clear-er process and entity for undertaking le-gal proceedings. The diocese does have a Trusts Corporation and has had one since 1901, but its role is for the hold-ing of property in trust. If people want to sue the diocese at present, the only entity that can be sued is the bishop.

Secondly, in a recent court case in the Diocese of Gippsland, the bishop was sued over a WorkCover matter by one of the clergy. The diocese lost the case and the fallout from that case is that dioceses in Victoria should proceed to have clergy come under WorkCover and for this to happen there has to be an appropriate legal entity.

Thirdly, dioceses are now handling a plethora of legal and financial matters, and need a much clearer legal entity. This is to enable better accountability and transparency in the transaction of dioc-esan business, and means that the diocese will have to act under the same rules and regulations that are required of most busi-nesses in Australia. All Victorian dioceses have made a commitment to proceed down the path of incorporation, so that the Anglican Church in Victoria will have common legislation across all dioceses.

I have long been an advocate for a stronger and clearer legal basis for dio-ceses, and believe that the incorporation of our diocese will be a major achieve-ment for the long term sustainability of our Church.

With blessings for this Easter season,

Anzac Day 2014 has come and gone, and

already the anticipation for the 100th anniversary of the landing at Anzac Cove is building. Anzac Day has become perhaps the most significant national day we celebrate in Australia. Record numbers of people are turning out each year to mark the occasion. At one level I can understand that Gallipoli is now seen as Australia's ‘coming of age’. There is the incred-ible sacrifice of thousands of young Australians who were slain in World War I, including at Gallipoli, who died for what this young nation stood for.

At another level Gallipoli was a na-tional disaster and a military failure. Les Carlyon’s magnificent book Gallipoli re-cords the trauma, the mateship, the her-oism and at the same time the appalling military blunders at the top. After barely eight months it was all over, with a huge loss of life on all sides.

Gallipoli is significant in Australian his-tory, but it is important that we do not elevate it to a point in our evolvement as a nation where it lacks its true meaning. In no way do I want to underestimate the significance of the dedication and com-mitment of the tens of thousands of young Australians who gave their lives. But at the same time, let’s really understand what the Anzac campaign was about, and acknowl-edge that there are many other significant events that have contributed to the free-dom that we enjoy in this nation.

The history of this nation and what has shaped it does not get the attention it de-serves, and as we approach the centenary of Gallipoli I hope it will serve as a cata-lyst to highlight a new awakening of what Australia stands for. q

Bishop Ron Stone reflects on 50 years Bishop Ron will reflect on his

half-century of ordained ministry at

Sung EvensongChrist Church Castlemaine

(car entry in Kennedy Street)Sunday 1 June 6pm

You are welcome

May 2014 The Spirit 3

Change a life. Donate now.

Donate to St Luke’s AnglicareDonate by phone 03 5440 8140 or email donate@stlukes.org.auDirect deposit via Bendigo Bank:

BSB 633 000 ACC 130329535

Albury • Bendigo • CastlemaineDeniliquin • Echuca • Kyneton

Maryborough • Swan Hill

St Luke’s is there to work with people and give them a renewed sense of dignity and worth.– Bishop Andrew Curnow AM

St Luke’s Board President

With Mothering Sunday falling on a fifth Sunday, there were so

many possibilities for Sunday 30 March it was difficult to decide what to include; so we did it all.

The men of the parish provided break-fast for the women. John Dillon, Denis Gell and John Tilbrook (pictured at right) were among those doing the cooking.

They provided breakfast cereal, juice, tea, coffee, toast and pancakes, with top-pings of berries, jams, caramelised figs, yoghurt and cream. It was a banquet full of life and health and colour. The men arrived early, and our pancakes were hand baked on the barbeque.

Parishioner Donna Salathiel, Direc-tor of The Wellbeing Path, was our guest speaker, sharing her journey and encour-aging us in our wellness.

After breakfast we continued with our Harvest Festival service. Pews were deco-rated with wheat stalks and the altar was surrounded with fruit and vegetables, the large and the small as well as greens and herbs. After the Great Thanksgiving for the fruits of creation, non-perishables were donated to St Luke’s Anglicare.

At morning tea, the remaining pro-duce was made available for purchase at Emily’s Fruit and Vegie Stall (whose pro-ceeds also went to St Luke’s).

The traditional Simnel Cake for Moth-ering Sunday was prepared by Mrs Mag-gie Williams.

Wonderfully refreshed by these Re-freshment Sunday activities, we were ready to continue on our Lenten journey towards Easter. It was generally agreed that, perhaps with the exception of Em-ily, the greatest fun of the morning was had by the Rev Denis’ breakfast chefs! q

Jan Harper

Emily Roberts with some of the harvest spread. Photo: Jon Roberts

Swan Hill Harvest Festival inverts roles

Memorial Service for Maryborough Health Service staff

The Revd Sandra Field (pictured above) led an ecumenical service re-

cently, in which Maryborough District Health Service paid tribute to the lives of four staff members who died in the past year. More than 60 family members, friends and colleagues attended.

CEO Glenis Beaumont said the ser-vice gave staff an opportunity to meet the families as they farewelled Yvonne Grey-mans, Carina Lacey, Wendy Queripel and Marcus Xavier. The four were more than just work colleagues, Ms Beaumont said - they were friends who shared personal moments, supported others and contrib-uted to the energy of the health service.

Sandra Field, who regularly visits the Health Service, said it was a privilege to plan the event with staff.

“One of the greatest gifts we can give each other is our time,” she said in her ad-dress. “Time to ‘be with’ each other in the moment, in times of need and sadness, of joy and celebration and in everyday life experiences.

“The busyness of hospital life makes it difficult to find such time, so it is with gratitude we can share this time of still-ness to remember, honour and celebrate the life and times shared with Yvonne, Carina, Wendy and Marcus who all so willing gave us their time, creating many memories.”

Board member Jean Anderson said the service was beautifully arranged, and a confirmation for relatives of the wider sphere of caring and respect in which their family member had worked. q

4 The Spirit May 2014

The SpiritMonthly newsmagazine (except January) of the Anglican Diocese of Bendigo.

Address: The Spirit, PO Box 2, Bendigo 3552

Member, Australasian Religious Press Association

Editor: The Revd Dr Charles Sherlock Manager: Sarah Crutch (Registry) Committee Chair: The Revd Bryn Jones

email: thespirit@bendigoanglican.org.au

The Spirit is published in the first week of the month (excluding January).Advertising: rates are available from the Editor. All advertisements are accepted at the Editor’s discretion; acceptance does not imply endorsement of the product or service.Contributions are welcome, and will be edited: email submission is preferred. Anonymous articles will not be considered for publication. Photographs should be in digital form, full size: please send the ‘raw’ photo. Physical photographs are normally not returned.The Anglican Diocese of Bendigo and the Editor are not responsible for opinions expressed by contributors, nor do these necessarily reflect the policy of the diocese.Next contributions deadline: May 28

What’s coming up27 May Week of Prayer for - 3 June Reconciliation30 May, pm Synod - Flora Hill31 May, day Synod - Kangaroo Flat1-8 June Week of Prayer for Christian Unity7 - 8 June 150th celebrations for St Augustine’s Inglewood25 June MU Winter Gathering, St Mary’s Kangaroo Flat30 June General Synod (Adelaide) - 4 July15 July Diocesan Council21 - 25 July MU National Conference (Brisbane)26 - 31 July MU Wave of Prayer26 August MU retreat day6 - 9 October Clergy retreat12 October 150th celebration for St John’s Newbridge12 October Emergency Services annual service, St Mary’s Kangaroo FlatWant a significant event included?

Please send dates and place to thespirit@bendigoanglican.org.au. q

Lady Day 2014 - focus on the Karencontinued from front page

read the Annunciation Gospel accord-ing to Luke in her native tongue. Elay, a long-term MU member, led her house-hold from Myanmar to the My Lai camp in Thailand, and then after years there to Bendigo, and St Paul’s cathedral.

Over 100 members and friends partici-pated in Lady Day, which was once again a great time of celebrating and sharing. Frances and Peter Monsborough en-hanced our day with beautiful music on flute and keyboard. Bishop Andrew chal-lenged members to consider that things do not always stay the same, we may have change thrust upon us, and may need to alter our way of thinking and doing.

As members arrived they received a special bookmark designed and prepared by Gail Brabazon, which introduced Beth Hookey, our afternoon guest. Beth is a former teacher and AngliCORD di-rector, who served for three years as the Australian MU Overseas and Outreach Convener after she retired as MU Dioc-esan President (Melbourne).

In countries with oppressive military regimes it is the women and children who suffer the most. Jesus stood up for the rights of women and children. Judas ridiculed Mary of Bethany for anointing Jesus’ feet (John 12:1-8) but Jesus told him to “leave her alone.” You could say that Christ was ahead of his time.

Jesus forgave the sins of the woman – a prostitute? – who anointed him at a Pharisee’s house (Luke 7:36-50). He spoke to women, notably the Samaritan woman (John 4:1-26), during a time where women and men didn’t mix. And in Luke 8:21, Jesus proclaimed to those listening that all women who hear and live God’s Word are his ‘mother’ or ‘sis-ter’. And even when he was left to die on the cross, his thoughts were of the most important woman in his life, his mother, when he placed her in the care of his be-loved disciple (John 19:26-27).

Beth’s presentation was a sobering re-minder of the importance of remember-ing those who are mistreated, as if we our-selves were suffering with them (Hebrews 13:3). Let’s welcome refugees into our congregations - Jesus was one! q

Angela Morrissey

Vale Peggy Heyward

Mrs Peggy Heyward, widow of Bishop Oliver, died in Hobart

on 30 March – her 91st birthday. Bishop Ron Stone, representing Bish-op Andrew and the Diocese of Ben-digo, gave the homily at her funeral.

“Peggy was more to us than the bish-op’s wife,” Bishop Ron said. “Peggy was her own strong person with her own ministry. She was loving, caring of others, warm and generous, welcoming and hospitable, with a wonderful, even wicked, sense of humour.

“Above all, Peggy was a genuine Christian woman who gave a strong lead to other women in both church and community. She loved and served her Lord and put her trust in his promises – practising a quiet, deep, personal faith and devotion.”

On arrival in Bendigo from Tasma-nia, where Bishop Oliver had been Warden of a university college, Peggy and he moved into Bishop’s Court ad-joining All Saints’ Cathedral. Many recall the Lady Day Garden Parties which Peggy hosted there. Then came a shift into the newly built Bishop’s House. On leaving Bendigo, the cou-ple moved into their house in Rich-mond for an active retirement.

Peggy was a great support to Bishop Oliver throughout his ministry. We commend her into God’s care, and our thoughts go out to their four sons and their families in their loss. q

Val Phillips

Tongala

New minister gets hands dirty

St James’ Tongala had the pleasure of introducing their new minister, the

Revd Sharon Phillips, to their commu-nity on the night of Shrove Tuesday.

Sharon spent the evening cooking pancakes with Len Young, and then af-ter mixing with people in our hall, she helped parishioners clean up as well. We had a hall full of people from all Christian traditions, and they were all impressed by Sharon. Bev Florence organised games for the many children present.

As a result of a good evening, we were able to donate $226 to the Anglican Out-back Fund. q

Iris Powell

May 2014 The Spirit 5

Kyneton’s community connections

Numerous opportunities of com-munity connection exist. St Paul’s

Kyneton has held a market in its park for a decade. Now the Kyneton Farmers’ Market, it is a busy hub of activity on the second Saturday of every month.

Beyond looking after stall holders, encouraging new vendors and provid-ing ‘Anglican sausages’ (all important as-pects), new ideas are being introduced. Face painting has been in action for a while, with artist Ruth Murphy: at our April market we added a Kids’ Craft stall. Organised by Allison Howarth, children were welcomed to make Easter baskets. Over sixty children participated throughout the morning.

There was extra encouragement with a visit from the Easter Bunny (alias Fr Ian Howarth) who wandered through the market handing out Easter eggs to children and stall hold-ers and the o c c a s i o n a l big kid. He posed for numerous photos, joined Rob and Pam Inglis to sing some songs, and most importantly, encouraged families to the Kids’ Craft Stall. He even received a few free carrots!

It might not look like a way of shar-ing faith, but it is a point of connection, shows our concern to cater for different age groups - and that we can have fun in the process. For next month’s market a Moth-er’s Day theme is being planned, though Fr Ian has no plans to dress-up for that one!

The next afternoon saw the Gisborne Singers give a concert in a packed St Paul’s. With selections from Bach’s St John and St Matthew Passion and Vivaldi’s Gloria, the singing was very well received. We ex-pressed our appreciation at afternoon tea, served by supporters of Oxfam.

It was a weekend of variety, one with a great sense of connection with the com-munity we are part of in Kyneton. qIan Howarth

Participants for the Cowra Station women’s retreat this year came from

Swan Hill, Nyah, Lake Boga, Underbool, Ouyen, Mildura and Red Cliffs. Jenny Rainsford from Epsom was the guest speaker, with the theme drawn from Isa-iah 40:31 – we were soaring like eagles when we left. Recharged and ready to go.

Brenda chose the hymns. The ones that stuck with me were ‘Spirit Song’, ‘Lion of Judah’, ‘Teach me to dance’, ‘Forever’, and ‘Superglue’.

‘Spirit Song’ (1979) was written by John Wimber (1934-1997). Wimber was an American charismatic pastor who wrote hymns and played the keyboard.

So the Son of God enfolded us with the spirit of his love. Great start.

‘Lion of Judah’ was written in 1996 by Robin Mark, a Northern Irish Chris-tian who plays guitar, piano, writes songs and sings them. So our souls were fed with music from around the globe.

‘Teach me to dance’ was written by an Englishman, considered by many to be the father of modern Christian music, Graham Kendrick. This song was writ-ten in 1993 based on 2 Samuel 6:14. So now we are moving in the Spirit. Then ‘Forever’ by Chris Tomlin (1972), an-other American who writes contemporary church music. So we sang songs from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Fi-nally, I loved ‘Superglue’ (that stuck it all together!), written by a Brit but I need the music to be able to teach it!

The 2015 dates for the Cowra Station retreat are March 20-22: put it in your diary now, and see you there. qCoral Crook

Singing and soaring -Cowra Station women’s retreat 2014

Vale Margaret Ruxton

Margaret Ruxton (née McGregor) died in Christ on 1 April. A long-

time MU member, she recently received her 50 year scroll. She lived her Christi-anity to the full. Many could tell of her love and compassion when they have ex-perienced a crisis or tragedy in their life.

Margaret excelled at needlework: her embroidery is evident at St Paul’s Kyne-ton, from the altar cloth to the beautiful banners. Her funeral took place there on 4 April, displaying her faith in Christ which had sustained her all her life. qHelen Forsyth

St Arnaud

Youngsters join in Holy Week

Our congregation felt blessed. Six children were in church for Palm

Sunday, all excited about leading the congregation in a palm procession cir-cuit around the outside of Christ Church Old Cathedral. They lead the congrega-tion into the building and placed their palms against the holy table.

An impromptu children’s talk followed. We were delighted to hear their answers as to what Easter was about. “I learnt this at school,” was the response from one - a positive comment by a student who obvi-ously pays attention in CRE!

A week later saw eight excited children in church for Easter Sunday. There was a children’s talk and later they helped dis-tribute Easter eggs before the end of the service - and rushed outside when told that Easter eggs were in the garden. qHeather Blackman

6 The Spirit May 20146 The Spirit May 2014

The Spirit reaches 100 –

Above: Issue No 1 on the 2005 masthead, then the 2006 masthead, then front pages from 2007, 2008 and 2009.

In Bishop Andrew’s opening column for the first issue, February 2005, he

wrote: “so now we present to you the first of hopefully many editions of The Spirit”. Well, here we are 100 issues later and it is still thriving as the monthly publication of the Anglican Diocese of Bendigo.

In establishing The Spirit, its primary aims were to lift parishio-ners’ eyes to see what God is about, in and beyond their own parish, through the ministries conducted across the diocese; and to feed faith, with a varied spiritual diet drawn from the diversity of God’s mission.

And over these 100 issues The Spirit has done just that. Browsing through the previous issues, they are full of news sto-ries of parish events, ordinations, induc-tions and celebrations, along with faith focused columns that explore contem-porary issues and encourage readers to engage with the themes being discussed.

The original Editorial Committee was led by Canon Ken Parker, with Registry’s Tricia Spence as Editor, assisted by Gayle Adams. In 2007 Charles Sherlock took over as Editor; in 2011 Ken was succeeded by Heather Vander Reest, and now Bryn Jones chairs the Committee. Val Phillips has continued as a member through all these changes! The design was done by Jodie Barada, of BMP Bendigo, who also printed the paper until in-house produc-tion became possible in 2011.

It’s quite remarkable that such a qual-ity publication can be produced ‘in-house’ using our own resources. These include the dedicated Committee mem-bers, the engaging local columnists, the photo-aware picture-takers (notably Jan Curnow), the parish contributors and the printing and distribution in the Registry. Nothing too elaborate - just enthusiastic people who can produce

thought-provoking material and are will-ing to share their stories of what God is on about among us.

Credit and appreciation must be given to all these, through whom the publica-tion continues to evolve, engage and relate to our readers. Their work was recognised

by The Spirit receiving a Silver Award for Best Regional Publica-tion from the Australasian Religious Press Association in 2009, and the Gold Award for Best Original Pho-tography in 2013.

After a decade of churning out an issue every month, you would think produc-ing each issue would be run of the mill. Things often do fall into place quite eas-ily, but at each meeting the Committee is mindful of ensuring good design, quality content and newsworthy material, which regularly results in hearty discussion.

Design changes have taken place over the life of The Spirit - the original mast-head was blue and gold, and several lay-out changes have been made. And guess what - it’s happening again! In the latter half of 2013 a major review was conduct-ed, whose feedback has led to a revamp. So a fresh new layout is under way to lift The Spirit’s visual appeal - and the Com-mittee is looking to invite new columnists to ensure that the content remains engag-ing. We look forward to maintaining its vibrancy by refreshing its look.

But despite any changes, at its core The Spirit regularly reminds us that each centre and each parish, however large or small, is a significant part of God’s work across the wider diocese.

In reaching 100 issues we can be proud of what The Spirit contributes to God’s mission through the Anglican Diocese of Bendigo. May it continue “for hopefully many more editions”. q

Sarah Crutch

May 2014 The Spirit 7May 2014 The Spirit 7

and continues to prosper!Issue Number 100! What memories

flooded back as I brought out my copy of Issue No. 1, May 2005. In his letter, Bishop Andrew wrote that this new ven-ture was following 20 years of The Bendigo Anglican. Copy for this had been supplied to Anglican Media Melbourne to appear as a 1-2 page supplement in The Melbourne Anglican (now TMA).

How technology has advanced! The early years of The Spirit were printed by Bendigo Modern Press. Under the leadership of the Revd Ken Parker, the Editorial Committee met and decided on content, based on articles in hard copy. A very rough mock-up was agreed upon, and was then ‘saved’ on disk.

A committee member took this pre-cious 3.5” floppy disk to Kangaroo Flat and worked on it with a most helpful and competent BMP staff member. Af-ter approval of a draft back at the Regis-try, printing finally commenced. A week later copies were ready for collection and distribution, arranged by Gayle Adams.

These days, the committee meets around a draft copy prepared electroni-cally by the Editor, and quite quickly any amendments are made on his computer, before loading onto the Registry system.

The ‘Print’ button is pushed and the printing of the 2800 copies commences, taking several days.

Compared to the sparkling appearance of recent years, the early issues now seem drab and lifeless. With digital pictures, emailed copy and simpler access to co-

lour we have grown. As well as the Bishop’s letter, among the contents of our first issue were ‘Around the Parishes’, a book review, and the first of the Revd John Fowler’s popular long-running series,

‘Cool World’. On the back page was the first of another very popular photo series from Jan Curnow, ‘Where’s Andy?’ Do you remember?

We have indeed been blessed over these nine years. All seemed lost when the first editor, Mrs Tricia Spence, left us in early 2007, but Dr Charles Sherlock has more than stepped into the breach, as readers will agree. Similarly in other areas, a great collection of writers, photographers, com-puter experts, ‘bundlers’ and so on have made our first 100 issues possible.

We give thanks to God and await the future with confidence. qVal Phillips

Send answers to The Spirit, PO Box 2 Bendigo 3552.

In February, Bishop Andrew was in Harcourt, enjoying cherries at the Mt Alexander Fruit Gardens - which no-one identified!

Where’s Andy?

Pho

to: J

an C

urno

w

Beating around the bushClimate change and God’s business

I wonder what you made of the summer just passed. Did it seem to you hot-

ter than previous remembered seasons? Did this summer take a greater toll on

your garden, or your farming, or on you, or was it about the same as previous years you recall?

FLOODS 2011

8 The Spirit May 2014

Beating around the bush‘Aunty’ ABC outback

The Australian Broadcasting Commis-sion, affectionately known as ‘Aunty’

ABC, is an amazing organisation. It came into existence on 1 July 1932 with twelve radio stations, nine in metropolitan cities and just three in regional areas.

I am a great fan of the ABC and rely on it for news, information and enter-tainment delivered via radio, televi-sion and online. I am a particular fan of the ABC Local Radio network that spans Australia, with staff on the ground in places like Bendigo, Mildura and Shepparton. It covers both our rela-tively closely settled diocese, and sparsely settled remote areas in places like Long-reach and Mt Isa.

My association with ABC Local Radio dates back to my first parish appointment in the Bega Valley in NSW. It continues today through my role as a presenter on ABC Radio Western Queensland. People I have met through ministry often get quite a surprise when travelling between Toowoomba and the Gulf Country, hear-ing my voice on Saturday mornings com-menting on football, cricket, racing and other sports in ‘Outback Grandstand’. It is work I have been doing for eighteen years, work which has had a significant spin off in my ministry to people.

Aunty ABC plays such an important role in the lives of people in the out-

back. Radio can be on the scene much quicker than a television camera crew. ABC Local Radio not only keeps local people informed but fosters rural and remote area community life. Where newspapers are few and far be-tween, it plays a critical role in the timely delivery of news. It is the means by which listeners hear that someone has died, and when the funeral will take place.

ABC Local Radio’s emergency role has always been vital. On many occa-sions driving in the outback it has been ABC Radio Western Queensland that has alerted me to rising flood waters ahead on the Capricorn Highway, or the dangerous situation caused by an over-turned petrol tanker, or of a fatal-ity where help is needed.

Ever so many times I have said, “Thank God for ‘Aunty’ ABC and her emergency role!” Many of us who live in Bendigo can recall the outstanding emergency radio work done by our local ABC station when fires burned within a mile of the Bendigo CBD. Recollecting

this gives an idea of how important ABC Local Radio is in remoter and

less resourced areas where communica-tion is difficult.

Those who rely on the ABC in re-mote areas are concerned to hear

that the Federal Budget might contain significant cuts to its funding.

It is important that we who live in closely settled areas of Australia keep in mind the communication needs of those who live in rural and remote areas, and of the role ABC Local Radio plays in such communities.

Those who live in the outback do not have the voting power of numbers, and there are times when they need help and political pressure. There is a ‘Friends of the ABC’ website for those who wish to support the work of our ABC.

It is necessary to tune in to a radio station – and that seems to me to be

somewhat like prayer. During my min-istry in Rockhampton diocese I would regularly clock up 60,000km per year. Much of this was lonely driving – except

for ABC Local Ra-dio, and except for prayer.

Christ’s great promise is “I am with you always”. One is always surrounded by that presence wherever one is and however one was feeling – a bit like being surrounded by the ‘waves’ of radio. Just as it is necessary to tune into those waves to find the sta-tion, so too it is necessary to ‘tune in’ to Christ’s presence through prayer. q

Bishop Ron

Castlemaine

The wildness of Lent

Playfulness, parenthood and exhaus-tion; wonder and delight in creation;

the place of spaciousness, solitude and silence in worship. Grief and a rest-less longing; vocation and discipleship; choice and the will of God; compassion and the scorpion’s sting.

Over five nights a group of ten of us ex-plored, wrestled and sat with these themes, and many others, as we contemplated Stanley Spencer’s ‘Christ in the Wilder-ness’ paintings, and the writings of Ste-phen Cottrell. Some of us were seasoned participants in the joys of small groups, others participated in such a group for the first time. But each of us came with hon-esty, respect and a deep desire to engage – with the paintings and words, with each other and with the Spirit of God.

Relationships were formed and deep-ened and we didn’t shy away from asking questions like, Do we remake God and Je-sus in our own image – and is that such a bad thing? How can we be at home in the world without being shackled by it? How on earth can we ever be at peace with the paradox, the sheer ambiguity of life?

It was a joy and privilege to host a study this Lent, the third time Josh and I have done so. Fr Ken Parker began Lent by inviting us to consider the wilderness, and by extension, the season of Lent, as the chance for space, and that’s exactly what our group was – a doorway into a spacious and expansive place. q

Danni Moore

The Diocese of Bendigo expects the highest standards of professional service

from its Clergy and Lay Ministers.

IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT

Please call (free) 1800 135 246A phone call to the above number will mean that your complaint will be handled by the

Director of Professional Standards.The Diocese is a full participant in the Victorian Anglican Provincial Abuse

and Harassment Protocol.This is an independent, objective procedure

adopted by the Diocese of Bendigo.

May 2014 The Spirit 9

In May 2013 my wife, Julie, and

I returned to the Northern Territory after a 30-year so-journ in Bendigo.

I was fortunate to be able to stay within the Anglicare fold, moving from St Luke’s Anglicare to take up the role of CEO of Anglicare NT. I am fortu-nate in that for all but two years of my 35-year career I’ve been employed by faith-based agencies. Perhaps that’s long enough to take a breath and re-flect on what is special about faith-based agencies such as Anglicare NT and St Luke’s.

The Anglican Communion has a rich heritage of diversity. At its heart is under-standing three tenets of our identity - the scriptures, the Christian tradition, and reasoning. As we understand their inter-play, we understand that our tradition has wide arms and a big heart to embrace the world in all its colours and differences.

Recently a client wrote to thank the agency for the great work of a financial counsellor, a worker of Indian heritage. I don’t know Pravina’s faith position, but I do know that the client experi-enced life-changing support that went well beyond professional support. She experienced compassion, hope, respect, kindness, dedication and a non-judge-mental approach. Together, she and Pravina were able to not only change her financial troubles but also to pre-serve her family unit.

Work like this reminds us of Matthew 25: “come, you that are blessed of the fa-ther”. In this chapter we learn that those who will be favoured by God are not those of religious purity, but those who visit the prisoner and receive the stranger.

In the same week we received a thank-you card from the daughter of an elderly client, a 90-year old man with dementia. That week he had gone missing, and our workers searched the streets of Darwin for him, finding him eventually safe but dazed and confused.

All around Australia, Anglicare agen-cies - all 44 of them - offer services to tens of thousands of vulnerable people- the homeless, families, children, people with mental illness, people in aged care. Over 150 different types of services.

In reality, most of these services are funded by government contracts. There are many other organisations who could deliver them, but it is remarkable that many clients tell us that the way faith-based agencies like Anglicare provide these services is distinctive. We employ a diverse range of staff, but expect them to live the core values of respect, compas-sion, justice, tolerance, hope.

This brings me to another feature of the Anglican communion - a world-wide af-firmation of Five Marks of Mission. It is my belief that Anglicare agencies, mature partners with the Anglican Church, as-sist the church in its commitment to two of these five marks in particular:

• To respond to human need by loving service

• To seek to transform unjust structures of society

The sign of a healthy Anglicare agency is its ability to commit to acting on both of these Marks of Mission. Anglicare agen-cies such as St Luke’s, Anglicare NT, Benetas, Anglicare Victoria and the Brotherhood of St Laurence are all committed to both actions, and ensure that wherever possible the work of the staff who care for those in need is matched by actions that assist in changing society for the better.

These actions include speaking up for the vulnerable, public education, promot-ing tolerance and compassion, doing re-search and partnering with government to develop new and improved approaches to address disadvantage and poverty.

Congratulations to The Spirit on its 100th edition. The partnership of par-ishes, the broader church and Anglicare agencies is vital as we respond to our communities’ needs, both in practical care and advocacy. q

David Pugh

View from a PughThe Anglicare marks of mission Victorian Christian Youth

Convention for Bendigo

The first visit of the Victorian Chris-tian Youth Convention to northern

Victoria takes place on June 20 at Holy Trinity Flora Hill. VCYC is a ministry of the Belgrave Heights Convention, aim-ing to ‘Equip young people with God’s Word to impact their world.’

VCYC runs a series of Friday night events throughout the year in Melbourne and regional centres. This is part of a vi-sion ‘to see young people from around Victoria connected to God and each other, for his glory.’

The event, known as ‘VCYC One’, will include a sausage sizzle (gold coin dona-tion), contemporary worship, youth tes-timonies, opportunity to hear what God is doing amongst youth and youth groups around northern Victoria, a Bible talk from Rob Imberger (SIX30 minister at Holy Trinity and previous VCYC speak-er), social media interaction and more.

All are welcome: churches are encour-aged to bring their secondary school young people along. The sausage sizzle will begin at 6.30pm with the main event kicking off at 7.30pm. Entry is free. The night will wrap up by 9.30pm to allow groups to travel home. q

Stuart Winn, VCYC Northern Victoria Coordinator - 5484 1054 holytrinityrochester@gmail.com

10 The Spirit May 2014

There’s a word for it: ‘ascension’

Ascension Day falls on the Thursday 40 days

after Easter Day (29 May in 2014). It is the day when we remember our Lord’s ascen-sion into heaven. Now you might have thought that after Jesus left his disciples behind, they and the early churches would have marked this day as a day of sadness, with lamenting and fasting, for his bodily presence was no longer with them. Instead, it has always been a day of celebration. Why?

Pêre Clugny, a 17th century French priest, distinguished the ascension of Jesus as different from all other events in his life. The ascension was his favourite mys-tery, because it was the only one which made you think how nice it was for Jesus rather than how nice it was for us. Quite simply, Jesus went home to his heavenly Father. And that is a joyful thought.

But what happened at the ascension?

The word derives from the Latin as-censionis = a rising, to mount or go up. It comes from the verb scandere which means to climb, behind which is the San-skrit skandati which means hastens, leaps or jumps. It’s all about leaping upwards.

The ascension of Jesus into heaven was a key theme of the preaching of the early church. It was viewed as an ‘exaltation’, a lifting up into God’s presence and glory, rather than as a spatial image of upward movement, as if Jesus shot up like a rocket!

There has always been that sort of think-ing. In York Minster in England there is ‘The Ascension Boss.’ On the underside of the roof some mediaeval craftsman, perhaps with tongue in cheek, carved a representation of the soles of Jesus’ feet - a sort of last glimpse of an ascending Christ.

The problem with a word derived from climbing or leaping is that it gives an im-pression of hard effort to achieve it. In my younger and fitter days, when I was climbing mountains, I knew that any planned ascent would involve hard slog up steep rock and ice, before the vision splendid through the clear cold air of the summit could be enjoyed.

If we are not careful, such thinking can lead us into the mistaken belief that

we can achieve heaven by our own efforts. The Bible makes it quite clear that the ascension is a work of God, not man. Je-sus was ‘taken up’ and a cloud ‘removed’ him from their sight (Acts 1:9). He did not climb ‘a stairway to heaven’.

Two descriptions of the ascension occur in the New Testament, both from Luke. Luke 24:51 simply says “He withdrew from them.” In Acts’ first chapter we get a fuller account, complete with angels who tell the watchers that Jesus has “gone into heaven”.

The meaning of the ascension is worked out mainly in the New Testament letters.

The ascended Jesus is Lord and King: he is sovereign over all

(Eph 1:20-21; Phil 2:9-11; Heb 1:3). He is also Forerunner, fulfilling his promise in John 14:3 “I go to prepare a place for you” (Heb 6:20; Eph 2:6). He is High Priest, forever praying for the human race (Rom 8:34; Heb 4: 14-16; 7:25).

As Archbishop Michael Ramsey once wrote, the Church depends on the as-cended Christ for its existence: its wor-ship is a participation in his priesthood; its work in the sanctification of human lives rests upon his glorified manhood as the forerunner; and its preaching is the setting forward of his kingly rule. q

Richard Stamp [dixholt@gmail.com]

The ascended Jesus is Lord and King, Forerunner and High Priest

Praying with MU around the globe

This month MU/Caritas are praying for our members in:

Solomon Islands: in this time of recovery from the recent floods, supporting a Community De-velopment Co-ordinator, visiting isolated communities, working in communities struggling with problems (including spiritual well-being), and physical and mental health.

Papua New Guinea: working to raise awareness of healthy living enabling a better quality of life. Training Village Birth Atten-dants, raising awareness of the dangers of malaria, support-ing the elderly via prayer and home visits, cleaning homes and fetching water, running literacy programmes.

South Sudan: lives here are still under threat as the ‘agreement’ has not been recognised by militant groups, and the lives of innocent people are very much under threat, with hundreds recently killed while sheltering in church, mosque and hospital.

Egypt: MU there is a small group of members from Sudan who left to flee their own political chaos. They are based at St Mary’s Ca-thedral in Cairo.

Cyprus: A small number of members here are pressing ahead with a range of beneficial activities in their communities.

Botswana: Supporting the most vulner-able, building homes, distributing clothing and food parcels, provid-ing an MU Orphan Care Centre with programmes for 130 vulner-able children and young people, visiting those in prison, taking gifts of toiletries and sitting with the prisoners, talking with them about their families and praying with them.

From Families Worldwide #13. Like a copy? Ask an MU member!q

1864 – 2014St Augustine’s Inglewood

150th AnniversaryJune 7-8th 2014

You are invited to join the parishioners of St Augustine’s in the celebration

of our 150th Anniversary

Saturday 7 June4pm History display in the church, with organ music, tea and biscuits

6.30pm Dinner at Royal Hotel (own cost - RSVP essential)

Sunday 8 June 10.30am Service led by Bishop Andrew

followed by catered lunch: RSVP 23 May

Enquiries karen.akers@hotmail.com, 0428 477 427

May 2014 The Spirit 11

media matters Where does your garden grow?

I don’t read many magazines. I don’t go

to the doctor or hair-dresser often enough. Occasionally I buy one at the newsagent’s, but ten minutes later I re-

gret it because there is so little in women’s magazines that interests me.

But I did lash out at an auction re-cently and, for a mere $10 plus buyer’s premium, bought about 30 gardening magazines dated 1990-2000. I have been work-ing through them slowly but will keep very few because they are already very dated though only 20 years old.

It got me thinking how dated other magazines might be. These gardening ones are English, and closely connected with The National Trust, so will naturally be rather conserva-tive. But they are conserva-tive in a trendy kind of way: dry stone-walling, perry-making, rake-making from coppiced wood.

Conservation is not a bad thing when it comes to gardening. We want to conserve our planet, our good farm-ing land around Trentham. We want to conserve humanity and grow enough food for all. Like church, we want to conserve all the good that has gone be-fore, while stretching our horizons and trying new (and better) ideas.

The ‘Backyard Blitz’ approach tends to chop down everything and start with a completely clay base which assumes that no maintenance will ever be needed. I am perversely pleased that the old weeds that used to grow in our first garden are now sprouting again, even though they were supposedly blitzed after we left that house!

As an historical exercise these maga-zines are fascinating. There are pages of awful garden sculptures of rusty iron implements of a bygone era - just two decades back. You can have a whole garden decorated with rust. There are outlandishly painted walls and cacti which would do better in a caricature of

Mexico. There are designer public spaces, all cement and steel with nary a tree in sight. Cottage gardens are apparently passé, but grasses are only just being dis-covered by the English.

People speak in vague terms of the spirituality of gardening. For example, “I believe most of us are looking for a spiritual component in our gardens to make us feel part of creation and to par-ticipate in the wonder and mystery of the world.”

But I found nothing so fundamentalist as the 19th century American gardening expert who decried the use of fenc-

es in suburbia - it was “unChristian to hedge from the sight of others the beau-ties of Nature which it has been our good fortune to create”. The thesis of

the article was that the English put their lawns behind the home but Americans put them out front, thus creating a spectacle in which

to take godly pride. I add, “and a burden to keep looking per-fect”.

So why do we garden? To survive. To control our environment. To nur-ture. This is starting to sound like church again. I ‘do church’ as a priest by watch-ing for where the bursts of energy hap-pen. I believe that energy is one of the signs of the Spirit at work. And I try to nurture that.

Same with the garden. I love the plants that self-seed. I know – weeds do this!

But a field of dandelions can look as good as a field of bluebells in

an English wood, or a flush of flannel flowers on a rocky

outcrop.

Our garden is mostly plants that grow without much help: daf-

fodils, love in the mist, forget-me-nots, roses, ajuga, rhubarb, rosemary. I think this list makes me a conservative. But at least I am willing to think about my options and wonder how I am be-ing affected by a bunch of old gardening magazines. q

Peta Sherlock

I ‘do church’ as a priest by watching for where the bursts of energy happen.

Ex-Army church planting minister for CMS weekendAn ex army chaplain who is now

planting a new church in Geelong is coming to Bendigo to speak at the 33rd CMS Autumn Weekend, to be held at Holy Trinity Flora Hill from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 May.

Andrew Grills has many attributes that make him the ideal person for this outreach event. He spent two decades in the Australian Army including several visits to the Middle East and East Timor. From 2008 to 2012 he served at the Army recruit training centre at Kapooka.

He studied politics and history at the University of New South Wales and re-ceived a postgraduate scholarship in in-ternational relations to Oxford Univer-sity where he specialised in US foreign policy towards the Middle East.

Andrew is now living in Geelong where he began planting a new church, ‘City on a Hill Geelong’, in January 2013. He has worked in ordained pastoral ministry in a number of churches in Victoria. This prepares him well for the theme of the weekend, ‘God’s Own Heart’, based on 1 & 2 Samuel.

Andrew has been married to Danna for 15 years and they have four young chil-dren. He loves the ocean, playing with his kids, reading history, playing golf (badly) and getting out into the bush, camping and walking.

On the Saturday, missionaries will be sharing their experiences: Ken and

Ally Thompson (10 years in Cambodia), David and Prue Boyd (returning to the Democratic Republic of Congo after 10 years) and Luke and Jane (preparing to go to South East Asia).

To participate in what promises to be a rewarding time, fill in an applica-tion form before 16 May, available from your parish priest or mission secretary. If you wish to come part time you may just make a donation on arrival, but un-less you register you will need to arrange your own meals. q

Barry Rainsford, on behalf of the organising committee

12 The Spirit May 2014

“| didn’t think there were rooms available.”Benetas provides aged care services that can give you and your family the support you need. There are rooms now available at Benetas St Laurence Court in Kangaroo Flat.

Benetas is a not for profit aged care provider. We offer a range of services including residential care, in-home care, including in-home nursing, day and overnight respite and independent living. We have been making sense of aged care for older Victorians for over 65 years.

Call our Customer Centre for more information about our residential homes, in-home services with no waiting lists, and free confidential aged care advice.

1300 23 63 82 www.benetas.com.au

2014-03BSP

‘Jewels of Faith’ shine at MooroopnaThe ‘Take us to the River’ conference

held at Mooroopna 21-23 March had Andrew Olsen from WA as the main speak-er. A counselling psychologist and leadership trainer, he is the creator of several ministry resources, including ‘The Seven Streams of Grace’. He used these to lead us through some of God’s special treasures in the Bible, showing five ‘Jewels of Faith’.

The conference was well attended, with 140 plus for the Saturday. Most of us, I be-lieve, were shown different aspects in our walk with God. There were many challenges, and we learnt a very different way to look at our study of the Bible. Personally I found it very enlightening and finding myself want-ing to know more.

James Douch, Andrew Guyatt and Dallas James operating the audio-visual equipment.

Four workshops were held on Saturday af-ternoon, with four excellent leaders. In the first pair, Bernie Power spoke on ‘What oth-ers believe’, focusing on Islam and how to hold a conversation with a Muslim. Katrina Robinson took us into practising commu-

nity hospitality - not just a cup of tea and a biscuit but how to welcome, care for and respect others we meet in life.

In the second pair, Bernie Power led us on sharing faith, showing us ways to engage with people and talk about our faith. Andrew Plant addressed working with the Spirit, how the Holy Spirit can empower us in our life and mission: ‘where will the Holy Spirit guide us’?

Alongside our speakers was the wonderful music. Our musicians were outstanding, and I guess many of us were a little hoarse getting right into the spirit of things! The children had their own mini conference, with music and a programme for kinders to Grade 6.

The conference itself fin-ished on Sunday morning, fol-lowed by holy communion and lunch. In the Sunday evening service Adrian Lane from BCA spoke, highlighting Colossians 4:2-6. Once again this was quite revealing, and for many of us a new insight as to how we read the scriptures.

We cannot leave out the truly amazing and so rewarding fellowship - making new friends, and catching up with old ones. We shared chats as well as discussing what we had heard, then some lunched and in the evening went to dinner at Mooroopna Golf Club.

I am sure not one person would have been disappointed with what they gained over this time. Trevor Bell and his team, under God’s guidance, worked tirelessly to bring this event to fruition. They should be very happy and excited with what was achieved. q

Iris Barnard

Trevor Bell (rector), Adrian Lane (BCA), John Olsen and Andrew Olsen