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| Diocese of Adelaide |
| From Fr. Scott—Our Parish Priest
One thing about being an Anglican of late, we are not shy of news. From arguments of just wars, to claims of inappropriate sexual relationships we have now moved onto the question of homosexuality. The present fight in England has broken out over the nomination of a candidate to be an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Oxford. The man, Canon Jeffrey John, would normally be considered very suitable. He is a gifted theologian and author. However, he is also a homosexual, in a celibate relationship. So then the fuss started. There has been significant theological discussion in recent years within our Communion on the acceptability of homosexuality. Part of the last Lambeth Conference of 1998 discussed this issue and passed a resolution that not only held a restrictive interpretation but also a call for widespread study and discussion of the issue, taking the experience of gay Christian people into account. In England the nomination of Canon John caused a huge fight. People started to threaten schism (such a horrible word that frequently pronounced with a distinct snake like hiss). The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Williams, had to preach during this debate in York Minster with a policeman standing under the pulpit. As he noted, the level of correspondence he received on this issue was at times a long way from Christian standards of charity and love. The different understanding of homosexuality depends on our understanding of the Bible, and especially the New Testament, in particular in Romans 1. Some interpret St Paul as prohibiting all homosexual relationships. Others take it as a prohibition on sexual promiscuity involving homosexuality. Paul is condemning those who wickedly suppress the truth of the gospel and this suppression of truth can be seen in their evil fruits. He is not dealing with those who live in committed homosexual relationships within a Christian life. So we are left then to apply Old Testament prohibitions or take St Paul to mean a general ban on all homosexual relationships. This turns on how we understand the use of Scripture and the development of the Church. We can hold that the Bible is definite on all issues, that the Church was given a perfect model in the New Testament that is unchangeable. Or we can hold that the Church uses Scripture with tradition and reason and some matters are questions of discipline that the Church can develop. There are committed Christians on both sides of this understanding of Scripture and the Church. As a result the fight has been bitter on this issue. That nasty word schism then begins to be uttered. Romans 2 starts after this passage with a timely warning about people passing judgment rather than letting God judge. Schism and intolerance are signs of people not being prepared to listen to the voices of other Christians. We should do everything in our power not to tear the body of Christ. I don’t want a Church where everyone agrees with me - I want a Church that listens and loves in diversity instead. Canon John, bless his socks, was willing to step aside for the sake of unity in the Church. A bishop has to be a focus of unity and he recognised that his appointment would not achieve that. The debate will continue though and we will have to listen and learn tolerance and remember that we are still one body in Christ. The rather obscure poet Edwin Markham wrote:
On another matter, we approach the anniversary of the consecration of our Church on the 1st September. We have much to be proud about over 100 years, how we have taught the Catholic nature of the Church and lived with other Anglicans, not as a sect, but as a contributor to the life of this diocese and beyond. I hope that as many as possible can come to our major celebration on the 1st at 7 p.m., or the following Sunday. We are hoping soon to start our appeal for the renovation of the lighting in the Church. This will be a major cost to replace the old fluorescent tubes with something better and more suited to the beauty of our building. I hope that you will be generous in your giving on this occasion. God bless, Fr. Scott—Parish Priest |
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ANOINTING AND LAYING ON OF HANDS This ministry will be available in the oratory near the pulpit on the last Sunday of each month after the 9.30 am Mass for any who are facing difficult times or sickness, and feel the need for this special blessing. PEOPLE’S WARDEN |
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Minds are like parachutes, |
SYNOD– MAY, 2003:
Chris Rampling and Ted Sanderock were the Parish representatives
at Synod; a full report by Chris and Ted is available for perusal on the
Notice Board in the Parish House. There is not sufficient space available
in the Centenary Issue of The Messenger to print it in its entirety.
Briefly the following legislation was passed by Synod:
The Continuing Ministry Education Ordinance requires clergy to complete at least 60 hours continuing ministry education over a 3 year period. Clergy must in November each year provide a report to the deploying body on education activities for the year and plans for the following year. The deploying body should provide an allowance of not less than $250 each year for such education activities.
This Synod was conducted with much feeling and concern for the people who have only recently come forward with matters of past sexual abuse by church workers. While a few people appeared to have much knowledge of these matters, there was a feeling that much has been known yet kept from Synod and the Diocese. Why this knowledge was not taken to the Police or other authorities much earlier was not raised. How difficult it is for people so hurt to come forward is probably hard for any of us to comprehend. Maybe the inquiry will address this matter. Much was achieved to ensure that such matters are less likely to occur and we should note that very comprehensive standards of behaviour for all involved in the ministry of the church are soon to be implemented.
The Archbishop gave thanks to God for the faithful service (over 10 years) of Mr Peter Casson as Diocesan Secretary, Secretary of Synod and Archbishop’s Registrar; the Synod noted his personal kindness, long hours of work, his attention to detail and improvements to Church Office procedures. This motion was carried with acclamation.
Our thanks to Chris and Ted for ably representing the Parish, along with Fr. Scott and for their comprehensive report.
HYMNS FOR SEASONED CITIZENS
· The Old Rugged Face.
· It is well with my soul, but my knees
hurt.
· Nobody knows the trouble I have seeing.
· Amazing Grace, considering my age.
· Just a slower walk with Thee.
· Count your many birthdays, name them one
by one.
· Go tell it on the mountain, but speak
up.
· Blessed Insurance.
· Guide me O thou Great Jehovah,
I’ve forgotten where I parked.
From the Internet
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THE CHOIR CRICKET CLUB—Mr. Simpson is Captain, Mr. D. Syme is Hon. Sec. The entrance fee is 5s. {today’s equivalent 50 cents}, subscription 1s. {10 cents}. We shall have a strong Club. The Choir boys had a meeting, and, we believe, have formed a Club. The Rector was in the chair, and everyone spoke at once, and the noise was terrific, no one heard anyone else or wanted to. We think of playing the Englishmen when they come; would anyone like to pay for a cable message? And from 101 years ago—August, 1902
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| SIGNS AND SEASONS
Signs have always been a means of communication. We find them on the highways to speak of hills, curves, and crossing; on lakes and waterways to warn of danger; keep boats out, and tell us that no swimming is allowed; we use signs to help us multiply, add, subtract, divide, and equal; we use them to make sentences of the words we write: - ? “ & ! Chemists have a group of signs; botanists, musicians, cattlemen, weathermen, card players, copyreaders—they all have signs. Such signs are sometimes called glyphs [from a Greek work for ‘carved”, an early form of writing]. Glyphs were developed to identify the twelve divisions of an imaginary belt of stars through which the sun and moon and principal planets moved every year. Because the constellations [groups of stars] were usually named after animals, Aries, ram; Taurus, bull; Gemini, twins etc., the belt became known as the zodiac [a circle of animals], and their accompanying signs known as the signs of the zodiac. There are signs for the four seasons of the year—spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The word season comes from “sowing time” , which would be spring, and therefore the season. SPRING comes from the springing [up] time, when vegetation rises or puts out its buds; new life coming forth. SUMMER is the sun’s year, the longest season of all when the earth opens up and is in fullest bloom. AUTUMN comes from augere, to increase; the period of ripening or fruiting, and the fall of seed to the earth. WINTER comes from “wet” days, when people huddled in a house as protection against cold, wind, and snow. The CROSS which is used in one form or another throughout our Christian life is the symbol of the resurrection of our Lord and therefore the universally recognized sign of anything Christian. ______________________________________________________________________________ From a priest’s letter to his people: “Watering down the doctrines of the Church, and playing down its practices established by centuries of experience, will not, any more than social gimmicks or economic concerns, attract people, young or old, to Christ and His Church; only unswerving faith and holiness in daily living can do that job.” The two above snippets are from; Anglican Digest—used with permission |
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On 17th June, we were pleased to welcome Mrs Beryl Murphy
who gave an interesting account on various “Loos” located around
and about the world. At our Meeting in July, Mrs Kath Varnish presented
a wonderful array of hatpins and containers which she had collected over
a period of 18 years from many different countries. They were beautifully
arrayed for us to view and we were able to very gently handle some of the
exhibits. We were happy also to have friends from Trinity Uniting
Church and also Holy Cross with us for the afternoon. And a very happy
afternoon was enjoyed. Fr. Scott drew the winning ticket held
by Mrs Moya Moore from Holy Cross Church. Thanks to all who supported
the raffle, and to Colleen Picken for putting it all together — an amount
of $142.00 was realised. Mrs Anne Pickhaver will be the speaker for
our next meeting to be held on 19th August at 1.00 pm and on September
16th, we will visit St Paul’s Monastery at Glen Osmond. If you do
not come regularly to our Fellowship Group Meeting, you are welcome to
join us any time at 1.00 pm on the third Tuesday of the month.
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| ETIQUETTE AT CHURCH
The following is from a selection “O Ye Jigs and Juleps” written by a little girl when she was ten years old and who lived in Leesville —probably about 90 years ago. Before I go into the house of the Lord, with praise and thanksgiving, I lift up mine eyes unto the town clock from whence cometh the time to see if I am late. It is not etiquette to be late. Do not hop, skip, jump or slide in the Church vestibule. Tip, Tip all the way to your seat. Be sure and do not sit in other people’s pews. Jesus wouldn’t care, but other people would. Paying money makes it yours to sit in. The first thing you do is kneel down and thank the Lord for your mother and your father, and your breakfast , your lunch and your dinner, and your new pink gloves. Then you can sit and look round just a little bit. Don’t turn around and stare. That is not etiquette. Kneel when you pray, stand when you sing, and sit when you listen. On communion Sunday, take off your right glove, and leave it in your pew. Don’t wait until you get to the rail and the Body and Blood comes around. Don’t try to drink up all of the wine—that is not etiquette; leave some for other people. Don’t lose your place in the prayer book. Bow for the cross and for the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. When the choir marches back to the Vestry, and the minister calls out goodbye to the Lord until next Sunday then you can speak to people. PS. If you want to stay awake in church, go to bed
early Saturday night. You can’t go to the Altar Rail until you are
12. That is God’s etiquette. You can’t put on perfume until
you are 16. That is Leesville etiquette. After you are confirmed,
your sponsors in baptism can’t be blamed for what you do. You are
on your own then and if the devil gets you, it is your own fault and serves
you right. Amen and the Lord have mercy. Anglican
Digest—used with permission..
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| DID YOU KNOW THAT……..
As we celebrate our centenary year, we will be using at the altar two chalices which are each one hundred years old. In the “Messenger” for October 1903, Fr. Wise announced a proposed memorial to Archdeacon French in the form of a silver chalice for use at the Lady Chapel Altar. Archdeacon French had died three days after attending the consecration of St. George’s Church. A donation of threepence per person was suggested, and by November £6.16.0 {about $13} had been raised. The final cost of the chalice is not known. However it was made, in Gothic style, by the colonial silversmith Joachim Mathias Wendt, in time to be used at the first Mass of Christmas Day in 1903. {The accompanying paten was made by Auguste L. Brunckhorst who at one time worked for Wendt}. Fr. Wise invited the congregation to donate jewels to be set in the base of the chalice. Over the years, however, the addition of both individual jewels and mounted jewellery pieces made the chalice awkward to handle and very difficult to clean. In the 1980’s the jewels were removed and the chalice returned to its original condition. This chalice bears the inscription “In loving memory of Samuel French {Priest} Archdeacon of Adelaide died September 4th, 1903”. The small chalice set with red stones {cabochon garnets}
is inscribed “In loving memory of William Briggs Sells Christmas 1903”.
There does not appear to be any record of when it was first used but the
hallmark indicates that it, too, was made by Wendt one hundred years ago.
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Will be held on Monday, 1st September, 2003 at 7.00 pm to celebrate 100th Anniversary of the Consecration of St George’s, Goodwood. An Invitation is extended to all friends of St George’s Church to join with us in this celebration. Celebrants: Bishop D. McCall, Frs P. Thomson and S. Moncrieff Preacher: Bishop K. Rayner Setting: Messe "Cum Jubilo" (Durufle) Contact Fr Scott Moncrieff 8272 9495 |
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Tuesday, August 12th—6.30 pm ‘CAFÉ DECO’ 143 Goodwood Road [next door to “Capri”] Please let Chris Rampling [8272 6270] know before 10th August, if you will be coming. |
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| 17th August: 2.00 pm CONCERT—St. Augustine’s,
Unley——Kingfisher Choir — $10 admission—afternoon tea.
26th August: LAMINGTONS—$7.00 per 800 g. packet [Contact Emily Harding or Mabel Trenorden to order] * 30th October: SPRINGTIME WITH ROSES—St. Elizabeth’s, Warradale 1.30 pm 2nd December—THANKSGIVING DAY—St. Michael’s, Mitcham. 11.00 am Eucharist, shared lunch, guest speaker. *Details regarding admission cost etc. will be advised later. |
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Onward Christian Soldiers
Unfortunately, however, there was still controversy over both processions and crosses, and the Bishop, who strongly opposed ‘graven images’, wrote tartly “What you are permitting each Sunday verges on the Romish! Please desist!” When the Bishop next visited, Baring-Gould was prepared with a substitute stanza. The choir, without the cross, entered singing: Onward Christian Soldiers
Anglican Digest—used with permission
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My dear Friends,
Shall we any of us ever forget the sight of that immense congregation at 11, joining in the glad sounds of Praise and Thanksgiving as the dignified procession wound its way through cloistered aisles and lofty nave to the Altar of God, or stood massed before the Altar whilst there poured forth, as we have never surely sung it before, the Te Deum, our expression of gratitude to Almighty God for His wondrous mercies; or can we think without a full heart of that profound silence, as 800 souls knelt at the feet of the Lamb of God come to claim His House, and fill it with His Sacramental presence. I feel I can never be grateful enough for all we have learnt together in the old Church, and which has prepared us for the service rendered with such exquisite reference today. May God so fill us with the sense of His divine presence that as the days go on His House may never lose the power it possesses over us at present, as its beauty causes us to fall down and worship Him. Mr. Dodd’s eloquent sermon was inspiring, and must have exactly expressed the feelings of many hearts as he drew those vivid pictures which showed us how we stand midway between the past and future, may we never forget and so fashion our lives and our worship in earth, that we fail not finally to attain the blessedness of worship with the saints in light. Let me remind you again of the intensely practical conclusions of the Bishop in his beautiful sermon at evensong. We must have a high ideal both of our life of personal holiness and our life of worship. Never forget, even if you cannot attend, that the daily Eucharist is an established fact, and try each day to let your private devotions in your own room rise to the Throne of God with those from His Altar in the Church, so we shall plead the all prevailing sacrifice together. Let every anniversary such as those of birth, confirmation, marriage, or death of loved ones find you present at the Sacrament when every joy is brightened, and every sorrow lessened, as our dear Lord sanctifies everything with His presence. As members of the Royal Priesthood, I implore you in the words of St. Paul, offer spiritual sacrifices continually, and ever pray for the good estate of the Catholic Church. In conclusion, let me thank everyone, though I know you
all love your work for what you have done. There is a relationship
between us as priest and people which God has ordained, and I rejoice to
think that from this there has arisen that mutual affection and esteem
which are so helpful when present. The assurance of your loyal love
so eloquently asserted by Mr. Bronner touches me more deeply than I can
tell. Because we are all human we shall have our differences in the
future, as we have had them in the past. I shall as before, from
time to time, do things and teach things you feel at first you cannot accept,
and you will perhaps, as before, from time to time do things and say things
I do not like, but such occasions will not divide us then any more than
they have in the past, and I shall always believe in your loyalty and your
devotion, not to myself, but to the Church of God, and I feel confident
you will always believe the same of me. Never in my life have I been
so moved as I was by your reception of me on Tuesday. I could only
feel how nice it would be if only the things said of me were true, but
if I doubt my worthiness I do not question your loyal affection, and pray
God to give me grace to prove myself to be
Percy W. Wise.
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