The Gippsland Anglican December 2012

Volume 109, Number 11 December 2012 Published in Gippsland Diocese since 1904

The Gippsland Anglican is your award winning newspaper: Best Regional Publication Bronze Award (ARPA) 2012; Best RegionalPublication Silver Award (ARPA) 2011; Item or Feature that shows the most originality Highly Commended (ARPA) 2011; Best SocialJustice Story Highly Commended (ARPA) 2004; Best Regional Publication (ARPA) 2003; Most Improved Newspaper (ARPA) 2001.

Primate welcomesroyal commission

Page 4

Elemental retreat atthe Abbey

page 11

Jesus Christ here and now

for Traralgon parish

See feature inside

2 Our Diocese - Celebrating Ordained Women December 2012

The Gippsland Anglican

The GippslandAnglicanPrice: 90 cents +gst each

$25 +gst annual postal subscriptionMember of Australasian Religious

Press AssociationMember of Community Newspapers

Association of VictoriaRegistered by Australia Post.

Print Post Number 34351/00018

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

The Anglican Diocese of Gippsland, 453 Raymond St,

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

Editor: Mrs Jeanette Severs,PO Box 1254, Bairnsdale, 3875

Tel: 0407 614661Fax: 03 5144 7183

Email: [email protected] all parish reports, all articles, photographs, advertisements and

letters to the Editor. Photographs asjpeg files. Articles as .doc or .txt files.

Advertisements as PDF files.

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

All contributions must be received bythe Editor by the 15th day of the monthprior to publication. Contact the Editorto discuss variation to this date. TheEditor reserves the right of final choiceand format of material included in eachissue. The Gippsland Anglican and theEditor cannot necessarily verify anymaterial used in this publication. Viewscontained in submitted material arethose of contributors.

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

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

for all advertising submissions, cost-ings and enquiries, including about in-serts in the newspaper.

For Sale Classifieds:Parishes can advertise items for

free, for sale at prices up to $100.Email details to the Editor.

IndexBishop’s message 3

Historic opportunity 4

Ordinations 5

Welcome, thankyou 6

Traralgon parish 7-9

Be fire ready 10

Abbey retreat 11

Trinity feature 12

Competition rewards 13

Traffic flows at fun day 13

Maffra hosts party 14

Nativity color-in 15

Perspectives 16

All about Jesus 17

Diocesan calendar 17

Op shop gives 18

Women on safari 19

Winning breakfasts 19

Diocesan pictorial 20

The Roll Call for Gippsland

ABOVE: A tribute to all thewomen who have been or-dained priest in the Angli-can Church of Australia inthe past 20 years and havelived in Gippsland. Effortswere made to include all el-igible women but apologiesto any omissions and if youthink there is a mistake,

please contact the editor.Listed alphabetically:Elizabeth AlfredPhyllis AndyEdie AshleySally BootheyBrenda BurneyHeather CahillKathy DaltonSue Jacka

Jan St JamesThelma LangshawBarbara LoganHeather MartenCaroline NancarrowMarilyn ObersbyGayle OckendenAnne PerrymanLyndon PhillipsLyn Porritt

Jenny RamageElwyn SparksGlenys TraillAmy TurnerAnne TurnerMaree VinesJanet WallisJo WhiteLyn WilliamsDesigner: Jeanette Severs

December 2012 Our Diocese - Bishop John’s message 3


I AM beginning to thinkSanta Claus is beyond re-demption. I have tried foryears to redeem the com-mercially inspired red-and-white-colored, insipid,obese charlatan Santa bysuggesting to children thereal Santa Claus was actu-ally a Christian saint namedSt Nicholas. However, I can no longer,

in good conscience, at-tempt to identify thatsaintly figure of Christiangenerosity and compassionwith the current minion ofgrasping retail stores. Ithas all become too difficultand I am ready to admitdefeat. I have not gone quite as

far as those cynics whopoint out Santa is an ana-gram of Satan, but I am notfar from it.I wonder if it all began

with that seemingly inno-cent question: “What doyou want to get for Christ-mas this year?” It dawns onme this question promptsfrom a child, a response en-tirely opposite to the re-

sponse a true understand-ing of Christmas shouldelicit. At Christmas, we celebrate

God’s gracious gift of theChrist-child to the wholeworld. This should inspire inus the same gracious givingin our daily responses toanyone and everyone. Surely the question we

should be asking is: “Whatdo you want to give forChristmas this year?”

Is it possible a seeminglyinnocuous but wrong ques-tion has contributed to theself-centred, almost narcis-sistic, acquisitive post-mod-ern age in which we live?The Santa saga can get

even worse. I shudderevery time I hear an adulttell children they will notget what they want fromSanta unless they are good.Santa has become a formof manipulation. If the growing child then

connects Santa with God,their image of God is en-tirely opposite to the God ofgrace revealed in JesusChrist, born on ChristmasDay.

The Santa saga neu-tralises the prophetic, mis-chievously undermining theGod of grace, who dares tocare for those most margin-alised and who inspiresthose who have thecourage to stand theirground against the prevail-ing spirit of the day. God becomes nothing but

a mechanism of social con-trol, a transcendent Santaensuring the status quo.The tragedy then is, even

when, as adults, peopleabandon this travesty of re-ligion, somehow its grace-less spirit of acquiescencecan still remain in secu-larised form. Witness the ease with

which the electorate isswayed by governments as-sured of the silence of the

grace-inspired, propheticedge which cares for themarginalised. We acquiesce to the denial

of the rights of asylumseekers to seek asylum; topatronising intrusive legis-lation to control the peopleof our first nations; and toour engagement in warswithout proper questioningof the motivations and in-centives of those who wagethem.Of course, I cannot blame

all of this on Santa. But thefigure he has become todayis somehow tragically sym-bolic of the spirit of our age. We reject the God of grace

revealed in the birth, deathand resurrection of JesusChrist, both within and be-yond the church. In so doing, we lose the

one vital ingredient thatmakes possible the song ofthe angels on that firstChristmas night, ‘Peace onearth and goodwill to allpeople’.Having said all that, how-

ever, to date my experienceof Christmas has neverfailed to produce at leastone moment of grace. Theamazing truth is, even inour increasingly gracelessage, the God of grace al-ways finds a way of break-ing through in ourcelebrations of the Christ-child with surprises bringingjoy and hope.May you and your family

know the blessings of Godat this Christmas time andin the coming year.

Santa Claus isa tragic symbol

Right Reverend John McIntyreBishop of Gippsland

I can no longer identify thatsaintly figure of Christiangenerosity and compassionwith the current minion ofgrasping retail stores.

4 Our Diocese - Feature December 2012


By Jeanette Severs

THE Primate of the Angli-can Church of Australia hassaid the royal commissionrecently called by PrimeMinister Julia Gillard offeredan historic opportunity toprotect Australian children.Archbishop Phillip Aspinallcommended the Prime Min-ister for her decision to es-tablish a royal commission.He urged the commission’sterms of reference shouldbe full and fearless andcalled for the commission tobe properly resourced.Archbishop Aspinall said a

truly federal process waswarranted given child sex-ual abuse crosses state andterritory borders, infectingall places where child live,learn and play, includingchurches, schools, sportingclubs and families. Archbishop Aspinall ac-

knowledged the royal com-mission would addressshameful failings on thepart of institutions, includ-ing churches. But a com-prehensive, independentexamination would alsogive ordinary Australians achance to see for them-selves the results of adecade-plus reform processinstituted across many An-glican dioceses, he said. In Archbishop Aspinall’s

Brisbane diocese, every al-legation of child sexualabuse is reported to police;the diocese assists police;and victims of historicabuse have been activelysought and supported. Prime Minister Gillard’s an-

nouncement of a royalcommission came 10 yearsafter Archbishop Aspinallrequested the then PrimeMinister to hold a royalcommission into child sex-ual abuse, a request he de-clined. Archbishop Aspinallalso sought to have a royalcommission into this matterin Queensland. When that request was

also unsuccessful, he es-tablished an independentinquiry into the handling ofabuse complaints acrossBrisbane Diocese, goingback decades. Archbishop Aspinall has

urged all members of par-liament to commit to ensur-ing the royal commission iswell-resourced, independ-ent and free from any polit-ical agenda.He also reminded to the

Prime Minister that all vic-tims of child sexual abusewould be looking to theroyal commission for an-swers and validation, in-cluding the vast majority ofvictims who are abused infamily settings. “Of the nearly 3.6 million

Australians who call them-selves Anglican, statisticallyone in four women and onein eight men are victims ofabuse; so it is somethingaffecting our church onmany levels,” ArchbishopAspinall said. Archbishop Aspinall said

he would write to the PrimeMinister to formalise hissupport for a national royalcommission, to the extentof his powers as Primateand Archbishop of Bris-bane; and to raise mattersfor inclusion in the terms ofreference.Cabinet has approved Ms

Gillard’s plan for a nationalresponse that is expectedto be Australia’s most ex-tensive inquiry into the pro-tection of minors; it willlook at the history of reli-gious groups, sporting or-ganisations, schools, stateinstitutions, Scouts andGuides.Ms Gillard, announcing the

royal commission will beginin the new year, said toomany children had sufferedabuse and too many adultshad let them down.“They have not only had

their trust betrayed by theabuser but other adultswho could have acted to as-sist them have failed to doso,” she said.“There have been revela-

tions of child abusers beingmoved rather than the na-ture of their abuse and theircrimes being dealt with.There have been too manyrevelations of adults whohave averted their eyesfrom this evil.”“These are insidious, evil

acts to which no childshould be subject,” MsGillard said. “The individuals concerned

deserve the most thoroughinvestigations into thewrongs that have beencommitted against them.They deserve to have theirvoices heard and theirclaims investigated. I be-lieve a royal commission isthe best way to do this.”Ms Gillard said the reach

of the national inquiry willbe vast and needs to takeits time. She also said thegovernment will consultwith groups representingthe interests of victims, re-ligious leaders and commu-nity organisations, as theterms of reference are de-veloped.“The focus of this [inquiry]

is child sexual abuse. I be-lieve we must do every-thing we can to make surewhat has happened in thepast is never allowed tohappen again,” Ms Gillardsaid.“Child abuse is always

wrong, always heart break-ing, always distressing. I

think we all want to doeverything we can to en-sure we do not see in thefuture, institutions fail torespond if there are allega-tions of child abuse in theirmidst.“I believe the time should

be taken to get it right, tomake sure the royal com-mission does the work wewant it to do.“We need to do everything

we can to prevent childabuse and we need to doeverything we can to en-sure that if abuse happens,it is appropriately re-sponded to so you don’t geta continuation of the pat-tern of behavior.”Victoria and New South

Wales are already pursuingseparate inquiries and MsGillard said the premiershave expressed willingnessto cooperate with a nationalapproach.Bravehearts founder,

Hetty Johnston, welcomedthe announcement of awide-ranging powerful in-quiry into institutional re-sponses to allegations ofchild abuse.She said the issues were

endemic and sweepingpowers were critical if theinquiry is to succeed. Shealso cautioned the need topass retrospective legisla-tion to make the destruc-tion of documents illegal.

In GippslandIN Gippsland Anglican Dio-

cese, Cheryl Russell is em-ployed as the Director ofProfessional Standards, anindependent role with afocus on assisting peoplewho have been harmed bya church worker (see regu-lar advertisement in thisnewspaper). Cheryl said Gippsland dio-

cese welcomes Victoria'sparliamentary inquiry intochild sexual assault and theroyal commission to inves-tigate organisations fromchurches to state authori-ties."It will include how the po-

lice have responded in thepast to complaints and willexamine areas such asthose people who havebeen or are complicit in orcommitted acts of omissionin regard to sexual abuse ofchildren."I will ensure The Gipps-

land Anglican has the nec-essary information abouthow people can contact theroyal commission early nextyear," she said."I want people to under-

stand the ProfessionalStandards Office is not lo-cated in the registry and re-mains as independent fromthe Church as possible.

Anyone who contacts meshould and can expect con-fidentiality," Cheryl said."As DPS, I handle any

matter of concern, regard-less of whether it is currentor historic. I rely upon peo-ple calling me about anyconcern they may haveabout anyone. This issometimes very difficult forpeople because they fearthey may be reportingsomething that may not betrue or could place a slur onsomeone's character."However, Cheryl said it is

not difficult to discern thelevel of seriousness of acomplaint."All child sexual assault is

reported, in this diocese, tothe police through CrimeStoppers (telephone1800333000). Any personcan ring this police contactnumber if they wish to re-port any concern."The Victorian police have

sexual offences and childabuse investigation teamsacross the state, includingin Gippsland. These teamsare staffed by experiencedand qualified police detec-tives specially trained to as-sist with responding to andinvestigating sexual assaultand child abuse."Anyone can contact these

teams: in Morwell, tele-phone 5131 5090; in Sale,telephone 5144 2244; inBairnsdale, telephone 51520540; in Melbourne, tele-phone 9611 8800."Cheryl invites anyone who

wants to discuss matters ofsexual abuse of children orvulnerable people, to tele-phone her, on 5633 1573 or0407 563313, or email heron [email protected] Cheryl is part of a team,

led by Archdeacon HeatherMarten, that discusses andplans safe ministry trainingfor clergy and church work-ers in Gippsland churches.Gippsland diocese has not

been immune from issuesof child sexual assault. In2007, Bishop John McIntyreapologised to child sexualabuse victims of a pastteacher at Gippsland Gram-mar. A healing service washeld at St Paul's Cathedralin Sale for victims of sexualassault at the hands ofPhillip Douglas Hazeldine,convicted and jailed in1998.At the time, Bishop John

said the service for victimsand their families was ac-knowledgement by theschool and the diocese thatthe abuse had occurred."For some people, it's too

little, too late and we ac-knowledge that ... but it's amatter of acknowledgingthat in the past this hasn'tbeen well handled," Bishop

John said.The school and diocese

also sent a letter to all stu-dents who attended theschool during the periodHazeldine taught.For several years, this

newspaper has taken aproactive approach in rais-ing the need to protect chil-dren and vulnerable peoplein the Church. In 2008, TheGippsland Anglican ran aseries of articles with afocus on protecting childrenagainst sexual abuse andinvestigating institutions.Mothers' Union in Gipps-

land has also been proac-tive in discussing anddisseminating informationamong its members aboutchild sexual abuse and itseffects on victims.

The processPRIME Minister Gillard will

recommend to the Gover-nor General that a royalcommission be set up andenquire into institutional re-sponses to instances andallegations of child sexualabuse in Australia.Australia’s Attorney Gen-

eral and the Federal Minis-ter for Families willcoordinate work on theterms of reference and theinquiry commissioner orcommissioners will benamed in coming weeks.Ms Gillard will speak to

state and territory leadersabout how the royal com-mission may relate to cur-rent or proposed inquiriesin those jurisdictions.A royal commission has

considerable powers onlyrestricted by its terms ofreference, can compel wit-nesses, offer indemnitiesand seize documents. Tworoyal commissions havelasted four years in dura-tion.

Anglican Primate: an “historicopportunity to protect children”

ABOVE: The Primate, Arch-bishop Philip Aspinall, is instrong favor of the royalcommission.

December 2012 Our Diocese - Clergy Ministries 5


“ALWAYS pray and neverlose heart; in this way youwill grow into the mind ofChrist. … So you will be ledinto the world for the sakeof the world.” It was withthese words that BishopJohn McIntyre addressedthe four women he wasabout to ordain, on Novem-ber 10.With a congregation of

more than 170 friends andfamily, the Anglican Dioceseof Gippsland celebrated theordination of three deaconsand one priest at St Paul’sCathedral: Pene Brook,Fran Grimes, Katie Pekenand Reverend HeatherCahill.Bishop John reminded the

ordinands and those gath-ered that ordained peoplelead the community of faithinto the way of justice, theway of being more humanand so of being moreChristlike. “Be outstanding in this

Christ-like life as you leadyour communities and asyou live out your faith in theworld,” he said. Rev. Dr Pene Brook has

worked extensively in edu-cation from grade prep totertiary levels. More re-cently, she worked asschool chaplain in Brisbane,Canberra and at GippslandGrammar and is currentlychaplain at Monash Univer-sity’s Churchill campus. As well as degrees in fine

art and education, Peneholds an honours degree intheology and a doctorate intheological education. “The call to ordination

came as a terrifying andwonderful surprise both tome and to many who knowme,” Pene said.“It has taken deep reflec-

tion and time to embraceits possibilities and to cometo a place where I can viewit as simply a continuationof God’s ongoing call on mylife.”Rev. Dr Fran Grimes is a

medical practitioner andhas worked for 25 years ingeneral practice, first inMelbourne’s western sub-urbs and for the past 15years in South Gippsland.Fran speaks of feeling God’scall on her life to live outher passion for Christianministry. In the past 10 years, she

has facilitated and led wor-ship at Fish Creek UnionChurch and been involvedpastorally with people rightacross Corner Inlet parish.In an attempt to reach outto local youth, she has runclinics at the local highschool and this year waspart of a youth access clinicin Foster. Rev. Katie Peken studied

at the University of NSW inSydney, majoring in Englishliterature and Psychology.The teaching offered by theAnglican chaplaincy at theuniversity was deeply influ-

ential on the developmentof Katie’s Jesus centredfaith. Before entering min-istry within the church,Katie enjoyed working asAssociate Lecturer in thePsychology department atthe University of New Eng-land. Subsequently, she was in-

volved in ministry at StPeter’s Anglican Cathedraland then St Mark’s AnglicanChapel at UNE. Katie then studied theol-

ogy at Moore TheologicalCollege and worked as As-sociate Minister at StPeter’s East Lindfield, Syd-ney, before crossing theborder to become Familyand Children’s Minister at StJude’s, Carlton, in 2005. In2011, she moved to War-ragul, where she is em-ployed as Senior AssociateMinister.Rev. Heather Cahill is from

Heyfield but worshipped,played music and minis-tered in churches from PortMoresby to Alice Springs toCanberra, Neerim South,Traralgon and Rosedale. “My call to ordained min-

istry came while I was atprayer in a EuropeanCathedral in 1999 and,since that time, I have

worked and studied towardthis end.” A crucial motivating aspect

in Heather’s journey towardpriestly ordination has beenthe deep call of God to min-ister to people through thesacraments. Heather saidshe feels privileged to becalled to the order and min-istry of a priest at this timeand in this place.

As these brief biographiessuggest, these four ordi-nands are not new to thisjourney of Christ-minded-ness. All four are very ablewomen, whose life experi-ence and faith add greatlyto the depth of leadershipin Gippsland Diocese.

Contributor: Don Saines

ABOVE: Katie Peken, DrPene Brook, Heather Cahilland Dr Fran Grimes flankBishop John McIntyre afterthe ordination service.

Photo: Christine Morris

Owned and operated by Ray & Maree Anderson

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

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

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

Pre-paid & pre-arranged funeral plans available.

CARING & PERSONAL 24 HOUR SERVICE

Standing out for Christ

Farewell, DonCANON Don Crewe (right)

was farewelled at St James’Anglican Church in Traral-gon on November 11.Canon Don is moving to liveon a property belonging tohis daughter and son-in-lawat Willung South. Those who venture to

Christ Church at Carrajungor St Paul’s in Gormandalewill meet up with Don andhis family.Don started his career as

a theatre nurse but wascalled by God to join theclergy while attending StJames in Traralgon. Sincethen he has spent time inSt Paul’s Cathedral Sale andin Trafalgar parish.For many years, Don cre-

ated and published the thenmonthly The Messengerand he is well known forbeing the editor of TheGippsland Anglican forsome years, prior to his re-tirement in 2006.We have enjoyed having

Don at St James since hisretirement, where he hascontinued to play an active

part in services and in thechoir. Don will still be found

around St James when hehosts the meetings of ‘TheOrder of St Luke’ eachmonth. Don attended andtook services within StJames and is well knownand loved among the localparishioners. He has servedhis community for manyyears and will be sadlymissed in the local area.We pray the Lord’s bless-

ings will surround him in hisretirement.

Contributor/Photo: Tara Blomquist

ABOVE: The retired clergy gathered at Warragul on Octo-ber 30 for a service led by Archdeacon Philip Muston, withCanon Dr Jim Connelly giving the address and Ethel andBruce Armstrong playing music. Gordon and RosemaryCooper and Graeme and Jenny MacRobb were among theparticipants who enjoyed lunch and fellowship time, or-ganised by Katie Peken.

Photo: Laurie Baker

6 Our Diocese - Clergy Ministries December 2012


HER Majesty, Queen Eliza-beth II, has approved thenomination of Right Rev-erend Justin Welby for elec-tion as the 105thArchbishop of Canterbury.He will succeed Dr Rowan

Williams who is retiring atthe end of December after10 years as Archbishop.Justin Welby, 56, is cur-

rently Bishop of Durham.He will be enthroned asArchbishop of Canterbury inCanterbury Cathedral onMarch 21, 2013.The Primate of Australia,

Dr Phillip Aspinall, has wel-comed the appointment ofBishop Welby.“I have been privileged to

work with the Archbishop-elect during his tensure atCoventry Cathedral, whereBishop Welby was a keyleader in Coventry’s inter-nationally renowned min-istry of reconciliation,” DrAspinall said.“I encourage all Anglicans

to pray for Bishop Welbyand Archbishop Williamsand their families duringthis period of change.“The Archbishop of Can-

terbury is a key leader inthe worldwide AnglicanCommunion. The office car-ries great responsibility, es-

pecially at this time ofstrained relationships andvastly different approachesand understandings acrossthe Communion. My prayeris that Bishop Julian will re-ceive the grace needed tobe a wise, insightful, coura-geous and healing leader.”Justin Welby, MA, Hon FCT,

was educated at Trinity Col-lege, Cambridge. After acareer in the oil industry inParis and London, hetrained for the ministry atCranmer Hall and St John’sCollege Durham. He served his title at Chil-

vers Coton with Astley,Coventry diocese from

1992 to 1995. From 1995to 2002, he was Rector ofSoutham and Vicar ofUfton, Coventry diocesefrom 1998 to 2002. From 2002 to 2007, he

was Canon Residentiary atCoventry Cathedral andwas Co-Director for Inter-national Ministry from 2002to 2005. From 2005 to2007, he was Sub-Dean atCoventry Cathedral andCanon for ReconciliationMinistry.In 2007, he was also

Priest-in-Charge at Coven-try Holy Trinity. From 2007to 2011, he was Dean ofLiverpool. Since 2011 hehas been the Bishop ofDurham. From 2000 to 2002 he was

Chairman of an NHS Hospi-tal Trust and he currentlyserves on the Committee ofReference for the ethicalfunds of a large investmentcompany in the City of Lon-don. He is also a member ofthe Banking StandardsCommission.Justin Welby is married to

Caroline and they have hadsix children (one of whomdied in infancy).

ABOVE: New Archbishop-elect of Canterbury, JustinWelby, currently Bishop ofDurham.

FOR the past 11 months,Reverend Marilyn Obersbyhas been the locum minis-ter for Churchill, Boolarraand Yinnar parish, caring,encouraging and guidingthe congregation. It waswith a degree of sadness,she was farewelled on Oc-tober 21, at a combinedservice in Churchill. The theme for the day was

Back to Sunday School withhymns and choruses suchas Hear The Pennies Drop-ping (we had pennies to putin the plate), Wide, Wide asthe Ocean and When heCometh. Some people came

dressed up in what theywould have worn to Sundayschool as a child, even tothe point of having hankiespinned to their blouses as inthe old days. So many flowers were pre-

sented to Marilyn infarewell and thanks thatshe almost disappeared be-hind them (above). Wewere very grateful for hertime of ministry and ashared lunch afterward en-abled more farewells to besaid.The following Wednesday,

Rev. Brenda Burney was in-ducted as the new incum-bent. Bishop John McIntyre, Anglican Bishop ofGippsland, with Rev. TimAngus of the GippslandUniting Presbytery, in-stalled Brenda into her po-sition. Robern Lubawski wel-

comed Brenda on behalf ofthe parish and Ian Com-bridge welcomed Brenda’shusband, Rod. Brenda re-sponded by thanking alland speaking about her ex-citement of receiving aplacement in the area shegrew up in and worked as akindergarten teacher formany years.

Contributor: Rae Billing

TOP: Reverend Brenda Bur-ney and Bishop John McIn-tyre during the induction.

New Archbishopof Canterbury

Welcome Brenda,thankyou Marilyn

December 2012 Our Diocese - Jesus Christ here and now for Traralgon parish 7


By Tara Blomquist

ON February 28, 1880, thesmall timber church of StJames of Traralgon wasopened for worship at acost of £400 (see picture,right). Eight years later, onOctober 25, 1888, the foun-dation stone was laid forthe new church of StJames. A brick structure replaced

the original building for£365/9/0. This was by nomeans the last renovationsand changes for the church,for a new place of worshipwas constructed in 1971 onits current location in GreyStreet, Traralgon.The parish consists of St

James in Traralgon, StJohn’s in Glengarry, StDavid’s in Toongabbie andSt Stephen’s in TraralgonSouth. St John’s Glengarry is 10

kilometres from Traralgonand was built in the early1900s. St David’s Toongab-bie, 20 km from Traralgon,was built in 1884 and is alocal favorite venue forweddings and baptisms. (Imyself was married thereand also had my youngestdaughter, Claudia, baptisedthere; both ceremonies byCanon Jeff Richardson.) StStephen’s, 15 km fromTraralgon, is a co-operatingchurch alternating betweenthe Anglican and Unitingchurches.The parish vision state-

ment is ‘To know Christ andto make Him known’ and itcan be found throughoutour church and on our pewleaflets each week. Reverend Canon Jeff

Richardson is larger thanlife and makes his presenceknown to all who attend thechurch. Canon Jeff is ap-proachable and friendly buthas a unique sense ofhumor. Canon Jeff regularly hosts

dinners for people in theparish, where his cookingskills are obvious to all whoattend; his soup recipes arelegendary and he can bar-becue a mean steak orsausage sizzle. Each week on Friday

morning, Canon Jeff stopsat a local coffee shop foranyone who wants to sharea coffee with him: a latte, achat and a time to unwind.Rev. Jo White assists

Canon Jeff with services inthe churches of St David’s,St Stephen’s and St John’s,as well as taking occasionalservices at St James. Rev.Jo’s husband, Ken, oftenaccompanies the singing onthe piano. Rev. Jo also has a very

special ministry to thoseliving in assisted care atMargery Cole Hostel,Dalkeith Memorial Homes,O’Mara House and Glen-

wood Residential Home,where she celebrates HolyCommunion. As half-timeChaplain at St Paul’s Gram-mar School in Traralgon,Rev. Jo takes religious edu-cation classes and leadsschool services, some ofwhich are held at St James. Jordan Breed, a Church-

warden and Youth Leader,devotes a lot of personaltime to the church. How hefinds the time is certainly amiracle in itself. Not only does Jordan at-

tend morning and eveningworship on Sunday, he

helps run Café J (a monthlyyouth service), is an admin-istrator for the St Jamesfacebook site, plays in theband at the 10am serviceand has put himself forwardto the Bishop as a DiocesanLay Reader. Above all this, Jordan is

studying medicine atMonash University Churchillthrough the RAAF where heis a Flying Officer; and he isalso getting ready to marry.For many years, our Or-

ganist, Thelma Edebohls,has been an important partof our church. Since 1915,

St James has had only twoorganists. Miss V Chaundyundertook this duty andcontinued in this capacityuntil resigning in February1975. Thelma Edebohls wasthen appointed, after hav-ing been choir mistress andassistant organist. It can be said by their

great devotion, these twowomen have enriched ourworship for a period of 97years, so far.Joseph Daniel is St James’

Contemporary Music Coor-dinator. Joseph leads thesingers at the 10 am Sun-

day service, with his voiceand playing the guitar andelectric piano. St James’ services are on

Sunday, at 8.30am, 10amand 7pm; and on Wednes-day at 10am. Holy Com-munion Services are heldeach week and a more in-formal service or familyservice at 10am, Sunday. The family service encour-

ages young families withchildren, who can movearound and play during theservice, attend Sundayschool and assist Jeff withquestions and activitiesduring the service.St James’ clergy and

parishioners regularly gointo the community to

continued next page

Valley Funeral Latrobe

Services

! Qualified, experienced and caring staff

! Modern chapels! Refreshments and catering

facilities available! Secure, guaranteed, pre-paid

and pre-arranged funeral plans

! Over 70 years of service to the Latrobe Valley

MORWELL 5134 4937MOE 5126 1111

TRARALGON 5174 2258

Owned and operated byPaul and Katrina McInnes

Proud member of theAustralian Funeral Directors

Association and the Australian andBritish Institutes of Embalming

MARKRIDDLEConsultant

JOHNGALBRAITHConsultant

PAULMcINNESDirector

2002900

Traralgon is about people

SUBSCRIPTIONto The Gippsland Anglican

Get The Gippsland Anglican posted direct to you

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

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

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

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

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

8 Our Diocese - Jesus Christ here and now for Traralgon parish December 2012


from previous page

into the community to as-sist, help and provide min-istry and assistance whereit is needed. A visitingteam, led by Claudette Mor-genson, brings comfort toAnglicans staying in the La-trobe Regional Hospital.

Defence ForceServiceTHIS year, the 8.30 am

Remembrance Day serviceat St James’ Traralgon sawcadets and officers from theRSSF and Australian AirForce and cadets joined thelocal parishioners in theirremembrance of Australia’sdefence forces. It was a dayto remember those whohave sacrificed, fought, suf-fered and died in the vari-ous wars and conflictsaround the world. Remembrance Day and

Defence Sunday remem-bers all those who havepassed and those who arestill with us, as we saythank you for giving us ahome of peace to live ineach day. Thanks to their great sac-

rifice, not only in conflictsand peace keeping missionsof today, but also from daysgone by, we can call ours anation of free men.The cadets and officers

paraded into the church,following Canon Jeff andthe choir, carrying the Aus-tralian flag and the RoyalAustralian Air Force ensign. Several cadets did the

readings and took part inthe service. At the end ofthe service, the cadets andofficers marched out of thechurch, this time leadingour clergy and parishioners.Traralgon parish’s very

own church warden andyouth leader, Flying OfficerJordan Breed joined hiscomrades in uniform on thisday. It was wonderful to seehim standing proudlyamong our defence forcepersonnel. The Kohima Epitaph, read

during the service, is:‘When you go home tell

them of us and say, for yourtomorrow we gave ourtoday.’

Pets blessingST JAMES’ Traralgon was

over run with animals onSunday, October 7, with theannual Blessing of the Petsservice. Held in celebrationof Saint Francis of Assisi,Canon Jeff Richardsonopened the church doors tothe community’s furry fam-ily members for a blessing. All members, whether two

or four legged, were wellbehaved and the singing of

hymns was a mixture ofhuman voices and doghowls. After the service,everyone stayed for re-freshments and a chance toget to know newcomersover a cup of tea.

Melbourne visitPARISHIONERS recently

visited St Paul’s Cathedraland St James’ old cathedralin Melbourne. The first des-tination was St Paul’sCathedral, with spiresreaching for the sky catchesand holds the eye as soon itcomes into sight. Set in the

centre of Melbourne andsurrounded by moderntransport and the hustleand bustle of today’s life,the cathedral reminds all ofVictoria’s past and settle-ment.The construction of St

James’ old cathedral inWest Melbourne com-menced in 1839 and is onlyone of three buildings topredate the Gold Rush of1851. This building wasoriginally constructed in adifferent location and waspulled apart and recon-structed stone by stone intoits current location. Eachindividual stone was num-bered and this can still be

seen today. After enjoying a packed

lunch within the churchgrounds, the group set offfor home. After this suc-cessful event, Dianne Fer-guson will be organisingmore in the future.

ABOVE left: Officers andcadets at the RemembranceDay service included FlyingOfficer Jordan Breed (farright), also St James’church warden and youthleader with the parish.ABOVE: Joseph Daniel, StJames’ contemporary musiccoordinator, is part of theteam that leads the 10amSunday service.

PREVIOUS page: The original tim-bered building, St James’ AnglicanChurch in Traralgon, opened onFebruary 28, 1880.

FAR left: St David’s AnglicanChurch in Toongabbie, built oftimber in 1884, is a local favoritevenue for weddings and christen-ings.

LEFT: Canon Jeff Richardson leadsan active lay team of parishionersin Traralgon district.

BELOW: The current St James’Anglican Church in Traralgon, con-structed in 1971. There have beenthree St James’ Anglican churchesin Traralgon, with the secondopened in October 1888, con-structed of brick.

December 2012 Our Diocese - Jesus Christ here and now for Traralgon parish 9


ABOVE: Ella, Jade and Georgia Halket with Spud the pug at St James’annual pet blessing, in Traralgon parish, recently.RIGHT: Melissa Furlong with her rabbit, Nigle, at the pet blessing serv-ice.FAR right: Emma Richardson, with Banjo.ABOVE far right: Elizabeth, Dianne and Jenny rest during the parish’svisit to Melbourne to view St Paul’s Cathedral and St James’ old cathedral.The trip was organised by Dianne.

Photos: Tara Blomquist

10 Government Awareness Advertising Campaign December 2012


December 2012 Our Diocese - The Abbey of St Barnabas at A’Beckett Park 11


THE last of the Elementsseries of retreats for 2012was held at the Abbey of StBarnabas at A’Beckett Park,on Raymond Island, on No-vember 9 to 11.Archdeacon Susanna Pain,

an Anglican priest fromHoly Covenant Church, Bel-connen, in Canberra led anenthusiastic group of peo-ple in a weekend’s explo-ration of the spiritualaspects of water. Susanna, a very experi-

enced retreat leader andone of the founding leadersof InterPlay in Australia,very skillfully blended timesof movement, dance andchildlike play with quiet andreflective meditations anddiscussion of the politicaland spiritual nature ofwater. Finding joy in the simple

things of life was a keytheme and expression of di-vinity through play a highaim of the retreat.Once again, our physical

needs were wonderfullycatered for by the Abbeycooks, David and DebbieChambers and Sue Gibson.A visit from the dolphins in

the lake seemed most ap-propriate to the theme ofthe weekend. A very friendly and hot

magpie joined in by taking

a shower under the water-ing can as one of the partic-ipants was watering thegarden.

Contributor: Ann Miller

Retreat theme dances with water

ABOVE: Participants in the retreat at the Abbey of StBarnabas.

Photo: Ann MillerRIGHT: Illawarra building is currently undergoing renova-tions to the conference area.

Photo: Edie Ashley

12 Our Diocese - Advertising Feature December 2012


By Dr Muriel Porter OAM

TRINITY College Theologi-cal School (TCTS) offers abroad range of courses forpeople of all ages and back-grounds, according to theDean of the TheologicalSchool, Reverend ProfessorDorothy Lee. “Women and men, young

and old, those thinkingabout ordination and thosewanting to learn moreabout their faith; all arewelcome to join Trinity’sfriendly, inclusive commu-nity,” she said. Trinity’s community gath-

ers primarily on campus atTrinity College at the Uni-versity of Melbourne, but

also online and in a parish-based study program.Trinity is a community

where the ordained min-istry of women is not onlycelebrated but modelled,with Dorothy, herself, anAnglican priest. The schoolrecently hosted a confer-ence and book launch tocommemorate 20 yearssince the ordination ofwomen priests in the Angli-can Church of Australia. “Australia’s first woman

bishop, Kay Goldsworthy,was a student here, some-thing we are very proud of,”Dorothy added.Trinity is also proud of its

status as the theologicalcollege for the AnglicanProvince of Victoria. Trin-ity’s students come fromthe other Victorian diocesesand interstate, as well asfrom Melbourne, ensuring avibrant student body.Trinity is part of MCD Uni-

versity of Divinity, Aus-tralia’s first specialistuniversity and one of theoldest ecumenical institu-tions in the world. Dorothyand the Warden of TrinityCollege, Professor AndrewMcGowan, are among MCDUniversity’s inaugural 10professors. Dorothy, who has taught

New Testament for morethan 20 years, is an ac-claimed biblical scholar,

specialising in the Gospel ofSt John. She has publishedwidely in this area. Andrew lectures for Trinity

in Patristics, the study ofearly Christian writersknown as the Church Fa-thers. Both of them arehighly regarded scholars in-ternationally.At Trinity, students have

access to the ecumenicalDalton McCaughey Library,acknowledged as thelargest and best theologicallibrary in the southernhemisphere. A short walkfrom Trinity, it is housed ina state-of-the-art centre of-fering superb facilities andonline access to the leadingdatabases for theologicalresearch. There is also Trin-ity’s own Leeper Libraryavailable to all students.According to Dorothy, Trin-

ity is known for its aca-demic rigor andcommitment to excellence.“At TCTS, students study

with internationally re-garded scholars and priestscommitted to the pursuit ofhigh standards; and whoalso possess significantpastoral experience and adeep commitment to thetask of preparing men and

women for ministry,” shesaid. The faculty staff includes

Rev. Canon Dr Ray Cleary,formerly Chief ExecutiveOfficer of Anglicare Victoria,who brings a wealth of ex-perience in welfare issues inAustralia and internation-ally. He has a strong, bibli-cal commitment to socialjustice and a deep under-standing of the challengesfacing Australian societyand the Anglican Church’srole in it. “Ray has helped Trinity

broaden its commitment tothe emerging church. DrDavid Gormley-O’Brien andDr Meg Warner also add tothe School’s wealth ofknowledge, teaching Greekand Patristics and the OldTestament,” Dorothy said. As well as its academic

program, Trinity runs a Min-istry Formation Programwhere students come to-gether to worship, to beformed for ministry, bothlay and ordained, and toenjoy fellowship with eachother. They look at the practical-

ities of preaching, leadingworship, and engaging inpastoral care, evangelism,

mission, educational chap-laincy and justice issues.Online, students have ac-

cess to an increasing num-ber of study options. Thesenow extend to a range ofdiplomas and degrees intheology, such as the Mas-ter of Divinity and the Grad-uate Certificate inEducational Chaplaincy.At the parish level, Trinity

offers a flexible, user-friendly certificate courseoffering an introduction totheology and ministrythrough six units that canbe timed to suit individualparishes.Like to know more? We

would love to hear fromyou: website www.trin-ity.unimelb.edu.au/theol-ogy telephone 03 93487127 or email [email protected] Theological School

provides this wide range ofoptions on a limited budget.The Theological Schoolwarmly welcomes dona-tions from individuals andparishes to fund its impor-tant ministry. For information about how

you can donate or remem-ber the theological school inyour will, please contact theTrinity College Advance-ment Office at telephone9348 7116 or email [email protected]

Trinity to study theology

December 2012 Our Diocese - Family, Children and Youth Ministries 13


TRAFFIC flow at the Mor-well Traffic School wassteady but constant at theKidsplus+ family afternoonheld on Sunday, November18. Bikes, trikes, skate-boards, skates, push carsand their owners gatheredfrom Mirboo North, Thorp-dale, Moe, Newborough andTraralgon; one family withlong association with GFScame from Melton. More than 70 participants

converged on the sitewhere a sausage sizzlewayside stop was providedand devoured.Children aged from tod-

dlers to late teens enjoyedthe opportunity to explorethis community resource,sponsored by the GippslandGFS Kidsplus+ Network,using some of the fundingallocated through the dio-cese for our network’s min-istry to children and youth.Families had responded to

our promotion through TheGippsland Anglican news-paper, parishes and throughthe mainly music groups.Thank you to all who helpedwith this communication. This year’s activity re-

placed the long running,Cowwarr Weir diocesanfamily picnics that haveserved many people fromdiocesan parishes for morethan 20 years. Such activi-ties are only made possibleby the generosity of parishrepresentatives willing toserve the wider diocesethrough networks like Kid-splus+, Girls Friendly Soci-ety (GFS) and Mothers’Union, who often assist ouractivities. We are always seeking a

broader parish representa-tion as we plan for futureevents. Watch our websitethrough the Gippslanddiocesan webpages for fur-ther information.

TOP right: Abraham Maluelwith Naration and Courtney.

Photo: Glenn Purcell

IT IS a joy to have a grow-ing number of young peopleworshipping at St Mary’sMorwell. The older mem-bers of the congregation re-ally enjoy being with theyoung people. During thegiving of the peace, it nowtakes longer to movearound the church andgreet everyone, sharingwith them God’s peace.Reverend Lyn Williams or-

ganised a pizza and filmnight for the young peoplewho come to church andtheir friends. It was a greatsuccess. Large quantities ofpizza were eaten and sev-eral films were shown forthe mixed age range of theyoung people. The congre-gation were told that theRectory fridge had to raidedat the last moment to makesure everyone had enoughto eat. Every month in Parish Life

newsletter, Rev. Lyn writesup a competition, part ofthe Kids Corner section anddesigned for the teenagersin the congregation. To an-swer some of the ques-tions, it is necessary toread several verses of the

Bible. Some of the ques-tions refer to the specialservices held at St Mary’s;for example, All Saints Day.There is also a coloringcompetition for young chil-dren. The winner of each section

is awarded a prize, givenout at the end of the 10amservice, so we can all ap-plaud. The photograph,above, shows CJ Reilk re-ceiving his prize for gettingthe greatest number ofquestions right.This month we have had

several children baptised atSt Mary’s. Some of theservices were private serv-ices held outside the nor-mal service times. Jacobwas brought by his motherErin and father Glen, to bebaptised during the AllSaints Day service. Many of his family and

friends came to supportand pray for him at his bap-tism. It was especially sig-nificant to have Jacobwelcomed into the family ofthe church on All SaintsDay.

Contributor/Photo: Carolyn Raymond

IN Moe parish, younger membersof the parish’s GFS (Girls FriendlySociety) and BAMM (Boys AnglicanMinistry group) and Sunday schoolmembers held a Whoppa Wednes-day Fun Night at the hall. Parentsand congregation members wereable to participate in a wide varietyof activities. The evening’s activities also proved

to be an opportunity for some po-tential new members for the chil-dren’s group to participate. Jumpingcastles, pool on a billiards table andsoccer table games, Mega Four andgiant floor games kept participantsbusy.On Friday, November 30, the

parish hosted a Showcase of Art and

Craft as a fundraiser and outreachopportunity to see and showcasethe skills of many in our local com-munity. Exhibits from the Latrobe Valley

Quilters, Steiner Gallery pottery,local painting and art groups, papercrafts’ groups and lots more art andcraft were displayed. Local grape grower, Graeme Scott,

assisted with the wine tasting and agourmet cake and ‘cuppa’ cornerprovided opportunity for fellowship.

LEFT: Cameron Nicholls was show-ing some pool skills at the Moeparish Whoppa Wednesday GamesNight .

Photo: Lauren Kittwood

Traffic flows atfamily fun day

Competition rewards

ABOVE: Gary Prosser supervises children from Moe, Thor-pdale and Newborough.

Photo: Glenn PurcellWhoppa Wednesday fun

Thank youThank you, once again, tothe many parish correspon-dents and photographerswho contributed newsthroughout the past year forother members of the dio-cese to read in The Gipps-land Anglican; thank you toother contributors; andthank you to our advertisersfor supporting the newspa-per. You all help make TGAinteresting for readers.

Jeanette Severs,Editor

14 Our Diocese - Family, Children and Youth Ministries December 2012


ON November 18, in Maf-fra parish, residents at StJohn’s Close joined withthe wider church family tocelebrate the 20th birthdayof the Close. A service ofcelebration at St John’schurch was followed bymorning tea in the gardens,followed by lunch in theparish centre. Tex Murphy who has lived

at St John’s Close since itopened, cut the celebratorycake. Reverend Dr Jim andAnne Connelly joined withus to celebrate this mile-stone. Jim was Maffra’sRector at the time of build-ing and opening of StJohn’s Close.

ABOVE: Tex Murphy cutsthe cake to mark 20 yearssince St John’s Closeopened in Maffra.

Photos: Heather Baker

Maffra hosts 20thcelebration party

RIGHT: Musi-cians andsome of theattendees atthe annualthanksgivinglunch hostedby GFS Kid-splus+ Net-work inGippsland.Photo: Lauren

Kitwood

Thanksgiving lunch

December 2012 Our Diocese - Family, Children and Youth Ministries 15


Color in the picture LiteratureBy Margaret Carlile

Carlile M (ed.) andWilkinson E (illus.) StThomas Bunyip CookBook (2012)

BUNYIP parish’s StThomas’ Church craftgroup, known as theChurch Mice, are alwaysbusy with their craft itemsand ideas for their stalls.This year, they decided toinclude a cookbook, usingcontributions from our con-gregation and our friends.We now have the finished

product and are thrilledwith the results. After agreat deal of planning, thebook contains manyrecipes, (most are ratedeasy), covering all courses:starters, soup, light meals,mains, salad, desserts,slices, cakes, bread, sconesand cookies and preserves.All are tried and truerecipes. The book con-cludes with a little hintschapter. An added Christian ele-

ment throughout the bookis a ‘Grace’ at the beginningof each chapter. We havealso included some amus-ing little anecdotes, whichtend to give the book a

warm and friendly feel.I have enjoyed the chal-

lenge of selecting therecipes and producing andediting this book and, withthe expertise of my friend,Chris Bennie, who workedtirelessly on the layout, andmy 11 year old grand-daughter, Emma Wilkinson,who created the illustra-tions, we feel we have anexcellent book that will fitinto anybody’s cooking li-brary.Copies are available at

$15 each plus $2 post andpacking for each book. Toorder, telephone Margareton (03) 5629 9615 or [email protected]

By Mark Hadley

Hadley, M and Lee, N(illus.) Friends (2012).Youthworks.

WITH the belief friendshiphas to mean more than justbeing with people whomake you feel good,Nathan Lee and MarkHadley have teamed upagain to deliver Friends, thesecond book in the Pandaseries. In Friends, Panda takes

his second journey of dis-covery, this time learningabout an essential ingredi-ent for building healthy re-lationships. He learnsinward-looking friends whoshow no concern for one’sidentity or desires arehardly friends at all and realfriends put their pal’s needsfirst. For children aged five to

eight years, Friends is fullof quirky illustrations byNathan Lee and references

to modern culture and willengage children to thinkmore deeply about theirfriendships. It is as relevantfor children as for adults,reminding us that God callsus to love others in thesame way he loves us. Friends includes teaching

notes for parents, providingquestions and talkingpoints to further uncoverthe themes in the book. Available online at

www.cepstore.com.au ortelephone (02) 8268 3344and at bookstores. RRP:$9.95.

TO mark Social InclusionWeek, an innovative digitalstory-telling research proj-ect, I Just Want To Go ToSchool: Voices of youngpeople experiencing educa-tional disadvantage, wasrecently launched at aschool in Richmond, NSW.The project, a collabora-

tion between Good Shep-herd Youth and FamilyService, Jesuit Social Serv-ices and MacKillop FamilyServices, aims to furtherunderstand factors con-tributing to young peopleleaving school, by givingvoice to young peoplethemselves, to ultimatelypromote positive change inthe education system.Key findings from the proj-

ect, included in the report,have identified bullying andyouth mental health prob-

lems and a lack of sufficientstrategies to effectively re-spond to these within theeducation system, as signif-icant issues and deterrentsto children engaging withtheir education. A lack ofunderstanding of the rangeof complex issues youngpeople face, particularlythose already vulnerableand involved in the childprotection system, was alsoidentified as a barrier foryoung people attendingschool.The project, launched by

Child Safety CommissionerBernie Geary, centres on 13young people sharing theirstories through digital videoof wanting to attend schooland the bullying, violenceand social and financial bar-riers preventing them fromdoing so.

Project aboutyouth wantingto go to school

ABOVE: Many families at-tended this year’s secondTraffic School fun day, or-ganised by GFS Kidsplus+Network for Gippsland dio-cese. Abraham Maluel bor-rowed the stilts from theKidsplus+ equipment trailerto practice walking tall.

16 Our Diocese - Perspectives December 2012


By John Dickson

GIVEN the Judaeo-Christ-ian origins of our long heldtradition of caring for thefrail, census data indicatingthe demise of Christianityand the ageing of Aus-tralia’s population couldherald a perfect socialstorm.The 2011 census makes

clear Christian affiliation isdiminishing, falling sevenper cent in the past decadeto 61 per cent. The slack has been picked

up by those claiming ‘no re-ligion’, with almost five mil-lion of us, or 22.3 per cent,turning our backs on God(or, at least, on God’s reg-istered brands). That is upseven per cent since 2001.At the same time, we are

getting older. The medianage rose in the last decadefrom 35 to 37 years. Thatmight not sound like much,but it indicates a significantincrease in the number ofelderly people in our com-munity. HammondCare, a leader in

aged-care and dementiaservices, notes that by2050, one in 20 Australianswill be 85 or older. Coupledwith this is an expected in-crease in the number of uswith dementia, from269,000 to one million.And here is the problem.

For almost 2000 years, thebiblical claim all humansare made in the “image ofGod’’, and so are profoundlyand inherently valuable,has called on those who be-lieve that idea to treat menand women as ‘sacred’, re-

gardless of capacities orcontributions to society.Of course, the secularist

will point to all the evils ofChristendom. But these justshow Christians have notbeen Christian enough. They do not obscure the

fact it was the Judaeo-Christian view of the humanbeing that gave the west itshospitals, charities and thelanguage of the ‘rights’ ofthe weak. As yet, there isno alternative narrative toguarantee the inherent dig-nity of all, regardless of ca-pacities.Of course, most of us love

our grandmothers. We donot need religion to tell usto look after them. But as more Australians

move into high-care facili-ties and dementia units,sometimes at a great dis-tance from family, societywill need a solid intellectualground for increasing con-tributions to those who canno longer give back.Ancient Greece and Rome,

the cultures against whichChristianity first competed,had little by way of philo-sophical reasoning thatcould guarantee the inher-ent worth of those lackingrational capacity or socialutility. So infanticide was com-

mon and social welfare forthe aged and dying was vir-tually non-existent.Christianity changed this.

It inherited from the Jews atheology of human dignityand a program of socialwelfare and added thethought that Christ haddied for the world, even for

the lowly and neglected. Compassion was due to

all, especially to the over-looked. So was born thetradition of charity.Educated Greeks and Ro-

mans criticised Christianityfor this. To them it was areligion for the poor anduseless. Atheist philosopher,

Friedrich Nietzsche, wasone of the first in the mod-ern era to admit that the‘death of God’ meant theend of objective ethical val-ues. He did not mean we would

all descend into immoralityas soon as we stopped be-lieving in a creator; onlythat at the philosophicallevel a secular society hasto abandon the notion of auniversal ‘moral law’. Ethicscould, henceforth, only bebased on social conventionor practical utility.The secularist may feel

like saying humanity is “in-estimably precious’’, atheistphilosopher Raimond Gaitasays, but “only someonewho is religious can speakseriously of the sacred’’.Yale’s great philosopher-

theologian, NicholasWolterstorff, goes further inhis book Justice: Rights andWrongs. He argues a rational justi-

fication for treating humansas “inestimably precious”,regardless of capacities,can only be found in a the-istic framework. Only if the abandoned in-

fant on the hills of ancientRome or the estranged res-ident in a Melbourne de-mentia unit is created in theimage of God, can we se-cure an intellectual basis fortreating both individualswith the same dignity weafford society’s most able.If he is right, we should all

be concerned there is anageing population at thesame time there is a declinein belief in a transcendentnarrative of humanity’s sa-cred worth. The secular West may one

day be able to offer an ac-count of human dignityequal in power to the bibli-cal one. Or perhaps one of the

other religions on the rise inAustralia will take Christian-ity’s place in providing theconceptual framework for‘defending life’s disinheritedand condemned’. Until then, I worry that ‘we

all love our gran’ will not cutit in the long run.

Dr John Dickson is an au-thor and historian and thefounding director of theCentre for Public Christian-ity in Sydney. This is a slightly edited

version of an article whichfirst appeared in The Syd-ney Morning Herald on July14, 2012; it also appearedin The Melbourne AnglicanAugust 2012 issue and isreprinted with permission.

Christianity and ageingBy Dr James Garth, Warragul

PERHAPS the most noteworthy aspect of how myfaith relates to my work life is how little conflict orclash there actually is. In my profession of aerospaceengineer, divides or schisms along theological linesare virtually non-existent. I work with Christians, Hin-dus, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, general theists, newage thinkers, agnostics and ardent atheists; workingtogether in teams, using our combined skills to designcomplex aircraft structures, components and systems.Granted, I am perhaps more fortunate than some of

my friends in biology, neuroscience or psychology,who have to grapple somewhat more head-on with al-leged ‘conflicts’ between their research and their reli-gion. Some of these issues might include the classicalmind/brain problem (that is, do we have a ‘soul’ sep-arate from the body; if not, does this threaten tradi-tional religious beliefs?), the origins of consciousness,free will, whether morality is simply a by-product ofevolutionary forces and so on.Personally, although I think these are interesting and

legitimate areas of concern requiring reflection, I ul-timately do not think God’s existence is influenced oneway or another by their outcome. It seems to me thatif we love and value truth, we ought not be afraid ofthe insights gleaned from scientific discoveries. If we allow science to sensibly inform our religious

perspectives and our religious insights to challenge,stimulate and interpret our science (particularly its as-sumptions and limitations), then we are more likelyto understand God’s truth in all its fullness.I can honestly say none of the above sorts of ‘con-

flict’ arise in aerospace engineering, where I deal withmachines and components with a beautifully austeresimplicity. Generally, being an aerospace engineer isnot threatened by commitment to any particularmacroscopic scientific theory (although if you doubtedNewton’s laws of motion, the physical laws which de-scribe the relationship between forces on a body andits motion, then you probably would not get very far). It matters not what one thinks of human origins,

whether we have a soul, or even how old the universeis. We simply ‘get on with the job’ and keep designing,analysing and testing components and systems;checking designs have the necessary strength, stabil-ity and thermal characteristics for the given environ-ment and are fit for the intended purpose.To be honest, I entered the field of aerospace be-

cause of an almost primal love of high technology andthe ‘cool’ factor it brings. I have since become gradu-ally aware that working in such a high-tech industrycan be seen as a valuable, God-honoring, even hu-manitarian pursuit in its own right. The aircraft, helicopters, spacecraft, satellites and

other technologies we develop play a vital role intransporting goods, moving people around the globe,bringing together cultures, rescuing people in dangerand measuring and understanding our environment. The net benefits to humanity are immense and I

think engineers play a particularly deep role in fulfill-ing our biblical mandate to act as responsible stew-ards of God’s creation [Gen 1:26, Gen 2:15, Lev25:23, Jer 12:4, Ps 148, Ps 24:1].With this in mind, I should mention the only real area

of conflict I think a Christian aerospace engineer can(and should) be faced with is to what degree does onesupport developing technology that could be used toharm another human being? A huge portion of aero-space development is driven by and for the defenceindustry and I think this is one area where some le-gitimate concerns can arise. Should I use my skills to help develop ballistic mis-

siles, if they will help to keep peace between nation-states? Should I work on platforms to deliver combattroops or, equally, disaster relief teams? Should I de-velop unmanned vehicles, increasing pilot safety, evenat the expense of situational awareness? I offer no easy answers here; save to say I have

found the process of grappling with these issues to bea constructive one; it has led me to a greater appre-ciation and awareness of the complexities and nu-ances involved. I believe it is extremely valuable tohave Christian perspectives represented at the high-est levels of science and technology; particularly soin defence-industrial companies; where thoughtfulcontributions by Christians can ensure we adopt nei-ther a laissez-faire nor Luddite approach to technol-ogy development; but instead one guided andsupported by an informed conscience.

Faith and work

December 2012 Our Diocese - Perspectives 17


By Gordon Dowth-waite, Leongatha

ONE Sunday morning atchurch, the song leader ex-plained a bit about thestory behind a well-knownMatt Redman song. I likehearing these stories asthey invariably bring deepermeaning to a song, so Ilooked it up to make sure Ihad got the details right.The story goes that in the

late 1990’s, Matt, in hisearly 20’s, was a musicleader at Soul Survivorchurch in England; a fastgrowing ‘modern’ churchwhere music played an im-portant part in Sunday wor-ship. The Pastor of the church

perceived an apathy in thechurch he decided wascaused by a loss of focus.He shut down the musicteam; any singing that oc-curred would be a Capella.Matt was out of a job and

learned, along with others,that he had put music in toohigh a place in his life.Rather than finding hisworth in Jesus Christ, hehad placed too much valuein what he did and the useof his gifts. He penned these words:

“When the music fades, andall is stripped away; And I simply come, long-

ing just to bring somethingthat’s of worth…”I am reminded of Paul who

had great credentials, butalso ‘lost his job’ after theDamascus Road experi-ence. He learned to con-sider his strengths “a losscompared to the surpassinggreatness of knowing ChristJesus my Lord” (Phil 3:8).After some time in obscu-rity, he returned to teach of

the supremacy of Christ inand over all things (Col1:15-19) and call Christiansto remain rooted in theirfaith in the peace we havewith God through the bloodof Jesus, shed on the cross(Col 1:20-23).I am reminded of experi-

ences in my own life whenthings I have valued havebeen taken from me; andhow my faith in Jesus andknowledge of God hasgrown because of thesetimes. I am only too likelyto be proud of my gifts andabilities and to place myvalue in what I have or cando. I have learned this iswrong but need the re-minder that Matt’s songgives:“I’m coming back to the

heart of worship, and it’s allabout you, all about you,Jesus;I’m sorry Lord for the

thing I’ve made it, when it’sall about you, all about you,Jesus…”Matt did not give up music

forever and the church didreintroduce music. Thissong became internation-ally known and he haspenned other songs simi-larly well known and theo-logically sound. Paul’s credentials did not

prove worthless in his min-istry.I think God gives each of

us gifts, abilities, concernsand passions that may beused for his glory. But if wefind ourselves ‘doing stufffor God’, maybe we need togive that up and come backto the cross of Christ; andworship him alone with allour heart and soul andmind and strength. As Matt’s song puts it:“King of endless worth, No

one could express, How

much You deserve;Though I’m weak and poor,All I have is Yours, Everysingle breath…”During my reflections

while singing that Sundaymorning, my thoughtsturned to our diocese.When I review the issueswithin the diocese as ex-pressed in The GippslandAnglican and by our lead-ers, I wonder whether ourstated ‘unity in Christ’ hasbecome little more thanrhetoric. I see and hear many opin-

ions: care for the disadvan-taged; care of theenvironment; celebration ofwomen in ministry; the im-portance of inclusion; re-sponses to political policy;promotion of the family;what we might learn fromother faiths; what peoplefrom our churches aredoing; and many other top-ics, some very worthy. But I see little mention of

Jesus, his saving work onthe cross and his call to putour own causes aside andsubmit our whole life tohim; what we say is ourpoint of unity. Sure, we may say we take

all that as a given. But, ifwe do not have constant re-minders, we all too soonmake it all about us.My response has been to

reflect and write some arti-cles of what I have learnedabout Jesus on my walkwith him. I encourage oth-ers to do the same. If nothing else, maybe we

should examine ourselves,put aside our causes andworks for a while, howevergood they may be, and getback to the heart of wor-ship: it’s all about Jesus.Quotes from Heart of Wor-

ship, Matt Redman© 1999

All About Jesus Diocesan calendar2012

International Year of People of African Descent, National Year of the Farmer, National Year of Reading

December1 Anam Cara Community Day: ‘Waiting’

(Advent); Holy Trinity, Stratford; 9.30am to 4pm; BYO lunch; RSVP Brian Turner, 03 5144 1914

2 Commemorative service celebrating 20 years of women priests; 2pm, St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Sale; Don Saines, 03 5144 2020

6 St Augustine’s annual dinner, Newhaven Yacht Squadron, Bass Phillip Island parish

9 Commemorative service celebrating 20 years of women priests in Melbourne; 2.30pm; St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Melbourne

24 Christmas Eve25 Christmas Day26 Boxing Day28-Jan.1 Sale parish family outreach: Summer in

Seaspray30 110th anniversary of St Thomas’ Bunyip;

10am; RSVP 15/12/2012, 03 5629 5295 oremail [email protected]

2013110th year of The Gippsland Anglican diocesan news-paper

JanuaryDec.28-Jan.1 Sale parish family outreach: Summer

in Seaspray9 Bass Phillip Island parish fair11-16 Summer under the Son, Church Missionary

Society (CMS), Adventure Resort, Phillip Island; www.summerundertheson.org

12 St Nicholas’ Lakes Entrance fair

February2 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm3 St Philip’s Dedication Festival, Bass Phillip

Island parish; guest speaker, Archdeacon Edie Ashley

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

March1 ‘Australian Voices’ performance at Cowes2 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm20 Mothers’ Union Lady Day; St Paul’s Cathedral

Sale; 10am; guest speaker, Marilyn Oulds, Worldwide Mothers’ Union; BYO lunch

25 Catholic v Anglican and others Golf Day, Sale Golf Club; Registry office, 03 5144 2044

26 Renewal of ordination vows and Blessing of oils service; St Paul’s Cathedral, Sale; 11.30am

29 Good Friday30 Easter Book Stall, St John’s Metung, Patterson

Park, Metung31 Easter Day31 Easter Book Stall, St John’s Metung, Patterson

Park, Metung

April1 Easter Book Stall, St John’s Metung, Patterson

Park, Metung6 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm25 ANZAC Day

May4 Shared spiritual Art festival at St Philip’s and

St John’s, Bass Phillip Island parish4 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm17-19 Gippsland Anglican 37th annual Synod, Sale;

St Paul’s Cathedral, Friday evening; then St Anne’s campus of Gippsland Grammar, Sale

June1 Anam Cara Community Day; 9.30am to 4pm3-5 Clergy conference, with Charles and Peta

Sherlock12 Mothers’ Union June Join-in; details TBC23-26 Quadratos in an Australian context, a retreat

organised by Anam Cara Community; Palotti College, Millgrove

27-29 Growth in Ministry intensive; Bishopscourt; Sale

Details in calendar as available at the time of printing.

18 Our Diocese - Missions and Ministries December 2012


AS Sri Lanka rebuilds,churches’ support throughthe Christmas Bowl sup-ports people like Kamala.“With the help my family

received, we have beenable to return to our homein Sri Lanka, living in asafer environment. I am sograteful for all the help wehave received,” Kamala(right) said.Kamala and her husband

were so afraid when thebombing and violence gotclose to their home, theyfled war-torn Sri Lanka withnothing but the clothes ontheir backs. During fivelong years in a refugeecamp in Tamil Nadu, south-ern India, they dreamed ofraising the daughter born tothem in the camp in theirhomeland. Now, they are safely home

in Sri Lanka. Support forthe Christmas Bowl fromchurches around Australiahelped Kamala and herhusband to survive in thecamp and to provide vitalhealthcare to their baby. It helped Kamala and her

family return home once itwas safe. Life is still tough,but Kamala is grateful tohave the opportunity to re-build her life.

Kamala and her husbandare among hundreds ofthousands of Sri Lankansforced to flee the civil warin their country between1983 and 2009. Many fledto Tamil Nadu, southernIndia and have been livingin camps there ever since;and now the conflict hasended, many are yearningto return home.Australians who support

the Christmas Bowl in 2012

will be helping more SriLankan refugees like Ka-mala to make a safe returnhome and providingrefugees who are still incamps with vital healthcare. The Christmas Bowl isthe Christmas Appeal of Actfor Peace, the internationalaid agency of the NationalCouncil of Churches in Aus-tralia.

Photo: Janet Cousens/Act for Peace

THE Parish Council of Lakes Entrance and Metungparish decided to make it a priority that, as theNicholasJohn op shop is supported by the commu-nity with donations of goods, the parish will giveback to the community by donating to other chari-ties. The parish funds an annual music scholarship to

Lakes Entrance Secondary College and a leadershipprogram and a science program at the college. Theparish has donated money to Ocean Rescue Squad,Lakes Entrance Surf Life Saving Club, Palliative Care,(buying a Reverie Harp), Gippsland Lakes Commu-nity Health and Metung community Health, to cancerresearch and, recently, to Lakes Entrance PrimarySchool to buy a marquee for sports activities (seeNovember 2012 issue of The Gippsland Anglican). These are only a few of the groups and activities

the parish has supported. We have also donated toAnglicord and Marysville. NicholasJohn welcomes all visitors to the op shop

with the offer of coffee and biscuits. We have manyvolunteers from our church as well as the commu-nity, but naturally more are welcome. The parish appreciates the wonderful work of op

shop coordinator, Terry McMaster. He would tell youthe volunteers are a wonderful group of people whoare very supportive of the work he does.

Contributor: Kath Grandy

Op shop givesto community

Christmas Bowl helpsKamala and her family

By Elizabeth Keever

TELEVISION screens regu-larly show graphic imagesof the destruction andhuman misery caused bynatural disasters. We, theaudience, are deeplymoved and send money toorganisations we hope willbe able to help the afflictedand rebuild lives.What if the worst impacts

of such disasters could beavoided? What if peoplecould be better preparedand better able to protectthemselves and their com-munities from much of thedestruction natural disas-ters usually bring?This is the philosophy be-

hind the concept of DisasterRisk Reduction. ABM’s DrJulianne Stewart met in SriLanka with a team of dis-aster relief and develop-ment workers from all overthe Anglican Communionearlier this year. The meeting was the sec-

ond in a series of meetingsfocused on the productionof a Disaster Risk Reductionand Preparedness Toolkit(tentatively named Pastorsin Disasters), for use by An-glican churches and thecommunities in which theylive in the developing world.“Churches often have a

deep reach into rural areaswhere many natural disas-ters hit. So it makes senseto equip them with tools toprepare for and minimisethe risk of injury, loss of lifeand damage to propertyand the landscape duringdisasters,” said Julianne.Writing of the toolkit was

the brainchild of EpiscopalRelief and Development,the development arm of theEpiscopal Church in theUnited States, which isfunding most of the project. The idea came about from

experience that existingdisaster preparedness toolsdid not provide enough de-tail to be an effective train-ing manual for churchesthat are often first to re-spond to disasters in theirareas.

In the event of an emer-gency in any country inwhich ABM maintains a re-lationship with a churchpartner, we will channelfunds through their respec-tive church emergencycommittees in order to en-sure the response is medi-ated by people close to thesituation on the ground. ABM supports our partners

by helping to prepare themfor emergency situationsand educating them onmethods to mitigate the ef-fects of climate change.Read more or donate to

ABM’s emergency programsat www.abmission.org

ABOVE: San Lin from Myan-mar role-plays a disasterrisk mapping exercise foruse with communities.

ABM pastors in disasters

ACROSS, a TEAR partnerof 28 years, is working tostrengthen communitiesand improve education,agriculture and health inthe new nation of SouthSudan.The birth of the new na-

tion of South Sudan in Julythis year offers a real op-portunity for people to re-build their lives and hopefor a better future. How-ever, there are many seri-ous challenges, especiallyin areas like basic infra-structure, water and sanita-tion, health care and childmortality.TEAR Australia is working

through local partners tohelp with the developmentof South Sudan. ACROSSworks in partnership withlocal churches tostrengthen communitiesand improve education,agriculture and health.The Community Health

Project is centred aroundthree health clinics. Manywomen come to the clinicsto give birth, which is help-ing to address the high ma-ternal mortality rate. Clinicstaff also train communityhealth workers, who usetheir knowledge in theirown communities.The Education Project in-

volves activities like helpinggirls stay in school longerand teacher training, help-ing local teachers developskills including classroommanagement and lessonpreparation.Planning for the returnees

(inset photograph) meansthere is a need to buildmore toilets and wash-rooms, so a partnershipwith SLDA, a local agency,has meant local people(above) being employed toconstruct water closets thatcan sustain high densityusage.

Health and education

December 2012 Our Diocese - Missions and Ministries 19


CWCI completed a suc-cessful safari through EastGippsland recently, with RoVerspaandonk as speaker.Ro is very well known inEast Gippsland and manywomen were happy torenew friendship with herduring the safari. Ro spoke about ‘Finding

Treasures for Life’ and usedsome visual displays in hertalk. She encouragedwomen to seek God’s treas-ures He has in store for uswhen we ask Him for guid-ance in our lives.Ro visited with other

members of the CWCI teamto Mallacoota and CannRiver, Orbost, Lake TyersTrust, Metung and finishingat Bruthen.Christian Women Commu-

nicating International(CWCI) is a worldwide in-terdenominational Bible-based ministry. It began inAustralia in 1957 with asmall group of women whojoined together for a week-end of Bible teaching.Local CWCI events are

held in cities and countryareas, offering encourage-ment, inspiration and Bibleteaching.Know Your Bible studies

are used regularly bywomen with more than2300 KYB groups in Aus-tralia. Studies are alsoavailable in more than 45languages and are used inmore than 70 countries. CWCI safaris travel into

remote areas of Australiawith Christ’s love andteaching.

Women wanting more in-formation about CWCI cancontact, email [email protected] or www.cwci-aus.org.au

Contributor/Photos:Shirley Crutchfield

TOP: Vivienne Clamp, RoVerspaandonk and GabbiMinchin at Metung.ABOVE: Lil Lillyman, Mar-garet Crouch, Norma Brown(soloist who sang at eachvenue) and Heather Baillie.

Women on safari

High octanebreakfasts atCowes for GPVICTORIA’s Motorcycle

Grand Prix (GP) in Octoberat Phillip Island was a hugesuccess and a lot of workfor Bass Phillip Islandparish. Approximately120,000 people attendedthe race track over fourdays. Many attendees stayed

overnight in Cowes andsome then needed break-fast. Volunteers from theCowes congregation haveevery year put on a fullcooked breakfast for visi-tors and bikers, raisingmoney for the parish andalso showing an Anglicanpresence at the GP. For the four mornings, a

total of nearly 500 hotbreakfasts were servedwith juice, cereal, coffeeand toast, not forgettingthe vegemite spread. Saturday morning was the

peak period, with onebreakfast coming out of thekitchen on average every80 seconds. This continuedfor a three and half hour

period. A full hot breakfast can

consist of eggs, bacon,sausages and baked beans;that is a lot of food beingcooked by volunteers.There is no shortage of

volunteers for this largeproduction; it can be hardwork, but also enjoyableand rewarding with cama-raderie among volunteersand the social contact withcustomers. Some volunteers and cus-

tomers return for thebreakfasts every year.

Contributor: Ralph Leditschke

ABOVE: Happy volunteersin the kitchen take a shortbreak.LEFT: Volunteers servingbreakfast to a constant flowof visitors during four daysof the Motorcycle GrandPrix.BELOW: Satisfied cus-tomers make time to chatwith a Cowes parishioner.

Photos: Robert McKay

20 Our Diocese - Pictorial December 2012


THE parish fair or a flower,art or crafts show are op-portunities for the churchand community to come to-gether; an opportunity toenjoy fellowship togetherand raise money for churchand community activities(particularly given so manychurches raise funds tosupport community out-reach and supporting othergroups’ missions, too).The summer months are

particularly popular for fairsand shows. In the pastmonth, Bairnsdale and Or-bost parishes held their an-nual fairs and Bunyip parishheld its annual St Thomas’Bunyip Flower Show andMarket. This is one of thefew stand-alone flowershows still held in Gipps-land.

TOP right: At Bairnsdaleparish fair, jam maker ex-traordinaire, Ken Casey,with helper, Jan Stephen-son, help customers.BELOW: A harpist and gui-tarist were among a rangeof musicians at Bairnsdaleparish fair.

Photos: Ursula PlunkettRIGHT: Handcrafts were forsale at Orbost parish fair.BOTTOM: Food is alwayspopular at parish events,including this barbecue atOrbost parish fair.

Photos: Barbara LunsonBELOW right: Devonshiretea is a popular refresh-ment, including at Bunyip’sFlower Show, which pro-vided a feast for the eyes(bottom right).

Photos: Chris Bennie

ABOVE: The gardens of Bishopscourt in Sale were thevenue for a Quiet Day organised by Mothers’ Union Gipp-sland recently.

Photo: Jan Misiurka

By Archdeacon Ted Gibson

ON January 20, 2013, Bishop John McIntyre will lead de-consecration of a church which has served the people ofthe rich Mitchell River flats since July 1898. After January20, the congregation of St Martin’s Lindenow will moveacross the road to the Uniting Church to continue with An-glican worship.Since 1989, the two congregations have worshipped to-

gether, originally while the Uniting Church were building abrick church. United by a common lectionary and the Aus-tralian Hymn Book, they so bonded that when the newchurch opened, they decided to alternate use of the build-ings from week to week. This has happened without theneed for a Co-operating Church agreement.With the passing of the years, numbers have declined

mainly by death and re-location.Anglican services in the area began in the 1840s when

the Rector of Cooma travelled through Gippsland and heldservices at homesteads, baptising and marrying at manylocations as far as Port Albert.The weatherboard church dedicated by Archdeacon TH

Armstrong (later Bishop of Wangaratta) was located atWalpa (Coongulmerang) and shifted into Lindenow in1954. In the 1980’s, the Shire of Bairnsdale asked thecongregation to upgrade the facilities and contractor PeterDown added a kitchen, two toilets and access ramps atfront and back.A beautiful mural featuring the Lindenow flats was given

by artist, Mrs Margaret Alexander, and four windows weregiven by members of the congregation. These particulargifts will be re-located to the Uniting Church along withother furniture.St Martin’s Church is unique in Gippsland diocese be-

cause it was not named after one of the saints of the earlyChurch but after Robert Martin, who came to them as astipendiary lay reader and a retired sea captain. Hebought land at Wy Yung, naming the property, Mizpah andby horsedrawn vehicles he serviced an immense area in-cluding Paynesville, Meerlieu and Fernbank. Robert Martin retired in 1918 at the age of 85 years and

died at his property aged 92 years. His single daughterstayed on at Mizpah and sold it to the church for the foun-dation of Clifton Waters Village, the initiative and visionof Canon Douglas Smith in 1953.So January 20, 2013 will not be the sad occasion some

may worry for. It will be an occasion for thanksgiving andhopefulness as we simply cross the road. All who have hadlinks with St. Martin’s over the years are warmly invited tothe service and to the fellowship in the Uniting Church af-terward.

End of an era looms

Parishes on show

Documents

The Gippsland Anglican December 2012