Guardian Easter 2016

EASTER 2016

THE MAGAZINE OF THE ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF ADELAIDE

INSIDE: EASTER - THE HEART OF FAITH

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THE ANGLICAN GUARDIAN Published by the Diocese of Adelaide Edited by Peter March Phone: (08) 8305 9350 Fax: (08) 8305 9399 Email: pmarch@adelaideanglicans.com www.adelaideanglicans.com Layout by Alexander Gatley agatley@adelaideanglicans.com Subscriptions: Diocesan Office 18 King William Rd, North Adelaide 5006 Phone: (08) 8305 9350 Printed by Lane Print & Post Phone: (08) 8179 9900 www.laneprint.com.au The Guardian is a member of The Australian Religious Press Association

GARDEN OF THE OLD FARMHOUSE AT EASTER

By Dawn Colsey

It could be Joseph of Arimathea's garden.

In early dappled light birch trees scatter earth with their treasure of gold coins, not the silver of betrayal.

The path could lead to a tomb, old stones fixed in place many decades ago, and iron strong in spite of age, for plough, gate and bolt.

The year may be dying into autumn, but here is living water, bread of life, freshness, new hope where I encounter You.

Ann Nadge is The Guardian’s Poetry Editor.

Submissions of no more than 20 lines can be sent to ann_nadge@yahoo.com

INVESTIGATOR COLLEGE 2 Glendale Grove, Goolwa.

Ph: 8555 5755

ST. PETER’S COLLEGE Hackney Road, St. Peter’s.

Ph: 8362 3451

PEDARE CHRISTIAN COLLEGE 2-30 Surrey Farm Drive, Golden Grove.

Ph: 8280 1700

ST. PETER’S COLLEGIATE GIRLS’ SCHOOL Stonyfell Road, Stonyfell.

Ph: 8334 2200

PULTENEY GRAMMAR SCHOOL 190 South Terrace, Adelaide.

Ph: 8216 5555 ST. ANDREW’S SCHOOL 22 Smith Street, Walkerville, Ph: 8168 5555 ST. COLUMBA COLLEGE President Avenue, Andrew’s Farm.

Ph: 8254 0600

ANGLICAN SCHOOLS . . . the right choice Enquiries: Mr Jim Raw, Anglican Schools Liason Office 18 King William Rd, North Adelaide 5006 Phone: 8305 9349

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ST. JOHN’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL 29 Gloucester Avenue, Belair.

Ph: 8278 2233

ST PETER’S WOODLANDS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 39 Partridge Street, Glenelg.

Ph: 8295 4317 TRINITY COLLEGE Alexander Avenue, Evanston South.

Ph: 8522 0666 WALFORD ANGLICAN SCHOOL FOR GIRLS 316 Unley Road, Hyde Park.

Ph: 8272 6555 WOODCROFT COLLEGE Bains Road, Morphett Vale.

Ph: 8322 2333

FAITH, QUESTIONS, DIALOGUE AND HOPE Archbishop Jeffrey Driver

According to Saint Luke, when the first disciples heard the story of Easter, they dismissed it as an idle tale.

a picture seen through a smoky glass; shaded and incomplete.

today. In a world increasingly divided by

The other gospel writers tell a similar

claims, this combination of passionate

story. Mark tells us they would not believe

faith with a humility that recognises its

it. Matthew, slightly more positively,

best understanding is incomplete, has

notes that some doubted. John offers the

much to offer.

comment that, at first, they did not yet Our world needs a vastly different discourse about religious difference than For Christians, Easter is the constituting

that provided by competing absolutisms.

event; the very heart of faith. Yet, with

True and deep dialogue between faiths

refreshing frankness, the biblical writers

does not require the abandonment of

tell us that those closest to the first Easter

distinctive claims.

struggled to comprehend it.

To be in true dialogue as a Christian It is not that they dismissed it. Far from

does not require me to abandon the

it. The biblical story goes on to show the

heart of my faith. What it does require is

same disciples proclaiming the Easter

the abandonment of arrogance and the

story of sacrifice and new life as the very

embrace of humility, the recognition that

touchstone of faith, risking their lives and

even in our strongest conviction, we too

dying in faithfulness to its tenets.

“see in a glass darkly�.

For them it meant everything. It was a

So we do well to remember that on

story they could not forsake. But nor did

the first Easter Day there was room for

they hold it in arrogance. While they were

questioning, lack of understanding,

confident they had grasped the heart of

even doubt. And in the Spirit of Easter

it, they did not claim to know it all. Years

this enables us to reach out to others in

after the first Easter, the brilliant St Paul

dialogue and hope.

acknowledged that even the most elevated human understanding of God was like

4 FAITH 4.

Time for Every Thing?

5.

New growth budding on the bough

at St Barnabas College

6 MISSION

Here those first disciples can speak to us religious fundamentalisms and absolutist

understand the Scriptures.

contents

Easter peace.

6.

Clinic construction underway in Bor

8 FOCUS 8.

Reflections on the royal commission

10. ALICC Johannesburg 2015 11. Australian bishops converge on

Clare for annual conference

12 SCHOOLS 12. St Peter's College launch Middle

Years Program

12. St Columba College commissions

new Principal

12. Saints deputy heading home

13 COMMUNITY 13. St Peter's Cathedral turns 'pop-up'

gallery for Ugandan Fringe artist

13. City Bible Forum bring the funny to Fringe 13. The Mark Drama 14. Film Review: Risen 15. Prayers and money needed for

church's Fiji cyclone response

15. Archbishop of Canterbury visits

refugee camp in Rwanda

15. Port Adelaide players abseil for On the cover: Henry Davis of St Barnabas Croydon performs the role of Jesus in The Mark Drama

AnglicareSA

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Time For EVERY THING?

by Matt Lehmann As we reflect on our own lives and look at the lives of those around us in the community, church and the workplace, almost all of us would love to have more time. As a husband, father to three small children, pastor and friend, I could easily fill each of my days ten times over with good things that I’d like to do. Sometimes we cope with this well but it’s very easy for our lack of time to become a burden to us and we can spend much of our time worried and anxious about the many good things in life that we have to leave undone.

It was a great blessing from God that a fellow pastor recommended a great little book called “Time for every thing? – How to be busy without feeling burdened” by Matt Fuller (The Good Book Company). I found it a rare example of a book on how we view time as Christians that is both biblically sharp and practically brilliant.

I loved it so much that we bought a copy for every household at church and I turned it into a four-week sermon series to kick off 2016 at our church.

We started in Ecclesiastes 3:1-14 with Solomon’s great ode to the different seasons of life from weeping to dancing

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with joy (vv.1-8). As Solomon reflects on all of this, he sees our toil (v.9), the burden placed on humanity by God (v.10) and comes to the most wonderful conclusion (v.11a) “He has made everything beautiful in its time” Solomon sees it as wonderfully freeing to abandon the pretence that we can control the seasons of laughter or pain and entrust it all into the hands of a God, whom we trust and are convinced loves us deeply.

He continues (v.11b) “He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end”. There’s something in

all of our hearts that finds the thought of our lives being finite, having limited time, disconcerting and frustrating. We yearn to be eternal, yet we can’t see the whole picture of what God is doing.

Solomon doesn’t know all he’d like to know but what he does know about God he sees clearly enough (v.14) “I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.” Solomon sees that we are entirely dependent on God, who oversees all these times and seasons of life. We don’t get a say, so we’re in a position where we have to relate to God with trust.

Knowing God’s immense power and the lack of ours, Solomon knows the proper response is reverent awe.

somewhat elusive for many of us. Yet there’s only one place to look for it … as a gift from God.

At the end of his life, a wise old Solomon perceives this (vv.12-13) “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.” It’s such a beautiful picture, it seems so simple and obtainable. Yet that happiness, that ability to use our time well to do good, to be busy in all our toil, yet be able to sit down at the end of each day with food and drink and find true satisfaction is

We are immensely more privileged than Solomon to be able to look back on the fullness of God’s revelation to us in Jesus. We know the promise of eternity with Him without the struggle and tears, but instead, full of joy, eternal praise and satisfying work. We know that salvation and reconciled relationship with God are a gift accessed, not by our work here on earth, but through Jesus' completed work on the cross for all who call on Him as Lord and most wonderful Saviour.

There was a lot more to the sermon series as we unpacked what that looks like practically each day and I’d thoroughly recommend the book. For many in our community and for my household, God’s word, as it does, has refreshed us immensely. We’re still all a work in progress but many would testify that God has helped us move from anxious toil each day to trusting work instead. More often now many sit down at peace as night comes with food and drink having found satisfaction in how God has enabled us to use our time that day. Praise the Lord, what a precious gift!

New growth

budding on the bough

at St Barnabas' College

by Bishop Tim Harris Vice-Principal If you are wanting a mental image of St Barnabas' College in 2016, picture a fresh green branch with a bough full of new buds emerging. If 2015 was about entering a new building and becoming functional, this year is about making that space a home for the College community, with a good number of new students joining us.

One of our resolves is to move beyond a ‘come to us’ mode, by adding more flexible options to complement our weekly classes. ‘St Barnabas on the Road’ will see Principal Canon Dr Matthew Anstey joined by Vice Principal, Bishop Tim Harris visiting each region with a two evening tour of the mission of God, exploring the question “What on earth is God doing?”. In reviewing Genesis to Revelation, we see some profound answers to that question.

On average, our classes are twice as full as last year, as word is getting around that the College is available to all, providing high quality education in deepening our understanding of our faith, grounded in the work and character of God.

Dr Anstey has developed a highly praised ‘blended learning’ delivery of Hebrew, from introductory level to advanced classes. A number of Colleges around Australia are directing students to this combination of online tutorials and learning tools with face-to-face

And wait, there is more! The Graduate Certificate in Ageing and Pastoral Studies (GCAPS) is well underway, and the Anglican CPE Centre has joined the College, directed by the highly experienced Rev’d Peter Williams.

contact. This is proving to be one of the pre-eminent avenues of learning Hebrew in Australia, and beyond!

St Barnabas has something to offer those in ministry leadership roles as well, with the establishment of a Masters of Ministry cohort also underway (through a series of mini-intensives), exploring issues relating to mission and ministry in the 21st century.

And alongside all this, work on establishing the library continues, with books steadily coming out of boxes, being sorted, and progressively catalogued continuing through the invaluable assistance of a team of volunteers, overseen by Ros Devenish (Librarian and Academic Administrator).

God continues to provide for us in so many ways. The exciting thing is not just to see the new growth ‘budding on the bough’, but to also view such growth as God’s gracious working in and through the College.

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CLINIC

CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY IN BOR

by Peter March Construction is underway on a new medical clinic in Adelaide’s Companion Diocese of Bor after a team travelled to South Sudan in December to begin the process.

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Rev'd Paul Mitchell, Andrew Marshall, Garang Yiyieth, Jason Brook, Neill Carlsen and Ben Versteegh were the travelling contigent who, along with many locals, worked to clear ground and lay the foundations for the erection of the building, which is due to take place later in the year.

Though there is still plenty of work to do, Rev'd Mitchell was positive about the progress, “We were thrilled to be able to get the project to the stage that shows real results on the ground and shows the commitment of the partnership between Adelaide and Bor. “Given the difficulties and uncertainties of international transport, negotiating supplies and contractors in a rural setting there and the fact that when we arrived the block was uncleared bush, it was a great result!”

Rev'd Mitchell said prayer, communication and patience were the

keys to overcoming these challenges, “Each night as a group we reviewed what had been achieved, prayed giving thanks for all that had been and prayed and planned for all that we would face the next day.”

“Each day presented new challenges and we had to work with what was before us.

Prayer. Deep listening to one another and to those who were working with us.

Facing each day with hope. It was what we did and it was all we could do and it was the best way to be.”

He said they were encouraged too by support from the local diocese, “We were welcomed and prayed for at church services. We were supported and encouraged by the leaders of the church and other local people. We worked alongside the local people and so the encouragement was mutual. We were there with and for each other.”

And while support on the ground in

South Sudan provides encouragement, it’s the support of those in the Adelaide Diocese that will ensure the long term sustainability of the clinic, “Our partnership in this project…is long term.

It needs to be. Too many projects in developing nations lie in useless tatters and rubble because the grand gesture from people far away was not made with ongoing commitment.”

“We will still be there engaged with Bor in 10 years, 20 years, maybe 100 years. In the immediate term, we will need funds to resource for Primary Health Care clinic. This needs both supplies and people. The buildings that we have provided are also just a beginning. In time this will be a base for ongoing training and outreach into the communities around the area. There also needs to be an ongoing presence.

The people who went on this trip and other teams are mostly volunteers offering their time and paying their own way. Some ongoing support for these

volunteers, and others prepared to go, will be a blessing!”

“We can pray. In each parish and school and other church community or organisation it would be good to see a regular commitment to prayer for the people of Bor. We can raise funds. A fundraiser in each part of the Diocese, however small, shares our ownership of this project as we contribute together.

Personally, I would say that it has not just been an opportunity to give. I have been as blessed, more really, from the privilege of being there and sharing in this project.

I thank God for this opportunity!”

“We were thrilled to be able to get the project to the stage which shows real results on the ground and shows the commitment of the partnership between Adelaide and Bor.

WALFORD GIRLS RAISE FUNDS FOR CLINIC Walford Anglican School for Girls held a Lenten fundraising campaign, from which money raised will go to support the building of a medical clinic in Companion Diocese Bor. Every year the school nominates a project, decided upon by the student leadership group, for which they will raise funds during the season of Lent.

School captain, Isobel Marshall nominated the project in Bor after travelling to the region in 2012, a place she has since grown an affinity for, “I personally knew the need there and thought this was just an awesome opportunity to do something.”

Isobel, whose father Andrew was part of a team who travelled to South Sudan in December last year to start work on construction of the clinic, said it was exciting to be contributing to the project

Walford School captain Isobel Marshall stands alongside a car full of balloons

as a family, “It’s a really good bonding experience, the passion that my family has for Bor is inspiring.”

Students ran a range of events over the forty-day period, many of which required a gold coin donation to participate in order to raise money. Activities included a game of netball between the school and St Peter’s College, cake stalls, bingo lunches, and a guessing game in which a teacher’s car was filled with balloons.

Walford Deputy Principal, Ms. Mandy Hore was thrilled by the students’ willingness to take ownership of the fundraising drive saying, “It’s amazing! They’re passionate, they’re driven and they work hard to make it successful, and as a school we want to support that.”

The girls aimed to raise in excess of $3000 before construction of the clinic recommenced in April.

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by Keith Stephens

Diocesan Registrar

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Case Study 36, examined the response of the Church of England Boys’ Society (CEBS) and the Anglican Dioceses of Tasmania, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney to allegations of child sexual abuse.

The hearing also looked at the development of professional standards policies and protocols at a national and diocesan level since 1990.

The Public Hearing was scheduled over eight days, Wednesday 27 January – Friday 5 February 2016 and sat in the Federal Court in Hobart, Tasmania.

Mr Garth Blake SC represented the Synod of the Diocese of Adelaide and Archbishop Jeffrey Driver, and was assisted by Mr Nicholas Iles (Iles Selley Lawyers). As Registrar and Secretary of Synod, I was also in attendance providing instructions and observing proceedings.

Ms Naomi Sharp, Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission, identified during her opening address, that the Public Hearing would investigate: the experiences of survivors of abuse perpetrated by CEBS leaders; the responses of the dioceses and CEBS where allegations and complaints of abuse occurred; and what systems and procedures were in place for the conducting of camps and youth activities. The opening address set out to identify that a paedophile ‘ring’ operated across diocesan and state boundaries between CEBS leaders.

During the hearing, a number of survivors provided statements and gave evidence of their experience of abuse by CEBS leaders, who included Mr Robert Brandenburg (SA), Mr Garth Hawkins (formerly the Rev’d and now known as Mr Robin Goodfellow) (Tas), Mr Lou Daniels (formerly the Rev’d) (Tas), Mr Simon Jacobs (Syd) and Rev’d John

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Elliot (Bris). Daniels and Hawkins, both convicted and sent to prison for their crimes and now released, appeared and gave evidence. The allegations of abuse dated from the 1960’s through to the 1990’s.

the repeated failures of our church and its leaders to appropriately respond to contemporaneous allegations of the abuse, and/or the Church’s often feeble attempts to respond and provide redress in a genuine and sincere way.

Evidence was given by the former Bishops of Tasmania (Newell and Harrower), Adelaide (George), Brisbane (Hollingworth) and Sydney (Jensen).

The current Archbishop of Brisbane (Aspinall) also provided evidence.

‘Whistle blowers’, Rev’d Dr Don Owers (Adelaide) and Mr Richard Kells (Sydney), also gave evidence. Two Adelaide CEBS survivors, a man with the pseudonym BYA and Mr Mark King, gave evidence. Both survivors are known to the Synod and have participated in and received settlements through the Healing Steps programme. Other witnesses also gave evidence, including the former CEO of Anglican Community Services then Anglicare SA, Mr Gerard Menses.

For those survivors who reported, or tried to report, the abuse to church authorities, it was evident that they had experienced either a reluctance by the church authorities to accept what was being reported, or a befuddlement and confusion as to how to deal with the perpetrators and put the interests of the vulnerable first. From an Adelaide perspective, this is not in itself a revelation, but a reminder that the history of the Diocese of Adelaide is not unique across the Australian Church. While the Adelaide story concerning Brandenburg is well known, the Commission heard that repeated allegations were made to a church authority and on each occasion Brandenburg was given the benefit of the doubt and the matter was put aside. A similar situation occurred in the Diocese of Tasmania in relation to Rev’d Lou Daniels. Several allegations of abuse or potential abuse were reported and on each occasion the church authorities did nothing constructive with the information until it was, arguably, too late.

As expected, the evidence provided by survivors was confronting and, at times, quite harrowing. By the eighth day of the Public Hearing it was quite challenging to hear some of the material that was being presented, even for those of us who have experience working with survivors. A survivor’s story is always confronting, however, what compounded hearing the stories on this occasion was

At the conclusion of the Public Hearing, Counsel Assisting tendered a number of new items as evidence. These included the Archbishop of Adelaide’s statement of 20 January 2016. This is a substantial document, the main body of the text being some 50,000 words and two key attachments being more than 150,000 words.

The Diocese of Adelaide has now received three requests to provide material to the Royal Commission and the diocesan response has involved a large team, researching, collating and organising material. Additional staff were employed for this task and the total

material provided filled something like 17 large file boxes.

of survivors, had not been adequate or timely.

Before the hearing in Hobart commenced, Archbishop Jeffrey reiterated the commitment of the Diocese of Adelaide to the Commission's work, particularly for the sake of the many survivors of abuse who we hope will now feel a sense of being heard and recognised by the churches and the Australian community.

Over some years now the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide and its associated agencies have worked to embrace best practice in the area of child protection.

We acknowledge that this must be a matter of continuous improvement, so as the Royal Commission moves towards completing its deliberations, we are committed to working with its findings and recommendations to ensure the churches and other institutions within Australian society have the highest levels of care and protection for the young and the vulnerable.

The Archbishop expressed his sorrow that in many past instances the response of the Church and its associated agencies to allegations of abuse, or to the needs

FORMER ARCHBISHOP ISSUES APOLOGY Former Anglican Archbishop of Adelaide Ian George issued an apology to survivors of sexual abuse during his testimony at the Royal Commission in Hobart saying, “I wish… to express my deep sense of remorse that sexual abuse of children occurred within the Anglican Church of Australia and the Diocese of Adelaide in particular. I am deeply sorry that the Church did not protect children and, indeed, provided an avenue and an opportunity for someone like (Robert) Brandenburg to abuse so many.”

He went on to directly apologise to the victims saying, “For those survivors who were the subject of abuse in the Diocese, and their families, and especially those who were abused by Brandenburg, I am deeply sorry for the harm inflicted upon them.”

Dr George continued by saying that since resigning as Archbishop in 2004 he had, “learnt much more about the impact of sexual abuse on the lives of survivors and their families. I now understand

and accept that I could have done more to reach out to and assist survivors. I regret that survivors were deprived of the timely pastoral care which they were entitled to expect.”

He concluded his apology by saying “I am sorry that further harm has been caused to survivors and their families as a result of my failure to act as I should have.”

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ALICC

by Fiona Harris

Johannesburg 2015 The Anglican-Lutheran International Coordinating Committee (ALICC) met together for its third meeting in Johannesburg in November 2015, continuing its work of mapping global Anglican and Lutheran relations.

Hosted by the Lutheran World Federation at the hospitable eMseni Centre, the Committee was led jointly by Bishop Michael Pryse of the Evangelical Lutheran church in Canada, and Bishop Tim Harris representing the Anglican Communion. Previous co-chair Archbishop Mauricio from Brazil has now stepped down from his role due to ill health, with Bishop Tim Harris recently officially appointed as co-chair by the Anglican Communion Office.

Formed in 2013, the ALICC brings together a diverse group of men and women from around the globe, with representatives from Brazil, Swaziland, Tanzania, Australia, Hong Kong, Scotland, Ireland, Argentina, Sweden and Canada, together with envoys from the Lutheran World Federation and the Anglican Communion Office.

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The major work of the ALICC is to serve as a catalyst for building up and enriching worldwide Anglican and Lutheran relations. The November 2015 gathering also saw the group working on developing a resource to jointly commemorate the 500th anniversary of Luther’s protest at Wittenberg, when he famously posted his 95 theses on church doors, triggering various reformation movements across Europe.

The focal point of this resource will be to illustrate the continuing need for churches to live in the present while remaining open to the dynamic, revitalising work of the Holy Spirit, in the form of a six-week daily devotional guide for groups and individuals within Lutheran and Anglican communities.

The themes of the resource will include God’s mission, grace, salvation, creation and diaconal ministry, and it is also hoped that a series of personal narratives will serve as an encouragement to pray for one another’s communities in fresh and more informed ways.

While continuing to explore the theological theme of ‘communion in mission’, the committee’s time was enhanced by the local support of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa. A fruitful time sprang from a meeting with local Lutheran Bishops

who described some local initiatives, and the committee was encouraged to learn of future plans for Anglican-Lutheran cooperation in projects focusing on social responsibility.

As the five-day dialogue in Johannesburg drew to a close, the ALICC had a wonderful opportunity to attend some local events and projects, which further enriched and gave meaning to their time together. The group visited Soweto and other places linked with the long struggle against Apartheid, as well as the inspirational work of the Kliptown Youth Centre, an institution whose dedicated workers support children and adolescents through after-school programs, computer training, sporting activities and the provision of meals for school children. On the final day, the group was welcomed to a multilingual worship service at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kempton Park, amid an atmosphere of delightful hospitality.

The next gathering of the ALICC will be held in Adelaide in May 2016, hosted by the Anglican Communion together with the Diocese of Adelaide.

Back row: Bishop Michael Pryse, Canada (CoChair), Canon John Lindsay, Scotland, Canon John Gibaut (Anglican Co-Secretary), Bishop Tim Harris, Australia (Co-Chair), Rev Anne Burghardt (Lutheran Co-Secretary) Front row: Prof Nicholas Tai, Hong Kong, Rev Dalcy Dlamini, Swaziland, Rev Joyceline Fred Njama, Tanzania, Ven Helene Tärneberg Steed, Sweden, Rev Sonia Skupch, Argentina, Rev Augusta Leung, Hong Kong

Australian Bishops

converge on Clare for annual conference

by Peter March Around 40 Australian Bishops gathered at the Clare Country Club for four days in March for the annual Bishops’ Conference.

The meeting is a yearly opportunity for bishops to be together for mutual encouragement and exchange of ideas.

While the agenda was broad, one of the key topics of discussion at the conference was of vision and aspiration.

Archbishop Philip Freier the Primate said, “we want to invest in questions of (the church’s) viability. If we focus on

keeping things as they are, we probably won’t relate to the present or the future.”

Archbishop Freier has a strong vision that, “as a church we should maintain a national aspiration to be present amongst communities in remote and rural Australia.

“We have to do a great deal more to be able to cope with urban expansion, having church communities there is important.”

Further to adapting to the change in Australian’s living habits, Archbishop Freier expressed a need to accommodate evolving demographics, “We need to be

Bishops in session at Clare Country Club during conference

very focussed on renewing the ministry of the church in another generation. If we lose sight of the necessity of the church being renewed generationally, which also means being renewed in a multicultural sense, then we’re not really looking towards the future.”

As leaders of the Anglican Church in Australia, Archbishop Freier sees it as the responsibility of bishops to help those in the Parishes buy into a vision that promotes change, “it's worthwhile us aspiring to what would be involved in us coming to a shared vision about the work of the church for the good of people in this country.”

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ST PETER'S COLLEGE LAUNCH MIDDLE YEARS PROGRAM St Peter's College launched their new Middle Years Program which will see the Senior School include Year 7 for the first time. From 2016, the Senior School will have two distinct organisational sections, the Middle Years (Years 7 and 8) and the Senior Years (Years 9-12).

refurbishment of the Pentreath Building, we have been able to bring Year 7 and 8 boys together into a purpose built and refurbished facility to support our new Middle Years Program, giving the youngest boys in the Senior School the very best start to their Senior School education.”

The launch took place at the unveiling of the recently renovated Pentreath Building, which will host the new Middle Years Program. The historic building has been transformed into a modern learning facility, a far cry from its days as a boarding house.

Head of Middle Years, Mr James Tamblyn is excited by the opportunity the new program will bring to students, “The Pentreath Building is wonderfully equipped to provide the very best learning opportunities for the Middle Years boys, allowing them to work alongside teachers who have a passionate interest in this stage of their development.

St Peters’ Headmaster, Simon Murray said, “For many years we have provided leading academic and co-curricular programs, which have supported our Year 7 students in the Junior School and Year 8 students in the Senior School. Now, through the

“This new home for our Middle Years, now enables us to provide both a nurturing environment under the close support and

guidance of their mentors and teachers, whilst also providing sufficient room for them to grow and increase their independence as they move towards and transition into the Senior Years (Years 9 to 12) of the School.”

The event held to launch the new program and its updated facilities allowed the students and the greater Saints community to show their gratitude for the work done with Mr Murray saying, “The celebration of this significant milestone for St Peter’s College brought the Middle Years community, staff and special guests together to thank those who helped the School bring its vision to life. It highlighted again for me the strong sense of community within this School and made it a very special occasion for the Year 7 and 8 boys.”

ST COLUMBA COLLEGE COMMISSIONS NEW PRINCIPAL St Columba College has welcomed a new Principal at a commissioning liturgy with close to 1000 people in attendance.

Ms Leanne Carr was greeted by Archbishop Jeffrey Driver, Archbishop Philip Wilson, members of College Council, staff, students, and parents.

Ms Carr addressed the audience, and started by quoting an old Chinese proverb, “the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago" and added, "our College’s future will be determined by what we do now…

SAINTS DEPUTY HEADING HOME Deputy headmaster and Head of Senior School at St. Peter’s College, Mr. Samuel McKinney has been appointed as the new Principal of Upper Canada College in Toronto.

A Canada native, Mr. McKinney will take up his appointment in July this year and is excited about the move back home.

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provides opportunities for boys who might not have the chance to attend a private school.”

McKinney said returning to Canada is a welcome opportunity for his three sons to establish a foothold in this country as well as Australia.

“UCC is also an extraordinary school,” McKinney said, remarking he competed against them while in nearby St. Catharines Collegiate school rowing.

“As a family, we’ll have had an extraordinary experience …. I consider us unbelievably fortunate to hold Canadian and Australian passports and (have) that international perspective.”

“It is a prominent educational institution,” he said. “And they have a groundbreaking financial assistance program, which

Mr. McKinney will conclude his time at St Peter's College in June after 5 years of service.

What kind of school do we want to be and what kinds of trees are we going to plant?".

The College, which is an Anglican and Catholic school for girls and boys from Reception to Year 12, seeks to nurture in its students and the wider community a close relationship with God, a passion for living and a life-long love of learning.

Ms Carr, who takes over as Principal as the school enters it’s 20th year expressed her hope that, "(the) College will remain a beacon of light to others throughout the community".

Church at the FRINGE THE MARK DRAMA St Barnabas Croydon staged a production of The Mark Drama at St Peter’s Cathedral over four nights as part of the 2016 Adelaide Fringe Festival.

The drama tells Mark’s account of the Gospel and is played by an entirely amateur cast who have no use of costumes, props or microphones.

ST PETER’S CATHEDRAL TURNS 'POP-UP' GALLERY FOR STRUGGLING UGANDAN FRINGE ARTIST Ugandan artist Alon Kabaale found himself at a loss when he arrived in Adelaide in February to display his artwork at a Thebarton Deli. The venue had since changed ownership and was currently undergoing renovations, meaning Alon was unable to display the work he had brought all the way from his home country.

Struggling to find another venue at the suggestion of the Fringe, Alon approached St Peter’s Cathedral to see if they would be able to accommodate his work. The artwork immediately caught the eye of South African born Dean of St Peter’s Cathedral, The Very Reverend Frank Nelson, who offered space in the Cathedral for Alon to set up a ‘Pop up’ Gallery.

The artworks are African style Batiks and paintings as well as bags, jewellery and other items that Alon has made along with other Ugandan artists. Alon has travelled around the world to display his work including South Korea, China, Turkey, India and Kazakhstan.

The money raised from the sale of the works goes to support the grassroots Building Bridges Uganda organisation that works with children, youth and communities to educate and promote better and healthier lifestyles through training and community engagement.

More about the organisation can be found here www.buidlingbridgesuganda.org

CITY BIBLE FORUM BRINGS THE FUNNY TO FRINGE The City Bible Forum Adelaide held an event as part of the 2016 Fringe Festival titled, "LOL What’s so funny about God?" The evening, held at the Pirie & Co. Social Club, brought together a panel of comedians who explored the idea that if there is a God then what makes Him laugh?

City Bible Forum’s Adelaide Director, Rev'd Craig Broman was concerned that the only time Christians were heard during the festival season was when responding to what they found offensive, such as the 2014 show "Come Heckle Christ", saying, “Christians need to learn to speak about their faith in a

Further adding to the drama’s raw approach is the fact that rehearsals start just 48 hours before the opening performance. Debutant Director Rev'd Ben Woodd insisted this was not a hindrance saying, “it ensured the mind focussed to tell the story of Jesus’ life (and presented) the Gospel in a really powerful way.”

The Mark Drama was developed in Europe over 15 years ago has since been performed in countries all over the world.

It first played in Australia in 2014 with Rev'd Woodd (who is also the minister at St Barnabas Croydon) as one of the cast members. Since then he has been eager to bring the play back to Adelaide during festival season, “We want Christ to be influencing all areas of life including art.

I’m thrilled to have it in the Fringe and hopefully it becomes an annual feature.”

There will be more chances to see The Mark Drama this year with Trinity City putting on a performance in the lead up to Easter and Evangelical Students staging a production as part of this year’s Jesus Week activities.

public space. Surely we can have a better approach to things.”

Believing the Fringe Festival could be a more productive platform for Christians to be heard, Rev'd Broman came up with the idea that, “if we did something with comedy, I reckon we could get people to it! We have a serious topic to bring to people but it doesn’t excuse us from bringing humour to life. Christ’s use of humour (in the Bible) is phenomenal.”

Rev'd Broman’s approach to use comedy “to get the gospel out to people” looks to have been a success with 40% of the evening’s attendees not identifying as Christian.

First time director Ben Woodd calling the shots

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FILM REVIEW: RISEN

by Russ Matthews It is that time of year: Easter brings out the latest retelling of the most significant historical event.

Can "Risen" provide a fresh perspective on this familiar tale?

The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ has been the subject matter of a multitude of films thoughout cinematic history. It is rich in intrigue, controversy and is at the heart of the largest world religion. It might be said, ‘All has been said about this story.’ Yet, as the Easter season approaches, studios are still striving to capitalise on the turning point in history, Sony provides the latest outing into this Messianic adventure, Risen.

Veteran director Kevin Reynolds (Tristan + Isolde) delivers a fresh spin on this exceptionally well known tale. His screenplay considers the view of the man who was in charge of ensuring that Jesus’ body remained dead and buried. Clavius (Joseph Fiennes) is being given the responsibility of witnessing and confirming the death of this Jewish carpenter, sealing the tomb that was provided for this man and installing the men who are to guard the tomb from vandals and the followers of the Christ. Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth) wants to keep political order, the Jewish leadership wants to keep this disorderly sect from growing and the disciples of the ‘King of the Jews’ have gone into hiding. Then the news comes that the tomb has been emptied and there are rumours that Jesus has been seen walking amongst the people in the area. Clavius turns from guard to investigator and must find the body of the prophet before disorder erupts in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside.

In the process of enquiry, the Roman centurion is introduced to the strangely non-rebellious lot that call themselves followers of the man on the cross. He and his regiment leave no stone unturned in searching for the mysterious body. Clavius begins to question his own beliefs and consides whether this one man and his followers could be telling the truth and could this be the end of the Roman Empire?

Based on first impressions, this film could easily be categorised as another faith-based film, but that would be an unfortunate interpretation. The acting and direction prove to lift this film above this category’s normal misgivings, but it is the screenplay

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that differentiates this Christ-centred outing. The effectiveness of this screenplay is allowing the central character to be a fictitious character that could have existed and allowing the actual historical events to happen around him. The historical pundits should be pleased with the treatment of the original story of this significant event.

this biographical narrative. The cinematic components make the story believable and allow for a broader world that happens around the events of the crucifixion.

Interestingly, the finale does move toward the cliched, because of the familiarity of this aspect of the life and death of Jesus, but this does not minimise its impact.

Audiences can be entertained with the notion of this Roman centurion travelling though the historical narrative asking the questions that many still ask today.

Did Jesus really rise and how did people respond?

This is not a perfect film, but it shows that these Christian themed adventures can be of the highest of quality without sacrificing the original message. "Risen" is entertaining, engaging and effectively delivers the message of hope that comes during this time of year.

Joseph Fiennes’ (Luther) character shows the necessary scepticism to carry this film on his shoulders and brings a credibility to the production. He proves his acting prowess and brings a believability to the enquiring central character. His final conclusions are predictable, but the lengths that he goes to for the sake of finding the answers excuse some of the weaker plot holes.

For the pessimistic Christian followers of film adaptations, those who seek out any inaccuracies of the biblical components should be pleased with how Reynolds handles this portion. He does not sacrifice the classical components of

http://citybibleforum.org/blogs/russmatthews

Based on first impressions, this film could easily be categorised as another faith-based film, but that would be an unfortunate interpretation.

PRAYERS AND MONEY NEEDED FOR CHURCH’S FIJI CYCLONE RESPONSE The Chief Executive of the Anglican Missions Board (AMB) – the relief and development agency of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia – has called on international Anglicans to assist with prayers and funds as it responds to the recent cyclone that caused devastation in Fiji and its surrounding islands.

In an interview with Gillian Oliver for ACNS, the Revd Canon Robert Kereopa, the Executive Officer for AMB, explained that the Anglican and Methodist Churches in New Zealand were working together to organise two containers of emergency aid for Fiji.

The immediate need is for basic supplies such as clothing, makeshift shelters, blankets and water, he said, as the work continues in “rescue mode.” This would soon move into “relief mode” and then “rebuilding mode.”

“This is the most severe cyclone to hit our region, clearly with devastating results,” he said. “We have 42 dead so far. Islands have been devastated, housing and people’s lives [have been] devastated.

“What is happening now [is that] rescue and relief efforts are stepping up from all quarters, including the government.

Churches are looking at ways they can assist. And our churches on the ground [that] we have been in contact with are asking for support and help.”

Canon Kereopa explained that communications in the region have been badly affected by the cyclone; but the AMB is continuing to gather information and its projects officer, Mike Hawke, is already working on the ground in Fiji. “It’s early days and we are going to need to be in for the long haul", he said.

ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY VISITS REFUGEE CAMP IN RWANDA

Source: Anglican Communion News Service

The Archbishop of Canterbury visited a refugee camp in Rwanda on Sunday, after a three-day visit to Burundi to show solidarity with Anglicans and pray for peace and reconciliation. Archbishop Justin Welby toured the Mahama Camp in the Kibungo Diocese of Rwanda, where almost 50,000 refugees – all from Burundi – have fled.

The Anglican Alliance is helping to coordinate an international response from Anglican relief agencies across the globe; but Canon Kereopa said that “whatever support can be offered will be greatly received” as he indicated that the most effective response from other Anglicans would be prayers and funds.

“Prayer to assist those with rescue, relief and rebuilding efforts – clearly there are prayer needs there,” he said. “I think prayer, too, for a resilient Pacific as climate change is bringing more severe cyclones to our region.

“We had a very severe cyclone in the Vanuatu – Solomon Islands region last year at the same time and another one in the Polynesia region this year; so it seems to me the impact of climate change is bringing more severe cyclones to our region. This [latest one in Fiji] was the most severe cyclone to hit our region.”

The Archbishop, together with Archbishop Onesphore Rwaje, the Archbishop of Rwanda, briefly toured the camp and then participated in a service for the refugees.

Mahama Camp is the UNHCR’s newest camp in Rwanda and in only four months since opening in April 2015 has become the country's largest camp.

Archbishop Justin made the visit during a trip to Burundi to show solidarity with Anglicans and pray for peace and reconciliation in the country amid its ongoing political crisis.

PORT ADELAIDE PLAYERS ABSEIL FOR ANGLICARE SA Three Power players have abseiled down the InterContinental Adelaide in support of Anglicare SA. Jay Schulz, Alipate Carlile and Jackson Trengove climbed along the exterior of the tall North Terrace building opposite the Adelaide Oval to raise money for Anglicare SA. Anglicare SA is a community partner of the Port Adelaide Football Club, with a current focus on providing support and service programs for indigenous students participating in the club's Aboriginal programs.

All proceeds from the campaign will be directed to Anglicare SA's community programs.

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