Issuu

JUL 2017

GUARDIAN THE MAGAZINE OF THE ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF ADELAIDE

On board with Bush Church Aid

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

Prayer for the Holy Spirit By Christobel Mattingley

God of gumnuts, God of grace, God of every time and place, Infinite God of outer space,

Layout and Design by Alex Gatley agatley@adelaideanglicans.com

God of stars and moon and sun, God of every precious one, God of all the passing hours,

Subscriptions: Diocesan Office 18 King William Rd, North Adelaide 5006 Phone: (08) 8305 9350

God of seeds and roots and flowers, God of leaves, God of trees, God of every passing breeze, God of birds and butterflies,

Printed by Lane Print & Post Phone: (08) 8179 9900 www.laneprint.com.au

Feathers, wings, sunset, sunrise. God of eyes and nose and ears, God of minutes, God of years, God of life, God of death,

The Guardian is a member of The Australasian Religious Press Association

God of every passing breath, God of hope and truth and love Send on us Your Spirit Dove.

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 5700

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: Jim Raw, Anglican Schools Liaison Office 2 18 King William Rd, North Adelaide 5006 Phone: 8305 9349

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

Putting Growth on the Agenda

contents

Archbishop Geoffrey Smith

2016 census data paints a picture of the church in decline with the percentage of Australians identifying as Christian dropping since 2011 from 66.9% to 57.7%, while those claiming to have ‘no religion’ rose from 24.4% to 32.8% over the same period. Despite this I want to affirm the notion that the mission of God continues. God is into mission, he has a vision for the world called the kingdom or reign of God, and he has a church to help represent that future in the present and build into it. God’s mission is our mission. That’s what we are called to do. I find God’s mission incredibly powerful and energising. And it’s a constant amazement to me that Almighty God calls and allows us to share in his work of new creation, and this work happens only in the strength and power of God the Holy Spirit. There is an idea in much of the church that decline is inevitable, so our task is to manage the decline, and look after the remaining members we have in as orderly a way as possible. The church doesn’t have the place it once did, clergy don’t have the place they once did and there is, in fact, a rising tide or organised opposition to Christianity and the church, with the disaster of child sexual abuse providing another excuse and justification for that. Even though things are different, even though things are certainly tough, I don’t think decline is inevitable nor necessary. Change is inevitable, decline is not. I have not come to Adelaide to palliate the diocese. In my experience God is continuing to bring people to faith. God is continuing to answer prayer. God continues to set people free, and through us and all

Christians, God continues to minister. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.” We need to be focussed on growth and I think we need more churches in the Diocese of Adelaide, not less. We should be looking to plant new congregations either as a synod initiative or from an existing church with synod approval and guidance so the process is coordinated, supported, prayed for, and welcomed, and we don’t trip over ourselves but actually are working together with a common aim in mind. I want us to be working for and expecting growth, growth in numbers of people coming to faith, growth in faith in the people who are already part of our churches, growth in service so we are a blessing to those who are not yet part of a church, and growth in generosity so we bless those in need and fund the mission that needs to be funded. This thinking is certainly not original. I have been part of a focus on growth in Brisbane and those four facets of growth were identified in Brisbane and seem to me to make a lot of sense. A focus on growth will require planning and intentionality and help. The first thing that is required is prayer. I would like to ask that you start praying for growth - if you haven’t been already. We are engaged in a divine task, a partnership with God, so we need to be praying, since growth is an activity of the Holy Spirit. God has a mission and calls us to share it. I hope together we can share this mission even more effectively.

MISSION

Making Christ Known on Kangaroo Island

Hope in the Midst of Hardship

FAITH

Is Every Christian Called to be an Evangelist

Let Us Celebrate Augustus Short’s Two Anniversaries

FOCUS

Home Stretch: Transitioning from Care into Independence

Commemorating Sir Ross Smith

Soul City Roasters “Come Good” on Refugee Commitment

SCHOOLS

A Journey of the Mind, Heart and Spiritual Selves

St Peter’s Concludes Hunt for New Head

COMMUNITY

City Bible Forum Celebrates 10 Years in Adelaide

Film Review: Wonder Woman Saves the Day for DC Franchise

On the cover: Rev’d Brad Henley making the most of the beautiful

beaches in the Parish of Kangaroo Island.

MISSION Mainly Music has been a popular way to reach young families in the community

Making Christ Known on Kangaroo Island by Peter March Bush Church Aid has a heart for people living in remote and regional Australia. As an organisation they are committed to going the distance to reach Australia for Christ. People living in sparsely populated areas often don’t benefit from strong support networks. Churches in these areas can struggle financially due to fluctuating populations. Ongoing fellowship can be hard to maintain and encouragement can become a rarity.

In partnership with Anglican Dioceses across the country, Bush Church Aid places committed and gifted Christians in a variety of locations to help people connect with the grace of God revealed in Jesus. Brad and Joh Henley have served on Kangaroo Island since August 2012. They came to Christ through

the ministry of St Matthew’s Kensington where they met and were married. Brad was ordained in the Adelaide Diocese and has previously served as an assistant in two Parishes and as Diocesan Youth Officer. Joh has worked both as a Pastoral Care Worker in the local school and as a Psychologist, a much-needed profession in remote areas. Along with children Jemima and Gabriella, the family set sail across the Backstairs Passage knowing that the Lord was leading the way, “Largely, God orchestrated things. We found out that this place was supported by Bush Church Aid (BCA), looking for a minister at just the right time for our family,” explained Brad. “Archbishop Jeffrey (Driver) casually put it out there one time, ‘You could go to Kangaroo Island’, but it didn’t seem like a serious offer. But after talking and praying about

Brad has learnt to make the most of Kangaroo Island’s beautiful beaches by way of paddle boarding

BCA support has been really wonderful. A number of supporters from all over Australia call quite frequently to tell us that they’re praying for Brad delivers the sermon at Sunday afternoon Family Church

it more, one thing lead to another and God said, ‘Here you go!’” “(After that) we continued to explore (the idea) with the Diocese and BCA, we spoke to the church here and we prayed about it, and God confirmed that it was the place for us to be. If the kids had already settled into a school it might have been a harder idea to come but it was really God’s perfect timing.” Before adding another member to their own young family, with the birth of Evangeline in late 2016, the Henleys had discovered they were certainly not alone with their young mob, “Our preconceived idea was that Kangaroo Island was a retirement isle but that turned out to be wrong. There are quite a number of young families here and we sort of felt that that was God’s confirmation to be on the island.” Despite being buoyed by the presence of the younger demographic, Brad’s challenge became finding meaningful ways to engage with them in order to share with them the Good News of Jesus, “Everyone in the church was retired when we arrived, the majority on the great grandparent side of things. We spent some time getting to

us. And without the financial support of BCA also we wouldn’t be here.” know the local church scene, where things were up to and where they had been, and through that God lead us to start a Mainly Music program to start growing relationships with the wider community.” Since then, the Henleys have managed to build strong relationships with the wider community, which has lead them to plant a new Sunday afternoon congregation that they’ve called “Family Church.” “It’s not huge, it’s not what I’d call flourishing but there is a seed of something there that has the potential to grow into something great! The original congregation has been very gracious. It’s very hard to go through that growth process. Things that I expected that would be quite difficult for them, like moving half of the pews, they got there very generously.” While signs of growth are encouraging, and friendships have been forged, Brad, Joh and the kids appreciate the continued support from the Diocese, and beyond, to encourage them in their mission, “We have those high points of connection during Synod and Clergy Conference, which are all the more valuable now because we are isolated. There are a few parishes that we

maintain a more active connection with through a prayer partnership, and we know that we are supported and prayed for through those guys and through the BCA prayer warrior channels.” “BCA support has been really wonderful. A number of supporters from all over Australia call quite frequently to tell us that they’re praying for us. And without the financial support of BCA also we wouldn’t be here.” As well as prayer support, there is also great need for ongoing financial support, “Church finances are a source of stress at present, with the funds that were saved before we arrived from not having a minister now depleted.” The church is unable to meet budget, even with the significant support of Bush Church Aid, which provides half of Brad’s stipend, “We feel that God has called us here for much longer than the five years we’ve been here, as the work we were called to takes time. We’re praying that the Diocese will help out in the short term and that church growth will solve this problem in the longer term.” To support the work of the Henley family on Kangaroo Island or to sign up to their newsletter head to www.bushchurchaid.com.au

MISSION

Hope in the Midst of Hardship by Daniel Harris Learning Space, where women waiting to see midwives will receive education on public health

Life continues to be tough for our brothers and sisters in our Companion Diocese of Bor, in Jonglei State, South Sudan. Famine conditions are gripping the lives of many people in East Africa including those in Bor – conditions compounded by damage to infrastructure and significant internal displacement of people away from their homes and farms. Yet in the midst of this hardship, the people of God continue to hold fast to the Word of Life. We in the Diocese of Adelaide uphold them in this, and do so practically through our support for the establishment of the Bor Primary Health Clinic – now named by the Diocese of Bor as the Maternity & Child Clinic. In January, a team travelled from Adelaide to Bor to be our ‘hands and feet’, building and fitting out the Clinic. In God’s goodness, an extraordinary

work was achieved – the Clinic now being physically equipped to deliver services. The construction of two donated, innovative mining-camp buildings, and the clever conversion of the two shipping containers which delivered them, is now complete – a major milestone! Whilst some further works to connect plumbing and electrical supplies are anticipated, the Learning Space, Clinical Examination Rooms, Pharmacy, and on-site accommodation are complete and good to use. The Diocese of Bor has established a Board to oversee the Clinic and has commenced the task of registering with the Department of Health in Jonglei State, and recruiting qualified midwives and public health workers. The State Minister of Health and the Head Doctor of the Bor Hospital visited the site while the team was there, and wonderfully they gave their full and enthusiastic support. While appointees to such positions can change frequently it was good to consolidate the arrangements with people with whom relationships had already been established.

Pray Points Ask for… • Relief from the famine conditions in East Africa • Health and strength for Bishop Ruben Akurdid Ngong and his wife Prisilla • Wisdom and patience for the newly established Board of the Clinic and Dr Mark Abraham, Medical Supervisor of the Clinic Give Thanks For… • The work of the Diocese of Bor in providing frontline services like education and health, in the name of Christ • The team of builders who donated their time and skills • Donors of materials, and of the funds to get them there • The completion of major construction at the Clinic site • The work of The Rev’d Paul Mitchell as the Covenor of the Companion Diocese of Bor Committee, as he departs Adelaide to take up ministry in St Luke’s Toowoomba in the Diocese of Brisbane.

Deborah Deng in the Large Clinical Examination Room

FAITH

Is Every Christian Called to be an Evangelist? by Ken Noakes Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:2-6) 2

Consider Colossians 4:2-6 This is a call to do evangelism, that is, to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. From time to time there is a little bit of discussion among Christian folk about what Paul means here. Is every Christian called to be an ‘evangelist’? It is possible to read these verses and declare that ‘evangelism’ is the duty of all who believe the gospel and every believer should be taking every opportunity to share the news about Jesus with everyone they can? It is also possible to read these verses and suggest that the duty of all who believe the gospel is to live a godly life leaving the ‘evangelism’ to those who are gifted evangelists? Both arguments are logical and have merit. What could be said as a minimum is that all believers should care about evangelism and should pray for evangelists proclaiming Christ. Further, since these verses press the interactions with those who are ‘outsiders’ (those who don’t yet have faith in Christ), then it is clear that every believer is called to engage wisely making the most of the various opportunities they have with those who don’t believe. The opportunity to ‘evangelise’ is as relational as it is circumstantial. Speaking the gospel will at times be to those you know well and at other times to those you have only just met – and then everyone in between. And, speaking the gospel may also happen in formal public settings and at other times in informal private settings.

For those who know you better (those with whom you have the most relational currency), you have more ‘tools’ at your disposal when it comes to evangelism: your words, your actions, your history, and you have the passage of time. They know you well so there should be many things about your life that speak of Jesus. Your ‘evangelism’ will happen over longer periods of time as you take up opportunities to invite them, speak to them, live for them, and show them in love that it is a wonderful thing to know and trust Jesus. The relational circumstance means that you have far more opportunity to speak the gospel into their life than those who might be the ‘gifted evangelist’. Expecting someone else to evangelise those you know and love most, is hardly making the most of every relational opportunity.

Paul may be acknowledging that for some (like Timothy and himself), they have many opportunities for formal evangelism – that is the appointed public proclamation of the gospel that may be the ‘job’ of an evangelist or a minister or a speaker. That fact however does not relieve all Christians from the obligation to make the most of the many opportunities for informal evangelism – that is the responsive relational gospel conversation which arises throughout the normal circumstances of life. Not all Christians are called to be a missionary by occupation, but every believer is called to be on God’s mission by pre-occupation.

FAITH

Let us celebrate Augustus Short’s two anniversaries. by Archdeacon Emeritus Michael Whiting What do Harry Potter, Cardinal Wolsey, Alice in Wonderland and Augustus Short (first Bishop of Adelaide) share in common? The answer – the Hall of Christ Church Oxford! Founded in 1546, Christ Church Oxford, a place of learning from 1525 and originally known as the Cardinal’s College after its founder Cardinal Wolsey, had its renowned Hall built in 1529.

other great men of the Reformation era; and the walls are hung with a very fine collection of portraits, including those of Henry VIII and Wolsey (by Holbein). (Peel & Minchin 1906) Remember when Harry Potter was first recruited to Hogwarts School. … and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were

The Hall of Christ Church Oxford

For centuries, writers have sung the praises of Christ Church Hall: one passes through the archway at the south-east corner of the Quadrangle, and ascends a wide staircase notable for the wonderful fanwork tracery of the ceiling … The Hall itself has no rival in Oxford and no superior in England, Westminster Hall only excepted. The window above the dais contains fulllength stained-glass representations of Wolsey, More, Erasmus, Colet, and

floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting…Harry looked upwards and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars… Alice Liddell was the daughter of the Dean of Christ Church (head of the college, and dean of the cathedral,

1855-91), the Very Reverend Henry Liddell. A close friend of the family, and lecturer in mathematics at Christ Church for twenty-six years, Charles Dodgson (writing as Lewis Carroll) wrote the charming, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for the youngest of Dean Liddell’s three daughters. When my wife and I were dining in the Hall last October, Alice’s face gazed down on us from a stained glass window. Augustus Short, not yet eighteen, entered Christ Church in May 1820 and remained as an undergraduate and then a graduate and teaching fellow, until 1835. He dined in the Hall most days for sixteen years. A magnificent and well-proportioned room, with a richly carved roof of oak, decorated with the armorial bearings of Henry VIIII and his once-close ally, Cardinal Wolsey, it is no wonder this quintessential and evocative location found itself replicated in the Harry Potter films! 2017 is a significant year in our diocesan history. Last St Peter’s Day, 29 June, saw the 170th anniversary of the consecration of Augustus Short in Westminster Abbey, and thus the foundation of the Diocese of Adelaide. Prior to this, the Eve of St Barnabas Day, 10 June, was remembered as the 190th anniversary of the ordination of Augustus Short to the priesthood in Christ Church Cathedral Oxford. Born in 1802, Augustus Short attended Westminster School between 181120. The School and the Abbey were, and remain, one entity, officially titled, ‘The Royal College of St Peter at Westminster’, coming directly under the rule of the monarch: worship and learning as one! If you have visited Westminster Abbey, and by chance,

Bishop Augustus Short

entered the Abbey Shop adjacent to the West Door, then the shop shares a wall with the School’s College Hall. When the seventeen-year-old Short matriculated to Christ Church, Oxford, on 20 May 1820, his nine years at Westminster School had profoundly shaped him. Tenacity, resilience and independence were habits he had acquired; and the virtues of self-help, advancing by one’s personal abilities, efforts and merit, had been instilled. The rigours of masculine competition, and its rewards for success, not least in academic study, were impressed on him and led to his winning a scholarship to Christ Church. He had earlier won a coveted scholarship at Westminster as a King’s Scholar, and learned to consider the Classics as a natural study. He had revelled in the logic, clear thinking, fluent expression, and even the attainment of higher moral standing inherent in a study of Classical literature. Short had experienced church and school as one institution. The Royal College of St Peter at Westminster, as a joint ecclesiastical and academic body, left the young Short thinking that this collegiality, embracing worship and learning, was perhaps an ideal institutional arrangement. When he entered Christ Church he discovered a similar type of collegiality — cathedral and college as one. His vision for Adelaide, after 1847, initially embraced a collegiate school, with theological training, in a joint foundation with a university.

Formally called ‘The Dean, Chapter and Students of the Cathedral Church of Christ in Oxford of the Foundation of King Henry the Eighth’, Christ Church was unique in the academic world because its foundation encompassed both the diocesan cathedral and the college. The Visitor of Christ Church was (and is) the reigning monarch and the bishop of Oxford was (and remains) alone among English bishops in not being the Visitor of his own cathedral. In Short’s time it was the grandest, richest and most aristocratic place of learning and worship in the University of Oxford, and held the lead academically after promoting reforms of the university examination system in the early decades of the nineteenth century. Short worshipped daily in Christ Church Cathedral, effectively the college chapel. Time and again during term, Short, on entering the cathedral (built in the second half of the twelfth century) with its very truncated nave, found his gaze riveted on the chancel at the east end with its striking latefifteenth-century stone vaulted ceiling. Twelve stone lanterns hung in the air, completing the extraordinary ribbed ceiling. To the left, along the north aisle beyond the Lady Chapel, lay the Divinity or Latin Chapel. Here, at the beginning of each term, Latin prayers were said before all the students of the house. The story was often told that Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife, prayed in this chapel in 1518 near the shrine of St Frideswide, for the birth of a male heir. Short was to understand that these unfulfilled prayers were a key factor in the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Church and the consolidation of an English religious reformation. A clergyman, recalling his time in the Latin chapel as it was in Short’s day, enthused: it is that supremely excellent thing, a church within a church, without which no cathedral can be what its builders intended it to be; nor any religious building fulfil that instinctive desire of men for an inner place, where they can find their way to the inner places of their own hearts. In such a home

of recollectedness, doubly guarded against the dogging world without, is ‘rest without languor and recreation without excitement’; in such a place one is ‘never less alone than when alone’; and the fine sympathy with the needs of workaday humanity, which led mediaeval architects to build such sanctuaries as this chapel here … had led men in far earlier ages to find room even within the travelling tabernacle of a wandering tribe for a holy place and a holy of holies. (Percy Deamer 1897) Short chose holy orders after he graduated with a First Class degree in Classics (1823) and thus began his theological studies. So it was to the Latin Chapel that all preparing for ordination came to hear the lectures of the Regius Professor of Divinity. Short’s great good fortune was that the professor in the mid 1820s was Dr Charles Lloyd, later, as Bishop of Oxford, his ordaining bishop on 10 June, 1827. Lloyd was an outstanding scholar and is credited with helping restore the Church of England to its historical and English roots. Not only did Lloyd recall to his ordinands the scriptural and patristic foundations of English theology and ecclesiology but he was revolutionary in teaching close analysis of biblical texts. Short himself recalled: My first theological examination was certainly somewhat perfunctory; but I must express my deep obligation subsequently to Dr Charles Lloyd, Regius Professor of Divinity, who delivered a series of lectures on the Epistle to the Romans, and then one on the Roman Breviary as the source of the Book of Common Prayer. The catholic principle of Vincentius of Lerins, ‘quod semper, quod ubique, quod ab omnibus’ was thus brought to my knowledge and conviction. (Whitington 1887) The teaching of the early Church Father, St Vincent of Lerins (died c. 445), maintained the authentic in faith to be that which had been held by believers ‘always, everywhere, and by everyone’. At Christ Church a close friend was

Edward Pusey, and a contemporary was John Henry Newman, although he did not under the influence of these leaders of the Oxford Movement. Short nevertheless, gained much academic distinction when invited to be the Bampton Lecturer to the University of Oxford in 1846. Another profound influence on Short was his cousin, Thomas Vowler Short, twelve years his senior and his tutor at Christ Church (T V Short was later to become the Bishop of Sodor and Man (1841-46) then St Asaph (1846-70). Thomas Vowler was a conservative reformer and particularly held education of the young (and adults) to be the distinct and special mission of the Church of England in the 19th century. Augustus took this view to heart, and when serving in his one and only parish, Ravensthorpe in Northamptonshire (1835-1847) made a special commitment to education. In 1869, in evidence before a Select Committee of the House of Assembly appointed to the South Australian Parliament, Short was to recall: I undertook, in 1836, the charge of a parish, which numbered 700 inhabitants, containing a large body of Baptists, and a large body of Independents. There was no school, and the children of that village were grossly ignorant, and animated by a very sectarian feeling. My first attempt to build a school, which I succeeded in doing, and I put in a Church of England mistress, and invited all to come; and gave a pledge that their religious principles should not be interfered with. I know that even the catechism of the Church of England was taught there, but I made it a rule never to ask any child not of the Church of England any question, except with regard to the Lord’s Prayer or the Ten Commandments, or the Creed. The school flourished and numbered sixty or seventy children, and was a great blessing and benefit to that population. I carried it on for ten years (The Report of the Synod of the Diocese of Adelaide,1869). However, it was at breakfast on a Saturday, middle of winter, early in 1847, that Augustus Short received from

William Cantaur (Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury) a letter inviting him to a colonial episcopate.

Westminster Abbey, London

Rev. and dear Sir — It being a matter of the utmost importance to obtain the services of men who are qualified by ability, attainments, judgment, and temper for important stations in the Church as bishops in the newlyconstituted dioceses in Australia, I trust that you will be disposed to accept an office in which, from all I have heard, I consider you will be eminently useful. In temporal respects these bishoprics have little to offer; the salaries of the bishops are little more than eight hundred a year. But this, I understand, is sufficient to bear all the expenses in a country where incomes in general are small, and money goes further than in England. The diocese over which you would preside is situated in the north-east of Australia. It is not yet determined whether the see shall take its name from Newcastle or some other town. I have reason to think that in point of situation it is the most desirable of any of the sees. The climate is uniformly represented as very fine. P.S. — a new see is also to be established at Adelaide, in South Australia, and it is indifferent to me which of the two you would choose. Before you determine, however, you might consult Mr. Hawkins, the secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, who can give you full information of all particulars. (Whitington 1887)

Much to our good fortune, Short accepted the invitation, choosing Adelaide over Newcastle. During March, April and May 1847 Short was tireless in recruiting men for ministry in South Australia, and seeking financial assistance for his new Diocese. The decision to create the see of the Diocese of Adelaide had only become a reality when a year earlier, Miss Angela Burdett Coutts, a young heiress and devout Christian, donated the necessary funds. Short’s own feelings as he walked into the Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, (the Abbey church) on 29 June 1847, for his ordination and consecration as a bishop can only be surmised. He left no personal account. This was the ‘collegiate church’ of his ‘collegiate school’; it was the school chapel he had entered for the first time, as a seven-year-old, in 1809, thirtyeight years previously. As a schoolboy he had worshipped continuously in this building from 1811 until 1820. He had attended the funeral of his sister, Augusta, there in January 1823 and knew her grave was nearby in the North Cloister. In May 1819, the Short family had purchased a home at 35 Great George Street, less than a kilometre from the Abbey and it was still retained by the family. How like coming home it must have seemed. Now he had returned to be ordained and consecrated a bishop. Short was to be consecrated for Adelaide at the same time as Charles Perry (Melbourne), William Tyrell (Newcastle) and Robert Gray (Cape Town). A momentous occasion for the English Church and its colonial life, the scene was described with some enthusiasm in the Colonial Church Chronicle and Missionary Journal (‘Consecration of Colonial Bishops’ 1847). The Abbey had been selected for this service because it was ‘decided that the Consecration should be public, and in the face of the Church’. Sixteen hundred tickets were issued thus ensuring as grand an ordination service not seen in London for generations. Following morning prayers, with the choir singing from the Tallis songbook, ‘the venerable Archbishop then began the Communion Service, in which the

responses were sung, as set by Tallis; the Bishop of Lichfield reading the Epistle, and the Bishop of Chichester the Gospel’. Adopting S.John 21:7 as his scriptural theme (the Lord’s commission to St Peter, ‘feed my sheep’) the preacher, Bishop Blomfield of London, called on the re-asserted view of the centrality of the episcopate, not only for to the established Church at home, but especially abroad. Blomfield directed his final comments to the challenges of a colonial episcopacy: Who are the men whom our Church sends out, to tend and to feed the distant corners of her fold? Are they not those, who are in the actual enjoyment of competency and comfort here, with the prospect, it may be, of a reasonable share of those rewards which the Church has to offer to the learning and piety and diligence of her ministers? And what is there to tempt them to enter the work to which they are called — that of the most arduous and responsible of all offices — invested with no dignity but that which is purely spiritual; clothed with no prerogatives but those which carry with them a preeminence of labour; endowed with no measure of this world’s goods but that which may barely suffice for a maintenance? With the archbishop seated in front of the altar, and the four bishopsdesignate standing before him, the examination and consecration proceeded, with the Holy Communion concluding the service: It is impossible to convey the interest and the heart-stirring felt by those who witnessed it. Our strong feeling was that it was a day worth having lived to see: — to have lived to see four additional Bishops sent out to lands far off, partly by the piety of one member of the Church [Miss Burdett Coutts] — partly by the self-denial of a Prelate, himself for some years labouring in a distant colony [Bishop Broughton of Sydney] — partly by the devotion and aid of the members of the Church — this was much to be thankful for. But to see these Bishops set apart for their high office in the

face of sixteen hundred persons — to witness the devout earnestness and reverent attention of that great congregation, and to partake with nearly eight hundred persons of the Holy Communion — was a comfort, a privilege, and a blessing, which, as we have said, could be fully appreciated only by those who were present. No mission of the Church at home or abroad enthused the new bishop as much as education. Short had discovered an untiring interest in education, seeing this as central to the work of the established Church in his time. All his advantages in life, realising the opportunities God provided him, were owed to his educational openings earned through scholarships, his learning and the joys of assisting others with the same possibilities. His attitudes to, and initiatives in, education were to mature and flower in the years ahead in South Australia (Poonindie and indigenous education, St Peter’s College, the Pulteney-street School, numerous Sunday Schools, parish Institutes and adult education Associations, St Barnabas Theological College, and the University of Adelaide – all to the colony’s lasting benefit), seeing education as character forming, a means of social mobility, a personal nurture in response to natural curiosity, a community-enhancing enterprise, even a safeguard to liberty and social order. Another distinguishing mark of Augustus Short by 1847 was that he had become a devoted family man. He and Millicent had endured the sadness of the premature deaths of two of their children while at Ravensthorpe, and he tended now to put the interests of his wife and their children to the fore where possible. The notice subsequently appeared in the press:

member of our Church. It remains for others of the laity of England to assist with their cooperation in supplying funds necessary to erect a cathedral and residences for the Bishop and his Clergy at Adelaide.

St Peter’s Cathedral, Adelaide

Short’s own diary conveys a final word: 1 Sept … embarked at ½ past one. It was a serious & solemn moment but I was not moved to tears of parting. The ladies had tears in their eyes but the greatness of the cause would not let me cry. I felt even cheerful. The world was all before me & Providence my guide. On board the novelty of the situation drew my thoughts from separation — so passed the first evening at Spithead. (State Library of South Australia, PRG 160)

The stirring story of Augustus Short, before his arrival in South Australia, has now been recounted in my new volume, Augustus Short 1802-1847: The Early Years of a Modern Educator, which is a companion volume to Augustus Short and the Founding of the University of Adelaide (published 2014). To be published by the University of Adelaide Press later this year, this new book celebrates the two anniversaries mentioned.

On Wednesday, Sept 1, the Right Rev. Augustus Short, D.D. the first appointed and recently consecrated Bishop of Adelaide, set sail from Portsmouth for Adelaide in South Australia. It will be in the recollection of our readers that this Bishopric has been endowed by an individual

Fresh insights regarding Short appear, especially those noting the influences which made him one of colonial South Australia’s most significant innovators in education, and revered public figures, between 1847 and 1881, and an imaginative pioneer in the development of the Church of England in Australia.

FOCUS

Home Stretch: Transitioning from Care into Independence When a young person reaches the age of 18 they are generally excited about the next phase of their lives. They transition from teenagers into young adults and more often than not, they are able to rely on the ongoing support of family, friends and networks to help them find their way in the world. Unfortunately, this is not the case for all young people, especially those who are exiting our child protection system. Under current South Australian law, young people exit the system when they turn 18. They lose their support networks and are left to find their own way in the world, without the help and guidance that many other 18 year olds who are not in the care system have. Many of these young people say that leaving care is like entering a black hole, with no one to turn to. The subsequent outcomes for young people leaving the care system are often suboptimal.

“What we want for South Australian children and young people leaving care is exactly the type of support parents and carers provide to their own children,” Peter said. “It’s not good enough to shut the door on young people once they turn 18. Would this be good enough for our own children? How many times do most young people return home and access parental support before they finally grow into their independence?”

• approximately 63 per cent of homeless young people are care leavers; • 46% of young men and 22 per cent of young women with a care experience are involved in the juvenile justice system; • 65 per cent of young care leavers do not complete year 12; and

Initiated by Anglicare Victoria, Home Stretch is a national campaign calling for the option of Out of Home Care support until the age of 21.

Peter said that our international peers are ahead of us when it comes to extending care to young people, with the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand all passing legislation to increase the age of young people in care to 21. International experience and modelling provided by Deloittes, demonstrates that not only in extending care to 21 good for care leavers but makes good economic sense with far less future reliance on government services.

“We have the international and national evidence which demonstrates social and economic returns too significant to ignore, and we now need to try to replicate what happens in the general community, in the child protection system.

The call for change to current laws is highlighted by alarming statistics which show that young people leaving care are extremely disadvantaged once they turn 18. This includes:

The Home Stretch campaign, which was recently launched in South Australia by AnglicareSA, is aiming to change this. It’s the change needed to improve longer term outcomes for young people in care.

AnglicareSA Chief Executive Officer Peter Sandeman said all children and young people leaving care should have the choice to receive care through family-based, residential or supported independent living arrangements until they are 21.

“I believe that with the right level of enthusiasm and support, we can also achieve this change,” Peter said.

• almost 30 per cent are unemployed, compared to the national average of 9.75 per cent.

“Over the past few months Home Stretch has received support from the South Australian Liberal Party, the South Australian Greens as well as a large number of local organisations who share the same passion for change as we do. “We want to strengthen the conversations around leaving care and in doing so influence stakeholders across all levels of government, services and community to embrace the legislative change needed,” Peter said. For more information about Home Stretch visit: www.thehomestretch.org.au

FOCUS

Commemorating Sir Ross Smith 1892 - 1922

Archbishop Geoffrey Smith participated in a service on Thursday 15 June commemorating the 95th Anniversary of Sir Ross Macpherson Smith’s burial. The service was held at the Anglican Cemetery on North Road, Nailsworth, with The Honourable Hieu Van Le AC (right), his wife in attendance, along with Air Commodore Joe Iervasi, AM, Commander Air Warfare Centre (RAAF Base Edinburgh) and Senior Defence Force Representative SA, along with a range of other dignitaries there to pay their regards. The service was led by Royal Australian Air Force officer, Chaplain (Squadron Leader) Mark Butler. As true pioneers, Sir Ross and his brother, Sir Keith Macpherson Smith, were knighted for their epic endurance flight in a Vickers Vimy aircraft from Britain to Australia in 1919; one of the most incredible endurance feats achieved in the early history of aviation. Sir Ross enlisted in 1914 in the 3rd Light Horse Regiment, landing at Gallipoli 13

May 1915. In 1917, he volunteered for the Australian Flying Corps. He was later twice awarded the Military Cross and the Distinguished Flying Cross three times, becoming an air ace with 11 confirmed aerial victories.

The Smith brothers pose infront of their Vickers Vimy aircraft

Sir Ross was pilot for T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and fought in aerial combat missions in the Middle East. He is mentioned several times in Lawrence’s book, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Chapter 114. He concluded his service as one of the most highly decorated airmen of the Australian Flying Corps, earning a Military Cross twice, the Distinguished Flying Cross three times and the Air Force Cross.

Archbishop Smith delivering the Lords prayer

On 14 April 1922, Sir Ross Smith, KBE, MC and bar, DFC and 2 bars, AFC, was tragically killed in England in front of his brother while testing an aircraft for a future around the world endurance flight. His body was returned to Adelaide where it lay in state at St Peter’s Cathedral, Adelaide and was later buried at the Nailsworth Cemetery on 15 June 1922 with full military honours.

FOCUS

Soul City Roasters “Come Good” on Refugee Commitment by Ben Cosford

Have you been a job seeker before? Have you experienced a period where you couldn’t land a new job and felt that your qualifications were just not being acknowledged? “But what about all that experience I’ve had, surely that counts for something…..” Add to this a low level of confidence because you can’t speak the local language that you are trying to work amongst and the fact that you have faced some significant levels of trauma in recent years. Are you getting the picture? It’s tough, really tough, for refugees making Australia their new home. I have lived overseas for a time serving God with my family in Mongolia. I know what it’s like to be in a foreign place, with a foreign tongue, where things are done so differently. Your confidence at the markets and shops is not what it used to be. You feel stupid a lot of the time. Even the basics are hard work, and really exhausting.

This is why our refugee, asylum seeking friends need help settling into Australia. The City of Salisbury, and the northern suburbs of Adelaide in general are home to a vast majority of this states refugees and recent migrants and this is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. This is well recognised and that is why there are many organisations in this area helping refugees settle and get the support they need. There is a spirit of unity in Salisbury around this cause which is very encouraging. At our recent Welcome Salisbury refugee week dinner, attended by some 200 people, we had about 10 different local organisations represented, all of whom are seeking to help our refugee friends, and for this I am very thankful. Their needs are great. Settling a family into a new country is very difficult and much help is needed, especially in the area of employment. One of the challenges in finding employment is that most of the time

your qualifications from your home country are not recognised and nor is your experience, and so finding a skilled job is almost out of the question. Then you hear through a friend that there is a cash job available on some farm or the like that doesn’t require much language skill. That is very tempting to take as its an easy job to get, but taking a cash job is not good for you for a few reasons. For one, unless you are going to be diligent in declaring that income for tax purposes, which itself requires a level of language competency, then you are acting illegally. Secondly, in terms of applying for future visas, it is greatly beneficial to be on the tax system and showing that you are earning a legitimate wage and integrating well. And thirdly, one of the biggest difficulties to getting a good job is that you don’t have any local references from previous employees. If you take a cash job, there is no way they are going to write you a reference, and you wouldn’t want to show it anyway. And so you remain an unknown quantity to a potential employer.

to me, because it builds a picture for employment. I can see what sort of skills they have, what experience they have, and envision how they may become integral in using those skills for the success of SCR. Their work and skills in their home country matter to me. And at SCR we are keen to help them as business growth permits.

We want to show the love of Jesus by helping people with their physical needs and their spiritual needs. It makes sense that they go hand in hand. Just as Jesus cared for people by healing and forgiving, so we must care for all aspects of peoples lives. As Christians, we long to help people to thrive in life. And for refugees this means helping them with settling in, gaining employment, wellbeing of their family, and thriving emotionally. However, we also believe that truly thriving and living the life we were created to live means knowing Jesus as your Lord and saviour. We carry the burden and focus of wanting to help them be prepared for now and eternity. The most important way we can love our friends from overseas is by introducing them to Jesus.

As some of you will know from a previous article in the Guardian Advent 2016 issue, I run a specialty coffee roasting business called Soul City Roaster’s (SCR) that has the goal of employing refugees. It is these insights and understanding about the difficulties of gaining employment that shaped our vision. One of the advantages I have is that I rub shoulders with refugees regularly in Salisbury whom I get to know in a social setting. I can hear their stories, learn of their families, and get to know what sort of work they did in their home countries. This is valuable information

SCR has both these goals in mind. We want to show the love of Jesus by helping people with their physical needs and their spiritual needs. It makes sense that they go hand in hand. Just as Jesus cared for people by healing and forgiving, so we must care for all aspects of peoples lives. Soul City Roaster’s is seeking to be shaped on a “Business as Mission” model. We want to help refugees through employment, which in turn will give them stability and purpose, which can be an antidote to some mental health issues. We want to take the opportunity that employment and relationships that follow bring to share Jesus and the good news of the gospel with them. We also want SCR to be a place of discipleship for those who know Jesus, a place where faith can be nurtured.

We are excited to announce that we have begun to ‘make good’ on our commitment to employ refugees. We have just taken on our first refugee employee for 4 hours per week. His name is Amir, he is married with one daughter and started work on the 4th July. After fleeing his home country a few years ago, Amir and his family are seeking to make a new life in Australia. I can’t say too much about him at this point for security reasons, but he is very glad to have his first official job. This is the SCR commitment, employing refugees, and it has been a while coming to reach this milestone as we had to wait until the business was at a certain point of stability and sales markers, but we have made it. Of course, this is only the beginning. We imagine 100 full time employees in the future working together in a great work space in Salisbury, to roast and produce delicious specialty coffee that is being shipped all over Australia and around the world. We recently launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with expansion through buying a new roaster and covering roastery setup costs. It has been wonderful to see how much support is out there and how many people are affirming of our vision. Let us keep dreaming about how we can love these friends fleeing very difficult circumstances. Let us keep being inspired to love like Jesus, bringing hope and help to their physical and spiritual needs. Let us keep making plans for “in their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” (Proverbs 16:9). We are to be the dreamers, make plans to help, and then stop and marvel at how the Lord establishes the steps. “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” 1 John 4:7. Let us show we are children of God through loving refugees, and caring for their physical and spiritual needs. soulcityroasters.com

SCHOOLS

A Journey of the Mind, Heart and Spiritual Selves by Amanda Fryer Embarking on a journey beckoned by the mystery and adventure of far away lands will be nine St Columba College students ‘walking’ in the footsteps of the College’s patron saint, Columba, as part of the College’s 2017 Iona Pilgrimage. From 7 to 22 July, the Year 11 and Year 12 students will travel to the small Isle of Iona, on the western coast of Scotland, on a faith trip of a life time. On this small Isle, known as ‘The cradle of Christianity’ in Scotland, the College’s patron saint commenced his 34-year long mission to bring Christianity to the pagan tribes and it has since become the centre of Gaelic monasticism and a place of spiritual retreat. Accompanied by three College staff, the students will embark on an educational

Isle of Iona

and spiritual experience where they will gain an understanding of the significant history, important to both the Anglican and Catholic churches, and experience an opportunity to encounter God through prayer and reflection on their own personal and religious journey. Year 12 Student Jordan Clarke is looking forward to discovering the journey of Saint Columba and what he did as a Christian on the Isle of Iona.

“I’m keen to discover the origins of Saint Columba and get a real sense of the impact he had on Christianity in Europe,” Jordan said. “For me, this journey will make a path for future pilgrims from the College and our experiences of walking in the shoes of Saint Columba in Scotland will help to inspire students to take this journey when they are in the senior years of school.”

Front Row L-R: Cameron Trezona, Mikayla Murphy, Caitlin Allen, Ti any Martin, Connor Moseley. Back Row L-R: Nathan Kent, Nikita Pudney, Patrick Curry, Jordan Clarke.

St Columba College, an R-12 coeducational College in Andrews Farm, is a unique Anglican and Catholic school with both churches recognising Saint Columba as a saint. The College was established in 1996 as an ecumenical initiative of the Anglican and Catholic Archbishops of Adelaide and is renown for being committed to its Christian heritage and Anglican and Catholic traditions. Iona Pilgrimage Coordinator and Deputy Principal of St Columba College, Mr Wayne Gladigau, acknowledges the unique partnership of the two church traditions at the College. “We are a very unique school in that we were established by the Anglican and Catholic Churches here in Adelaide.” Mr Gladigau said. “Our young people experience formal religious education lessons throughout their school journey at St Columba College including participation in liturgies, rituals and practices of both faiths, but there is not a lot of understanding where all of this came from.” As the students embark on their pilgrimage, their journey will be infused with meaning and intention and often a search for answers. They will leave the earthiness of their daily lives and seek to connect with God on a sacred journey to uncover the true self, embracing the practice of pilgrimage while visiting key places relevant to the history of the Anglican and Catholic churches. “What we are aiming to do is follow Christianity in England from the time of the romans, when there was only one Christian Church, and understand the changes that took place shaped by King Henry VIII,” Mr Gladigau said. “We are going to trace the thread of the Anglican and Catholic history through London by visiting key places where

King Henry’s presence and influence carved and created the Anglican Church from the Church of England.”

and spread Christianity, and find a sense of identity, beauty, truth and sense of God.

They will leave the earthiness of their daily lives and seek to connect with God on a sacred journey to uncover the true self, embracing the practice of pilgrimage while visiting key places relevant to the history of the Anglican and Catholic

“A pilgrimage speaks of giving of self, of your time and it’s a service. Part of a pilgrimage is giving of something so we are very keen to build in acts of service. We are going to do our absolute best to make a connection with a disadvantaged community in London either through an Anglican Church or Catholic Church,” Mr Gladigau said.

churches.

“Part of being there is to visit that community and see the work that they do. If we can visit and donate then that’s what we are aiming to do. Our fundraising is principally to support that new element of the Pilgrimage.”

The itinerary includes various destinations and activities centred on the history and traditions of the two churches in the United Kingdom and on the life, values and mission of Saint Columba. The pilgrims will visit a number of significant historical sites in London and Edinburgh, such as Canterbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace and Edinburgh Castle, before sailing across the seas by ferry and resting on the shores of Iona. “Going to the very west coast of Scotland to a really small island that’s quite difficult to get to because that’s where Columba actually lived. So we will go to the place where he got off his boat, a Coracle, and walked onto the island; we will walk that shore,” Mr Gladigau said. “We will go to the place where he set up a monastery and brought Christianity firstly to that island and spread out to Scotland. That’s a really significant part because we are the only St Columba school in Adelaide, so to be able to create a link between the man who lived and the school that we are is really important and it’s a fantastic place to go.” This is the third time the College has organised a pilgrimage for senior students to England and Scotland, with the first journey launched in 2013. The College is anticipating a planned pilgrimage to take place every two years for students to experience a sacred journey, see where Saint Columba settled in 563AD to build Iona Abbey

A pilgrimage speaks of giving of self, of your time and it’s a service. Part of a pilgrimage is giving of something so we are very keen to build in acts of service.” In preparation for the pilgrimage, the pilgrim students and staff have been busy organising fundraising activities and events, including crazy hair and silly socks day, ice-cream stalls, casual clothes day, a bbq breakfast and Quiz Night. The community and local businesses backed the pilgrimage fundraising activities with an enthusiastic response to support and sponsorship, exhibiting a true connection through engagement. “All that fundraising is acts of service for the young people involved and that service will continue when we get back from the Pilgrimage,” Mr Gladigau said. “When the school focuses on our fundraising campaign in winter, these young people will be at the front of it. We want to make a contribution at home, we want to make a contribution in London and we want it to be part of what people understand of our Pilgrimage.” follow the Pilgrimage at facebook.com/ionapilgrimage

SCHOOLS

St Peter’s Concludes Hunt for New Head Tim Browning will commence as head of St Peters starting 2018

St Peter’s College have announced the appointment of Tim Browning as the 15th Headmaster of the school.

history of involvement in the Anglican church.” Tim will commence in the role in January 2018 (while Ben Hanisch will

The announcement comes after former headmaster Simon Murray retired on June 30. Tim has a long and distinguished career in boys’ education and is currently Deputy Headmaster and Head of Senior School at Cranbrook School in Sydney. Previous roles include Head of Senior Years at The Scots College in Sydney, Director of Boarding at Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) in Brisbane, and Senior Boarding Housemaster at Geelong Grammar School. Tim has a Bachelor of Engineering, Post Graduate Diploma in Education and Master of Educational Studies, all

COMMUNITY

from the University of Queensland. He has also previously held the position of Director of the Australian Boarding Schools Association. After an international search to recruit a new Headmaster, the Council of Governors appointed an educator they said, “Will bring a fresh and contemporary perspective on boys’ education.”

carry out the duties of Headmaster for the remainder of this year). Tim will move to Adelaide with his family, including wife Vanessa Browning and their three children. Vanessa is a leading educator and is currently Deputy Head

“We were impressed by Tim’s extensive

of the Junior School at St Catherine’s

experience and skills, and believe he

School in Sydney. Their two sons will

has the focus, passion and ambition

attend St Peter’s College, in Years 7 and

to ensure Saints continues to be one

8 respectively. They also have a daughter

of the world’s leading schools for

who is currently in Year 4.

boys. He brings with him considerable experience in both academic and

Of his appointment Tim said, “I am

pastoral care as well as staff and

humbled and thrilled by the opportunity

community engagement. He is a strong

to join such a vibrant and caring

believer in the holistic education of

community. My family and I are looking

every child, is passionate about sports,

forward to all that a move to South

music and the arts, and has a long

Australia will bring.”

City Bible Forum Celebrates 10 Years in Adelaide City Bible Forum commemorated 10 years of operation in Adelaide at a celebration dinner held on 23 June at Adelaide Pavilion. The event gathered people from all walks of life, church backgrounds and in fact, from all over the country, “It was a fantastic cross section of people, all there because of a common love for our city and a passion for the good news of Jesus to reach people in the workplace,” said City Bible Forum’s Adelaide State Director, Craig Broman.

“The speaker, Al Stewart, gave a prophetic talk cleverly using Daniel 1 (Daniel the young graduate) and Daniel 6 (a man approaching the end of his work life) as the bookends of the topic, Treading lightly in a changing world.” “The talk resonated with current experience of growing hostility to Christian faith and challenged workers to neither be seduced at the start of their work life, nor compromise after a life of work.”

Guests were asked to submit ideas to help shape the future of workplace mission, resulting in an impressive 140 responses. The night was a great success with one guest remarking, “‘It was God honouring, fun, had a great vibe and Al’s talk was deep but challenging and helpful to all. How wise it is to tread lightly with integrity accepting that in many increasing ways we will just have to take it on the chin.’ https://citybibleforum.org

COMMUNITY

Film Review:

Wonder Woman Saves the Day for DC Franchise by Matt Slattery Having been seriously let down in the previous DC films – I’m looking at you, Suicide squad and Batman Vs. Superman! - I went into Wonder Woman skeptical.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

While not a particular fan of the comic, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself engrossed in the character of Wonder Woman. Gal Gadot’s brilliant portrayal of the well-known superhero helped to breathe new life into the story of the Amazonian princess, as well as provide all the backstory needed to understand the character and her motives. Set during the final throes of the First World War, the story follows Diana (Gal Gadot), Princess of the Amazonian. Diana finds herself in the thick of the conflict after saving an American spy, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) who crashlands on the shore of the island of Themyscira, the Amazonian’s secluded home. Trevor warns of a great weapon that will destroy the world if he is not able to return to England. Fearing that this war is the work of Areas, the Greek god of war, Diana sets out believing it is her duty to bring the conflict to an end. Along the way she attracts a diverse gang of sidekicks including a Moroccan charlatan, a Native American smuggler and an alcoholic Scotsman. This ragtag bunch helps her to cross the French countryside to vanquish General Ludendorff (Danny Huston) and his assistant Doctor Poison (Elena Anaya). Wonder Woman is a refreshing change from DC’s previous cinematic outings as its truer to the original characters. It succeeds in updating them for a modern audience, which is a feat that neither Batman vs. Superman nor Suicide Squad quite managed to reach.

Wonder Woman is a refreshing change from DC’s previous cinematic outings as its truer to the original characters. Sadly, even though it managed to succeed where the previous two movies failed it still had some major flaws. These flaws are best summed up in the scene where Diana reaches for her sword only to find it missing but two scenes later has it back in her hand with no explanation! Along with these oversights the core messages that the movie sets out to convey also fell flat due to some confusing misleads, story plot holes and loose threads that were not tied off by the end of the film.

Though the film has its flaws it manages to successfully revitalize DC films and is guaranteed to impress even a reluctant superhero fan with its dazzling cinematography, large scale choreography and a stellar performance from Gal Gadot. Well worth the watch! Rating: M Runtime: 2H 21M Release date: 1 June 2017 Director: Patty Jenkins

Matt Slattery is a Year 11 student at Pulteney Grammar School who recently did his work experience here at Guardian.

Despite this however, the character of Wonder Woman came out of it unscathed. The ideals and core values of Wonder Woman were set and maintained throughout the film, leaving me feeling only mildly disappointed, while giving me hope for future Justice League movies.