Anglican Identity

Christmas 2021

You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. Luke 1:14

At this time of the year, the Bishops and I attend the various Speech Nights and Valedictory celebrations which take place in our Anglican schools. These occasions offer the students, staff and families of our school communities with the opportunity to look back on the what has been with gratitude and to look forward to what lies ahead with hope. Every occasion is filled with love, joy and hope for the many good gifts we have to share in God’s love. We look forward to being with you all in the celebrations.

For Christians, the season of Christmas is also an opportunity to look back with gratitude on all that God has done for us in the coming of Jesus Christ, and to look forward with hope for what God is yet to do; to celebrate the gift of God’s love for us born in Jesus.

I congratulate you all on seeing through another big year, and I wish you and your loved ones a holy, happy and safe Christmas, as well as every blessing in the coming year.

The Most Reverend Kay Goldsworthy AO Archbishop of Perth

Christmas messages

I have just attended two Farewell Retirement evenings at Frederick Irwin Anglican School and Georgiana Molloy Anglican School. They were for long serving senior staff and some School Council members.

The retiring staff had given extraordinary service between them to their respective schools and to countless numbers of students. The School Council members are all volunteers who had the best interests of their schools at heart and were willing to give of their time and expertise to help. We thank all of them for their dedicated service and the legacy they leave.

The Christmas message is summed up by the angels singing to surprised shepherds on a Bethlehem hillside: “bringing you good news of great joy for all people; to you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour who is the Messiah… Glory to God in the Highest, Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all people”. We need peace on earth and goodwill amongst all people just as much now as they did then. Christians believe Christmas is so special because God intervened in human history to show us what God is like, and is still inviting us to be part of this transforming mission.

I wish you a very Happy Christmas!

The Right Reverend Dr Ian Coutts Bishop of Bunbury Last year we reflected on the hope for the year 2021 and discovered that the challenges continued with the escalation of covid cases and the new variant, Delta causing havoc within our communities. Some managed well through keeping their state borders closed and excellent contact tracing while those of us in Victoria saw more snap lockdowns and then shire lockdowns to ensure freedom of movement for people in areas where we did not have any cases previously.

One of the difficulties for us within the State of Victoria was the divide between the Regional and Metropolitan area where we were not able to physically connect with families and loved ones for many months.

We now have freedom of movement and cases of covid19 where it was not previously reported with a state where just over 90 per cent of Victorians are double vaccinated.

If Christmas is about this hope and freedom of movement to connect as we celebrate the event of Christ’s birth, I look forward to it! What better time of the year after a rather hectic year to be able to spend time with all those whom we have not seen for many months.

This past year I have concluded many letters referencing John’s gospel prologue in that our hope is in the ‘word made flesh’. May we continue to grow in this hope as we celebrate the Christ event, and may this hope lead us to a new and exciting year where our dreams and plans will come to fruition as we emerge from this covid pandemic.

Blessed and Holy Christmas.

The Anglican Schools Commission Inc. PO Box 2520 Mt Claremont WA 6010 P (08) 9286 0290 F (08) 9384 5023 E info@ascschools.edu.au W www.ascschools.edu.au