Anglican Identity

To all the students, teachers, administrators, parents and families who make up our Anglican Schools community, I wish you great peace, happiness and joy this Christmas season! As the busyness of the school year comes to an end, the stress of exams, final assessments and the extra load of the end of year time fades away, the first scent of the season of Birak (summer) fills the air, our minds and hearts turn to the wonderful celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. This year, as we experience Christmas in our more COVID-normal world, I hope it’s a time for all of joyfully reconnecting with family and friends from near and far. The birth of the baby Jesus in those very humble circumstances many years ago, has given the greatest gift of all – his presence among us, God’s love and hope and peace, and God’s promise of forgiveness and new life for all of us. These are the greatest gifts we can receive both at Christmas time and all through the year. The shape of those gifts and how they’re packaged will be up to you and every individual, but I guarantee they’ll be a hit! Wherever you are this Christmas, I hope you, your families and dear ones are able to feel and enjoy the great love of God which was given for everyone in the birth of Jesus, and the peace and joy that comes with celebrating that birth with those we love, each year. The Most Reverend Kay Goldsworthy AO Archbishop of Perth

Christmas messages

Following two years of great uncertainty, it feels as if that time was all ‘crammed’ into this year, which has been exhausting and deflating at times. As we near the end of the year, it is with great excitement that we look forward to the summer holidays which will bring about the rest, refreshment, and rejuvenation we all need. At the beginning of all of this we celebrate the event of the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who, within his context and still now, is the hope of the world. This is a story about an event that never loses the beauty, essence, reality, and impact it makes upon the lives of many people around the world. Whether we find ourselves around the Christmas tree, the Crib reflecting on the image of a newborn baby Jesus, or even just going out to get things organised for the Christmas lunch, it is the one event that draws families and friends together across the world. May the love and joy of Christmas bring peace to you and your family, as the spirit of Christmas fills your hearts with everything you desire or need at this time.

The Right Reverend Clarence E. Bester Bishop of Wangaratta For all the commercialism and advertising hype, Christmas is special not simply because it is school holidays, or time with family, or giving and receiving gifts, wonderful as all of these can be, but because Christians believe it is primarily a celebration of arguably the greatest event that has ever taken place. The British Poet Laureate John Betjeman summed it up like this:

I wish all the staff, students and families a very Happy and safe Christmas!

“And is it true? and is it true this most tremendous tale of all, seen in a stained glass window’s hue, a Baby in an ox’s stall? The maker of the stars and sea, become a child on earth for me?”

The Right Reverend Dr Ian Coutts Bishop of Bunbury