The Spirit - September 2016

The

monthly Anglican Diocese of Bendigo

september 2016

issue 122

Race: The children compete in a three-legged race

Spirits soar in the Bears Lagoon Bush Olympics Pam Lawry

T

they included some excellent actions to accompany the lyrics.

he service at St John’s Bears Lagoon on 7 August was a little different from most. We hosted the Kids’ Friday Club (KFC) youth group who came to Bears Lagoon to share their experiences from their year so far, and more importantly, to have some fun while learning about God, Jesus and the Bible.

The KFC group showed off to the 60 people at church that day the craft work they’d been doing, and the congregation enjoyed their recital of the memory verse they learnt this term. They introduced us

Volunteers vital to Renew page 3

After church we made our way over to the Bears Lagoon Recreation Reserve where around 40 children participated in the Bush Olympics. All of the kids were eager to compete for glory in our unique events including a running race, a sack race, potato race, three-legged race, and book balancing race. Medals awarded to the first, second and third place getters.

Share: The memory verse to music from Colin Buchannan, Brendon and Cathy Clancy, and other Christian music they sing at KFC. In the performance

Kangaroo Flat Winter Art Show success page 4

The day was very successful, and we enjoyed having the KFC kids and the Bush Olympics for another year. Everyone is already looking forward to holding the Bush Olympics next year.

Starting a Community Garden page 6

Clergy Contemplations page 7

The Bishop

writes

Dear Friends,

I

have just returned from two months long service leave - a long time to be away from the diocese, but it was in good hands in my absence. I want to thank Vicar General John Roundhill, Archdeacons Michael Hopkins and Greg Harris and the Registry team for looking after things so well.

The idea of this break was not to cover the world in 80 days, but to have a good rest and to some extent it was enforced as I had a chest infection for over a month. At the same time quite a lot was accomplished in the garden and our garden and paddocks have not had such a good rain in years. Even the small creek that cuts through our property and joins the Bullock Creek started flowing in early August and hasn’t stopped.

While on leave we had a federal election and the Olympic Games took place in Brazil and sadly much of the world continued to teeter on the brink of despair. In the midst of this, as well as pottering around home, I had the opportunity to read.

By far the most uplifting book I have read for a long time and thoroughly enjoyed was The Shepherd’s Life: A Tale of the Lake District by James Rebanks. Set in the Lake District of north-west England, James Rebanks describes his life as a shepherd beautifully and frankly. As the jacket cover states:

The first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself, he and his family have lived and worked around the Lake 2

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District for generations. Their way of life is ordered by the seasons and the work they demand, and has been for hundreds of years.

A Viking would understand the routines: sending the sheep to the fells in summer and making hay; the autumn fairs where the flocks are replenished; the gruelling toil of winter when the sheep must be kept alive, and the light-headedness that comes with spring.

These modern dispatches from an ancient landscape tell the story of a deep-rooted attachment to place…many stories are of people working desperately hard to leave a place. This is the story of someone trying desperately hard to stay.

I enjoyed the book because of its sense of rhythm with the seasons, the simplicity of the way of life that has changed little in hundreds of years except for modern conveniences such as electricity, quad bikes and the internet, but above all the shepherd’s relationship with his sheep and two sheep dogs Floss and Tan. In the biblical tradition the shepherd knows many of his sheep by name!

Rebanks also reflects upon his life and how, in so many ways, it runs countercultural to today’s society. So much of shepherding in the fells relies upon the good will, honesty and trust the shepherds have with each other, as being in such a harsh environment they have to work together to tend the sheep. So much of the fells country has no fences and when the sheep are gathered for shearing in summer it is a combined effort of shepherds and dogs to work together to bring the flocks in. As Rebanks writes:

slowly learnt that the traditional ways still work. (p. 41) He also reflects that in an urbanised and industrialised society their way of life is the opposite and he loves it! So much of Rebanks’ story has parallels with the biblical tradition of the Good Shepherd; his concern and care for the sheep, the communal nature of the way of life with shepherds, dogs and sheep all bound up together.

It is a heartening story that exemplifies the goodness of creation, the blessing of God and the warmth of humanity.

Rebanks recently visited Australia for the Sydney Writers’ Festival and his session was the best attended. What does this say to us?

On a different note I look forward to seeing many of you at the forthcoming Diocesan Convention on 16 and 17 September.

With every blessing,

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Monthly newsmagazine of the Anglican Diocese of Bendigo

In the past decade or so, my father and I have deliberately made our farming system more traditional and old fashioned, returning to a system with minimal external inputs and expenditure, because it helps us escape from spiralling costs that are killing small farms like ours. And because we have

Address: The Spirit, PO Box 2, Bendigo 3552 Member, Australian Religious Press Association Telephone: 03 5443 4711 General: thespirit@bendigoanglican.org.au Chair and Editor: The Revd Andrew Eaton Publishing Editor: Sarah Crutch Consultant: The Revd Dr Charles Sherlock The Spirit is published in the first week of the month (excluding January).

Advertising rates are available from the Editor. All advertisements are accepted at the Editor’s discretion; acceptance does not imply endorsement of the product or service.

Contributions are welcome, and will be edited. Email contributions are preferred.

Anonymous articles will not be considered for publication.

Photographs should be sent in digital form to the general email address above. Full size, ‘raw’ files are necessary. Physical photos are normally not returned.

The Anglican Diocese of Bendigo and the Editor are not responsible for opinions expressed by contributors, nor do these necessarily reflect the policy of the diocese.

Contributions for the next issue must be submitted by Friday 16 September.

september 2016

www.bendigoanglican.org.au

50th Anniversary The congregation of the cooperative church in Underbool wish to extend an invitation to all to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Anglican Church of Christ the Worker.

10.30 am Sunday 2 October with Bishop Andrew Curnow Lunch following the service All are welcome Enquiries: Joan Willsmore - 0427946310

The Diocese of Bendigo expects the highest standards of professional service from its Clergy and Lay Ministers.

IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT Giving: Ruth Kirby and Clare Davy

Food parcels: Mark Woods

Volunteers matter at Renew Dale Barclay

T

he Anglican Parish of Sunraysia South has been running the Renew shop front for two years. It aims to make a positive contribution to the people of Sunraysia in their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

One of the best things about Renew is the team of volunteers. They dedicate themselves not only to serving in the op shop, but also engaging with customers to be a positive influence in their lives. This is often longer chats, praying for somebody or handing out a food parcel. Over 50 volunteer hours are given by our dedicated people each week.

One of the highlights is our meeting together every three months. It gives an opportunity for the church to say thank you as we put on a special morning tea.

It’s also an important part of developing a sense of purpose and team work.

We have regular training sessions as well. For example in our last meeting we went through what to do

Please call (free)

1800 135 246

A phone call to the above number will mean that your complaint will be handled by the Director of Professional Standards.

The Diocese is a full participant in the Victorian Anglican Provincial Abuse and Harassment Protocol.

This is an independent, objective procedure adopted by the Diocese of Bendigo.

in case of an emergency like a fire.

A really important part of the time is for volunteers to give feedback about what is working well and what needs changing. These are taken very seriously and it has resulted in increasing the safety of the shop, as well as improving the layout and the procedures we use.

Renew is very thankful for the support of Bencourt Care to assist with funding for this important work, particularly with our foodbank operations and hleping vulnerable people in our community.

We give thanks to God for our incredible volunteers. May God continue to help us engage with people and care for them like Jesus did.

ANGLICARE VICTORIA’S OUT-OF-HOME CARE APPEAL

Please donate today and change a life Albury. Bendigo.

Deniliquin. Echuca.

Kyneton. Maryborough.

Mildura. Swan Hill.

Wangaratta.

1800 809 722 anglicarevic.org.au 3

Around the Diocese

Confirmation celebrations with cake

Following the recent confirmation, baptism and annointing of parishioners from Christ Church Old Cathedral in the Parish of St Arnaud, all celebrated with a congratulatory cake at morning tea.

Pictured left to right: Bishop Andrew, Ruth Butler, Kate Haynes, Polly Douglass Meagan Ferguson, Bruce Sutherland, Neville Wharton, Blayne Wharton, Elisha Petersen, Breanna Petersen, Canon Heather Blackman.

- Heather Blackman Joy: The cutting of the cake

Kangaroo Flat hosts Winter Art Show

Paintings in all mediums including oil, acrylic and watercolour featured in St Mary’s Kangaroo Flat Winter Art Show, held again in 2016 from 29 - 31 July 2016.

The exhibition was opened by the parish priest Revd Roger Rich on the opening night with many special guests including Mayor Rod Fyffe in attendance. Graeme Turpie was MC for the evening and the judging panel were joined by guest judge, art teacher Jeffery Murrell.

The parish thanks all those who assisted in hosting the event, and especially the artists whose special talents were able to be showcased for another successful Winter Art Show.

- Angela Morrissey Guest judge: Jeffery Murrell speaks at the Art Show opening

Swan Hill blesses the crops for a successful harvest

Earlier in the year the first part of our service at Ultima was out against the brilliant green backdrop of a wheat crop. The sun shone and we enjoyed the warmth of the spring-like morning.

Wilma played the accordion and Graeme the saxophone as we sang For the Beauty of the Earth. We gave thanks for the seeds and the soil, and the water while planting seeds in a pot.

Water was sprinkled in blessing over the crop and the congregation before being poured over the seeds in the pot.

At the end of the service back in Ultima Hall, each member of the congregation received a packet of seeds to take home and plant and tend. We pray for a great harvest.

- Jan Harper

On the land: The crop blessing service held at Ultima

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Giving thanks for Mary

Around the Parishes

The feast day of Mary, the Mother of our Lord was celebrated in style by the people of St Mary’s Woodend on Sunday 14 August. Beautiful lilies decorated the church. The musicians and singers in the congregation sounded almost heavenly, as the congregation gave thanks for Mary’s answer to her call, and for the example of faith that she gives each of us.

The gathered people contemplated how we all can follow the example of Mary of being present for and supportive of others, just as she was to Jesus and the first disciples.

The celebrations continued over lunch where there was a great sense of community and fun.

- Melissa Clark Together: The congregation gathered for the feast day of Mary

Afternoon tea hosted to celebrate a 90th trifecta!

The ladies of Holy Trinity Rochester have been blessed to share in not one, but three 90th birthdays in the last couple of months.

Eileen Anderson, Myra Miller and Dorothy Crockford all recently celebrated this milestone birthday.

The ladies of the parish gathered together with a beautiful afternoon tea spread to congratulate Eileen, Myra and Dorothy on this special occasion.

Congratulations and best wishes for many more happy years!

- Stuart Winn

Birthday spread: Ladies enjoying the afternoon tea

Central Highlands hosts weekend away The Central Highlands Cluster held a weekend away from 29 - 31 July, themed ‘Come as you are, all will be well’. The emphasis on our last two weekends has been to relax, share and enjoy each other’s company. This was certainly easy in the comfortable accommodation of Angliss Lodge at Lady Nothcote Camp, Rowsley.

There was opportunity for walks, to try the easy ropes course, a car trial, a visit to the Ballarat markets, a sing-a-long and even a treasure hunt at night. This was also interspersed with simple times for prayer, reflection and worship as we gave thanks to God for that place and each other’s company.

The weekend is already booked for 18 - 20 August 2017 and in the words of the hymn you can “come as you are” because that’s how we want you. There is nothing more important than the space to be ourselves and share good company.

Worship: Ian Howarth leads a worship service at the lodge - Ian Howarth

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Mothers’ Union keeps active in 2016

Ronda Gault

E

arlier in the year, Mothers’ Union members attending the Winter Gathering in Maryborough, were encouraged to donate socks and give the ‘gift of warmth’ to those in need, particularly during the cold winter months.

Many socks of all sizes were donated and were passed on to Anglicare Victoria for distribution. Another large bag of socks went to Elizabeth Morgan House Aboriginal Women’s Services Melbourne.

In an endeavour to shine a Christian light on marriage, Mothers’ Union also contributed a piece to Bendigo Bride magazine. An advertisement and article titled, “Make Marriage Mean More” was featured with thanks to Barry Rainsford for his work in securing the piece in the magazine.

If you would like to read a copy of the article, please contact either Ronda Gault or Barry Rainsford.

Coming up on 20 September Mothers’ Union is holding a State Conference at Ballarat Grammar from 10.00 am to 3.30 pm. Our presenting speakers are Bishop Stuart Robinson, Bishop Garry Weatherill and Anne Stewart, a renowned story teller with a focus on the shared stories of Australia honouring Indigenous, Celtic, Asian and World stories. For enquiries please call 5461 4576.

s n o i t s l sugge

a n o s a Se

Community Garden The initial step for a soul to come to knowledge of God is contemplation of nature (Irenaeus ca. 120) I want creation to penetrate you with so much admiration that wherever you go, the least plant may bring you the clear remembrance of the Creator (Basil the Great (ca. 329–379), Hexaemeron) The fifth mark of mission of the Anglican Communion is: “To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth”

I

n our diocese we seem blessed with many things, including sizeable church grounds and parishioners who know how to garden and grow. There are great reasons to start an edible garden in your church.

1. Makes a connection with the community, draws people onto church grounds and makes available free healthy food.

2. Teaches the importance of sustainable living and promotes the spiritual benefits of tilling the earth.

Here are some tips for starting a community garden in your church.

If you get a Community Garden up and running - let us know!

Do...

1. Plan well • Have a committee • Liaise with the diocese and local council - make sure terms of any agreement are clear • Know when to plant seasonal veggies • Map out the layout of garden (using permaculture techniques if possible) 2. Have a water tank 3. Connect with other community groups • Offer local mothers group a garden bed to get kids involved • Can the Men’s Shed help make raised garden beds or help with installing irrigation?

• Local farmers might donate hay bales, soil, mulch or seeds 4. Look for grant funding • Research local government and philanthropic grants They are on offer - the Parish of Telarah-Rutherford in Newcastle Diocese received a $26,000 government grant to build their garden - (http://www. telarahrutherford.org.au/ffeast/)

Don’t...

1. Dig without checking for gas, water or electricity.

2. Use too many pesticides - try and avoid them if you can

Gift: The sock donation collection

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clergycontemplations Jan Harper | Parish of Swan Hill

Writers just wanna have fun: Literary therapy in action!

Contributed

A

nglicare Victoria’s Innovative Resources Team use creativity to bring hope and healing to people. For three years Karen Masman Bedford ran creative writing workshops with ‘Forgotten Australians’ in Melbourne and Bendigo.

‘Forgotten Australians’ refers to people whose childhoods were spent in children’s homes where many suffered horrible abuse. Open Place in Richmond, Melbourne was formed to offer support services to Forgotten Australians and was the sponsor of Karen’s creative writing sessions.

During the creative writing sessions, we played. We didn’t set out to write our childhood stories or even to write ‘well’. We set out to celebrate the spirit of creativity that is inherently healing and exists in everyone.

We experimented with a smorgasbord of writing techniques including 6-word stories, 3-line poems, sentence starters, lists, hot topics, photographs, symbols and character profiles. We tried automatic writing, collaborative story-writing, and unsent letters. We used many of the card sets published

by Innovative Resources as prompts for writing, and we astonished ourselves with what emerged.

In the middle of the table we placed a box called ‘The Treasure Trove’. People could place snippets of writing into this box knowing that someday they might be published. We were delighted by the humour and moved by the poignancy of many pieces. ‘You’ve just got to put that in!’ we’d say.

After three years, a book called The Treasure Trove was published with funding from Open Place and the contributing Forgotten Australians became what many people yearn to become yet never achieve— published authors!

Enquiries: info@innovativeresources.org

Running for the ultimate prize

S

omeone asked me how I enjoyed the Olympics. “What Olympics?” I said. I don’t really have the sport gene. I am just not drawn to watching sport, though of course I can’t really avoid it: sport reaches into every form of communication around the world.

What has filtered through has been mostly positive - friendships developing, encouragement of the athletes, the joy of a country winning its first Olympic medal, twin sisters crossing the finishing line hand in hand, a runner stopping to help a fallen competitor to her feet. It is great to see the nations of the world working together, focussing on sporting prowess rather than war, terrorism and disaster. We could do with more of that.

And what great timing was it for our lectionary readings, with those wonderful verses from Hebrews 12, right in the middle of the Olympics:

Which led to me recall bonds from which I have been freed along my Christian journey. One was becoming aware of the destructive habit of comparing. What a revelation that was! If I thought myself better in some way from others, it felt nice and comforting for a while. But it led to an air of superiority and smugness, which didn’t endear me to others, and left me feeling unliked and wondering why. And when I thought how well others were doing compared to me, that only led to feelings of inadequacy and depression - a downward spiral.

When I review the day each evening, I still need to ask myself, “Where have I been feeling smug today? Where have

It led to an air of superiority and smugness, which didn’t endear me to others, and left me feeling unliked and wondering why Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race set before us, looking to Jesus.

We made the most of the Olympics in church, too. We talked about what a good athlete needs - minimum clothing, no burdens to carry. We loaded up a selected victim with all kinds of heavy loads that hold us back in our Christian journey - “It’s not my fault”, “So what!”, “I’ll never forgive them” and the like.

We saw how they got in the way of running a race and so we cast them off.

And the Olympics flowed beautifully into the Gospel reading of the woman healed of a spirit that had crippled her for 18 years (Luke 13.10-17): “She was bent over and quite unable to stand up straight,” in no way fit to run a race. Jesus released her from this bond: she stood up straight and began praising God.

I been feeling inadequate?” I cast off the burden long ago, but my hand still reaches for it too easily.

Casting off that burden freed me and healed me for God’s work. I continue to praise God for that release. And many other burdens have been discovered and cast off - no doubt there will be many more. I work with God each day to discover what other burdens I might be loaded up with, so that, by God’s grace, they can be cast off too.

I might not have an interest in sport, but I can still learn from athletes. Like a good athlete I keep my eye on the finishing line;

Not that I have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own...forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14) 7

BIBLE IN THE BUSH 28 - 30 October 2016

with Bishop John Harrower

Christian Voices in Public Places Equipping Christians to engage in conversation about topical issues using the Lord’s Prayer Workshop led by Gaylene Harrower Presentation by Rev’d Steve Davis from Bush Church Aid

Great Bible teaching over a weekend in rural Victoria www.bibleinthebush.org.au Phone: 03 5024 2521 office@aposs.org.au 25 Heath Street, Red Cliffs, Vic 3496

what’s on events calendar

Council of the Diocese Tuesday, 13 September Treasures of the Bible conference Saturday 10 September, Mooroopna Diocesan Convention Friday 16 September from 6.00pm Diocesan Convention Saturday 17 September from 9.00am

WHY I AM A

C H R I S T I A N DIOCESAN CONVENTION Friday

16

September Saturday

17

September

6.00pm Holy Trinity Flora Hill

Dinner followed by

Joy Freier

A Conversation with 9.00am Bishop Andrew Girton Grammar followed by

School

Workshops

REGISTRATIONS ESSENTIAL bishoppa@bendigoanglican.org.au

MU State Conference 20 September, Ballarat Clergy Retreat 3 - 6 October, Rutherford Park Bible in the Bush 28 - 30 October, Red Cliffs Got an event coming up?

Send the details to thespirit@bendigoanglican.org.au

Caring at a time of need

151 McCrae Street Bendigo 12 Victoria Street Eaglehawk

P. 5441 5577

www.williamfarmer.com.au

A tradition that continues...

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