TMA T h e M e l b o u r n e A n g l i c a n
Young Christians call for climate justice pages 12, 13, 16
Church must confront its own racism, says Aboriginal bishop page 9
July 2020, No 593
From UK ski champion to Anglican lay minister by Stephen Cauchi
IONA ROSSELY found God on a journey which has taken her from champion UK skier and equestrian to Australian Anglican lay minister, and her new autobiography Racing on Empty tells the story. Like many others, Ms Rossely found that success in itself wasn’t fulfilling, but it took a skiing accident at 160 km/h for her to think seriously about spiritual matters. “What was hindering my relationship with Jesus was my stuff and my possessions, my horses, my winning, my obsession with competing. And I dropped that,” she told TMA. “As soon as you drop your idols, then God can actually really get into your life.” Born in Britain in 1961 into a strict Catholic family, her passion for speed skiing had led to her win some major professional titles, including the Ladies British Overseas Champion and New Zealand Ladies Champion in 1986.
Economist, priest hymnwriter, vicar honoured by Mark Brolly
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prominent economist who worships at St Jude’s Carlton, a pioneering female priest and hymn-writer whose ministry began in Melbourne and is now in the Western Australian Goldfields, a veteran vicar and c ommunit y-bui lder in t he Dandenong Ranges, a law professor with a passion for social justice who is a parishioner in Geelong and the former principal of a leading church school are among Anglicans who have been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Professor Ian Harper, a member of the Reserve Bank of Australia board and the inaugural chairman of the Australian Fair Pay Commission from 2005-09, was among only 53 people nationally to be made an Officer of the Order
of Australia (AO). His citation said the honour was “for distinguished service to education in the field of economics, and to public and monetary policy development and reform”. He chaired the Competition Policy Review from 2014-15, known as the Harper Review. A former partner and senior adviser with Deloitte Access Economics, Professor Harper has been Dean and Director of the Melbourne Business School since 2018. The Vicar of St Jude’s Carlton, the Revd John Forsyth, said Professor Harper was “a very involved member” of the parish. Professor Harper’s wider church involvement has included being a Director of Ridley College since 2012, where he held a Senior Academic Fellowship from 1999-2006, and Chair of
the Stipends Committee of the Diocese of Melbourne since 2015. He was a Director of the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students from 2011-14 and a Director of the Australian College of Theology from 2012-14. Since 2014, he has been Patron of the Australia and New Zealand College of Organists and was Chairman of the Melbourne Town Hall Grand Organ Committee from 1996-2001. His book, Economics for Life: An Economist Reflects on the Meaning of Life and What Really Matters, won the Australian Christian Book of the Year in 2011. The Revd Dr Elizabeth Smith, who was among the earliest groups of women ordained to the diaconate and priesthood in Melbourne in 1987 and 1993 respectively, was Continued on page 4
But while competing in the World Cup in France in 1987, her right ski accidentally came off and she began tumbling down the track at 160 km/h. This sort of accident had caused death before and Ms Rossely thought she was “finished”. “The only thing I thought of was who’s going to look after my dog,” she said. But she felt God’s presence throughout: “I had this amazing feeling … I felt God was holding me on the way down, like there was a divine presence.” She broke her leg in eight places and it took more than a year before she could walk again. While recuperating in Cyprus she had her first experience with Christianity since her Catholic upbringing and education at St David’s Ursuline Convent in Wales. She felt alienated from God while growing up, in part due to her experiences at the convent, but this time was different.
“My physiotherapist was a Christian and she invited me to a Bible group,” Ms Rossely said. “So I was very reluctant but I went with her and I was overwhelmed by just the love that I was shown by these people. Loved reading the Bible and we went on Christian retreats into the mountains. Continued on page 10
Victoria’s COVID-19 spike puts brake on church openings by Stephen Cauchi
Plans to reopen St Paul’s Cathedral and other churches across the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne have been halted after the Victorian Government reversed its decision to ease coronavirus meeting restrictions. The Government had planned to raise the limit on indoor meetings from 20 to 50 people on 22 June, but a spike in coronavirus cases has forced this move to be delayed until at least 12 July. Private homes have a new limit of just five visitors. St Paul’s Cathedral, which had planned to reopen to the public on Sunday 28 June, will now remain closed for at least another month. The Cathedral authorities said in a statement that “with great reluctance the Cathedral ministry and administrative staff have decided not to reopen”.
“We will extend our current livestream service schedule and fellowship pattern for another month until at least 26 July. While we hope to reopen on 2 August, we will need to review this plan on 14 July.” The statement added that “we felt very strongly that … we should not encourage staff and members to travel across various local government areas to be present at St Paul’s”. Bishop Paul Barker, whose episcopate of Jumbunna covers Melbourne’s southern and eastern suburbs, told TMA that a number of suburban churches had postponed opening as a result. Parishioners and clergy were “disappointed” and “frustrated”, but not “frustrated in the sense of angry”, he said. “Disappointed, yes, because people longed for a bigger Continued on page 4
PLUS: Meet the new Anglican Primate (page 10); winter reading special (pages 19-22)