TRINITY TIMES HOLY TRINITY KEW Anglican Church of Australia
SPRING 2020
TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020
From the Vicar Dear Parishioners,
on another. This virus, by oppressing us for a short time (in world terms), reminds us of those in this world whose whole life has been spent in oppression. It is reminding us of how precious our health is and how we have moved to neglect it through bad farming practices and eating nutrient poor fast food and drinks full of preservatives. It is reminding us of the shortness of life and of what is most important for us to do, which is to help each other, especially those who are old or sick. Our purpose as recently reminded by Bill Gates is not to buy toilet roll, but to serve.
I write to you in extraordinary and difficult times. My thoughts and prayers continue for our parishioners and all who are in nursing homes at this time and for those in isolation. We also pray for nursing home staff, nurses and doctors who are very much at the frontline of the epidemic. I pray that soon the COVID_19 outbreak in Melbourne will be contained. What has come to me more clearly than ever before during these weeks of lockdown is that it's not easy to be a Christian in today’s world. It’s not easy to be a follower. Daily and for decades we have been bombarded and assaulted with a powerful and intoxicating message. When I read the Acts of the Apostles which I commend to you and the pagan Hellenistic world of the 1st Century, there are some remarkable similarities.
The sheer might of the coronavirus is reminding us of how materialistic our society has become, and we remember that it’s the essentials in fact that we need (food, water, medicine). This scourge is reminding us of how important our family and home life is and how much we have neglected this. Those Sundays we used to have with our family and worshipping God are like a dream gone by, however we are being forced back into our houses so we can rebuild them into our home and to strengthen our family unit- or sadly exposing the frailty of our relationships distanced by chasing the dollar and now exposed as deeply flawed, shown with the rapid upsurge of domestic violence.
Daily for most of our lives we have been urged, lured and enticed to march in a totally different direction to the Christian faith of our childhood, of our parents, grandparents, great-grand parents and of the whole Judaeo-Christian culture, the hallmark of our civilisation. According to the world around us life's goal has been to be happy, satisfied, rich, forever young, and beautiful. And the way to achieve that goal was all around us for a price. If we spent the money, heartache and heartburn need never be ours. If we bought the right product, popularity and success were assured. Daily we have been told that our value and worth are easily determined just look at what we eat, drink, drive, wear or own. All now exposed to be deeply shallow as we sway under the might of the coronavirus.
I pray that the difficulties that we now face will eventually draw us back into our churches and when it's finally all over, to give thanks to God. It will be interesting to see if we return to our old ways and not have learnt anything. This affliction is reminding us that no matter how great we think we are or how great others think we are, a mere microscopic virus can bring our world to a standstill - and we thought we were bigger and better than God?
This virus is reminding us that we are all equal, regardless of our occupation, finances or how famous we are. This disease treats us all equally. It is reminding us that we are all connected and something that affects one person has an effect
This scourge reminds us that we can choose to cooperate and help each other, to share, to give, to help and to support each other or we can choose to be selfish, to hoard toilet rolls, to look after only our self. Indeed, it is difficulties like
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TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020 this that bring out the true colours of the Nation. plate to sending in cheques and handing over Have we forgotten the Christian principles this monies to the Parish Office and/or direct country were based upon? The image of Jesus depositing your giving into the Parish Offertory riding on a humble donkey on Palm Sunday Account. With many financial sources dried up reminds us where our true vocation lies. That’s may I continue to encourage financial support of what this country was based upon. the Parish through cheques, handing in money to the Parish Office and direct giving to the Holy I hope you enjoy this current edition of the Trinity Anglican Church Offertory Account Trinity Times. Currently we are sending to 063142 10423425 Commonwealth Bank. parishioners a weekly pastoral letter and sermon from the Vicar. If you should like to receive this, With Every Blessing, please contact the Parish office and we will add you to our mailing list. Fr Robert Newton, Vicar, Holy Trinity Kew
I continue to thank those of you who have diverted your financial giving from the open
Working through the archives I came across a letter from a past Vicar in November 1981 in the HTK Church Monthly of the time. For sake of brevity I have edited some of the information. Does this sound familiar? What has changed in forty years? Vicar Dear Friends, Nowhere, is this so obvious as when many people talk about being the 'Body of Christ' and then fail to do what He would do or exercise a corporate life-style that is other than what He would exhibit.
I have just read an article called 'Symptoms of Sickness in the local parish' based on a three part series originally prepared by the British Bible Society and adapted for use by The Revd. Graeme McRobb, Director of the Church Army College of Evangelism. Because, as I write, we are preparing for our Parish Evaluation Conference it may be relevant to quote some of these symptoms.
McRobb lists nine other symptoms of sickness including Nominality, People Blindness, Structure Strain, Biblical Illiteracy, Leadership Deficiency and Small Mindedness. Reading his list is like reading the symptoms of illness in a Home Doctor's Text Book. So effectively are they described that the immediate effect is to make you think that you've got the disease!
The Maintenance Complex: or Preoccupation with survival, reflected in the work we expect of the clergy, the way we budget our parish expenditure, the agendas of our management and parish meetings and the priorities reflected by our weekly parish programme.
It would be foolish to ignore any symptoms that we recognise, but the positive thing to do is to thank God that we can read and reason still, to use the talents, skills and insights that we do have and to look for those we need elsewhere. When I wake up in the morning I don't moan about what I feel I can't do - I get out of bed and thank God for a new day and new opportunities. Then in that mood of thankfulness, I find that some of the things I didn't think I could do suddenly become possible.
The Failure Syndrome: Whenever a new suggestion is made, the immediate reaction is often that it has been tried before; it didn't work then and it won't work now. The 'Failure Syndrome' is usually revealed in a disturbing loss of nerve, which curtails strategic planning and directs management committees and vestries into preoccupation with finances and trivia.
Yours sincerely, The Credibility Gap: or the chasm between what we claim to believe and the way we behave.
ARTHUR ROBIN.
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Loin-cloth flag recalls POWs’ plight for VJ-Day commemoration Maddy Fry, 16 August 2020 Church Times
they were buried on the spot where they died, often by the side of the railway.”
The Far East Prisoner of War Union Jack on the north wall of the nave of St Mary’s, Swansea. Behind it are the regimental colours of the 1st Battalion of the Welsh Guards.
In all, he said, “706 POWs died before VJ Day, with a further 110 deaths in the following months. There were 182 deaths among the British. After the war, all these bodies, apart from one, were exhumed and now rest at the Jakarta War Cemetery.”
A CHURCH in Wales is honoured to house a Union flag made by prisoners of the Japanese during the Second World War, its Rector said last week. The flag was sewn using materials salvaged from a camp in Indonesia. The men were held there while they worked on the Sumatra railway, known as the “Pekanbaru death railway”. The flag was presented to St Mary’s, Swansea, 50 years ago, by the president of the South West Wales Far East Prisoners of War Club, Captain Sydney Armstrong. Today, it hangs on the north wall of the nave. Next to it, there is a short description of its history, which was researched by Paul Murray, a parishioner of St Mary’s. “The Pekanbaru railway became known as the ‘forgotten death railway’ because it was outside the battle area,” he said. “It is not known how many Indonesian forced workers, or ‘romushas’, died in the construction of the railway, but it was many tens of thousands, and
The white in the hand-made flag came from the prisoners’ loincloths; the blue came from mosquito nets owned by the guards. The red came from the lining of the straw hats of the Indonesian native troops. The flag was used in the burial ceremony for troops at the camp after it was liberated. The Rector of St Mary’s, Canon Ian Rees, said that the church was honoured to be able to preserve and display the flag. “It reminds us of the great sacrifice made by others, and the struggles they faced.” The Archbishop of Wales, the Most Revd John Davies, in an address for the National Service of Thanksgiving for VJ Day held at Llandaff Cathedral on Saturday, paid tribute to those held captive by the Japanese. People should “continue to work for and call for a world where brutality and ignorance lie in the dust, defeated by the noble quest for justice and truth, and for freedom from tyranny in any shape or form”.
TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020
From the Director of Music Stephen Kerr The pandemic has changed every aspect of our lives, and the music program at Holy Trinity is particularly affected. I’ve continued to prepare service music as best I can and have been working hard to keep up our online presence with pew sheets and live streaming of services in an effort to keep us all connected. We are fortunate to have ongoing music for our livestreamed services on Sundays with our Choral Scholars Darcey Newton and George Bland providing beautiful singing supported by my organ playing.
Since the start of quarantine I've been home. I have managed to still be entertained by doing work for my father and his kitchen company Dream Doors Kitchens being a delivery driver getting kitchens from a to b. Since the start of stage 4, however, I have not managed to get out as much, besides going for walks. My University has still been going through these times, it is kind of difficult because it's hard to do a music performance degree while online, but I am still managing to get through it. While these times are tough, having church and everyone still in it manages to help me through these times. I look forward to seeing everyone and I hope you all have a safe and pleasant time with your families while in isolation. George
I thought it would be good to get you some news from our choristers. Darcey, George, David and Julie-Anne report on their lives in lockdown:
Missing choir every Sunday at HTK, put together with many other drastic changes has made life never feel so different. The disappearance of my previous routine has set me into a state of confusion, however, as Year 12 slowly comes to an end for me, there has been no other choice other than to adapt, and press on. We might not ever forget about this pandemic, but I hope that we will not have to worry about it for much longer. David
This period of lockdown has certainly been an interesting time. Remotely working toward my Bachelor of Nursing has been challenging, but also quite fun. Although attending on-campus classes a few times a week has never been particularly onerous, it has been an absolute novelty to join seminars from the comfort of my bed! I have also been fortunate enough to be working at the Holy Trinity Parish Office twice a week. It has been a privilege to be able to catch up with parishioners and to appear in the live stream on Sundays. My fellow chorister George Bland and I have been expanding our singing roles as part of the weekly service. Despite being a very shy singer, I have enjoyed the opportunity to improve my confidence and learn more about music from our Director of Music Stephen Kerr. I am looking forward to returning to the gym and to seeing some more of my friends when restrictions are eased. I hope everyone is staying safe and feeling well during this time. Darcey
We are well here and, fortunately, our whole family also. The younger generation are mostly working from home, except for one on the front line at the Peter MacCallum Centre. I have really missed the Sunday services and the singing; I wonder how long it will be before we get back to normal. Some of the choirboys might have finished school by then. As for what I do: I walk every day, rain, hail or shine, but with mask now. I do more cooking than usual, read more, listen to Audiobooks, watch a lot of Netflix in the evenings. I still plug along with learning Italian but don't make a lot of progress; I have also taken up learning Latin again. I liked it at High School and am enjoying it again. Julie-Anne
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Poetry Corner Oberammergau Megan Carter writes: “Oberammergau is a small village in Bavaria, Germany. When in 1633 bubonic plague was sweeping through Europe, a man travelling back home to Oberammergau for Christmas brought the plague with him. It spread throughout the village. According to local tradition, a vow was made that if God would spare them, the villagers would perform a play depicting the life and passion of Jesus Christ every ten years. The village was saved from all effects of the plague and the villagers kept their word and first performed the Passion Play in 1634. It has since been performed every ten years. (The 2020 Play has been rescheduled for May 2021, due to the pandemic)” Death stalked the streets in the Bavarian village As the plague brought havoc, death and despair, Europe was ravaged as millions died, Neither man or woman or child was spared. They gathered together in desperation A vow was given – if they could be saved A play would be made of the Saviour’s life This was the promise the villagers gave. Miracle of miracles their village survived, Not one more death their lives had been saved, So every ten years this Play is performed To honour the God who had come to their aid. Prayers were made and the answer came A heavenly lesson we too can own, That He who dwells in ineffable light Is also the One who brings blessings down. By Megan Carter www.parishpump.co.uk
Still, as of old Man by himself is priced For thirty pieces Judas sold Himself, not Christ (Hester H Cholmondley)
TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020
Human Behaviour and the Corona Virus Robert Athey The year 2020 has been quite different to life in the pre-covid era. Many aspects of life have changed. The challenge of the corona-virus and the subsequent illness covid 19 have bought about many difficulties, and change is normally stressful. Since the onset of the corona virus, we have had to adjust to coping with isolation, restrictive laws and loss of the freedom to visit friends and relatives, take part in group activities, eat at a restaurant or go shopping, We cannot visit friends, join sporting activities or attend church. We also cannot show affection in the form of a hug or kiss. In the background is a very nasty virus just lurking. Is there any wonder why we are not comfortable with the stress of this enforced change? If we do not follow the isolation strategy, the virus is likely to get us, and possibly kill us.
Fears can be related to an expectation that life is not going to be the same as before. Most worry is brought about by a prediction of what the future will be like. When put to the test, very few people are any good at predicting. I sometimes suggest that if someone wants to get proof of their bad predictive powers, they should buy a lottery ticket in which they choose the numbers. If they predict all winning numbers, I will accept they have predictive powers. Probably the most common problem is accepting isolation. Humans are a group animal, There is a security in groups, such as families, clubs, work and sports teams. Isolation is used as a punishment. Solitary confinement has been used as a punishment for many thousands of years. Banishment from a tribe is a similar form of punishment.
Western civilisation has not known of a pandemic as bad as this for about one hundred years, although throughout history pandemics have been a regular occurrence. However, throughout history pandemics have existed, and there is usually heavy loss of life. Pandemics in the past have eventually died out, probably due to the development of immunity to the cause of the pandemic in the affected population. As pandemics so far have followed a similar pattern it is reasonable to expect the same pattern in corona virus. However, an attack on a normal pattern of life produces psychological reactions. This is not new, the old Testament book ‘The Lamentations of Jeremiah’ gives a description of a pandemic about five thousand years ago. The lamentations are recognisable today.
In a pandemic isolation is essential to prevent spread of the virus or other infection from spreading. Therefore the authorities recommend isolation. As discussed above isolation runs against our inbuilt need for a group. We are left therefore with a choice of isolation and a lower risk of infection with Covid 19, but the psychological effects of isolation will be uncomfortable. This leads to feelings of fear, anxiety and depression. this is not surprising as the effect of isolating is almost always very uncomfortable. Anxiety and fear can get out of control in this situation. Severe anxiety can lead to panic attacks, where one experiences, palpitations. feelings of unreality chest tightness and difficulty breathing. Panic attacks are very uncomfortable and can frighten people around the victim. As well as frightening the victim themselves. A situation of panicking because of the discomfort increases the panic feelings. The
There are a number of possible psychological reactions, based on fear, anxiety, and depression.
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TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020 other major psychological problem is problem of normal behaviour and physically depression. Depression can range in severity being close to another person. Handshakes, a pat from mild and persistent sadness to a deep on the back, hugs and kissing are no longer safe feeling that the person with depression will because of the feared virus, Unfortunately, never recover. Feelings of guilt over past events separation is safer. commonly occur, Suicidal ideas can occur with Thus, we are threatened by a major change to deep depression. our former habits of life and threatened by a Help for these conditions are possible. very nasty virus. Although it is frustrating and Discussing the emotional aspects of the habits of life must change, the balance of condition may help. This could be done by a probability is that most of us will survive. All variety of people; in mild cases a family member pandemics in the past have been overcome and or friend may be very helpful. If not, your family life has settled down. The death tolls from doctor may be very helpful. A referral to a bubonic plague were far worse than those with psychologist or psychiatrist is the next step, only coronavirus, and why should this pandemic be in the worst situations is different? hospitalisation necessary, The last problem to discuss A minister of religion may is what to do with the spare be very helpful. time with all this isolation. In more severe cases of It is essential to remain depression or anxiety, occupied. Hobbies, medication may be useful. reading, listening to music Medication can be all can distract from the prescribed and may be very helpful. Suitable anxiety and depression. medication can be prescribed by a general Other medical problems need to be seen practitioner or a psychiatrist, but not by a regularly by your doctor. It is, in my opinion psychologist. essential that all maintain their general The greatest problem in my opinion is anger. wellbeing. Keep in touch with friends by When a person is anxious, they are more likely electronic means. I have found the 10am Sunday to become frustrated and angry. Anger can service from Holy Trinity Kew very supportive, involve violence. Problems of anger tend to have Well done Father Robert. a significant effect on judgement. Robert (Bob) Athey In the management of anger, non-prescribed A note on the author medication such as alcohol or street drugs should be avoided as they can increase the level Robert Athey is a semi-retired psychiatrist, with of anger. expertise in general and geriatric psychiatry. He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery and Master of Psychological Medicine from Monash University He is a Fellow of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, He was initially in General Practice before training in psychiatry.
One problem causing a lot of difficulty and discomfort is the need to remain separate from others by a distance of one and a half to two metres. This is because a sneeze or cough can be sprayed about one and a half metres, two metres may be a safer distance. Again, there is the
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TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020
Dave Walker Church Times
Helpful internet sites for Bible Study There are many very useful sites to assist our bible study. Several offer set courses, whilst others provide commentaries on every passage of scripture. In some sites, for example,www.blueletterbible.org, the Greek words accompany the English translation. Other good sites include: www.biblegateway.com, www.biblehub.com, www.biblestudytools.com, www.blueletterbible.org, www.studylight.org, www.bible.org, www.christianbiblereference.org
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TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020
Religion and Science Rick Kelly
There are several excellent YouTube videos featuring a famous Small Particle physicist turned Anglican priest. John Polkinghorne has written many books on the interrelationship of Science and Theology, and was knighted in 1997 for his contribution to science, religion, learning and medical ethics.
In contrast, religion, or more correctly theology, attempts to answer meaning, value and purpose. Nevertheless Polkinghorne believes these differing ways of seeking Truth should be seen such that working together, the how and why questions will further advance our unravelling of life’s mysteries; a very necessary friendship indeed.
One YouTube in particular, An afternoon with John Polkinghorne, deals with the ‘friendship’ of science and religion’. Polkinghorne shows that whereas science is directed to how the universe was formed and how things happen to be, Religion attempts to answer why.
Underpinning all science is mathematics, that abstract, selfcontained entity which “knows” that pi goes on forever, and “knows” the Square root of -1, though such concepts are foreign to our everyday experience.
Science treats the world as an ‘it’, but is unable to address meaning, value or purpose. For example, it tells us that music is formed by vibrations in the air, but that is all it can say about it.
As Warren Sturgess McCulloch wrote, “What is a number that a man may know it, and what is a man, with fallible neurones, may know it infallibly?
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TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020
HTK Anglicare Report, September 2020 Marg Kelly, Co-ordinator Holy Trinity Kew Anglicare Group ANGLICARE VICTORIA AND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
The lives of 2000 homeless people who have been sheltering in hotels during the pandemic will be transformed by an investment in long term accommodation by the Victorian Government. More than 220 children and 500 women are included in this number which is providing a safe and secure place to live, as well as giving much needed stability.
As CEO of Anglicare Victoria, Paul McDonald, said on June 17, there is one thing that hasn’t changed during the COVID-19 pandemicvulnerable people need our help more than ever. There has been a surge in demand for parenting services with three times the number of clients for the Parentzone program. Also supporting parents who are doing it tough, are Webinars which offer practical support, and advice on home schooling, and useful tips from Anglicare staff, for the transition to schooling from home. Remote Education Packs, as well as clean clothes, essentials and emergency food have been available for those in need, especially single parents.
Funding for early intervention programs can stop our homeless numbers growing in the first place, thus ensuring a response to emerging family and youth problems before they hit crisis point. Broadmeadows Women’s Community House. Like everything else in Melbourne, this critical meeting place has been forced to close with the staff working from home. It is pleasing to note that programs are still being implemented and clients are being supported.
Phone consultations are available for financial counselling and support.
The challenges of this crisis will last far longer than the next few months, but Anglicare Victoria is there for the long haul.
Many people are having to access these services for the first time.
If you would like to help, donations can be made via Anglicare Victoria’s website, www.anglicarevic.org.au or the parish office.
Anglicare Victoria is currently recruiting for 88 fixed term positions under the Government’s Working for Victoria initiative, providing employment for many with social, emotional and financial skills
In a Nutshell “We need to seek God himself more than his gifts.” “We become what we worship.” God wants full custody, not just week-end visits.” “We say to our children, ‘Act like grown-ups,’ but Jesus said, ‘Be like children.’”
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TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020
CLIL RE - What is it? Amanda McLeod extend themselves by taking a subject that they would normally learn in English but learning it in another language. Therefore I teach my Year 10 class the RE curriculum in the French language. Our course is slightly modified from the English version as much of the language needs to be simplified. So we cover topics such as Aboriginal religions and the Stolen Generation, the Gospel of Mark, the Reformation in the Catholic Church and Vatican 2, and Morals and Ethics – all in French. Our school offers the same course in Italian and Indonesian.
Hi my name is Amanda McLeod and I have been parishioner at Holy Trinity for about 10 years. My daughter Maddison was Head Chorister and my younger daughter Lucie helps out in the Sunday School. I have been a teacher of French for the past 30 years, a job which I have thoroughly enjoyed. I teach secondary students and am presently employed at Loyola College in Watsonia. I started learning French when I was in Year 8 at Braemar College in Woodend and it has been a part of my life ever since. I even gave Lucie the French spelling of her name.
I really enjoy teaching RE. Having grown up in the church my faith has always played a large part in everything I do. Now I can combine it with another pleasure – French. I see it as an opportunity to spread the word of God and to set a good example to my students on two fronts, RE and French.
For the last 2 years at Loyola I have taught CLIL RE to a Year 10 class. Basically CLIL stands for Content and Learning In Language and the RE is for Religious Education. This is a relatively new concept in Australia where students can
Sadly, at present, I am doing all of this through online zoom meetings and without the support of being in Sunday services. Eh bien, c’est la vie!
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TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020
CROSSWORD
Across
3 Underground literature (including Christian books) circulated in the Soviet Union (8) 4 Lo, mash (anag.) (6) 5 The Bible’s shortest verse: ‘Jesus — ’ (John 11:35) (4) 6 ‘Can a mother forget the baby at her — and have no compassion on the child she has borne?’ (Isaiah 49:15) (6) 7 Can be seen in a dying fire (Psalm 102:3) (6) 12 ‘Send me, therefore, a man... experienced in the — of engraving, to work in Judah and Jerusalem’ (2 Chronicles 2:7) (3) 14 Second city of Cyprus (8) 15 United Nations Association (1,1,1) 16 One of the women who first heard that Jesus had risen from the dead (Mark 16:1) (6) 17 Braved (anag.) (6) 18 — of Evangelism, outreach initiative in the 1990s (6) 20 ‘Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and — in their own sight’ (Isaiah 5:21) (6) 21 ‘Neither — nor depth... will be able to separate us from the love of God’ (Romans 8:39) (6) 23 What Jesus shed in 5 Down (4) Solutions at back
8 Where the Ark of the Covenant was kept for 20 years (1 Samuel 7:1) (7,6) 9 One of the parts of the body on which blood and oil were put in the ritual cleansing from infectious skin diseases (Leviticus 14:14–17) (3) 10 Uncomfortable (3,2,4) 11 ‘Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have — ’ (Malachi 1:3) (5) 13 Where Paul said farewell to the elders of the church in Ephesus (Acts 20:17) (7) 16 ‘Jesus bent down and — to write on the ground with his finger’ (John 8:6) (7) 19 Prophet from Moresheth (Jeremiah 26:18) (5) 22 Comes between Exodus and Numbers (9) 24 and 2 Down ‘Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the Lord under — the — ’ (1 Samuel 2:11) (3,6) 25 There was no room for them in the inn (Luke 2:7) (4,3,6) Down 1 2
Rough drawing (2 Kings 16:10) (6) See 24 Across
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Word Search
TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020
Kid’s Corner
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TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020
Don’t deface or remove monuments in churches Roger Wagner, CHURCH TIMES UK, 17 July, 2020 Instead, commission works of art which place them within the story of redemption, argues Roger Wagner
witchfinders to Aldeburgh. Matthew Hopkins and Mary Phillips were installed at the Lion Inn, where they proceeded both to run up a considerable bar bill and to identify seven witches — widow Wade, widow Gardner, and five unnamed others — who were duly convicted, sentenced, and hanged for the crime of “entertaining spirits”.
THERE is patch of carpet in the chancel of Aldeburgh Parish Church on which, when I went up to communion during last year’s festival, I felt a strong temptation to tread rather heavily. Underneath this particular area of carpet is a black ledger slab (emblazoned with a bend wavy between two toads rampant and sinister an impaled eagle) that commemorates the life and death of Captain Thomas Johnson. On 24 January 1644, he supervised the pulling down
If the Church of England is to heed the call to remove, or at least to “put into context”, some of those whom it commemorates (News, 19 June), Captain Johnson’s toad-encrusted slab might seem an obvious candidate for this treatment.
of “twenty cherubims” from the nave roofbeam ends, and the smashing of all the church’s medieval stained glass, not a single pane of which survives.
Yet, how should this be done? Is defacing an ancient monument or indulging in a retrospective witch-hunt the best way to respond to the crimes of the past?
This, alas, was only the beginning of Captain Johnson’s purity campaign. Two years later, he was the prime mover in bringing two
In Aldeburgh Parish Church, a slab commemorates Captain Thomas Johnson, who brought witchfinders to the borough. Should
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TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020 we contextualise the misdeeds of Captain the beam in your own?” As these and similar Johnson by following in his footsteps? texts came to mind, I found myself beginning to think of Johnson in a more rounded way. IN HIS poem “An Arundel Tomb”, Philip Larkin describes how “time has transfigured . . He had returned to Aldeburgh in 1642, in the . into Untruth” the effigies of Richard Fitzalan middle of a thunderstorm, and found a panicand Eleanor of Lancaster in Chichester stricken town expecting the apocalypse. A Cathedral. Their clasped hands, “The stone meteorite shower “discharging as if it were fidelity They hardly meant”, have come to be, ordnance in a pitcht field” was believed to he suggests, “Their final blazon”, which proves signify impending judgement, and, when “Our almost-instinct almost true: What will economic hardship, plague, and smallpox all survive of us is love.” struck the town, it had seemed that something In fact, it is not only time, but Larkin’s own must be done. (Is it pure coincidence that poem that has brought about this iconoclasm and witch-hunts follow in the transfiguration. By transferring our attention footsteps of plague?) from the “jointed armour” and the military prowess that it was intended to commemorate No doubt, the Captain, like contemporary to the touching handclasp of husband and wife, iconoclasts and witch-hunters, was convinced he has changed and enlarged the context in of the rightness of his actions; and the which we see them. townspeople for whom he was borough bailiff seven times, and who gave his memorial an Could this be a model of how the effigies and honoured place in the church, might have monuments in churches might be “put into agreed. context”? Not, that is, by hanging dismal notices alongside statues of the dead, Today, we have a different view. But if, despite cataloguing their crimes and misdemeanours, his terrible actions, the Captain was a man who but by commissioning works of art that place trusted in Christ for his salvation, may we still them in a larger redemptive context. not hope that widow Wade, widow Gardner, A fine example of something like this is Tom and the others have long since made up their Denny’s Redemption windows, which were quarrel with Johnson and are all rejoicing commissioned to surround the new tomb of together with the cherubim while they await Richard III in Leicester cathedral. The windows their resurrection? do not shy away from the tragedy and mayhem Coming back from communion, I began to that surrounded this most controversial of wonder whether a new window on the south monarchs, but, rather, place these events within side (the Victorian glass there was all blown out the biblical story of redemption. in the war) could put these sad events into a redemptive context. Or could we be more To place the events of our lives within the story ambitious? Instead of campaigning for Captain of redemption is surely the purpose of the art Johnson to fall from his place in the chancel, and architecture of churches, and can be why not campaign for the 20 cherubim to rise remarkably effective. again and take their ancient places in the roofbeams of the nave? ON THE way up to communion in Aldeburgh, my instinct to stamp on Captain Johnson’s Roger Wagner is an artist, painter, and poet. memorial was, I found, quenched by my rogerwagner.co.uk journey towards the altar. “Who are you that judges another’s servant?” “Why do you behold the mote in your brother’s eye and not consider
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TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020
Book Review – The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel Ben Williamson In the previous edition of Trinity Times I reviewed the 1930s examination of the resurrection, Who Moved the Stone?. Written in the almost quaint and pastoral prose of a very British between-the-wars tone, it reflected its own culture as much as that of the apostles’. This time we have crossed the Atlantic and fast-forwarded into the 1990s to the very American, fast-paced, The Case for Christ.
events. Mercifully, he doesn’t dwell on the legal cases for too long, but uses them as starting points. He looks at the evidence for believing the gospel accounts, the identity of Jesus, as well as the resurrection, with a different expert contributing to the various aspects of these events. It’s all very jet-plane and fast-moving, and Strobel includes quirky observations about the people he interviews, which allows the text to read almost like a novel rather than a straight work of nonfiction. There are a number of energetic American colloquialisms throughout, and if you prefer the English tones of CS Lewis, Frank Morison and even Tom Wright, then it’s possible you may find Lee Strobel’s work a little jarring. With an American brother-inlaw myself, I say this not out of disrespect to that great nation, but the tone here is very much different to that of the abovenamed luminaries. However, there is no doubting the passion, detail and intriguing avenues of discussion that are embedded within The Case for Christ. The academics spoken to are all quite interesting and clearly very knowledgeable about their fields. At its heart is an authentic and committed argument for the reality and relevance of Christianity, and it’s a great deal of fun getting there.
Like Who Moved the Stone?, The Case for Christ author Lee Strobel, a former legal editor for the Chicago Tribune, asserts that the origins of the book were based on his own quest as an unbeliever to examine the facts surrounding Jesus’s divinity after his wife converted to Christianity. The idea here is that Strobel wanted to find out whether there is any compelling argument to be made for the existence of God, and so he travels across the United States, interviewing important Christian academics and experts at various universities. This book really reminds the reader of the huge culture of biblical scholarship that exists out there, and it’s a fascinating field. As you can probably infer from the cover artwork, with its ‘Now a Major Motion Picture’ stamp and the ‘Over 5 Million Sold’ banner, this book reads almost like a John Grisham legal thriller. Each main section begins with a real legal case that Strobel covered, and he then draws conclusions about how the cases were solved. These detective techniques are then applied to various aspects of Christianity, with the intention of proving biblical
So order a hamburger, open a can of soda, strap in and head stateside for a compelling and ultimately highly enjoyable examination of the evidence for Christianity. By the end, Strobel was convinced. I imagine you will be, too.
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From the Theologians “If you believe that humans are simply the highest animal, evolved by chance, only protoplasm, going nowhere, wearing down and dying, like all other life forms, you shouldn’t have a problem with pain. Life is what it is. • •
There is no God to complain against. No absolute moral foundation exists for injustice. (C. S. Lewis)
“LOGOS, alike for Jew and Gentile represents the ruling fact of the universe, and represents that fact as the self-expression of God. The Jew will remember that “by the Word of the Lord were the heavens made”; the Greek will think of the rational principle of which all natural laws are particular expressions. Both will agree that this Logos is the starting point of all things.” (“Christ in all things”, William Temple)
On Lost Freedoms? The Covid 19 pandemic has curbed many of our freedoms. But then, so did World Wars 1 and 2, or being born blind, or contracting poliomyelitis, or being a victim of a road accident. By comparison those of us who have avoided death, sickness, loss of employment, or business failure because of the virus really have little to complain about.
We do well to remember the words of Richard Lovelace: Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage; Minds innocent and quiet take That for an hermitage. If I have freedom in my love, And in my soul am free, Angels alone, that soar above, Enjoy such liberty.
For Christians, the Source of all freedom is to be found in our Saviour, Jesus Christ: “ If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.”(John 8: 36)
TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020
Photos of HTK in 2020 Father Robert, Darcey Newton and George Bland preparing for an online service
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TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020
Freshly painted church
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TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020
Keeping the Rumour of God Alive Ben Williamson Sometimes it can be difficult to gauge the degree of religiosity current in society. We regularly hear of the desire to bolster numbers in the pews and to engage with the community, and we all know that secular views seem to prevail in many avenues of the media. Yet, is the state of Christianity in Australia as bad as we often perceive? It is my view that there is every reason to be optimistic when it comes to the presence and importance of Christianity, particularly when we consider the profound role played by Christian schools. Even a cursory glance at the types of schools that are flourishing in Melbourne reveals the profundity of Christ in the lives of manifold thousands. To put it simply, Christian schools of all types are flourishing. For instance, the vast majority of independent schools are Christian and deliver Religious Education to a myriad of Melbourne children and teenagers. They are staffed largely by Christian teachers. Even locally, I’m sure you will recognise the significance of words like Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist as part of the Protestant schools’ names. Then there are the raft of excellent independent schools in the outer suburbs, almost all with a solid foundation of Christianity. Multiply this across Greater Melbourne and beyond. Then there is, of course, Roman Catholicism – the schooling system in which I currently teach – and other denominational institutions such as those based around Greek Orthodox communities, with a number of thriving schools in this city. I’m a committed Anglican and yet I can vouch that Roman Catholic schools, for instance, are open to any and all denomination of Christian. I can attest first-hand to the excellent work that Catholic schools are doing to bring an earnest, effective and inspiring message of Christ to tens of thousands of young people in our community. While there was obviously historical animosity between branches of Christianity - the memory of which may linger with some - my experience as a Christian educator who has worked in both Anglican and Roman Catholic schools is that they stand very much united. The message of tolerance and welcome for all is ubiquitous and indelible. There are also many Christians who work in, and are welcomed into, the Government schooling system. Of course, not every student who undertakes his or her education in a Christian school is going to become an active church-goer. Indeed, some may even reject the Christian message. However, what the popularity of church schools does mean is that a massive proportion of Melbourne’s community retains an understanding – on some level – of the Biblical narrative, the tenets of faith and the knowledge of Christ’s love. They may well come back to active worship later in life when need requires. We sturdy and impassioned parishioners of Holy Trinity Kew should take heart for an entrenched and popular system of education: a Christian education. Many thousands of young people today experience their educational journey not just through the adventures of literacy, numeracy and sporting endeavours, but grounded and connected to the ethical, moral and spiritual foundation of Jesus Christ and the aweinspiring and awesome story of God. A religious education is more popular than ever. And that’s something for which we can be thankful.
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TRINITY TIMES |SPRING 2020
Humour Happily, the Church of England still retains some singular parish clergy. Take the parish of St Jamesthe-Least of All in the county of C- for example. Here the elderly Anglo-Catholic vicar, Eustace, continues his correspondence to Darren, his nephew, a lowchurch curate recently ordained... A humorous series by the Rev Dr Gary Bowness:
and it would be a shame to disappoint them. It also means that from a distance of 100 yards and a height of 20 feet, no one can tell that the glass of water I use liberally while preaching is in fact a gin and tonic. I concede that our pulpit has its dangers. I have known several bishops come to grief as their robes wrap themselves around the newel post as they ascend the steps. One, unable to untangle himself, was obliged to preach while half- way up the steps and with his back to the congregation, while our verger was dispatched to find a pair of scissors.
The Rectory St James the Least My Dear Nephew Darren, Now that the churches are starting to reopen for public worship I hope you will come and take Evensong one Sunday. But, thinking of your visit last August, I would prefer you used the pulpit when preaching. How could Colonel Brockle complete ‘The Times’ crossword and Miss Balmer her knitting with you constantly walking up and down in front of them? They found it most disconcerting as, out of politeness, they were obliged to listen to you. It was a unique experience they do not wish to repeat.
Perhaps before your next visit, we may install a mechanical floor in the pulpit, so that after 10 minutes, it slowly lowers you into the crypt while the congregation can get on with singing the last hymn before getting home in decent time. Your loving uncle Eustace
Those few who defy Anglican tradition and sit at the front of the church were also placed in the dilemma of trying to decide whether they should keep turning in their pews as you paraded down the nave and then rotating back to the front as you re-emerged up the side aisle. It did Lady Plumptree’s vertigo no good at all. It also allowed people to see that you were wearing suede shoes. For many of our worshippers, the most appalling of heresies are as nothing when compared to sandals under a cassock.
www.parishpump.co.uk Crossword Solution:
I appreciate you made heroic efforts and got your sermon down to 30 minutes, but that is still 20 minutes longer than they anticipated and 29 minutes longer than their attention span. No, use the pulpit in future; that is the reason why stonemasons 600 years ago put twenty tons of marble in our church in the first place
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TRINITY TIMES Editor: Rick Kelly Sub-Editor: Stephen Kerr
Holy Trinity Anglican Church
POSTAGE PAID IN AUSTRALIA Holy Trinity Anglican Church P.O. Box 37
Cnr High & Pakington Streets, Kew P.O. Box 37, Kew, Vic 3101 www.holytrinitykew.org.au email: office@holytrinitykew.org.au
Vicar The Reverend Robert Newton Ph: 9855 0630 email: vicar@holytrinitykew.org.au Honorary Parish Deacon The Reverend Lesley Dixon Associate & Hon Associate Priests The Reverend Rick Cheung The Reverend Robert Holland Parish Chaplain Pam Hughes, Ph: 9855 8279 Church Office Telephone: 9853 7158 P.O. Box 37, Kew, 3101 Tuesday to Friday, 9:30am—12:30pm Churchwardens Napier Thomson Ph: 0408 576 737 Robert Buckmaster. Ph: 0437 014 090 Jeremy Bland, 0499 842 088 Child Safe Officer Jack Bland 0427 458 258 Director of Music: Stephen Kerr, 0422 524 574
If undeliverable, return to:
Kew, 3101
SERVICES AT HOLY TRINITY KEW
No Services Currently Open to the Public. See our facebook page for live streaming of the Sunday 10am service: www.facebook.com/holytrinitykew
Wednesday: 11am – Holy Eucharist
SUNDAY: 8am – Holy Eucharist 10am – Choral Eucharist
Family ministry: Sunday 10am in chapel (in church on 1st Sun)
Healing Service: 4th Wednesday of the month following the 11am service in the Memorial Chapel- unless advised.
Holy Trinity Kew Multicultural Chinese Congregation: Saturday 10.30am in the Parish Centre Sunday 11.30am in the Parish Centre