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Our Vision |
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At St Paul’s we strive to live God’s unconditional love of every single person |
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Our Mission Statement |
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Rector's Reflections for 11th Sunday after Pentecost (16th August 2009)
Do I hear the odd OINK from time to time? The annual distribution of Flu virus aka the Ekka, is over and we should all be able to get back to a normal life. Carmel and I escaped to the country and attended a multicultural food festival. Great fun, but a real blast from the past. The stall holders at the RNA would never have got away with the way things were done.
That raises the matter of changing standards. The church is just as involved as anyone else. We have had to adopt different protocols about how we interact with children, women, and the general public. While one can make a case for each of the changes individually, together they constitute a significant burden.
For instance; if I want to employ a youth worker in the parish there are eleven different forms to be completed and seven pages of questions that must be asked of the candidate. Unfortunately there is not a list of answers. Evaluating the answers is left to us. So much for objective selection criteria. Just what has been achieved after such an exercise is not clear. We are told that we must not discriminate; yet the questions seek grounds for discrimination. In a desperate struggle to avoid predatory lawsuits we are digging ourselves in deeper.
The rising fear of risk, and the distrust that it has engendered in society has a long way to go. These things take a couple of generations to work through a culture. The damage we have done thus far is becoming apparent. More is to come.
The Gospel is about another model for human relationships based not on fear but on love. And not just human love, which we all know to be fragile, but on God’s love. God’s love demonstrated in the incarnation crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, sealed in our Baptism which makes us part of the risen Christ and therefore part of each other as well.
For a world desperately seeking a way out of the impasse of conflict and retribution the Good News is, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
Rector's Reflections for 10th Sunday after Pentecost (9th August 2009)
Today we welcome the Revd. Dianne Black as celebrant and preacher. Dianne is well known to many at Manly. Carmel and I will be in Mundubbera for the weekend, returning Monday evening.
MU is admitting two new members today, which is also Mary Sumner day. The Mothers Union, called MU here in Australia these days, has been providing vigorous essential ministry to the Anglican Communion. All over the world the particular insights of Mary Sumner have led women to minister to women in a manner that directly addresses their needs. In Africa, Iraq The Pacific Islands and Australia the ministry has been diverse and targeted. Children and mothers needs feature in the agenda, but the concerns have been wider, embracing the whole community. Spiritus, now the community care arm of the Diocese of Brisbane, started life as the District Nursing Association, organised by the Mothers Union in Milton parish.
It is good to k now that people are still attracted to the MU ministry and we congratulate Kay and Edie as members today.
I got it wrong ! He did not finish up on the BBQ as reported last week so we should be able to Say G’day to Pedro at our 4th October PARISH PICNIC.
Trevor has another mate at Muldoolun, Charlie the Carpet Snake. Last Sunday we were given a description of Charlie. Evidently he is big enough to lift the roof on the shed and slither in under the iron. In winter he coils up around the chimney. I wonder what other amusements await us at Trevor’s country seat.
Remember the Season of Creation we will observe in September. Being green is not just a mater of fashion, nor is it just for ‘people who like that sort of thing’. It is a spiritual matter that has been dangerously ignored since the industrial revolution.
We cannot continue to ignore it. The biblical relationship between humanity and the rest of creation is that of interdependence. We are part of the creation, not discrete from it. Our interaction with the rest of creation matters, and because we have the power to make great change, we have great responsibility to ensure that change is beneficial to all, not just our species.
Plan to be part of the Season of Creation 9.00am all through September.
Rector's Reflections for 9th Sunday after Pentecost (2nd August 2009)
Last weekend has to have been the most successful market day ever. We probably made a tad over $9,000, but did much more than just make some money. People came to St Paul’s and enjoyed themselves, and we all had a ball ourselves. It certainly was worth the aches and pains of Saturday night [and the Panadol to get to sleep.]
We need to place on record our thanks to everyone who made it possible. That is both to the people who were organisers, and the multitude who were the doers. Everyone was in step and singing from the same page.
As young Mr Grace would say: ‘You’re all doing very well.’
Say G’day to Pedro. Pedro was one of Trevor’s mates back in 2000. Pedro has gone the way of all good bulls:- to the sale yards, the breeding paddock, back to the sale yards, then the meatworks and finally the BBQ. Pedro may have finished up on your plate as a T-Bone or sausages. Trevor supplied this photo of Pedro to publicise our parish picnic on 4th October, St. Francis’ Day. Pedro will not be on the menu, but his home range is our venue.
The Church of St John the Evangelist is one of the treasures of the diocese. As tourists in the UK we traipse from parish to parish looking for authentic medieval architecture. But right here at Mundoolun we have an example of the real thing, not even electric light and power sully its authentic ambience. Pedro used to keep the grass down.
The Church calendar in August and September is clear of major festivals and observances. This year we will reprise the Season of Creation. Three years ago we used four of the twelve sessions. In August we will focus on the biblical background of how we relate to the environment and in September its liturgical expression.
Since 2006 there has been a lot of awareness raising on climate change. So much political dust has been thrown into the air that fact and fiction are difficult to distinguish. But the theology of the environment is a constant. However the politicians spin the ‘debate’ to their advantage, we always must act responsibly and respectfully to God’s creation. The calendar of APBA provides for a rogation day on the first Sunday of October. Rogation days are occasions of thanksgiving for God’s providence. This year that Sunday is also St Francis’ Day. Our parish Picnic is a fitting climax for the Season of Creation and celebration of St Francis.
Rector's Reflections for 8th Sunday after Pentecost (26th July 2009)
Following last week’s reflection about greening the church our Parish Council meeting last Monday devoted much of its time to the issue. We agreed that the Church’s should be leading rather than following the community response to climate change. We noted that several steps have already been taken to reduce the carbon footprint of the parish plant. Further measures discussed included installing solar water heating on the rectory, and installing photovoltaic panels on the roof. The latter is of doubtful economic utility because of the high capital cost and small return.
We decided to use the months of August and September as a period of theological reflection in study and worship. The ‘season of creation’ worship program we used three years ago, has much more material we have not addressed. It also includes study sessions. That resource puts our relationship with the earth into the context of our biblical faith. The Season of Creation will be the focus of worship at 9.00am.
The program will finish on 4th October, St Francis Day’. After a service blessing the pets (bring your pet octopus for all to see) we will take a BUS ride to Mundoolun (near Beaudesert) for a bush picnic and evening prayer in St John’s church.
The point of all this consciousness raising is for all to become more aware of how our ordinary daily activity impacts on the environment. Our power and water consumption in the parish plant is quite small. Our real impact is in our homes, travel and consumption. It was noted that we will have to accept change in the way we do things, even if it means a loss of amenity. A small example is the withdrawal of plastic shopping bags from supermarkets. What do we do for kitchen bin liners now?
The time has passed when we could regard the rest of the created order as separate from humanity. Extending the insights gained from the season of creation to daily life is properly part of our spirituality. That is not to suggest that somehow or other God IS the creation, which is the error of some of the green movement. But we certainly are part of God’s creation. The spirituality that follows from that recognition has profound implications for our total way of life.
Rector's Reflections for 7th Sunday after Pentecost (19th July 2009)
We have been enjoined to become ‘green’ by the Synod if the diocese. It could be dismissed as a bit of ‘me-too-ism’ on the part of the church, but that would be a mistake.
For many decades there has been a growing body of theological opinion examining the relationship between human activity and the creation. I remember purchasing my first book on the subject when a student in 1960.
The classical statement was that our role is to ‘subdue the earth’. That school of thought drew on the creation narrative in the Hebrew Bible. It is also a response to the dangers humans experienced in the natural environment for most of our history. Wandering the earth as a small band of hunter-gatherers, in a jungle or desert populated by predatory animals much stronger than small humans encourages a feeling of constant threat.
But that is not the environment of today. The boot is not firmly on the other foot. Human encounters with the ‘dangerous animals’ of the world are now for the most part confined to zoos and remote wild-life refuges. One is unlikely to become lunch for a marauding beast on the way to Woolworths.
Add to that the consequences of using fossil fuel to extend the day. Not only do we lose sight of the stars, we change the composition of the atmosphere. CO2 is not the only demon. Methane, NOX gasses and heavy metals fly about doing their dirty work among us.
The conundrum is what to do about it. We certainly cannot go back to the cave, there are far too many of us. We cannot just quarter the world’s human population, though some feel that ought to be part of the agenda. And the slogan ‘live simply that others may simply live’ is only a half truth at best.
There are things we can do. Changing the way we use energy is one. Much of the energy we use is not applied to the purpose but simply wasted through inefficiency. The same applies to water. And the more water we use the more energy we use to pump the stuff around.
Change has a cost. Perhaps we should better view that cost as an investment in the future of our planet, and our grandchildren.
Rector's Reflections for 6th Sunday after Pentecost (12th July 2009)
Manly Parish has obvious connection with the sea. Some of our members work with the Mission to Seafarer’s, and more of us have boats of one sort or another. Our SAILS program uses the sea as a tool for enhancing the lives of young people at risk. The Port of Brisbane is a major gateway to and from Australia, employing thousands of people trading with the world. The car you drive could well have come through there. Our national prosperity is tied very closely to commercial ships, and the people who crew them.
Politicians and economists pay much attention to sea trade. Efficiency is the watchword. But little attention is paid to the crews. Modern shipping spends little time in port, usually only a few hours. The pay is low and the risks great. At least one ship each week disappears without trace. The crews are mostly drawn from third world countries where work is scarce and expectations low. They seldom see their families, children grow up as strangers.
There are some who do take the welfare of seafarers seriously. The Anglican Church’s Mission to Seafarers is one such body. Our constant prayer and support for this enterprise is time and effort well spent. If you can offer time to assist with the work at the mission talk to Derek Hunt.
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