Fanfare de Dieu 1.20 - Anglican Catholic Church in Australia

February2015
Volume1,Issue20
The Anglican Catholic Church in
Australia
A Member Church of the Tradional Anglican Communion
FanfaredeDieu
CommunicationandCommunion
Insidethisissue
Father Bill returns.......... 2
Sunday School ............... 2
Poem by Andrew Pell .... 3
Parish Assessments ....... 3
Appreciate donations ..... 3
New Parish? .................. 3
Tenth Anniversary ......... 4
Lenten Thoughts ........... 6
PrayersandIntercessions
Thoughts for this Issue .. 8
Requests for prayers for each and every parish will be found in this
space of every future edition.
It would be appreciated that we be advised also when the particular
problem or illness has been resolved, the list can tend to become tedious for
everyone if requests for the resolution of an illness [as an example] has been
cured and we have not been advised of the happy proof of our prayers.
Special points of interest
•
We request the prayers of the Faithful, Clergy and Friends of the Church on
behalf of::
St Peter’s, Brentwood,
Western Australia
celebrate their tenth
anniversary
•
Father Ben Stroet
Fr Robert Burn
Fr Peter Edwards
Return of Fr Bill, +M
Our Bishop filled in, but
no relief for him, he is
still on the job!
•
We give you another
inspirational poem from
Andrew Pell
•
Sunday School at St
Aidan’s Parish
Fr Rick Williams
Julie Hannigan
RIP Dorothy Martinson
FrBillreturnstoStMargaret’s
After a well-earned Christmas vacation in country New South Wales, Father Bill Hannigan,
the Prodigious Son, returned to his parish of Saint Margaret's in Southport to a rapturous
welcome. Our Father, which art in Scarborough, religiously drives the 270 km return journey
every Sunday to feed his bleating flock on the Gold Coast. Receiving bills is not always a
welcome experience, but in this case we love our Bill; learnèd, passionate and eloquent, and
a diamond geezer to boot. And the sandwiches he brings for the after service get together
ain't half bad either! So welcome back Bill and many thanks to Bishop Michael and Canon
Lex Bell for filling in during his absence.
Peter Capper, parishioner
SundaySchoolatSt.Aidan’sParish
A small number of children frequently attend Sunday Mass at St. Aidan's, Adelaide. At
Easter last year a decision was made to do something about teaching them. Accordingly,
every Sunday after Mass, Father Charles gathers the children to read them a story, (usually
the life of one of the Saints, or an event from
the Bible), to show them pictures of the
people and events in the story. Following
this he discusses the story with them and
asks them questions. The children enjoy their
interactive time with Father Charles very
much.
This project is the very tiniest of beginnings,
but we are all pleased that a beginning has
been made.
Attached is a recent photograph of Father
Charles with three of the children.
2
BeholdthelightofGod
Behold the very light that cuts through the very darkness.
Like a laser beam clearing and cleansing the path.
The Light manifested through the very word.
It is uplifting and illuminating in case you haven’t heard.
The Light seeks out those minds that are receptive to the light.
The darkness dissipates as the light burns bright.
The light is always increasing never diminishing.
The Advent season promises the King of Kings.
The Light of God heals the Soul, mind and body.
The Light will find you on your sacred quest.
Then you will be God’s welcomed guest.
All trials over, rest and peace and then a warrior for God,
Victorious and stoic, God’s light as your sword
Good News!
The Bishop +Michael is happy
to acknowledge the distinct
probability of a new parish St Michael and All Angels in
Sydney, New South Wales.
Needless to say there must be
formalities and the first
discussions have been very
(c) Andrew Pell 24/11/2014
promising.
Rejoice friends, clergy and the
faithful, the Word of God is
strong in our community and
we will soon welcome our
Sydney family into the fold of
Michael the Bishop Ordinary
of ACCA.
oOo
The Bishop reminds all
ParishAssessmentBankAccount
readers that donations to the
Church are gladly accepted.
The bank account details for any donations/deposits to the
Church should be made to the following account:
Make contact with Marek
Bank: Westpac
BSB: 032-555
Account number: 23-3517
[email protected] and he
Stupalsky on
will advise you on the tax
benefits of your donation.
3
TheTenthAnniversaryofStPeter’s,
Brentwood
On 4 January the parishioners of St Peter’s, Brentwood, celebrated the tenth anniversary of the
holding of their first service which was actually held on 2 January 2005, at 8am. The reason
for the early start was that Fr Brian had a service at 10.30 at Armadale, so in those days there
was no lingering over tea; and the Good Lord must have been watching over them, as they
never received a speeding ticket.
There were six people present that first day: Fr Brian and Miems, Roly and Gwenda Stinson,
and two other people. The following Sunday attendance had dwindled to four, Roly and
Gwenda and Fr Brian and Miems.
Unfortunately, Roly and Gwenda were unable to be present at the Thanksgiving Eucharist
because of their health. They now live in Mundaring where Fr Brian and Miems visit them
regularly. They are still very interested in the parish and always ask after the parishioners.
It is no exaggeration to say that Roly can be considered the founder of the parish. At the time,
Fr Brian was a deacon serving at St Ninian’s in Maylands. Roly and Gwenda regularly
attended services there and Roly suggested to Fr Brian that he might like to plant a parish in the
area where they lived. After having considered several places, in the end it was decided on the
Scout Hall in Brentwood, because of its central position.
In his homily, Fr Brian said that the first month of the New Year derives its name from the
Roman god, Janus, which was two-faced (it really was because it had one face which looked
backward and another which looked forward).
He continued that it was appropriate for us to look back on the past, and forward to what the
future might hold for us.
It could not be denied that during the past ten years we have had some challenges, some very
difficult challenges. Despite these, though our numbers have varied, we are still going, and the
reason for this is that we have a core group of people who are strong in their faith. They could
easily have left us, but they didn’t, they persevered and have demonstrated that God is indeed
our strength.
Slowly but surely, the challenges we have faced, are being overcome, slowly but surely, we are
achieving results, results we never thought possible.
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ContinuedfromPreviouspage
What of the future? He said that if we have faith, and we have shown that we have, nothing is
impossible. He believed, as he always has, that we, our parishes, our Church, will continue to flourish.
No doubt there will be further challenges we will have to overcome, but we have shown that, with faith
and God’s help, we can do this.
After the service the congregation enjoyed a delicious luncheon.
The Loose Canon.
Canon Brian Tee and Prebendary Robert Burn
Roly and Gwenda Stinson
John and Patricia
Deacon and Miems
and Fr Brian
Some of those who attended the Thanksgiving Eucharist
5
SomeLentenThoughts
Some thoughts on preparing for Lent
By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept: when we remembered thee,
O Sion.
As for our harps, we hanged them up: upon the trees that are therein.
For they that led us away captive required of us then a song, and melody, in our heaviness:
“Sing us one of the songs of Sion.”
How shall we sing the Lord's song: in a strange land?
(Some verses from Psalm 137)
Sunday 25th January this year (as well as being the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul) was the
Sunday before Septuagesima, the Sunday beginning the week of “Farewell to Alleluya.” Those
of us who use the English Hymnal in our Services probably sang the hymn “Alleluya, song of
sweetness” which comments on the tradition that we do not use the word “Alleluya” liturgically
between Septuagesima and the solemn intonation of the Great Alleluya in the Mass of the
Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. We do not sing “Alleluya” during this period, because, in the
words of the hymn:
“Exiles we, by Babel's waters,
Sit in bondage and distress”
and:
“Alleluya we deserve not
Here to chant for evermore:
Alleluya our transgressions
Make us for a while give o'er;
For the holy time is coming,
Bidding us our sins deplore”
There are many liturgical features of Lent which are both interesting and instructive but Lent
has a far more important purpose than to be liturgically instructive. After the week in which
we, in part, anticipate Easter, comes Septuagesima and St Paul's words from the Epistle for that
Sunday “...I punish my body and enslave it, so that after preaching to others, I myself should
not be disqualified. Septuagesima reminded us that we are only a couple of weeks away from
the Holy and Great Fast of Lent. In this Epistle, St. Paul likens the Spiritual Life to athletic
events: athletes do their best to win earthly honours; we must do our best to win heavenly
6
ContinuedfromPreviouspage
honours. Or again, fight as a boxer, but the adversary is my body which I must make a slave of my
spirit. And in the Gospel for Septuagesima, (the Parable of the Labourers in the vineyard), we are
reminded that living the Spiritual Life is hard work; entered into, moreover, on God's terms, not ours.
Lent offers us the opportunity to review and renew our spiritual lives, to get back on track, as it were,
to re-affirm our determination to be our Lord's disciples. A disciple is a learner , a learner who must
be prepared to endure hardships as part of his or her training. “Disciple” is in fact a cognate of'
“discipline”: both are derived from the Latin verb “to learn”. Discipline as a normal part of our
religious life is something we Christians of the West need to urgently re-discover. It has been truly
said that the impotence and ineffectiveness of Western Christendom is in large part due to our desire
for feasting without fasting; Communion without Confession and discipleship without discipline.
One great Christian “success story” of the Twentieth Century was the victory of the Russian Orthodox
Church over Communism. The Orthodox Churches are noted for their spiritual discipline, and they
continue to flourish. In the Western Churches, on the other hand, the Twentieth Century saw an
ongoing, continuous relaxation of discipline, a “dumbing down” of religion with a concomitant decline
in numbers and influence. The Roman Church now observes only two Fast Days in the year: the
Orthodox Churches maintain two Fast Days every week (plus about 130 Fast Days in the year).
Further comment would seem to be unnecessary!
In his book “Twentieth Century Men of Prayer”, the Anglican Religious Mark Gibbard writes of the
great Lutheran martyr to Nazism, Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, that when he was thrown into prison, his
years of disciplined prayer bore their fruit in an inner freedom. Bonhoeffer himself wrote from his cell
“ Only through discipline may a man learn to be free”. Even within his prison walls he found himself
free to work, to serve, to pray. And it was his years of disciplined prayer which gave him the strength
and courage at the end to receive his martyr's crown with triumphant dignity.
It is not my intention in this essay to go into the details of the Church's Lenten observance: Fasting,
Prayer, Works of Charity, spiritual reading and so on. There are many manuals available for that
purpose. I conclude by inviting us all to earnestly ask God's grace to help us progress in the life of
Christian discipleship, a disciplined spiritual life.
“... if any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow
me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find
it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?...”
(Matthew 16: 24, 25 & 26)
------------------------------------------------------------------Father Stephen Nicholls, St. Aidan's Parish, Adelaide
7
ThoughtforthisIssue
And we have known and
believed the love that God hath
to us. God is love; and he that
dwelleth in love dwelleth in
God, and God in him.
1 JOHN 4:16 KJV
The Anglican Catholic
Church in Australia
A Member Church of the
Tradional Anglican
Communion
TheRtRevdMichaelKPope
POBox70
DelungraNSW2403
Phone:0267248303
E-mail:
[email protected]
Editor
ShirleyBouf;ier
9HeritageHeightsCircuit
StHelensParkNSW2560
Phone0246214683
Mobile0448556214
Email:[email protected]
FromtheEditor
What a great response! Thank you everyone, let us continue this
year the way we have begun.
Don’t you find we often only have ideas that will improve on what
another has already attempted? Let’s have your ideas coming in we do want to know what you are doing in your parish.
Shirley Bouffier
9 Heritage Heights Circuit
St Helens Park NSW 2560
Next deadline is:
9 March 2015