12th January 2003 - First Sunday after Epiphany

12^th January 2003

FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY

Baptism of Jesus

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

A career in politics is ideal for those with a disposition towards death, for the struggle is damnable, the peaks so footling, the final fall so assured. Out of office, politicians evaporate, leaving little trace that they were ever there. It is still possible to spot one ex-Prime Minister pottering through the Central Lobby in the Palace of Westminster. Few tourists can remember who on earth he is, and neither, it is said, can he. Craig Brown

WELCOME

Welcome to our services. The order of the Eucharist is from "A Prayer Book for Australia". We like our worship to flow, so there are few directions given during the service. Page numbers are printed in this pew sheet as are the Prayer of the Day, Readings, Psalm and Hymn Numbers.

MUSIC

The organist at 9.30am is Elizabeth Neaum. The Postlude is Voluntary Number Five by the blind eighteenth century English composer, John Stanley. Hymns at 9.30am 158 467 151 478

PRAYER OF THE WEEK

Spirit of God who speaks to spirits created in your own likeness: penetrate into the depths of our spirits, into the storehouse of memories remembered and forgotten, into the depths of being, the very springs of personality. And cleanse, and forgive, making us whole and holy, that we may be yours and live in the new being of Christ our Lord. Amen.

A SMALL MISTAKE

There was an unfortunate printing error in a recent pew-sheet of a parish not all that distant from Wodonga. A woman concerned about the well being of her husband in the Navy had asked for the pew-sheet to print the following: "John Anderson having gone to sea, his wife desires the prayers of the congregation for his safety." It appeared as "John Anderson, having gone to see his wife, desires the prayers of the congregation for his safety.

ECONOMICS

Trickle-down theory - the less than elegant theory that if one feeds the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows. J.K. Galbraith

CLEAN AND BEAUTIFUL FEET

Fr Andrew Neaum

I was shaking hands with a formidable looking lady after church one day, when instead of saying, "Good morning!" Or, "That was a brilliant sermon, Andrew!" She said: "Your shoes are dirty!" A useful piece of information this. A reminder that very often, when people come up to Communion all they see of the priest are shoes, and that therefore some sort of an effort needs to be made to ensure that they don't distract people either by their dirtiness or by their peculiarity. On those hot days in summer when I wear sandals, I suppose that I should make sure that my toe nails are well manicured. With the attention to detail that Anglo Catholics pride themselves on, perhaps the toe-nails could be painted in the liturgical colour of the day.

Luxuriating toes

In biblical times priests performed their duties in the temple barefoot. I would love that. I love to get out of my shoes. Like Nelson Mandela freed from gaol, my toes luxuriate in liberation from the close confinement of shoes, which, because they are such dirty things, used always to be discarded before entering any holy place. Moses at the burning bush was told to remove his, even out there in the desert, because God was present and the place holy. Muslims today still remove their shoes before entering a Mosque, and before entering even an ordinary house in biblical times you removed your foot-gear. The disciples of Jesus were instructed to shake off the dust on their feet as they left any place where people refused to listen to them. This is what all strict Jews used to do when they arrived back in Palestine after travelling abroad. At the border they would take off their sandals and give them a good shake to get rid of all the foreign dirt and filth clinging to them and so avoid contaminating the holy land of Israel.

A clever reversal

Some time ago I came across a clever reversal of Jesus' famous saying: The point of 'shaking the dust off your feet' is that, actually, you can't. The dust on our shoes has to be rubbed and polished off. It can't be shaken off, more's the pity.

So too it is with the dust of doubt and disbelief, of materialism and self-centredness, the dust of cynicism and despair, of worry and fret, the dust of self-doubt and indecision, of fear and aimlessness. All of which settle upon us in our daily tread out and about in the world as disciples, away from the centre of the Kingdom of God. As we walk and stamp our way about the world, we raise just such a dust which settles on and blurs for us the things that really matter. The joy of simplicity's beauty, of sweet self- forgetfulness, of simple little acts of love. We can't see any shine at all because of all the dreary dust accumulated, as it were, upon our shoes which cannot simply be shaken off, but which needs wiping, polishing, shining, buffing off.

Blue but beautiful feet

This is one of the reasons we need to make the effort to be active members of the family of God, to come to Church, say our prayers and mix with good, lovely and openly Christian folk. This is something that needs to be brought home to those who bring their infants for baptism. The first baptism I ever performed was of a little baby who, on a frosty but sunny winter's day in Zimbabwe, screamed from beginning to end. This, it turned out, was not in horror of me or baptism, but because Dad had been told to put its booties on under the christening robe and had forgotten to do so. Its feet, although beautiful, were blue, poor little thing! I trust, over twenty years later, that those little feet although now larger and pink rather than blue, meet with Isaiah's approval, the baptism having borne its due fruit, because how beautiful, upon the mountains are the feet of those who bring good tidings, who publish peace; who bring good tidings of good, that publish salvation; that say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

Boyhood hero

By Fr Ellis Jones

One thing I like doing when in Sydney is using its user-friendly public transport. If you can't work out the ticket-machines, there are humans to help. Even if you can't get a ticket at one end, there will be a human to help at the other end who will not treat you as a criminal, but will provide you with a ticket if you pay the correct price. So, instead of being wrestled to the ground and pinioned, you buy the token and go through the turnstiles. It is a better system and encourages people to use the public transport, which in that old-fashioned town is mostly made up of trains and boats.

The other thing about Sydney is that it is not, and does not try to be, a Big City. It is just a coastal country town that happened to grow, and grow... While it is multicultural and multiracial, it is mainly Sydney-cultural, for Syndeysiderism overtakes and overswarms all other races and cultures. People who come there never leave. People who were born there never leave for long. And when you ask Sydney people about the silly rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne, most will say, "Where is it?" Somewhere down near Wilson' s Promontory, and nobody knows or cares where that is.

Having said this, I like to go on train trips in Sydney. It is easy. You can go to a machine, but if it fazes you, you go to the counter at the railway station, and simply buy a ticket. "Where you wanna gaw?" "I wanna a return ticket to Narwee". "Fave twenny, ya goddut." Ya pay, ya get oudda the way, and get to your platform. It's so easy, once you go down two flights. You battle your way past the cattle battling their way out, and find after three stations that you are on your way to Hurstville. You get off there, as your Narwee Ticket will cover you for Hurstville. It is another city with numerous roads converging. Where is the old Tech College I went to? Where is the old Cinema, the bughouse I attended on Saturday nights? What's happened to the Pub? Hurstville has become just a series of unidentifiable canyons, so you get back on the train to the city.

And on that train you get a shock. You want to relax on the way back to Town. But someone gets on the train who is not good to behold. Ah no! I don't have to have someone looking like that to spoil my pleasant journey back through the burbs. But it always happens.

A tired, poor, badly dressed, obviously distressed old man, possibly a derelict, sat two seats in front. His coat collar is drawn up high, to try to conceal what is at the back of his neck. But what it will not conceal is the massive purple and black growth, a huge thing that was once a mole, now threatening and angry, bowing his head and stretching from the top of his back to his hairline.

It has ruined my trip. They shouldn't allow people like that to travel on public transport. I don't want to look at it, but I cannot stop looking at it. Instead of a pleasant journey through the burbs, I must see this terrible thing. Then for some reason he turned his face.

Forty years before, I was a student at a High School not far from where this train was passing.

Young and impressionable, it was easy for me to create boyhood images. A solid, gingery, good Rugby player called North was popular. He was a good jazz pianist, one of those men who could create blues and rhythm in a natural manner, and he had no airs or graces. But he never allowed himself to get too popular. He had a mate. Many of the blokes at that school had a mate. I never did. But I, along with most others, idolised North's mate. He was the best-looking and most athletic kid in the school. The sports masters liked Greene. Greene was good also at Public Speaking which was one of the big things. Well, it didn't matter whether or not he could speak. He was just so attractive. His smiling face was dazzling. He got into the debating team. He was fair, had faultless skin, well-formed muscle-definition, he was wonderfully co-ordinated. He was in fact, almost perfectly beautiful.

It was a boys' school and many of the lads expressed desire for Greenie. But it was generally agreed that he belonged to North, good old North, who stayed by his side; and anyway, North was a "good bloke" and deserved any good things to come from his loyalty to Greenie.

For Greenie wasn't perfect. He had a massive mole growing from the nape of his neck to his hair-line. It didn't seem to worry him, and none of the other blokes cared about it, for the rest of him more than made up for it. But I watched him grow, and become hairier and skinnier, and I said to another kid, "What's happening to Greenie?" He said, "He is becoming uglier and uglier, like us all." The ancient wisdom of a boys' school: The child ephemeral.

I should have got out of my comfortable seat and said, "Hello, I was at school with you in 1953." But, of course, I didn't.

DEFINITIONS

Gout: A physician's name for the rheumatism of a rich patient.

Hand: A singular instrument worn at the end of a human arm and commonly thrust into somebody's pocket. Ambrose Bierce

Reading the Bible at Eucharist

Next Sunday 19 January 2003: 2nd Sunday after Epiphany

Guide for Readers at Sunday Eucharist

(1) A Reading from the First Book of Samuel Chapter 3 verses 1-10 (11-20)

This is about the Call of Samuel by the voice of God during the night. The Gospel for next Sunday is about the call of Nathanael, who is likened to the Patriarch Jacob, not to Samuel. However, both "calls" demand a high standard of integrity. The story is well known. You can make something out of "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening"

Psalm 139: 1-5, 12-18.

One of the very best in the whole Book, but why must they leave out some of the best verses, 6-11? The verses have a lovely rolling rhythm, for this is solemn stuff, addressing the almightiness and everywhere ness of God, and great questions of life and death.

(2) A Reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians, Chapter 6 verses 12-20

This is about the One Body of Christ. Paul has been describing the various Gifts of the Spirit, with the accent on the One Spirit. Now he talks about the many and various people in the Church, all of whom will use one or more of the abovementioned Gifts, and again emphasising the unity of the Body. There are many "balanced Sentences", so use the balances to emphasise the oneness.

Always try to present the Word with care. Thanks. ESJ.

MORE DEFINITIONS

Donkey: A horse translated into Dutch.

Happiness: An agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of another.

Ambrose Bierce

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Mark and Beth Coles who celebrate their wedding anniversary on Saturday the 11th of January.

USED STAMPS & CARDS PLEASE

Stan Windley continues to welcome used stamps for sorting and sending off to ABM. Also wanted are Christmas Cards for reconstituting. Cut off private messages, but preferably leave at least a bit over the fold.

SACKAN

The first meeting of the Sewing Group for 2003 will be held on Thursday 16th January in the narthex from 9.00am. Come along and join us.

THANK YOU

We would like to thank everybody for their prayers for our grandson Jack over the last year. Jack has recovered from the bone marrow transplant and is now allowed to mix with other children. The transplant has been successful. Julie and John Skilton

MEMORIAL HALL

As I write, work has just started on the roof of the new Dawn Richardson centre, which is good news indeed. Over the last weekend I visited two country town parishes with facilities far superior to ours here in Wodonga. Once these new facilities are completed, however, we will be in a far better position to expand our activities. We might even be persuaded to move the parish office into the southern wing of the narthex eventually, and so enabled to keep the church doors open during office hours, which would be most beneficial.

IMPORTANT DATES

Feb 7th Meeting Place Opening and Dinner

Feb 9th Meeting Place Opening Service

Feb 13th Induction of the Dianne Watson - Emmanuel

Feb 19th Pastoral Care Committee 2.00pm

Feb 26th Pastoral Care Group Meeting 2.00pm

Mar 2nd AGM St John's

Mar 4th Pancake Party

Mar 7th World Day of Prayer ( Sacred Heart)

Mar 13th Street Stall

Mar 19th Friends of our Lady Eucharist & Coffee Morn

May 4th Patronal Festival

May 31st Synod

Jun 16th Friends of our Lady Eucharist & Coffee Morn

July 23rd Fish and Chip night

Aug 14th-16th Choral Festival

Sep 17th Friends of our Lady Eucharist & Coffee Morn

Aug 17th Possibly Confirmation Day

Oct 5th St Francistide Pet Service

Oct 25th Flower Show and Fete

Dec 3rd Combined Friends of our Lady & Pastoral Care

FOR PRAYER

The Sick

Ed Baumgarten, Jean Byrnes, Eunice Charlton, Sally Craven, Joyce Hall, Julie Howe, Robert Jones, Olive Macaulay, Gail Mahney, Anja Mosse, Grant Myers, Janet Murray, Bob Phillips, Thora Pyke, Val Saunders, Grant Savage, Ray Schmidt, Dawn Smallpage, Michael, William, Pam Willoughby.

Rest in Peace Peter Nugent

Anniversary of Death:

Roma Peatt, William Shepherd,Norma Maher, Maureen Jorgensen 12th, Edward Staff, Norman Dennis 13th, William Odgers, Constance Larsen 14th, Thomas Elligate 15th, Margaret Sparke 16th, Patricia Butters, Gunter Knoth, Pamela Weel 17th.

DUTIES up to & including 19th January

Cleaning & Tea Team 6

Vestry Bill Elkington

Mowing Jim Hislop

Narthex Rosemary Cadman

Linen Linda McWaters

Welcome Table Anne Andrews, Margaret Morse

Door Gaye Petzke, Gwen Goldsworthy, Joan Berrell

Readers Gaye Petzke, Elizabeth Neaum, Judith Dicker

Euch Assistant Margaret Andrews

Intercessor Children

Servers Jess, Jayne, Daniel, Liz

THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH

Monday 13th January

Fr Andrew's Day off

7.15am Mattins & Eucharist - St John's