FIFTEENTH SUNDAY after PENTECOST (24)
12th September 2004
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
Some years ago, the late Mr Justice Cassels was trying a case at Winchester Assizes with a jury. On the second day of the trial, just before the Court adjourned for lunch, one of the jurors got up and said: "My Lord, could I be excused from attending Court this afternoon as my wife is due to conceive." The judge replied: "I think you mean that your wife is due to have her baby, don't you? But there," added the judge, "does it matter which of us is right, because in either event, it is vital that you should be there".
When she bore a son at 18, no one - probably not even Valadon herself - knew the father. She thought it might have been Renoir or Puvis, but she invited Picasso's Spanish friend, Miguel Utrillo, to sign paternity papers. "Well, they are fine artists," he said politely. "I should be honoured to sign my name to a work by either of them.
It is impossible to forgive whoever has done us harm if that harm has lowered us. We have to think that it has not lowered us but revealed our true level. Simone Weil
OUCH!
While waiting for my first appointment in the reception room of a new dentist, I noticed his graduation certificate, which bore his full name. I remembered that there had been a tall, hand-some boy with the same name in my high school some thirty years previously. Upon seeing him, however, I quickly discarded any connection. This balding, gray-haired man with the deeply lined face was far too old to have been my classmate. After he had examined my teeth, I asked him if he had attended the local high school. "Yes," he replied. "When did you graduate?" I asked. He answered, "In 1971. Why?" "You were in my class!" I exclaimed. He looked at me closely and then the unutterable swine asked, "What did you teach?"
THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY
Fr Andrew
Unusually in a man of my age in Australia, I can stand upright, look down and see my feet. I have no protuberant belly to make every step I take an act of faith. Up until recently I used to jog three times a week, always under the cover of darkness, and until coming to Shepparton I danced every Friday evening, after the fashion of a bucolic Scotsman, as unrestrainedly as King David.
Blurred reality
However, although still relatively fit, I don’t relish trips to well-mirrored and well-lit bathrooms to perform my ablutions these days. In the harsh light of reality I am not a pretty sight. I understand well Good Queen Bess’s aversion to mirrors. Those folk who mirror their bathrooms from floor to ceiling I find incomprehensible, and can only suppose that they do so for the same reason that many folk drink whisky. The inevitable condensation on the mirrors gently blurs reality so successfully, that it enables the freshly showered to trot off to work nursing sufficient illusions about themselves to drive away the demons of insecurity and self-hate, which might otherwise render them bad-tempered and ineffective workers.
Reality of another sort once crept up on me in a rectory bathroom. I was standing there before the mirror one evening, brushing the remnants of my luxuriant locks of hair, when I heard strange and unfamiliar footsteps, “tk, tk, tk, tk....” I looked round and a huge rat strolled in.
It didn’t have a towel over its shoulder nor a tablet of soap in its hand and so I assumed, quite reasonably, that it had no right whatsoever to be there and gave a great shout of horror. The rat, not liking my tone of voice, decided to run for it, not out of the bathroom but straight past me, heading for a hole where a tile had fallen off to give access to the space that exists between the house walls. He made a wrong turn and popped instead into the shower cubicle. Quick of wit, I shut the door on him and he was trapped. Round and round he went, looking for a way out. I disposed of him from above with a big stick and a sick feeling in my stomach, perhaps because of my affection for Ratty in “The Wind in the Willows”.
The Lady of Shallot
There are many, many superstitions about mirrors. Understandably, because to look into one reveals something rather more sinister and significant than merely one’s horrifying self as that self really is. Is it you who you see in a mirror, or is it your doppelgänger, a mysterious double?
Alice stepped through her mirror into an amazing world that is as much sinister as it is entertaining. In the Lady of Shalott’s mirror clear....
That hangs before her all the year,
Shadows of the world appear.
There she sees the highway near
Winding down to Camelot....
Disaster ensues when it reveals the enticing and bold Sir Lancelot, whose sight tempts the Lady from her weaving and so....
The mirror crack’d from side to side;
‘The curse is come upon me,” cried
The Lady of Shalott.
This reflects the widespread superstition that to break a mirror is particularly unlucky.
Divination
In the last century mirrors in sick rooms were commonly covered, as they were too in the presence of death and during thunderstorms. More interestingly, mirrors were commonly used in divination. This could well be what St Paul is referring to in 1 Corinthians when he says: “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part... for now we see through a glass, darkly.....” In Chaucer’s “The Squire’s Tale”, we read:
This mirour eek,
that I have in myn hond,
Hath swich a myght
that man may in it see
Whan there shall fallen
any adversittee...
According to many writers of old, including Bobbie Burns, if a maiden stands with a candle before a mirror and eats an apple, then her future husband will appear to her in the mirror. Mirrors reveal the future as well as the present.
There are many other superstitions about mirrors. The devil sometimes uses them to look out at viewers. Babies should not look into a mirror before they are a year old if they want to avoid a troubled life, brides arrayed for their wedding should avoid looking in a mirror, for much the same reasons. A woman who ties her night-cap before the looking-glass will be an old maid!
Asinine readers
Readers of this Pew Sheet should realise that it, too, is a mirror. If an ass looks into it, he cannot expect an apostle to look out!
GOD TEMPERETH ALL
The saddest birds
a season find to sing,
The roughest storm
a calm may soon allay.
Thus with succeeding turns
God tempereth all,
That man may hope to rise
yet fear to fall.....
That net that holds no great
takes little fish;
In some things all,
in all things none are crossed:
Few all they need,
but none have all they wish.
Unmeddled joys here
to no man befall:
Who least, has some,
who most, hath never all.
(Robert Southwell 1561-95)
The middle class in England did not wholly lose the habit of going to church until they acquired motor cars - so negligible in the end is intellect itself.Charles Williams
IRONIC
We talked a little bit about the following song at Wednesday’s Study Group. It is a piece I love and consider it to be very clever. I sometimes read it in church on Good Friday.
IT WAS ON A FRIDAY MORNING
It was on a Friday morning
That they took me from the cell,
And I saw they had a carpenter
To crucify as well.
You can blame it on to Pilate,
You can blame it on the Jews,
You can blame it on the Devil,
It’s God I accuse.
It’s God they ought to crucify
Instead of you and me
I said to the carpenter
A-hanging on the tree.
You can blame it on to Adam,
You can blame it on to Eve,
You can blame it on the Apple,
But that I can’t believe.
It was God that made the Devil
And the Woman and the man,
And there wouldn’t be an Apple
If it wasn’t in the plan.
It’s God they ought to crucify
Instead of you and me
I said to the carpenter
A-hanging on the tree.
Now Barabbas was a killer
And they let Barabbas go.
But you are being crucified
For nothing here below.
But God is up in heaven
And he doesn’t do a thing:
With a million angels watching,
And they never move a wing.
It’s God they ought to crucify
Instead of you and me
I said to the carpenter
A-hanging on the tree.
To hell with Jehovah,
To the carpenter I said,
I wish that a carpenter
Had made the world instead.
Goodbye and good luck to you,
Our ways will soon divide,
Remember me in heaven
The man you hung beside.
It’s God they ought to crucify
Instead of you and me
I said to the carpenter
A-hanging on the tree. Sydney Carter
There are idiots who consider the song to be blasphemous, but of course it isn’t. The whole sweet, blessed, ironic and altogether satisfying point being that it was in fact God who they were crucifying and it was indeed a carpenter who made the world! AN
A PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Bless to me, O God,
the earth beneath my feet,
Bless to me, O God,
the path whereon I go;
Bless to me, O God,
the thing of my desire;
O Evermore of evermore,
bless to me my rest.
Bless to me, O God,
the thing whereon is set my mind,
Bless to me the thing
whereon is set my love;
Bless to me O God the thing
whereon is set my hope;
O King of Kings,
bless to me my eye. Gaelic
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to Betty & Frank Bush who celebrate their wedding anniversary today the 12th of September and to Dulcie & Peter Ackland who celebrate theirs on Friday the 17th. Happy birthday to William Prothero who celebrates his birthday on Tuesday the 14th.
AFTERNOON GUILD COFFEE MORNING
This great occasion is on Mon. 13th September at 10am. Admission is $4.00 and entertainment is provided by "Silver Belles" singers. Trading tables will be loaded and all are welcome.
ANGLICAN CALENDARS
We are now taking names for the purchase of Anglican Calendars. There is a list on the Narthex table for you to place your order they are $12.00 each
SHEPPARTON INTER CHURCH COUNCIL
The meeting this month takes place on September the 30th here at St Augustine’s in the Supper Room at 7.30pm. All are welcome.
RUSHWORTH LIFE SOLUTIONS EXPO
On Friday the 8th October at Rushworth Shire Hall & Rushworth Community House there is an Expo with information sessions & workshops focusing on health issues covering a broad range of ages & abilities. See the notice board for further information
TAKE A BREAK
Please note that the following groups will NOT be meeting while Father Andrew is away: Study Group, Confirmation Preparation, and the Saturday Vigil Eucharist
ANGLICAN WOMEN OF AUSTRALIA LUNCHEON
The Parish Luncheon is on Tuesday 5th October at Christ Church Kilmore. Father Alan Jarrad will speak about "Our Diocesan Schools". 10.30am morning tea, 11.00am Eucharist, 12.15 lunch followed by Guest Speaker. The cost is $8.00 R.S.V.P. to parish office. Alternate luncheons are being held in Benalla on 6th Oct. And Wodonga on the 7th for further information see notice board.
WELCOME
We welcome Fr Wayne Weaire as our celebrant at 9.30am and 10.30am today. On Wednesday Fr Chris Shields will be celebrant and next Sunday Fr Reg Farnell. If a priest is needed urgently while Fr Andrew is away, ring Fr John Price or Fr Wayne Weaire, there numbers are on the front of this pew sheet. Or try Heather in the Office, or one of the Churchwardens: Bev Condon 5821 6161, Carole Henderson 5821 8430, Norm Weaver 5821 2297
PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
There is a Parish Council Meeting this Wednesday, held at Katandra West. Discuss lifts with fellow Councillors. On the agenda is a proposal to hold Council Meetings every month.
PET SERVICE
On Sunday the 3rd of October, at 5.00pm, it being St Francistide, there is to be a Blessing of Pets Service at St Augustine’s. Weather permitting this will be held outside on the north lawn. Encourage people to bring their pets along for a short but usually delightful service
ENTHUSIASM CREATES ACTION
Many thanks to those who so generously gave of their time to the 1st of our Four Seasons Garden Working Bees. It was greatly appreciated. The Summer Working Bee will be on 4th Dec. I hope you will join us. Barbara Whyte
DUTIES FOR THE 12th September 2004
Readers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Heather Carlyon, Norm Mitchelmore
Readers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrea Fisher, Joan McCann
Servers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Michelle, Rachel, Emma
Servers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Carole Henderson, Bev Condon
Euc. Assts 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carole Henderson, John Griffin
Euc. Assts 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jenny Pleming
Intercessors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Victoria Heenan, Children
Welcoming 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Heather Pearson, Bev Ralph
Welcomers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Adrian Evans, Cheryl Richards
Sidespeople 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Trevor Batey, Victoria Heenan
Sidespeople 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alan Akers, Adrian Evans
Tea 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pat Griffin
Mowing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lionel Waterson, Adrian Evans
DUTIES FOR THE 19th September
Readers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Norm Weaver, Jeanette Smith
Readers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lionel Waterson both readings
Servers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Michelle, Kate, James
Servers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Joan, Tiana & Zebadee
Euc. Assts 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heather Fitzgerald, Bev Condon
Euc. Assts 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Maureen Cormican, Christine Evans
Intercessors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Heather Carlyon, Jenny Pleming
Welcoming 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Anita Saville, Heather Nichols
Welcomers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Charlotte Brewer, Christine Jones
Sidespeople 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bob Galt, Joe Pearson
Sidespeople 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charlotte Brewer, Nola Brewer
Tea 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pat Gibson
Mowing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nil
FOR PRAYER
Margaret Bakker, Liam Bognar, Rita Esam, Richard Goodfellow, David Green, John Green, Ron Hall, Margaret Kelley, Frances & family, Joyce Maloney, Richard Pearson, Ray Prosser, Margaret Robinson, Rodger Saville, Phyllis Thompson, Laurie Tindall Lesley Wells, Peter & Eva Swindells,, May Wallace, Elizabeth, Faith, Genevieve, Rachel, Wendy, Albert, Michael, Leanne & Cameron,
Rest in Peace
Iris Hooper
Anniversary of Death
Mary Day 12th, Amy McClusky, Frederick Staff 13th, Bert Smith, Eileen Vlasij 14th, Donald Malcolm 16th, Glen Wells 17th,
IMPORTANT DATES
Sept 13th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Afternoon Guild Morning Coffee
Sept 14th. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Playgroup 10am
Sept 14th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .G.F.S. Townsend 7.30
Sept 15th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Parish Council Meeting/Katandra West
Sept 16th. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evening Guild 2pm
Sept 17 -18th. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Synod
Sept 21st . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Afternoon Guild
Oct 3rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . St Francistide Pet Blessing
Oct 5th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A.W.A. Parish luncheon/Kilmore
Oct 16th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wedding 3.00pm
Oct 17th. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ecumenical 75th Schools Service Katandra 10.45
Oct 23rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wedding 3.00pm
Oct 24th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Confirmation/Baptism
Nov 6th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wedding 3.30pm
Nov 13th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wedding 2.30pm
Nov 13th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Parish Fair
Nov 21st . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bishop’s Visit
Dec 4th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Quarterly Garden Working Bee
Dec 5th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wedding 1.30pm
Dec 8th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. Mary’s Patronal Festival 8pm
Dec 18th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wedding 1.30pm
Dec 31st. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wedding 4pm
Mar 5th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Quarterly Garden Working Bee
Jun 4th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Quarterly Garden Working Bee
THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH
Monday September 13th
Father Andrew on holidays
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
No Evening Prayer
Tuesday September 14th
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
10.00am Playgroup
No Evening Prayer
Wednesday September 15th
10.00am Eucharist - St Augustine’s
1.30pm Hakea Lodge
No Study Group
7.30pm Prayer Support Group - Chapel
7.30pm Parish Council Meeting - Katandra
Thursday September 16th
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
No Confirmation Preparation-Library
No Evening Prayer
7.30pm Choir Practice
Friday September 17th
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
No Evening Prayer
Saturday September 18t
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
No Evening Prayer
No Vigil Eucharist
Sunday September 19th
8.00am Mattins - Lady Chapel
8.30am Sung Eucharist - St Augustine’s
9.00am Eucharist- St. Luke’s Dookie
10.30am Eucharist - St Augustine’s /Children’s Church
10.45am Eucharist -Katandra West
5.30pm Evening Prayer - St Augustine’s