FOURTEENTH SUNDAY after PENTECOST (23)
5th September 2004
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
.... One of America's bestselling snacks is a cheese dip designed to be scooped up with nacho chips. It's runny, it's orange, it tastes like cheese, but a label on the jar says that it's a ‘non-dairy product’.... The Cheesecake Factory is one of the most popular family food chains in the US — and for me the most grotesque example of American food. A single slice of cheesecake is as big as a brick and would more than suffice for a meal. An entire cheesecake could quite easily put a small child into hyperglycaemic shock. It must put a strain on family life, having to watch your nearest and dearest eating this gunk. The cheesecake is just one of the ‘factory' specials whose metal menu lists hundreds of other dishes, like the Tons of Fun burger: ‘Yes, It's True! Double Patties, Double Cheese, Triple Sesame-Seed Bun with Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion, Pickles and Secret Sauce. Served with Fries’ and the Mile-High Meatloaf Sandwich ‘Topped with Mashed Potatoes, Crispy Onions and Barbeque Au Jus. Served Open-Faced on Extra Thick Egg Bread.’ Ella Windsor
A PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
O God, animate us to cheerfulness. May we have a joyful sense of our blessings, learn to look on the bright circumstances of our lot and maintain a perpetual contentedness, whatever you cause to befall us. Fortify our minds against disappointments and calamity. Preserve us from despondency and from yielding to dejection. Teach us that no evil is intolerable but a guilty conscience; and that nothing can hurt us, if, with true loyalty of affection we keep your commandments and take refuge in you. Amen.
W. E. Channing 18th Century
FRUITY
A judge in petty sessions was having trouble with the witness's name. "You say your name is Peach?" he said. "Well, how do you spell it?" "P-i-e-t-z-c-h-e, your Worship," replied the man. "Tell me then," said the judge. "How would you spell apricot?"
TO DEATH
But for your Terror
Where would be Valour?
What is Love for
But to stand in your way?
Taker and Giver,
For all your endeavour
You leave us with more
Than you touch with decay.
Oliver St. John Gogarty
Gogarty, who lived from 1878 to 1957, was a poet, surgeon, and for some time a close friend of James Joyce who portrayed him in the famous novel “Ulysses” as “stately, plump Buck Mulligan”. He published several novels and volumes of verse and was highly rated by Yeats.I consider the above little piece splendid.
Another and far more famous little piece of positive verse comes from the pen of the far more famous poet and artist William Blake.
JOY AND WOE
Joy and Woe are woven fine,
A Clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine
William Blake 1757-1827
MARRIAGE
Paul Johnson (I think)
..........It has always been my contention that marriage, though an ‘honourable estate' as the Prayer Book says, is also a difficult one by its very nature. I often quote Dr Johnson's wise remarks which, coming from a man who did not believe in divorce at all, are worth pondering: "Sir, it is so far from being natural for a man and woman to live in a state of marriage, that we find all the motives which they have for remaining in that connection, and the restrains which civilised society imposes to prevent separation, are hardly sufficient to keep them together." Needless to say, the Doctor was not criticising marriage as an institution, which he thought essential to society, but saying it was difficult and needed to be worked at.
A huge work of construction
I sometimes think that what we need is not more sex education but more marriage education. Couples need to realise that when they emerge from the church or registry office, they are at the beginning of a huge work of construction, involving massive human masonry and taking years of careful craftsmanship, in which subsidence and falls are inevitable and require regular repairs. Indeed all marriages are exercises in social maintenance, demanding constant attention and hard work. What you get out of marriage is ultimately what you put into it, and you ought to try to put into it everything you can, for the results are worth it.
Make it hard not easy
Now I do not deny that some marriages prove impossible and should be nullified in some way. But they are few. In my view the vast majority of marriages that end in divorce are salvageable and ought to continue. Young couples in particular should be taught the lesson of the ages: that marital rows, however dramatic, would always be curable if divorce did not provide an easy way out. Indeed it is amazing how quickly couples get over these crises when they have no alternative......Hence, though opposed to the principle of divorce, as a Catholic, but willing to admit, as a historian, that society has to accommodate itself to impossible marriages, I also argue that divorce should be made hard, not easy, and should not be available to those who want to cop out of a transient difficulty. I want a society in which divorce is again regarded with horror, as the last possible remedy. I also argue that the law should distinguish fundamentally between marriages that have produced children, and those that have not. Needless to say, the increase in bitterly contested divorces is largely due to disputes, legally envenomed, over children. Husbands are now far more likely to challenge the wife's request for custody and seem to believe themselves in some way unmanned and emasculated if they do not fight. It is a curious development, leading to human disasters, of which the children are naturally the victims......Ideally, divorce should be made impossible in law until or unless all children of the marriage are 16 or over. The only exception I would make to this veto is where it can be clearly demonstrated that the life of a spouse or one or more of the children is at risk, and even in these cases a remedy less drastic than divorce might be the right solution.
MEMORY
In medieval times, scholars often erected "memory palaces" to assist their recollection of facts and figures. The palaces were constructed not of bricks and mortar, but of imagination and - although the builders could not possibly have known this - nerve cells in the brain. Whenever something came along that a practitioner of the art of memory palaces wanted to remember for ever, he would create an image of it and place that image in a room in his palace. By roaming around the building of an evening, he could refresh his memory of where he had put things, so that if he ever needed something in a hurry - perhaps years after he had first squirrelled it away - he could fetch it as he might fetch an old coat from a trunk in the attic. Such tricks to improve the memory are as old as anyone can remember.....
IMAGINATIVE SPEECH
Everyday language is falling into a void as imagery and imaginative word use disappear with a frightening rapidity. In a recent survey of business men in a NSW town, the oldest respondent described Shire Council employees as "gangs of men hanging about breast-feeding shovels". Younger respondents spoke primly of ‘inherent inefficiency". Philippa Morris
CHURCH-GOING (1)
A son and a father were once sitting in front of a glowing fire. The boy asked, "Dad, why do we go to church?" His Dad said, "Just watch this coal, son, and tell me what you notice." The Dad took a coal from the fire with tongs and put it on the hearth. Soon the glow from the coal dimmed and after a little while it went black. The fire in the grate remained red and glowing. "What has happened?" the Dad asked. The boy replied, "the coal on its own cooled down and went out, Dad." "Yes," the Dad replied, "and it's the same with us followers of Jesus. We need one another to keep faith alive and strong. On our own we soon find the presence of Christ grows dim."
CHURCH-GOING (2)Did you know that geese flying in formation fly 70% faster than a single goose? Each goose flapping its wings creates an upward lift for the one that follows. Also, when a goose begins to lag, the others ‘honk' it into position. Flying together they help each other on long journeys. What they could not do alone, they can do as a flock.
BAPTISING INFANTS
The central truth of the Gospel which infant baptism enshrines is that faith is the response to God’s saving act, not the condition of it. I am not baptised because I have decided to believe; I believe because I have come to know that I have already been admitted to the sphere of Christ’s redemption. My decision to believe follows from the saving fact; it is not the saving fact itself.... I am not saved by any decision which I have taken; on the contrary, while I was weak and helpless, God took me and placed me within the sphere of the redemption wrought by Christ. I did not choose to be born into a Christian family or to be taken to the font.... I did not earn the grace that was given freely to me; God’s election of me remains a mystery, something of which I can give no rational explanation at all. I did not choose Christ; It was Christ who chose me (cf John 15:16); I love because he first loved me (cf 1 John 4:19) This is the New Testament doctrine of baptismal justification; I am not justified by my faith; I believe because I have been justified. This doctrine, which is the heart of the apostolic faith, is perfectly symbolised in the baptism of infants: the important thing that happens in baptism is what God does, not what we do. Our faith is not the condition of our baptism but the response to it, made possible by our having already received the Holy Spirit. (Cf 1 Cor 12:3) Allan Richardson
R. S. THOMAS
Arguably the greatest lyric poet of the 20th century was an Anglican priest, the curmudgeonly Welshman R.S. Thomas.
In 1990, after 50 years of marriage, his wife, the painter Elsi Eldridge, died, and the following poem is as beautiful a tribute to their marriage or to any marriage that I have ever come across..... as Byron Rogers puts it in a review of his later poems: “thought trickling through its short lines like water down outstretched fingers.”
A MARRIAGE
We met
under a shower
of bird notes.
Fifty years passed,
love’s moment
in a world in
servitude to time.
She was young,
I kissed with my eyes
closed and opened
them on her wrinkles.
‘Come,’ said death,
choosing her as his
partner for
the last dance. And she,
who in life
had done everything
with a bird’s grace,
opened her bill now
for the shedding
of one sigh no
heavier than a feather.
REVERSION
Because of migratory choristers and organists, rather than out of sympathy with long suffering pew-sitters, we are reverting to the old setting of the Eucharist for some weeks.
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to Father John Price who celebrates his birthday on Tuesday the 7th September. Also to Nicholas Christopher Damianopoulos to be baptized into the Church today at 12.00 noon.
ANGLICAN CALENDERS
We are now taking names for the purchase of Anglican Calenders. There is a list on the Narthex table for you to place your order they are $12.00 each
AFTERNOON GUILD COFFEE MORNING
This great occasion is on Monday 13th September at 10am. Admission is $4.00 and entertainment is provided by "Silver Bells" singers. Trading tables will be loaded and all are welcome.
STUDY GROUP
The Study Group meets on Wednesday at 6.30pm in the Rectory, starting with a meal, as usual, but for the last time for a few weeks as the Rector will be away.
PARISH FAIR
Don’t forget the Parish Fair and please do what you can to support it. Raffle tickets need to sold, friends encouraged to dispose of decent jumble our way and to join in making marmalades, jams and so on.
WORKING BEE
Last week I thanked those who attended the Garden Working Bee before it had occurred. It has now happened, last Saturday, and thank you again for your support!
NAME TAGS
The name tags on the board are there to be used, please do so. Those of us who suffer from a poor memory for names find them very useful.
IMPORTANT DATES
Sept.7th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Playgroup 10am
Sept 7th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baptism Preparation 7.30
Sept 11th. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wedding
Sept. 11th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Father Andrew starts holidays
Sept 12th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Children’s Church 10.30 Service
Sept 13th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Afternoon Guild Morning Coffee
Sept 15th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parish Council Meeting (at Katandra)
Sept 17 -18th. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Synod
Sept 21st . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Afternoon Guild
Oct 3rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . St Francistide Pet Blessing
Oct 16th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wedding 3.00pm
Oct 23rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wedding 3.00pm
Oct 24th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Confirmation
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 18th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wedding 1.30pm
Mar 5th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Quarterly Garden Working Bee
Jun 4th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Quarterly Garden Working Bee
DUTIES FOR THE 5th September
Readers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gwyn Cowland, Pat Griffin
Readers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Hilder Lidgard, Christine Jones
Servers 8,30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Michelle, Rachel, Emma
Servers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joan McCann
Euc. Assts 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bev Condon, John Griffin
Euc. Assts 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Maureen Cormican, Carole Henderson
Intercessors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Margaret Neaum, Joan McCann
Welcoming 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beryl Goodfellow, Cecily McDonald
Welcomers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jill Waterson, Nola Brewer
Sidespeople 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Norm Mitchelmore, Joy Campbell
Sidespeople 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .John Pleming, Jenny Pleming
Tea 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gwyn Cowland
Mowing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nil
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bev Condon, 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
FOR PRAYER
This list has been restarted for the new month. Add the name of anyone you would like prayed for to the list in the narthex, with their permission and signing yourself in as a contact person.
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,, Genevieve, Wendy, Albert, Michael, Leanne & Cameron,
Anniversary of Death
Bert White 6th, Della Proctor 7th, George Stone 8th, Glynn Davis, Margaret Condon 9th, Thomas Tacy 10th.
THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH
Monday September 6th
(Fr Andrew’s day off)
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
5.30pm Evening Prayer
Tuesday September 7th
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
10.00am Playgroup
11.00am Funeral - Kyabram
5.30pm Evening Prayer
7.30pm Baptism Preparation - Narthex
Wednesday September 8th
7.45am Mattins - Lady Chapel
10.00am Eucharist - St Augustine’s
1.30pm Hakea Lodge
5.30pm Hospice Care Meeting
6.30pm Study Group
7.30pm Prayer Support Group - Chapel
Thursday September 9th
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
5.00pm Confirmation Preparation-Library
7.30pm Choir Practice
Friday September 10th
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
6.00pm Wedding Rehearsal
5.30pm Evening Prayer
Saturday September 11th
Neaums on holiday “Yippee”
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
2.30pm Wedding - St Augustine’s
5.30pm Evening Prayer
6.00pm Vigil Eucharist
Sunday September 12th
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