THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT
17th December 2006
Graphics and cartoons appear only in the printed version
CHRISTMAS SERVICES 2006
Advent Four 24th December
8.30am Sung Eucharist
10.30am Eucharist
Christmas Eve Sunday 24th December
5.30pmChildren’s Eucharist
8.00pm Eucharist (Katandra)
11.00pm Carols
11.30pm Midnight Mass
Christmas Day Monday 25th December
8.30am Sung Eucharist & Carols
8.45am Eucharist (Dookie)
10.30am Eucharist and Carols
FEELING FINE
A Queensland farmer was seeking damages for injuries sustained when his horse was hit by a car. In court, the defence counsel asked, “After the accident, didn’t someone come over to you and ask how you felt?” The farmer replied, “Yes, I believe that that is so.” And didn’t you tell him that you never felt better in your life?” “Yes, I did,” replied the farmer. The defence counsel then sat down and the plaintiff’s counsel stood up and asked: “Will you tell His Honour the circumstances in which you made the response?” “I will,” replied the farmer. “Not long after the accident, my horse, which had sustained broken legs, was thrashing around. A policeman came up to the horse, put his revolver to its ear and shot it dead. Then he went over to my dog, which had a broken back and was howling miserably. He put his revolver to the dog’s ear and shot it. Then he came over to me and asked, ‘How do you feel?’ I said, ‘I never felt better in my life.’”
FROM THE RECTOR
from the December Parish Magazine
Since last I wrote in these pages I have been embraced by the Spanish dancer (i.e. cancer), hospitalised in Melbourne, knifed by a robot and billed thousands of dollars for a job well done.
Dumped
My first brush with Spanish dancing was about thirty eight years ago and more welcome. In my last year at university I had a girl friend who was a talented Spanish dancer. She was fanatical about flamenco, castanets, Velazquez, Goya, tapas and all things Iberian. When she left me behind in Rhodesia to head for Spain to train more seriously as a dancer, her contact there with full-blooded and flamboyant Latinity opened her eyes to the insipidity of blond, self-controlled, ironic Englishmen like me. Boo hoo! On my way to England from Rhodesia I stopped off for a while in Madrid where she was studying, but discovered that all was lost. Someone else had excised the Spanish dancer from my life as successfully, I hope, as the surgeon-directed robot has excised this more recent one. We shall see.
Killing what we love
The people and things we most love in our lives are those we are most likely seriously to damage, hurt and even destroy. Oscar Wilde in his long “Ballad of Reading Gaol” put this most memorably:
.....each man kills the thing he loves
By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword!
Some love too little, some too long,
Some sell, and others buy;
Some do the deed with many tears,
And some without a sigh:
For each man kills the thing he loves,
Yet each man does not die.
It is a truth seen often in marriage. A lovely young bride, idealistic, effervescent, hopeful and positive, can be stifled, thwarted, made cynical, turned into something other than herself, all but destroyed by a loving but also selfish and insensitive spouse after but a few years of marriage. So too with the sweet, ordered, reasonable Anglican Church which I love so much. It, likewise, is stifled, thwarted and all but killed by those who claim allegiance and even profess to love her, but who yet, in refusing to play any real part in her life, are accessories to her long, slow death. It is only when our beloved are dead and gone that we discover how much indeed we did love them, but it is too late then.
Nineteen thousand smackers
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about our hugely successful Parish Fair this year was that a coherent philosophy and raison d’etre for it was clearly articulated to focus and direct all our efforts. Just as old Scrooge with miserliness of spirit declared Christmas to be hum bug, so I myself have at times in the past declared Parish Fetes to be hum bug and wasted effort. How much less painful, I have argued, if everyone simply handed over a cash equivalent of all their effort and time. But, a great deal of effort and pain in life is altogether worthwhile and good. So with Pat Gibson’s conviction that the Parish Fair is an opportunity to declare Anglicanism’s essential virtue of inclusiveness to guide us, we set out to involve as wide a section of our parish and community in its running as possible. What a joy this was! So many folk supporting, helping and working with us, and so many, many people from our community in attendance, eating, looking, buying, listening and relaxing. One of Anglicanism’s most attractive characteristics should be inclusivism. In our Parish Fair this year this was demonstrated admirably. Well done to Pat Gibson and the many, many others who were a part of it all. The Raffle made a profit of about $5000 and the Fair itself one of roughly $14,240 a grand total of well over $19,000!
Mommy won’t be kissing Santa
The best Christmas Carol Service you are likely to experience this year in Shepparton will be the one held in St Augustine’s on Friday 15th of December at 7.30pm. Well known carols will be sung by all, less well known ones by the choir ,which this year we plan to have accompanied by a recorder and Celtic drum now and then, to add an authentic medieval feel and sound to some of the older carols. There will be contemporary readings as well as scriptural, and to end it all off nibbles, booze, tea and coffee. Not to be missed unless you are the sort who prefers Jingle Bells, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa crooned into microphones and amplifiers at Carols by Candlelight.
A Marxist to the rescue
I am sure you have not noticed, but I am not always right. I make mistakes and errors. I like to admit this because one of the most valuable of social assets is a propensity to see and acknowledge oneself as wrong. Certainty is the curse that lies behind most fanaticism and it is as deplorable in a Christian as in anyone else. The atheist Bertrand Russel once observed that the fundamental cause of problems in the world is that the intelligent are full of doubt while the stupid are cocksure. The most persuasive and widely respected of atheists these days is Richard Dawkins who has just published a book called “The God Delusion”. It is apparently an often dazzling demolition of standard arguments in favour of God’s existence. The best of our theologians, being imbued with the spirit of charity and of Jesus’ turning of the other cheek even to the enemy, tend to treat such books mildly and gently. Dawkins, unattractively certain of himself and unrestrained by any pretensions to Christian charity, foams at the mouth with hatred of our Faith and all Faiths. Being rather less charitable than the best of our theologians, I took great pleasure in reading a brilliant and polemical demolition of Dawkins’ book, not by a Christian but by Terry Eagleton, a Marxist Professor of English Literature at Manchester University. So if any local Sheppartonian, tin-pot atheist trumpets Dawkins’ to you, gently suggest, in your fair-minded Anglican way, that there is another side to the question, and show them a copy of Eagleton’s review in the “London Review of Books” of Dawkins’ book. A copy can be had from me on request.
What’s in a name
For too long a pair of unstable and less than sightly easels have groaned under the weight of hundreds of name tags in the narthex. With great difficulty they have had to be carted away whenever there was a large funeral and little children have risked being flattened by them as they cavort around the narthex. I am pleased to say that they have now been carted away forever. Frank Bush has made and fixed to the narthex walls two fine, unobtrusive wooden cupboards for name tags. One of our most interesting tasks has been to cull the name tags of folk deceased, migrated, turned Jehovah’s Witness or so nominal that we have forgotten who they are. Being inclusive Anglicans, however, we write no one off entirely and so stoe old name tags for possible resurrection.
Warfare at the Rectory
As the morning sky begins to lighten each day, I am usually sitting at the computer, versifying, sermonising or article writing. It is a good time for thinking and writing, until I hear the pterodactylic caterwauling of cockatoos outside. Whereupon I dash out to throw missiles at them before they decimate a not inconsiderable crop of walnuts on our tree. It is probably a losing battle, not least because I have a soft spot for the beautiful birds and so cannot be truly vicious, and they are very intelligent. They swoop in silently and with no cacophonous calling whatsoever when really intent on a feed. If we are around and about they simply grab a walnut and take it off to eat at leisure in a nearby eucalyptus tree before making another quick swoop. They are about now as I write this article. A good cue to wind up, finish and go to hurl a tennis ball at them. So, from Margaret and myself, have a most blessed Christmas and a walnut-full New Year. We look forward to seeing you in Church.
THE GREEN GOSPEL
In this extract from a letter to the Spectator of the 9th of December, Paul Horgan of Crowthorne, Berkshire points out some to the interesting religious characteristics of the Green movement:
.......Environmentalism is the new religion of the Western world. It has replaced the scientific secularism of Marxism/socialism, which itself replaced monotheism when this began to be discredited by Darwinism.
This Earth worship has all the hallmarks of Christianity, which is why it is so easily accepted by the non-church-attending masses. Just as the Roman empire discovered, when the masses have embraced a religion the state has to follow, and it is doing so with a vengeance.
Consider this: the ejection from Eden and original sin are replaced in environmentalism by the transformation of the largely agricultural economy by the Industrial Revolution into a polluting hell on earth. The Ten Commandments of this new faith are the injunctions to lead a greener lifestyle. We have Armageddon replaced by the cataclysm of global warming. True salvation is achieved by going green — recycling wherever possible and driving an economical car. Sinners are the people who drive 4x4s, and the Second Coming becomes an age of total use of sustainable resources and de-industrialisation when we may return to the pastoral age we abandoned.
The religion has its own church and prophets, represented by unelected and unaccountable groups like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, whose words are accepted as gospel. It has its militants, who picket power stations and destroy farming and other businesses with which they do not agree. Their theology precludes all forms of industry as we understand it and results in the ignorant persecution of the innocent. We saw this with the Brent Spar affair, where the dumping of a redundant oil platform caused boycotts and demonstrations despite the fact that the environmental impact of the operation was minimal......
WHEN DID CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION BEGIN
When did the celebration of the Christmas festival begin? It is strange to learn that for the first three centuries Christians did not celebrate it at all. Why was this? It was because their interest was wholly centred on Jesus as the Crucified and Exalted Lord. They had not begun to think about the Incarnation. But as time went on, and Christian thinkers began to reflect more deeply upon the Person of our Lord, they began to see the significance of the Incarnation. Eastern Christians, in particular, began to think a great deal about 'the mystery of God's entry into the world in a human person'. As their interest in the 'historical Jesus' deepened, instinctively the
Church began to celebrate Christmas with joy and splendour. The earliest Christmas liturgy that has yet been discovered is an Egyptian papyrus of the beginning of the fourth century. The number of fingerprints on this fragment show that it had been much used. It opens with readings from the Gospels: about Christ's birth at Bethlehem, the flight into Egypt, and the return to Nazareth, with the sung response:
Born at Bethlehem,
Brought up at Nazareth,
Dwelt in Galilee.
This was followed by the story of the visit of the Magi, to which the choir sang the response:
We have seen a sign from heaven,
The shining star.
Then the priest read the Nativity Story from the Gospel of Luke and the choir sang:
Shepherds in the field were amazed,
They fell on their knees and sang:
Glory to the Father, Hallelujah!
Glory to the Son, & to the Holy Ghost!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
This was how the birth of Christ was celebrated at the beginning of the fourth century, on the night of January 6th to 7th.
But why on January 6th? To understand this we have to go back a little way. In the second century there was a heretical sect—the followers of the Alexandrian Gnostic Basilides—which celebrated the Baptism of Christ on January 6th or 10th. Their view was that the divine Christ only 'appeared on earth' at the Baptism of Jesus. So this festival was called 'Epiphany' or 'appearing'. Apparently this sect chose this date because on the night of January 5th -6th the waters of the Nile were supposed to have magical powers. The orthodox Christians, on the other hand, did not believe that Christ's first 'appearing' was at his Baptism, but they appreciated the importance of that event, so they chose January 6th in order to combine the memory of his 'appearing' at his Baptism with that of his birth. For a long time the feast of the Epiphany was celebrated in Palestine with great magnificence. Why then was the date of the Christmas festival changed, later on, from January 6th to December 25th? The reasons for this change are not yet quite clear; perhaps they never will be. ‘The most probable assumption', says Oscar Cullmann, ‘is that this took place in Rome between A.D. 325 and 354, after the older Epiphany festival had already come from the east to the west, possibly even to Rome. December 25th is attested in Rome as the date of Christ's birth in the year A.D. 336, and must have been observed as such, even before this, under Constantine the Great.'
December 25th was chosen because it coincided with the great pagan festival in honour of the Sun, the ‘unconquered Sun-God'. The Christian leaders felt that it was fitting that the festival of light should be 'baptized into Christ', the Light of the world. ‘Christ is our new Sun', said St Ambrose. For a time the merging of the two festivals caused a good deal of confusion of thought, and a certain amount of opposition to the change of date. Professor Cullmann has shown that it was Chrysostom who finally succeeded in establishing, once for all, the date of December 25th as the festival of Christmas. Olive Wyon
CONGRATULATIONS
Birthdays
Charles Grant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17th Dec
Joy Martin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18th Dec
Lawrie Tinning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18th Dec
Barbara Philp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20th Dec
Erin Dunlop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20th Dec
Ella Egan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22nd Dec
Joe Pearson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23rd Dec
PACIFIC BLACK DUCKS
Our fountain on Maude Street was visited last Monday by a Pacific Black Duck and seven tiny ducklings. The drought appears to be driving ducks to urban oases such as St. Augustine’s. So small were the duck-lings that we supposed them to have been recently hatched in the church grounds, though how this could have been so, unobserved, is hard to imagine. Sadly a passing family of shoppers insisted on sitting on the fountain’s edge, frightening the mother duck off and then, we think, they took the ducklings home. Words fail me! Pacific Black Ducks form by far the largest proportion of duck hunters’ bags each year. That they should have found no safe sanctuary even with mother Church grieves me.
NOLA’S RECORD
One of the sharpest and wittiest of Saint Augustinians is Nola Brewer. She fixes you with those pale blue eyes of hers, which in her youth must have devastated the local lads from miles around and then with the wittiest of comments either lifts up your flagging spirits or dashes you down to size if you are being at all pompous or uppity. She is also an extremely effective A.B.M. representative for our parish as the following little note from her indicates: “Congratulations from A.B.M. to you all for boxes and cash donations for Mission this year. I am thrilled with our total. I sent $1,000 to Sydney last week, this is by far our best effort since I have been collecting ( which is many years). 37 boxes were returned and 6 box-holders returned their’s 3 times this year. There were 33 cash donations. Carol Russell, A.B.M’s Support Manager wrote to thank us for our Gold Coin donation of $358.70 for the Water Project to Cadtay Irrigation Benguet in the Philippines. On your behalf I asked that our $1,000 go to this ongoing project for a worthy cause. P.S. Our previous best year was $531 last year.
Again on behalf of A.B.M. & myself thank you so much. Nola Brewer
A GREAT CHRISTMAS PRESENT
Barbara Whyte on behalf of her Church Gardening Group has organised for us all a Day trip to the beautiful Cloud Hill & Range View Gardens in Olinda:
Date 8th Feb 2007
Departure 8.30am car-park behind church
Return 6.30pm approx
Price $30 travel & admittance
Contact Barbara Whyte 58212738 or
Church office 58217630
UMBRELLAS
A Market umbrella and a Beach umbrella have been left at the church after the Parish Fair. If you know to whom they belong please contact the Parish Office. There are also quite a supply of plates and dishes in the Narthex kitchen, please check if you are missing any.
ANGLICAN CALENDARS
The Anglican Calendars have now arrived for those who placed an order. They are available from the office upon payment of $10 each.
STUPID THIEVES
On Saturday night last week some particularly stupid thieves managed to get in to the hall hoping to find something worthwhile to steal. The only room they found locked was the Den and so they smashed one of its doors beyond repair and forced the locks on all the cupboards leaving, it seems with nothing except a sense of grievance at going to so much effort to gain nothing.
CHURCH MEETING VENUES
Although we hold many meetings in the Church Narthex it is far from satisfactory to do so. During the day there are constant interruptions from visitors, some wanting emergency food, others relief for distress of one sort or another, others information or whatever. At night it is gloomy and exposed. We plan next year to use the Den as our normative meeting place, it being the most inviting and comfortable of the Hall’s rooms. This by no means must interfere with the running of the Play Group on Tuesday mornings, however and so adequate and secure storage of their equipment will be provided.
NEXT YEAR’S DUTY ROSTERS
There are lists in the narthex for folk who would like to sign up for next year’s duty rosters. Unless you sign off you will automatically be assumed as wishing to stay with the duties for which you were rostered in 2006.
PARISH COUNCIL
The PCC meets on Wednesday at 7.30pm. Bring along a plate or bottle or both and we will have a quick meeting before repairing to the Rectory for conviviality.
EMERGENCY FOOD
Donations of non-perishable foods needed for our emergency food bags.
DATES FOR THE DIARY
Dec 19th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baptism Preparation
Dec 20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parish Council
Jan 19th. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pastoral Care meeting 1.30/Library
Jan 20th. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wedding 3.30
Feb 10th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wedding 3pm
Feb 17th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wedding
Mar 1st . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ash Wednesday
Mar 3rd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wedding 2pm
Mar 10th. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wedding 1pm
Mar 10th. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wedding 3pm
Apr 8th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Easter Sunday
May 20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Patronal Festival
May 25th - 26th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Synod
May 27th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pentecost
May 24th. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Parish Fair meeting 4.30pm
June 18-21. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Clergy Retreat
Oct 15-18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Clergy Conference
Nov 10th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Parish Fair
Duties for 17th December 2006
Celebrant 6.30 Saturday 16th Dec. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Andrew Neaum
Celebrant 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Andrew Neaum
Celebrant 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gail Bryce
Celebrant Dookie 8.45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gail Bryce
Celebrant Katandra 10.45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Andrew Neaum
Readers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Heather Fitzgerald, Victoria Heenan
Readers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mary Pearson, Nancy Noonan
Servers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beth
Servers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joan, Jason, Campbell
Euc. Assts 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Margaret Neaum, Bev Condon
Euc. Assts 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jenny Pleming , Carole Henderson
Intercessors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bev Condon, Christine Jones
Welcoming 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Heather Pearson, Cecily McDonnell
Welcomers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nola Brewer, Cheryl Richards
Sidespeople 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Joy Campbell, Trevor Batey
Sidespeople 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adrian Evans, Alan Akers
Tea 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Shirley Dean
Mowing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lionel Waterson, Adrian Evans
Welcomers Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dorothy Cook
Duties for 24th December 2006
Celebrant 6.30pm Sat 23rd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Andrew Neaum
Celebrant 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gail Bryce
Celebrant 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Andrew Neaum
Celebrant Kids Church Mass 5.30pm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Andrew Neaum
Celebrant Katandra 8.30pm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Helen Malcolm
Readers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Liz Gyles, Pat Griffin
Readers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lionel Waterson, Nancy Fennell
Servers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Michelle
Servers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jenny, Georgia, Sally
Euc. Assts 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Griffin, Margaret Neaum
Euc. Assts 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carole Henderson, Bev Condon
Intercessors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Celebrant, Nancy Fennell
Welcoming 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Anita Saville, Jeanette Berry
Welcomers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Hilder Lidgard, Jenny Moran
Sidespeople 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gwyn Cowland, Merv Cowland
Sidespeople 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charlotte Brewer, Nola Brewer
Tea 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pat Griffin
Mowing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Russell Family, Michael Egan
Welcomers Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mary Pearson
Duties for Midnight
Celebrant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gail Bryce
Preacher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Neaum
Servers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carole, John G, Michelle, Beth, Jenny
Eucharistic Assistants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Canon Andrew, Revd. Dr Helen
Readers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pat Griffin,
Welcomers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Churchwardens or Councillor volunteers
Intercessor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Clergy
Duties for Christmas Day
Celebrant 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Andrew Neaum
Celebrant 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Andrew Neaum
Celebrant Dookie 8.45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gail Bryce
Readers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Norm Weaver, Gwyn Cowland
Readers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bev Condon, Liz Booth
Servers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .To be arranged
Servers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .To be arranged
Euc. Assts 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heather Fitzgerald, Margaret Neaum
Euc. Assts 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Evans, Maureen Cormican
Intercessors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Margaret Neaum, Maureen Cormican
Welcoming 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pat Griffin, Joy Campbell
Welcomers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frank Steen, Hilder Lidgard
Sidespeople 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bev & Max Ralph
Sidespeople 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jenny & John Pleming
REQUESTS FOR PRAYER
Liam Bognar, David Burrow, Mark Cowan, Hamish Fisher, Melissa Galizia, Leon Meyer, Marven Mould, Jan Riches, Cheryl, David, Don, Glenda, Greg, Heather, Judith, Maurie, Peggy & Carers, Robert, Ross, Sherena, Su, Jim, Wayne & family.
Anniversary of Death
Bub Fennell 19th, Bertha Northey 20th, Frederick Nowell, Maxwell Allen 21st, Vera Tattersall, Kim Chapman, Gwendoline Hounslow 22nd, Garnet Wall, Chloe Schaper 23rd.
THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH
Monday 18th December Rector’s Day Off
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
Tuesday 19th December
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
12.15pm Simply Soul Soothing - Lady Chapel
Wednesday 20th December Ember Day
7.45am Mattins - Lady Chapel
10.00am Eucharist- St Augustine’s
11.30am Bible Study - Library
3.30pm Evening Prayer - Lady Chapel
7.30pm Parish Council - Rectory
Thursday 21st December St. Thomas
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
9.30am Eucharists at Tarcoola Village
10.00am Eucharist - Grutzner House & Harmony Village
5.30pm Choir Practice
Friday 22nd December Ember Day
7.45am Mattins and Eucharist - Lady Chapel
11.00am Eucharist - Ave Maria
3.30pm Evening Prayer - Lady Chapel
Saturday 23rd December Associate Priest’s Day Off
7.45am Mattins - Lady Chapel
6.30pm Vigil Eucharist - Lady Chapel