SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT
5th December 2010
Graphics and cartoons & liturgical material appear only in the printed version
WELL SUITED
In the dark and yet strangely happier days before welfare handouts and dependency, when many folk experienced perforce the blessedness of real poverty, rather than today’s inflated definitions of it, Mendel saved for years to buy a really fine tailor-made suit, his very first. After he had been out in it for an hour or so, he noticed that there were things wrong with it. He went back to the tailor. “The arms are too long,” said Mendel. “No problem, just hold your arms out further and bend at the elbows.” “But the trouser legs are too long!” “Right, no problem, walk with your knees bent.” “The collar is too high, it’s halfway up the back of my head!” “O.K., just poke your head out further.” So Mendel went out into the world with his first tailor-made suit. As he passed a couple in the street, the woman said, “Look at that poor man! He must have been absolutely mangled in a car accident.” The man said: “But what a fine suit he is wearing.”
RETURNING TO ZIMBABWE (2)
(Andrew Neaum)
Frugal travellers, we had packed sandwiches enough for our entire journey from Johannesburg to Harare. Some were egg and mayonnaise ones, a nasty trick to play on fellow travellers in the confined space of a bus. However it was in the little bus-company waiting room that we ate our first ration with some gusto, reading our respective books, mine being Rupert Shortt’s excellent biography of Rowan Williams, Diana’s an informative book on Zimbabwe. As is so often the case in waiting rooms, other folk proved to be an interesting distraction, inviting speculation as to their reasons for travel, whether their hair was their own or a wig, or dyed and so on. Interestingly many African women wear wigs whereas men do not, a double standard that would surely offend a good feminist, if there is such a thing. Pride in appearance and demeanour is very evident in modern South Africa, and black is indeed beautiful.
All our fellow travellers turned out to be black, delightful, friendly and very helpful. On long trips such as ours there develops a camaraderie that is heart-warming. Nearly all of them appeared to be returning to Zimbabwe to visit relatives with a huge variety of gifts. So much so that although a mere bus rather than an aeroplane, everyone’s luggage had to be weighed-in and charges were levied for those over a declared maximum. The person in front of us in the queue had with him, among other things, a huge microwave oven, and someone else a strangely shaped, wrapped item that revealed itself eventually to be a department store mannequin, when a rip developed over its left buttock. Oddly there was a sign up to say that empty buckets were forbidden as luggage. Later we observed hundreds of them being pushed through the windows of other buses, obviously very popular and saleable items in Zimbabwe. We ourselves were glad to be so lightly burdened by a mere haversack each.
During our long late-afternoon and evening wait I made a sortie across the great station promenade to visit the lavatory, and was accosted twice by hopeful beggars, or possible con-artists. The first, a bulky male, I brushed off politely, the second, a female whom we later observed wandering around trying her luck with others, had an interesting opening gambit, once she had caught my eye: “Thank you for not swearing at me sir.....”
Before getting on the bus we were required to fill in a customs form which was collected by one of the two bus drivers, and then we boarded, pleased to discover that we had a front seat behind the driver. He was seated much lower than his passengers giving us a clear view of the road ahead and enabling us to note how fast we were travelling. We left well after the scheduled 8.00pm, largely because of one of those voluble arguments, so common in Africa, between the driver and two young passengers from another bus which had apparently broken down some time earlier, and who were therefore owed a trip on our bus as far as Pretoria.
Once on our way I slept only in fits and starts, as is always the case with me, be it on a bus or an aeroplane. Diana, on the other hand, appeared to sleep with enviable soundness. One of the two bus drivers when we were stationary, went outside and let himself into a tiny little sleeping compartment beside the huge luggage hold. Horribly claustrophobic, I would have thought.
The journey through the northern Transvaal, being in the dark, was less than notable. We stopped at Middle Rand, Pretoria and in what used to be called Pietersburg but is now Polokwane. There were also occasional stops for “tolls”, these appear to be a South African innovation that has spread to Zimbabwe. Even on roads that were made and paid for many years ago, tolls are now levied, purportedly for road upkeep and maintenance. Cars are charged a less amount than coaches, the bigger the vehicle the greater being the toll. On the way I awoke to appreciate the well remembered tunnels through the mountain range near Louis Trichardt and then slept fitfully until, in the very early dawn, with just a faint flush of light on the horizon, we arrived at the border, Beit Bridge.
Clearing the border
It took us four and a half hours to clear the border, the first hour being wasted in a great queue of trucks and buses on the South African side of the great Limpopo river. This futile wait ended all of a sudden when, for no apparent reason, we were inexplicably waved through. I spent much of the hour gazing at the first baobab tree I had seen in many years, though it was not the best of specimens. The South African immigration and custom formalities, when once we got to them, were trouble free and relatively easy. There appeared to be a new shift of officials coming on duty at the immigration centre, and they evinced no sense of urgency, showing little apparent regard for the hundreds of folk lined up on the other side waiting to be cleared for entry into South Africa. I wondered if the great pressure of immigration from Zimbabwe to South Africa had aroused in officials a disdainful reluctance to expedite it in anyway. Certainly the demeanour and attitude of the female officer in charge brought to mind the sort of officialdom one reads of in totalitarian states.
Having cleared South African Immigration and Customs our bus lumbered across Beit Bridge which spans the Limpopo. This great river was immortalised by Rudyard Kipling in the “Just So Stories” as: the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, where the Bi-Coloured Python Rock-Snake dwells. Of all African rivers that flow east into the Indian Ocean it is second in length only to the Zambezi. There was a good amount of water in it, especially considering that it was the end of the dry season,
The formalities at the Zimbabwean border post were rather more lengthy than on the South African side, and the whole place looked shabby, unkempt and unloved. Diana and I had no problems personally at all however, we paid our $50 each for a visa, without any noticeable expectation of a bribe, and we had nothing to declare. The currency now in use in Zimbabwe is the American dollar, so the infamous billion and trillion Zimbabwean dollar notes are now valuable only as curiosities. The densely packed bus had to be unpacked completely and everyone’s baggage lined up beside the vehicle. This lengthy task was performed by a strong and energetic man employed by I know not whom, but who later, when he had re-packed the bus with great skill and energy, boarded the bus for well earned applause and tips. Once the bus had been unpacked everyone waited beside their gear until an official came to inspect it all. We were told that this was a mere formality and that his palm had already been well greased by the bus company, but I have no way of corroborating this. It was a lengthy business for a mere charade though.
Dangerous photos
I had read somewhere that to photograph government installations or activities in Zimbabwe was ill-advised, and so I took only one photograph. A fellow passenger took several and was later interrogated and hassled for half an hour for having done so, presumably in hope of a bribe, which in the end she escaped. This was largely due to the intervention of our fine bus driver who took her side with persuasive eloquence. The woman concerned is a teacher in England, was Zimbabwean born, of mixed race and travelling on an Italian passport to visit her relatives.
Once finally clear of the border and heading north, we took the fork that bears more eastwards for Masvingo and then Harare, rather than the route that heads more westward to Bulawayo. The road was in tolerable condition but deteriorating, obviously in need of maintenance that has been far too long deferred. It was crumbling at the edges and contained a fair number of unpleasant and sometimes almost deadly potholes, however it was certainly not in a direly disgraceful state, so some maintenance work must have taken place during the thirty or more years since last I travelled on it. There was little traffic, most of it trucks and buses, and along the way we passed several burnt-out vehicles, presumably the result of nasty accidents. Vandalised road signs have not been replaced or repaired and so the distance from one’s destination remained more guesswork than certainty. There were also frequent police road blocks. They appeared to be a mere formality and the police were genial, but there was nonetheless something slightly ominous about them.
As we drew nearer to Masvingo, where we stopped for a twenty minute break, so the landscape became more impressive, with many large granite-bouldered kopjes that were well wooded with msasa trees as the altitude became higher, and also dotted with impressive euphorbias The rains had yet to come and so everything was very arid. Most of the countryside we passed through was made up of subsistence farmland, goat devastated and over-grazed. We saw no wildlife except for a couple of monkeys, and although I was delighted to spot my first “toppie” (yellow vented bulbul) and white-necked ravens, even the birdlife was less than abundant, probably more because of the time of year than because of Mr Mugabe’s depredations!
Our late start and the time spent at the border meant that we were obviously going to be very late arriving in Harare and so we borrowed a fellow passenger’s mobile phone at Masvingo and let Biddy Railton, who was picking us up in Harare, know this. From Masvingo we sped through some of the best farmland in Zimbabwe, most of it now uncultivated in any meaningful way, and we arrived in Harare just as the madness of rush hour was at its height. The nearer we got to the city the more numerous became the “taxis”, these being vans driven with cavalier, derring-do and much horn blowing by cowboy drivers who pack them with passengers like pilchards in a can.
We pulled into the teeming Harare coach station at about 6.00pm and the driver wished us all farewell, apologising with heavy irony for “being late”, an understatement which aroused a great roar of laughter from his passengers. (to be continued
REMORSE
True remorse is never just a regret over consequence; it is a regret over motive. Mignon McLaughlin
NOISE IN THE HALL
For many years of my life I have lived next to Church Halls. It is a mixed blessing. On the one hand all of a hall’s facilities have been available to me: badminton, table tennis, tables, chairs, kitchen and so on, On the other hand I have been called out innumerable times for keys, lights, leaks and break-ins, and have been kept awake by noise and appalling behaviour, normally from birthday parties and weddings.
On Sunday night in our hall at St Augustine’s there was a wedding that was noisy, yes indeed, but it finished at 10.30pm. There was some mess certainly, and a little bit of boisterous behaviour without doubt, but there was no booze, (it was an Islamic celebration) and so no vomiting in garden beds, no abuse of the Rector, no amorous shenanigans in the gardens, (it was all male) and compared to almost all other wedding celebrations or birthday parties it was a sweet little doddle.
The complaints made to me about it have therefore fallen on largely deaf ears. We kept back a portion of the bond to account for extra cleaning, but I didn’t like doing even that, for the groom appeared to be far from well-heeled. A gentleman though, he took it on the chin with a rueful smile. God bless him.
CONGRATULATIONS
Birthdays
Elaine Brown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5th Dec
Anniversaries
David & Lynda Harcoan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9th Dec
ST MARY’S KATANDRA PATRONAL FESTIVAL
All are invited to the St Mary’s Katandra Patronal Festival which takes place on Wednesday 8th of December at 8.00pm. Anyone who would like a lift with the Rector has only to ask, so do so, pleasant company on the way and even better when you get there
CHRISTMAS NATIVITY PLAY
Well, here we are again! Christmas time is creeping up on us fast and it is time to organise our Christmas Nativity Play. There is a practice today during the 10.30am service, anyone interested in being a part of it should see either Susan Lear or the clergy. We will be presenting the play at the last Children’s Church for 2010, next Sunday at 10.30, the 12th December. Hope to see you there!
SIZZLING SAUSAGES
Today from 12 noon there will be a BBQ to welcome back incidentally your Rector and especially Diana. Sausages and bread will be provided, bring along anything else you would like to eat or share or both. This should be a relaxed and happy occasion unmarred by speechifying or formality. Don’t miss it.
FLOWERS IN CHURCH
Sadly it appears that the days of fresh cut flowers in our lovely church are over. The members of our faithful Flower Guild are too few and too elderly to keep up the job week in week out. Instead it appears that we shall have to buy artificial flowers and use the real thing only for special occasions. Hopefully the artificial flowers will still be regularly and tastefully arranged and rearranged and of the highest quality. Many thanks to the members of the Guild for years and years of devoted hard work and service. If anyone wishes to join the Guild and so possibly postpone the onset of artificiality please have a word with Heather Nichols or the clergy.
ROSTERS
We will soon be doing the duty rosters for next year. If you wish to go on to or come off a roster please indicate this clearly on the sheets in the narthex. The word “duty” is a fine one too little embraced these days. Not so at St Augustine’s I trust, inundate us with offers please.
CHARITY CARD SHOP
Please note that the card shop is open, please give this your support: Scots Church Hall, Fryers Street. Mon-Thurs from 9.30-4.30; Fri 9.30-6.00; Sat 9.30- noon.
FRIENDSHIP GROUP
Our Christmas Break-up is to be held on Tuesday 14th December at 1.30pm in the Supper Room. Please bring a plate of food and a small gift to the value of not more than $5. We are friends to all and so all are very welcome.
CAROL SERVICE
The Carol Service this year will be held on Thursday the 16th of December at 7.30pm. Afterwards, as is usual, there will be a bit of a bash in the Narthex, if folk bring along a bottle or two or a plate or two. This is almost certain to be the very best Carol Service in Shepparton, the readings thought-provoking and out of the ordinary and the music a delight. Please attend and bring a friend.
ANGLICARE CHRISTMAS APPEAL
We will be collecting gifts for families in need for Anglicare, all ages from Babies to Grandparents. A list of ideas/suggestions can be obtained from Pat and John Griffin if you need one.
ADVENT STUDY
The Advent Study group with the Rector is on Tuesdays from 7.30pm in the Library. We are considering poems appropriate to Advent.
ALTERNATIVE WORSHIP
There is to be a Young & Young at heart service this Sunday 5th December in the supper room at 4.30pm followed by supper. There will be an alternative style of worship with modern-ish music and informal talks. Everyone is welcome.
“MOVING ON”GRIEF SUPPORT
On Tuesday 14th December at 7.30 in the supper room. Topic to be considered: “What was my loved ones gift to me”
WET WATER NIGHT
The Arise 255 end of year break up is on Monday 6th December, a wet/water night. Please bring bathers, old clothes and a towel. There will be a BBQ dinner at 7pm to which family is invited to join. Kris Kringle will also be exchanged after dinner. Queries, questions or comments call Mary 0418 167 968
TWO MEETINGS
There is to be a Hall Committee Meeting on Tuesday 7th Dec. at 5.00pm in Roz’s Room and a Vestry Meeting on Thurs. 9th of December at 2.00pm.
DATES FOR THE DIARY
Dec 6th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Final Arise 255 for the year and BBQ
Dec 8th. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .St. Mary’s Patronal Festival
Dec 12th. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kid’s Church, Christmas Nativity
Dec 14th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Moving On” Grief Support Group
Dec 14th. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Friendship Group
Dec 15th. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parish Council
Dec 16th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Carol Service
Dec 19th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blessing Candlesticks
REQUESTS FOR PRAYER
At the beginning of each month this list is cleared and ALL names need putting down again on the list in the narthex and signed in. No names should be listed without a person’s permission.
For prayer: Norma Anderson, Jeffrey Andrewartha, Deb Bagley, Jan & Neville Black, Tom & Val Downie, John Green, Kath Grills, Frank Harder, Margaret Kidman, Albert Oxenbury, Isabelle Richards, , Suzanne Singh, Peter Swindells, Patricia Sparkes, Xavier Vale, David, Dawn, Robbie, James, Lynn, David & Judith, Stewart,Charles.
Rest in Peace: Brian Loxley
Anniversary of death: Joseph Lidgard 5th, Bertha Nelson 6th, Marj Gash, Keith Howlett 7th, Francis Burgman, Marjorie Green 8th, Ewen Boord 9th, Emily Griffin, Christopher Walsh, Joyce Elliott 10th, Bernice Batey 11th.
Duties for Sunday 5th December
Readers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gwyn Cowland, Heather Fitzgerald
Readers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Christine Jones, Samantha Conway
Servers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Beth, Michelle
Servers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Joan McCann
Intercessors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Norm Weaver, Christine Jones
Euc.Assts 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H. Fitzgerald, C. Henderson
Euc. Assts 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Greg Pestell, Joe Fernandez
Welcomers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Shirley Dean, Bev Reither
Welcomers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sandra Simonis, Charlotte Brewer
Sidespeople 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joe Pearson, Norm Mitchelmore
Sidespeople 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesley Kenna, John Pleming
Tea 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pat Griffin
Welcoming Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bev
Lawn Mowing 20thNov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gary Grant, John Horder
Duties for Sunday 12th December
Readers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Liz Gyles, Bev Condon
Readers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Christine Evans, Charlotte Brewer
Servers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Michelle, Beth
Servers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Frank, Joe, Zebedee
Intercessors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bev Condon, Children
Euc. Assts 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bev Condon, John Griffin
Euc. Assts 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Christine Evans, Jenny Pleming
Welcomers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Beryl Goodfellow, Bev Ralph
Welcomers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesley Kenna, Jenny Moran
Sidespeople 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gwyn & Merv Cowland
Sidespeople10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alan Akers, Charlotte Brewer
Tea 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Val Bambrook
Welcoming Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dorothy
Lawn Mowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . none this week
THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH
Monday 6th December Rector’s Day off
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
3.30pm Evening Prayer - Lady Chapel
5.30pm Arise 255- 7pm BBQ Dinner
Tuesday 7th December
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
10.00am Playgroup - Roz’s Room
11.30am Harmony lunch for volunteer
3.30pm Evening Prayer - Lady Chapel
5.00pm Hall Committee - Mtg, Roz’s Room
7.30pm Advent Study - Library
Wednesday 8th December
7.45am Mattins only- Lady Chapel
10.00am Eucharist - St Augustine’s
3.30pm Evening Prayer - Lady Chapel
4.00pm Ecumenical Service/ Mercy
5.00pm Mercy Health/Dinner
8.00pm St. Mary’s Patronal Festival
Thursday 9th December
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
11.00am Eucharist- Harmony Village
2.00pm Vestry
3.30pm Evening Prayer - Lady Chapel
5.30pm Choir Practice
Friday 10th December
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
9.30am Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
11.00am Eucharist/Ave Maria
3.30pm Evening Prayer - Lady Chapel
Saturday 11th December
7.45am Mattins and Eucharist Trad Rite Lady
6.00pm Vigil Eucharist
Sunday 12th Dec third Sunday in Advent
8.30am Eucharist - St Augustine’s
10.30am Eucharist - St Augustine’s Kid’s Church
8.45am St. Luke’s Dookie
10.45am St. Mary’s Katandra