SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER
1st May 2011
Graphics and cartoons & liturgical material appear only in the printed version
GODLY HOLIDAYING
The Holy Trinity was planning a holiday. The Spirit, manifesting the creative part of the divine nature, was coming up with the ideas. "Let's go to New York," he suggested. "Oh no, no, no," said the Father, "They're all so liberated. They will spend the whole time calling me ‘Mother' and it will simply do my head in." So the Spirit sat back and thought. "I know, what about Jerusalem?" he said. "It's beautiful and then there's the history and everything." "Oh no way!" the Son declared. "After what happened the last time, I'm never going there again!" At this point, the Spirit got annoyed and went off in a huff. Sometime later he returned and found that the Father and Son had had an idea they both thought was excellent: "Why don't we go to Rome?" said the Son. "Perfect!" cried the Holy Spirit. "I've never been there before!"
RETURNING TO ZIMBABWE (22)
Andrew Neaum
This is the twenty second episode of an account of the recent trip
to Zimbabwe and Lesotho made by Diana and myself last October.
The previous episodes can be found on my website:
http://www.andrewneaum.com/articles.htm
On the wall of All Saints' Church, Kadoma there are boards listing past Churchwardens, past Rectors and those interred in the Garden of Remembrance. My name is there, of course, reminding me that I was Rector from 1977 to 1982, during which time there are listed six churchwardens, one of whom I cannot even remember. Those I can recall were talented folk who coped well with an opinionated, red-bearded, raw and rookie priest in his first parish.
Roy Eakins
I remember one of them with especial pleasure, Roy Eakins, a bald and talented teacher. He was much given to country life and lived in a slightly dilapidated, thatched house on the corner of a farm, for the most part as a bachelor, baby sitting properties during school holidays. His wife, also a teacher, lived and worked in South Africa and used to come to visit him during her school holidays. I liked to joke that this was an ideal recipe for a happy marriage, but of course it is not. He went on to prove this to be so because after I had left the parish he fell for someone else and married her instead. It was he who on a trip to England visited Fountains Abbey, a great and beautiful ruin with no roof or windows and sent me a postcard featuring a picture of it with the terse comment on the back "see what happens when you fart in church". I thought this very funny and still do.
After a good wander around the church we strolled over to its rectory. This was the house in which Margaret and I learned first to be parents, with all parenthood's blessings and joys as well its hard work and anxieties, like lying awake at night as either Peter or David cried, schooling ourselves to wait for five or ten minutes more before giving up and going in to see if they were alright.
The Rectory garden
I was fond of the Gatooma rectory, though its only real luxury was an en-suite bathroom for the main bedroom, unheard of in the rectories of those days, and a luxury I do not enjoy even in Shepparton. This one was built for our arrival, a sign of the plentiful income derived from the parish's bequeathed share in a local gold mine. The rectory's iron roof announced every shower of rain, the sweetest music in the world, and its verandah was well mosquito wired.
We put a lot of work into the garden, largely ephemeral for there were only the merest vestiges of all our efforts evident on this visit nearly thirty years later. The lovely Cavendish banana trees we planted had gone, as had the lemon and naartjie trees and the lawns we had planted and laboured over were little more than dust. However the house itself was much the same and the beautifully scented, hybrid bauhinia sapling we planted is now a fine tree. I was pleased to be able to take a photograph of the first compost bins I ever constructed, unused and falling into ruins, but still very much present because they were so ridiculously substantial, made of mortared brick with slots for great wooden slats at the front. The back garden has been subdivided and the old servants quarters added to what is now a fairly substantial second house which is apparently rented out. The ready money available to the parish in my day appears to have vanished, either because the mine providing it has fizzled out or, more likely, because the diocese managed to get its voracious hands upon it, in spite of all the legal impediments we put in place to prevent this.
The Rectory study
When we approached the house there were several women sitting outside with a little baby boy who turned out to be the Rector's son. His minders ushered us inside and we were introduced to the Rector's young wife and her daughter. After the usual pleasantries we discovered that her husband had only very recently died. He had gone into hospital for a relatively mundane and certainly not life-threatening operation, and had nonetheless died. A terribly sad business that dampened our visit and curbed our curiosity. We did not feel it appropriate to ask to look over the house with any thoroughness. I glanced into the tiny study, for so long my "cave of making" in which I laboured long over articles and sermons, tapping away at my olive green, portable Olivetti typewriter. Through the room's window the sun, reflected by the white wall of my work shed next to the car port, used to trigger migraines in me. To remedy these we trained a yellow jasmine to cover the wall, preventative medicine that took several years to reach full effectiveness. On the window sill of this little study I once successfully hatched a clutch of chameleon eggs in moistened soil, the perfectly formed little lizards emerged from their leathery eggs after weeks and weeks of waiting.
The Rectory kitchen
I managed too only a glance into the kitchen. This was the scene of my first efforts to make samoosas, including the paper thin pastry, taught by a member of the local and very friendly Indian community. All take-away establishments and "cafes" in those halcyon, pre-MacDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken days, sold delicious samoosas, albeit sometimes rather oily. Homemade ones were the answer, but the wrapping could not be bought and so had to be made too. This was also the kitchen that had once reeked memorably of rotten knob-billed duck, a bird shot and given to us by churchwarden Eakins, whom foolishly we had invited to come in and eat it with us,and so were committed to its consumption. When it was being plucked the pong turned our stomachs and its skin was coloured an extremely unappetizing mottled pink and purple. However, well marinaded and casseroled it proved delicious.
Rectory weevils
I was not able to revisit the little pantry area to which I have a vivid memory of returning to after a week's holiday and discovering a bag of flour seething with such a population of weevils that like immigrants to Europe from overcrowded north Africa, a great tidal wave of them was migrating up the wall. I recall reading once of a nutritional puzzle that flummoxed food scientists for some time. Vegetarians in the western world, before it became fashionable to be such, suffered from dietary deficiencies that did not seem to effect people living in the Far East, who lived on similar vegetarian staples like rice, lentils and pulses. It was eventually discovered that in the East, the insect infestation of grain was heavy enough to provide all sorts of dietary advantages of a sort that over-refining, better packaging and greater fastidiousness denied to vegetarians in the West!
As proved almost invariably to be the case with our encounters in Zimbabwe with ordinary folk the hospitality and kindness of the young widow whose privacy we had invaded, was exemplary and touching. She would have shown us around thoroughly had we asked, and she accompanied us outside to look over the garden, while telling us of some the difficulties that faced her as a new and young widow in present day Zimbabwe. (To be continued)
CONGRATULATIONS
Birthdays:
Tiffany Chandler 5th May
Anniversaries:
Aileen & Viv Parry 1st May
Heather & Harry Nichols 4th May
NO BAKE CAKE STALL
This Wednesday 4th May there will be a no-bake cake stall. The proceeds will be our St. Augustine's contribution to ABM - Lady Day. Please come along with a little extra in your pocket, all donations will be greatly appreciated by ABM.
VERY IMPORTANT
You will note that your Patronal Festival invitation is on the back page of "Outreach". We do need numbers for catering so please fill in the form and return to the office. If for some reason you have not received an "Outreach" see Heather at the office and she will give you one.
We hope that there will be a great turnout for this special day. It is a lovely occasion when our Parish gets together to celebrate our heritage and enjoy a good time together.
Please have a look at your diaries and give the 22nd May priority. It is also a good opportunity to invite anyone who may be lonely, new to Shepparton or would like to reunite with their Faith, a good outreach opportunity.
G.V Extended Care Auxilary
Film & Boxed Luncheon
"Easy Virtue"
Featuring Oscar Winning Colin Firth
who starred in "The King's Speech
Thursday May 12th
11.30lunch-12.30pm Film
$20 per ticket from Mimma's Hairdressing Wyndham Mall 58318220
All proceeds to Grutzner House and Mary Coram Wings of G.V. Health
PASTORAL CARE
If you are going into hospital or would like home communion please let us know and we will arrange a visit from a pastoral carer or a priest
"MOVING ON" GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP
Dinner meeting Tuesday 10th May 6.30pm in the Narthex. Our Guest speaker will be Carmel Smith from Hospice she will be addressing "How as palliative care nurses do we prepare families and carers for the terminal phase of an illness" Please place names on the list on the narthex table to help with catering. Cost $5
TURATON CONCERT - ST. AUGUSTINE'S HALL
7.30pm Friday 13th May: "Songs from the Heart" Tickets will be available from the office $20/Concession $15, includes supper, please bring a friend along and support this effort.
DIFFERENT
Tonight at 5.00pm in the Narthex we are having an "Alternative Worship Service".
Come along and see how we can worship in different ways, and support Mary Pearson in her endeavour to outreach to the wider community.
READINGS for 3rd Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:14a,36-41; 1 Peter 1:13-25
DATES FOR THE DIARY
May 10th "Moving On" Grief Support/Dinner meeting
May 10th Junior Confirmation Classes begin
May 12th G.V Health Ext. Care film afternoon & lunch
May 13th Turaton Concert 7.30 in St. Augustine's Hall
May 15th Hospice Service 2.30pm
May 17th Hospice Bi-annual Fund Raising Function
May 22nd Patronal Festival
May 26th Raffle Sub-Committee meeting
May 28th Garden Working Bee
June 3rd Synod
June 4th Synod
June 5th Alternative Worship Service
June 16th Parish Fair Planning Group meeting 4pm
June 25th Garden Working Bee
July 17th Bishop's Visit
July 30th Garden Working Bee
Aug 20th Wedding
Aug 27th Garden Working Bee
Sept 24th Wedding
Sept 24th Garden Working Bee
Oct 1st Wedding 2pm
Oct 8th Wedding 2pm
Oct 8th Wedding 3.30pm
Oct 22nd Parish Fair & Garden Party
Oct 23rd Confirmation
Oct 29th Wedding
Oct 29th Garden Working Bee
Dec 10th Wedding
REQUESTS FOR PRAYER
Nicole Ackland, Lorraine Ashbury, Jeffrey Andrewartha, Deb Bagley, Liam Bognar, Kaye Boyle, Ian Carman, Tom Downie, Kath Grills, John Griffin, Frank Harder, Leigh Harder, Margaret Hoare, Katherine Holt, John & Kate Horder, Glenda Kuehnapfel, Hilder Lidgard, Margaret Kidman, Albert Oxenbury, Isabelle Richards, Peter Swindells, Suzanne Singh, Patricia Sparkes, Shirley Young, David, Bonny & Keith, Peter,
Rest in Peace: Stanley Rutherford
Anniversary of death: Leonard Mitchell 1st, Mildred Cochran 2nd, Frances Hobart, Bill Auldrige, Doreen Farrow 3rd, Alfred Probst 4th, Keith Oxley, Stan Dainton, Gus Kelly, Rodger Saville 5th, Dorothy Neaum, Geoffrey Carmichael, William Lethlean 7th.
Duties for 1st May 2011
Readers 8.30 Heather Fitzgerald, Norm Mitchelmore
Readers 10.30 Andrea Fisher, Joan McCann
Servers 8.30 Michelle
Servers 10.30 Zebedee, Greg, Joan
Intercessors Clergy, Mary Pearson
Euc. Assts 8.30 Heather Fitzgerald, Ian Bryce
Euc. Assts 10.30 Jenny Pleming, Joe Fernandez
Welcoming 8.30 Pat Griffin, Judy Lloyd
Welcomers 10.30 Nola Brewer, Volunteer
Sidespeople 8.30 Bev Ralph, Max Ralph
Sidespeople 10.30 Volunteer, John Pleming
Welcome Table Dorothy Cook
Altar Linen for May Bev Reither
Tea 8.30 Pat Griffin
Mowing None this week
Monday Office Duty Rosemary Moore, Jeanette Smith
Duties for 8th May 2011
Readers 8.30 Victoria Heenan, John Wellman
Readers 10.30 Nancy Noonan, Verna Pestell
Servers 8.30 Beth, Michelle
Servers 10.30 Greg Pestell, Zebedee Fernandez
Intercessors Heather Fitzgerald, Children
Euc. Assts 8.30 Heather Fitzgerald, Carole Henderson
Euc. Assts 10.30 Christine Evans, Joe Fernandez
Welcomers 8.30 Eileen Quaife, Volunteer
Welcomers 10.30 Jenny Moran, Frank Steen
Sidespeople 8.30 Trevor Batey, Joy Campbell
Sidespeople 10.30 Alan Akers, Charlotte Brewer
Tea 8.30 Gwyn Cowland
Welcoming Table 8.30 Dorothy Cook
Mowing 7th Norm Mitchelmore, Joe Cummins
Altar Linen for May Bev Reither
Monday Office Duty Dorothy Cook
THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH
Monday 2nd May
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
Tuesday 3rd May
10.00am Playgroup
11.00am Shepparton Aged Care/A. Russell
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
Wednesday 4th May
7.45am Mattins only - Lady Chapel
10.00am Eucharist - St Augustine's
3.30pm Evening Prayer - Lady Chapel
4.00pm Eucharist - Banksia
6.00pm EfM - Roz's Room
Thursday 5th May
7.45am Mattins only - Lady Chapel
9.30am Eucharist - Tarcoola
11.00am Eucharist - Harmony
3.30pm Evening Prayer - Lady Chapel
5.30pm Choir Practice
Friday 6th May
8.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
11.00am Eucharist - Mercy Health
Saturday 7th May
Associate Priest's Day off
7.45am Mattins only - Lady Chapel
3rd Sunday of Easter 8th May
8.30am Sung Eucharist - St Augustine's
10.30am Eucharist - St Augustine's Kid's Church
8.45am Eucharist - Dookie
10.45am Eucharist- Katandra