FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT
MOTHERING SUNDAY
REFESHMENT SUNDAY
10 March 2013
Graphics and cartoons & liturgical material appear only in the printed version
A PIECE OF ROYAL GOSSIP
Prince Charles, is a much maligned, misunderstood and unappreciated fellow of great good will and much good sense. He is though a little plummy of speech. He arrived in Iran some time ago on an official visit and said to its pugnacious and fiery little President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad “Where's the Shah?” “What do you mean?” retorted the President. “We got rid of the Shah years ago.” “Alright,” said the Prince. “In that case I’ll take a bath.”
THIS AND THAT (75)
Andrew Neaum
Our Farewell Celebration, a parish family affair, takes place on the Friday 10 May at 6.00pm. I trust it will be a happy occasion, though a tear or two would not go amiss either!
What is in a name?
What is the best name for such an occasion? We had the great “Panegyrical Repast” last year. It celebrated the achievements of Norm Mitchelmore and Heather Fitzgerald, as well as farewelling the latter. Panegyrics are all to do with praise, so it is a word not suitable for my own and Diana’s farewell, self-praise being no recommendation.
Our first stab at a suitable name was “Ta and Ta Ta”, which is “Thank you and Goodbye”, but in very dated popular parlance. Although happy enough with the popular parlance-speak, I am less happy with the dated!
An Elegiac Banquet
After casting about here and there and furrowing and scratching my bald pate, I turned to ancient Greece for inspiration, as I did for the Panegyrical Repast. The Classical world is far too ancient to be merely “dated”. So I settled on a name perfect from my perspective: an “Elegiac Banquet”. That is, a meal of gentle sorrow and regret for something good that is now past.
When I was a pupil at the somewhat less than illustrious Guinea Fowl Boys High School, I was the first to pass O Level Latin in five years, although very far from being a star.
There were several reasons for my success. The main one was that our teacher had been unable to persuade any of her pupils to do enough work. So when the time came for us to sit the exam we were all shamefully un-prepared. One of the papers we sat required preparation for just one of two optional parts: either we were prepared for the “set books” option or for the “unseen” passages option.
Our teacher prepared us for the “set books” option and so we studied throughout the year Caesar’s “Invasion of Britain” and the poems of Catullus. Because we hardly knew either by the time the exams arrived it meant that the “set book” paper was in effect “unseen”. I was the only one with the wit to take advantage of this and so instead of tackling the passages from Caesar and Catullus, I tackled the “unseen” passages, which had the advantage of being much, much shorter. I was the only one to pass, and with credit too.
Ave Atque Vale
However I did appreciate the poems of Catullus, several of which remain with me to this day. One in particular is a very moving elegy on the death of Catullus’s brother. It is written in “elegiac couplets” and ends with the memorable and famous phrase: “Ave atque Vale”, literally “Hail and Farewell,” but more sensitively and subtly, “I salute you and goodbye”. A sentiment entirely appropriate for Diana and myself to direct to you all in the parish, and hopefully as appropriate to be returned to us by you.
RETURN TO
TRISTAN DA CUNHA (10)
Our next visit was to Agnes and Gilbert. Agnes is on the Parish Council, and it was she who left us the delicious crayfish dish that was there to greet us on our arrival. She is a character and with her husband Gilbert as interesting and idiosyncratic as some of the best characters in Dickens. We sat in their kitchen sharing a cup of tea with them, the scene and its setting one that Dickens’ superb illustrator George Cruikshank would have rendered unforgettable.
When Agnes warmed up she told us a story about their time of exile in England during the volcano eruption. Gilbert is a gardener who apparently assisted my father in our fine vegetable garden when we were here in the fifties. Because of his gardening prowess Gilbert was able to acquire a job in England that happened to be near to the great train robbery which occurred at that time. According to Agnes Ronnie Biggs, the most notorious of the robbers, came to her door one evening looking for accommodation, clutching a suitcase. When she asked how he would pay for his lodgings he opened the case and it was full of wads of notes! Although not knowing at that point who he was, she realised nonetheless that it was a shady offer and refused him hospitality. He had to go elsewhere. She was too nervous to go out to find a public phone to contact the police, though they interviewed her later. I might well have got some of the details wrong, but it is essentially the story she told me and I am sure is true, possibly the most interesting event in her life.
In the evening we went to a reception at the Administrator’s residence to honour those who had arrived on the Aghulhas. Apparently such receptions are the norm on the arrival of a ship and he is splitting the function into two this time. We were the first half of what is termed a “Welcome and farewell”. It began to rain a little as we walked up the long path to his residence, so it was good to get into a warm and pleasing home, full of people. There was a great table of booze in the foyer with a bevy of folk pressing it upon guests. Lars and Trina were just ahead of us, as was Eddie. I asked for a red wine and was given a large glass of pinotage full to the very brim. Whenever my glass was anywhere near empty it was filled to the brim again without asking.
It was an enjoyable evening with a good mixture of islanders, visitors and expatriates. I got talking to a selection of those near the door, including Lars and Eddie, but also a fellow called Jeremy or Jerry who, it turns out, is the island shepherd, an important job and an articulate man, obviously something of a leader. The island sheep are cross Dorset and Suffolk and roam the mountain right up to the top of the Base and beyond. We have spotted them in what appear to be the most inaccessible of places. Each islander is allowed only two sheep. Unfortunately much of the conversation has now fled my mind because I am a couple of days away, but we do begin to get a better picture of the Island and how it works.
Many of the island women seemed happy to sit down and quietly watch all that went on without any obvious participation, though of course a raised eyebrow can be as eloquent as a tirade. At one stage I went and settled myself down next to one of them, but even my charm elicited little response.
The Administrator gave an informal little talk, welcoming us all individually. He and his wife seem ideal for the job, not at all stand-offish, snobbish or reserved. I managed to resist too much wine, but only just and in future will stick to light beer. The food was excellent and I enjoyed a lavish plate of cray fish, possibly I will soon be tired of it.
Friday 21 September, 2012 10.30am
After a rather lovely day yesterday, the cloud today is low on a dark and brooding mountain, and the horizon is blurred rather than sharply defined. There has been a little gentle rain in the night. We awoke late and so made Mattins only at half past eight a peaceful and lovely start to each day for us both. On the way back we popped down to look over the cliff onto the harbour to see how the waves are coming in, for although the wind is almost still here in the village, the waves are choppy. Further out there are white horses on a pewter coloured sea. It is odd that the sea should appear so choppy on a still day, we are doubtless in some sort of lee. We then popped into the supermarket to buy some brown flour and yeast for we are going to try to use the Rectory bread maker. Bread from the supermarket is frozen and very ordinary. There was no dried skimmed milk, which the recipe calls for, so we have used wet milk diminishing the water accordingly. We shall see.
Yesterday we took a trip out to Pigbite. We walked across the meadows, over the Big Watron, which apparently runs in its traditional course and it is only its end that is different since the volcano. The mountain, once you get past the jagged, clinker volcanic cone, is striking for the different colours on the various precipices where there have been fairly recent slips and falls. There are great though usually fairly thin pipes of different coloured rock wending upwards, obviously fissures through which lava pushed years ago. The precipices also reveal different layers of rock and colours indicating, one supposes, successive eruptions and layers of lava and ash.
We walked across a flat area covered for the most part with the ubiquitous kikuyu grass and then clambered up what would be similar to the Pigbite of old, stony with a heather like, low-growing shrub which might be what used to yield the indigestible but welcome little crowberries I remember collecting as a youngster, but perhaps not. When we got down on the other side there was a great front-end loader with its engine going and a big fellow sitting inside. We had passed two great tippers full of black volcanic sand and it is he who fills them up, the sand a long way back from a shoreline that is lined with large boulders, as is pretty well every beach on the island these days. This little way inland there appears to be great lots of sand available for building purposes. He hopped down and told us to beware of a seal that had been on the beach earlier and which might still be there and all too easily mistaken for a boulder. They can be nasty if you get too close. He also showed us the route taken it you wish to get up to the base from this end of the island, not one I would wish to take from the look of it. A decent and friendly fellow.
We made our way down to the beach and sat and ate an apple. In the distance two of the fishing boats were at work. Big Point, the bluff that marks the end of the settlement plateau, with the beach below it looked inviting to me, I would have loved to scramble over the beach boulders to look around it, but we only went a little way because it was heavy walking and the cliffs above looked so unstable there would be a good chance of being knocked on the head by a rock fall. While sitting we noticed what we thought was something a bit taller than a mere fishing boat, though very close to what we assumed to be one. We realised after a while that in fact the tall thing was the superstructure of a ship on the horizon, the boat bit being its bow. We climbed the stony hill to where a brave pine tree struggles to survive and got a good view of a passing bulk carrier that we learned later was full of soya beans making its way from Brazil to China. A fair number of such ships pass, this longer southern route being cheaper than using the Panama Canal. They are all being tracked and monitored by the island in the hope of making a case for an exclusion zone, since the disaster of a few years back on Nightingale Island, where human error caused the wrecking of a ship with no loss of life, but the oil-ruination of great lots of penguins. It is interesting to note that the rights of the Islanders to gather a certain number of penguin eggs are being foregone at present, not so much for the sake of penguin numbers as for insurance purposes! If they are still gathered then any claim of financial or even ecological loss of eggs would be hard to sustain. I cannot remember who informed me of this, but it was an islander.
FROM THE REGISTERS
Birthdays:
Isaac Chandler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 March
Heather Camm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 March
Gloria Threfall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 March
THE ROVING LENT COURSE
12 March Tuesday at 7.30pm
This week’s - Christ Church Murchison
The reading material for this fourth session is available at the back of the church to pick up today (Sunday) for people from St Augustine’s. Shepparton participants will meet in the car park at 6.45 to arrange lifts. Contact the Office 58 217 630 for any other queries.
MOTHERING SUNDAY-BREAKFAST
10 March Sunday 9.30-10.30am
Ladies please come to the ‘between services’ Breakfast, when we shall have a scintillating talk by Dorothy Cook on ‘ADOPTION’- FROM THE INSIDE. The men will serve us (we hope). As it is the long weekend you may have visitors staying- bring them along too.
Moving On - GRIEF SUPPORT
12 March Tuesday 7pm
Come and join us to watch a DVD “Secondhand Lions” featuring Michael Caine followed by discussion held in the Narthex at the back of the Church.
VESTRY MEETING
13 March Wednesday 2.00pm
There is a Vestry Meeting on Wednesday at the Rectory.
ADMISSION OF COUNCILLORS
17 March Saturday 8.30am or 10.30am
The Admission of our new Parish Councillors at St Augustine’s will take place on Sunday the 17th March at both services.
GARDEN WORKING BEE
23 March Saturday 9am
Please note this will be on the 3rd Saturday this month and not the last. Preparing for Easter.
PALM SUNDAY CROSS MAKING
23 March Saturday 10.00am
The gentle and therapeutic making of Palm Crosses takes place in the Hall. Come along to enjoy the task and company. Bring scizzors.
MURCHISON 5TH SUNDAY LUNCH
7 April Sunday after 10.30 service
Come and join the combined congregations of Murchison and Rushworth for lunch at the home of Don & Norma Leslie after the 10.30 am service at Murchison or come down from Shepparton directly. Ask at the office for more details or to arrange lifts. Treat yourselves to a superb home cooked Sunday feast and great company for only $20 per head.
LAY SILENT RETREAT
19-21 April Feathertop Chalet Harrietville
‘The Still Point of the Turning World : Walking the Labyrinth & Centering Prayer’
The 2013 Diocesan Lay Retreat is to be led by Helen Malcolm and Rob Whalley. For more information please call 57 213 484. The cost is $200, but partial “scholarships” are available from the Diocese.
A FAREWELL MEAL
An “Elegiac Banquet”
10 May Friday 6.00pm Church Hall
A Farewell to the Neaums will be held on the date above. There will be a dinner and drinks a speech or two and if anyone would like to put on an act of any sort for us, make an offer to John Griffin or Diana. There is sure to be a rueful verse from the Rector.
PLAY GROUP
We need someone to open up each Tuesday and to take an interest in and responsibility for the group until a leader from among the mothers emerges. There is no real organising to do. Any offers? Or two or three to take turns?
CHILDREN’S CHURCH NEEDS HELP
Suzanne and Mary are looking for others who would like to help on roster with our church’s youngsters at the 10.30 am Sunday morning services from May onwards. They are very pleased one person has come forward but would appreciate at least one more volunteer. It would mean offering, perhaps every one or two months. Please have a word with Suzanne or Mary or via the Office.
NAME TAGS - NEED A NEW ONE?
If you do not have or have lost your name tag please contact the office or tell us on Sunday, so new ones can be made. This is in readiness for the arrival of our new priest and his wife, when of course you will all want to wear one.
FOR THE DIARY
March 12 Tue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grief Support 7.00pm
March 12 Tue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lent Study Murchison 7.30pm
March 13 Wed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vestry
March 15 Frid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PC Rushworth & Murchison
March 18 Mon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arise 255 Youth Group
March 19 Tue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Friendship Group 2pm
March 20 Wed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parish Council
March 21 Thur. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ladies Guild 1.30 pm
March 23 Sat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Garden Working Bee
March 31 Sun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Easter Sunday
April 8 Mon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.15am Lady Day Wangaratta
April 19-21 weekend. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lay Retreat - Harriettesville
May 10 Fri. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rector’s Farewell 6.00PM
May 23 Thu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4pm Raffle sub Committee Roz’s Room
May 31 Fri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Synod
June 1 Sat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Synod
June 2 Sun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Patronal Festival & Induction of New Rector
June 8 Sat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Martyrs of Uganda Service and Breakfast
June 13 Thur. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4pm Fair Planning Group Roz’s Room
Oct 19 Sat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Parish Fair
Oct 26 Sat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Murchison - Boot Sale
REQUESTS FOR PRAYER
Hilary & Alan Akers, Joyce Auldrige, Liam Bognar, Victoria Heenan, Bruce Hodgson & family, Katherine Holt, Dos King, Bob & June McKellar, Colin McKenzie, Elsie Lieschke, Helen McDonald, Anita Saville, Lynda Saville, Sandra Simonis, Suzanne Singh, Shirley Venimils, Cheryl, Joy, Simon, Barry, Jenny, Tom, Jon & Justin.
Rest in Peace: Lina Niglia, Tom Lear
Anniversaries: Willis Mitchelmore (10 Mar), Christine Warburton, Cheryl McKellar (11 Mar), Clare Tomlinson, Grace Mead (12 Mar), John Still, Shaun Carter(buried on this day), Charles Rudge (13 Mar), Constance Mills, Leslie Maskell, Dorothy Bassett, Paddy Wallden, Clare Wilkie, Stephanie Lindsay (14 Mar), William Wilson, Shirley Lovell (15 Mar), Donald Ducat, Reginald Mould, Rita Lee (16 Mar).
Duties for Sunday 10 March
Readers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bev Condon, Pat Griffin
Intercessor 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Norm Weaver
Servers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .John Griffin, Soibhan, Michelle
Euc. Assts 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heather Pearson, John Horder
Sidespeople 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gwyn & Merv Cowland
Welcomer 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Judy Trevena, Heather Nichols
Welcome Tbl 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dorothy
Tea 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shirley Dean
Reader 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrea Fisher
Intercessor 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joan McCann
Servers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jenny, Olivia, Oscar
Euc. Assts 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christine Evans, Joe Fernandez
Sidespeople 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Pleming, Donna Venables
Welcomers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frank Steen, Beryl Black
Welcome Tbl 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dorothy Cook
Projector 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Black Family
Children’s Church. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Suzanne Lear
Mowing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .none
Monday Office 11 Mar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(Public Holiday - Office Closed)
Duties for Sunday 17 March
Readers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Norm Mitchelmore, Gwyn Cowland
Intercessor 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bev Condon
Servers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beth Brewer Soibhan, Michelle
Euc. Assts 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Barbara Schier, John Griffin
Sidespeople 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Di Gribble, Gavin Gall
Welcomer 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beryl Goodfellow, Gwenda Betson
Welcome Tbl 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dorothy
Tea 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bev Reither
Reader 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Jones
Intercessor 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . none at a Baptism
Servers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jenny
Euc. Assts 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joe Fernandez
Sidespeople 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Pleming, Donna Venables
Welcomers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beryl Black, Frank Steen
Welcome Tbl 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dorothy
Projector 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Charlotte Brewer
Children’s Church. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mary Pearson
Mowing Mar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Norm Mitchelmore, Alan Jeffery
Mon Office 18 Mar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Barbara Brown, Pat Gibson
READINGS NEXT SUNDAY 10 March
Isaiah 4316-21, Psalm 126, Philippians 33-14
THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH
Sunday 10 March 4th Sunday in Lent
2.00pm Sudanese Church Service
5.30pm Evening Prayer- Lady Chapel
Monday 11 March (Rector’s Day off)
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
Tuesday 12 March
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
10.00am Play Group
5.00pm Evening Prayer
7.00pm Grief Support
7.30pm Lent Study at Christ Church Murchison
Wednesday 13 March
7.45am Mattins - Lady Chapel
10.00am Eucharist - St Augustine’s
2.00pm Vestry
5.00pm Evening Prayer
5.30pm Eucharist for Lent
5.30pm Hospice
6.00pm EfM
Thursday 14 March St Perpetua & Companions
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
10.00am Mercy
11.00am Harmony
11.00am Ave Maria
Hospital
12.30pm Clergy Luncheon
5.00pm Evening Prayer - Lady Chapel
5.30pm Choir Practice
Friday 15 March John of God
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
5.00pm Evening Prayer - Lady Chapel
7.30pm PC Rushworth/Murchison
Saturday 16 March Sister Emma SSA
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
3.00pm Wedding-Gilbert/Newman
Wedding-Crossman (Murchison)
6.00pm Vigil Eucharist
Sunday 17 March 5th in Lent Admission of Councillors
8.30am Sung Eucharist - St Augustine’
10.30am Eucharist & Baptisms & Ch’s Ch St Augustine’s
9.00am Eucharist - St Paul’s Rushworth
11.00am Eucharist - Christ Church Murchison
8.45am Eucharist - St Luke’s Dookie
2.00pm Sudanese Church Service
5.30pm Evening Prayer - Lady Chapel