FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
21 April 2013
Graphics and cartoons & liturgical material appear only in the printed version
SAD PRIORITIES
An elderly gentleman was walking past the pond on the south side of St Augustine’s Church when he comes upon one of its musical frogs on the path. He picked it up and it whispered, “If you kiss me, I will turn into a young, beautiful princess and make all your wildest dreams come true.” The gentleman put the frog in his pocket and continued to walk home. A little while later, the frog poked its head out of the pocket and said, “Didn't you hear me? If you kiss me, I will turn into a beautiful young princess and cater to your every need.” The man looked at the frog and said, “At my age, I would rather have a talking frog.”
THIS AND THAT (81)
Andrew Neaum
Diana and I began the week putting up and entertaining for two nights Father Dale Bowers, his wife Penny and their two sons. Dale is the Rector of St James’ Jamestown on St Helena. My father was Rector of that parish in the eighties, succeeded by Diana’s husband Michael. Dale is also the Archdeacon of the island Diocese as too was my father he was succeeded by me. So he and his family now occupy the house my father and mother did for several years, in which Diana and her family lived in for five and a half years and to which I and my family were frequent visitors. We indulged in much fascinating reminiscing and catching up. A great time with lovely people.
Reading The Guardian early on Monday morning I noticed a link to its dating page, called “Soulmates”. Irresistible! Diana and I decided to explore the possibilities.
I declared myself to be male and looking for a female between the age of 90 and 100. No strikes at all, no one of that age was man hunting. Undaunted I tried again, asking for a lady between the age of 85 and 86. Again, no match. However when I tried for someone between the age of 80 and 86 I did strike lucky. Indeed there were two possibilities. The first, calling herself “Autumnleaf”, was aged 80 and from her photograph surprisingly easy on the eye. Well educated, travelled and apparently far from uninteresting she declared herself to be looking for a male who is “......tall, dropdead gorgeous, DIY wizard, chestbeating healthy, stinking rich, generous, intelligent, imaginative, energetic, kind, courteous, honest - is that possible? - eyes only for me, SENSE OF HUMOUR .... Well, I could accept a little less if the chemistry looms ......” Hmmm. I, if not Diana, thought that in most regards I fitted the bill well enough, though not quite “stinking rich”. My only problem: too young, “Autumnleaf” is looking for someone between the age of 73 and 83.
RETURN TO
TRISTAN DA CUNHA (16)
Monday 1 October, 2012 (continued)
The visit to my old school, St Mary’s, Tristan da Cunha, to take the Assembly was great fun. Diana had printed the Twelve Disciples’ names on pieces of paper for me and so I called individual children up to hold them and I talked about each disciple as I did so.
The school building is not the one I attended, nor is it in the same place, so there was little sense of déjà vu. It was interesting to see the inside of the place though. In its centre there is a sort of glassed-in cloister around a quadrangle of lawn, which is rather pleasing and appropriate for wild weather. It gives an impression of openness without allowing any of its disadvantages. It was odd to see a class room with desks for just two pupils in it. There are only about thirty five children in all, their ages ranging from five to fifteen.
Each class is made up of two years’ worth of youngsters and there are a couple of relatively large groupings and several very tiny ones. In their Assemblies they use a BBC book of children’s songs with an accompanying pair of CDs which I think might well be worth ordering for our Family Service in Shepparton. (This I have since done and it has provided some splendid songs with interesting descants for the 8.30 Eucharist, let alone the 10.30)
The small Prayer Meeting that I was asked to conduct for the recovery of a little girl ill in England also went well. There was quite a group of us in the home of her grandparents Jim and Susan Kerr and so we had to share my little order of service. This had been put together without all the resources that I have built up over the years in my bookshelves and on my computer. The son of Jim and Susan, Simon, who is visiting the island like us for the duration of the Aghulas’ stay, was not present, but I had a good chat with him on the way back from the Hill Piece. He works for an engineering firm and lives in a little Norfolk village where he and his partner have just bought a house. Bethany his daughter is to stay with the grandparents on the island until December, a wonderful experience for her.
Wednesday 3 October, 2012 9.00am
I have been over to print a little order of service for a House Blessing to be done this afternoon for Geraldine and Paul Repetto. Paul is Lars and Trina’s son. The external drive I brought with me containing all my computed resources for this sort of thing has malfunctioned and so I had to troll a slow internet to help put together something suitable. I used as a basis a not unpleasing document that while being Anglican and indeed Anglo-Catholic in origin, did nonethe-less need exorcising of its rather too robust concern with cleansing dwellings of “demonic forces”. I have also had printed the minutes of our PCC for distribution.
It is a lovely morning here in the village, though over in the west, out of the direct lee, white horses are in evidence and so there is no likelihood of a trip to Nightingale Island. The Baltic Trader is now “backloading”. Crates are going back to the ship as well as the frozen crawfish. It should sail tomorrow.
We met the new Doctors, a man and wife team, both recently retired and from Dundee. They arrived on the Baltic Trader and said that passengers were very restricted as regards space, unlike on the Agulhas where passengers are welcome pretty well everywhere. However they enjoyed the trip, rough though it was, and they said that the two stewards allocated to the nine passengers couldn’t have been more helpful. Pam, the female of the doctor pair had met Diana about the island earlier and on the strength of this popped in to see us to get a bit of a low down on the place. She is a delightful and friendly person and of course well familiar with Invergowrie, next door to Dundee, where I did a very happy parish swap in 2000 for three months.
Yesterday afternoon I did some visiting on my own. I visited Daphne and Ernest, she had done housework for us when I was a child on the island. Ernest is now apparently the oldest man on the island at about 86. I then called in on James Green, a school contemporary from all those years ago and who during that time fell off the cliff and all but broke his back. He now has Parkinson’s disease but appears well and was pleased to see me. He has had six children and is now a widower. He offered me a beer but I declined, it being too early for me. I then met Harold on the road who asked me in to his place and so I went and had a chat with him and Amy. It was his birthday and as I was leaving Geoffroy, the young Frenchman, walked in to wish him well. It was a good and informative chat and he expressed the hope of me coming back to be Island padre. I was non committal. There is so far no deep sense of this being at all the right thing. I suspect I would find it stultifying at my time of life, though like the two doctors, a six month stint might just be possible.
From there I went to visit Monica whose wedding my father took in the fifties and of which we have several photos. She is now a lovely and merry, elderly woman whom I had already met at church. I learned that she is the mother of Conrad the policeman. She said that her wedding dress was brought out to the Island by the Captain of the Tristania and was pink in colour. I gave both her and James a blessing as I left.
In the evening we went round to Kobus and Linda’s for dinner, he being the Island’s CEO under the Administrator. Linda, a very kindly person is his wife and we became friendly with her on the ship. She lives in Cape Town as a lawyer, unwilling to abandon her beloved cats. Cats are forbidden on Tristan, for obvious reasons. It proved to be an interesting evening with a splendid spread of food and the conversation did not flag. We closely interrogated Kobus about the island and without being at all indiscreet he was most interesting. The great challenge is to ensure that the island is viable, which it very nearly is, the only ongoing cost to Britain being the salaries of the doctor, Kobus himself, the Administrator, the Education Adviser and perhaps one or two others. Other than occasional large infrastructure costs the aim is for the Island to pay its own way.
Apparently the pension scheme is a drain on finances for the simple reason that contributions do not balance pay outs. He reaffirmed that the probable average wage on the island is close to a modest £200 a month, and that the only ones who make much more than this are the fishermen.
He himself is very happy on Tristan and admires the islanders enormously. He speculates that one of the greatest drawbacks to island life might well be boredom. In days gone by there were organisations like Scouts and Guides, and Sport and Sports Days, all of which are now gone, so there can tend to be a generalised and sometimes more focussed sense of ennui. Leadership, as we have already identified, is difficult in such a close knit and interrelated community. Diana asked him if there are any role models for the boys, most of the top administrative jobs being in the hands of women. He agreed that this could well be a problem.
When we got on to the problem of litter and rubbish he said that the Authorities have looked very seriously into recycling. The possibility of compressing aluminium and tin cans in order to ship them back to South Africa had been explored, but it proved to be economically unfeasible, freight is simply too expensive. They do break up and grind glass to put into concrete, and apparently waste matter is now dumped according to type, with an eye on possible future salvage. Cars he said will have ultimately to be sunk out at sea, few of them, needless to say, are imported new, they have to contend with a salty atmosphere, but of course don’t notch up huge mileages.
That the island is largely self sufficient is remarkable. Islanders, understandably, tend to be wary of expatriates with extravagant plans for innovation and change. New ideas and ways of doing things have to be introduced cautiously, preferably in a way that allows them to be “owned” by the Islanders.
Linda is a believer in rocks, crystals and their so called mystic properties. Kobus is a Buddhist. They are lovers of fresh air, all the doors of their house were open and the place was cold. While we were present her maid called from Cape Town to report on the welfare of the cats, the maid’s name: “Sweetness”.
I have returned from my last Eucharist on the island, seven of us all told. Afterwards I went to see Maria and anoint her as she will be travelling on the Agulhas with us to go to Cape Town as a precaution, there being a few little worries about her baby. Trina was at the mass and five other hugely faithful old girls.
Thursday 4 October, 2012 6.30am
One of the attractive little things about life on the island, linking it for me with the medieval world, is the frequent and pleasing cock-a-doodle-doing of roosters.
Yesterday, as I was doing my priestly duties about the village, a team of ten folk had climbed the Base mountain which made me rather envious. Had they offered me the trip I would probably have forsaken duty and gone. As it was I was able to achieve things that otherwise were unlikely to be achieved if today, as I hope, we at last make it to Nightingale, our very last chance.
The Agulhas is now due to leave on Friday evening, which means today is our last full day on the Island. Diana is relieved to have written and posted all the cards we have purchased. They have a 25 pence Tristan stamp on them and whether this means that they travel surface mail from Cape Town onwards I know not. Is there such a thing as surface mail these days I wonder?
In the afternoon we went to bless the new house of Geraldine and Paul who is the son of Lars and looks and talks just like him. They have a house behind the supermarket on what used to be a quadrangle of land with a flag post in its centre and called “the Quarterdeck”. It was used for parades and other ceremonial occasions. Their new house is a fine one with three bedrooms, a bath and utility room combined in one, and a toilet. The living area and kitchen are spacious and open plan. There are no eaves or verandah, but verandahs are absent from most island houses. They have two little girls Chantelle and Katie and hope to move into the new house some time next week. They were most appreciative and gave us each a Tristan mug, useful ones in that they have sealed tops and so are good for travelling
After this we wrapped up little gifts and took them, with the PCC Minutes, to all our Councillors. We also dropped off a little gift for each of the three servers. We managed all of this in the afternoon before six, when there was a school performance of songs and little dances from the young pupils, and a fashion parade from the older ones. The clothes modelled were all made of recycled material by the children themselves. A new trainee islander teacher called Poppy was the inspiration for this. The Administrator in his words of appreciation said how appropriate it was that the school children were promoting recycling, for it was a priority of the Island Admin-istration. There was also a dance routine from the older children. The hall was packed, pretty well the whole island was present, nearly all 270 of them. Afterwards I had a word with the male member of the doctor team about their trip up the Base Mountain. They had found it stunningly beautiful and encountered a good number of yellow-nosed albatrosses sitting on their nests.
If we don’t get to Nightingale we will take our sandwiches and go to Runaway beach. This is the rather fine looking one we gazed down to from the potato patches. Diana said the gong for a fishing day went off this morning well before half past five. I didn’t hear it and wondered therefore if she had dreamt the gong, but there is a lot of activity, the sea is calm and so she is probably right. It is rare that I don’t wake up for such things.
The cows have been wandering the village. Pasturage is scarce on the Island and so the cattle rotate almost the whole plateau, including the village itself. We watched one munching a small Pohutukawa tree in the churchyard and a fair number of them have a go at the New Zealand flax which they seem to enjoy. They chew out the greenness to leave a fibrous and stringy end to any leaves that they can reach.
For the whole series of these articles so far see:
http://www.andrewneaum.com/articles.htm
FROM THE REGISTERS
Birthdays:
Betty Garraway. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 April
Anniversary :
Elaine & Daniel McMullen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 April
CONGRATULATION
To: Amanda Dowdy & Zander Maskell
to be baptised today at 10.30am and Harrison Avramovski to be baptised at 2pm on Saturday 27 April. Welcome to God’s Family.
To: Wendy McDonald and James Stammers
to be married here on Friday 26 April. The Wedding is to be conducted by Fr Kim Benton, their Rector when he was at Numurkah.
HALL COMMITTEE
23 April 4 pm, Roz’s Room
ARISE 255 - Youth Group
22 April Monday 5.30-7.30pm
The first meeting this term. We will begin with Looking at the Tower of Babel - part of our reflection on the Religions of the World.
GARDEN WORKING BEE
27 April Saturday 9am
Come along to enjoy camaraderie, vigorous work & rejoice in our lovely Autumnal garden.
OUTREACH
28 April Sunday- Helen’s deadline for material
TATURA ANGLICAN GUILD
28 April Sunday at 2PM
at 20 Francis Street Tatura
WONDERFUL WINTER WEAR
If you would like to join the fun of the fashion parade by ‘Tiger Lily’ at Tatura you can obtain tickets ($10) from Dorothy Cook or the Office.
GV HEALTH EXTENDED CARE AUX.
‘THE HELP’
9 May Thursday 11.30-12.30pm
Film and Boxed Luncheon
Village 4 Cinema Shepparton
Pre paid tickets $20 at Mimma’s Hairdressing or via Lolene 58219182
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. If you do not have an invitation please ask at the Office.
HOSPICE TEA AND HARMONY
14 May Tuesday 1.30pm
Eastbank Centre
Guest Speaker: Peter Roberts from Geelong
Guest Artist: Kathryn Bradbury, nee King, from the Gold Coast. All funds to the GV Hospice Care Service. Tickets:$30 available from Pat 58313080 or Heather 58299418
INDUCTION
2 June Sunday 4.30pm
Our new Rector, The Revd Des Potter, is to be inducted at Choral Evensong on 2 June at 4.30pm, followed by excellent food and drink.
DIARY DATES
April 22 Mon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arise 255 Youth Group
April 27 Sat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Garden Working Bee
April 28 Sun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deadline for Outreach
May 16 Thur. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ladies Guild
May 10 Fri. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rector’s Farewell 6.00PM
May 15 Wed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parish Council
May 21 Tues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Friendship Group
May 23 Thu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4pm Raffle sub Committee Roz’s Room
May 31-June 1 Fri-Sun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .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
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.
Dulcie, David, Warren, Philip Ackland and Families, Hilary & Alan Akers, Shirley Bartlett, Liam Bognar, Joyce Cavill, Frank Harder, Bruce Hodgson & family, Katherine Holt, John Justin & Cheryl, Edwin Johnson, Dos King, Elsie Lieschke, Bob & June McKellar, Colin McKenzie, Lynda Saville, Sandra Simonis, Suzanne Singh, Nicole Sleeth, Patricia Sparkes, Leslie Warren, Ray, Vanessa, Simon, Joy, Adrian, John, Dawn, Kent, Scott, Win, James & Rachel.
Rest in Peace: Bonnie Howard
Anniversaries: Stoyan Yosifofski, Cindy Kiker (21 Ap), Alexandros Damianopoulos (22 Ap), Evelyn Gould, Leslie Alexander, Joyce Davis, Kole Stojchevski (23 Ap), William Fentham, Merle O’Donohue (24 Ap), Norman McArthur (25 Ap), Elizabeth Guyatt, Frederick Broadbridge (26 Ap), Elsie Minchin, Vivian Parrant (27 Ap).
READINGS EASTER FIVE 28 April
Acts111-18, Psalm 148, Revelation 21 1-6
Duties Fourth Sunday of Easter 21 April 2013
Readers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Victoria Heenan, Liz Gyles
Intercessor 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Norm Weaver
Servers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Soibhan, Michelle, Beth
Euc. Assts 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heather Pearson, Barbara Schier
Sidespeople 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bev Ralph, Max Ralph
Welcomer 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Judy Trevena, Gwenda Betson
Welcome Tbl 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dorothy
Tea 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bev Reither
Reader 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mary Pearson
Intercessor 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . none as Baptism
Servers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Olivia, Oscar
Euc. Assts 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jenny, Joe
Sidespeople 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Pleming, Leoni Gilbert
Welcomers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beryl Black, Frank Steen
Welcome Tbl 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dorothy Cook
Projector 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Black family
Children’s Church10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Suzanne Lear
Mowing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .none
Monday Office 22 April. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joyce Oxley, Bob Galt
Duties for Fifth Sunday of Easter 28 April 2013
Readers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gwyn Cowland, Jeanette Smith
Intercessor 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bev Condon
Servers 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Soibhan, Michelle, Beth
Euc. Assts 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joe Pearson, John Griffin
Sidespeople 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Trevor Batey, Joy Campbell
Welcomer 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anita Saville, Cecily McDonnell
Welcome Tbl 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dorothy Cook
Tea 8.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Val Bambrook
Reader 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chris Swain
Intercessor 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .none
Servers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jenny,
Euc. Assts 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Joe Fernandez,
Sidespeople 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Pleming, Irene Crawford
Welcomers 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anne Hall, Kylie Milsom
Welcome Tbl 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dorothy Cook
Projector 10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Charlotte Brewer
Children’s Church10.30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Diana Neaum
Monday Office 29 April. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jenny Mintern, Jan Phillips
Mowing 4 May . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marg and Brendan Carroll
THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH
Sunday 21 April 4th Sunday of Easter
5.30pm Evening Prayer- Lady Chapel
Monday 22 April
Rector’s Day Off
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
5.30pm Arise 255-Youth Group
Tuesday 23 April St George
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
10.00am Play Group
4.00 pm Hall Committee meeting
5.00pm Evening Prayer
Wednesday 24 April
7.45am Mattins - Lady Chapel
10.00am Eucharist - St Augustine’s
12.30pm Eucharist - Deanery Farewell
5.00pm Evening Prayer
6.30pm EfM
6.30pm Wedding Rehearsal
Thursday 25 April ANZAC DAY
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
5.30pm No Choir Practice
Friday 26 April
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
3.00pm Wedding
5.00pm Evening Prayer - Lady Chapel
Saturday 27 April
7.45am Mattins & Eucharist - Lady Chapel
9.00pm Garden Working Bee
2.00pm Orthodox Baptism
6.00pm Vigil Eucharist
Sunday 28 April 5th Sunday of Easter
8.30am Sung Eucharist - St Augustine’s
10.30am Eucharist, Baptisms & Children’s Ch - St Aug
12.15pm Orthodox Baptism
9.00am St Paul’s Rushworth - Local
11.00am Christ Church Murchison - Local
8.45am Eucharist - St Luke’s Dookie
10.30am Eucharist - St Mary’s Katandra
5.30pm Evening Prayer