Some incident in the Passion narrative will tend to lodge in our minds whenever we hear it, and thus become our way into the Passion of Jesus Christ. For me – at least for this year – it’s If I am the one you’re looking for, let these others go. I cannot imagine any statement more arresting to the culture and common values of our time; and, more personally, I cannot imagine any remark that more reveals the chasms that remain unconverted and unbaptised in me.
If I am the one you’re looking for, let these others go. It is a statement that combines both integrity and compassion, and these two qualities do not necessarily go together. For example, Winston Churchill was a person of huge integrity, a man of moral coherence, and without this integrated singularity of purpose (ably assisted by brandy) Hitler’s job would have been a lot easier. But it is doubtful if integrity met compassion in Churchill at any deep level. Tasting victory, he ordered the bombing of Dresden for no strategic or military purpose, and where thousands of civilians were roasted alive in the fire storms.
And if you’re thinking "Well, legitimate revenge for the Blitz over London" then If I am the one you’re looking for, let these others go will not make any sense to you at all. You will still be looking for someone to blame and, curiously, blame is totally absent from the Passion narrative. Putting it crudely, Jesus does not begin any of the post-Resurrection dialogues with "Now, about last Thursday …". There is no hint of revenge, no setting the record straight, no getting the facts right for History. And this is because Jesus is not about Jesus, as we might say. He is not a moral luminary. He is not self-referential, but is always pointing to something outside himself – the Opus Dei (Work of God) that he calls "the Kingdom" where those who seek it are delivered from a futility of which they are hardly aware and, more importantly, delivered to a grandeur and a vigour they had hardly imagined.
Look at this reproduction of Bosch’s Christ carrying his Cross. It is a very insightful and theologically informed painting. In the midst of all the snarling hatred of the story – one man wears a spiked collar like a fashion statement – Jesus is totally at peace. Jesus alone is free.
Although Jesus is the condemned one, no one is looking at him. Rather the collective, blaming anger has been transferred to others. Only St Veronica in the lower left hand corner reflects the peace of Christ, and she alone bears the image of Christ with her.
The legend has it that Veronica wiped Christ’s face on the way to Golgotha, and when she withdrew the cloth it had the Lord’s image imprinted on it. [That is what her name means – veritas (true) and ikon (image)] It is an image that is transferred to those who look on it. Jesus, the only truly human being in the story, gives his peace to those who choose his stance in the world.
If I am the one you’re looking for, let these others go. They lost him, but he did not lose them. In his High Priestly prayer, Jesus says to the Father, "I have not lost a single one of those you entrusted to me, except the one who chose to be lost." And this applies not only to the few (principally the women) who stayed with him to the end, but also to those whose saving passion Jesus inaugurated by his own dying – Judas and Caiaphas, Pilate and his execution squad, and the criminals crucified with him, and Saddam Hussein, and drug dealers, and Osama bin Laden, and the Church of God in her violence and sometimes willed amnesia about her Lord, and the quite unspectacular and unrecorded people like you and me.
None is lost except those who choose to be lost. For we are what we choose.
The Rev’d Roger Sharr
Pray for Peace in Gaza
The Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City is still in need of medicine and supplies.
The director of Al Ahli (an Anglican hospital in Gaza City), Suhaila Tarazi, and her staff have been fearing to leave their homes to go to work.
“Civilians injured by bombings have been stuck in their homes without food and water and are unable to seek medical attention”, said Ms Tarazi.
“Nurses working in the hospital were unable to reach their own injured children at home.”
Bishop Mouneer Anis, the Anglican Bishop in Egypt, severely condemns the Israeli attacks on Gaza which have resulted in a real humanitarian disaster.
The innocent children, women and elderly people pay a heavy price in this disaster.
He recently called upon the whole international community to put an end to these cruel attacks that have resulted in the loss of many.
Bishop Anis also appealed to the conscience of the international community to move swiftly to find a comprehensive and just solution that will guarantee peace in this region.
The Bishop of Jerusalem, Suheil S. Dawani, said that the gravity of the situation threatened to engulf this entire region and asked the Palestinians and Israelis to return to active negotiations for the well being and safety of both communities.
In a recent statement he said:
“At a time when great tragedy is occurring in the Holy Land in Gaza, I want to share some insight into what we are experiencing on a moment to moment basis. Our Diocese has one of 11 hospitals serving a population of 1.5 million residents in the Gaza Strip.
“The Al Ahli Arab (Anglican) Hospital has been in operation for over 100 years and has a very dedicated medical staff of doctors, nurses, technicians and general services personnel.
“During the best of times they are stretched to their maximum meeting the medical needs of this populous community. Now, during the current military conflict with its heavy toll on human life and material, the hospital faces even greater responsibilities and challenges. The result is growing strain on the hospital’s resources.
“Every day since the beginning of military operations, the hospital has received 20 to 40 injured or wounded patients. A large proportion of them require hospitalisation and surgery. These patients are in addition to those with non-conflict-related illnesses. About one-fourth of the patients are children.”
Please pray for the safety of Bishop Dawani, the staff and patients of the Al Ahli Arab Hospital and the citizens of Gaza.
Donate to the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, which will continue to provide medical assistance, as it has for many decades.
In 2009 we will be continuing to support parishes which are considering making an active commitment, or have already made a commitment, to the vision of Becoming Ministering Communities in Mission in our diocese.
Here are some of the ways that we will be trying to assist these parishes:
Sharing the Vision The beginning of a new year is a great time to be celebrating all that was achieved in the last year, and planning for what is to come. If you have not already considered the vision of developing a Parish Ministry Team and setting ministry and mission goals for the future perhaps this year is the right time for you to study and discuss the vision before making a decision about whether to proceed.
Parish Visioning Parishes which make a commitment to the vision enter a stage of reflection and visioning for the future. There are a number of different ways that this visioning can be resourced, and Parish Councils normally choose the process which fits best with the life of the parish. The parishes of Toronto and Wallsend will be commencing a visioning process this month, and will join many parishes which engaged in visioning last year.
Development of Parish Ministry Teams Over the next few months Parish Ministry Teams will be formed in the parishes of Clarence Town, Denman, Muswellbrook and Scone. Teams are formed through a process of helping congregations to discern and use the gifts which God has given them for ministry. It is hoped that during this year over half of the parishes in the diocese will have Parish Ministry Teams in place.
Fresh Expressions of Church Across the diocese, parishes are exploring new ways of reaching out to their neighbours, and “being Church” in ways which are relevant to the needs and cultures of different local communities. Many parishes are experimenting with how traditional forms of liturgy can exist alongside new ways of expressing faith. These fresh expressions of Church offer enormous potential for the future. During the year we will be highlighting some of these endeavours in The Encounter. To resource parishes which are already engaging in a Fresh Expression of Church, or those who may be interested in doing so, we have invited Fr Ian Mobsby to a lead a resourcing day in the diocese on March 10. This day will be open to clergy and lay people and further details will be available soon.
Fr Ian is a Priest of the Church of England who leads an innovative fresh expression in London called the “Moot Community.” He has taught widely in this area from his considerable experience and is a member of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Fresh Expressions Core Team. We look forward to welcoming him.
Diocesan Convention The Diocesan Convention is an opportunity for the whole diocese to meet together for worship, encouragement and resourcing. This year the Diocesan Convention will be held on Saturday May 9 in the Brennan Room at the University of Newcastle’s Callaghan Campus. We are excited that the main speaker will be Bishop Stephen Cottrell from the Diocese of Oxford in England. Further details about the day will be made available in due course – please mark the date in your diary now!
Newcastle School of Theology for Ministry The Newcastle School of Theology for Ministry was established to offer training for leaders within Ministering Communities in Mission. The next cohorts in the Bishop’s Certificate and Bishop’s Diploma programs will commence their studies in May 2009. The programs are open to everyone! An invitation for you to join us in the School has been inserted in your copy of The Encounter. If your copy is missing please ask your parish priest for one or visit our website at www.schooloftheology.net<//link>.
Clergy Ministry Development Support Groups In 2008 our Bishop gathered all of the clergy who are ministering in parishes which have made an active commitment to the Diocesan Vision together for a week-long residential workshop to focus on developing skills for leading ministry teams. At that workshop it was agreed that in 2009 clergy from MCiM parishes would meet together on a monthly basis in support groups as a focus for their ongoing development and resourcing. There will be five groups of clergy meeting regularly across the Diocese this year. In addition all clergy in parishes which have made a commitment to the Diocesan Vision will be invited to a residential workshop later in 2009.
There are many opportunities this year for celebrating all that has been achieved, and looking forward to new ministry for the future. How can your local parish take advantage of what is on offer?
Young teenagers and their adventures at a series of weekend parties allow Mark Pullin to think about the purposes God has for our lives.
Last year I was travelling home on the train home from Sydney with my fiancée when two teenagers came and sat opposite us.
One was a boy of about 15 or 16, the other a girl who gave the impression that she was much younger than her made up face suggested. If I had to guess I’d say she was 13 or 14.
At first I didn’t take much notice of the pair but as the journey continued the way they spoke and the topics they spoke of did catch my attention and I started to pick up parts of their conversation.
I like to think I have done a lot of things and grown up around all sorts of people, in all sorts of areas. I thought that I had seen and heard a lot and had a growing idea about the general nature of people and how they treat one another. Do unto others and all that. Let me tell you, I was wrong!
What followed - from the small parts of the conversation I could grasp - was the story of a group of young teenagers from a Sydney school and their sexual adventures at a series of weekend parties. What shocked me was not necessarily the knowledge of teens this age having sexual relationships (which I have heard at training events is frequently happening in metropolitan centres) but rather the way in which these young people’s partners were discarded at the end of such relationships.
It was confronting to hear the two speak about the way in which people of both sexes were used for their bodies. Not only that but I heard about how these people were debased on community media platforms such as Myspace and Facebook as soon as the relationships were through.
By far the worst part of this conversation was not that each of these events and the follow-on actions were occurring, but that the young boy was trying to convince the young girl that this was the way adults acted and that, “It is just the way things are. You’ll get used to it as you grow up.” It was at this point that I wish I had spoken up, and I still think less of myself because I didn’t.
What sort of upbringing have these young people had to think these are acceptable ways for humans to act and treat each other? What sort of parenting, or lack of it, has transpired to create these youths who are rushing to grow up and experience all areas of life? And what type of supervision from parents and family friends is so blind that this entire process goes unnoticed?
This is not meant to be a berating of parents, family friends or anyone else who is responsible for children and young people. This is a cry for Christians to stop and realise the vast need that children and young people have in 2009 to know the life-changing message of Christ, even when they don’t know that they need it.
If you’re reading this I presume it’s because you have a faith and are connected to a church somewhere. If that is the case then please ask yourself this question, “Are you certain that all of the children and young people you know aren’t in situations like the one I describe?”
Perhaps not these exact circumstances, but a situation that is damaging them simply because they don’t have the knowledge and life experience to see past their circumstances and hold on to something larger than themselves.
If you’re a Christian I implore you, kindle relationships based around care and respect with the children and young people in your life. Let these children of God know that they are loved and valued. Remember who introduced you to faith and then be an “introducer” to someone else.
We know that some life situations are not avoidable but that such situations are never bigger than the God we serve and the purposes he has for our lives. However, if we who have that knowledge fail to pass it on, how many others won’t come to know the joy that can be found in God?
Have you ever felt an urge to go and talk to someone, but let the opportunity go because you convinced yourself that maybe it wasn’t your place, as I did on the train?
I believe it’s the Holy Spirit that gives us those urges. Now ask yourself if you honestly believe that the Holy Spirit would urge the wrong person to go and start a conversation?
By Mark Pullin, CEY Ministries
Chalk Up for Christmas
Mayfield Parish engaged with local schools to celebrate Christmas.
The chalk dust flew thick and fast on the footpaths of Church St, Mayfield, yesterday as students from five local primary schools channelled the spirit of Christmas.
But the meaning of some northern hemisphere Christmas icons got a bit lost in the translation for more than one of the participants.
“It’s got green leaves and I think they’re sort of like cherries or something,” said Lilly Davis-Prescott, 9, attempting to explain one of her footpath creations.
“Are they those things that if you go under it you kiss someone?”
Principal of St Columban’s Primary School said with 23 different nationalities in the one school it was “an interesting exercise” to go through some of the northern hemisphere imagery.
Some of the pictures were based on paper handouts supplied from five Mayfield primary schools, St Columban’s Primary School, Mayfield West, Corpus Christi Waratah, Mayfield East Public School and St Dominic’s Centre for hearing impaired children.
The friendly competition has become an annual tradition “for at least 12 years” according to Mr Doyle, and was instigated by the previous Anglican minister from St Andrew’s Church, the Rev’d John Dring.
Mr Doyle said, “It’s a community-building exercise for children from the local schools get to meet each other and enjoy a barbecue with the Anglican parish community.”
Like any art prize this year’s event did not go without controversy. Madeleiene Malcolm, 12, says she would have liked to have drawn a puppy, but said “we weren’t allowed to draw them”.
She suggested that Mayfield West, the overall winner, had perhaps been more liberal in its selection of subject matter than St Columban’s.
“They drew an elephant,” Madeleiene said. “I don’t know what elephants have to do with Christmas, but they won.”
Perhaps in an attempt to subvert the “rules” of the competition, Madeleiene produced a remarkable fluorescent pig that brought the footpath to life.
“They weren’t really rules, but our school was only allowed to draw Christmas stuff and Australian animals,” she said.
The competition, organised by a committee of the Anglican Church in Mayfield, was supported this year by artists from the John Hunter Hospital Arts For Health program, Rhonda Partridge, Kerry Cooper and Pippa Robinson.
Anthony Scully
First Visit by Bishop in 65 Years!
Locals recalled that last Bishop of Newcastle to visit was Bishop Batty, in 1943, who visited the church for Confirmation in that year.
Bishop Brian remarked that he had broken his previous record of 27 years, for a prior Episcopal visit, set in Western Australia. There were 45 people present for the Eucharist, which took place at 3pm, following a picnic at the local recreation ground.
Stewart’s Brook is approximately 60km east of Scone on the edge of the Barrington Tops. The Parish is resuming regular ministry to the Stewart’s Brook Church after a break of around 20 years.
There are many new families moving into the area as a result of the “tree-change” phenomenon, where people are moving from the city to the country, for a more relaxed lifestyle.
The Bishop’s visit to Stewart’s Brook coincided with his visit to the Parish of Scone, accompanied by Robin. The Bishop presided and preached at services across the weekend. On the Saturday morning, the Parish also began the visioning process to become a Ministering Community in Mission, under the guidance of Fr David Battrick and Mrs Sue Williams. Many parishioners remarked that the weekend, while very busy, was a great way to get the new church year off to a good start, encouraging us to renewal and a fresh start to many aspects of ministry within the Parish.
