Across Australia No 2 On to Darwin

The following morning was spent in Katherine (pop 11,000) and during the 3 hour stopover I just went to the airconditioned sports club as I was returning there later in my journey.
About 6.30pm, after travelling 2,979 km (1850 miles), we arrived in Darwin (pop 150,000) the capital of the Northern Territory and on the Timor Sea.

I was last there in 1968 before the city was largely destroyed by Cyclone Tracey on Christmas Eve 1975.  It is much bigger now but still just as hot.  I had chosen to visit in the dry season but think I would have happily flown home the next day if my sister had not been flying in the next night to join me for the rest of the trip.  For some reason I feel ill in hot weather.
 However I attended a very informal Eucharist in the cathedral.  I was disappointed the Dean was on holidays as I had heard him preach at St James, King Street. I did not take a photo but here is one from the Net.

I was pleased to see Justice Michael Kirby was to speak on 'Five Uneasy Pieces' in August. Obviously an inclusive diocese.

We visited museums on the environment, Aboriginal and European history including the bombing by the Japanese in WW2 and the cyclone.  We took a sunset dinner cruise on the harbour.

And spent time on a very interesting tour of the new Parliament House.

Finally after 6 nights (for me, 4 with my sister) in a hotel room we picked up our motor home for the next part of the journey. 

Across Australia 1 Melbourne to Adelaide to Darwin

Enough of the Jensens, lets think of more pleasant things.
In past years I have posted about my travels in Europe and  North America. This year I decided to keep to Australia and New Zealand.  I have always wanted to take the 2 great train trips across the continent from North to South and West to East.

At the beginning of July I flew from Christchurch to Melbourne. I spent a weekend there last August so mainly I wanted to meet up with a friend.  Eric was actually a student at the school in my very first year of teaching.  I did not teach him but he was part of a group which toured New Zealand in January 1967 when I first fell in love with the country.  He also attended the same church as me and much later we met on the gay scene. He was  very bright, entered the diplomatic service ( I once visited him at the Australian High Commission in New Delhi) and late became a university administrator. Although retired he is studying for a doctorate. We were going to meet at the Victorian Art Gallery then have lunch but he had injured his foot so I went to his home and we spent several hours in an upmarket restaurant several doors away.

The next day I travelled by train across to Adelaide where I stayed for 4 nights.
I visited the town of Hahndorf in the nearby hills.

This town was settled by immigrants from Germany in the mid nineteenth century and many of the old buildings have been preserved. While they were from Prussia, the present day town contains the usual Bavarian kitsch but after visiting the museum I had a lunch of Wursten and Bavarian beer so count that as my European holiday for 2012.
I also went to Choral Eucharist in the cathedral, visited the Art Gallery and a Railway Musuem and took a tram to Glenelg.

Then I boarded "The Ghan" for a journey of about 55 hours up through the centre of Australia. The train is named after the Afghan camel trains which opened up this dry area. The train had over 30 carriages on it.

We crossed into the Northern Territory about 20 hours after leaving Adelaide.  In the afternoon we had several hours in Alice Springs (pop 28,000) almost in the centre of Australia. I stayed there on another school trip way back in 1968 but took a bus tour and wandered around the Botanical Gardens of desert plants. I climbed a hill and took a photo of the Heavitree Gap in the MacDonnell ranges.

 

The Todd river flows through the gap but it is usually dry.  A regatta is held every year in which a race is held although the boats have no bottoms and the "rowers" run the course.

More on Jensen

I have received a copy of the media release by Changing Attitude Australia from Fr Andrew Eaton in Bendigo. Thankfully the number of Anglican churches and Dioceses around the world which support gay people seems to grow. When I was a teenager, it appeared none were supportive although I know that was not completely true even in evangelical Sydney but everything was so concealed in those days. Perhaps the ridiculous comments by the Jensens and their ilk these days is the last backlash of a losing minority. I pray that may be so.
Letters to the Sydney Morning Herald have pointed out the problems with the studies these fundamentalists like to quote.

So, we have two studies claiming gay men's life expectancy is shorter than heterosexual men. One of those, according to its original authors, is out of date (Vancouver at the height of the AIDS crisis). The other, according to independent analysis, is irredeemably flawed. These are the facts. They were not difficult to find and they have not been censored. They do not come from the publications of gay rights groups or other activist organisations, but from the research of professional scientists and statisticians.

Another points out

Perhaps if Jensen, Jim Wallace, et al had grown up hearing that, because of their Christian faith, they were an ''abomination", mercilessly bullied in the schoolyard, treated as a social pariah, disowned by their families or even outcast by their entire community, they may have some understanding of why so many young gay and lesbian people fall into a self-destructive lifestyle of drugs, casual sex and nihilistic hedonism.

Surely the ability for young gay men and lesbians to meet socially, to be proud in front of family and friends of who they are, to form life long same sex partnerships, create their own families, even marriages will reduce the temptation to seek refuge in destructive lifestyles. Churches should be encouraging this not leading the attack on such developments. However to quote Jeremiah:

Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:

Just Shut Up, Archbishop Jensen

He is at it again.
It is reported in the Sydney Morning Herald that last night on TV he said
'As far as I can see … the lifespan of practising gays is significantly shorter than the ordinary so-called heterosexual man … what we need to do is to look at why this may be the case and we need to do it in a compassionate and objective way.''

I hate the way he says  "compassionate".  He is one of the least compassionate people I have ever had the misfortune to meet. The look on his face as he says such a thing makes me want to spew up.

One of the reasons gay men I knew have died is that they committed suicide as they could not reconcile their evangelical upbringing with their gay feelings. They did not even have to be "practising" to die that way.

I will name one.

Rev John Turner was my Rector when I was worshipping at St Thomas, Kingsgrove from about 1966 to 1970.  He was a wonderful holy man but left the parish after being admitted to hospital with a nervous breakdown. That hospital specialised in dealing with problems arising from same sex orientation.  It was largely due to this that I realised that ministry in the Sydney diocese was not for me.  Years later he committed suicide. You could say being a minister in the Sydney Diocese was not good for his health .

I personally know 2 other men who were Anglican and in the Sydney University Evangelical Union with me in the early 60's. They later committed suicide due to the pressure of trying to reconcile their gay feelings with their evangelical teachings.
Yet still today the Rev David Booth who has some role, not clear, at St Matthews in Dunedin uses outdated studies to claim we choose to be homosexual. That is a blatant lie. St Matthews is obviously one church in Dunedin I do not and will never visit and I was even horrified to see an advert for their youth group in our church bulletin.

Fortunately our Diocese is led by a much much wiser bishop and the majority of parishes are inclusive. Bishop Kelvin has a link to my blog from his and is well aware of my views.  My only complaint is that he is more careful in his public statements now that he has become bishop than when he was vicar.

A few months ago I was having coffee after the ordination as deacon of a lady in our church. As I looked across the room to the bishop with whom I had just shaken hands, I shocked some around me by saying that if he was one of the Sydney bishops and walked in that door I would walk out the other door.  I have complete and utter contempt for them and their "compassionate" views.

Jensen, I am only a year younger than you and thank God am reasonably healthy. My major health concern is skin cancers. Now surfing when I was young, that was a health hazard.

Marriage Matters

I think the whole world now knows about the latest idiocy from Jensen and the Sydney Diocese.  They want to replace the word 'obey' with 'submit' in the marriage service. As Philip Bradford, Rector of the parish of Hunters Hill wrote, the service he uses from An Australian Prayer Book even omits 'obey'.  I have checked and there are 2 forms, he apparently uses the 2nd.  I have also checked the New Zealand Prayer Book and cannot see the word 'obey' in any of the 3 forms allowed, the man and woman seem to make the same vows in all of them.

We all know the Sydney Diocese lives in medieval times but it is distressing to see them make it so obvious to the whole world. The storm of criticism which has resulted so often equates Jensen ravings with that of Christianity or Anglicanism, not recognising the Sydney Diocese has become a cult that has little relationship to Anglican belief and practice. I particularly see red when, as in a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald today, Jensen is seen as Primate.  Archbishop Aspinall of Brisbane, the Primate of the Australian Anglican Church, is unfortunately not so visble to the media but that is because he is circumspect in his pronouncements although I am glad to see he has made the following statement.

"The changes may be questionable under canon law, and may have to be discussed within a national church tribunal.
“Submit” has never been used in any version of the marriage vow since the Anglican Book of Common Prayer came into existence in 1662."

I am more concerned to read that the Sydney Diocese is actually revising the Prayer Book.
An Australian Prayer Book,  published in 1978, is a rather timid affair as the Sydney Diocese did all it could to obstruct any revision.  A New Zealand Prayer Book of 1989 is much more exciting although, being rather liturgically conservative, I wish it did not allow for so many variations. However it is praised by experts around the world. 

The thought that Sydney would devise its own version is horrifying although it would demonstrate to the world just how far the diocese is removed from Anglican structures. 
While recently looking at the webpage of St Augustine's, Neutral Bay, I read the following:

Holy Communion is a token (my bold) meal that reminds Christians to look in 3 directions:
1.To look back to Jesus’ death and resurrection for us, giving thanks to God that Jesus died so that we might be forgiven and live
2.To look forward to Jesus’ return to earth
3.To look around at our church family and celebrate the unity we share through our trust in Jesus
Holy Communion is modeled on the last meal Jesus shared with his disciples (the Last Supper), which you can read about in the Bible at Luke 22:7-22.
After a reminder is given of these things in the service, whilst you remain seated, trays of individual cups of grape juice and plates of pieces of bread are handed around the congregation. We encourage you to take this opportunity to do business with God in the quietness of your own heart.

I do not know what they use for the 'Prayer of Consecration', probably it is better I never find out.  

On a much happier note, but still related to marriage, The NZ parliament has passed the first reading of a bill to allow same sex marriage by 80 votes to 40 (1 abstention). This is only the first stage and the bill now goes to committee with public submissions. The usual attacks and scaremongering have come from the Catholic Bishops and Family First.

While I oppose the economic policies of the Prime Minister, John Key, it is pleasing to see he is in favour of this bill.
Please note this fact, Julia Gillard, PM of Australia, who is personally not in favour while her Labour Party allows a conscience vote.  Note this also the Liberal Party of Australia, more aligned to the governing National Party of NZ,  which opposes and will not allow a conscience vote.

The Breaking of Eggs

On Monday I went searching in Sydney for a book to read on the plane home.  I flew home on Tuesday.  I wanted something cheap, easily thrown away and not too thick and heavy.  Looking through the bargain box, I chose a book which seemed to fit the need, 350 pages and only $4.  I was attracted by the back cover which said it was set in the 19th arrondissement in Paris.  Anyone who knows me, knows my love of Paris, although I stay in the 13th arrondissement.  
It was 'the Breaking of Eggs" by Jim Powell.

I found it to be an amazing read and will certainly not throw it away although references to Paris were incidental.  It also visits Basle, Warsaw, Berlin and Columbus, Ohio
It is about an older man who hasn't changed in 40 years until suddenly he begins examining his life and revealing secrets that challenge his intellectual and emotional foundations. I enjoyed the writing style so much that I kept thinking that it was a non-fiction memoir that I was reading. 
Feliks' life had been shaped by his perceptions, which it turns out were largely built on the mistaken beliefs of his childhood. In re-evaluating his life, Feliks find his ideas on politics were not as rational as he had once thought. I found the story compelling. I read more than half on the flight (I had nearly 4 hours wait at Christchurch airport) and found one part very emotional, others humorous but also it provided much food for thought. While set in Paris in 1991 at the time of the dissolving of Communism in eastern Europe, it deals with WW2, Fascism and Communism as well as some insights into modern American Capitalism. 

Wonderful how such a random purchase gave me so much to think about.

Mid-Winter Festival

I attended for the 3rd time.  Saturday was postponed as heavy rain began about an hour before, thankfully just as I started to get ready. Sunday was much nicer and less crowds than usual so I managed a front position. I had a sausage sandwich then hot cinnamon and sugar nuts with mulled wine while I waited. Unfortunately my camera battery ran out half way through the fireworks.  In preparing the movie for uploading, I discovered that lightening the picture made it a bit blurry.The theme was "A Frosty Night"
Actually it was not too bad a night. We had more frost a week earlier and heavy frost is forecast for this weekend. We had snow yesterday, quite heavy while I was waiting for the bus to go downtown,  but very little settled and rain with strong winds last night have washed it all away.

More on Prayers

I recently asked for prayers for Bruce.

I can now report that Bruce passed away at 11am yesterday, Sydney time. It was the clot on his lung that mercifully killed him not the fungus which had attacked his sinuses, destroyed his eyesight and was attacking his brain.
My sister and her friend visited him again last Sunday and think he may have recognised them.  Prayers for his older brother Malcolm who was never the practical one, which exasperated Bruce,  and did not expect to be the one left to deal with estates etc.

I also asked for prayers for my sister and her operation to remove her thyroid. Apparently it was successful and the pathology found a small 4mm cancer, fully removed, so it was just as well she decided on the operation rather than less invasive treatment.

I am worried that, more than 10 days later, her voice is still very hoarse. She is seeing the specialist today.

Anglican ??? Worship in Sydney

In yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald, a writer described recently attending a Baptism service in a Sydney Anglican church. Some of the comments.

"To be fair, it's a while since I attended a christening or indeed a church service, but I did expect that I would recognise both. I didn't. Not the words, not the hymns, not the prayers (other than the Lord's Prayer).

The service began with ''OK. We'll get started now.'' Well, we sort of did. I presume it was an attempt to be contemporary, but really the service sounded like it was being made up on the spot; there was no flow, no structure, and no sense of occasion."

"Clearly, churches no longer attract the congregations they once did. No doubt there are myriad reasons for this, and perhaps the adoption of an informal approach is thought to be more appealing to a younger generation. But it is hard to see how the complete dumbing down of the hymns, the content and the structure of any form of worship does not do a disservice to everyone, particularly the young.

Whether you believe or not, there is a sense of importance and occasion in a service with form and structure. Dare I say tradition?"

I happened to also read the latest monthly bulletin from St James, King Street where Fr Andrew Bowyer writes about his time there. On arriving Fr John Stewart, at that time Acting Rector,  told him the three principles of worship at St James were “diligence, dignity and devotion.”

That is why parishioners travel from all over Sydney to worship there.  I had elderly friends in the Blue Mountains tell me, with tears in their eyes, that the local services did not seem Anglican and they were unable to travel regularly the long distance to St James.

One Christmas morning we took my mother to St Stephen's Anglican church at Willoughby. We were unable to get her to the very early service and were surprised when at the next service the rector arrived in shirt sleeves and tie.  The only part of the service I recognised was the creed and I left when the congregation were asked to raise our hands if we were saved.

When I wrote and complained that the service was not Holy Communion, the rector did apologise that had not been made clear in the local advertisements but also told me he believed that too many people took communion unworthily at Christmas. I was too flabbergasted to reply.

Many (most?) of the churches in the Sydney Diocese are Anglican in name only.

Michael Kirby speaks

I am indebted to Calamity Jane at Pie in the Sky for the following interview.
It refers to a book  "Five Uneasy Pieces" a copy of which Calamity gave me when I was in Sydney at Christmas.  I was back in NZ by the time of the Sydney launch where parts of this video were filmed.
I think I have written before about how much I admire Michael Kirby who is a retired Justice of the High Court of Australia.
We grew up in the same suburb, he was five years older than me and his brother, also a judge, was in my class.  We went to the same 2 primary schools (North Strathfield and Summer Hill) and high school (Fort Street) then to Sydney University where he studied law and rose to great heights and I specialised in education. Parish boundaries meant that I mainly worshipped in a different Anglican church to him.  I purchased a book he wrote "A Private Life: Fragments, Memories, Friends" when I was back in Sydney in April but left it there for my sister to read as she did spend  time in the same parish as him. I found we had some of the same teachers. I hope to bring it home and reread more slowly in August. 


I note Michael refers to worshipping at St James, King Street, one of the few inclusive Anglican churches in the Sydney Diocese. The book launch had to be held in a Uniting Church although written by Anglicans. Michael Kirby refers to those who keep to the old literal interpretations of these texts as being narrow and arrogant. 
That would be one of the more polite terms I would use of Peter Jensen (archbishop of Sydney) who I believe has demanded that his vile diatribe against same-sex marriage be read in all Sydney parishes today. Just as well I am not in Sydney as, while feeling for the rector of St James, I would have no alternative but to object in some way, if he follows this directive at today's services.