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Vol 18 No 9 September 2007 ONLINE The official gazette of the Diocese of Port Elizabeth: Anglican Church of Southern Africa

Quick Links: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Top | Homepage PAGE 2  •  St Hugh’s makes new connections  •  Blue Crane Hospice holds Shavuot Dinner  •  Hymn accompaniment workshop  •  Some oddities of the church  •  Help offered to educare groups St Hugh’s makes new connections “The church exists by mission as fire exists by burning” (Emil Brunner, The Word and the World, 1931). If that statement is true, then our churches have a lot of burning to do. This article describes how St Hugh’s, Newton Park is helping the fire to burn more brightly.., writes Mike McCoy. During 2006, the parish council at St Hugh’s looked ahead to the diocesan year of mission in 2007, and asked how the parish could best respond. It decided that ‘doing mission’ needed a whole lot more than a few instant ideas or pre-packaged programmes. There could be no quick fixes. We needed to go back to basics. A self-supporting priest at St Hugh’s, Mike McCoy (now assistant curate), suggested that St Hugh’s adopt a process of review, reflection, discernment, and mission planning called “Making New Connections”. The process, designed by the Uniting Church in Australia, is based on the idea of pilgrimage - the church as God’s pilgrim people, setting out on a journey into God’s future. It takes a congregation through four stages in the journey: Setting Out. A parish conference introduces the process to the people, explaining why they need to ‘make new connections’ with God, one another, and the world, and inviting them to become part of the journey. Stories for Travelling. There are two major events in this stage: a month- long series of bible studies, followed by a one-day parish ‘story-telling workshop’ at which members take time to reflect on what God has done in the life of the parish over the years, and to note areas of parish life that need to be celebrated or strengthened. In the background, a ‘parish portrait’ and a ‘community profile’ are being drawn up by members of the Coordinating Group (COG). Searching. The parish spends a month in prayer and reflection, as its people discern where God might be asking them to travel next on the pilgrim journey. Moving On. A weekend-long parish mission workshop is held, at which the journey so far is reviewed; the parish portrait and community profile are studied; and parishioners agree on a new parish vision which will lead to a clear mission statement, with specific mission goals and strategies. Once the COG has fleshed these out, the parish receives and owns them, and begins to put them into action. St Hugh’s launched ‘Making New Connections’ with a parish conference on 2 June. At the time of writing (early August), we are well into the month of bible studies, for which nearly 200 parishioners - about 40% of our parish roll - have signed up. Our next main event is the Story-telling Workshop on Saturday 1 September. October will be given over to prayer and discernment, and our parish mission workshop will be held over the weekend of 2-4 November. Rector of St Hugh’s, Christopher Holmes, says of ‘Making New Connections’: “What is so refreshing about this programme is that each member - long- standing or new, young or old, single or with a large household – is made to feel that he or she can make a valuable contribution to the process. St Hugh’s has a history going back to the early years of the last century, with the wonderful tradition of a church that was planted to serve the many young families who moved into Newton Park. “There has been a dramatic change in the last thirty years as businesses have moved in. So the parish needs to adjust to new challenges in the 21st century. This was made so clear to us when we held our Parish Conference in June, and looked at what the parish was like just over 50 years ago – when the present church was consecrated - and compared it with today’s congregation. We face wonderful challenges and changes that inspire a new look at mission and ministry, and indeed at the very purpose of the church!” The beauty of the ‘Making New Connections’ process is that it is open- ended: it is the members who set the parish’s vision and mission agenda. But they do so, of course, only after careful study of God’s Story in scripture, exploring their own Story as a church, seeking discernment of God’s way in prayer, and being open to serve God’s mission rather than an inwardly- focused agenda. Watch this space: we’ll let you know where the journey takes us! Blue Crane Hospice holds Shavuot Dinner The Blue Crane Hospice Association East held an unusual cultural event on Friday evening 1 June in the Somerset East Town Hall Supper Room, reports  Esmé Senekal. Bob Clarke of the Prayer Union for Israel (PUI) was guest speaker at a festive meal to celebrate Pentecost. What made it unique was that this meal represented the Hebrew festival of Pentecost or Shavuot from the Jewish tradition, and then linked this to the New Testament  Pentecost. So we had a fascinating evening of interesting ideas with lots of tasty food, friendly company and good cheer, which was opened by Dudley Greenshields the rector of All Saints’ United. There were about fifty people at different tables enjoying meals made from dairy products, grains, fruits and vegetables. Shavuot in the southern hemisphere coincides with harvest time (in Israel its first fruits) so food from dairy and plant source was highlighted as well. Each table had the symbolic Jewish candles, basin of water and towel for hand washing, honey, salt and the most important “challah”- plaited bread - and wine for the blessings. Bob, at the main table, demonstrated the traditional use of each symbol, reciting the blessings in Hebrew and English.  He used a seven-layered cake with little models of the Ten Command- ments, a pair of spectacles and a miniature stepladder to symbolize the importance to both Old and New Testament believers, of studying the Law of Moses.  Shavuot celebrates the receiving of the Torah on Mt Sinai. Hospice used this occasion to bring together some of its friends and supporters, with their friends and families, in an informal and happy atmosphere. The genius of traditions and festivals is that we sometimes step away from work and routine for a moment and lift up our sights to the eternal values that underly all great spiritual traditions. Bob is an expert on the Old Testament and Jewish traditions. He shows how many of these have metamorphosed into the Christian practices and festivals. His knowledge is vast, covering a wide range of themes including Old Testament literature, plants and fruits and their symbology in the scriptures (Bob has degrees in Botany), and the “greening” of Israel. For more about Bob Clarke and the PUI contact: Frankie Simpson 041 360 6808. Pic:  Bring in the 'First Fruits' - Sr Gladys Mjadu and Mrs H Golimpi enjoy the feast with Bob Clarke of Prayer Union for Israel. Hymn accompaniment workshop Hymns form an integral part of a church service and, unless correctly played, they can either ‘make or break’ a service.  There is far more to playing hymns successfully than merely playing correct notes! Things such as the playover, registration, tempo, etc all have to be taken into consideration. Eric Spencer, our Cathedral organist, will be conducting a workshop on 'The Art of Hymn Accompaniment' at St Mary’s Cathedral on the afternoon of Saturday, 6 October. This is a golden opportunity not only for inexperienced organists but also for the more established ones who feel they could do with a “refresher course.” It is recommended that participants bring a prepared hymn to play. The workshop begins at 14h00 with registration from 13h30. Costs are R10 for RSCM members and R15 for non-members. Please book your place at the workshop as soon as possible: phone Judy Laine at 041 363 0625 (w) / 041 365 3756 (h) or Maureen de Villiers 041 582 5196 (h) Some oddities of the church Did you know that one of our diocesan priests attended the Presbyterian General Assembly in 2004; he is a member of the Central Cape Presbytery; he took part in the elections of both the Presiding Bishop as well as the District Bishop in the Methodist Church; and he can confirm candidates with our Bishop - all as an Anglican Priest! Strange is it not? Help offered to educare groups Educare is a small group of people who attend the St. Georges Anglican Church in Adelaide, South Australia.   They have been sending pallets of books since 2004 to schools in South Africa in the Port Elizabeth  area. Kama Primary School at New Brighton, Stephen Mazungula Primary  School at New Brighton,Colchester School, Emafini Primary school at  Kwadwesi, and to the Tanzania area and more recently to Pastor John Gertze at Paterson for his distribution. We are now seeking further outlets as our contacts often move on and  we find it difficult to email direct to schools to organise collection  at Port Elizabeth of the pallet.  Usually we manage to pack 24 cartons  of books which are of good quality and of interest across a wide range  of age groups. On one occasion the school requested sporting  equipment which we were able to clear and declare through customs.  We  usually have finances to send three or four pallets per year.I would be pleased to receive responses from any interested and  enthusiastic parties. Yours sincerely,  Kaye Parnell/Shipping officer for Educare parnell@activ8.net.au Quick Links: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Top | Homepage