Crosslight - Edition April 2020

april 2020

Breath

life

of

From bushfires

to COVID-19:

Easter message

rings loud and true

Church story’s real truth P9

God, guns and gung-ho: Life as an army chaplain P30

1

Join us

Breakfast with

a purpose.

Winter can be a particularly challenging

time for those most in need. Please join

us for our annual Winter Breakfast event

in 2020.

This event marks the start of the Winter

Breakfast Program. Every winter for the

last 27 years, people in the Prahran area

experiencing crisis can enjoy a hot meal

and some company.

Tickets: $65 per person or table of ten $650

Date: Friday 22 May, 2020

Time: 7.00am for a 7.30am start

Venue: Malvern Town Hall

Address: 1251 High Street, Malvern

winterbreakfast@unitingvictas.org.au 1800 668 426

Living

well with

choice

and peace

of mind

Care and support tailored just for you with Uniting AgeWell

Help at home

Get assistance with personal and clinical care, household

chores, assistive technology and transport

Community support and wellbeing

Remain connected with social groups, outings, health

and therapy services, seniors gym and carer services

Independent living

Maintain an independent lifestyle in one of our vibrant

retirement living communities

Residential care

Specialist 24/7 care and support, including dementia and

palliative care, within a safe and caring community,

chaplaincy support and worship services

With services across Victoria and Tasmania, Uniting AgeWell’s expert team can help you find

the right services to meet your needs.

1300 783 435

unitingagewell.org

2

“ The situation is tapping into

our fears, but what allows us

to tap into hope?”

Reverend

Denise Liersch

Vic Tas Synod

Here we are, moving through our deep

Christian stories from Holy Week, to

Good Friday to Easter. From stories of

abandonment, betrayal, forgiveness

and love, to Good Friday violence and

despair, to Easter hope and new life.

All of these stories we know so well are

stories of God in Jesus that resonate with

our own life stories: both the best in us

and the worst in us.

In this period, we hear stories of

Jesus’s friends falling asleep when he

needed them, denying, abandoning

and betraying him and each other. We

hear stories of the destructive power of

mobs and the cruel exertion of power

and repression by an occupying force.

We hear stories of one-time followers,

fragmenting and dispersing in their

disillusionment, or huddled in fear.

We also hear stories of women who

remained by Jesus’s side through thick

and thin, of friends who risked all to

provide for respectful burial and blessing

of Jesus’s body. We hear of those who

prayed in hope and in unrelenting love,

and of those who were brought back

together as they encountered the living

One of God.

In the past few weeks, we’ve been

living with our own stories of anxiety

and fear in various ways. As I am writing

this, in the middle of March, four weeks

before Easter, we are living in a time

of uncertainty. Having come through

unprecedented bushfires and thinking

recovery might be starting, we are now

in newly uncharted territory.

There is bulk-buying and hoarding,

abuse of supermarket staff, anxiety

about jobs and income, fear of

businesses going under and failing

financial markets, worry about children’s

education and care of elderly loved ones,

and concern for those whose resilience

to these challenges is low.

But we also hear of people exchanging

phone numbers to keep in touch, sharing

supplies with elderly neighbours and

checking in on them, and other random

acts of kindness.

The situation is tapping into our fears,

but what allows us to tap into hope

instead?

I’ve been reflecting on how the

resurrection stories are ones where

Jesus’s followers found hope as they

encountered him in their deepest points

of despair or disillusionment. Jesus

doesn’t fix everything for them, but they

experience him in “close encounters”,

still with them in their pain … and this

changes everything.

They experience God in this Holy One,

breaking into their lives and rekindling

a sense of hope. This is the Good Friday

and Easter story we still tell today.

The story of the breaking in of God’s

redeeming love keeps going.

The heart of a society is known by how

well it includes and cares for the most

vulnerable: widows, orphans, strangers,

those left on the edge. The gospel writers

call us into loving God and neighbour as

ourselves. In the coming months, there

will be many who get left on the edge

and who could fall through the cracks.

But there is One who brings hope in a

different way of living amidst the turmoil

and anxiety. Just like Jesus’s friends in

the Easter stories, we are called into this

Christ life, that brings hope and renewal

into our lives and communities. This is

our resurrection hope.

Editor’s note: Due to the rapidlychanging

nature of Covid-19 news,

Crosslight has not reported on the

topic in this issue.

Keep up to date at www.dhhs.vic.gov.au

and www.dhhs.tas.gov.au

For Synod-specific updates, go to www.victas.uca.org.au

3

rom P31

Heaven for

leather

For more than 50 years, God’s Squad motorcycle ministry

has been reaching out to men considered by many to be outlaws.

It provides a much-needed sense of family and church.

By David Southwell

Even at a low throttle, the signature

throb of a Harley Davison engine

announces itself before the bike comes

into view.

It’s not just the noise that makes those

enjoying a leisurely lunch in the hip,

vaguely Greenwich Village surrounds

glance up when Peter Whitefield

swings a gleaming green Harley into

the Melbourne laneway for Crosslight’s

photoshoot.

Peter is in full motorcycle club regalia,

or colours, including black leathers,

bowl helmet and a cut-off jacket covered

in sewed-on patches, with the largest

4

one on the back displaying black and

red medieval-style cross motifs framed

by the words “God’s Squad” written in

imposing gothic script.

The classic biker look is completed by

Peter’s long, straggly beard and the large

tattoos on his beefy right arm.

It’s not normal attire for a Pilgrim

Theological College Bachelor of Ministry

student, but neither is Peter your

stereotypical biker or bikie, terms often

used interchangeably although “bikies”

normally refers more specifically to

members of outlaw motorcycle clubs,

also called the “one percenters”.

Peter is a member of the God’s Squad

Christian Motorcycle Club, which began

in Sydney in the late 1960s as way to

reach out to those in motorcycle clubs,

both social and outlaw.

God’s Squad gained much of

its direction and profile under the

charismatic leadership of Rev John

Smith who, after founding the Melbourne

chapter in 1972, became the club’s

national president and an internationally

recognised figure.

“John had a group of people around

who had the vision to take the Good

News to a bunch of people who were

“Many bikies refer to us as priests,”

Peter Whitefield says.

Image: Carl Rainer

very much seen as outcasts of the

day, probably a bit like the LGBTIQ

community today,” Peter says.

“Out of this there was a ministry that

wasn’t just about bike clubs. It was about

working with a broad cross section of

the community including, for example,

Indigenous people at arts festivals such

Black Stump.”

Considering the original and most

famous outlaw motorcycle club

defines its relationship to conventional

Christianity and morality in its name,

Hells Angels, these groups might seem

a particularly unpromising group for

Christians to reach out to. However,

Peter, or “Bubba” as he is called by family

and friends, says by simply hanging out

with bikers and being genuine, the God’s

Squad members have come to be widely

accepted and even respected.

“We’re friends with each other, we get

invited to family events – it’s broader

than just the bike club stuff,” he says.

“We’ve been doing that over many

years of hard work and it hasn’t always

been easy for the people who’ve gone

before us, but many bikies will refer to

us as priests and, if they need funerals or

weddings, they’ll come to us.”

Peter sees a side to outlaw motorcycle

clubs – God’s Squad does not call

them “bikie gangs” – that might not be

immediately apparent to those whose

main perception of the one percenters

comes from lurid news reports of drug

running and gang warfare or violent TV

shows such as Sons of Anarchy.

“There’s a sense of family, for many of

them it is their family,” he says.

“You’ll get young men, often who’ve

grown up in foster care, who don’t have

family or their family relationships have

been strained so they’ve found another

family.

Continued P6

5

From P5

“For many of them it is a place of

safety, it is a place to go to. They don’t

want to go out hang out on the streets

of Melbourne, they want to go hang out

together.

“Some of the clubs, when they have

their meetings they call that church.

Their church family might be the only

family they have.”

The Melbourne clubhouse of God’s

Squad is based at an actual church,

St Martins Community Church in

Collingwood, where the club holds

closed members-only meetings and

open meetings, which Peter says can

attract up to 50 people.

Next year Peter, 59, will be celebrating

20 years of being a fully badged God’s

Squad member, which

requires a three-year

probation style period

of being a nominee,

the equivalent of

being a “prospect”

in normal outlaw

motorcycle parlance.

Peter grew up doing

plenty of bush bash

motorbike riding

in Gippsland, but coming from a very

conservative Open Brethren household

he might not have been considered

a natural choice to join the unusual

ministry of God’s Squad, even though his

family knew John Smith.

“God’s Squad had been a calling that

had been a long time in coming, but I’ve

always felt a heart for the underdog,” he

says.

However, Peter does not believe bikers

are the outcasts they used to be and

argues that, as with young Africans, the

statistics show the percentage of overall

crime perpetrated by bikers is small and

can easily be overstated.

“Look, we’re not naïve enough to not

to know that some of this other stuff is

going on, but I don’t think that, by and

large, bike clubs are set up to be criminal

organisations,” he says.

However, it can’t be denied that

outlaw motorcycle clubs, some of which

were founded by returned soldiers, have

often been associated with violence, the

most notorious Australian example being

the 1984 Milperra Massacre shootout

6

“

We always have to keep ourselves in check.

We have a group of guys who provide a very strong

theological understanding of who we are and

what we stand for.

”

Peter Whitefield

between rival clubs in NSW, which left

seven, including one bystander, dead.

Peter says he had never felt personally

threatened among bikies, but also knew

how to size up situations.

“You’re just aware of your environment

and you’re just smart about it,” he says.

“At a clubhouse you never lock your

bike because a) it’s safe and b) if you

need to get away quickly you can.

“There have been times in days gone

past, many, many years ago, where

they’ve said ‘there’s something about to

happen at this club and we don’t think

it’s best if you guys are here’.

“It might be that they’ve got a meeting

going on and someone’s about to be

thrown out and that sometimes does not

end well.

“The only thing

we have protecting

us from the guys we

hang out with is trust

and loyalty, and if that

taken away, we’ve got

nothing. That’s what we

trade on; that we are

trustworthy.”

In hanging out with

outlaw motorcyclists and adopting

elements of their style and protocols, it

could be asked whether God’s Squad is

at risk of being influenced by the bikies,

rather than the other way around, but

Peter says the boundaries are made

clear.

“Bikers are aware of the difference

between a one per cent club and a

Christian motorcycle club,” he says.

“If we behaved and acted as they do

we would have absolutely no respect. We

are who we are and they are who they

are. We understand that and we don’t try

to be like them.

“We always have to keep ourselves

in check. With God’s Squad, we have a

group of guys who provide a very strong

theological understanding of who we are

and what we stand for and part of that

would be wrapped up in ‘Jesus Christ,

friend of the outcast’.

“It’s a fine line we walk all the time

and sometimes we might step over that,

but we have ways as a group of bringing

ourselves back together.”

One area of outlaw culture that

Image:

Michael Lelliott

can prove particularly challenging is

the traditional proudly ultra-macho

chauvinistic ethos that gives women

little, or even no, status, reducing them

to sexual playthings or property.

Peter says that the attitudes of bikers

towards women can be more nuanced

than they appear.

“The role my wife, Ruth, has played

has been really important in the journey

of Squad for me,” he says.

“We do weddings and funerals

together in Squad. We work together as

a team. If Ruth doesn’t go to a club with

me I always get asked where she is.”

God’s Squad does not allow female

members, they are called companions,

although women used to be able to wear

full colours.

Peter was apologetic about this and

says one reason that decision was made

was to be consistent internationally, with

God’s Squad now operating in a number

of countries.

It might be surprising that Peter says

his most shocking experiences and

stories do not come from being a part

of God’s Squad but from his work as

a chaplain for the Melbourne Welsh

Church, which entails visits to the

Malmsbury Youth Detention Centre, and

from his school chaplaincy work.

“Some of the back stories of the boys

in youth detention bothers me, some of

the stuff around domestic violence and

being involved in street gangs often run

by adults,” he says.

“

Some of the clubs,

when they have their

club meetings they call

that church. Their church

family might be the only

family they have.

”

Peter Whitefield

Not surprisingly, Peter has often been

told that he doesn’t look like a chaplain,

and indeed once had trouble convincing

the police in New Zealand, where he was

on his way to attend an outlaw bike club

celebration.

“The police had the street shut off and

I got pulled over and questioned for an

hour and a half,” he says.

“They asked about bikie gangs in NZ

and where are you going and what are

you doing.

“When they asked what I did for

a living, I said ‘I’m actually a school

chaplain’ and they didn’t know where to

go with that.

“They went ‘a chaplain like we have

chaplains’ and I go ‘yeah I work in

schools’. If you want to know about God’s

Squad do a Google search, we’ve got

nothing to hide. They let me go. The local

police later apologised.”

Peter says that despite being sheep,

or you might say Christian lambs, in

wolves’ clothing, God’s Squad’s outlaw

look generally doesn’t put people off,

although some of his migrant Asian

neighbours in Maribyrnong “can be a bit

frightened until they know who you are”.

“We are always welcome because we

are respectful, we are polite to people,”

he says.

This is evident before the photoshoot

as Peter pilots his big bike up the

laneway in a polite, even cheerfully

deferential, manner between the curious

onlookers, making him seem more like a

motorised Santa Claus than a terrifying

marauder.

Even the skulls tattooed on Peter’s

arm aren’t a celebration of death and

darkness, in fact they are the opposite.

They are part of a motif inspired by

a verse from Canadian Christian singer

Bruce Cockburn, which is paraphrased

on the front of Peter’s arm: “Nothing

comes without some kind of fight, you

have to kick the darkness to make it

bleed light.”

7

Mission in life

2020 approved grant

programs: $11.8m

Grants

from trusts

and bequests

38% Uniting missional programs

$5.1m

Grants from

trusts and

bequests

44%

$2.9m

Grants from

property

sales

25%

$2.5m

Grants from

Synod general

reserves

21%

$1.2m

Grants from

Synod-specific

purpose funds

10%

29% Congregational missional

programs

33% Other programs

8% eLM programs

Grants from

property

sales


programs

32% Congress support

Every dollar given by congregations

helps generate four times that amount

to be spent on dedicated mission and

ministry programs, an analysis of this

year’s Synod budget reveals.

This calendar year, the projected

amount being given by congregations to

Synod is $3.1m.

That represents just 12 per cent of

Synod’s income, with the rest coming

from investment earnings, fees and

tariffs from UC camping or IT services,

trusts and bequests or grants and

contributions from Uniting Vic.Tas,

Uniting AgeWell and U Ethical as well as

sundry minor sources.

This extra income and tapping into

reserves allows Synod to provide

mission-directed grants worth $11.8m.

This has been parcelled out in 120

grants that fund a wide variety of

community-oriented church ministry,

activities and facilities.

For example, in the Presbytery of

Loddon Mallee, one of the 61 grants that

went to presbyteries and congregations

8

has been used to half fund a mobile

ministry.

Grants have also been used to

offer ministry to migrant workers

in Shepparton, fund a Cranbourne

congregation’s food truck that gives

out free meals and support a ministry

placement at Bridgewater-Gagebrook

Uniting Church, in a socio-economically

disadvantaged area near Hobart.

This year there has also been 32

capital work grants approved for

mission-focused building projects with

funding also put aside for heritage

requirements.

There is also grant money to make

buildings more accessible to those with

a disability, which can cover up to 50

per cent of the cost of the works, up to a

maximum of $50,000.

A bit under half ($5.1m) of the $11m

of grants given by Synod are funded by

trusts and bequests, which are often tied

to specific purposes.

For more information, go to

www.crosslight.org.au

4% Uniting missional programs

34% Assembly grant

Grants

from Synod

general

reserves


programs

14% Presbytery innovation projects

14% Redress, child safety and

disability administration

13% Support presbytery

operational costs

9% Dalton McCaughey Library grant

1% Other grants

“ We are being called back to our

purpose of becoming dynamic

pockets of grace.”

Rev Dr Sally Douglas

Minister, Richmond

Uniting Church

Honorary Research Associate

and Associate Lecturer

Pilgrim Theological College

I don’t believe the hype that the church

is dying. While this is recited like a

mantra I don’t see the evidence. This is

because when these claims are being

made, context is often ignored.

The context in which churches and

Sunday Schools were full and the church

had tennis clubs and social dances

emerged out of a very particular set of

circumstances. Churches were large in a

western cultural context at a time when

the societal expectation was that you

had to go to church to be a respectful

citizen. The social pressure to conform

was enormous – particularly when the

voice of the church was often seen as the

ultimate moral authority.

Added to this cultural expectation,

there were far fewer opportunities

to socialise, so churches played an

important role in society.

While in the past, the expectation was

that going to church was “what you did”,

this kind of expectation no longer exists.

Indeed, the very opposite is true in our

context.

Now in Australia, people who go to

church do not garner respect, instead, if

anything, they are more likely to attract

people’s mistrust and derision. In a

sense, over the last several decades,

what was a form of “compulsory voting”

church attendance has now become an

optional, and, for many, a questionable,

choice.

What I find intriguing about this

change in society is that people still

choose to attend church. They are

not doing this for kudos or respect.

There are plenty of affordable quality

entertainment options available

(which do not involve giving up Sunday

mornings). People now have a plethora

of ways to connect with others and to

promote their businesses.

However, despite the flak and the

diverse opportunities on offer, young

and old people are still keen to find out

about the way of Jesus and to go deeper.

My sense is that while numbers may be

lower, the actual number of people who

are part of church communities because

they are seeking to be disciples of Jesus

may be higher.

While I am adverse to anything that

seems like boasting, it is fair to say

that where I minister at Richmond

UC the congregation is growing. The

majority of newer people are young

adults. We don’t have PowerPoint or a

band. We don’t seek to make worship

a form of entertainment, we have no

tennis club. Instead, we focus on what

is core: creating space for authentic,

transformative worship of the Divine,

going deeper into the scandalous way

of Jesus, and trying to live simply,

creatively and generously, together

serving in our local and global village.

I know other Uniting Church

congregations are growing in our

Synod too. Churches like Boronia

Road UC, Yarraville UC, Fairfield UC,

“Common Ground” Heidelberg UC,

Canterbury-Balwyn Road UC, St John’s

UC Cowes, Brunswick UC, Devonport UC,

Launceston South UC and Kingston UC.

There are others, too. I simply name

these particular congregations because I

want to disrupt this tiresome, misplaced

narrative of decline.

The church as a social club is dying.

The church as a marker of cultural

respect is dying. The church as the

authoritative “purity police” is dying.

Thanks be to God because Jesus does

not say anything about the church

being like these things. Instead Jesus,

the radiant One, talks about the church

being little and being loving – like

salt and light – embodying Divine

compassion in a way that people can

notice.

The church is being refined right now.

We are being called back to our purpose

of becoming dynamic pockets of grace

through whom Spirit can breathe,

communities in which all (including

ourselves) can discover and share the

healing and freedom and meaning that

emerges as we draw closer to the Source

of all. So let’s get on with it.

9

Rain of

As parts of Victoria burned explosively and uncontrollably over the New Year period,

Rev Jennie Gordon, UCA minister in Gippsland, was one of the volunteer chaplains deployed

to assist those in need. These are the gripping, sometimes heartbreaking, stories

she witnessed and heard.

This is holy ground, take off your shoes.

This is holy time, the sharing of stories.

Death and resurrection are intrinsic

to our faith. Moving through the drama

and darkness of Good Friday. Sitting in

the confusion and grief of the middling

time. Then, when all seems lost, hearts

broken and arms full of holy herbs, we

awake to the surprising life of Easter

dawn. Images in the stories that follow

resonate deeply within our gospel

narrative. You will find them. They will

find you. You can be lost in the darkness

for a time, but the light will locate you

and whisper your name. Listen, keep

your eyes and hearts open ...

Bairnsdale

People take their places in the pews as

usual, but the greetings run deeper and

the stilling of the voices takes longer.

In the waiting, facing them from the

sanctuary of my place as a visiting

leader, I sense the gathered body remembering,

reconnecting parts of the

whole, re-forming into the collective

congregation of faithful and fearful

together… blessed are you.

It’s Sunday, 5 January, 2020,

Bairnsdale Uniting Church. The East

Gippsland fires have been burning

since late November with a disastrous

escalation on 29 December and in the

days that followed.

We’re only 15 minutes’ drive from

one of the most impacted towns. The

little hamlet of Sarsfield has been

devastated, with many houses and

properties lost. Some of the church

10

members’ homes are among the

survivors, but they’ve lost fences and

sheds. I’ve stumbled from sleep in our

campervan parked in the driveway of

the church house and inside into the

shower.

The manse is vacant after the recent

retirement of the minister and is a

welcome place of rest and respite

for Victorian Council of Churches

Emergencies Ministry chaplains

deployed for shifts in the relief centre

at the football club. Chaplains have

come to Bairnsdale from near and

far and represent many faiths and

denominations and I’m one of them.

I’ve had more pastoral conversations

in the midst of the mayhem this

week than for the whole of last year.

Midwives of sacred stories birthed from

the blackness.

Worship time begins, continues and

ends; we pray, sing, talk, listen, laugh

and let the tears fall. We rehearse our

faith so we can act and speak when

it’s called on. There’s a space for the

Spirit to bless us and the bread and

wine; nourishment for struggling

souls becoming what we are, the body

of Christ. There are greetings and

thanks at the door; “that was what we

needed”. Tea pots are hot and talk flows

freely again.

I stay on in Bairnsdale for the

remainder of the week, sleeping in the

driveway between shifts with strangers

whose faces became familiar. We listen

with open ears and ready hearts, dodge

the media, dine in style on delicious

Continued P12

11

Mallacoota Uniting Church, 29 December.

Image: Rev Jude Benton

From P11

curries from the Sikh food truck at

the relief centre, watch the deluge of

donations continue to flood in and

manage each moment as best we can.

Snapshots stick in my memory; the

teenager resting his hands on the

shoulders of his sobbing mother as she

sat trying to come to terms with losing it

all, the delight on the face of the woman

who discovered her estranged daughter

was safe, the wildlife carer with baby

wallabies in a portacot, the young doctor

who volunteered her time and had local

smarts and a caring heart, the dogs that

slipped their leads and headed off into

the night, the people who perched at the

closed-up bar and watched cricket for

days when the disaster updates became

too much, and the older couple who

slept happily in their fishing boat out the

back, emerging for meals and a shower.

There are plenty more, but they’re not

for sharing.

Three days later, at the request of the

community, the Bairnsdale UCA hosts a

“Sarsfield Community Debrief” with the

Twin Rivers Lions Club. Marilyn Cassidy,

chair of the Church Council, makes sure

there are trauma counsellors present,

with rooms to sit quietly and talk. Doors

open. The mood is heavy and uncertain

as folk and families gather.

Local and state politicians and Blaze

Aid volunteers address about 200

people. The church is dimly lit with

soft music playing. A cross formed by

two large branches lies in front of the

communion table and a few people

wander in and sit.

A finger-food dinner is served and the

mood lifts as people share stories and

experiences.

The Sarsfield Hall Committee will take

over responsibility from here and they’re

grateful for this generous and hospitable

space of care and connection. Marilyn

sees this as Epiphany, glimpsing the

revelation of Christ in the humanity of

people, in the simple, generous spirit of

reaching out to each other.

An essay by a Melbourne writer talked

about struggling to make sense of the

unfettered flow of urban life while this

disaster was unfolding. Apart from the

occasional need for a mask to breathe

12

through, café conversation and life in

general went on seemingly untouched

by the blazing fires out in the east of the

state and across our country. The writer

found solace in a classroom of likeminded

people learning how to create

ritual and hold meaning in these tragic

times.

This is what we do as church, in times

of great triumph or trouble, and in all

the other ordinary times. Gather, bless

and confess then feast on forgiveness,

breathe as one in song, bask in silence,

summon the Spirit, take heed of the

Jesus stories and tremble or sleep, pass

the peace and pray for hope and healing.

Then tell our tales over a cup of tea, and

with a fistful of faith, go and brave the

beloved world together … blessed are

you.

Mallacoota

“I wish it need not have happened in my

time,” said Frodo.

“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all

who live to see such times. But that is not

for them to decide. All we have to decide

is what to do with the time that is given

us.”

The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien

“

They wake to a dawn that doesn’t happen,

continued blackness instead of

creeping, seeping light.

”

She’s the only priest in placement in

town, in the only church in the region.

She wishes it need not have happened in

her time, but it did.

Rev Jude Benton is the Anglican

Priest-in-Charge in our cooperating

Anglican-Uniting Parish of Croajingolong.

She’s another of our excellent imports

from New Zealand and has been in this

placement for 18 months.

The manse is in Mallacoota and

she shares it with her husband, Andy,

who works for the Victorian Fisheries

Association, and their cat, Nelson, who

works for no one. On the Sunday after

Christmas, Jude stands up in church and

tells them all the exciting things that are

ahead in the coming week with Scripture

Union’s THEOS and Family Mission

teams.

The first “bing” of the Vic Emergency

App goes off on Sunday afternoon,

notifying them of a fire at Wingan Inlet in

the Croajingolong National Park. It’s only

a matter of time before it impacts their

town.

Jude comes up with a new plan for

Monday; gather to pray at 10am, people

can go to the meeting at 11am, while she

prepares the church as an evacuation

centre and they’ll take it from there.

At the meeting they’re confronted

with the horrifying reality; this is likely

to be like 2009’s Black Saturday. It will

be raining embers and they are urged to

leave town and go north.

Jude’s parents, holidaying with them

from New Zealand, make it out towards

Melbourne before the road closes. As

they leave the manse, Jude can’t think

what else to pack in the car. What’s

valuable? What would I miss? She sends

them off with love and prayers.

They drive her car to Cann River,

unaware they are so close to where the

Continued P14

13

Mallacoota jetty, 30 December.

Image: Alan McNamara

From P13

fires are burning. Not wanting to drive

too far in this unfamiliar landscape, they

catch a bus to Bairnsdale and a train

to Melbourne. Safe. It is another three

weeks before Jude can retrieve the car.

Jude knew her job was to stay, and

Andy agreed. “Maybe if we had young

children, we might have

made a different

decision, that would

have been difficult,

but it’s just us and

Nelson,” she says.

Jude stocks the

church with supplies;

food, drinks, movies

and bedding from its op

shop for the 60 people

who are hoping to shelter

there. Someone with a

fluoro vest comes in and tells

them to evacuate and go down to the

beach. As they’re preparing to obey, the

police turn up and tell them it’s OK, they

don’t have to leave.

The teams from Scripture Union stay

with the people. They will be evacuated

to the beach in the early morning, then

stay on for the next few days running

their programs from the church. Right

now, though, there’s mad panic and

Jude and Andy decide it’s time to go.

It’s all surreal and frightening. A police

friend turns up and tells them to take

By the numbers

34

Number of people

who have DIED

their boat out where it’s safe and sit

tight. He tells Jude there will be plenty

for her to do when they return.

Gathering backpacks, blankets and

a cage with a cat, Jude and Andy walk

through the caravan park to the jetty,

where the boat is moored. People

eating crackers and cheese

on comfy chairs outside

their vans eye them with

disdain, as if they are

freaks, fearfully fleeing

the wrath that might

not even come. As

they push out on to

the water at 7pm

it’s already getting

gloomy. The middle

of the lake is dark and

brooding and they’re glad to

find others.

Abalone boats and tour boats huddle

together. There are 35 boats in all, pulled

up on Goodwin Sands. They throw water

across the deck and then curl up below.

Nelson roams the cabin, settles and

sleeps well.

Breakfast is fruitcake. In the chaos

Jude has stocked the church with an

abundance of good food, but they’ve

just got fruitcake and cat food. As they

wash the decks, they notice the water is

full of burnt leaves. The only embers that

reach them are already dead.

Through the morning, the sky turns

red then to black, dark as night. They

can’t see the flames from where they are,

but they can hear the unearthly roar and

feel the fire breathing. Once it jumps the

inlet it will show its face; the dragon, the

monster eating up the landscape as it

steals around the coast.

In order to go forward, we have to go

back a little here and start another story.

Swifts Creek UCA is the base for the

Frontier Services High Country Patrol.

Bush Chaplain Rev Rowena Harris says

she’s OK now, most of the time, and has

found ways of coping, supported by a

counsellor from the Bethel Centre.

Rowena’s aware that a trigger – a siren

or the smell of smoke – might send her

spiralling into that fearful state, back

to the beach at Mallacoota. Having

evacuated calmly but quickly from Swifts

Creek when the “leave now” message

came through, and staying with a friend

in Lakes Entrance, Rowena drove to

Mallacoota singing Christmas carols.

A welcome relief. This was a planned

holiday staying with friends and their

children on the outskirts of town.

Rowena is now in Mallacoota and it’s

the morning of 30 December. They’ve

watched the fires from Cann River

barrelling closer. A phone alert says

the town is expected to be impacted by

flames from midnight and this is the last

14

“

The water is dark and oily.

If those burning embers come (people

will) wade into the water under the

cover of blankets and prayer.

”

chance to leave. They don’t, but some

do.

Another message brings the impact

time forward to 7pm; there’s a growing

sense of alarm. They pack the trailer and

cars. Mid-afternoon, the directive comes

to get out now, to the beach or town hall.

They choose the beach and a convoy of

cars carrying children, pets and anxious

adults joins the hundreds of others in the

concrete carpark at the foreshore. They

wait, have dinner from a café and wait.

There’s nothing going on and people

sit quietly or sleep in cars. They wake to

a dawn that doesn’t happen, continued

blackness instead of creeping, seeping

light. The “any minute” message comes

through the phones as sirens begin and

cars empty fast. People take blankets for

shelter and head to the beach. The first

of many homes explodes, cracking the

air that’s humming like a thousand bees

in the approaching firestorm.

The water is dark and oily. If those

burning embers come, emissaries from

the evil mouth of devouring flame,

they’ll wade into the water, holding

the little ones high under the cover of

blankets and prayer.

What do you pray at a time like this?

The “God don’t let me die” prayer seems

a bit ridiculous near so much water, but

it begins silently then erupts aloud and

with it the shame that this might sound

like the distress of a doubter from the

mouth of a minister.

What do you pray at a time like this?

There’s a deeper knowing that the words

don’t matter, that the Spirit hears our

fears and prays for us, within us, around

us and over us. By this time too, so do

thousands of people, thanks to social

media.

Rowena is a prolific contributor

to social media, as are many on the

beach around her. With the posting

and the tweeting comes at least three

consequences; firstly, there is a global

invasion of interest in the unfolding

disaster impacting this coastal

community cut off by road, but blown

wide open online: secondly, if you

don’t post for an hour or four because

someone else has your phone people

think you have died and they don’t

forgive you easily, and thirdly, the

whisper of prayer emanating from the

epicentre of the chaos is magnified and

becomes a cry from the hearts and on

the lips of millions across the world.

All faiths and none. All languages and

silence. Praying to the God of many

names.

Birds are absent and the islands

are burning. By late afternoon it’s safe

to leave the beach and return home,

whatever that demands. Rowena and

the children drive along the intact row of

shops, crazy, as if nothing has happened.

Rounding the bend, the devastation

unfolds. One house burnt to the ground,

the next one standing, three down, two

up, one down, no rhyme or reason. They

arrive home to a singed but safe house,

light candles and drink juice from the

warming fridge. Sleep comes easy. It’s a

new year.

Back on the boat, Judy and Andy are

trying to work out whether to go back

or stay. They wait out New Year’s Eve,

tired, cranky and hungry for anything

but fruitcake. At 7am, they decide to see

what awaits them, certain that home will

be gone. Coming back, the air is still and

smoky, like a gentle morning fog with no

breeze. Mallacoota harbour is bathed in

an acrid burnt-everything smell. They

go to the church first. People are OK,

the church is OK, and the SU teams are

doing well.

By the numbers

1.25bn

Number of animals

who have DIED

Continued P16

15

Psalm

13

From P15

Home is still standing, beyond belief.

The neighbour’s house on one side

has melted around the windows but,

miraculously, the gas tanks nearby

are intact. The house on the other

side has a sweeping rooftop sprinkler,

encompassing the manse roof as well,

but not the shed. The radius of the

circle doesn’t reach that far. Incinerated

tools, bikes, kayaks, projects and church

furniture lie beneath the tangle of tin.

Andy goes to his workplace to check

on things. Jude walks a little further

up the road, sees the burnt bush and

houses, sits on the footpath and cries.

People are cruising around already,

tourists, taking in the toll. Someone pulls

up next to Jude and offers a hug. She

politely refuses, preferring to be alone.

When the weeping wanes, she dusts

herself off and goes back home thinking,

“well, I’d better get on with work”.

She changes clothes, finds something

to eat, and puts on her church name

tag, VCCEM lanyard and Police Chaplain

lanyard. She’ll wear them for the next

couple of months. A parishioner has

been told by a number of people that her

house is gone. She’s in Canberra having

evacuated the day before and is worried

sick about her cat. Jude goes, finds the

house is still there, sends a photo with

the cat looking hungry but happy, sits on

the kitchen floor and cries.

Jude chooses Captain Stevenson’s

Point for the church service on Sunday,

5 January. It’s one of the few places on

the beach where the view hasn’t been

charred and changed. She’s planned

the service with a lady from the Catholic

Church and it’s just so hard, in the midst

of all this, to make a simple poster.

Usually, she’s pedantic about posters

that advertise church events. Funky

design, eye catching and inviting.

This time it’s hand-written and she’s

struggling to find somewhere with power

connected to make copies. She stumbles

into the doctor’s rooms. They copy

them off for her and she sits in a chair

and cries. Andy is busy with Fisheries as

they have been part of the distribution

How long, O Lord? Will you

forget me forever?

How long will you hide your

face from me?

How long must I bear

pain in my soul, and have

sorrow in my heart all

day long?

How long shall my enemy

be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me,

O Lord my God!

Give light to my eyes,

or I will sleep the sleep of

death, and my enemy will

say, “I have prevailed”; my

foes will rejoice because

I am shaken.

But I trusted in your

steadfast love; my heart

shall rejoice in your

salvation.

I will sing to the Lord,

because he has dealt

bountifully with me.

16

Rev Jude Benton conducting service at

Captain Stevenson’s Point, 5 January.

Image: Rev Chris Mulherin

network moving freight from the airport

into and around the town.

Most of the church folk have gone

and some have lost houses. The Op

Shop goes into overdrive, way beyond

capacity trying to cope with needs and

donations. Visitors volunteer and the

days roll on. The church is open for

movies most nights as people don’t have

power.

On Saturday, the sky turns black as

the town is threatened by increased fire

activity. This time people seek refuge

quickly, filling the church and the Main

Hall in town, supporting each other.

On Sunday, about 35 people pray

together on the beach – locals, close

and loosely connected, tourists and

some visitors who’ve been sleeping

in the church. Psalm 13 holds lament,

confusion and joy. They’re not finished

with lament, but the psalm reminds

them it’s part of the process and will not

last forever.

Jude reads My Many Coloured Days, by

Dr Seuss. “Some days are yellow, some

days are blue, on different days, I’m

different too.”

The RAAF is flying overhead, buses

are moving behind them, full of people

leaving to go north while they still can.

The service ends with unaccompanied

singing of Amazing Grace... blessed are

you.

Days run into weeks as Jude stretches

time between pastorally caring for her

flock as they trickle back to whatever

home is now, offering a calm voice in

the community, greeting and handling

visiting chaplains, being present to the

impressively organised chaos at the Op

Shop and dealing with calls and emails

from people wanting to help.

Sometimes she forgets to eat. For

17 days they have no power at home,

cooking over a gas ring and showering

in the caravan park. “Sometimes all

of the activity seems too much – and

sometimes there is that calm assurance

that I am not facing this alone, that in

the midst of crisis the Spirit of Jesus is

here, weeping with those who weep,

strengthening me for the next step, and

showing me where to stop and rest,”

Jude says.

She’s asked to conduct a funeral for

a home. Preparing the liturgy gives her

precious space to sit and reflect and

she feels strongly this is something the

church can offer as a ritual for healing

to the community, where more than 100

homes have been lost.

By the numbers

5900

Number of

BUILDINGS DESTROYED

Continued P19

17

18

Cann River, 12 February.

Image: Dept of Defence

From P17

Rabbi David, chaplain with the Army,

offers Jude a seat on the Bushmaster

Protected Mobility Vehicle that’s heading

to Cann River. It’s an adventure and

a relief to be respected as one of the

professionals and part of the team.

Locals can be so easily overlooked

when an exuberance of outside helpers

descends.

Jude’s place in the community has

been galvanised through her gentle,

constant, honest and open response to

this disaster. She’s written two articles

for the weekly Mallacoota Mouth, one

for a NZ Baptist magazine and her own

church council report. After a few week’s

leave with Andy, she’s looking forward to

the ministry that will flow from this time.

“We’ve had a voice and a presence, and

we’ve done our best,” she says.

Lakes Entrance

Never aspiring to be in this position,

captain of the Lakes Entrance Country

Fire Authority and Uniting Church

member, Phil Loukes, says you do what

you have to, because that’s what needs

to be done.

Phil’s putting faith into action and

explains that God’s grace comes in so

many everyday things, especially when

disaster breaks us open and makes

us vulnerable to each other. We can

experience so much goodness: deep

and open conversations, outrageous

kindness, gratitude and compassion in

the most unlikely places. It also allows

us to stand up to what’s harmful and

have the power to challenge and change

things.

When he was young, Phil thought

he had to work hard to prove he was

acceptable to God. Now he knows he’s

loved, regardless, and he just needs to be

the shepherd, looking after the people

in his midst, whoever they are. Caring,

managing, leading, loving and wrapping

his arms around them in the pain. That’s

why God has put him here.

Phil’s lived in Lakes Entrance all his

life and been involved in a multitude

of community organisations, having

joined the CFA as a junior member in

1971. Co-owning and working in one

of the oldest family businesses in the

area, he maintains the commercial

TV and radio infrastructure in East

Gippsland, employs a number of locals

and provides specialist technicians to

schools and communities from Dinner

Plain to Buchan, Gelantipy to Marlo and

everywhere in between.

December 30, 2019, is indelibly

imprinted in his mind. His son Aaron

is on the Bairnsdale side of Sarsfield

leading a strike team and Phil and his

team are on the other side towards

Bruthen. Many of his crew have not

experienced the kind of fire behaviour

that’s happening around Sarsfield. It’s

hot, fast, loud, erratic and unpredictable.

By the numbers

2779

Number of

HOUSES DESTROYED

At 3am they’re fatigued and he gathers

the team together. Warning them they

have witnessed a fire in their home patch

that has destroyed houses, businesses,

wildlife and maybe even human life, he

sends them back to the station. They

will all know people who have been

impacted. The cost will be huge.

Packing up to leave, Phil is approached

by one of his crew who asks to be taken

to his home. It’s right in the fire zone

and his business is also there. About

4am they make their way as safely as

possible to his property, knowing there

is little hope. While he’s been away

fighting this monster of a fire, Phil has

lost two houses, all his flower-growing

equipment, all sheds except one and all

the plants in his fields and hothouses.

His CFA mates feel raw and helpless

and all they can do is arrange safe

transport to Sale where he will break the

devastating news to his wife.

Phil isn’t the only CFA member to be in

this situation on this night. In the midst

of all this loss and pain, Phil’s concerned

for his daughter. She’s gone with a CFA

team about the Buchan area that’s been

heavily impacted, and communication is

down. He won’t hear that she’s safe for

another 12 hours or more.

On 3 January, before the next “spike

day” when the weather will turn nasty

for fire activity again, Phil consults

with the Incident Control Centre and

gathers all the local emergency services

and representatives from key medical

and Indigenous groups. The decision

is made to evacuate the area. There’s

a huge weight in having to deliver this

message to thousands of holiday makers

and locals, but Phil is motivated and

strengthened by more than his CFA

experience. After Black Saturday, he had

to break the news to his wife, parents-inlaw

and family that their brother and son

had perished in the fire. Nobody should

have to bear the pain of that loss.

The community meeting is packed,

and the message is heard and

heeded. By lunchtime the next day,

the population of Lakes Entrance has

decreased from an estimated 45,000

people to just 2000. They’re safe, but

the economic cost is massive. The effect

of this evacuation will be long-lasting.

Shops will close, some sooner than

others. The food and clothing stores that

have borrowed on their overdrafts to

stock up for summer are in dire trouble.

The pubs and cafes can’t pay wages

and are throwing out food. The holiday

rentals are cancelled, and cleaners are

without work. Phil’s business won’t be

able to access schools for up to seven

weeks, so his work and income stops.

Many businesses will not survive the next

few months, especially the smaller ones.

While acting as a sector commander

on the ground and supporting a

couple of strike teams in the Murrindal

grasslands, Phil makes a trip out beyond

W Tree to Gelantipy. The captain of the

Gelantipy CFA belongs to a farming

family and they’ve been hit hard. He’s

lost more than 50km of fencing that’s

Continued P20

19

Bushland, Bruthen,

23 February.

“

Their stone house has burnt to the ground, the

roof resting on what used to be the floor, the

stone walls standing sentry to nothing and no

one.

”

From P19

worth more than half a million dollars.

On top of three years of drought and

poor income, it’s hard to find the energy

or the hours to get going again.

Like many other brigades, the Lakes

Entrance CFA has been busy since

early November, when they deployed

several members to NSW. Support from

other brigades is invaluable, but there’s

nothing that works better than local

knowledge.

Phil’s teams are physically tired

due to the long hours and extra work,

emotionally exhausted from providing

support and carrying the stories of loss,

and mentally fatigued from constant

critical decision-making.

Phil tells the following story, “Marian

and I know people who have lost

everything. One of the stories I can tell is

of a retired minister who contacted me

asking if there was a person we could

identify that needed financial help. They

said they would send a cheque, so before

20

“

the population of

Lakes Entrance has

decreased from an

estimated 45,000 people

to just 2000. They’re safe,

but the economic cost

is massive.

”

it arrived I met with the lady and told

her of the generosity of the gift that was

being sent. She said ‘others are worse off

than us’.

“It gave me the chance to say to her

that by being gracious in receiving the

gift she was also receiving the love of

others who felt it was all they could do

to help. Receiving and accepting this

gift was being open to being loved by

others, we are all worthy. Lots of tears

and more conversation followed. They

received a cheque for $1000 through love

and grace. Just one example of so many

others. In spite of this feeling of general

fatigue and exhaustion, the sense of

camaraderie and community support

has been overwhelming, and we are

better off for it.”

Lake Tyers

Less than 15 minutes from Lakes

Entrance is the Gippsland Presbytery’s

Camping and Caravan Park at Lake Tyers.

Set right on the foreshore opposite the

hotel and general store, it’s always full

over summer. Ron Gowland, Chair of the

Presbytery, oversees the management

committee. Ron, Judy and their young

children spent their summers here, now

his grandchildren join them as well. Like

the Gowlands, many families have been

holidaying here for more than 40 years.

Blessing

(from the Funeral for a Home)

“The God of compassion,

who grieves with us and with the land,

for all that has been lost,

bless you with love and comfort,

now and for ever,

In the name of the creator, sustainer

and giver of life. Amen.”

Usually, in the peak of the summer

season, tents, caravans and cabins host

a throng of 400 people. Not this year. It’s

30 December and the 300 or so people in

the park are deciding if they will stay.

Some families set up in their usual

spots despite the early recommendation

to leave East Gippsland. The evening

skies glow red and it’s eerily quiet.

Managers Miranda and Terry Fulford say

that if the park was empty, they wouldn’t

have stayed, but they’re responsible

for the people on the property, so they

stay. They’ve briefed some young men

on the use of fire hoses and nominated

the brick assembly hall as a refuge if

required.

Only a few days later the evacuation

call comes and they close the facility.

Miranda and Terry go to Stratford to wait

it out. Ron takes his family home. The

fire front comes within 7km of the park.

Roads reopen in a few days, and they

reopen the park only to be evacuated

once more because of the hazardous

air quality. Many won’t return until next

year. They will lose $70,000 income.

People are safe, that’s what matters.

Corryong

North East Presbytery is battling the

blazes too, the Corryong Complex fires,

made more complex by the state borders

the fire doesn’t seem to acknowledge.

Rev Andrew Delbridge is the Alpine

Regional Resource Minister and an Army

Chaplain. He’s had experience in the

clean-up after the Black Saturday fires

of 2009 and the same principles apply

here. People, lots of people, are running

around full of busyness, often getting

in each other’s way. It’s smashing the

farmers hard.

Drought, fire then flood washing away

what was left of rocks and soil. They’re

losing generations of breeding stock and

if they had to choose, most would rather

lose their houses. There’s a long road to

recovery, if they take that path. Others

will walk off the land, as they have

already. No need to lock the door. Don’t

look back.

It’s the tyranny of distance that makes

this harder for Andrew. He’d rather drive

an hour or two and have a face-to-face

conversation with someone who’s

hurting than make a phone call.

Blaze Aid, the volunteer organisation

that comes in quick and mends essential

fences on farms, rings him and he

arranges a catch-up with a battling man

on the land. There’s a local footy match

happening somewhere else and they’d

like the chaplain to be there. It’s only an

hour and a half in the other direction, he

can make it easy.

He can’t be everywhere for everyone,

however, and that’s one of the costs in a

disaster. The usual rounds of ministry are

disrupted, and Andrew isn’t there when

one of his congregation members breaks

Continued P22

21

From P21

down in the worship service and needs

comfort and care. The congregation

gather round her and Andrew follows up

when he can.

The impact and cost of these fires

moves way beyond the burning

landscape. Andrew gives me two names

of church folk in Corryong to contact:

Pamela Menere and Linda Nankervis.

Pamela’s voice has the heavy tones

of a weary soul, but she’s happy to talk.

Her family came to the Corryong district

in the 1860s. They farmed successfully,

raising a dairy herd and establishing the

first flour mill in the area until the 1939

fires destroyed the family farm and sent

them into town, where Pamela lives now.

In normal times she doesn’t shop,

feeding herself from the extensive

vegetable garden, but these are not

normal times. She spent 48 hours

putting out embers around the house at

the peak of the inferno.

The fire came at the town from two

different directions, two days apart.

She left town on the last convoy on

5 January, driving through burning

roadsides, and was away for two weeks.

Some of her friends haven’t come back.

Their stone house has burnt to the

ground, the roof resting on what used

to be the floor, the stone walls standing

sentry to nothing and no one.

The church hall was used as a wildlife

rescue station and the manse housed

Red Cross volunteers and VCCEM

chaplains sent in for a week at a time.

The Uniting Fencing team from Benalla

camped in the carpark. Pamela made

sure they had what they needed.

Pamela is the person people contact

when there’s a need that can’t be met

through the official systems. She has a

list of people waiting for replacement

water pumps to bring water to the stock

from rivers and dams. They’ve sold out

in Albury and are waiting for a truckload

from Melbourne. There are a shortage of

rental houses and those who were burnt

out are struggling find somewhere to

live.

Pamela coordinates help and does her

best to make sure people get what they

need, whatever that might be. Since the

fires there have been floods, mud and

22

rockslides and whole sides of mountains

slipping down on to houses and into

burnt out valleys. There’s a pause in

conversation.

“On Sunday night,” Pamela begins and

the heaviness in her voice deepens, “my

18-year-old nephew took his own life. He

told his mother he was going fishing and

didn’t return.

He was a gentle caring soul who had

been rescuing animals all his life. His

friends lost their houses and livestock,

he experienced the fury of the fires firsthand.

“The trauma of seeing all of the

devastation was too much. He’d sought

help and was on anti-depressants, but it

wasn’t enough. He just ran out of hope.

He’d graduated from his VCE and had

been accepted for an apprenticeship.

He’d done his training with the CFA

summer fire crew only two weeks before

the fires started and had been out

fighting fires in the disaster. His death

will never be counted in the fire statistics,

but it should be.”

The town is devastated. There are

mental health bulletins going out. I ask

if she wants me to share this story and

she says it’s important. Her prayer is that

the community recovers without any

more loss of life. She sees the emotional

trauma on the faces of people in the

street. The impact of the fires is beyond

imagining.

There are a lot of people asking

Pamela why God might have done this.

She tells them God didn’t do this, and

that God is in the recovery, in the new

growth and reviving of nature. God is

everywhere, giving us life. Her faith is her

resilience. She’s been caring for a friend

with cancer and has just come home

from gathering firewood for the winter,

there’s still plenty around.

Linda Nankervis is a farmer on 1000

hectares. That sounds

a lot, she says, but it’s

steep, rising country. Soft,

undulating, with lots of

hills. I catch up with her on

the phone while she’s visiting

grandchildren in Geelong.

They haven’t seen her since

the fires, so I try not to

intrude too long.

The fire came through

twice, days apart. The

first time was New Year’s

Eve and it stopped at the

edge of the property. The

second time it ran right

through them. All up, they

lost 39 head of cattle,

out of a herd of 880 and

paddocks, and feed, and

fences ...

They were able to save

“

Their stone house has burnt to the ground,

the roof resting on what used to be the floor,

the stone walls standing sentry to nothing

and no one.

”

most of the stock because they

had the time and facilities to

move them to safer ground.

It’s an horrific undertaking to

bury your animals. Luckily, they

had an old excavator. It’s like

any death, you do what has to be

done. The boys took care of theirs

one day and their neighbour’s the

next.

Linda continues: “The

frightening thing isn’t the

fire, it’s the waiting. Once it

comes, it’s a relief. Our house

was spared, but we slept in

town for a week after the

fire. Out at the farm it was

constantly dark, black with

smoke, like 5pm on a winter’s

night and hot. Then there’s the

acrid smell of ashes. It took us

ages to get the cattle into two

mobs, into paddocks. They cry

with distress. For them, it’s like

Continued P24

Farm shed, Sarsfield. 4 March.

Image: Rev Ian Ferguson

23

From P22

suddenly ending up in a refugee camp;

you’ve undergone a huge trauma, you’re

not on your patch and you don’t know

where your mob is and there’s no food

and a great queue for water.

“My brother-in-law, whose place was

burnt four days before us, crossed the

paddocks in a truck 24 hours after the

fire to bring us a load of hay. The power

lines were down over the road. They

settled after they’d had a feed. The

trauma counsellor encouraged us to get

back to routines as much as possible,

so we cleaned the black soot out of the

house and that was helpful.

“Rev Andrew Delbridge showed up

early in the week after the fires. There

was hardly any phone reception and

I was frantically trying to secure feed

for the stock. I had to keep going out

to the verandah to get reception. I was

constantly walking dirty footprints

into the house and the mess was really

distressing. Andrew asked what he could

do to help so I gave him a mop to clean

the verandah. When I think of it now, I’m

horrified, but he was happy to help.”

24

Linda talks about the Sunday, two

weeks in, when they gathered in the

Corryong Uniting Church hall for prayers.

They just showed up and people kept

coming in. Andrew came and the ADF

chaplain popped in. I ask Linda what

it means to be a person of faith in this

disaster, “Faith is about struggling with

all the difficulty, all the time, not about

escaping from it. It’s mucky and murky

and you never know what you’re going

to get.”

Melbourne

Back in the city, it’s horrifying. There’s

an unfathomable scope to this unfolding

disaster that hasn’t been encountered

before and it’s happening in places

the city folk know and love. Holiday

spots, returning summer after summer,

camping, fishing, boating, recovering

from the stresses of life in these idyllic

locations that are now on fire.

There’s a terrible sense of

powerlessness. What can we do? What

do we have to offer? The donations

of money, food, clothing, time and

whatever else comes to mind pour into

the ravaged communities.

When Rev Ian Ferguson gets the

call from the Synod office to consider

a three-month secondment from his

placement in Brunswick to the empty

manse at Bairnsdale his first response is

relief. Here’s something I can do. Here’s a

way to contribute that’s part of who I am.

He’s on the beach, on holidays away

from the firezone and he thinks about

Jesus calling the fisherman to follow.

They were called to use their skills in a

different way.

“I will make you fishers of people.”

They were called to do what they already

do, in a different context. Brunswick

UCA and Ian’s family bless the plan.

Bairnsdale UCA makes the manse

comfortable for everyday living from the

Op Shop store and Ian’s in place ready

to work with the congregation and the

presbytery, offering care and support to

local ministers and communities.

It’s that “need to do something” that

fuels the work of the VCCEM, which is

part of the Recovery and Relief Plan

Bushland, Cape Conran, 10 March.


By the numbers

186,000

Number of

SQUARE KILOMETRES

BURNT

of Emergency Management Victoria.

To join as a volunteer, you need to be

a recognised member of your faith

community and do the training. Just

because you can, doesn’t mean you

should. Social media was flaming when

a volunteer from another agency caused

great distress to an Aboriginal Elder, his

people and the community.

It’s a hot and blustery day and the

wind is whipping up fires and playing

havoc with evacuee’s tents on the oval at

the Relief Centre.

There’s a heightened sense of danger

and distress. I’ve been out helping a

colleague re-pitch the flattened tents,

being quizzed by him on Bible verses

until I needed a break. Did you know that

Abraham was called a tent peg? Sitting

inside with a glass of water, a man beside

me comments softly in my direction, “I

think I’ve done the wrong thing today”.

The story unfolds about hours of giving

out petrol vouchers and inadvertently

insulting the Elder who came later in the

afternoon as the value of the voucher

offered was greatly reduced from that

given to others in his family earlier in the

day.

Underneath the story I hear a deeper

one of lack of cultural awareness and

training, lack of cultural safety around

these vulnerable people seeking

assistance – lack of character, someone

said.

Volunteers can spend hours doing

good and undo it all in one single action

and the damage is often irreparable.

Racism runs deep and can take so many

forms. Unless we know ourselves well

enough to understand how we respond

under stress, how our actions impact

those around us, how our desire to

help can sometimes do great harm, we

shouldn’t be out there where it matters.

Every conversation we have is sacred.

Every person encountered, agency and

evacuee alike deserve our pastoral best.

I sat with him and heard his story and

went away with a deep sadness.

Mallacoota,

four weeks on

The biggest curly blindside for VCCEM

was when we were asked to airlift teams

into Mallacoota with the RAAF. There’s

a massive vote of confidence in what

we do right there. Imagine this; as a

volunteer you’re asked to consider being

deployed for five days into a dangerous

area that’s cut off. You’ll need a day

either side for travel and you’ll probably

not know your teammates. You’ll stay

together in a stranger’s house where

Continued P26

25

From P25

the fire has burnt almost up to the back

door but it’s safe except for a hole on the

verandah floor, please avoid. Oh, and by

the way, you’ll be flying in on a military

plane.

Mallacoota’s airport runway is 1000m

long. A RAAF C-27J Spartan requires

680m to land, so it pulls up short and

fast, hold on.

I’m given that intel mid-flight by my

cousin’s husband, a flying geek. As far

as I know that’s accurate. We sit on

stretcher seats lining the body of the

plane and, as we touch down, I end

up in the lap of the person beside me,

strangers no more.

We’re the third VCCEM team to be sent

in this way, for five days’ deployment. It’s

27 January and Team Charlie is on the

ground.

Dropped off at

Rowena’s friend’s

house on the

outskirts of town

and surrounded

by burnt bush,

I’m just beginning

to take in how

ferocious this fire

has been. Rowena

was airlifted out in a

Chinook by the RAAF,

after 10 days of waiting.

Her Frontier Services Car

is safe, parked near the buckled

fences and spared paddocks just beyond

the house.

The family have evacuated too,

driving out when they could for a break

somewhere less stressful and sad.

Crushed water bottles and breathing

masks line the car and it smells like

my grandpa, stale smoke. I drive into

town to join the rest of the team at

our accommodation. Someone from

the church has left the keys, in case

the house can be used, and it is, with

gratitude, by the first two VCCEM teams

and now Team Charlie makes it home

base.

The town should be bustling with

holidaymakers, instead it’s full of service

and agency people like us. The Army,

RAAF, CFA, SES, DHHS, DELWP, Parks Vic,

Red Cross, Vinnies, Salvos, Wildlife Vic,

By the numbers

500 M

How much money has

been DONATED

Zoos, Fisheries, Vic Pol & their Public

Response Unit ... and VCCEM.

They call us “The Chaplains”. In many

ways I feel as if we are a uniformed

invading force, in a town under siege,

and that’s not entirely comfortable.

The local pub is closed to the locals,

feeding the workforce with hundreds

of dinners daily. Cafes have an

arrangement with DHHS to pay for our

lunches, or we can get them from the

cool room at the CFA, bagged and ready.

The morning of day two I discover

there’s a DHHS-sponsored coffee hour

from 0700hr to 0800hr at the hut down

by the water. It’s a gathering place for

morning briefings for the services and

there’s some good opportunities for

pastoral conversation with a variety

of service and agency people as

well as the tired and tested

locals.

The barista’s an artist,

each cup a different

design, delicious and

worth the wait. I

deliver him a set of

keys to a holiday

house, from a family

in the Mirboo North

congregation who

were evacuated by

boat. A friend of the

barista has lost his house

and he’s couch surfing. This will ease

things in the short term.

Community meetings are held every

few days, updates and question time

with a small packet of chocolates on

each seat.

As we arrive for the meeting at the

Relief Centre there’s talk about it

winding up and moving into recovery

mode. It was set up and tirelessly

maintained by good-hearted, capable

locals when nobody else could get

access to the town and there’s some

tension around whose decision it is to

close and what should happen to the

boxes upon boxes of food donations.

There’s a sign on the door in capital

letters that says WELCOME TO THE

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF MALLACOOTA.

It’s a sign. Dr Rob Gordon, a psychologist

specialising in bushfire recovery, has

26

Great Alpine Rd,

near Bruthen, 14 February.


made himself available and his presence

is respected.

There’s a calm quiet when he speaks.

His message is recovery takes time,

shouldn’t be hurried and that individuals

and communities who recover well have

good social capital; connections and

care for each other and a commonality

of purpose. He tells the gathering to

be kind to each other. He tells the local

government and agency staff to commit

to following up quickly on questions and

comments that arise. He tells individuals

to get as much as they can of pleasure

and leisure and to look out for their

neighbours.

In the dusky light of a smoky evening,

out at Genoa’s first community meeting

since the fires, after a sausage in bread

with sauce, the community gathers in

the hall. You can sense the collective

strength in these people even though

they are so weary. I speak to a young

couple who have been living here for

two years. They’ve been told that now

they are locals; they’ve lived through

the inferno together, bonded by tragedy.

Alongside the devastation to bush and

wildlife, there was a loss of human life in

this community and the pain is palpable.

Two of our VCCEM chaplains have been

invited and we bring bags of chocolates

from Mallacoota, one for each seat.

People are angry with the way the

forests have been managed. A local

group made recommendations that

were ignored. Communication wasn’t

great and the tiny community at

Gypsy Point continues to live without

adequate mobile or internet connection,

constantly cut off from warnings and

information.

Rob is spreading his message of

calmness and kindness again and they

listen, leaning into each other, and

you can sense them let go a little and

breathe. There’s talk of cool burning and

learning from Indigenous land practices

and the conversation is deftly dismissed

with hard words from a local that no one

wants to challenge. Then it’s supper time

and one man makes his way past the

cakes and out into the night. Standing at

the door I catch the eye of Bruce Pascoe,

writer and wise Elder. We exchange

Continued P28

27

Rev Jennie Gordon

with Jasper and Xas,

Cape Patterson.

Image: Rev Arnie Wierenga

From P27

a silent, powerful something and he

leaves. I’m feeling blessed and gutted.

Our deployment includes countless

conversations in cafes and around the

town, delivering food boxes to a recently

returned family and sweeping burnt

leaf litter from the front yard of the

kindergarten.

We help pack boxes of unclaimed food

and stack them in a storeroom. No one

knows where they’re going. In a week

or two it will flood, and the lower boxes

will buckle and break. It’s part of the

struggle of managing an abundance of

generosity.

School goes back this week and we

get a wave from a teacher as we walk a

circle of blessing around the perimeter

fence on day one. Life is returning to a

semblance of recognisable rhythm, at

least in some ways.

Heavy smoke at the airport grounds

the planes, so, with a permit from the

police and permission from VCCEM,

I drive the team out of Mallacoota in

Rowena’s car, on a day that will hit 40

degrees.

Somehow, I have switched on the

heated seat option and I share my

strangely personal discomfort with the

passengers who laugh and are unable

to assist. Finally, after driving through

hours of blackened landscape and

smoky fog, carefully moving around

roadworks and heavy machinery, I drop

them at the RAFF base in Sale. Stopping

to refuel, I discover the switch and turn

it from “high” to “off”. Relief. On my way

home.

Gippsland Presbytery’s Ministry

Team has been working away. Deb

Bye is keeping our social media profile

updated with stories from the churches

and beyond, while hosting an evacuee,

handling insurance arrangements for

Jude and Andy’s shed and Rowena’s

car, and managing as best she can in

the smoky days that deeply impact her

health.

She’s also keeping on top of the work

required for an ordination in January

and a change of Presbytery Chairperson

in February.

Rev Peter Batten has had a small relief

centre of his own operating from the

28

manse in Sale, where his family and their

friends evacuated to, from holidays in

Lakes Entrance. He’s also been deployed

with VCCEM in the local centre and at

Bairnsdale.

My husband, Rev Arnie Wierenga, is

the Team Leader for the Pelican Ministry

team that covers the churches that have

been impacted. He’s been liaising with

Synod, Frontier Services, Bishop Richard

from the Anglican diocese and numerous

other folks, as well as keeping in pastoral

contact with our ministers working in

the area. He’s pleased to see me arrive

home. I’m grateful to be home.

Bairnsdale, six

weeks on

Ecumenism has come to the fore. The

local minister’s group organised a

grief counselling session at the Riviera

Christian Church and a service at St

Mary’s Catholic Church attended by

more than 200 people, followed by a

BBQ hosted by Rotary.

There have been other ecumenical

services held at Buchan and Bruthen and

a concert for fire-affected children, with

show-bags made up by Rotary, Red Cross

and the Bairnsdale UCA.

Ian Ferguson has been learning about

rural ministry. In his first week, he’s

planning a trip to Swift’s Creek to visit

Rowena and attend a meeting. Rowena

suggests it would delightful if he could

bring a kilo of prawns for her dinner.

Fresh prawns don’t find their way up the

mountain easily. So, bless his pastoral

heart, he sources them in Bairnsdale and

sets off in the rain. Less than halfway

up the Great Alpine Road the traffic has

come to a halt. Down a severely burnt

mountain slope bursts a river of mud,

taking trees in its wake and surging

across the road. No one is going in either

direction. Ian and the prawns beat a

retreat. He checks the Vic Roads app next

time he’s planning on heading up the

mountain.

Orbost

It’s the third weekend in February and

Arnie’s co-leading a Saturday afternoon

retreat for the Orbost Elders with Rev

Nathaniel Akoi Atem. I’ve walked in as

they’re discussing how the First People

lived in harmony with earth, water

and fire and how much we could have

learned and still can.

The talk turns around to individual and

collective feelings of helplessness and of

being overwhelmed by the disaster that

unfolded around them. They’re quick to

say that as a church they did nothing and

have nothing to offer that’s relevant or

required. As the conversation continues

it seems that’s not the truth. Nathaniel

consulted the church council and stayed

on to offer prayer and pastoral support

while his family evacuated to Melbourne,

his son pleading to stay to look after his

father.

Don belongs to Rotary and they’re

rebuilding sheds and fences. Grace is the

“God lady” at the Bowls Club and she’s

trusted with stories of struggle. Each

Sunday as the fires raged around this

small, strong congregation they faithfully

conducted worship, hosting the Fijian

Army Unit and delighting in their gift of

song.

Seventy-five people came to “Chat n

Chew” in February; more folk than usual

wanted to share in the hospitality and

community of good food and company.

There’s a yearning to open the church

doors more often, allowing access for

others into their space of healing and

hope. Still in the grip of drought despite

the visible greening they resonate with

resilience. Farming families have long

memories. David has to leave the table

before the blessing. He’s got a truckload

of silage outside to deliver to the dairy

before dinner.

What now?

Hold these stories with prayer and care,

and the many more that have been

shared already and are yet to be told.

Donate money with no conditions. When

we are no longer on high COVID-19 alert,

visit and worship with the local folk.

Stay, spend money in the towns and

support the small businesses. Plan a

church camp at our park at Lake Tyers. In

six months, as winter opens into spring,

ask what you can do to help.

If you have skills, gifts and graces in

chaplaincy or pastoral care to offer,

for a short or longer time, contact the

Gippsland or North East Presbyteries.

Prepare a disaster plan for your

congregation, agency, school, presbytery

or synod. Have a meeting, think of

scenarios, buy what you need. Make

networks with your local Emergency

Services and find out how you might fit

in with their plans.

These stories hold the holy, the

presence of the risen one amongst us.

Our world has been fundamentally

changed by this horrendous bushfire

season. Now is the time, more than

ever before, to take off our shoes, stop

stomping over this fragile, ancient earth

and tread lightly, live lightly, love greatly.

All of us are bushfire affected. This is

holy ground.

Blessing

(from the Funeral for a Home)

“The God of compassion,

who grieves with us and

with the land,

for all that has been lost,

bless you with love and comfort,

now and for ever,

In the name of the creator,

sustainer and giver of life.

Amen.”

Rev Jennie Gordon lives in South

Gippsland with husband and ministry

partner Rev Arnie Wierenga. Recipient

of the national Romanos the Melodist

Prize for religious poetry,

she co-wrote Dad & Daughter,

Prayers and Poems on the Gospel

with her father, Rev Ron Gordon.

Need help? Contact Lifeline

on 131114

WHERE YOUR

money

is going

MORE THAN $250,000

has been raised through the

Uniting Vic.Tas Bushfire Appeal

to support the immediate

needs of people affected and

deliver long-term recovery

efforts.

ABOUT $70,000 of

that tally has been raised by

congregations. So far Uniting

has been able to provide:

✓

✓

✓

✓

food and petrol vouchers

to individuals and families

toiletries that were in

short supply

back-to-school items

materials for Uniting Vic.

Tas early-learning centres

to help young children

cope in the immediate

aftermath

✓P2 masks for people

struggling with the poor

air quality.

You can still donate to the

Uniting Vic.Tas Bushfire

Appeal to support

long-term recovery at

unitingvictas.org.au

29

“There’s a lot of Christians in the military

who are actually out there in difficult

situations. They are the true

ambassadors of the church.”

How do you reconcile God and guns?

Serving Australian Defence Force reservists Steven Bernaudo, 33,

and Rev Ron Rosinsky, 52, talk about being Christians

in the military

Steven

I am a soldier in the Air Force. Previously

I was full-time, now I am a highreadiness

reservist. My rank is an LAC,

which means a leading aircraftsman.

Rather than aggressively taking land and

holding it, as is the doctrine of the army,

ours is to protect the air force, the people

and the planes.

I am also studying a Bachelor of

Theology and candidating to be a

deacon in the UCA.

I think it was about 10pm on New

Year’s Day I got the confirmation I had to

be at my Point Cook base the following

morning and my unit travelled down

to East Sale. We took trucks, buses,

anything that could potentially help

because we didn’t fully know what we

would be doing.

My role was security for the planes that

were going down to Mallacoota to rescue

people. The smoke was just ridiculous.

If I wiped the sweat off my brow my arm

would be black. At midday, you could

30

look at the sun and it was a little orange

circle, it was like dusk all the time.

At one point, visibility got to about

800m at best. Normally you can see a

couple of kilometres so it was causing

problems with taking off and landing of

the planes.

The firefighting was left to firefighters

but, because we’re highly trained and

because of our high work drive, we went

down there to assist by being dogs’

bodies and doing basically everything

else. Each day I had to be flexible, it

could be anything. The work would just

keep piling up. I would be receiving 10

phone calls – “you’ve got to do this”,

“you’ve got to do that” – but I would

have five things to do before then.

I would drop off water and food

around the base. Evacuees, no matter

where they were, had access to food and

water. If you could get lunch you would,

but a lot of the time people were coming

in about lunchtime, so you couldn’t.

Then, all of a sudden, there is

someone’s wife or husband at the front

gate, so we have find that person and

take them to the gate. One day I got a call

that we needed to set up 150 beds, so

myself and another guy set up 150 beds.

I also dropped off the specialist

medical people who couldn’t fly into

Mallacoota because of the smoke. One

of them was from Darwin because there

were no other medical staff available on

the entire eastern coast!

The first week, my days went from

5am until midnight. By the third week,

we started to go into shifts and I was on

an eight-hour duty roster, but on call for

another eight hours.

When the flights came in I’d welcome

the people off. They’ve just been in a

natural disaster, so your pastoral care

starts right there.

The firefighters on the ground

don’t have the chance to speak to

the evacuees, they are just trying to

get them out of the emergency zone.

Once the evacuees come on base and

know they are safe that’s the critical

moment because then everything stops.

Image:

Carl Rainer

They start to realise and think about

everything that has happened and that’s

when they most need some emotional

support. They might be scared, they

might be disorientated or vulnerable,

so it was just to reassure them that

everything was OK. That’s your chance to

help the person and you can really make

a big difference for them.

Even though there were identified

chaplains, not everyone is a Christian

and not everyone wants to speak to a

chaplain. So, we found they were either

speaking to the paramedics or the

people in the military. What you found

is the older generation spoke to the

chaplains.

With the children you’d have confusion

and, believe it or not, excitement. They

were really happy and fascinated to be

on the military base.

Just hearing children laugh made it a

little bit more OK. It was a very strange

effect. It was so poignant, it changed the

atmosphere, the energy. It just uplifted

you, gave you that little bit of hope. That

little smile, that little laugh made all the

hard work and effort worth it.

I want the church to have a little more

appreciation of what the military does.

I want to show just because someone’s

in the military, it doesn’t mean they

are not Christian or applying Christian

principles. We live the Gospel through

love and service to all.

There’s a lot of Christians in the

military, not just the emergency

services, who are actually out there in

difficult situations. They are the true

ambassadors of the church because

they are doing the hard work that

not everyone can do. Firefighters and

paramedics did more for the church than

the church putting out statements or

saying prayers. People want action, they

want Christian principles and beliefs

applied. That goes for any religion or

organisation that espouses care and

service for others.

I wanted to join the military since I was

a little kid. I joined the Air Force full-time

in 2009 at age 22. I became a reservist in

2013. It’s good to have one foot in both

civilian and military worlds.

In 2014, I got a phone call and 48 hours

later I was in the Middle East.

The whole point of that mission was

to disrupt IS. It was effectively a civil war

based on culture and religion achieved

through intimidation. Every day, IS

would go into a town, kill, steal, torture,

rape and conscript child soldiers. This

awakened in me a deep desire to assist

these innocent people in any way I could.

I didn’t go to the Middle East to kill

Muslims and Arabs. I went to protect

women and children and grandparents

who were being killed by people from

their own country and religion or, even

worse, they were being raped and forced

to send child soldiers or being tortured

and forced to do other things. It could

be likened to hell on earth, but for every

evil act there was a corresponding act of

good.

It’s a completely different environment

on deployment, it’s not the church and

I am not around Christians, but that

Continued P32

31

From P31

doesn’t mean I can’t apply my Christian

principles and beliefs, putting them into

practice and contributing to a positive

environment for all.

Yes, there are chaplains, but that

doesn’t mean all the security personnel

want to go and speak to chaplains.

Most are repulsed by religion. I was

the first port of call because I would

hear people’s problems as I was

working in their vicinity. Then just very

slowly, I would move them on to the

professionals, such as the chaplains. So I

sort of bridged the gap and said there is

nothing wrong with getting a bit of help.

Eventually, once you get past the ego,

the bravado and the arrogance and

all that, then you get to what is really

happening with someone.

Some discriminated against me for

having faith, but by the time things

started going wrong, they had come to

know me and saw how I handled the

challenges of war, their perception of

me changed. They started to see I was

patient with people, even if someone got

angry at me or judged me. I forgave and

forgot and they had nothing to say to

that, some were dumbfounded.

In my conversations with the chaplains

I said, “When I am older I want to be a

chaplain”. One of them said: “Why do

you have to wait? If you look at it you are

already doing half the stuff now, I think

you would be a great chaplain.”

The problem was I had been out of the

church a little bit. I had grown up in the

Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches,

but wasn’t involved as an adult. I started

to experience the Uniting Church

through my wife and her family.

Everyone laughs at this, but it is

actually serious: I read the Basis of Union

in a tent in the desert at about 3am. I

felt I understood and agreed with every

word. I liked how it was very traditional,

but also very open. It had a flexibility, a

broadness, yet, a profundity that I liked.

Ron

I had an interest in military history when

I was young growing up in Madison,

Wisconisn, the Midwest of America.

However, I grew up into what is called by

some a “peacenik”. I was very much into

32

Liberation Theology and so very antiestablishment

for my first 25-30 years.

I did my masters in theology

at Chicago’s Garrett–Evangelical

Theological Seminary run by the

United Methodist Church. The seminary

president was mates with the thenminister

at St Michael’s Uniting Church,

Rev Dr Francis Macnab, and from that

connection I came to Melbourne to work

as an assistant minister to Dr Macnab.

I moved my ordination to the Uniting

Church and have done a number of

placements. I also married an Australian,

Isabella, and have three children.

In 2010, I was minister at Ascot Vale

Uniting Church when my friend Rev Mark

Dunn, then minister at the neighbouring

St John’s Uniting Church in Essendon,

said: “Have you thought about going into

the Army Reserve as a chaplain?” Mark

was a chaplain and we talked about it.

To cut a long story short, I got involved

and was commissioned as an officer and

a chaplain in 2011.

In the army, all chaplains start off as

captains. You go in as a special service

officer and have to go do basic training at

the Royal Military College in Duntroon.

You learn how to do field craft and all

the stuff a soldier would learn, but you

have to do it in four weeks.

Learning to fire a weapon was

very sobering. I didn’t exactly feel

comfortable holding the rifle. The first

time you fire a live round into a target

you really think about it, it’s a visceral

feeling. You’re glad you’re not on the

receiving end, it’s a real wake-up call to

the reality of soldiering.

In the Australian army, padres can

carry a weapon in deployed situations.

The rule is that you can only use it to

defend yourself or your mates.

You also do chaplains’ courses on

providing pastoral care in the military

context and advising the chain of

command on ethical and moral issues,

for example war crimes. There’s a real

role for chaplains to advise command on

moral accountability issues.

Every year, chaplains do training

seminars on moral accountability,

what you can and can’t do according to

human rights laws in a combat situation.

Some of my colleagues who are

chaplains have been away for six months

on deployment and you don’t get that

time back with your family. It’s a big ask.

Generally people in the UCA have been

very supportive of my chaplain ministry.

There’s an acknowledgement that there

is a huge cost to the families of service

personnel. Deployment and moving

every three years can have a big impact.

People in my churches have been

very supportive and see that it is mainly

about pastoral care for soldiers and their

families, particularly given the instance

of post-traumatic stress disorder.

I had one case with a soldier who

was having suicidal ideations, and we

supported him with mental health first

aid and pastoral care. This helped him to

regain control of his life.

I am not in the ADF as a warmonger. I

am in there to give support to men and

Two soldiers help a mother, daughter and

pet dog escape to safety at Omeo showgrounds.

Image: Dept of Defence

women who are in defence. While I do

think it is important to have people who

hold the pure idea of non-violence, and

having peace on Earth and goodwill to

all, we also need pragmatists. Someone

once said the reason we have armies

is because there is evil in the world.

Anyone who doesn’t recognise that and

is a pure pacifist is naïve.

People since 9/11 have evolved from

their views from the 1960s. My view is

we have a right to self-defence and that

is recognised by the UN. There are such

things as just wars.

Lethal violence is a last resort when

there is no other way to defend yourself.

Sometimes we need to bare our teeth

and show our strength to people who are

very sanguine about the use of violence

and who will act like bullies to people

who are defenceless. For instance, the

Australian army was building schools

for girls in liberated parts of Afghanistan

eight years ago. That was forbidden

under the Taliban. It’s not a fact often

spoken of.

You don’t have to comply with an

unlawful order in the Australian military.

That can also apply if the Government is

giving an immoral order.

When some reserve units were called

to do border protection on ships north

of Australia to turn away so called

boat people, asylum seekers, that is

the closest I have to come to resigning

my commission. That is where I think

the defence force has been used and

manipulated. I took the view that I

wanted to provide pastoral care for

soldiers and to make a difference within

the walls of defence, rather than outside.

The mateship in the army is really

good. It’s an overused term, mateship,

but you almost do have more of a

commitment to your mates in your unit

than to the army at large. You feel you

are representing your country and you

want to do it well, but when it comes

down to basic truths, you don’t want to

let down your mates.

Army culture has changed too, for the

better. It used to be a macho contest

amongst “alpha males”, now it’s much

more inclusive to women particularly in

leadership. I really welcome that. And

also for people who are of a different

sexual orientation – LGBTI.

In some ways the army and defence

are way ahead of many churches

in terms of equality. That happens

in two ways: in terms of supporting

women to be chaplains, whereas many

churches do not ordain women; and

secondly, including members the LGBTI

community in a way that many churches,

I am sorry to say, do not.

33

A minister discusses a part of the Bible that especially speaks to them.

Rev Angie Griffin

Grange Cluster Minister, Presbytery of Western Victoria

“

Yes it is, Lord,” she said.

“Even the dogs eat the crumbs that

fall from their master’s table.

”

Mark 7:28

The Syrophoenician Woman, whose

encounter with Jesus is told in Mark 7 24-

28 is my favourite Gospel character, even

if she is unnamed, as is her daughter.

She, who in the midst of this group of

people, is a foreigner, a woman without

a male head of house, a non-Jew with a

girl child that is sick.

In her cultural context all of these count

against her. And yet, despite so many

obstacles she is determined to pursue

what she needs.

This Jewish man Jesus. surrounded

as he is by his fellow Jewish followers,

who she has heard is a healer, is known

to help those in need. In desperation

and despite all that stands against her,

she begs Jesus for her child’s sake. What

is the response she gets? “First let the

children eat all they want,” he told her,

“for it is not right to take the children’s

bread and toss it to the dogs.” Rejection,

a slur and put down from Jesus!

Deep inside her she has hope. Deep

inside she has courage, enough to hang

on and take a chance. Deep inside

her she knows that “even the crumbs”

of what God provides are more than

sufficient for anyone, including her and

her child. Deep inside her she knows she

too has as a right to claim this because it

is God’s gift to all.

In reply Jesus declares: “Woman,

you have great faith!” His recognition

of this in her changes him, changes

her, changes the fate of her child and

I suspect has an impact on those who

observed and heard their exchange.

She, who is unnamed, is an inspiration

to me, not just as a woman but as a

fellow human being. She is persistent,

brave, insightful and hopeful. She walks

humbly, seeks justice and discovers that

God is indeed present and available

to all.

Called to Leadership

Is there a person you identify as a leader within this Synod?

The Nominating Committee for the next Moderator of the Synod of

Victorian and Tasmania invites nominations from members of the Uniting

Church.

When Synod meets in November 2020 its members will choose a

Moderator-elect to take offi ce when the current Moderator, Rev Denise

Liersh, completes her term in 2022.

Both lay and ordained members of the Uniting Church are eligible to serve

as Moderator for a three-year full-time term.

A statement on the Role of the Moderator and Nomination Form is

available from the Synod website bit.ly/Moderator-elect or by request

from the Convenor of the Nominating Committee, Mr Dan Wootton on

Email: dwootton@victas.uca.org.au or M: 0439 373 803.

Nominations close on Friday 5 June 2020. Please send the form (signed

by two nominators) to Dan Wootton UCA Synod of Vic & Tas Nominating

Committee P.O. Box 4308, East Balwyn VIC 3103, or Email

to dwootton@victas.uca.org.au

Following Walking Seeking

0357

34

“ How do we ensure what we

are calling worship is actually

worship?”

Rev Claire Dawe

Manningham

Uniting Church

In a bid to explore creative ways of

offering meaningful and authentic

worship, I sometimes attend conferences

and study ideas looking at re-imagined

forms of worship and being church.

Many are incredibly creative, but I

wonder if they actually are forms of

worship or if they are “just” engaging

activities that point us towards God.

I’m not trying to be provocative, I’m

simply asking the question. Just because

someone calls something “worship”, it

doesn’t mean that’s the case – but then I

wonder why isn’t it the case?

I wonder if you recognise this struggle.

I appreciated Rev Rose Broadstock’s

article in February’s Crosslight about the

simplicity of worship at Heathcote UC.

If we consider worship to be the

gathering of people in order to praise

God, to be formed in faith and to develop

in discipleship, then it could be argued

worship should incorporate the whole of

the person’s life – every word, thought

and deed to the glory of God.

But does worship need certain

elements to be present in order to be

worship? During Uniting Church worship,

we gather, share the word, take part

in the sacrament of communion, and

are “sent out” beyond the gathered

community. Worship is about everyone

participating, it is not a consumer

event where we are entertained by a

performer. Neither is it about watering

down the message to make it more

“accessible”.

Participation doesn’t mean every

person is given a role in the service, it

means everyone is encouraged to take

part in what’s happening, whether it

is praying as a community, singing,

listening or taking part in an activity.

The key point is that worship is not

entertainment, it is for engagement and

participation, but somehow that is not

understood by all of those attending our

services and I wonder how we reached

this point of misunderstanding.

A former colleague used to lead a

midweek worship in the form of a walk

and meditation group. The worshippers

walked for an hour and prayed as

they walked – they gathered as a faith

community, they shared the Scriptures

as they walked, they shared table

fellowship at a local café and then they

were sent out.

To me, this was a form of worship

because my colleague reflected the

message of the texts and the places they

visited along the way. They were the

people of God gathering to praise God, to

form in faith, develop in discipleship and

participating fully.

Rev Dr Stephen Burns once said

worship “should be an event to which

people can bring their gifts, artistic and

otherwise … so that what happens is

authentically the people’s, and makes

something good out of the diverse gifts

of the community”.

This is a fully participatory model of

worship where services perhaps evolve

in order to be able to incorporate the

diverse gifts of the worshippers.

A major building project at one of our

churches has resulted in an evolution of

worship in order to manage the limited

available space. This has meant some

people have discovered previously

unknown gifts.

Perhaps churches, as they face

new challenges, should hone their

understanding of worship. They could

be Rose’s rural congregations without

ordained clergy placements, but led by

faithful, hardworking lay people, or my

suburban churches facing the physical

and emotional demands of a building

project.

They are different situations, but the

necessity to think differently perhaps

moves us out of our comfort zones. But

how do we ensure what we are calling

worship is actually worship? And I’m

back at the beginning again. I wonder if

you recognise this struggle?

35

Seeking asylum

is a human right.

Over 6600 people are currently seeking asylum in Victoria. Many without work rights,

an income, healthcare or access to safe housing. You can provide a sense of safety and

belonging to people in their time of need by supporting our Asylum Seeker Program.

unitingvictas.org.au 1800 668 426

36

Tab e ta k

Something impressive is brewing at

Eaglehawk Uniting Church on Tuesday

afternoons.

The congregation, which is located

north-west of Bendigo, has been

providing a community space where,

each week, about 40-60 people come

to get fresh food and groceries but also,

increasingly, to enjoy tea, coffee, cake

and a chat.

Eaglehawk minister Rev Cynthia Page

says many people in the area, especially

those on fixed incomes, are doing it

tough, so the free food and groceries has

been welcome.

“The pension doesn’t stretch that far,”

she says. “It is genuinely a help to get the

fresh food and other goods.”

However, Cynthia says offering the

food is just the starting point. The main

aim is to reach out to those feeling lonely

and isolated.

“Our goal is relationships. We are

welcoming people we wouldn’t have

otherwise met and we listen to them,”

she says.

“We want to show Jesus to everyone

we meet by who and how we are and

what we do.”

Cynthia says the offering of hospitality

emerged last year from a long period of

discerning where God was at work in the

community and where the church could

join in.

“This new initiative is a gift to us

as well as to the community. It has

rejuvenated the congregation,” she says.

It has also enabled Cynthia to

develop relationships with non-church

members of the community that has

led to meeting with them through the

week for more deep and meaningful

conversations.

Cynthia says the program’s volunteers

are a mixture of church and non-church

people and they gather for prayer before

opening for the afternoon.

“The non-church people now actually

remind me if I don’t initiate prayer

quickly enough,” she says.

The Eaglehawk Community Space is

one of three projects chosen to receive

the proceeds of this year’s Lenten

Offering, which provides grants to

innovative mission projects run by the

UCA. There are three categories: metro,

rural and covenanting.

Eaglehawk UC plans to use the grant

money to create a more café-style

environment by upgrading from its

current trestle tables to small café tables

and buying new chairs, tablecloths,

crockery, cutlery, candles and soup

warmers.

The metro category grant recipient will

be a program in Melbourne’s outer east

that provides social support for people

with mental health issues.

The Gathering Place offers breakfast,

activities and lunch three days a week

at Bayswater UC and is run by the Elm

Street Mission, which is a partnership

between the congregation and Yarra

Yarra Presbytery Mental Health

Ministries.

YYPMHM chair John Tansey says the

project, that began last November, is

a missional “start-up” that seeks to

counter the increasingly individualised

and medicalised treatment of mental

health issues.

“Loneliness is an issue, isolation is an

issue, and particularly so for people who

live with mental illness,” he says.

“We wanted to create a space where

people felt a sense of belonging, where

people felt safe, where people are valued

and there is a sense of dignity.”

On Mondays, Wednesdays and

Fridays, the program runs from 9am-

1pm and offers breakfast, lunch as well

as activities such as art therapy and

mindfulness.

The Lenten Grant will be used to

upgrade the church’s basic kitchenette

into a kitchen where meals can be

cooked, rather than just reheated.

“Food is crucial to this working, it

not only brings people but it creates a

hospitable base for people to talk and

chat,” John says.

This year’s covenanting recipient is the

For Love of Earth project run by St John’s

UC on Phillip Island.

This project provides intercultural and

intergenerational arts activities to inspire

ecological awareness.

Moderator Denise Liersch says the

projects selected this year reflect the

theme of renewal.

“Please consider supporting the

Lenten Appeal and, in so doing, you will

be participating in the Kingdom’s work of

renewal, justice and hope,” she says.

In line with Synod’s strategy of

sustainability, Lenten Appeal kits are

not being mailed to congregations

this year. All resources to promote and

contribute to the offering can be found

on the Synod website at www.victas.

uca.org.au/lenten-offering-2020.

37

Crosslight is a bi-monthly

magazine produced by the

Communications and Media

Services unit of the Uniting

Church in Australia Synod of

Victoria and Tasmania.

Welcome to Wesley

Opinions expressed in Crosslight

do not necessarily reflect those

of the editor or the policies of

the Uniting Church.

Cover image: Rev Ian Ferguson

Advertising

Crosslight accepts advertising

in good faith. Acceptance of

advertising does not imply

endorsement. Advertising

material is at the discretion of

the publisher.

Advertising deadlines

Bookings (June 2020 issue)

Friday 24 April 2020

Copy & images for production

Wednesday 29 April 2020

Print ready supplied PDF

Monday 11 May 2020

See crosslight.org.au

for full details.

Distribution

Crosslight is usually distributed

the first Sunday of the month.

Circulation: 17,000

Staff

Editor

Stephen Acott

Ph: (03) 9251 5230

Advertising

Adelaide Morse

(03) 9340 8800

adelaide.morse@

victas.uca.org.au

Media officer

David Southwell

Ph: (03) 9251 5968

Communications officer

Mikaela Turner

Ph: (03) 9251 5203

Graphic design

and print services

Carl Rainer

UCA Synod office

130 Little Collins St,

Melbourne, Vic, 3000

Feedback & correspondence

crosslight@victas.uca.org.au

ISSN 1037 826X

ucavictas

ucavictas

After nearly six years and with construction

nearing completion on the Wesley Place

development, the Synod office is well

advanced in preparation to move to its new

home in June.

Wesley Place is a landmark achievement

which has seen the development of a state-ofthe-art

office complex on Church-owned land

in Lonsdale St, Melbourne. That development

has also included the multi-million dollar

restoration of the historic Wesley Church and

associated buildings (the manse, caretaker’s

cottage, schoolhouse and, in the near future,

Nicholas Hall).

In 2014, the Uniting Church entered into

an agreement with developer Charter Hall

whereby Charter Hall could develop the

property on the basis of a 125 year land-lease

from the Church. Proceeds of the sale of the

ART SHOW

2 May, 10am-8pm

Montague St hall, Yarraville

Sponsored by Pilgrim UC, the

inaugural Montague St Art Show

will feature 50 silent auctions

and plenty of artwork for sale.

Entry by gold coin donation

with all profits going to the

Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

Contact Graeme at ghodgart

@hotmail.com.

SPECIAL SERVICE

31 May, 2pm

Explore inclusive language

liturgy through an eco-friendly

feminist lens at Sophia’s Spring

Uniting Church, Brunswick East.

Afternoon tea to follow.

For more information, contact

Jan Garood 0402 774 883.

Synod office building in Little Collins St have

been invested with returns to fund the rental

of the new office for decades to come.

The move to Wesley Place will be significant

in many ways. It will allow for Synod

operations and all of our agencies (Uniting

AgeWell, Uniting VicTas and U Ethical) to be

under the one roof. This will make it easier

and faster to co-ordinate whole-of-church

responses in situations such as the bushfire

crisis.

The Uniting Church will occupy four floors of

Wesley Place, located at 130 Lonsdale St, with

Synod Reception on the second floor, Uniting

reception on the fourth floor and AgeWell/

UEthical on the sixth.

For an initial period, all Synod phone

numbers will be diverted to Wesley Place.

B&B BREAK

Jindivick Gardens offers seniors

a three-day break including

dinner, bed and breakfast in

our purpose-built Guest Wing.

The Guest Wing has three

bedrooms, kitchen, lounge and

overlooks 10 acres of gardens.

Jindivick Gardens is an hour

drive from Melbourne. For more

information and to book, call

5628 5319.

38

Animal passion

Rev Barbara Allen

Brighton East

I agree with Vernon Terrill’s letter that

veganism can teach Christians ways to

care for God’s creation.

Christians try to live ethical lives, but

when it comes to food choices, many

prefer not to think about it. Veganism is

committed to a cause, and its adherents,

for the most part, are passionate about

it, ready to talk about it, willing to live

ethical lives, even abstaining from

products they may have enjoyed.

Service enquiries

Alan Ray

Mont Albert

Rev Rose Broadstock’s article Consider

This (February, Crosslight) raises

far-reaching questions on what is

worship – not only for small, struggling

churches in the Loddon Mallee

Presbytery, but also for most of us who

have to respond to our neighbours’

assertions that they no longer attend

church because they are “spiritual, but

not religious”.

Many modes, time changes and

locations of worship have been

trialled: Messy Church, Taize-style

meditations, labyrinths, Hillsong

choruses, cafe gatherings for

discussions, or midweek meetings.

Sometimes large sums of money have

been spent on electronic technology

to enhance and modernise the

I wonder if, as Christians, we are

losing some of our “passion”? Are we

still excited about the Christ whom we

follow? Are we in love with our cause,

our commitment? Or are we becoming

luke warm?

Let’s uncover our passion, following

Christ, who calls us to minister together,

to make God’s world a place of justice for

all. To quote Anna Sewell, writer of Black

Beauty: “There is no religion without

love, and people may talk as much as

they like about their religion, but if it

does not teach them to be good and kind

to man and beast, it is all a sham.” ●

experience in the hope of attracting

those who now sip lattes on Sunday

mornings.

Every parish wants the silver bullet

which will guarantee vibrant worship

and fills their pews.

I would be interested in discovering

what other Christian communities are

experimenting with in their ministry

and what they find effective. ●

Creed cred?

Bill Norquay

(on behalf of the Glen Waverley UC

Friday discussion group)

We read with interest Paul Blacker’s

letter on “Creeds” (February, Crosslight).

Our discussion group does not accept

the virgin birth and many other aspects

of this ancient writing. We accept we

are branded “heretics” because we

dare to question religious (not just

Uniting Church or Christian) dogma

and doctrine, but we have to look back

to when the Nicean Creed was written

(almost 1700 years ago and 1200 years

before Galileo was imprisoned for

suggesting the Earth was not the centre

of the universe).

The texts were written in an attempt to

bring together the varying and warring

factions of the church and, in doing so,

brand any dissenters as heretics.

Part of Nicea was also the rewriting of

the gospels and rejection of many great

writings. In the 50 years after Nicea,

the Christian church went from the

oppressed to the oppressor, culminating

in the dreaded inquisition.

Unfortunately, acceptance of this

Creed is part of the membership of the

World Council of Churches, but we do

not need these creeds or dogmas. The

real message of Jesus is how we should

live and treat each other. Reciting creeds

may give us a nice warm feeling, but the

universe shows a creation beyond all of

our understanding.

●

We want to hear from you.

Email your thoughts to

crosslight@victas.uca.org.au.

Do not exceed 200 words and include your

full name, address and contact phone number.

39

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