You are invited to join visiting Archaeologist and Melanesian Mission expert Tom Sapienza for a public lecture of the history of the Melanesian Mission. The first year of the Melanesian Mission was 1849 when five Loyalty Islands youths were brought to St. John’s College, Auckland. The school moved in 1859 to St. Andrew’s College at Kohimarama in Auckland, and then in 1867 to St. Barnabas’ College on Norfolk Island, where it remained until 1920 when it transferred to Siota in the Nggela Islands. The number of students fluctuated but was generally around two hundred. For example, “out ar mission” in 1896 there were 159 men, 48 women and 6 children. Their ages varied, but most were in their teens or early twenties. The Norfolk Island school consisted of a beautiful memorial church, a boarding school, a printery and a farm. Island groups also built their own meeting houses in customary styles – and these are of particular interest to Mr. Spaienza. Mr. Sapienza hopes to share with us some very rare photos and some of the newest material he has been able to uncover. Tom is also delighted the Archbishop of Sydney Glenn Davies with his wife Di who are visiting Norfolk Island this week will also be in attendance. In the past 200 odd years, the Church of England, has come under various bishops (in part because of the mission) including the Bishops of London, Calcutta, Madras, Tasmania, Melanesia, New Zealand and finally the Archbishop of Sydney.

Other opportunities to meet Glenn and Di Davies include: A ladies morning tea (to be held at the Parish Centre from 10am on Wednesday the 7th of June. All welcome). Bounty Day (where Glenn and Di will be lunching with the community in the compound). Church of England Sunday services. Holy Communion will be held as usual at St. Barnabas Mission Chapel from 8.30am and our Evening Prayer service will be at All Saints Kingston (a service 4.30pm and followed by a sing-along of Pitcairn Hymns and Norfolk Island favourites).

The Minister’s Fraternal and the NICYM committee are pleased to announce that Jono and Anna Thomas have accepted the position of part-time Youth and Children’s worker on Norfolk Island. God is good!

Jono trained at Sydney’s Moore Theological College and has been working (at St. Georges Battery Point) in Hobart since graduating in 2014. Anna is a trained chef and has been cooking for the Australian Army in and around Hobart. They hope to move to Norfolk Island during first term.

The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.

1. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?
2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?
3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?
7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?
9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

In addition to these ten questions, here are twenty-one more!

1. What’s the most important decision you need to make this year?
2. What area of your life most needs simplifying, and what’s one way you could simplify in that area?
3. What’s the most important need you feel burdened to meet this year?
4. What habit would you most like to establish this year?
5. Who is the person you most want to encourage this year?
6. What is your most important financial goal this year, and what is the most important step you can take toward achieving it?
7. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your work life this year?
8. What’s one new way you could be a blessing to your pastor (or to another who ministers to you) this year?
9. What’s one thing you could do this year to enrich the spiritual legacy you will leave to your children and grandchildren?
10. What books, in addition to the Bible, do you most want to read this year?
11. What one thing do you most regret about last year, and what will you do about it this year?
12. What single blessing from God do you want to seek most earnestly this year?
13. In what area of your life do you most need growth, and what will you do about it this year?
14. What’s the most important trip you want to take this year?
15. What skill do you most want to learn or improve this year?
16. To what need or ministry will you try to give an unprecedented amount this year?
17. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your commute this year?
18. What one biblical doctrine do you most want to understand better this year, and what will you do about it?
19. If those who know you best gave you one piece of advice, what would they say? Would they be right? What will you do about it?
20. What’s the most important new item you want to buy this year?
21. In what area of your life do you most need change, and what will you do about it this year?

The value of many of these questions is not in their profundity, but in the simple fact that they bring an issue or commitment into focus. If you’ve found these questions helpful, you might want to put them somewhere – in a day planner, calendar, pin board, etc. where you can review them more frequently than once a year.

Thanksgiving on Norfolk Island

Since the mid 1890’s the community of Norfolk Island have been decorating All Saints Church and celebrating Thanksgiving together (this year the festivities begin at All Saints from 10am). But how did the most American of holidays end up on a remote island in the middle of the South Pacific?

According to current churchwarden, Mr. Tom Lloyd, the Pitcairners had always celebrated the English Harvest Home festival, but it was not until Isaac Robinson came to the island that All Saints Church was specially decorated for the service.

Robinson was an trader who settled on Norfolk as agent for Burns Philp & Co Ltd., later becoming Norfolk’s Registrar of Lands and the island’s first (and so far only) United States consul. “The idea of Norfolk having an American consul does sound slightly absurd today” Lloyd says, “but in those days American whalers made frequent calls, and Robinson, a great friend of the whalers, proposed dressing the church up American-style for Thanksgiving.”

Three of Robinson’s friends helped him decorate All Saints Church in the capital, Kingston, using only palm leaves and lemons, and though he died and was buried at sea the next year, his notion caught on. For Norfolk’s second Thanksgiving service, the parishioners brought down all sorts of produce to decorate the church. “The tradition became to tie corn stalks to the pew ends and pile flowers on the altar and the font. At first, each family took home its own fruit and vegetables after the service, but today they are sold to raise money for church preservation.”

Everyone is welcome to join in the festivities at All Saints from 10am Wednesday, 30th of November (original families are encouraged to contact Ikey on 50376 to book pews).

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See you at All Saints!

I’m pleased to introduce (and to warmly commend) Tracy Hicks – the new face of Anglicare on Norfolk Island. Anglicare has been selected as the service provider to deliver Family and Relationship Services, Children and Parenting Support, and Emergency Relief on Norfolk Island over the next three years. Tracy is married to Steve. Barbara Elliot joins Tracy as the part time Office Administrator.

Anglicare hopes to run programmes for parents (and carers) to build parenting skills and provide tools and activities to make sure our kids get the best start in life. Tracy hopes that in time, this will include playgroups, home visiting services for families, parenting skills courses, school-readiness activities, and a peer support programmes. Even so, she would love to hear from our families’ themselves should they have any feedback, opinions, or ideas about the sort of family support that might be helpful on Norfolk Island (you can e-mail Tracy at norfolkisland@anglicare.org.au)

Anglicare is the mission and welfare arm of the Anglican Church, and while their activities will be separate and distinct from the activities of the Church of England, we do belong to the same extended family, and to begin with at least, the Anglicare office will be based out of the Parish Centre. As a church we are excited that Anglicare will working in this area because we love Norfolk Island. Our faith in Jesus Christ compels us to help the vulnerable, and be a voice for the disadvantaged. A partnership like this means we can get on with the job of being the church, while we cheer on the Anglicare team as they love and serve the families of Norfolk Island.

David Fell is the Chaplain of the Church of England on Norfolk Island

We want to be a church who love Jesus, love each other and love Norfolk Island…

…which is why it’s so exciting that we’ll be partnering with Anglicare on Norfolk Island. 

Anglicare is the mission and welfare arm of our diocese. The Anglicare office is to be based at the Parish Centre. Barbara Elliot has been employed as the part time office administrator. Barbara has this week been joined by the Programme Manager, Tracey Hicks. 

Anglicare will run programmes for parents (and carers) to build parenting skills and provide tools and activities to make sure children get the best start in life. We hope this will include playgroups, home visiting services for families, parenting skills courses, school-readiness activities, and a peer support programme. They also hope to add services to help people who are having difficulties in their relationships. Finally, they will be providing some Emergency Relief services (for people experiencing financial distress or hardship and who have limited means or resources to help them alleviate their financial crises). 

Our faith in Jesus Christ compels us to act with compassion, help the vulnerable, and be a voice for the disadvantaged. Your prayer support is vital to the work. You can download the Anglicare Prayer Diary which gives a brief overview of Anglicare’s work and prayer points! 

I have been using NT Wright’s Matthew for Everyone to prepare for our new sermon series on the “Sermon on the Mount”. I loved Wright’s translation the Beatitudes so I will paste it here for you:

Wonderful news for the poor in spirit!  The kingdom of heaven is yours!

Wonderful news for the mourners!  You’re going to be comforted!

Wonderful news for the meek!  You’re going to inherit the earth!

Wonderful news for the people who hunger and thirst for God’s justice!  You’re going to be satisfied.

Wonderful news for the merciful!  You’ll receive God’s mercy yourselves.

Wonderful news for the pure in heart! You will see God.

Wonderful news for the peacemakers! You will be called God’s children.

Wonderful news for the people who are persecuted because of God’s way!  The kingdom of heaven belongs to you. 

I love that Wright renders the word that is usually translated “blessed” as “wonderful news.”  I think that that really communicates the meaning and the emotional intent of this passage. Great stuff.

I like an illustration that Philip Yancey uses to explore what God might think of the church (with all its imperfections):

The composer Igor Stravinsky once wrote a new piece that contained a difficult violin passage.  After several weeks of rehearsal the solo violinist came to Stravinksy and said that he could not play it.  He had given it his best effort but found the passage too difficult, even unplayable.  Stravinsky replied, “I understand that.  What I am after is the sound of someone trying to play it.”  Perhaps something similar is what God had in mind with the church.

I remember hearing a similar illustration from Earl Palmer, a pastor who was defending the church against critics who dismissed it for its hypocrisy, its failures, its inability to measure up to the New Testament’s high standards.  Palmer, a Californian at the time, deliberately chose a community known for its cultural unsophistication.

‘When the Milpitas High School orchestra attempts Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the result is appalling.” said Palmer.  “I wouldn’t be surprised if the performance made old Ludwig roll over in his grave despite his deafness.  You might ask, “Why bother?”  Why inflict on those poor kids the terrible burden of trying to render what the immortal Beethoven had in mind?  Not even the great Chicago Symphony Orchestra can attain that perfection.

‘My answer is this: The Milpitas High School orchestra will give some people in that audience their only encounter with Beethoven’s great Ninth Symphony.  Far from perfection, it is nevertheless the only way they will hear Beethoven’s message.’

I remind myself of Earl Palmer’s analogy whenever I start squirming in a church service.  Although we may never achieve what the composer had in mind, there is no other way for those sounds to be heard on earth.

99, Yancey, Church – Why Bother?