News

Sometimes there is just no good way of sharing news. Last Sunday Bp John announced that I am to be appointed Rector of the parish of Mt Gravatt in 2021. At the end of what was a lovely service, this kind of news can land like a tonne of bricks. I am very grateful for the generous way people have responded to Catherine and me after this news even while expressing disappointment. I was aware that there was some confusion about how the Archbishop comes to such a decision. These decisions are not easy, but the prayerful process of discernment that has resulted in this new appointment makes me comfortable that it is right.

When a parish is looking for a new priest, a nomination committee is formed. The committee is comprised of three representatives from the parish, three from the diocese and the local Bishop. This committee will generally approach a clergy person for a conversation in which all parties seek to discern if they are the right person for the role. If there is an agreement between them, they make a recommendation to the Archbishop. It is then up to the Archbishop to accept that nomination if he wishes. If he does accept the nomination, a formal offer is made to the nominee. The nominee then will either accept or refuse this offer. This process is the same that will now be undertaken to appoint a new priest to St David's.

Registering for Worship

Even with the easing of restrictions, it is as important as ever to register to attend worship. You can do this through our parish website or by contacting the office during the week. It is possible to register up to 5 pm on the day before the service. You will receive a confirmation email, but you do not need to bring the ticket on the day. If you have not registered, you may still be able to attend, but we cannot guarantee that space will be available. If you have any difficulty registering, please contact the office for assistance.

It will be particularly important to register for the following dates, including Christmas.

November 22 - 9.30 am Admission to Communion

December 24 - 6.30 pm and 9 pm (extra service in 2020)

December 25 - 8.00 am

Annual Leave

I will be taking three weeks leave from Monday, November 23. During this time The Ven Rob Sutherland, The Rev'd Gillian Moses, and The Rev'd Owen Strong will assist in leading our Wednesday and Sunday services.

This Sunday we welcome Bp John Roundhill to St David's. He will participate in both the phone service at 8 am, and the gathered service at 9.30 am. As per usual, the 9.30 am service will be live-streamed for those who are unable to join us in person. It is always an excellent opportunity to celebrate our church and its connection to the broader mission of the Anglican Church.

Asking for Prayer

At St David's, there are several ways we offer specific prayers for those in need. This prayer might be included in the pattern of public worship in St David's. It might be given to the participants in our prayer chain and be kept among a small group of parishioners. Sometimes people will seek individual prayer from the clergy in the parish.

With the changes we have needed to make of late, it has made it a little more complex to have someone added to this prayer list. At the moment, we are asking people to contact the parish office to have someone's name added to the prayer list or passed on to the prayer chain. We are trying to follow the pattern of including these people for one month unless we are advised otherwise. We ask that if the person needs ongoing prayer that you again ask them to be added for another month.

It is a little harder at the moment to receive a prayer request for inclusion at the door on Sunday morning. If this need arises, we ask you to mention it to the COVID warden as you come in. We will always seek to do what we can on the day.

Registering for Worship

It has now become more important to register to attend worship through our parish website or by contacting the office during the week. It is possible to register up to 5 pm on the day before the service. You will receive a confirmation email, but you do not need to bring the ticket on the day. If you have not registered, you may still be able to attend, but we cannot guarantee that space will be available. If you have any difficulty registering, please contact the office for assistance.

It will be particularly important to register for the following dates, including Christmas.

November 15 - 9.30 am Visit from Bp John Roundhill

November 22 - 9.30 am Admission to Communion

December 24 - 6.30 pm and 9 pm (extra service in 2020)

December 25 - 8.00 am

Annual Leave

I will be taking my annual leave from November 23 for three weeks. During this time The Ven Rob Sutherland, The Rev'd Gillian Moses, and The Rev'd Owen Strong will assist in leading our Wednesday and Sunday services.

"I have always liked science – particularly chemistry and biology”, said 100-year-old UQ graduate Margaret Thurgood, nee Broadbent, (Bachelor of Science ’39) when asked why she went to university at a time when relatively few females did so. Read the full article in The University of Queensland [Contact Magazine](https://stories.uq.edu.au/contact-magazine/2020/science-by-nature/index.html?utm_source=2020-contact-news-friend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=october-enews-int&utm_term=owned&utm_content=science-by-nature).

Our Diocesan community, under the anglican focus banner, won ‘Best Social Media Campaign’ at the Australasian Religious Press Association Awards, which were announced on Friday night – congratulations to the six dedicated priests and parishioners who contributed engaging and insightful anglican focuscontent for the winning #AprilAngel campaign. Read the full article [here](Our Diocesan community, under the anglican focus banner, won ‘Best Social Media Campaign’ at the Australasian Religious Press Association Awards, which were announced on Friday night – congratulations to the six dedicated priests and parishioners who contributed engaging and insightful anglican focus content for the winning #AprilAngel campaign).

It was a joy to worship with the people of Crows Nest and Goombungee again last weekend. This visit was the first visit we have made it personally to our mission partner parish in the West since they have returned to gathered worship. There are some photos on this page of our time with the people St Mark's and St Georges. It was easy to sense their excitement to be gathering again as a church community.

I am thankful to the Ven Rob Sutherland for leading St David's for our service celebrating All Souls. Rob's excellent sermon is being made available to other churches in our diocese and across Australia as a resource for Defence Sunday on November 8 (just before Remembrance Day). Rob reminded us of the strong connection that St David's has had to the work of Chaplains in the Australian Armed forces. He powerfully reminded us of the vital role the churches can play in welcome and healing to those who return from serving in areas of conflict. The sermon is available from our parish website.

I have recently had some inquiries regarding our current service times at St David's. Since returning to gathered worship, we have chosen to hold only one service on a Sunday at 9.30 am. This choice was taken to enable a cautious return to gathered worship. In this time, we have been working to ensure we comply with the COVID safe plan as well as provide ongoing ministry to those unable to attend. We still hold an 8 am service on the phone each week to which about 10 - 15 people participate. It is clear, though, that more people are returning to gathered worship. I think it is helpful for me to make the following observations.

- We continue to offer a mid-week Holy Communion service at 9.30 am on Wednesday.

- The early more traditional Holy Communion on Sunday is on hold for the moment. I think it is likely this service will again find a place in our regular pattern in the new year. We are still awaiting some equipment that will assist as to sanitise the church between services appropriately.

- We will be taking the opportunity of clearing more furniture from the Western end of the church to increase our capacity before Christmas.

Registering for Worship

It has now become more important to register to attend worship through our parish website or by contacting the office during the week. It is possible to register up to 5 pm on the day before the service. You will receive a confirmation email, but you do not need to bring the ticket on the day. If you have not registered, you may still be able to attend, but we cannot guarantee that space will be available.

It will be particularly important to register for the following dates, including Christmas.

November 15 - 9.30 am Visit from Bp John Roundhill

November 22 - 9.30 am Admission to Communion

December 24 - 6.30 pm and 9 pm (extra service in 2020)

December 25 - 8.00 am

Annual Leave

I will be taking my annual leave from November 23 for three weeks. During this time The Ven Rob Sutherland, The Rev'd Gillian Moses and The Rev'd Owen Strong will assist in leading our Wednesday and Sunday services.

November 8 Free Workshop

Careless generosity: The transformative power of freely-given relationships in mental health.

St David's is supporting this event that is being held in our Memorial Hall. You can find more information at this [link](https://www.stdavidschelmer.com.au/events/free-community-workshop-careless-generosity).

Coming of the Light - Mission and Ministry in North Queensland and the Torres Strait

2021 marks the 150th anniversary of Coming of the Light – Mission and Ministry in North Queensland and the Torres Strait. The London Missionary Society with Pacific Islander evangelists landed on the shores of Darnley Island and introduced the Bible to the people who lived there. This event, The Coming of The Light, is an integral part of culturalidentity to Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is marked as a public holiday within the region and there is much joy around its anniversary. It is also an important anniversary for the national Anglican church, hence it being in our lectionary.

The Coming of The Light invites us to reflect on our national history, on the good and the bad. It invites us to celebrate mission and ministry, particularly within the Torres Strait, and it invites us to listen to the church in the Torres Strait, which is made up of vibrant communities of hope.

This November members of the Melanesian Brotherhood will begin a new household in the Torres Strait. The Melanesian Brotherhood is the world’s largest Anglican religious order and is headquartered in the Solomon

Islands. The Brothers will live and minister at the Cathedral on Thursday Island, nurturing community and supporting clergy and lay ministers across the islands of the Torres Strait. They will also conduct outreach visits to Yarrabah and the communities of the Cape York Peninsula.

The Anglican Church of Australia faces many challenges, and in the words of the Revd Canon Victor Joseph, it is time for the church to be “missioned to” by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian leaders. The church in the Torres Strait has much to teach the church around Australia, much salt and light to bear. The Coming of the Light is not simply a historic event, it is an invitation for all of us to be changed by the work of God in First Nations peoples.

ABM invites you to celebrate and support the vibrant ministry and mission of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anglican Church. Funds donated to this project will be used to: support the establishment of the Melanesian Brothers’ ministry in the Torres Strait, provide for the work of the Ministry Development Officer for the Cape York Peninsula, and assist with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ministry formation in the Diocese of North Queensland.

It has been lovely to welcome so many of our church family back to face to face worship over the last few weeks. We are now starting to push the limits of our maximum numbers on Sunday morning while still recognising that some remain cautious about meeting in larger groups. I am conscious that there is a lot of information to share with you to help you engage with St David's either face to face or online between now and the end of 2020. I will try to briefly summarise the important things below and point you to further information if you would like to know more.

COVID Plan

We are allowed to gather under our Place of Worship COVID plan that remains in place. I sense that these restrictions, regarding numbers and hygiene, we will have to keep well into 2021 as well. We remain committed to follow this plan as closely as practicable and play our part in minimising risk to all.

In the coming weeks, we will work towards increasing the maximum number of people who can gather in St David's from about 50 to 70 (depending on the placement of seating). We are also working towards being able to share fellowship over some food after our services.

Registering for Worship

It has now become more important to register to attend worship through our parish website or by contacting the office during the week. It is possible to register up to 5 pm on the day before the service. You will receive a confirmation email, but you do not need to bring the ticket on the day. If you have not registered, you may still be able to attend, but we cannot guarantee that space will be available.

It will be particularly important to register for the following dates.

November 1 - 9.30 am All Souls service including Defence Sunday (see more)

November 15 - 9.30 am Visit from Bp John Roundhill

November 22 - 9.30 am Admission to Communion

Annual Leave

I will be taking my annual leave from November 23 for three weeks. During this time The Rev'd Rob Sutherland, and The Rev'd Owen Strong will assist in leading our Wednesday and Sunday services.

November 8 Free Workshop

Careless generosity: The transformative power of freely-given relationships in mental health

St David's is supporting this event that is being held in our Memorial Hall. You can find more information at this [link](https://www.stdavidschelmer.com.au/events/free-community-workshop-careless-generosity).

God's Peace,

Michael Stalley

The Anglican Church of Austraila are inviting people to take part in an anonymous online survey to help us all build a more supportive Anglican Church for people who have experienced intimate partner violence?

The Anglican Church of Australia is committed to supporting safe and loving homes and safe churches. Recognising that intimate partner violence, which forms part of domestic and family violence, is a serious and widespread problem, with enormous individual and community impacts and social costs - and that the Church is not immune - our Church seeks to improve our policy and practice to respond to these difficult issues.

“Help us to build a safer and more supportive Anglican Church for people who have experienced domestic violence. Join a research project aimed to help improve church practices. If you have had an experience of domestic violence and a current or previous link with the Anglican Church, please share your perspective. The online survey is anonymous, and anyone can take part.

Go to [surveys.ncls.org.au/NAFVP/experience](https://surveys.ncls.org.au/NAFVP/experience/) to find out more.”

2020 - Article by Lauren Martin and Barbara Newton

This year we have faced many changes and disruptions as to how we have been able to come together as a community. Despite this adversity we have seen some wonderful connections develop between many members of our community, through actions as simple as a phone call, and gathering together with friends to watch online services. We have also seen the rise of the parish phone tree, phone services, bible study and gardening group, and more recently, in-person worship!

As we continue to grow as a community, we acknowledge the importance of feeling connected and a sense of belonging, particularly as we grow in fellowship and faith. One particular area of growth is through small group activities. By spending time with friends we are able to share our stories, and we are able to support one another as we grow in understanding, comfort and confidence, both as a community, and equally as important, as an individual.

Small group activities can take many different forms, and do not have to follow a strictly regimented series of meetings. After all a small group is just a bunch of people spending time together - and we must not lose sight of this! This shared moment may simply be a cuppa and a chat, or perhaps be triggered by common interest (such as our gardening group, or the Stitches group, or even our avid board gamers), prayer, meditation or bible studies. Really the list is endless!

A number of people have mentioned the desire to participate in small groups, with the desire to connect more with each other, and to come together in fellowship and faith. As we continue to grow as a community of fellowship and faith, we would like to reach out to each and every person in our community. If there is something you would like to share with others or are interested in please let us know (you probably are not alone in this interest!). If you are interested in leading or helping to lead a small group, or if you just feel like you want to connect with others, again we are here to help explore ideas and help make this happen.