{"id":16038,"date":"2018-03-26T21:32:01","date_gmt":"2018-03-26T10:32:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/?p=16038"},"modified":"2018-03-26T21:32:01","modified_gmt":"2018-03-26T10:32:01","slug":"people-of-the-risen-king-longer-book-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/2018\/03\/26\/people-of-the-risen-king-longer-book-review\/","title":{"rendered":"‘People of the Risen King’ – (Longer) Book Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This is a more detailed review of Elizabeth Willis’ history of St Jude’s Anglican Church Carlton Vic Australia.<\/p>\n

Essentials<\/a> magazine, Autumn 2018, of EFAC Australia invited this contribution and I enjoyed the rewriting to expand on some features and include further features\u00a0of the ‘People of the Risen King: a History of St Jude\u2019s Carlton, 1866-2016’ <\/strong>by Elizabeth Willis, St Jude\u2019s Anglican Church, Carlton, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

Encouragement and gratitude to God and his faithful servants: it was with these emotions that I closed this skillful interweaving of Church and society through 150 years: St Jude\u2019s Anglican Church in Carlton.<\/p>\n

Carlton\u2019s socio-economic conditions and demography, clerical and lay personalities, theological emphases, liturgical practice, the Melbourne Diocese, and national and international affairs are colourfully integrated. Through testing times, diverse personalities and ever-changing ministries, the life and mission of the \u2018People of the Risen King\u2019 at St Jude\u2019s Carlton is brought to life.<\/p>\n

Carlton \u2018larrikins\u2019 blocking the entry of worshippers, the decline in attendance following the First World War, the depression, bulldozing to \u2018clear the slums\u2019, the building of Housing Commission estates, the opportunity to welcome \u2018New Australians\u2019, university ministry, discipleship training, parish partnerships, new congregations and relations with the Diocese of Melbourne: throughout it all we see the faithfulness of men and women to the work of God.<\/p>\n

The ethos of the times is well captured. By way of example, the loss of faith following the First World War is highlighted: \u201csubdued and grieving at the end of a horrible war when people were picking up the pieces and trying to make sense of a world where old certainties about progress and security had been shaken\u201d produced stark challenges for the Church. A \u2018Come to Church Sunday\u2019 in 1919 seemed to miss the mark when it \u201cexhorted people to go to church because it was a good thing to do, because it was a duty owed to God, and because their mothers would be pleased!\u201d!<\/p>\n

Anecdotes tell of incidents and characters. Vicar Lance Shilton in the early 1950\u2019s was challenged at his first Women\u2019s Guild meeting, \u2018We\u2019ve heard that you don\u2019t believe in gambling. We want a \u2018yes\u2019 or \u2018no\u2019 answer. Can we have raffles at our fete?\u2019 The Vicar concluded his \u2018no\u2019 with, \u2018I am confident that by not having raffles at the next fete, you will make more money than you would ever have made before.\u2019 The President replied, quick as a flash, \u2018Would you like to bet on that?\u2019 \u2013 This reader could not help but laugh!<\/p>\n

The Parish\u2019s social work encompasses the \u2018free seats\u2019 of the nineteenth century and the Debt Centre of the twenty-first century: a wide embrace of society that is at no time loosened. In the 1890\u2019s wealthier people moved away from Carlton and the Depression hit Carlton and the parish hard. \u201cIn the winter of 1892 St Jude\u2019s began a twice weekly soup kitchen . . . On one Wednesday seventy-six families representing over 300 people were provided with forty gallons of soup . . . and 140 loaves of bread, as well as , tea, sugar and a large quantity of clothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

These impacts of changing demographics bring their own demands to parish priorities and possibilities. Hardly imaginable in 1866 would be the translation of sermons into Mandarin and Farsi in 2015!<\/p>\n

The issue of liturgical changes and their cost to parishioners and clergy is not avoided nor the struggle to settle the \u2018culture\u2019 of a congregation and indeed of the parish. Would a congregation\u2019s services have robed clergy, hymns, public prayer, charismatic expression, expository sermons, be family\/children friendly, welcoming to the outsider, lay or staff leadership or some combination \u2013 and all in ninety to a hundred minutes?<\/p>\n

Change is costly: the cost not always valued. A gracious and poignant reflection in 2004 from a now senior member, \u201cUs young things took little notice of the cost of all this to the older parishioners, who had continued faithful through the hard times, and to whom we owed the continued existence of the church. We failed to respect the work of the Spirit of God amongst them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Insight is given to the significance of the gifting and emphases of the clerical leadership on the life and ministry of the parish. I appreciated the honesty of the personal challenges faced by clergy and the conflict within the life of the parish. In particular, conflict between staff is named while at the same time holding the tension of naming a conflict without blaming and its associated \u2018reveal-all\u2019 narrative. This history is no hagiography \u2013 and praise be to God for that!<\/p>\n

Photos add to the narrative. After viewing the impressive 1905 St Jude\u2019s Football Team, I looked in vain for recent vicars Boan, Adams and Condie in similar football team pose of crossed arms and attired in football shorts and sleeveless footy jumper!<\/p>\n

A deftly placed photo of a fully robed bishop, robed vicar, two women wardens in smart casuals and a male warden in shorts and thongs, delightfully illustrate the Vicar\u2019s words to the 1988 AGM, \u201cI think that St Jude\u2019s still retains great deal of its off-beat, imaginative and risk-taking style. It is still fun to be part of and, despite the apparent order and sameness of our life, the erratic, the irregular and the very funny still occurs!\u201d!<\/p>\n

The relationship between St Jude\u2019s and the diocese of Melbourne is honestly traced with its ups and downs – and current healthy state.<\/p>\n

The irony of writing of the seemingly endless struggle to maintain the parish buildings fit for purpose at the very time it is uninhabitable due to a deliberately lit fire in 2014 is not lost on the author. A multimillion dollar building project is currently underway.<\/p>\n

Truly a stimulating read! Do leave time for reflection along the way, for this history is a reminder that through the changing circumstances of parish and societal life the Church is the \u2018People of the Risen King\u2019.<\/p>\n

Thank you, Elizabeth Willis, for your fine work in bringing this parish history to us, and to the faithful saints of St Jude\u2019s Carlton. Copies are available via St Jude\u2019s, https:\/\/stjudes.org.au\/<\/a><\/p>\n

An insightful and inspiring history!<\/p>\n

My previous Book Review of ‘People of the Risen King’\u00a0is here<\/a>.\u00a0 http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/2017\/12\/06\/people-of-the-risen-king-book-review\/<\/p>\n

See EFAC website and earlier Essentials\u00a0here.<\/a> https:\/\/www.efac.org.au\/index.php\/essentials-58<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a more detailed review of Elizabeth Willis’ history of St Jude’s Anglican Church Carlton Vic Australia. Essentials magazine, Autumn 2018, of EFAC Australia invited this contribution and I enjoyed the rewriting to expand on some features and include … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16038"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16038"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16045,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16038\/revisions\/16045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}