Our Community
Chapel and Chaplaincy
World Poverty
Following on from the group of students who went to the Won Tok Global Poverty Conference last Term, there is a group of concerned students who have said they want to work in our School to help with the Millennium Development Goals. The first goal is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
One of the arguments against religion is the claim that if there are so many bad things happening in the world how can there be a loving God. In the case of poverty and hunger the claim against Christians could be how can we believe in a God who allows people in the world to be hungry?
If we look to the Bible to try and answer that question, one of the stories to think about is how Jesus fed the 5000, which interestingly appears in all four of the Gospels, which gives you a clue to its importance (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:31-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:5-15). Poverty and hunger is important to all of us. The reason is very simple it is one of what Maslow would say was a first order priority in life; we have to be fed in order to survive, for literally without food we will die.
The prophet Elisha (2 Kings 4:42-44) also fed a hundred people with twenty barley loaves, and there were leftovers. Jesus fed about five thousand with five barley loaves and a couple of dried fish, and there were leftovers. That is God’s desire for us: everyone should find food in abundance. Today’s reality is different. Every three days more people die from malnutrition and disease than from the bombing of Hiroshima, and every year more people die from preventable hunger than died in the Holocaust, even though we grow enough grain in the world to provide every man, woman and child with a satisfactory diet of 3000 calories.
The problem with the world is its fragmentation; it lacks unity and peace. The problem is not with God’s providence, for God has provided us with plenty enough food for everyone, and Jesus took the wonderful gift of the young boy, who decided to share his lunch with those who did not have enough, gave thanks for it, and shared it amongst all the people, and everyone had their fill, with 12 baskets left over. The story of the feeding of the 5000 is a wonderful miracle of sharing; if we take the lead of Jesus, and share what we have from our abundance, everyone in the world will have enough to eat and we will have plenty left over. What we need is not for God to provide more, but for us all to learn to share more equitably.
I look forward to the group of students working to educate us and to help make a difference in the area of eradicating poverty and other Millennium Development Goals.
Father David Lord
Anglican Schools Australia Conference Anglican Schools Australia (ASA) is a network of The Anglican Church’s General Synod, set up a number of years ago to bring together the Principals, Chaplains, Religious Educators and Chairs of Council from Anglican Schools around the country. There are 160 member schools in the ASA educating over 160,000 students. The conference is held annually, rotating around the different capital cities. This year it was in Sydney and the conference theme was Renewing Minds, Changing Lives.
The conference begins with a full day just for chaplains and then opens out into a number of keynote speakers challenging us to be authentic in our setting as Anglican schools. The talks included: How humility wins the world; Christian Education in an Atheist culture; Putting life together in Anglican Schools; Everyday theology for the iWorld; Ministry and Anglican Schools: Principles and Practicalities.
At this year’s conference there was also the launch of a new book entitled Ministry in Anglican Schools: Essays and Reflections. Under the editorship of Bishop Tom Frame, 19 contributors from across six states and the ACT are providing their thoughts on a range of aspects of ministry in our schools. This important book will help to fill the void in literature about the vital work of chaplaincy across the ASA schools.
Overall the conference was stimulating and thought provoking and worth the long travel. It builds collegiality and a sense of the shared purpose for our Anglican schools. I look forward to reading the newly launched book as at the moment there is nothing of this kind. It is especially valuable as all contributors are people who work in Australian Anglican Schools.
Father David
The Olympics and over 100%
It is interesting to note that as we watch the Olympics with some great
performances by all the athletes involved, the question is are they giving
100%, and do the gold medal winners give more than 100%? If we look at it
from a strictly mathematical viewpoint: What Equals 100% and what equals
101%? In order to answer the question of what is 100%, we will allocate
each letter of the alphabet with a number, therefore:
A B C D E F G H
I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26.
Therefore: H-A-R-D-W-O- R- K 8+1+18+4+23+
15+18+11 = 98%
And: K-N-O-W-L-E- D-G-E 11+14+15+23+
12+5+4+7+ 5 = 96%
But: A-T-T-I-T-U- D-E 1+20+20+9+20+
21+4+5 = 100%
Then, look how far the love of God will take
you:
L-O-V-E-O-F- G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+ 6+7+15+4 =
101%
Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty
that: while Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will
get you there, it is the Love of God that will put you over the top! I hope
all the athletes in London and we in our everyday lives have the Love of God
in order that we might achieve over 100%.
Reachout Manila
On Thursday 5 July Tika Barber Year 11, Emma Chatterton Year 10 and Mr
Nicholas Townsend Year 1 Teacher joined the group of 26 pilgrims, from 5
Anglican Schools Commission Schools, led by Father David, to fly out on Reachout Manila 2012.
They were away for over 17 days working amongst
the 'poorest of the poor' in two communities on the edge of Manila in
the Philippines. They worked in 2 different communities, Macabut a
squatter community on the edge of the rubbish dump for Manila, and Payong -
also a squatter community on the edge of Manila.
In these communities
children have very limited opportunities to go to school. Our pilgrims helped teach the young children basic literacy and numeracy as well as feed the
community 3 meals a day during the time they are there.
The pilgrims were challenged to work, teach and help these communities in very basic
conditions. You can follow the
progress of the pilgrims on the
website: http://www.reachoutpilgrimages.com
Enquiries: Father David Lord
Tel: 9439 3499 Mob: 0427 921 342
Father David - School Chaplain Father David, our School Chaplain, has many years of experience in ministry in general and in School Chaplaincy in particular. His prime responsibility is pastoral care of our whole school community, which includes students and their families and staff and their families. Father David is available if you would like to speak of personal issues, faith questions or about Baptisms, Holy Communion, Confirmation, weddings or funerals or any other matter. He is available to meet with students and parents at a time convenient to both. Please feel free to contact him on the School telephone number.
Chapel Life at PCACS
Peter Carnley Anglican Community School is a Christian school in the Anglican tradition; therefore worship is an essential and integral part of the weekly rhythm within the School. Chapels allow children to celebrate their spirituality and participate in the very important Christian faith of the School. Chapel worship symbolises the importance the School places upon the centrality of the Christian experience lived out in the Anglican tradition within the School. The religious, spiritual and liturgical life of the School is central to its mission; be that enacted in the Chapel, in the classroom, on the stage, or on the sporting field, in social activities, or while travelling to and from the school. It is not to be seen simply as a separate isolated compartment. To that end, the School baptises new believers, welcomes to Holy Communion and confirms, as well as teaches and nurtures all in its midst.
The mission of the Anglican Church is to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom, to teach, baptise and nurture new believers, and to respond to human need by loving service. We welcome all who come from whatever religious background (or none) and work to be non-judgemental and inclusive. The Chapel sets the Eucharist at the heart of its worship and proclaims that in broken bread and shared wine we seek to reflect the self-giving love of Christ. Every student will worship regularly in an age appropriate Chapel Service. Having regular Chapel Services, the School as a whole and the students in particular are able to follow the rise and fall of the Church’s year, immersing the School in the pattern of the major festivals of Easter, Christmas, Advent, Pentecost and other Sundays in between; in this way the worship of the School replicates the pattern of an Anglican Parish, making the School a worshipping community within the Diocese of Perth. Chapel Services are at the very heart of what makes our School Anglican. Services are meant to be inclusive and participatory in nature, therefore students will be encouraged to take as much part as possible in the age appropriate service.
PCACS Community Church
All are welcome to join the Community of PCACS in worship on a Sunday Evening. PCACS Community Church worships at 5.00pm on a Sunday in Upper Library. The worship is inclusive and accepting of all. At the moment we gather for worship once a month:
For further information please contact Fr. David
Tel: 9439 3499 Mob: 0427 921 342