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Magazine of the Canberra City Uniting Church City and Tongan Congregations

May 2004 Volume 40 Issue 8 75th Anniversary Special

City Uniting Church

75th Anniversary celebrations

28-29 February 2004

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‘Our Journey’ - commemorative quilted banner left – Ranjini Rebera, Anne Nicholls

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THE SEVENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF CITY UNITING CHURCH

Over the weekend of 28-29 February 2004 City Uniting Church was proud to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its founding on 16 January 1929. The activities over the weekend were a multicultural celebration and Tongan feast on the Saturday evening and a worship service and luncheon on the Sunday. Visitors Invitations were issued to many old friends and members to join us for the celebration of the anniversary and it was a great pleasure to welcome some of them among us over the weekend. We were pleased to welcome members of the Tongan Royal family and two local politicians also joined us. Senator Gary Humphries spoke at the service preceding the Saturday feast and dance, and MLA Bill Wood attended the service. A greeting from the Moderator of the NSW Synod, Rev Alistair Christie, is printed separately. Brian and Margaret Beech and Ruth and John Grace, daughters of former long standing Church Secretary, Mr Davies and their partners, came from Sydney and Broulee respectively. Barbara Robertson, formerly a long standing teacher in the Sunday School, came from Jervis Bay with her partner John. Ruth Bigwither from Bredbo. Dorothy and Jean Chapple came for the weekend from Sydney. Beatrice (Bobbie) Miller from Werri Beach represented the Riley clan. Ruth Avakian who worked in our Church office, came with her husband Arto. Alison Sanchez, daughter of Ken and Amy Binns, the virtual founders of the Church, came from Adelaide and happily agreed to cut the special birthday cake for the Church. Allen Curtis the architect for the Church buildings joined us and wrote afterwards in appreciation of the service. Among our former ministers it was good to welcome back Rev John and Dorothy Bennett, and Rev Norma Brown, who read lessons during the service on Sunday. We received apologies and greetings from other former ministers, Rev Shirley Parkin, Rev D’Arcy and Janet Wood, and Rev Michael and Frances Johnson whose card he assured us had a cake with 75 candles! Mrs Rita Farr widow of our minister in the early 1950’s sent greetings from Adelaide. Rev Alan Bowden was not well enough to join us, but his wife Joyce and daughter Helen were there, with son Ross splendidly playing the organ for the service. Robert Tupper, who has played and continues to play an active part in the operation of Pilgrim House, came to the weekend. Members of Reid Uniting Church, Don and June Faulkner joined in the celebrations in the Plaza on Saturday evening, and Myra Law of the Vardill family who were formerly part of the Canberra Congregational Church and her daughter Heather Clendenning, also of Reid Uniting Church, came to the service. Rev Ron and Margaret Reeson enjoyed the Saturday celebrations. Former Senator John and Maria Woodley, the new Presbytery Youth Worker Darren Wright, and Graham Hine, one of the sons of Warren and Dorothy Hine, also attended. Apologies were received from other local MLAs and federal members. Among other apologies and greetings received were Rev Heather Coombes, Margaret Fowler, John and Barbara Hurst, Dr John and Joan Kesson, Don and Joan McIntyre, Brian Rope and Robyn Swadling, Adam and Jelita Gardner-Rush, Eric and Thelma Saxon, Rev Robyn Triglone, Warren Talbot, Marjorie Basnett, and Mr and Mrs J Barnes, together with two Synod representatives of the Pilgrim House Policy Committee, Jim Mein and Robert Key. Many current members of City Uniting Church as well as the wider Tongan, Niuean and West Papuan communities participated with guests in worship services and entertainment over the weekend.

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Above - The Gospel Folk Above - The Tongan Choir

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Greetings from the Moderator to the members of Canberra City and Canberra City in Tongan Congregations I am pleased to be able to send this greeting to you on behalf of our sisters and brothers who are the Uniting Church in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Norfolk Island. We extend our warm congratulations, our love and prayers to all who gather. This weekend is an especial weekend for you as you celebrate the 75th anniversary of the beginning of your congregations. Though I was not present at that time, my parents were members of the people who worshipped and witnessed in the co-operating group that existed before the establishment of the separate Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian causes. Some of you will be well aware that my formative years were spent in Canberra. In scripture classes at Telopea Park Primary and Canberra High Schools that former co-operation continued. At that time the Congs were those who worshipped in the YWCA, before the construction of the National Memorial Church. Much later when we were back in Canberra prior to Union and in Belconnen, we enjoyed the friendship, guidance and welcome extended to us by folk in your fellowship. Then within the Uniting Church the gracious and skilful leadership of the Rev John and Dorothy Bennett and others of your family encouraged all of us in the Presbytery. Later still as chairperson of the Presbytery myself, I gained a great deal from the spiritual depth of people in the congregation and the richness of culture and faith which the Tongan folk brought to the Uniting Church. Then there was the long process in redeveloping this site: years of patient negotiation and renegotiation of which I was privileged to be part. That interest for me has continued in the Pilgrim House Policy Committee. Always active, always a commitment to justice and peace, always a people of deep spiritual experience and understanding, I offer my warm congratulations and my apology for not being able to join you. May this be a rich time of thanksgiving, for all God continues to do in and through your witness together. Grace and peace. Alistair Christie, Moderator, The Uniting Church in Australia – Synod of NSW

************************ Saturday 28 February 2004 - Multicultural celebration and Tongan feast The celebrations began in the church on the Saturday evening with a period of devotion led by Rev. Liva Tukutama. ’Ofa Tahi, Chairperson of the Tongan Congregation, lit a candle of celebration. Hymns mostly in Tongan but with some in English were interspersed with a welcome from Ano Ma’ilei, Sekelatali of the Tongan Congregation, and a brief history by Lavinia Tunitau of the Tongan Congregation from its earliest beginnings in 1981, its worshipping at City Church from 1982 and its becoming a member congregation of the Uniting Church in 1984. Ben Bairstow of the City Congregation then described how the Tongans had sought to become part of this Church twenty years ago. They had then become a congregation within the Uniting Church with a memorable feast and celebration for which an oven pit had been dug out in the N.E.corner of the block – an enigma for future archaeologists. Senator Gary Humphries, former Chief Minister of the ACT, brought congratulations to us as the people of a church that is not much younger than Canberra and is the only church in the city. Siona Faupula said prayers of adoration and thanksgiving in Tongan and Rev. David Webster led us in English through the Litany for a Church Anniversary from Uniting in Worship. The celebration then continued outside in Pilgrim Place in balmy weather. MC Salesi Faupula encouraged us to enjoy the evening. There were pigs and lambs and more delicious Tongan fare to which we helped ourselves as the entertainment proceeded. Children and young people from Tonga and Niue added dances from other parts of Polynesia to their own beautifully costumed performances. There were lei, fan, hula and war dances performed mostly by the girls or boys separately, with considerable grace or vigour respectively. We were also glad to have our West Papuan friends providing music and the sound system. Many thanks to everyone who contributed in large or small ways to the success of the celebrations.

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Above – 75 candles lit by Hilda Howard, Michael Bongiorno, Carmelita Hatfield, Emily Fakavamoeanga & Margaret Watt

Left - Rev Dr Bernard Thoroughgood

Right - Rev Dr John Brown

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Sunday 29 February 2004 – Morning worship service

The Gathering of the People

INTROIT Gospel Train – The Gospel Folk CALL TO WORSHIP - David Bennett We begin our service with the call to worship. God of all celebration and hospitality, Come celebrate with us the 75th anniversary of the Church. God who knows no bounds, come to us in ways which tell us more truly who you are and who we are. God our loving parent, create in us heart-lifting good news as we celebrate our journey of 75 years as your Church. Come, Holy Spirit, show us your kindness and blessing waiting to minister to us as we worship you. WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS David Bennett On behalf of the two congregations of the City Uniting Church I warmly welcome everyone to this service in which we celebrate the 75th anniversary of our church. This morning’s service will be followed by a time of fellowship and everyone is invited to join us for lunch in the adjoining Riley Hall. At the lunch Ben Bairstow will be extending a more particular welcome to our special guests and many old friends who are here today. It’s wonderful to have so many people from the Canberra community joining with members and friends of our church, past and present in this time of celebration, thanksgiving and commitment. The celebrations of music and dance and song, food and worship commenced last night at a wonderful program which was arranged by our Tongan congregation and we look forward to continuing the celebrations today. The one particular welcome I want to make is to welcome Dr Bernard Thoroughgood to our church today as guest preacher and warmly welcome also his wife Joan. Dr Thoroughgood was General Secretary of the United Reform Church in the United Kingdom, previously Secretary of the London Missionary Society and occupied with missionary work in the South Pacific, particularly the Cook Islands. With his Congregational background it’s particularly fitting to have him as our guest speaker today and we warmly welcome him. We also welcome the Gospel Singers, led by Brian Triglone, who will be joining with our own choirs and singers in leading our worship today. Thank you. Ranjini Rebera Good morning. I’m Ranjini Rebera. I’d like to briefly give you some insight into the banner that’s outside our church door with the title, ‘Our Journey’. I know many of you saw it yesterday. That banner depicts, with 48 photographs, the journey of this church from 1929 to 2004. At its completion, 25 women and men from this parish had made a contribution to it. Now if you want to know who these people are, just make your way to the back of the banner. Those of you who do quilting, know that names are always on the back and all the names are listed there. They have all signed it. It’s been a privilege for me to facilitate this project, with the assistance of my good friend, Anne Nicholls. Just to let you know a few things about the features of the banner apart from the photographs. There is a row of patchwork churches that form a cross shape. Those churches represent traditional European churches and non European churches. Some are hand done, some are machine done and they are the work of first time quilters and patch workers - some had a little experience, some had none - but they were all lovingly done and put together. The colours that were chosen, were chosen to represent Canberra’s spectacular sunsets, its vivid and gentle sunrises and the brilliant blue of its sky. The bright yellow of the midday sun forms a background for the title and the dates. If you look at the four corners of the banner, there are gum leaves and these gum leaves were put in to represent the trees that were on this property when it was gifted to the Congregational church in 1940. This banner is just one thread in the many threads that link those who are inspired by God to begin this church. It links it to those who worship here every Sunday and who carry the mission of this church to the city within which it stands. So I do hope you find time to look at it and some of you may see friends or even see yourselves in it. SONG 47 O God Our Help in Ages Past [ST ANNE] PRAYER OF CONFESSION - Rev Liva Tukutama

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Let us pray O God, who in Christ knew temptation as we know it, we are often famished as we try to be your people. We find ourselves in places in our life which invite in us ideas of being which seem half-good or even great, but which, deep down, we know are really self-serving, self-focused. It is so easy to persuade ourselves that we do things for other, that our motives are as pure, that we are called to special missions if life. It is so easy to delude ourselves, O God. Challenge us with your honesty, Holy Spirit, forgive us and call us home to truth, Jesus Christ. O God, who in Christ knew what it is like to be empty of nourishment, and low on energy and clarity, with the best of intentions we sometimes live as though you expect us to be continually drained. We rarely stop to care for ourselves and each other, walking in the wilderness of everlasting meetings and tasks when your feast of abundant life is offered to us, when you give to us songs and laughter, joy and promise, baskets of grace full to overflowing and the oil of your healing. For give our self-deception. Challenge us with your honesty, Holy Spirit, forgive us and call us home to truth, Jesus Christ, for we long to stay with you in your peace. Amen. WORDS OF ASSURANCE God will lift us up and hold us safe, the divine life of the Christ who knows all of our striving. Wait in faith for the gift of healing for we are forgiven and called on in hope. Thanks be to God. A REFLECTION ON THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY - Ben Bairstow It is now almost 27 years since the inception of the Uniting Church of Australia of which we are now part, and the majority of our church membership no longer has a basic acquaintance with the Congregational roots of this church, so let me begin with a brief history of that denomination. The origins of Congregationalism are shrouded in the mists of history, but it can be fairly stated that we can trace them back to the Brownists in the reign of Elizabeth I, so named from an Anglican minister who preached a different approach to church governance and organization – and paid for his outspokenness with 32 periods in prison. The sixteenth century saw the split of the church in England from the Roman Catholic Church, but it remained a state religion and the population generally were required to attend church and conform to its teachings. Those who were unwilling to do so were called dissenters or non-conformists. I was brought up in an Independent Chapel in Yorkshire, a county well known for its sturdily outspoken folk. It was one of the oldest in the country, and as a child I heard stirring tales of our forebears who met secretly for worship in a barn (which still stands) in the reign of James I (1603-1625). They had to post lookouts in case the King’s soldiers caught them. Many dissenters at this period went into exile rather than give up their beliefs, mostly to Holland. One group, despairing of winning the freedom of worship they sought in England, sailed from Holland to England in 1620 where they collected other likeminded people, and sailed for America from Plymouth in the Mayflower. We know them as the Pilgrim Fathers; they established Congregational churches in New England that have become a powerful force in American history. We have a connection with them in the form of the carved oak plaque in the foyer, a gift from the churches in the land of the Pilgrims. It was carved, incidentally, by one of the villagers at Oberammergau who had participated in the Passion Play there. The C.Y.F. stained glass window at the top of the stairs to the car park also shows the Mayflower in full sail. In the 1640’s the Independents were a leading force in the Civil War which culminated in the trial and execution of Charles I in 1649. For the next decade England was ruled by Oliver Cromwell as lord Protector of the Commonwealth, the only period England was not a monarchy. Cromwell came from the strongly nonconformist area of East Anglia, where the University of Cambridge produced many of the leading dissenting clergy. He was, incidentally, a student at Sidney Sussex College in Cambridge, where I was also privileged to be a member 300 years after him; a Cromwell descendant was a fellow student. Cromwell’s “Latin secretary” was another independent, John Milton, the famous poet. After the restoration of the monarchy in May 1660, the Independents lost most of their political power. They became more commonly known as Congregationalists from this time, and along with other dissenting groups such as the Baptists and Presbyterians, were allowed freedom of worship provided they had a licence from the crown. To reminisce again, my home church had such a licence, dated 1663, which in my youth was displayed in the front entrance of the chapel (it was never called church!). Not long after that date, a Bairstow was one of the signatories of a call to a minister for that chapel, so I like to claim that this form of churchmanship has been in my blood for three centuries. After their burst of splendour in the Commonwealth period, the Congregationalists never again became a major force , but they continued to work steadily. Isaac Watts was one of the leading ministers in the 18th century and wrote many hymns that became and remain part of the standard church repertoire. In 1795 the

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London Missionary Society was established with the aim of evangelizing the Pacific following the accounts of his voyages there by Captain Cook. The Congregational churches took up the Society, having no mission arm of its own, and so began a remarkable achievement. One of the early missionaries, John Williams, was murdered at Eromanga in the New Hebrides (but not before he had preached in Van Dieman’s Land). However, his death spurred increased effort, and the Society maintained a series of ships named John Williams I to VI which for many islands was the only means of communication for many years. As a child I remember collecting money for the last ship of the line; appropriately we were encouraged to collect half-pennies, which at that time had a sailing ship on the reverse. The work of the L.M.S. rapidly extended well beyond the Pacific to India, China, and Africa, where the names of Robert Moffatt and his son-in-law David Livingstone are still revered. This missionary work was an enormous achievement by what was essentially a small church. The work of the L.M.S. brings us closer to home, as the Society encouraged the establishment of churches in Australia. Pitt Street Church was established in 1833, and if you look at the memorials on the wall you will see the still familiar name of one of the early deacons there, one David Jones of retailing fame. Let us come still closer to home. Great things can come from small beginnings. The greater universal church of which we are a part was established two millennia ago by a group of eleven. This should have been twelve but one was an apology for a disciple. When the national parliament was moved to Canberra in 1927, it was accompanied by a skeleton public service that is now fully established here. Among them was a small group of Congregationalists who determined that a Congregational Church should be established here alongside the other major denominations – such as the Baptists who celebrated their 75th anniversary a week ahead of us. And so on 16th January 1929 the first meeting to form “a Fellowship of Congregationalists in Canberra” was held. This was a group of ten people, Mr and Mrs Binns, Mr and Mrs Exley, Mr and Mrs Ingram, Messrs Sutherland, Field, Tudor and Greig, together with an apology, Mrs Greig Snr (though not at all an apology of the one already mentioned!). Growth was slow, but gradually this Fellowship did grow, and by 1939 the first full time minister was called, Rev Doug Riley, whom many of us remember so well, along with his wife Joyce; the Church Hall is named after them. Worship was held in a variety of places and the lack of a building was a distinct drawback. Joan Binns, daughter of one of the founding group, told me of the days when they met in the old YWCA, where there was a need to stoke the wood stove in the winter months, and a sum of 2 shillings a week was paid for the firewood. The construction of a building seemed unattainable, but they pioneered on. During WWII began a period of cooperation with Reid Methodist Church; they had a building and we had a minister, so it seemed a sensible matter to join forces. The arrangement lasted to the end of the war, when Reid decided to go it alone again. Like the other denominations the Congregationalists had been allocated a “cathedral site”; originally this was in Manuka and an old map I have shows it apparently occupying a roundabout! In fact it was in Canberra Avenue, but in 1936 it was returned to the Government and a replacement site, where our church is now located, was allocated. At that time there was no immediate prospect of a building, but we owe a great debt to our forebears who foresaw the potential growth of the CBD in this area, so that we are now the only major church in the city centre. Our location gives us a unique opportunity, a unique role and a unique responsibility to the community at large. There is an architect’s concept design which survives from the 1940’s; it shows a grandiose cathedral like building (in an area of empty fields across Northbourne Avenue) with park-like grounds and a tennis court. Our present premises are far more usable than those would have been had the design been realised. The War set back any hopes of building for many years; there were priorities and shortages of materials; everything was closely controlled by Government. But eventually the day came in 1952 when the first of our own buildings was a reality at last. The old Church Hall was opened and served a multitude of purposes both for worship and for social activities. Seven years later, after a nationwide fund raising campaign, a new church was opened in 1959; the name was changed to reflect the funding to National Memorial Congregational Church. The memorial, a book listing all Congregationalists across Australia who had served in the two World Wars, is still proudly displayed in its special case in the Narthex. But there was some concern that we were not making full use of the site. When I arrived in Canberra in 1974, Rev John Bennett told me that discussions were in train for a redevelopment of the block in conjunction with the Canberra Churches Centres. These discussions continued with no apparent end in sight for several years! When the Uniting Church was formed in 1977 the association with the C.C.C. no longer seemed so advantageous. The appointment of Rev Michael Johnson in 1982 saw a reappraisal of the development. The 1980’s were a time of rapid change. The Tongans became part of what was then a parish in 1984. We despatched our minister and the architect on a whirlwind world tour to city centre

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churches overseas and they brought back many ideas for incorporation in to the new church, such as the side lighting at the front and the colonnade along Northbourne Avenue. The redevelopment of the site became a reality at last; we had the excitement of watching the demolition first of the Hall, and the gouging out of the underground car park all round us, the move into the temporary church in builders huts, a brief period of worship in the almost completed auditorium and then the triumph of the opening of the new complex by the Governor General in February 1988. Heady days indeed. Unfortunately for me, I had taken a two year posting to Christmas Island at the beginning of 1988 so after being intimately involved for so long with the rebuilding, I missed the final stage. I would have love to see the traffic stopped on Northbourne Avenue for the erection of the tower and cross on the corner. Since then church life has been less frenetic. The 1990’s brought two significant developments, with the introduction of the Wednesday concerts as a mean of outreach to our office neighbours, and the establishment of the Wellspring as an ecumenical bookshop. There has been a marked demographic change in the composition of our congregation, so that we are now polyethnic. The memories of our Congregational past have faded; the ministers who have served us in the past two decades have come from differing denominational origins. Throughout this period of 75 years that we are commemorating today, long in terms of Canberra time, but short in the history of the Christian Church, we have been a pilgrim people, always on the move, restless, changing, developing. And this is as it should be. Anniversaries, however, are not only occasions for being retrospective, but should also look forward to the future. Where to next? A church needs to maintain two principal roles, worship and social outreach. We have discussions in train for the extension of our ministry with the appointment of a youth minister, and also for the extension of our social outreach, both again exciting prospects though not comfortable concepts till we know how achievable they will be. Finally, we need to ponder the words of Pastor Robinson to the Pilgrim Fathers in the words of the hymn we sing today, “The Lord has yet more light and truth to break forth from His word.” TIME WITH THE CHILDREN - Rev Liva Tukutama Good morning children. How are you this morning? Do you have any idea what’s happening in the church today? It’s the 75th anniversary of the church. Anything else? Did you listen to Ben’s story? Was it easy to understand? What did he say? He said how the church was formed. I have no story for you this morning, but I just want to focus – can we have the balloons? What’s the significance of the balloons? What do the balloons tell you? It’s somebody’s birthday. What else? There is a party……..It’s a symbol of joy, happiness, party. Isn’t that lovely. What we are going to do now, I’ll ask you to come up to the front and face the congregation. Okay, let’s give a big clap to all our children. We’re very happy that you are here to celebrate the 75th birthday. Some of you have been asked to light the candles. It’s a very special time when we light the 75 candles that are here. I have counted all of them and thank you Bala because you have organized this and these are the lights that will symbolize the gospel of Christ, and the light of God that will light our hearts as we live, as we journey as God’s people and we continue to pray that the light of God will continue to shine in this wonderful, wonderful church. Is that your prayer? And this light is also a symbol of hope that you will be still here in the next 75 years. Is that a big ask, or small ask? We also have a very special member, Hilda Howard, the oldest member of this church, who has responded to an invitation to come and light some of the candles. Can I ask Mr Nicholls if you could come forward. We also invite Margaret Watt, the chairperson of the English speaking congregation to come and light some candles. Would you like to say a few words Hilda? Hilda Howard It’s lovely to be here amongst all old friends and I hope to catch up with you shortly. It’s a wonderful church. It’s always been made up of friendship and friends and I hope it will still go on. Rev Liva Tukutama Thank you, God bless you Hilda. Who are the children who have been asked to come? Young people, you are very important people lighting these candles. Thank you and as they all continue to light the candles, let’s offer God a prayer of thanksgiving and dedication. Let us pray. PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING & DEDICATION God our Father we believe that your church is your people and that it is called to bring into the world knowledge of your greatness, your mercy and your love. We praise and thank you for the beauty of your creation, for the richness and the diversity of this fast changing world in which we live. We praise especially the lives, knowledge, wisdom and vision of the people who planted this church. We marvel at their dream to create a beautiful space for worship and to preach the word and for fellowship. We give thanks for their skill

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Right – Rev John Bennett Below – from left

Rev John Bennett, Rev Liva Tukutama, Rev Dr Bernard Thoroughgood, Rev Norma Brown, Rev Dr John Brown

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to design, the ability to build, the generosity to provide the hospitality that opens its’ doors to people from all walks of life, whether you are an Australian, a Tongan Australian, a Tamil, a West Papuan Australian, a gay person, or straight person, old or young, single or married. There is that lively spirit ready with open arms to embrace the other. Our creator God, mighty and merciful, Jesus Christ the Son and our eternal saviour, holy spirit who continues to move within and around us, we dedicate this weekend of celebration and the Canberra City Uniting Church to your work and glory. We pray for your continuing presence so that the faith of those who worship here may be made stronger, their hope made brighter and their love made deeper. May this church be a place where many would come to learn and to know you more. May your gospel continue to be preached and demonstrated with commitment, passion and fervour. Merciful God we dedicate again our lives to you. Give us grace to serve, doing and bearing your will, sharing always and in every way in the church’s work, giving and receiving love. We remember that City church is only one small branch of the universal church of the historic family. We pray that today as we continue to renew and transform our lives, may new energy fill our lives O God and help us to encourage others to work and to reach out and touch people who are desperately in need of receiving your grace and unconditional love. Lord we are your people. Give us insight and courage to do your work in this church and wherever we may be. Amen Okay kids, you may release the balloons. Give them another clap. Thank you. Children you may go now and sit down. Let’s rise and sing to the glory of God. SONG TIS 453 We limit not the truth of God [ELLACOMBE (2)]

The Service of the Word

SCRIPTURE READINGS Old Testament Reading –Deuteronomy 26: 1-11 Tania Siviero Read in Tongan

Psalm 96 Rev Norma Brown

Anthem – Tongan Choir The Gospel Reading – Luke 4: 1-13 Rev John Bennett SONG Sing – The Gospel Folk SERMON - Rev Dr Bernard Thoroughgood

Greetings to you all. Malo e lelei! It’s lovely to be with you and we appreciate very much, Joan and I, this invitation to share the great occasion of your 75th anniversary.

Let us pray. Now dear Lord we pray that you will enable us to exclude the trivialities from our minds and concentrate on your word to us. We ask it through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

There was this insistent whisper that could not be ignored. You can do it. You can do it. If you’ve got this commission of God in you and if you’ve got this spirit of God in you, then you can do wonderful things. Such wonderful things that people will turn to you in wonder and amazement and follow you to the ends of the earth. Your name will be above every name and this was the mood in which Jesus was facing temptation and the question was whether he could truly serve God in the ways that the tempter suggested. Of course he could reach many people that way, no doubt about it - but was it the way of God? I think it is worth noticing that Jesus must himself have told disciples about this event. It was very private and personal to him and it was so important that he told people, and they shared it so that other people could learn from this experience, and at the end the devil departed from him until a convenient moment. That is to say, it was just over for a while, but it was going to come back - and temptation is like that.

I don’t know if you know the Mark Twain bit, where he says ‘why is it that people say giving up smoking is difficult. It’s easy, I’ve done it at least 18 times’. You see these things keep coming back and I’m sure that in the experience of Jesus these very same temptations came back again and again. They had to be resisted because Jesus was aware that His way given to Him by God, was a very different style, a very different approach to people. Not by this magnificent display of defeating gravity, but by approaching the few, the few who were deeply troubled by one thing or another and teaching the few to follow Him. It was to be a much more personal ministry.

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Well, temptations like this come to us all. They came to the church through the ages and the churches have often fallen for it, and there have been times in church life when people have thought that political power could be in the hands of the church, and that would be a way of impressing the message on a vast number of people. There have been television evangelists who have exercised a ministry to millions and millions of people on TV and they have to keep up the pressure every week to keep the dollars flowing in. It’s like a tempter sitting on their shoulder - ‘You can do it, you can be so popular if you just do it my way’.

Or use the power of hatred. I had a little experience in Northern Ireland, where to our shame, clergy from both Catholic and Protestant traditions could whip up the enthusiasm and preach against the other side in such a vehement way. Their extremism got a following; still has to this day. ‘You can do it’. You can stir up all sorts of passions. ‘Look the statue of Mary is actually shedding tears’. ‘Look at our saint who cured this disease which the doctors said was inoperable’. We can do it. It’s possible and the crowd will follow you. You see there is a very fine line between the influence of the Holy Spirit in the world and the voice of that tempter who says do it my way.

A personal confession. I think in the Congregational tradition from which I come, the great temptation has not generally been to seek great power and great numbers, but for me in the last 50 years of my ministry the temptation has been the ‘stones into bread’ temptation. You see the challenge of hunger in the world is so pressing. The challenge of poverty, and it’s not really until you get into that situation and you can hold a starving baby in your arms, that the pressure of this is in your heart. We’ve responded because it’s a gospel call and Jesus says that in dealing with those starving people you are touching me. Perhaps at times we’ve fallen forward in obeying that call to mission. We’ve done all that is needful, and the great sacrificial efforts of the aid agencies, Christian aid agencies in all the nations, have been a wonderful witness to the God of love. But have we sometimes not been deluded into thinking that if only we can feed people enough we’ve done our job. And then we turn and we look at the wealthiest country in the world, where everybody can get plenty of food, or in Australia, which is the little image of the US in this part of the world and we see in these wealthy countries a high rate of violent crime, a high rate of drug addiction, the high rate of divorces, the high rate of gun crime of all sorts and we know, we know in our hearts, that we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the living God. Not by bread alone.

Another example - I was living in the Cook Islands at the time when independence came and the political leaders at that moment knew that the church was one great vehicle by which they could reach the people and the churches invited the leader of the biggest political party to preach from the pulpit. It was a kind of party political broadcast of another sort and the political leader promised, if I win the election, then the churches will be given free building materials for the maintenance of their buildings. What a wonderful offer! He won the election handsomely and the church within a few years found itself closely allied to political corruption of the first water and political shame.

You see the temptations are so insistent and they come upon us day by day in the life of Christianity and the life of every church. Why is it devilish? Isn’t it good to have a great wide influence over thousands and thousands of people? Of course it is, but the temptation is this, the temptation is for two things - power and popularity - and once we start going for those things, then we have fallen for some kind of worship which is secondary to the worship of God. Power and popularity are not what is promised to the people of God, and this day of all days we remember that. For we remember in the story of the church here, not many wise, not many mighty, not many wealthy were called, but God called those who are small in the sight of the newspapers and the television and God called them out of their daily lives to offer their service to Him in this place and what we celebrate here is the faithfulness of those Christians for 75 years who have rejected the way of temptation and have been faithful to the calling of God. I’ve had to deal with many ministers in my particular kind of ministry. Ministers with many gifts, musical gifts, scholarship gifts, linguistic gifts, preaching gifts and so on, but I think the greatest gift of all is faithfulness. Just following the way of the Lord from the beginning until the end.

Today friends we start the period of Lent and so we start this preparation of our hearts and minds for the time of Easter. Why is the temptation story given to us at the beginning of Lent? Because at that moment Jesus set his course. Which way was He to go? And the voices said, ‘we can have a way that leads to a throne and a crown and an army and the law of the world in your hands’, and He says ‘no’, ‘no’ and again ‘no’. Because the way that He is called to go is the way that leads to the Garden of Gethsemane and that’s the hard road, the hard choice - doing the work of God in those intimate and energy sucking ways that drew out the life of Christ to live in the life of the world.

I’m grateful for the story of the Congregational church which we heard at the beginning of the service and I’m thankful that was my tradition before I entered the United church. I think it was a way in which people were called to a most difficult style of faithfulness and many of those early Congregationalists paid for it with their lives, because faithfulness to Christ has always been a dangerous road and this church here and now is called to do that. I’m so grateful that you have mixed up the languages and traditions here this morning.

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Above – Kumar and Radhika Sukumar

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That’s not easy. My own experience tells me that as you mingle traditions, you hit all sorts of awkward corners about each other, but this is the hard and difficult road that God has given us to live in this place. We are a mixed people from many traditions and origins and here we are called to be united in the life of one congregation. So dear friends, ‘stones into bread’ and Jesus tells us at the end of the day there is only to be broken bread for you. That’s the hard thing and the broken bread is His life broken for the life of the world. Amen.

We Respond to the Word

AFFIRMATION We believe in one God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We proclaim Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen one confessing Him as Lord to the glory of God the Father. In the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, we acclaim Jesus as the Lord of the church, the head over all things, the beginning of a new creation. We acknowledge that we live and work between the time of Christ’s death and resurrection and the final consummation of all things which He will bring. We are a pilgrim people, always on the way towards a promised goal. On the way Christ feeds us with the word and sacraments and we have the gift of the spirit, in order that we may not lose the way. We will live and work within the faith and unity of the one holy catholic and apostolic church, bearing witness to that unity which is both Christ’s gift and His will. We affirm that every member of the church is engaged to confess the faith of Christ crucified. Together with all the people of God, we will serve the world for which Christ died and we await with hope the day of the Lord Jesus.

SONG TIS 158 God has spoken by His prophets - Led by the Multi-tones [ODE TO JOY]

DOXOLOGY TIS 769 Now to the King of Heaven [ST JOHN] DEDICATION OF OFFERING We bring our offerings to you O God. Believing that you will not turn us away even if we feel famished, low on generosity, small in our giftedness, humble in what we bring Receive what we offer to you this day. Amen.

PRAYER OF INTERCESSION - Rev John Brown Let us join in our prayers for others. Let us pray. Eternal and ever living God, we are conscious that we are surrounded today by a great cloud of witnesses who have worshipped you in this place and born their witness to you in this city. We give thanks for them and their faithful witness. Hear us as we offer our prayers for the world, for the nation, for our church. We pray for the creation. O God preserve it where it is threatened, where the survival of some species is threatened because of the rush to develop more land for people. God have mercy and give us the will to change. Where greenhouse gases and global warming and rising sea levels threaten the life of island and coastal peoples, God have mercy and give us the will to change. Teach us to use the resources of the earth, the oceans, the forests and those underground, for the good of all people and not just for those who are quickest on the draw. Where communities are driven from traditional homelands because of drought or the greed of others or power struggles, God have mercy and help us to change. Where they are forced into poverty because of the policies of other nations, or the corruption of their own leaders, or the aids pandemic, God have mercy and help us to change.

We pray for an end to the wars that kill so many people these days and policies and actions that lead to the frustration and anger that tear peoples apart. We pray for the international agencies that work for improved health, for justice and for peace between people.

We pray for Australia, for all members of the parliament, both of the Commonwealth and of the ACT. Give them wisdom. May they make laws which give hope and provide opportunities for all people and particularly for those who live in disadvantage. Grant them compassion when dealing with the disadvantaged, freedom from corruption in dealing with those who seek to exploit advantage for themselves by taking advantage of others. May all who administer law uphold justice, the rights of the least, honesty and truth. We pray that you will prosper all efforts towards a better system of health care. We pray for all who work for an improved education system that provides opportunities for all our people to learn and develop their potential and open up possibilities for those who for whatever reason are locked out.

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O God for the sick we pray healing, for the grieving, comfort, for anxious, peace, for the traumatized, closure and security. We pray for this church, may it ever bear a clear witness to the gospel in times of confusion, to truth and justice in the midst of deception, to compassion where harshness and coldness reign, to integrity where corruption threatens, to inclusiveness of all people where others would shut some out, to faith and accountability in the midst of cynicism and self-interest, to humility and questioning in the face of brashness and hubris, to the sovereignty of the God of Jesus Christ in the face of demands for other loyalties, and to our unity with all Christians in the face of denominationalism.

Gracious God in your mercy, hear and answer these prayers offered in the name of Jesus Christ our saviour. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER sung in Tamil - Kumar and Radhika Sukumar

The Sending Forth of the People of God

Rev Liva Tukutama

Who would have dreamt 75 years ago that the Lord’s Prayer would be sung in Tamil this year. This is the nature of the pilgrim journey of this church. The church has continued to transform itself in such a myriad of different colours, of different faces. So here we are as God’s people. We continue to pray that this church will continue to journey as pilgrim people, continue to find its place in this society, providing a mirror for the community surrounding us, that this church is leading us in saying who we are as people of God. So City church, may I offer words of congratulations and may God bless each and every one of us. Dr. Bernard, thank you for coming all the way to be part of this great celebration. To those of you who were members years ago, who have journeyed from afar to come here, thank you for taking your time, not just celebrating the day, but celebrating who God is in our lives. For the Gospel Singers, thank you also. Because when I received your letter that you are open to participate and help encourage faith journeys, it came at the right time when we were talking about celebrating this 75th anniversary, so I straight away picked up the phone and rang. Thank you for responding. It is wonderful to share this day with all of you and for those of our ministers in the past, Rev John Bennett, it’s good to see you here and share this opportunity & Rev Norma Brown, who was recently a minister in this church. Together we shall build a great church not only for our lives but the people around us and for our Tongan brothers and sisters, thank you so much for yesterday. It was a wonderful, wonderful occasion and for those of you who came, I’m sure you took something out of it. Not just the food and the many pigs on the table, but the fellowship, the spirit of fellowship, it was wonderful. And Hilda Howard, thank you for the late notice for you to come and you have responded, not to me, but you responded to God. Thank you for that faith statement. So let’s rise and sing to the glory of God our final song. SONG TIS 106 Now Thank We All Our God [NUN DANKET ALLE GOTT] WORD OF MISSION - Rev Liva Tukutama Let us walk into the world in vulnerable courage, as we begin this Lenten journey following the Christ. BENEDICTION - Rev Liva Tukutama May we go with the spirit of celebration and Lent urging us on, and may the Divine presence protect us, the hands of God be beneath us as we go and our feet be lifted up in gentle salvation. Amen. TONGAN CHOIR Hallelujah Chorus ORGAN POSTLUDE Worship Leader Rev Liva Tukutama Welcome David Bennett Organist Ross Bowden Flowers Margaret Hocking Readers Rev John Bennett, Rev Norma Brown, Tania Siviero Preacher Rev Dr Bernard Thoroughgood

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Thank you to everyone who participated in the 75th anniversary celebrations

Thank you also to those who contributed to this 75th anniversary supplement

Reports - Ben Bairstow & Jenny Rowland Photography – Drude Townsend

Design, printing and distribution – Bala BalaretnaRaja Nancie Adams, Gwen Balfour, Dorothy French, Beryl Woolley

**************** CONTACT IS PUBLISHED BY

the Canberra City Uniting Church City and Tongan Congregations

Minister: Rev. Liva Tukutama Tel: Home (02) 6258 8971 Mobile 0412 060 022

Church Office: Manager – Bala BalaretnaRaja 69 Northbourne Avenue Canberra City Tel: 02 6257 4600, Fax 02 6257 4230. Postal Address: GPO Box 1526, Canberra, 2601

Service and Outreach Co-ordinator – Gillian Hunt Tel: 6247 5041

Tongan contact Ano Ma’ilei (Secretary) Tel: Home 6241 8486 Business 6274 1844

CONTACT Editor: Kathy Trembath 27/10 Federal Highway Watson 2602 Tel: 02 6262 2343 (a/h) E-mail: kathy.trembath@health.gov.au

© 2004. Contents copyright. No material from this publication may be copied, photocopied or transmitted by any means

without the permission of the Editor.

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MARK YOUR MAY 2004

WEEK 2 Tuesday 4th 8.00am City and World Holy Communion Wednesday 5th 12.40pm Music Recital – Milford Trio 7.30pm Faith Development Ministry meeting Thursday 6th 7.30pm Edgar Woolley Badminton club in the Riley Hall WEEK 3 Sunday 9th 10.00am Morning Worship, Justine Gibbings & Sioana Faupula

2.00pm Tongan Congregation Worship 6.00pm Evening Service, Terry Birtles Tuesday 11th 8.00am City and World Holy Communion Wednesday 12th 12.40pm Music Recital – Young students from the School of Music 7.30pm Elders Meeting Thursday 13th 7.30pm Edgar Woolley Badminton club in the Riley Hall WEEK 4 Sunday 16th 10.00am Morning Worship, Rev Liva Tukutama Congregational meeting

2.00pm Tongan Congregation Worship 6.00pm Evening Worship, Rev Liva Tukutama Holy Communion

Tuesday 18th 8.00am City and World Holy Communion Wednesday 19th 12.40pm Music Recital, Piano students from the studio of Ann Thompson

7.30pm Special Church Council Meeting Thursday 20th 7.30pm Edgar Woolley Badminton club in the Riley Hall WEEK 5 Sunday 23rd 10.00am Morning Worship, Rev Liva Tukutama

2.00pm Tongan Congregation Worship 6.00pm Evening Worship, Rev Liva Tukutama

Tuesday 25th 8.00am City and World Holy Communion Wednesday 26th 12.40pm Music Recital, School of Music

7.30pm Personnel & Administration ministry meeting Thursday 27th 7.30pm Edgar Woolley Badminton club in the Riley Hall

7.00pm Personnel & Administration ministry meeting Sunday 30th 10.00am Combined Morning Worship, Rev Liva Tukutama

6.00pm Evening Worship, Rev Liva Tukutama

JUNE 2004 Sunday 6th 10.00am Combined Morning Worship, Rev Liva Tukutama

6.00pm Evening Service, Rev Liva Tukutama Tuesday 8th 8.00am City and World Holy Communion Wednesday 9th 12.40pm Music Concert Thursday 10th 7.30pm Edgar Woolley Badminton Club, Riley Hall