C Q F I R S TSeek you f i r s t H i s K ingdom and H is r i gh teousness and a l lthese th ings w i l l be g i ven to you as we l l . Mat thew 6 :33

I S O L A T I O NARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON-BROOKS

Jesus' cry of isolation on the crosswas also a cry of love from God,and therefore a cry of hope for us.For it was precisely because ofGod's love, that Christ died for us.The more we can point people tothe love of God found in Jesus, themore they will be truly set freefrom their isolation, for eternity.Jesus is our hope.

There is no greater cry of isolation in all history, than that of ourLord Jesus Christ on the cross. "My God, my God, why have youforsaken me?" (Mark 15:34)

This month's CQFirst focuses on ISOLATION. Whether it is theisolation of seafarers unable to return to family; the lack of greynomads out west; or isolation accentuated by the death of a lovedone, like our beloved Herb, or Nathan Turner from Blackwater, theyoungest COVID fatality in Australia; this issue of CQFirst is abouthope, in the midst of isolation.

Hope is found in the provision of basic needs. Hope is found ascommunities connect through perseverance and technology. Hopeis found in a friendly phone call, a welcome message, or an act ofkindness and love. And hope is found in the church, that is, in God'speople actively loving each other and caring.

For God is love and those who live in love,

live in God.1 JOHN 4 : 1 6

This Issue

Caring for Seafarers

Vale: Herb St Pierre

What Isolation?

Pastoral Care Groups

Witten's Wonderings

Wrapped in God's Loving Care

Zooming Synod - Sat 18th July

VOLUME 1

ISSUE 4

June 2020

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Despite the normal operations of the centre beingpaused due to COVID-19 the staff and volunteersat Gladstone Seafarers Centre have still beenvery busy. The board made the decision in lateMarch to restrict Seafarers social contact withthe general public. Whilst this was the bestdecision for their physical health, their mentalhealth has been significantly affected as they arenow unable to get off their ships in any port.Many have not been able to travel home at theend of their contracts. GSC are putting together welfare boxes to bedelivered to the ships. These boxes include theessentials like toothpaste, shaving items, shampooand soap as well as activities like books,magazines and DVDs. They are also getting a fewluxury items such as hand knitted beaniesprovided by local parishioners and treats likechips, chocolate and soft drinks. Where possiblefree Sim cards and calling credit is also beingdelivered so the seafarers can make contact withtheir families whilst they are in Australian waters.

"All crew were very happy upon receiving a freesim card with phone credit and most especiallyfrom God’s word – the Bible." Capt. Nicomedes O.Vitasa, Master Inge Kosan

CARING FOR SEAFARERS

The response from the crews has been brilliant.Anyone wanting to keep up to date can followus on Facebook. (MTSGladstone)

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"I feel so happy that someone on this planet isthinking about us." Capt. Abhishek Anand Tiwari,Master of M.V. Aqua Honor

"It made the whole crew happy with big smiles inour lips and our hearts. God Bless you all!" Theofficers and crew, Motor Vessel KK Pirapo Family

"Many thanks for providing 11 sim cards for myon-board crew. Informing with gratitude that mycrew really enjoyed the chat with their families."Capt. Lester Pereira

Let all that you dobe done in love.

1 COR INTH IANS 1 6 : 1 4

Jess Mulhall, Manager of the centre, tells us that"It's been a complex process with receiving andpurchasing goods with so many limits in place andto pack the boxes appropriately for customs andborder force approvals. The project now has agreat routine and team who are delivering thepackages to the ships."

One of the less happy aspects of growingold is the decline in the number of one’sfriends and mentors as we all grow oldtogether and, in our turn, as Christianbelievers, embrace the next stage of ourprogress towards our heavenly Father. Therecent death of Herb St.Piere brought this'fact of life' home to me with sharprealisation. My first encounter with Herb was in 1953at the synod of the Diocese of NorthQueensland that year in Townsville. I wasa very new boy in the cut and thrustmechanisms and Byzantine politics ofSynod and Herb took me under his wing. Iwas representing the Parish of Gordonvaleand Herb, Mount Isa. In 1960, as a newly ordained Priest, I wasagain at Synod where Herb was stillrepresenting Mount Isa and I as the curateof that Parish. Herb, by this time, was theManager engineer at the uranium mine atMary Kathleen. 'Mary K' was the base foreverything west to the Northern Territoryborder and staffed by The BushBrotherhood of St. Barnabas. As the juniorpriest, it was part of my duty to celebratethe Holy Mysteries at Mary K once a monthwhen the Brother was further west. Herband Val fed me and I slept in the annex tothe Church. After Jocelyn and I weremarried she was not allowed to sleep in theAnnex and so Herb and Val came to therescue! After several moves we both ended up inthe Diocese of Rockhampton in the late60's. Herb was on the start up team atQueensland Alumina in Gladstone.

As well as being a stalwart of the GladstoneParish he served the Diocese in almost everyposition open to a layman and was present atover fifty synods of the Diocese. He served asChairman of Committees in the Synod and amember of the Standing Committee as well as along term member of Diocesan Council andBishop in Council and the Bishopric ElectionCommittee on several occasions. He was afounder of Tanyalla Recreation Centre atTannum Sands in 1977, giving it its name, andserved on the board for 42 years. Herb was not one to wear his faith on hissleeve but was a reliable and prayerfulmember of whatever congregation in which hefound himself, obedient to his Lord and a trueson of the Holy Church. Requiescat in pace The Venerable Dr Rob Philp

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VALE: HERB ST PIERRE

A STAUNCH AND FAITHFUL DISCIPLE

Herb St Pierre 24 July 1927 - 18 May 2020

Isolation is relative to the environmentand lifestyle you grow up in. I’ll try and explain. Some years ago, as Iwas paying my fee and entering theQantas founders museum in Longreach, Ispoke to the young woman behind thecounter. I asked how she liked living inLongreach and how long she had beenhere. Her answer was not what Iexpected. She said she had been heretoo long and found the place toocrowded. I then asked her where shecame from to which her answer wasBoulia. Boulia is in the far, far, west of theDiocese - a small town and thousands ofkilometres from anywhere that we wouldprobably call normal. For us, to live therewe would likely feel isolated, but for thisyoung woman it was far from that. Forher it was home - it was her normal.

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WHAT ISOLATION?

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During this time of the COVID-19 pandemic,social isolation for people in the outback hasbeen almost non-existent. Life for us is fairlynormal, as we live in isolation, from a coastal,SE corner of QLD perspective, all of the time.What has been abnormal and highlighted thepandemic for us, is the lack of tourists, theclosing down of major tourist attractions suchas the Stockman’s Hall of Fame and QantasFounders' Museum, plus the closing ofchurches and schools. Other than this the question for us is: “WhatIsolation?" When the restrictions are lifted and thecountry opens up, please come west, immerseyourself in the remoteness of the outback andexperience the lack of isolation. The Revd Capt Graeme LierschMission Facilitator & Trainer Central West QLD

Mt Slocombe Lookout, Yaraka. Photo Jan Robinson

As the spread of COVID-19 became apparent theimportance of maintaining connections betweenparishioners was realised. Incumbents across ourDiocese acted quickly, before the restrictionsprevented group meetings, to develop aframework for the setting up and operation ofpastoral care groups. In the Cathedral parish thiswas the Dean and the Lay Ministers. Each Lay Minister put forward names of peoplethey could make contact with, and using theparish roll, and baptism and wedding recordsgroups were established and each LM givenresponsibility for maintaining contact with thepeople in their group. Dean Melusi made the initialcontact with all parishioners to confirm that theywere happy to be contacted by the group leader.Then on Friday 3 April our PCG ministrycommenced with the tolling of the Cathedral bellsat noon. Since then group leaders have been sharing‘virtual coffee’ by making contact with members oftheir group. In most cases the contact is viatelephone, but for some people email or othermeans is the preferred medium, and group leadersadapt to whatever is the best fit for each person.

The feedback within the Cathedral parish,and across the Diocese in general, has beenvery positive with people most appreciativeof the contact and sharing, with links andfriendships being strengthened. While groupleaders are not in a position to provide directassistance to people with other issues, theycan at times give people details of where toseek such support, and this has also beenmost helpful.

The contact has also proved, in many cases,to be a mechanism for encouraging people tojoin in our weekly service via Zoom andaccess live streamed services from otherplaces. With encouragement from groupleaders and support of family members, someof our Parishioners have embraced newtechnology and are now happily joining ineach Sunday morning, even getting creativewith their background images and enjoyingthe few minutes of sharing and laughter thatfollows the service – much like any Sundaymorning really! The model established could continue to workwell in the post-corona world, maintainingour expression of Christian love, fellowship,and care for all people in our parishes andcommunity. Cheryl HaughtonCathedral Parish

As each one has received aspecial gift, employ it in servingone another as good stewards ofthe manifold grace of God.

1 P E T ER 4 : 1 0

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PASTORAL CARE GROUPS

C Q F I R S T

Group leaders are also included in a group so thatthey too feel cared for, and we greatly appreciatethe regular contact from the Dean and his supportfor our ministry.

From being a visiting clergy once a month tolivestreaming weekly Wednesday Devotionshas been quite a steep learning curve forRevd Bob Witten and Sue. COVID-19 has challenged us all. As Bob is inthe vulnerable group some things stoppedfor them completely, including no monthlyservices to the Dawson Valley Anglicanchurches - not even for Easter. Things needed to be rethought. How werethey going to keep connected withcongregations and communities, andcontinue to deliver support and comfortfrom God's word? Sue Witten says, "Weprayed and the answer for us lay invideoing services. So it was a case of checkout what others had managed to do, getnetworking and ask for advice andassistance. Thanks Max, Roy, Ange, Jen,Graham, Judy, Em and Nathan for guidingus in the process."

The need is there.God has given usthe ability andtime and so weminister on inthis new andexciting format.

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WITTENS' WEDNESDAY WONDERINGSW H O S A I D Y O U C A N ' T T E A C H A N O L D D O G N E W T R I C K S ?

CQFirst loves the way handyman Bob has created his recording studio props.

Sue tells us with surprise that there were over200 views on the daily devotions andreflections during Easter week. Many of thesepeople were from around the Dawson Valleywhere their ministry is focused, and it waspleasing to see who was watching. Before Easter/Holy week had finished theyhad requests for the devotions to continue, notonly from Dawson Valley but from personalfriends other groups they belong to such asBCA Nomads. A daily livestream was notsustainable, but weekly is.

"Bit by bit our videoing skills improved, as didthe number of congregational membersparticipating in the production of the videosdoing various sections. We are now at thestage where the Sunday Services can behanded back to them with us - yes us - onlyneeding to do the editing."

My Facebook feed has been filled with Bob andSue Witten and I couldn’t be happier! Whenlockdown laws closed our small churches, I amsure some of us feared, “is this the beginning ofthe end?”. Unfortunately, in small rural centres, alltoo often, when things close or stop they neverreopen or start again. Through a tremendouslysharp learning curve of Google Play, cameraangles, microphones and assorted technologicalrecording devices, Sue and Bob have not only keptour parish connected, they have kept us wrappedin Gods loving care constantly. COVID-19 for rural communities could meandisaster. Our small hospitals are not equipped withventilators or ICU wards, and most have limitedbeds and resources. The Special Ministry Districtsof Theodore and Moura, in the Dawson Valley, aremostly made up of the most vulnerable age groupto COVID-19 therefore many of our parishionerswent into complete isolation. Easter Week waslooming to be a lonely time and spiritually difficultwithout any services. On the 6th of April Bob and Sue launched DawsonValley Anglican Easter Week Devotions - it wasjust what we all needed! My teenage boys weremost impressed with Bobs attire. In their eyes youcan’t beat a Jackie Howe singlet! These dailydevotions continued throughout Easter week andfinished with us celebrating Jesus’s resurrection onSunday. This was the day the Lord had made wewere able to rejoice and be glad in it.

'Wednesday Wonderings' began the weekafter Easter and our Sunday Servicescontinued in the virtual world. Bob and Suehave included parishioners in to the servicesby editing in their recordings of readingsand prayers. God has given us a tremendousgift in difficult times, which he so often does.In this time of solitude, we have beenblessed with more quiet time with God andas a parish I think this will leave us renewedand energized to continue our focus onserving God together. My prayer is wecontinue to realize our impact on the smallercommunities and our responsibility to spreadGods message to our communities. God Bless Bob and Sue for your commitmentto the Dawson Valley Special MinistryDistricts. Ruth Edwards Theodore

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WRAPPED IN GOD'S LOVING CARE

Our most recent Diocesan Council (DC) has decided that a Synod meeting is needed. It will be byZoom! All Synod members, lay and clergy, are asked to put Saturday 18th July aside and to makesure they are able to connect to the Synod using technology. It will mean a little bit of effort fromall to enable this to happen. It may mean sharing on office space (safely) to access the technologyneeded. Information will soon be distributed.

At our March DC meeting, we received legal advice on our fiduciary and legal obligations as DCMembers, which also applies to all Synod Reps. At our May DC meeting, the Registrar and Itabled our 'State of the Diocese' Reports. The only good news in our reports, is the good news ofJesus! The Diocesan Council now wishes to present this important information to the Synod. In anutshell, our Diocese is running out of finances and time. The following things are some of the mainfactors contributing to this 'perfect storm'. Ongoing liability from past abuse; years of negativecashflow; extreme insurance costs; ongoing debt; dwindling parishes and parish income; theimpact of COVID-19; ageing congregations. The Registrar and I have developed a Roadmap toRecovery, but it requires some bold decisions. Hence, the call for a Zoom Synod!

There is hope in all of this. It begins with earnest, fervent prayer. I ask you to pray. We serve aGod who holds the universe in His hands. He empowers His people with abundant gifts andresources. We are not in want because the Lord is our Shepherd!

We have been praying for a shepherd after God's own heart. CQFirst hopes to be able toannounce the outcome of the Bishopric Election process in our next edition! Pray for our ProvincialBishops as they determine the 'canonical fitness' of our elected candidate.

Around the Diocese, as evidenced by this and our previous editions of CQFirst, there is muchhappening that is bringing lasting hope to people. It is the hope that is only found in Jesus. It isthe hope that is kindled by the Holy Spirit. It is the hope that is fed by His Holy Word. It is thehope of the Gospel, that transcends this material life even when all material is lost! It is the hopethat has established your identity, first and foremost, as a child of God, as an inheritor of HisKingdom, as a co-heir with Christ. Continue to go forth into our community in the hope that hasfound us. The living hope we have in the love of God, as expressed in the death and resurrectionof our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. Amen!

Archdeacon Tom Henderson-BrooksBishop's Commissary/Diocesan Administrator

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Anglican Diocese OfficePO Box 710 Rockhampton Q 4700 (07) 4927 3188

diocese@anglicanchurchcq.org.auwww.anglicanchurchcq.org.au

Anglican Church Central Queensland

ZOOMING SYNOD - Sat 18th July 2020

CQFirst is the monthly online publication ofthe Anglican Diocese of Rockhampton, QLD.Barbara Smith - Content Production/LayoutTom Henderson-Brooks - Editor/LayoutWe heartily thank this month's contributorsand welcome parishioner contributions. Next Edition Deadline: Wed 24th June Next Edition Theme: 'Perfect Love'and... Introducing Kareen's Kitchen!