Category: Sandy’s Comments

DAY ONE – 21 MAY 2023

Learning to do the right thing.

Readings

Isaiah 1:12-18 Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan; plead for the widow

Luke 10:25-36 He asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”

Reflection

According to Isaiah, God wants Judah not only to practice justice but to embrace the principle of always doing the right thing. God wants us not only to care for orphans and widows but to do what is right and good for them and anyone marginalised by society. The Hebrew word for good is yaw-tab’ and it means to be glad, joyful, pleasing, to do well, to make something beautiful.

To be Christian means to be a disciple. All Christians sit under the Word of God, learning together what it is to do good, and who it is that stands in need of this solidarity. As society becomes more indifferent to the needs of others, we, as the children of God, must learn to take up the cause of our oppressed brothers and sisters by speaking truth to power and if necessary, plead their case so that they may live in peace with justice. In doing this we will always do the right thing!

Our commitment to eradicate and to be healed of the sin of racism requires us to be prepared and willing to be in relationship with our Christian sisters and brothers.

Christian Unity

A lawyer asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” Jesus’ response asks us to see beyond the divisions of religion, tribe and nationality to recognise our neighbour in need. Christians likewise must see beyond these divides and the divisions within the Christian family to recognise and love our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Challenge

Who are the marginalised or oppressed in your society? How might churches together walk with these brothers and sisters, respond to their need and speak up on their behalf?

Prayer

Lord, you called your people from slavery into freedom. Give us strength and courage to seek out those who are standing in need of justice. Allow us to see this need and provide help, and through your Holy Spirit gather us into the one-fold of Jesus Christ, our Shepherd. Amen.

 

Download: BIBLICAL REFLECTIONS AND PRAYERS FOR THE EIGHT DAYS 

Almost half of all Australians (46%) are now reporting elevated distress from cost-of-living pressures. There have been calls for the Reserve Bank Australia (RBA) board meeting to factor in the impact of rate rises on the nation’s “human, not just economic, wellbeing”.

Suicide Prevention Australia’s quarterly Community Tracker for the March Quarter 2023 shows further increases in distress in housing affordability (23%, +2 points) – and now unemployment (21%, +5 points), particularly amongst “middle-age, middle-wage” Australians.

As a growing number of Australians find it harder to make ends meet, suicide prevention groups are warning of a surge in crisis calls, and rising suicide rates. They want the federal government to commit to addressing the human impact of tough economic decisions, and to fix an unaffordable and inaccessible health system.

Suicide Prevention Australia has been in conversation with the RBA (Reserve Bank Australia) about better understanding and mitigating the impacts of RBA monetary policy decisions on the wellbeing of Australians.

The past 12 months have seen an increase in suicide rates, not just interest rates. Australia cannot afford for this trend to continue. The nation’s economic and social wellbeing is at stake.

Social cohesion is at risk of being fractured and a sense of personal well-being is at tipping point for too many people. People are being stretched to breaking point, which is reflected in the rising number of people taking their own lives.

=> This is an issue that should be deeply concerning for churches in caring for people in their congregations, and in the wider community.

Nieves Murray, CEO, Suicide Presentation Australia, on Radio National (ABC) on 19th May 2023.

Suicide Prevention Australia in conversation with RBA (Reserve Bank Australia)

Thursday 18th May 2023

Today is Ascension Day in the (western/Gregorian calendar) Christian tradition. The fortieth day after Easter, on which Christ’s Ascension is celebrated. The story is told in Acts 1:1-11.

The disciples – watching Jesus disappear from view, no longer physically present with them. They had work to be done ‘to the ends of the earth’. They would be alone, and yet not on their own. There would be a Spirit to guide and guard them. The Spirit would come on the day of Pentecost as tongues of fire. The Spirit would embolden them and strengthen them in times of fear. Strengthen them in times when words failed to come. It would abide with them to the ends of the earth.

A poem from Maren Tirabassi for Ascension Day

They seem petulant, those disciples,
looking up, as if
demanding a map of Google Heaven,
with the coordinates
for where the Teacher is going,
hopefully tagged,
“if you see this, you’ve gone too far.”

Mostly our hearts ache for Jesus,
who already misses talking to people,
touching them, breathing in their faces,
putting mud on their eyes,
feeding them his personal recipe
for broiled fish on the beach.

The whole Incarnation
defined God as “in-person,”
from manger-straw to stone-rolling.

Then this day comes with a new message
about masking clouds
and the physical distance guidelines
of “right hand of God,”
a Zoom away from all the boxes
which are our lives.

And we, who are just as petulant
as disciples long ago, say,
“what’s not in-person isn’t real,”
need this ascension day story,
so we realize the Holy Spirit must arrive
in just those virtual or outdoors,
indoor temperature-checking,
pre-pack communion, name-tagged-pews,
masks with the church-logo…
places where a wind can blow
and we sit tentatively
at God’s left-hand,
carefully offering to be the Body of Christ
in every possible way for others.

(by Maren Tirabassi, Gifts in Open Hands)

Painting “Look Toward Heaven” by He Qi

We read in Luke that as Jesus ascended into heaven, He was blessing the disciples. Spend some time imagining that blessing. What might Jesus have said? What might have been the content and call of this blessing? Place yourself in the image. What word of blessing might Jesus want to speak over you today?

Notice that Jesus is absent from our image, just as He is when Luke concludes his Gospel. Yet the disciples are recorded worshiping and blessing God. There are smiles on their faces in our image. How can Jesus’ absence be seen as love and not abandonment? Do you ever feel abandoned by God, like Jesus has left the building and is no longer with you? Allow this image to help you. Allow the story of the Ascension to encourage you in those times of feeling abandoned.

Can you hold in your heart that God is both transcendent and immanent – that God is closer than your breath while simultaneously being higher than the stars above? What the significance of this paradox to you?

Finally, receive the promise Jesus speaks of in v. 49, the promise of the Father that we know to be the Holy Spirit. Pray for fresh awareness of that promise in your life, fresh power from that promised Spirit, and increased opportunity to be that witness Jesus spoke of.

(Source: Global Worship)

Wednesday 10th May 2023

Exactly fifty years ago (10 May 1973), the heads of the Coptic Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches (Pope Shenouda III of Egypt and Pope Paul VI of Rome) signed an historic Christological agreement, putting an end to a 1,500 year old theological controversy and ushering in a new era of Coptic-Catholic relations.

[At the Council of Chalcedon, in 451 CE, Coptic Christians split from the Roman Catholic Church. Rome and Constantinople accused the Coptic Church of being “monophysite,” or teaching only one nature of Christ. In the last 50 years scholars on both sides of the dispute have worked hard to achieve a common understanding of the nature of Christ. The Coptic Church is ecumenical in outlook, and was a founder member of the World Council of Churches in 1948. The Coptic Church is one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, a group which includes the Ethiopian Church, the Syrian Jacobite Church, the Syrian Church of India, and the Armenian Church]

On May 10th 2023, Pope Francis was joined at his weekly General Audience by Pope Tawadros II, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, for a special joint greeting to the faithful. Pope Tawadros addressed the crowd gathered in St Peter’s Square, the first time the head of another Church has done so.

“Beloved brother, His Holiness Pope Francis. Christ is risen, He is truly risen! I look at this place and I go back in my memory to ten years ago, on this same date, and I remember your dear affection in welcoming me, together with the delegation of the Coptic Church.”

Pope Tawadros, Coptic Orthodox leader, recalling his visit to St Peter’s square in 2013

Pope Tawadros recalled that, on that occasion, on 10 May 2013, he had suggested that the date be celebrated as a ‘Day of Coptic-Catholic Friendship’. Since then, he said, he and Pope Francis have spoken over the phone on that day every year.

The Coptic Orthodox leader went on to thank Francis for his visit to Egypt in 2017, recalling that the country – where his Church is based – has ancient Christian roots, and was the birthplace of monasticism. “Despite the differences in our roots and affiliations, we are united by the love of Christ who dwells within us, and the host of our Apostolic Fathers and saints which surrounds and guides us.”

“It is with great joy that I greet today His Holiness Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark. Dear friend and brother Tawadros, I thank you for accepting my invitation on this double anniversary, and I pray that the light of the Holy Spirit might illuminate your visit to Rome. I thank you from the heart for your commitment to the growing friendship between the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. Together with you, I implore Almighty God, that, through the intercession of the saints and martyrs of the Coptic Church, He might help us to grow in communion.”

Pope Francis, 10 May 2023

The Vatican announced it has released a book about the Vatican’s efforts to promote Christian unity in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the meeting between Pope Shenouda III of Egypt and Pope Paul VI of Rome on 10 May 1973, when an agreement was signed between the Coptic Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church. The agreement ended a 1,500-year-old theological dispute, ushering in a new period of improved relations between the Coptic and Catholic groups.

The book includes papers documenting the dialogues between the two churches from the second Vatican Council till the present.

It contains a joint introduction by His Holiness Pope Francis and His Holiness Pope Tawadros II. The introduction emphasises “the importance of constantly asking ourselves where we need to go beyond our current state in our journey towards full communion”.

In the introduction, the two popes describe the 10 May 1973 meeting between Pope Shenouda III and Pope Paul VI  as a “historic meeting” and note that the book brings together the key documents of the rapprochement between the Catholic and Coptic Orthodox churches. 

The two popes recall the joint Christological declaration issued by the two churches on 10 May 1973 which later led to producing a document outlining the principles for seeking unity between the two churches, signed by Pope John Paul II and Pope Shenouda III in 1979.

In the book, Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros II recall their first meeting on 10 May 2013, during which they announced the celebration of the Day of Friendship between Catholics and Copts, which continues to be celebrated annually. 

Finally, the two popes expressed their hope for the growth of brotherly love and friendship between the two churches, leading to the long-awaited day when they can celebrate together at the altar.

Source: Vatican News and Ahram online

On April 24, 1915, a large group of Armenian intellectuals was rounded up and killed by the Ottoman government. This was followed by the deportation of women, children, the elderly and infirm on death marches leading to the Syrian desert. Driven forward by military escorts, the deportees were deprived of food and water and subjected to periodic robbery, rape, and massacre.The total number of people killed as a result has been estimated at 1.5 million. A further 1 million were displaced.It was the first genocide of the 20th century and continued until 1923. Armenians remember the ANZAC soldiers who saw the injustice that they were suffering and stopped to help them. The ANZACs created the first relief for the victims of the Armenian Genocide and provided them with the much needed medical care, and in many instances, keeping them safe from the hands of the Turkish soldiers. Some in the Turkish community also provided protection to the Armenian people.
(A summary of further historical information here).

On Monday 8th May 2023, the VCC EO Rev Sandy Boyce met with Michael Kolokossian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Australia, and Danielle Der Bedrossian, ANC Administrator.

The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) is the peak public affairs body serving the 50,000 Armenian-Australian community and directly represents over 34 organisations nationwide.

ANC-AU’s primary concern is to have the Armenian massacres and forced deportations in 1915 recognised formally as genocide by the Federal Parliament, and to support the Christian Republic of Armenia and Artsakh.

In 2015, the 14th Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia formally acknowledged that the Armenian massacres and forced deportations in 1915 constituted a Genocide, and commended the NSW and SA governments in acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and encouraged the Federal and other state governments to do the same.

‘The UCA was the third denomination at a national level to acknowledge the Genocide.

“In the years of 1915-1918, the Armenian people were under the grip of annihilation and the brutal plans of genocide – but our gracious and loving God saved this first Christian nation from being wiped out. By accepting the proposal, the (UCA) Assembly will keep the story of the first Christian nation alive”.

Rev. Dr. Youmshajekian, former Minister of Armenian Evangelical Uniting Church in Sydney

The World Council of Churches has also formally acknowledged the genocide.

Today, the indigenous Christian Armenians of the Republic of Artsakh continue to experience ethnic cleansing by the Republic of Azerbaijan. Following the 2020 Artsakh war and the ethnic cleansing and cultural desecration that was occurring, the President of the NSW Ecumenical Council, Dr. Ray Williamson, called upon UNESCO to condemn Azerbaijan’s desecration of Armenian churches.

In September 2022, the NCCA assisted the Armenian community in appealing directly to Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator the Hon. Penny Wong, calling on the Federal Government to assist in securing just and sustainable peace for Armenia and Artsakh.
The letter also called on the Australian Government to take appropriate measures to safeguard the ongoing desecration of religious and cultural sites in the currently occupied territories of the Republic of Artsakh and to aid efforts to release Armenian prisoners of war illegally imprisoned by Azerbaijan. More here.

As a result of the NCCA’s support and advocacy, Australia acknowledged Azerbaijan’s aggression against the Christian Armenians.

Some three dozen countries, hundreds of local government bodies and international organizations including the World Council of Churches have so far recognized the killings of 1.5 million Armenians as Genocide. Turkey denies to this day.

Last week (May 3), Turkey shut down airspace to Armenian flights heading to a third destination in response to the unveiling of a monument in Yerevan. The monument commemorates those involved in an assassination plot against Ottoman Turkish officials responsible for masterminding and committing the Armenian Genocide. Turkey has indicated it would take further steps if the monument is not removed.

Also, the Azerbaijan blockade of the Lachin corridor in Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) remains in place, with devastating impact on the Armenian community. The NCCA and UCA NSW/ACT Synod have both issued statements expressing concern about what is happening.

 

 

(Article by Carey Nieuwhof, speaking into the North American context but resonates with the experience of churches in Australia. This article was updated and published in April 2023)

Declining church attendance comes up in a surprising number of conversations – and no one’s quite sure how to respond to it.

The issue? Even committed church attendees are attending church less often.

Sure, the trend has been happening for years (gone are the days when people attended 50 out of 52 Sundays), but the issue has reached a tipping point in the church over the last decade.

Even monthly church attendance is declining. 

One recent survey found a decline from 34% to 28% over two years, of people attending one to two times per month. Reasons behind church attendance decline are varied and multi-layered, but a few main culprits include shifting cultural values, busier schedules, and scandal-plagued institutions. 

I first wrote about this in a post called 7 Ways to Respond as People Attend Church Less Often. But the conversation persists and, to many leaders, feels much more urgent.

This isn’t a post about why people have left the church (that’s a different subject). This is the first in a series of posts about church attenders who love God, appreciate the local church, and are even involved in the local church, but who simply attend less often.

So, why all this attention?

This trend isn’t going away…in fact, it’s accelerating.

It impacts almost every church regardless of size, denomination, or even location.

It probably marks a seismic shift in how the church will do ministry in the future.

Of course, church attendance is never the goal. But attendance is a sign of something deeper that every church leader will have to wrestle with over the next few years.

The first key to addressing what’s happening is to understand what’s happening.

So…why are even committed attendees attending less often? There are at least 10 reasons.

1. Greater Affluence

Money gives people options.

If your church is at all engaging the middle class, the upper-middle class, or a suburban demographic, an interesting trend is developing. 

The middle class is shrinking, but as this New York Times report shows, it’s shrinking (in part) because more of the middle class is becoming upper class. 

Both U.S. and Canadian personal disposable incomes are at all-time highs.

There are simply more affluent people than there were decades ago, which may in part explain why so many “average” people indulge their obsessions with granite countertops, designer homes, and decent cars, even without being mega-wealthy.

Naturally, this leaves a huge theological void about ministry to and with the poor, but it helps explain what’s actually happening in the suburbs and increasingly with the re-urbanization of many cities as the affluent move back downtown. I’m not arguing things should be this way. I’m simply showing that this seems to be what’s happening.

And again…people with money have options. Technology options. Travel options. Options for their kids. And, arguably, that affluence may be one of the factors moving them further away from a committed engagement with the mission of the local church. It’s perhaps fuelling some of the reasons outlined below.

2. Higher Focus on Kids’ Activities

A growing number of kids are playing sports. And a growing number of kids are playing on teams that require travel.

Many of those sports happen on weekends. And affluent parents are choosing sports over church. It’s as simple as that.

3. More Travel

Despite environmental concerns, travel is on the rise, and most people are taking far more than the old standard of one vacation a year.

More and more families of various ages travel for leisure, even if it’s just out of town to go camping or to a friend’s place for the weekend or a weekend at the lake.

When people are out of town, they tend to not be in church.

4. Blended and Single-Parent Families

Fortunately, more and more blended families and single-parent families are finding a home in the church.

So, how does this translate into attendance patterns?

Church leaders need to remember that when custody is shared in a family situation, ‘perfect’ attendance for a kid or teen might be 26 Sundays a year.

Similarly, while the affluent might not be in church because of access to reliable transportation, single parents (who, not always, but often, struggle more financially) might not be in church because they lack access to reliable transportation.

So here’s the strange twist. People who have a car are often not in church because they have a car. People who want to be in church are often not in church because they don’t have a car or because it’s not their ‘weekend’ for church.

Sadly, people who want to get to church simply can’t.

By the way, I used to lead a church that virtually required a vehicle to get there. I loved how we often saw people with reliable transportation helping out those who don’t have a vehicle. That’s at least a partial remedy to this problem.

5. Online Options

With the rise of online church, social media, and ubiquitous tech, there have never been more opportunities for people to access church without being there.

There are pros and cons to online church, and there’s no doubt that churches with a strong online presence have seen it impact physical attendance.

But whether or not your church has online options doesn’t make the issue go away. Anyone who attends your church has free access to any online ministry of any church.

Online church is here to stay, whether you participate or not.Online church is here to stay, whether you participate or not. 

6. The Cultural Disappearance of Guilt

When I grew up, I felt guilty about not being in church on a Sunday.

The number of people who feel guilty about not being in church on Sunday shrinks daily.

I regularly meet people all the time who haven’t been in months but LOVE our church.

For the record, guilt avoidance is not a good reason to go to church. And if your church is relying on guilt as a motivator, you need a new strategy. (Well, honestly, you’ve always needed a new strategy…)If your church is relying on guilt as a motivator, you need a new strategy

7. Self-Directed Spirituality

People are looking less to churches and leaders to help them grow spiritually, and more to other options.

We live in an era in which no parent makes a visit to a doctor’s office without having first googled the symptoms of a child’s illness and a recommended course of treatment. Just ask any family physician. It drives them nuts. (Google, doctors will tell you, is not a complete replacement for medical school.)

Similarly, when was the last time you bought a car without completely researching it online?

In an age where we have access to everything, more and more people are self-directing their spirituality…for better and for worse.

Similarly, another characteristic of the post-modern mind is a declining trust in and reliance on institutions.

The church, in many people’s minds, is seen as an institution.

I don’t actually believe that’s what a church is. I think it’s a movement…not an institution. But many churches behave like an institution, and the post-modern mind instinctively moves away from it as a result.In an age where we have access to everything, more and more people are self-directing their spirituality…for better and for worse.

8. Failure to See a Direct Benefit

People always make time for the things they value most. If they’re not making time for church, that tells you something.

Even among people who say they love the church and who say they love your church, if declining attendance is an issue, chances are it’s because they don’t see a direct benefit. They don’t see the value in being there week after week.

That could be because there isn’t much value (gut check). Or it could be because there is a value that they simply don’t see.

Either way, failure to see a direct benefit always results in declining engagement.

So, what are you doing or not doing that leaves people feeling like there’s not that much value?People always make time for the things they value most. If they’re not making time for church, that tells you something. 

9. Valuing Attendance Over Engagement

When someone merely attends church, the likelihood of showing up regularly or even engaging their faith decreases over time.

At our church, I find our most engaged people—people who serve, give, invite, and who are in a community group—are our most frequent attendees.

More and more as a leader, I value engagement over attendance.

Ironically, if you value attendance over engagement, you will see declining attendance.

10. A Massive Culture Shift

All of these trends are a witness to something deeper. Our culture is shifting. Seismically.

Church leaders who fail to recognize this will not be able to change rapidly enough to respond to the shifts that are happening.

Change is unkind to the unprepared, so prepare.

World Nurses Day is celebrated on 12th May (birth date of Florence Nightingale). How might you creatively celebrate the nurses in your congregation and community?

A short liturgy for use in worship

Reader 1

Let us take a moment of silence and be aware of God’s presence among us.

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Thessalonians  
“We were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children.  So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the Gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.” (1Thess 2: 7b-8)

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Reader 2
We gather to celebrate and thank God for nurses in our health care community who provide consistent comfort and care 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Theirs is one of the toughest jobs around – requiring patience, intelligence, listening, conflict management, calm, quick thinking and endurance – all in a fast-paced, often stressful environment.  It is fitting that in scripture, when the prophets and preachers want to describe the height of compassion, they frequently turned to the image of the nurse – the image of one who gives not only medicine, but the gift of themselves to others.

Reader 3
Let us call to mind some of the nurses who have touched our lives and our work in a significant way, and join in praying for them:

Side 1
Gentle God, we come in thanksgiving for the nurses in our midst.  You have given them a lofty vocation – to mirror your love and compassion for the sick.  When we watch them at work, we sense your presence in their words and deeds.

Side 2
Gentle God, we ask you to draw near to these women and men who have given their lives in service to others.  Fill their minds and their hearts with your wisdom and mercy that they might truly be your hands and feet in our institution.

Side 1
Grant them the perseverance and strength needed to do their job well.

Side 2
Give them courage to speak on behalf of those they serve and advocate for those in greatest need.

Side 1
Comfort them in their sorrows and disappointments, in their losses and worries.

Side 2
Shelter them in times of trial, creating spaces for them to rest and to listen for your voice.

All
Hear us, O Divine Nurse, and answer our prayer, for you are all good and all kind and never tire of ministering to our needs.  Amen.

Source: CHAUSA

The annual Darkness into Light community walk at Albert Park will be at 5.30am on Saturday May 6th, 2023. The event gathers a wide range of people including people from diverse faith traditions.

The walk, which originated in Ireland, has been taking place internationally for 11 years, with global committees forming to raise mental health awareness and vital funds for Mental heath charities. Each year the event provides an opportunity for people to connect with their local community and to bring hope to those who have been impacted by suicide. 

Funds raised through registration and donation help mental health charities like Pieta House and Headspace (national youth mental health foundation that provides early intervention mental health services to 12-25 year olds).

If you would like to join the Darkness into Light walk, you can register via the link.

“We have all been touched by the brokenness of this world. We need a fully developed theology of suffering in our churches; we need to know that suffering is not good in itself and it is painful, but our faith can help us manage the painfulness of suffering – by doing many things like practising the presence of God.
Jesus healed people – that’s part of what we do, we’re involved in that healing ministry alongside the work of the Holy Spirit.
It’s a powerful witness to the community that we’re not just some group of bigoted people but we’re people who care, who care about people’s healing, we care about life.”

Karen Mason, psychologist (article here)

Psychologist Karen Mason says there needs to be greater awareness that there are people sitting beside you in church who are having suicidal thoughts but feel unable to reach out for help – because of the stigma and fear of being criticised and judged. The way to break that stigma is to create authentic, vulnerable communities.

“There has to be a recognition that we’re all human beings, we all struggle, there’s none of us that doesn’t struggle, none of us has it all together. There has to be a recognition of that and an ability for a person to be vulnerable and not be judged – it’s judgment that causes that stigma to exist. Those people who are hurting have to be able to reach out for help, and they’re not going to reach out for help if they expect to be judged for having a mental health condition or having suicidal thought or for having lost someone to suicide. There has be that sense of authenticity and vulnerability that allows those conversations to take place.”

We pray to you, God of compassion, for all those in despair
That they would choose life.
For those facing devastating loss
That they would remember your presence and intercession for them.
For all those who feel they are a burden
That they would love themselves as you love them.
For all those without hope
That they would find in you, Father, a reason to live.
For those who feel alone
That they would find in our gathered community a reason to live.
For those facing evil in this world
That they will remember the redemption of the evil done to Joseph.
For all those suffering the misery of depression and other psychological pain
That they could reach out for help like blind Bartimaeus.
For all those in despondent desolation
That we would reach out to them.
Merciful God, you alone give life and take it, but life is not easy.
With the psalmist we proclaim that without you we would be swallowed alive, torn up and engulfed by the flood and swept away by the torrents of this life.
Preserve us, O God. We put our hope in you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen

(21 June 1931 – 27 April 2023) 

Emeritus Professor Rev Dr Francis Macnab was an Australian Christian minister. He wasthe executive minister of St Michael’s Uniting Church, a congregation of the Uniting Church in Australia in Collins Street, Melbourne, until December 2016. Prior to that he was Prahran Presbyterian Church from 1961 to 1970. He was a fellow of the Jesus Seminar. He was the founder of The Cairnmillar Institute, a clinical psychological centre, the largest in Australia, which was for some time the largest training body for psychologists and counsellors in the country. He was its Executive Director. He founded and was director of the Australian Foundation for Aftermath Reactions which provides trauma treatment and training. He was a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society. He was made a member of the Order of Australia for his contributions to psychotherapy and religion. 

Frances retired at the age of 85, after 45 years in ministry. At the time, Crosslight (Uniting Church) published an article about his ministry, a ministry which was expansive, generous, courageous and sometimes controversial.

https://vimeo.com/744134472

In 2020, Frances published his final book, Ageing Well, with wisdom for those in their senior years.

Frances Macnab finds himself, like many, in a new spiritual, emotional, and psychological territory. It is called older age. Ageing Well is a manual for older age, it explores ideas on how we can live the later part of our lives with more passion and enjoyment by creating joy, managing moods, avoiding stereotypes, working towards better psychological health, training the brain, focusing on emotional intelligence and much more.

Publisher’s blurb for Ageing Well.

Cairnmillar Institute provided this tribute in The Age newspaper on 29th April 2023:

The Chair, Members of Council and Committees, the CEO, all members of staff, together with the alumni and supporters of The Cairnmillar Institute, pay tribute to the life of the founder Emeritus Professor Francis Macnab AM. His contribution to psychology, psychotherapy, theology, education, and the community is known and acknowledged around the world. The Institute honours this remarkable Australian. For his leadership, guidance, inspiration and generosity of spirit, we give thanks. His rich legacy continues. Our sincere condolences to the family.

Cairnmillar Institute, The Age 29th April 2023

Rev Steven Koski (Presbyterian Minister based in Bend, Oregon, USA) has paid tribute to his long time mentor:

Dr. Francis Macnab, my mentor, colleague and friend transitioned from this life to the mystery of something more. Francis introduced me to a spacious faith and influenced my life in more ways than he ever knew.

He hired me 35 years ago. I’m pretty sure when I got off the plane in Melbourne he immediately thought, “What have I done?!” He did give me a credit card and suggested I upgrade my wardrobe. Little did I know at the time that meeting him, being mentored by him and the trust he placed in me would change my life forever.

Someone visited my church who hadn’t stepped foot in a church for over 30 years and carried deep spiritual wounds. She thanked me for not making her check her mind at the door and for welcoming her doubts and questions. She thanked me for articulating a theology she could believe in and introducing her to a God who believed in her. She said she found the service healing and looked forward to constructing a new faith. She thanked me but I said the person to thank is Dr. Francis Macnab whose legacy reaches you through me.

Francis, you awakened our lives with the adventure of color. Your expansive theology played new music to underscore our lives. Your genius opened the door to curiosity and wonder setting our feet in spacious fields. Your innovative spirit pushed down walls. You watered the seeds of hope within us. You encouraged us to hold room in our hearts for the unimaginable.

We will not look for you only in our memories, but we will find your presence beside us when beautiful music echoes eternal notes; when poetry speaks a language for which there is no defense; when flowers splash the world with color in the Spring; and when we find our own Mingary ( healing space ) in the harshness and hostility of this world.

Francis, may you continue to inspire us to enter each day aware of the fragile gift of each breath, to find courage to look for joy hidden under every rock, and to be grateful for those who walk beside us.

May the Sacred Presence you invited us to trust in this life enfold your spirit in the great mystery of more life that lies beyond death.

Rev Steven Koski, a post on his Facebook page

Today marks the 108th anniversary of the Armenian genocide during WW1. In this – the first Genocide of the 20th century – almost an entire nation was destroyed. The Armenian people were effectively eliminated from the homeland they had occupied for nearly three thousand years. This annihilation was premeditated and planned to be carried out under the cover of war.

[The Uniting Church in Australia formally acknowledged the Armenian Genocide at its 14th Assembly meeting in 2015. Today we pause to remember, and share this prayer from Uniting Church Pastor Levon Kardashian who is the grandson of a survivor].

God of life,

your Spirit hovers over all existence,

bringing life out of nothingness,

beauty out of ashes,

and resurrection life from the depths of the earth.

We remember the Armenian Genocide that was marked on April 24, 1915;

the Armenian priests, scholars, and community leaders assassinated;

the Armenian men, women and children who were deported,

driven in death marches, and massacred mercilessly.

Listen to the lament that rises from our hearts,

to the call of the dead

from the depths of the Medz Yeghérn (literally Great Calamity).

As the blood of Abel cries out to you so does the blood of a nation massacred.

As Rachel weeps for her children because they are no more,

so does a nation, many of whom are no more.

With your compassion, look upon the people of this nation

who put their trust in you so long ago,

who have faced persecution, exile and death,

Yet have remained faithful to you:

a nation that lives because your never-ending love stands by the oppressed.

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones. (Ps. 116:15)

God of deliverance,

renew our hope in your promise.

Heal open wounds through the power of your love.

Our souls long for you more than the watchman for daybreak

as we celebrate the fullness of redemption won on the Cross,

for the light of Easter which is the dawn of invincible life.

We praise you for your grace, mercy, and power upon the Armenians,

whose faith remains to be their guide,

whose hope helps them excel,

and whose joy helps them sing your praises. Amen.