The BULLETIN The Order of St John of Jerusalem Knights Hospitaller THE GRAND PRIORY OF AUSTRALASIA Under the Royal Charter of HM King Peter II of Yugoslavia THE PRIORY OF QUEENSLAND AND COMMANDERIES: BRISBANE, GOLD COAST THE PRIORY OF THE SUNSHINE COAST THE PRIORY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA THE PRIORY OF THE DARLING DOWNS THE PRIORY OF VICTORIA MAY 2020 A pastoral response to Covid-19 3 Victoria's Annual Church Parade 4 Zephyr: supporting children through domestic violence 5 Western Australia: Joy in creating 6 Darling Downs: Sunrise at Sunset aids drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre 7 Sunshine Coast assists Rainbow House 8 Members of The Priory of Victoria make their windy way down Chapter House Road from the Robing Room to St Paul's Cathedral Melbourne, for their annual Church Parade. See page 5 THE BULLETIN EDITORIAL CHEVALIER CHARLES CLARK GCSJ MMSJ brought about some remarkable effects: fewer cars on the road, less atmospheric pollution, fewer the GP’s surgery, some advantages From the Editor’s desk fromtraffic working accidents, at homefewer at people least partin of the time. The Patron Saint of the Order of Gospels, metanoia, means looking With few people out and about, Saint John of Jerusalem Knights back in one’s mind and assessing there is less rubbish, less pollution Hospitaller, John the Baptist, is with a view to changing. Guilt may of waterways and beaches. recorded in the Gospels as the Fore- be there, but not necessarily. Those who don’t care about their runner, the Harbinger, of a new era. The word metanoia has not environment are not out there now. His preaching theme was to come into the English language Can we keep some semblance of “repent” and be ready for great (though an associated word this when we return to normal? change. So spectacular was his paranoia has) but in this time of What a change that would be! pandemic, metanoia might be a We see remarkable acts of open with reference to him and his good thing to practise. kindness, bravery, dedication, and influence that two of the Gospels preaching. The Gospels of Mark With activities restricted, with courage, which we applaud, just as social contact reduced almost to we deplore so many blatant acts and last of the four to be written, nothing, with time to do things and John, respectively the first make no reference to the birth that we may not have done for a and social disobedience. We see narratives of Jesus; to the writers, long time, we can assess the past, povertyof selfishness, and violence thoughtlessness, highlighted. the Baptist is of prime importance. and consider what changes could A crisis such as we are enduring The Church exhorts us to “repent” be made for the for the betterment invites us, as members loyal to because we are all guilty. But of our future. the word used in the early Greek The Covid 19 restrictions have to look outside the square, to move outspecific of our oaths comfort and azone guiding a little motto, more, to react to a great crisis and a great human need when it arises, ‘The Bulletin’ is the official magazine to make change, and so follow the of the Order of St John of Jerusalem call to metanoia by our Patron, the Knights Hospitaller, Grand Priory of Baptist. Australasia: ACN 147 338 501 There is usually a Bulletin CORRESPONDENCE published in August each year and The Order of there will be one this year. Unlike Chevalier Charles Clark GCSJ MMSJ in previous years, it will not be Saint John of Jerusalem email: [email protected] covering Investiture activities and Knights Hospitaller EDITORIAL GROUP introducing New Members. So the THE GRAND PRIORY OF AUSTRALASIA Chevaliers Charles Clark, Reverend Dr Editor will be looking for material. You may have experienced, or read The modern Order of Saint John of David Pitman, the Reverend Canon Emeritus Bruce Maughan (Prelate), Robin about, something connected, even Jerusalem Knights Hospitaller is a tenuously, to the work of the Order Kleinschmidt, Garry Page, Dames Dawn Christian, chivalric, ecumenical, and of Saint John. Please share it. @ international community directly Goodall, and Donna Fraser, and Serving descended from the Hospitaller activities Sister Leith Robinson. at the Hospice founded before the turn PRINTED BY Web signing-on of the 11th century by Amalfi merchants, HEANEYS: PERFORMERS IN PRINT The Sign-Up page comes up at for pilgrims in Jerusalem. 07 5539 4911 www.hpip.com.au the beginning of the Members’ Domain. Enter your email Jerusalem 1048-1291; Cyprus 1292-1310; address as given in the Roll of Rhodes 1311-1523; Malta 1530-1798; Honour and create a password Australia 1969. which you will use from then on Australasia: osj.org.au to log in. @ Sovereign Order: sosjinternational.org 2 THE BULLETIN GRAND PRIORY A PASTORAL RESPONSE TO COVID-19 REVEREND DR DAVID PITMAN AM GCHSJ Covid-19: a pastoral response In an episode of Call the However, the belief that God is Suffering is not good. It is bad! Midwife, Sister Julienne the initiator of pain and suffering, Bereavement is not good. It is bad! in order to promote obedience and Tragedy is not good. It is bad! says, “God is not in the holiness, makes no sense. For a Covid-19 is not good. It is bad! event, God is in the start, we see plenty of people all We should never pretend response”. This is very around us who live fundamentally otherwise. And we should never good theology! good lives. They are essentially use the language of faith to obscure honest and caring folk who do their the fact that these things are bad! More than that, it is a really helpful best to be responsible parents, It is true that our faith and trust faithful friends, and reliable in God will help us to cope with current crisis that the Covid-19 employees. Yet they seem to be on and live through these crises. It is virusaffirmation has created in the acrosscontext our of thenation the receiving end of all manner of true that we may be able one day and the world. bad luck. to look back and see that we have Why does a God of love allow On the other hand, we all know indeed become better and stronger things like this to happen? people who are irresponsible and people because of what we have Over the 50 years of my been through. own ministry, this has been the unethically, and yet whose lives But this does not mean that the question most often asked of me, seemselfish, remarkably who act dishonestly free of struggle or original experience was somehow in a great variety of different and strife. If God wants to promote good in and of itself. Nor does it circumstances. obedience and holiness through Let’s begin by looking at two the experience of personal crisis, really unhelpful responses to the God seems to be going about it in meanThe that problem God inflicted with all itthese on us to question. a decidedly odd and ineffective so-calledfind out how explanations much faith is we that have. they Firstly, we too often hear it said manner! assume that God is the cause of by those who should know better Is suffering God’s punishment human suffering. God never caused that the bad things that happen are for sin? NO! a bad thing to happen, and God God’s punishment for our sin. So, let’s make a conscious never will! God’s purpose for us is This response suggests decision right now to put this false only ever good! that because we are sinful and and misleading belief out of our It is our experience from time to disobedient people, God has to minds. All it does is make us think time, in the complexity of our life’s punish and discipline us in order badly of both God and ourselves. journey, to feel that God has left to make us more obedient and And it is not true to the faith of the us, that he is absent, that for some faithful, and God does this through New Testament! reason he has forsaken us. Secondly, you may also have Yet at other times we feel that experiences that cause us pain and heard it said that God makes bad God is as close to us as our breath, struggleinflicting and on usgrief. those crises and things happen to test our faith. that he is in the very depths of our Now we understand very I have heard this statement being. well that some of our actions many times over the years, and a God never leaves us, or forsakes are foolhardy and that we often number of variations on the same us. But there are times when it suffer the consequences of our theme. feels that way. foolishness. In such circumstances For example: Suffering is There is no shame or weakness we have no one to blame but God’s way of seeing how much we in recognizing and expressing our ourselves. If we have any sense, we trust him or God has a reason for feeling that God has left us alone in learn from our mistakes and try everything. All we need is to have our struggle. With God’s people of not to repeat them. To blame God enough faith and we’ll be able to old, we can cry out to God from our for our own foolishness does no see what that reason is too.