The Leaflet No. 1056 February 2016 THE SCOTS’ CHURCH, MELBOURNE The First Presbyterian Church in Victoria – Founded 1838 LOCATIONS The Scots’ Church, Melbourne, 77 Russell St (cnr Collins St), Melbourne Assembly Hall Building, Werner Brodbeck Hall, Grnd Flr, 156 Collins St, Melbourne Assembly Hall Building, Robert White Hall, 1st Flr, 156 Collins St, Melbourne St Stephen’s Church, Flemington and Kensington, 26 Norwood St, Flemington WORSHIP SUN: 9.30 am Service, St Stephen’s Church 10.30 am Indonesian Service (www.icc-melbourne.org), Werner Brodbeck Hall 11.00 am Traditional Service, The Scots’ Church 5.00 pm Engage City Church Contemp. Service, Robert White Hall (Crèche and Sunday school are available during all Sunday services.) TUE: 7.00 pm City Bible Study (CBS), Robert White Hall WED: 1.00 pm Service, The Scots’ Church THU: 1.00 pm Lunchtime Worship and Meeting, Werner Brodbeck Hall (Prayer requests may be given to the church office during office hours, or to any duty manager at any service.) MEETINGS SUN: 9.15 am Choir practice WED: 10.30 am PWMU (second Wednesday) 7.30 pm Kirk Session (first Wednesday) 7.30 pm Board of Management (fourth Wednesday, bi-monthly) DIRECTORY Senior Minister Rev. D. R. Robertson 9650 9903 Minister, Central Business District Rev. R. O’Brien 9650 9903 Assistant Minister Rev. D. E. P. Currie 9650 9903 Minister, St Stephen’s, Flemington Rev. P. Court 9650 9903 Minister, Indonesian Congregation Rev. C. Tirtha 9650 9903 Pastor, Indonesian Congregation Dr S. Sendjaya 9650 9903 Administrator Mr S. Ruddock 9650 9903 Ministers’ Secretary Mrs W. Gregory 9650 9903 Church Officer Mr K. Bowden 9650 9903 Building Officer Mr R. Holt 9650 9903 Bookkeeper Mr M. Hirst 9650 9903 Director of Music Mr D. Lawrence OAM 9650 9903 Organist Emeritus Dr R. Batterham AO - Session Clerk Miss D. R. Anstee AM DSJ 9650 9903 Chair, Scots’ Church Properties Trust Miss D. R. Anstee AM DSJ 9650 9903 Hon. Treasurer, Board of Management Mr J. Nuske FCPA 9650 9903 Hon. Secretary, Board of Management Dr D. Sherman 9650 9903 Convenor, Planned Giving Mr G. Harris 9650 9903 Christian Education Convenor Mr G. Harris 9650 9903 Superintendent Sunday School Mrs D. Sherman 9650 9903 Superintendent Indonesian Sunday School Rev. C. Tirtha 9650 9903 Editor, The Leaflet Miss R. Strother 9650 9903 Welcome to The Scots’ Church, Melbourne, and this edition of our bi-monthly newsletter, The Leaflet The Scots’ Church Melbourne is a diverse and eclectic body of God’s people who come together each week to worship God in a variety of styles and settings. Beyond our weekly gatherings, we seek to love and serve the Lord by being faithful in our devotion to the Word of God, caring in our fellowship with one another and visitors, and generous in our outreach to the communities in which God has placed us. We would be delighted to meet you at any of our church services or at any of our other public meetings and functions. If you want to know more about the Christian faith, the Presbyterian Church, Scots’ Church or the range of activities and ministries that we’re involved in, please don’t hesitate to contact us: 1st Floor, 156 Collins Street, Melbourne, Vic, 3000 Tel: (03) 9650 9903 / 9650 9904 Fax: (03) 9654 3982 Email: [email protected] Web: www.scotschurch.com Cover image entitled Collins Street, Sunday Morning, watercolour, c. 1880. (Source: State Library of Victoria, donated by Mrs Wright.) T HE L EAF L E T – F EBRUARY 2 0 1 6 In This Edition Dear Friends ........................................................................................................................ 1 Summer Reading ................................................................................................................ 3 Who Are You Travelling With? ........................................................................................... 5 When Praying Feels Hard .................................................................................................. 7 The Practice of the Presence of God ............................................................................... 9 A Season of Rejoicing ...................................................................................................... 10 Help for the Homeless ..................................................................................................... 12 A Farewell ......................................................................................................................... 14 From the Archives ............................................................................................................ 15 Know Your Church ........................................................................................................... 19 News from the Flemington Mission ............................................................................... 21 Interview: Professor Andrew Kemp ............................................................................... 23 Wedding of Anna and Nathan ........................................................................................ 26 A Link with Bangladesh .................................................................................................. 28 For Kids ............................................................................................................................. 31 Victorian Presbyterian Churches Past and Present ...................................................... 32 Interview: Brian Lowe ...................................................................................................... 36 In Memoriam .................................................................................................................... 40 Plants of the Bible ............................................................................................................ 41 Biblical Crossword ........................................................................................................... 42 T HE L EAF L E T – F EBRUARY 2 0 1 6 Senior Minister The Rev. Douglas Robertson Dear Friends, In the Presbyterian Church, we don’t usually use the name Eucharist for the communion service, but sev- eral other branches of the church do, and I am sure our members are familiar with it. I recently had rea- son to do a bit of background reading on this subject and thought it might be useful to share something of the meaning of the word with you. ‘Eucharist’ is a Greek word transliterated into the English language. What that means is that we have simply copied the sounds, rather than used an equivalent word. If you say the word, you are really speaking Greek. Some other examples in the English language would include ‘rendezvous’, which is French, and ‘whisky’, which is Gaelic, of course. In our use of language, this sometimes happens because there is no equivalent word in English; or sometimes it happens because translators want to give the word a special emphasis that you might not get if you use the English equivalent. However, it can be useful to explore the original meaning of these words, to under- stand why it was used in the first place and to expand our appreciation of the significance of it. ‘Eucharist’ means ‘thanksgiving’. In every communion service, we read a portion from 1 Corinthians 11 which includes the words: ‘The Lord Jesus on the night on which he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and said, “This is my body which is for you.”’ In Greek, the phrase, ‘when he had given thanks’ is just one word: eucharistesas. (The extra ‘esas’ at the end gives the verb its tense and application.) While many people give thanks to God before they dive into the scrumptious meal that has been set before them, on that night this eucharisteo (the root verb) had a special significance. This was a Passover meal that Jesus and his disciples were sharing, and the thanksgiving was focused on the ancient history of Israel and God’s deliverance of them from slavery in Egypt—the story of Moses. For Israel, this was their ‘salvation history’. They were thanking God not just for food, but for P AGE 1 T HE L EAF L E T – F EBRUARY 2 0 1 6 all his graces to them in that rescue and in the subsequent guidance of the law and the prophets. This was much more than a typical grace before dinner. The sentiments intended to be expressed here are perhaps best summed up in the famous hymn Amazing Grace, written A table set for the Eucharist as part of a worship service. by John Newton in 1779: Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound) That sav’d a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see. Newton was, of course, talking about the spiritual salvation that has been pur- chased for us by Jesus Christ, rather than the temporal salvation of the people of Israel out of Egypt. Indeed, Israel’s salvation under Moses was itself intended to be a pointer towards the greater, eternal salvation that was yet to come with the prom- ised Messiah, and that’s how most Jews understood it. The Passover was therefore not just about looking back with thanksgiving for what God had already done; it was about looking forward with thanksgiving for what he was yet to do. So when Jesus took the individual elements of that meal and said, ‘This is my body’, ‘This is my blood’, his disciples, who had been a bit slow in appreciating the full extent of who Jesus was and what he was here to do, must have looked up in astonishment. He was declaring himself to be the long-awaited Messiah of God. This is what communion memorialises and reminds