{"id":136,"date":"2008-10-10T17:57:43","date_gmt":"2008-10-10T17:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/wordpress\/?p=136"},"modified":"2008-10-10T18:02:58","modified_gmt":"2008-10-10T18:02:58","slug":"150-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/?p=136","title":{"rendered":"150 Years of St Marks!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sermon preached by Fr. Tony Noble<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On the 150th<\/sup> Anniversary of St Mark\u2019s<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1st<\/sup> July, 2003<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

2 Chronicles 6.2:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBecause of the cloud, the priests could no long perform \u00a0<\/span>their duties.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Well, Archbishop, I can reassure you that would never be the case here!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Thirty years ago at 2.30 pm on Sunday 5th<\/sup> August 1972 in this church of St. Mark\u2019s, there was a meeting of the Archbishop\u2019s Historic Buildings Advisory Committee \u2013 a committee of which you have probably never heard!\u00a0 <\/span>In the chair was Bishop James Grant, assisting him was Archdeacon Moss, and members included a very newly ordained Fr. Andrew St. John and 4 lay people.\u00a0 <\/span>The meeting began with a debate on the purpose of the meeting \u2013 it\u2019s a good Anglican start!\u00a0 <\/span>And the purpose of the meeting was to consider the future of various church sites in the inner city.\u00a0 <\/span>Bishop Grant explained that St. Mark\u2019s was not a viable congregation, and the Archdeacon said that St. Mark\u2019s was unlikely to survive as a traditional parish centre.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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I am sure the Archdeacon didn\u2019t consider himself a 20th<\/sup> century Caiaphas, but like the high priest who prophesised Jesus\u2019 death as necessary for salvation, he was prophesying a future here which would be a marvellous twist on his words \u2013 for his words have come true: St. Mark\u2019s is nothing like a traditional parish centre! In fact our boast is that this is no ordinary church.\u00a0 <\/span>Here at St. Mark\u2019s the ministry to this community is extraordinary, unusual.\u00a0 <\/span>Not only that, the sense of community within the congregation is remarkable: indeed we are so friendly we are positively unanglican!\u00a0 <\/span>Certainly the worship is not what you would find in your average suburban parish church – and our parties are legend.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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I am reminded of the comments of a priest who attended here with his 2 young daughters.\u00a0 <\/span>They told him that St. Mark\u2019s was the best parish they had ever attended.\u00a0 <\/span>When he asked why, they said the Eucharist was the best, the people were the friendliest, and the food was wonderful!\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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No ordinary church. Thus St. Mark\u2019s has ever been – and that is what we celebrate tonight.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Yet on this wonderful night when we come to celebrate the founding of this church 150 years ago, I have to admit to being hard pressed to think of the most appropriate text for my sermon.\u00a0 <\/span>The first reading from 2nd Chronicles is an inspiring description of the worship in Solomon\u2019s temple, with the Ark of the Covenant central: is not this an obvious image of this temple with the altar central for the purpose of this church \u2013 which is the celebration of the Eucharist.\u00a0 <\/span>Here also on the high altar we have the tabernacle, the very presence of Jesus amongst us: itself a reminder of the tabernacle in the Sinai wilderness which lead the people of Israel for 40 years and contained the presence of the Lord \u2013 accompanied by yet another cloud.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The second reading is very obvious.\u00a0 <\/span>It talks about the foundation stone \u2013 which we do not have!\u00a0 <\/span>But St. Peter has it right: we are the living stones of the spiritual house, and Jesus is the foundation stone.\u00a0 <\/span>So we have moved from a physical temple made of stone to the temple of the people of God.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Then these marvellous words of Peter, \u201cYou are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvellous light<\/em>\u201d.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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I\u2019m not sure if the faithful parishioners who gathered on this site 150 years ago today regarded themselves as a consecrated nation, still less a royal priesthood.\u00a0 <\/span>But I am sure that down through the years the people of Fitzroy thought of themselves in less glowing terms \u2013 after all this is the suburb that called its football team the gorillas!\u00a0 <\/span>But those people were, and still are, that royal priesthood which offers the spiritual sacrifices of Jesus, as St. Peter says, every time we come to offer the Mass at this altar.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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So, to the gospel and the Samaritan woman, the outcast.\u00a0 <\/span>Surely here is a parable of St. Mark\u2019s, with its consistent care and outreach for the hoi polloi<\/em> of Fitzroy.\u00a0 <\/span>But the Samaritan woman is also very up-to-date.\u00a0 <\/span>Like many in Fitzroy, she questions the value of worship.\u00a0 <\/span>In response Jesus, like St. Mark\u2019s, draws alongside her – not to condemn or judge, but just to be with her and to talk.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Yes, 3 readings encompassing 3 themes which speak to us so surely of our beloved St. Mark\u2019s.\u00a0 <\/span>However, I would like to give you a different text altogether: one not set down in the church\u2019s lectionary for dedication festivals.\u00a0 <\/span>It is from Matthew chapter 1.24: \u201cThen Joseph awoke from his dream and did exactly what the angel said\u201d<\/em>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Dreams. This church has been and is the stuff of dreams – and its people for 150 years have dared to dream.\u00a0 <\/span>150 years ago they dreamed of a church set in Melbourne\u2019s first suburb, Newtown.\u00a0 <\/span>They came from St. Peter\u2019s at Eastern Hill, and firstly built a mission church out there on the lawn.\u00a0 <\/span>It was, I guess, the first high church mission in Australia.\u00a0 <\/span>Soon the suburb was named Collingwood, and the collection plates were carved St. Mark\u2019s Church, Collingwood.\u00a0 <\/span>This is, of course, a source of great joy for some members of the congregation!\u00a0 <\/span>It is no doubt why the best attended Anglican service ever in this parish, and indeed in Melbourne, was organised by the Vicar of St. Mark\u2019s when he blessed 10,000 black and white scarves at the Collingwood Football Club last year.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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It soon became St. Mark\u2019s, Fitzroy, however.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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In those early days the first vicar laboured hard and long.\u00a0 <\/span>But it was the next one, J F Stretch, who, at the end of the 19th<\/sup> century, established a strong Tractarian tradition with daily Services, Sung Eucharist on festivals during the week, and a very high church ministry.\u00a0 <\/span>In his time, the first missionaries, Mr and Mrs Tomlinson, were sent to New Guinea.\u00a0 <\/span>The first parish welfare centre, the Mission of the Holy Redeemer, was established.\u00a0 <\/span>They were heady days.\u00a0 <\/span>In those days the twin tradition of worship and community service was established.\u00a0 <\/span>Stretch was the first of several charismatic vicars \u2013 and because of that he eventually became Bishop of Newcastle.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Then there was the famous Brother Bill Nicholls in the 1920s and 30s.\u00a0 <\/span>He came to St. Mark\u2019s because he asked Archbishop Lees for the most difficult parish in the diocese \u2013 and that was Fitzroy in the depression.\u00a0 <\/span>You would hardly call Brother Bill an Anglo-Catholic, but his first priority was to repair the church; and they did that.\u00a0 <\/span>Having fixed the building for worship, he established and built the amazing St. Mark\u2019s Social Settlement (now our Community Centre) with its wonderful programmes during the depression.\u00a0 <\/span>After 20 years as vicar he was spent and exhausted – and so was Fitzroy – for after World War II great changes happened in the suburb.\u00a0 <\/span>The Anglo-Saxons moved out, and the parish declined in numbers and activity. \u00a0<\/span>So we reach that meeting in 1972.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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In those days there was a thought that people moving into the inner city would not care for old Anglican churches. So some were sold, like St. Luke\u2019s North Fitzroy – others demolished, like St Philip\u2019s, Collingwood.\u00a0 <\/span>But not St. Mark\u2019s!\u00a0 <\/span>The diocese did not reckon on the faithful people of St. Mark\u2019s – and it was told quite plainly, \u201cOver our dead bodies<\/em>\u201d – or words to that effect!\u00a0 <\/span>They were told it by that most formidable of Anglican groups, St. Mark\u2019s Ladies\u2019 Guild! How wonderful that 2 of them, Emily and Elsie, are here tonight.\u00a0 <\/span>They are our living link with what has gone before and now is.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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That meeting, 30 years ago, was followed by the appointment of another significant priest, Fr. Ernest King.\u00a0 <\/span>As he is present in the sanctuary, I do not wish to embarrass him. Let me say that these priests all had their critics – but they were men of dreams.\u00a0 <\/span>St. Joseph has set a marvellous example for all who belong to St. Mark\u2019s, for its history is one of people dreaming dreams and seeing them fulfilled.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The example of St. Joseph goes even deeper.\u00a0 <\/span>My text from St. Matthew chapter 1 is, of course, the aftermath of Mary being told that she is to conceive and bear the Christ child.\u00a0 <\/span>When Joseph, her fianc\u00e9, hears this, he is somewhat anxious, to say the least.\u00a0 <\/span>But his dream fixes that.\u00a0 <\/span>As the text said: \u201cHe did what the angel said and took Mary as his wife<\/em>\u201d. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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This, of course, is the beginning of the Incarnation when the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.\u00a0 <\/span>The Incarnation is really what motivated those first parishioners 150 years ago to build this church, so that St. Mark\u2019s, like all churches, would stand as a witness to that mighty act of God when he took flesh of the Virgin Mary.\u00a0 <\/span>The physical presence of the church in this suburb, with its huge spire, is a witness to none other than the Word was made flesh and still dwells among us.\u00a0 <\/span>They built this church not only as a witness, but so that the Incarnation might happen yet again, every time the Eucharist is celebrated at the altar. They wanted to make the Incarnation alive and real in Fitzroy, not merely in symbolic terms as a great church, but really present in the forms of bread and wine, as priests and people have offered this holy sacrifice day in and day out for 150 years.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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As the people of St. Mark\u2019s have worshipped and found Jesus in the Eucharist, so they have found him in each other, and so they have found him in this community, which they have served.\u00a0 <\/span>What we really celebrate tonight is the Incarnation of God alive and well in Fitzroy through the sacraments of Jesus.\u00a0 <\/span>That is why Mary is honoured in this place: for the mother of the Incarnate Word is the mother of the church, and the mother of all Christians.\u00a0 <\/span>So long as St. Mark\u2019s continues to live as a community of faith centred on the Eucharist, so the Incarnation will be present.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

St. Joseph<\/span>\u2019s story tells us that dreaming dreams is not much good unless we act upon them.\u00a0 <\/span>It would be dangerous for me to compare the vicars of St. Mark\u2019s with the angel of Joseph\u2019s dream, but the dreams of the people of St. Mark\u2019s lead them not only to build this church; but to send out the first missionaries to New Guinea in 1891; to build the first parish welfare centre – not once but 3 times; to establish in the 1970s a religious community based in this parish; and to be the first Australian church in the 1980s to reach out to the community affected by HIV and AIDS; and finally at the close of the 20th<\/sup> century to restore this church when it seemed impossible to do so.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, St. Mark\u2019s has dreamed dreams and acted upon them like St. Joseph.\u00a0 <\/span>To paraphrase an Old Testament text, \u201cWe have not been disobedient to the heavenly vision<\/em>\u201d.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So on this great night of celebration of all that St. Mark\u2019s has been, is, and will be, this is the final word:\u00a0 <\/span>Let us dream on and never be disobedient to the heavenly vision.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And may the priests never be prevented from performing their duties by the smoke in the temple!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sermon preached by Fr. Tony Noble On the 150th Anniversary of St Mark\u2019s 1st July, 2003 \u00a0 2 Chronicles 6.2:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBecause of the cloud, the priests could no long perform \u00a0their duties.\u201d \u00a0 Well, Archbishop, I can reassure you that would never be the case here! \u00a0 Thirty years ago […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-significant-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}