This newsletter from St Paul's Anglican Church in Beaconsfield provides information about upcoming events at the church and parish updates. It announces that Roma Pead's funeral will be held at St Paul's Chapel on Friday after she passed away. It requests help setting up and cleaning up for the funeral reception. It also includes notices about updating the community directory, the office reopening, a special meeting for Just Manna members, a mosque tour, spiritual events at the cathedral centre, reflections on recent conversations at the church, thanks for a French-themed event, a protest against offshore detention, and poems.

1. ST PAUL'S
ANGLICAN CHURCH
BEACONSFIELD
SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
21 JULY | 2019
NEWSLETTER
PARISH
UPDATES
THE LATEST FROM OUR
PARISH COMMUNITY
NOTICES FOR THIS COLUMN
CAN BE EMAILED TO ZARA
IN THE OFFICE BY 7PM
EACH WEDNESDAY.
Roma Pead's Funeral
Roma Pead sadly passed away on Saturday 13 July. Roma
Pead nee Geggie, of LeFroy St., Beaconsfield was Baptised
and Married at St Paul's and her funeral will be held at St
Paul's Chapel this Friday.
WHEN: This Friday at 2:30pm
AFTERWARDS: Please join Rosemary, Delys, Gordon, Russell
and Family for refreshments in the HALL after the Funeral.
HELP REQUIRED: If you would like to help the St Paul's
Community and Roma's family please assist with the Setting up
and Clearing away in the Hall.
--------------
The Community Directory is
in the process of being
updated. Thank you to those
who have provided updates,
if you need to update any
details or would like to be
added, please email the
office.
Zara will be back in the
office for normal hours as of
this coming week - Tues
23rd July
IGWR - In Giving We Receive
We’ve recently received a Good News story from
Raja in Nepal.
IGWR is happy to share wonderful moment with
all of you. Our 6 girls from 2019 School leavers
are starting at SM college today.
5 will study Hotel Management and 1 science.
The girls are pictures with Sunita a board
member of IGWR-Nepal
And thanks to all who support IGWR, we really
are making a difference and these five girls now
have a future beyond early marriage, a chance
to realise their potential.

2. Daily, in the Chapel
Mon-Sat, 6:30am
Morning Prayer
Mon-Fri, 12 Noon
Midday Meditation
Mon-Thur, 6.30pm
Evening Prayer, Thur 7pm
Morning Tea
10.30am Mon & Thurs
Meeting Room
Friday Drinks 5.30pm at the
Firepit
Saturday Morning Breakfast
8.15am at the hall
ALL WELCOME
WEEKLY
FELLOWSHIP
NOTICE OF SPECIAL
GENERAL MEETING
FOR JUST MANNA
This is to advise that there will be a
special general meeting of all Just
Manna members to consider a
special resolution that Just Manna
adopt the model rules in keeping
with the new Associations Act. It will
be a very brief meeting held
immediately after church but please
make every effort to attend in order
to achieve a quorum. If you are
unable to attend, there will be proxy
forms available in the church hall up
until the 21st of July. Please hand
any forms to Liz Meredith,
Secretary, before 21st.
When: After mass, Sunday 21st July
Where: St Paul's Meeting Room
Enq: Liz Meredith
PLEASE NOTE: If members of Just
Manna can't attend PLEASE send
a proxy form.
MOSQUE TOUR
PLEASE NOTE:
The Mosque tour will be taking
place - if you are interested in
joining the party of 5 who have
signed up, please contact
Christabel on 0431 925 860
COLOUR
PRINTER FOR
SALE
For Sale: Epson XP235
wireless, colour
printer/scanner.
Good working condition.
$100 including full set of
replacement inks
(RRP $80 for inks alone).
Contact Maureen or view in
the office

3. Anglican Parish of
Beaconsfield
BSB: 706 001
Account No. 30003006
electronic giving
details
ST GEORGE’S CATHEDRAL CENTRE
FOR SPIRITUALITY
Tea, coffee, muffins, prayers, ‘Spirituality and a Country Practice’
with Dr Jane James, Rural General Medical Practitioner, Denmark.
Enrolments (for catering and seating) by the Monday before the
event to Bishop David Murray, Cathedral Centre for Spirituality.
9325 5766 spirituality@perthcathedral.org
When: Wednesday 24 July for Coffee, Prayers and Spirituality
Cost: $5.00
Time: 9.30am - 11.30am
Where: ST GEORGE’S CATHEDRAL CENTRE FOR SPIRITUALITY
Also from ST GEORGE’S CATHEDRAL
CENTRE FOR SPIRITUALITY:
A DAY IN THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF
THE CATHEDRAL
Tea, coffee, muffins, prayers, ‘Development of Spirituality in
the Protestant Tradition in Europe C16 - C19’ with the
Reverend Rae Reinertsen, Cathedral Pastor - and Poetry on
the Theme with Professor Christopher Wortham; lunch and
other experiences of the Christian spiritual life. The day
continues after lunch from 12.45pm until 2.00pm with the
Word of Life, Contemplative Prayer and Celtic Prayers in the
Friends’ Room. No enrolment necessary for this hour, just turn
up for access to Upper Burt Hall by 12.45pm.
Enrolments (for catering and seating) by the Monday before
the event to Bishop David Murray, Cathedral Centre for
Spirituality.
T: 9325 5766 E: spirituality@perthcathedral.org
When: Wednesday 14 August 9:30am - 2:00pm
Cost: $12

4. Conversations for a Faith Community (a reflection on the
Conversations Series had over four weeks in June to
early July 2019)
“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the
house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came
and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’” [John 20:19 NRSV].
A commentary I read on this passage pointed out that the disciples themselves
were Jews, so they were afraid of each other. This was how some of us felt at the
beginning of the series of meetings – afraid of ourselves, afraid of each other, our
doors locked for fear. The movement over the four weeks was a cautious but
determined engagement with the Conversation process, with the Holy Spirit and
with each other, and resulted in our feeling that indeed Peace was with us, in the
presence of the Holy Spirit among us and within us. In the process of 'gathered
silence', intentional silence, intentional listening and speaking, deep hearing, the
Holy Spirit's gentle arrival softened the eyes and brought tears. And so we could
move from fear to love over the course of four sessions.
Images suggested by participants helped us to develop a sense of trust. As the first
meeting was soon after Pentecost, the image of the flame of the Holy Spirit
burning over the heads of everyone in the circle established and reaffirmed the
sense of unity of purpose that had brought us together for the meeting. If we could
take this image with us into our daily encounters, it was felt that we could value
each person as a unique expression and member of the Body of Christ.
A major theme to emerge was a recognition of the need for patience in order to
honour this time of waiting. A number of metaphors were used to express this: it is
as if we are awaiting birth - what would be brought to birth after a period of
gestation?, it is like the unseen activity in the soil of the garden, the process of the
East Wall renovation that led to the creation of the beautiful prayerful space we
dwelt in, and the beginning of renovations to a house. We don’t know what will
happen, so we ‘dwell in Possibility’. In this time of waiting we recognised a need for
listening deeply to others, widening our understanding of others by speaking with a
variety of people, 'noticing' and valuing the gifts and strengths of each other,
honouring the stories (spoken and unspoken) of others, recognising that as a
‘family’, contention can be present but need not be destructive.

5. There was a shared desire for others in the parish to be able to experience what we
had over the four sessions. Some felt that formal sessions for people to participate in
a similar process was one way to bring this about, while others believed that our
profound experience in and of the presence of the Holy Spirit would flow on to others
in our daily encounters. Personal preferences of action over contemplation, and vice
versa, were expressed, while Richard Rohr’s “contemplation must to lead to action
and action must be balanced by contemplation” is a difficult but valuable message.
Having grown in trust and love over the four weeks, many present felt more confidence to “wait upon the
Lord”, and a renewed energy for an albeit unknown future. Where some had felt stuck, a sense of
movement; where some felt alone, a sense of communion with others. As one participant said, “Aslan is on
the move” – the warmth and beauty of the Holy Spirit is working in us to enable healing and growth to
occur within the St Paul’s community and beyond.
Personal Reflections on the process
As a newcomer to the Conversations model, I appreciated the ethos of speaking the truth of the heart, as
informed by silent prayer and waiting for the Holy Spirit. There is no pressure to discuss or evaluate, no
sense of having to reply or defend one’s words, no pressure for a result or conclusion. We listened to the
words of our hearts and to the words of one another’s hearts. The silence between each contribution gave
time for the words to be felt, and also imposed a discipline such that what we said needed to be concise and
come from a deeper place than everyday discourse. It was a privilege to sit with others of faith, a privilege
to hear the words of others' hearts and souls, sharing innermost thoughts perhaps never shared before, a
privilege to dwell for a while in the 'soulscape' of others.
Thank you to Chris Williams for initiating this profound encounter and may we continue to speak
and act from this place of grace.
Gabrielle Dean
“I said to my soul, be still and wait without hope, for hope would be hope for the
wrong thing; wait without love, for love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet
faith, but the faith and the love are all in the waiting. Wait without thought, for you
are not ready for thought: So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the
dancing.”
T. S. Eliot

6. Bastille Day Thanks
Thank you to Christabel, Chris Hedges and others who helped with the food at the
Bastille Day Elders’ Morning Tea. Huge thank you to Ronniet and Cherie who
played violin and piano accordion to enhance the French flavour of the day. Many
joined in a spirited rendition of La Marseillaise.
Marie Thompson
Marie has broken her arm and is in Carinya Care
Respite, Bicton. She would love visitors and/or
someone to take her to the Dome for a coffee
Protest against 6 yrs of Detention
On this Saturday, 20 July, join thousands of people across the
country and show the Government that we aren't going anywhere;
that we will continue to stand in solidarity with those detailed offshore
and we will continue to fight for an end to its cruel policy of offshore
detention and for people to be brought to safety.
Join together at 11am Saturday 20 July, at Murray St Mall, Perth,
to stand in Solidarity with those imprisoned on MANUS and
NAURU and say #SixYearsTooLong?
If you would like to meet at the train station for the 10am train
there will be others going too.
Contact Celia Andrews on 0448 973 315

7. If Prayer Would Do It by Stephen Levine
If prayer would do it, I’d pray.
If reading esteemed thinkers would do it
I’d be halfway through the Patriarchs.
If discourse would do it
I’d be sitting with His Holiness
every moment he was free.
If contemplation would do it
I’d have translated the Periodic Table
to hermit poems, converting
matter to spirit.
If even fighting would do it
I’d already be a black belt.
If anything other than love could do it
I’d have done it already
and left the hardest for last.
Stephen Levine (July 17, 1937 – January 17, 2016) was an
American poet, author and teacher best known for his work on
death and dying. He is one of a generation of pioneering teachers
who, along with Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein and Sharon
Salzberg, have made the teachings of Theravada Buddhism more
widely available to students in the
West. https://www.journeywithjesus.net/poemsandprayers/1740-if-
prayer-would-do-it

8. This is love:
to fly toward a secret sky,
to cause a hundred veils to fall each
moment.
First, to let go of life.
In the end, to take a step without feet;
to regard this world as invisible,
and to disregard what appears to be the
self.
Heart, I said, what a gift it has been
to enter this circle of lovers,
to see beyond seeing itself,
to reach and feel within the breast.
Rumi