We’re accustomed to online worship, of course. Accustomed also to the way other people in other places go about it. Have you thought of visiting the southern hemisphere? As global citizens we do well to know something about Christian worship Down Under.
First stop: Trinity church, Adelaide, South Australia. This is the oldest church in South Australia and is close to the town-centre. The online service on Sunday morning features members of an extensive team of energetic young Aussies. Paul Harrington is in the lead. They don’t sport hats with crocodile teeth but they offer a refreshing, easy-going welcome. They also provide a helpful introductory video on how to join with them in person or online. With nine other churches HT belongs to Trinity network. It’s working together, they say, to reach Adelaide and South Australia with the good news of Jesus Christ.
A thousand or more miles away to the west is Christ Church, Perth. This, unlike HT Adelaide, which is a thorough-going Evangelical church, styles itself as being in the liberal catholic tradition. Opened in 1893, it is the only church in Perth with bells and it prides itself on its musical accomplishment.
In Auckland, New Zealand St Paul’s, a church with a staff of 30 welcomes visitors to the oldest church in Auckland. The present building dates from 1894. Online services are in the hands of energetic – not to say athletic – young cosmopolitan New Zealanders. The church has a stylish website and a tradition of respecting all-comers.
In a city with the cosmopolitan reputation of Melbourne, Victoria, it is hardly surprising to notice that St Paul’s cathedral runs an English conversation corner. Unhappily this is suspended during the coronavirus emergency. The English connection is strong. The impressive church was designed by Butterfield, one of the great Victorian church architects, and outside the cathedral is a statue of Matthew Flinders, the explorer from Donington, Lincolnshire, who was the first to sail round Australia. Online services enable a visitor to get a taste of this multi-ethnic city Down Under. Melbourne is a city voting for the future.
No reference to Australia is complete without a mention of Alice Springs. It has a parish church built in 1983 serving an area of 600,000 square kilometres. There are numerous daily flights into and out of the airport and a Ghan train arrives twice weekly in both directions. Not many people can say they have worshipped in Alice.
MAF milestone
Mission Aviation Fellowship is planning its 75th anniversary celebrations. They are due to take place on 3 July 2021. Every four minutes an MAF plane takes off or lands on a mercy flight. The organisation has 131 planes in 26 countries. Sadly, Stuart King, one of the founders, an RAF veteran, will not be present. His death has just been announced.
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